Page 22 of Given

She swayed.

Alarm jumped through me. I sprang into action, catching her against me just as her knees gave out.

She stared up at me with a mix of fear and lust in her eyes. “What did you…?” She moaned, her thick lashes fluttering against her flushed cheeks. The color spread down her throat and disappeared under the high neckline of her gown. Her heart beat quickly.

Too quickly.

Cursing under my breath, I swung her into my arms and carried her to the bed. I settled her on it and stroked the hair back from her forehead. She moaned again and arched off the mattress. Her eyes fluttered shut. Her arousal was thick in the air. If I rucked up her skirts and spread her thighs, I knew I’d find her wet and ready.

My cock stiffened, but my own lust was secondary to the anger that pumped hot in my veins. Potent as it was, a mere drop of my blood shouldn’t have affected her this way.

But it had. Because she was starving. Rolund hadn’t beat her, but he’d abused her all the same.

I sat near her hip and kept my senses trained on her heartbeat. With gentle fingers, I pushed her top lip off her teeth. Her little fangs were distended. It was a miracle she hadn’t lunged for me out on the balcony. A hungry vampire was a dangerous thing.

Over the next few minutes, her heart rate returned to normal. I sat vigil next to her, silently cursing myself for putting her at risk. Depending on how infrequently she’d fed, it would take time for her to drink without succumbing to bloodlust.

She stirred. Slowly, she turned her head toward me on the pillow and blinked her eyes open. For a second, confusion reigned. Then recognition flooded her gaze. With a little gasp of mortification, she tried to rise.

“No,” I said, pressing her down with a firm hand in the center of her chest. “Here.” I plumped pillows behind her so she was propped in a sitting position. “How long since you fed?”

She took a long time to settle against the pillows, which I assumed was due to embarrassment over her arousal. But she seemed to realize I wasn’t going anywhere, because she eventually folded her hands and sighed. “It’s been a few weeks.”

Anger surged. “How long since you took the vein?” Living blood was the most nutritious.

She didn’t answer. Which was all I needed to know.

Rolund had much to answer for. I pushed her hair off her shoulders. The silky mass was the color of moonlight. I let it slide through my fingers again and again. “Let me guess, he limited you to animal blood.”

She watched me play with her hair. “Goats, mostly. The cook mixed it with wine.”

I pinched her chin gently, my thumb on the same spot where Varick had marked her. Her skin was just as soft as her hair. “Peasants drink from animals. They’ve done it for thousands of years, and they’re used to it. Your bloodline is a noble one. It demands more than goats, Princess.” I stroked my thumb along her jawline. “Your hunger won’t go unsatisfied in Nor Doru.”

She regarded me steadily, a hint of a challenge in her expression. “I thought I was here to satisfy your hunger.”

Sharper thorns than I thought. “You’re here as my guest.”

Questions swam in her eyes, but she stayed silent as she studied me. When I didn’t look away, the blush crept back into her cheeks. She didn’t lower her gaze like most ladies would have, though. She hung on, and that assessing look grew, until it became obvious she wanted to say something.

“What?” I asked.

“Does it hurt?”

“Taking the vein?” Surely she’d done it before. If not, her situation was direr than I—

“The earring.”

My fingers went to the bar in my ear. “Yes,” I said simply. “It never stops hurting.”

Her nose scrunched up, and I realized it wasn’t from disgust. She was perplexed…and curious. It was an endearing expression. “Why pierce it, then? Your body will always try to heal it.”

Yes, and even more so than she probably realized. It was the curse of royal blood. I could heal just about any injury—even the ones I wanted to keep.

“It’s a reminder,” I said. “Some people are in pain all the time, even if we can’t see it. It influences their actions. I never want to forget that.”

Her curiosity faded, replaced with something soft and strangely disarming. Everything about this female was disarming. I hadn’t prepared for that.

Gold winked at her neckline, offering a welcome distraction from the energy building between us. I pulled a thin chain from the edge of her bodice, revealing a small mirrored pendant. I rubbed my thumb over my reflection. “You follow the teachings of the Brotherhood?”

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