Page 46 of Taken By the Blood God

“Yes. It’s very tender.”

His index and middle finger continued on their path down my torso, tracing the line all the way to my naval. He stopped in several places and put more pressure on the area, but the pain was much more manageable.

“You’re nearly completely healed,” he said. “Since you weren’t conscious, I handled most of the magic externally, but you need a bit more internal healing.”

His eyes lifted from my chest to my face. “A few drops of my blood should do it.

I knew my eyebrows were close to my hairline as I stared up at him. “Excuse me?”

“You need to drink a few drops of my blood to complete the healing. Otherwise, you run the risk of opening the wound again for the next couple of days.”

I wanted to insist that I would be just fine without his blood, but then I remembered that his brother was in my house, bound to Devil Springs by ancient runes, and probably not inclined to wait for me to recover before he started pressuring me to release him from his promise.

“Fine, but I need to know something before we do this,” I stated.

“My blood won’t give me power over you,” he said. “If anything, it will give you power over me.”

My mouth snapped shut. I couldn’t believe he’d just admitted that. Not just admitted it but did so with no prompting from me whatsoever.

“Okaaay,” I drawled. “Thank you for telling me, but that wasn’t my question.”

His eyes burned mine as he waited for me to ask.

“Will…the same thing that happened in the hotel room happen again?”

Streaks of ruby fire appeared in the amber of his irises. Our faces were only a foot apart, so I could see the color change immediately. The temperature within the room also rose a few degrees, making a light sweat break out on my skin.

“Are you asking if you’ll come again?” he asked.

I tried to scowl at him, but knew I failed because I had to swallow hard to get rid of the sudden lump in my throat.

“Yes.”

His expression was lusty as his eyes trailed down my face to my still-bare chest. When his gaze returned to mine, I could practically see flames burning in his eyes.

“As lovely as that was,” he began. “It won’t happen when you take my blood.”

The sinking sensation in my chest had to be relief. There was no way it could be disappointment.

No way.

Chapter

Twenty

Talant

I wanted to believe the look on Minerva’s face was disappointment, but I couldn’t be sure. I wanted her to be disappointed.

But the little witch so rarely gave me what I wanted.

Her shimmering gold eyes narrowed. “This won’t allow you to track me or anything like that?”

I shook my head. It wasn’t an outright lie. But it wasn’t the complete truth either. I knew I would have to explain the truth to her eventually, but I wanted her healed and whole.

I wanted her to take my blood. Not only to heal her, but because she would carry a part of me with her forever. The few drops would carry a trace of my magic and remain with her until her death—which should be much, much later than the typical one- or two-hundred-year life span of a witch.

If they were not mortally injured, witches could live much longer than humans. But Minerva was different.

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