Page 49 of Blood Bond

"But you can. I ..."

"I didn't bring you here to be like the others before you. You're not here for me to feed from."

"It's not like that. You walked in the sunlight after drinking from me, right? My blood ... it did something?"

Seth's eyes widen, a mix of surprise and contemplation. His intense gaze pierces through me as he processes my words. His face, usually an emblem of composure, now displays a vivid struggle — desire clashing with hesitation.

"But I can't," he finally says, his voice echoing a deep, unspoken ache. "I can't take from you. I refuse to use you in that way."

Despite the turmoil inside me, I step closer, my voice a mere whisper in the charged silence. "It's okay, though."

Our eyes lock, a world of emotions conveyed in a single glance. Seth's internal battle is evident, his sense of duty warring with the possibilities my words suggest. The air between us is thick with unsaid words and unexplored paths.

Seth's gaze penetrates deep into my soul, full of a longing and a question that I can't quite decipher. He reaches out slowly, his fingers lightly brushing my cheek with a tenderness that sends a shiver down my spine. "If I drink from you this time, it changes everything," he says with a gravitas that belies the gentle touch.

As he draws me closer, I feel the warmth of his breath against my skin, and his whispered words resonate within me, "I will never hurt you."

"I'm not afraid," I assure him, feeling a surprising calm amidst the rapid pounding of my heart. I go to him, offering myself.

Our lips meet in a kiss that is slow, yet filled with an intensity that seems to set my very soul alight. The world around us recedes into nothingness as we become lost in the moment. The kiss deepens, our connection growing with a hunger that is both new and as old as time itself.

Seth's hands explore gently, his touch conveying a depth of emotion that words could never capture. Each caress along my skin feels like a discovery, an expression of love and reverence. As his fingers trace the curve of my waist, a shiver of desire courses through me.

I respond instinctively, my fingers weaving through his dark hair, pulling him closer, deepening our connection. The sensation of his taste is overwhelming, a heady mix that intoxicates my senses. The closeness between us ignites a fire that seems to consume every fibre of my being.

His lips trail a path down to my neck, scattering soft kisses. Instinctively, I tilt my head back, offering him greater access to my skin, which yearns for his touch. He alternates between gentle nips and soothing licks, sending waves of pleasure through me.

My body naturally arches towards him, craving his touch. Seth's hands glide over my body, his touch on my skin igniting a deep, primal hunger within me. The world around us fades, leaving only our intertwined forms in a passionate dance.

As Seth’s lips find their way across my chest, every touch sends shivers of delight coursing through me. I arch into his embrace, surrendering to the intoxicating sensations.

Seth's hands wander lower, exploring with reverence. He pulls me closer, our bodies melding into one. The intensity of our connection builds with every urgent movement.

Suddenly, I feel the slight prick of his fangs. It’s a sensation of both pleasure and pain, thrilling yet gentle. My breath hitches in anticipation.

Seth’s fangs sink in gently. It’s an ecstasy like none other, a mix of pain and profound pleasure. Our connection deepens, souls intertwining in this intimate act. It’s exhilarating and terrifying, a precarious balance between pleasure and danger.

As Seth drinks, time and the world dissolve into the background. We are lost in this primal, forbidden ritual, a symbiotic dance of predator and prey. I surrender to him, willingly caught in the pull of his embrace.

Gradually, my strength wanes under the spell of his draw, but there’s no fear, only surrender to the overwhelming ecstasy.

Then he stops, pulling back slightly. He lifts his face to mine, forehead to forehead, his eyes piercing into mine. "Thank you," he whispers, his voice a soft murmur filled with gratitude and a depth of emotion that resonates within my very core.

ChapterThirty-Eight

We stand together in the kitchen, the morning sun attempting to peek through the edges of the blind, yet unable to penetrate fully.

Seth, next to me, appears different, and I can feel the change. His presence inside me has grown stronger, distinctly altered since he first drank my blood. He stands with his shirt open, his chest bare. Watching him breathe in, I’ve grown accustomed to the oddity of it. He nods to the blind. “Open it slowly.”

I reach out, pressing the button that controls the shutters. They wind up with a mechanical whir, gradually lifting the blind. Instinctively, Seth steps back, as if expecting the sunlight to blaze through and sear him as it once did.

His burns have healed, his former majestic appearance restored. But even as the blind continues to rise, he retreats further into the shadows as if afraid, only stopping when he’s backed to the table.

He takes in another breath. “I don’t feel it,” he murmurs, a note of wonder in his voice. In moments like these, a different side of Seth emerges.

Around others, he exudes power and resolve, but here, with me, there's a vulnerability, a touch of humanity I've never seen in his kind before. It's a trait more common in young vampires, those recently turned, but he’s allowing me to see this part of him, showing me what he would view as a weakness. .

I remain silent, simply observing him. He extends a hand, daring to place it in the ray of sunlight filtering through, his fingers intersecting the motes of dust dancing in the beam.

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