Page 62 of Taken By the Blood God

I didn’t want to see the look in her eyes, but this conversation required eye contact. I met her gaze and answered, “I wanted to drink your blood and fuck you until all you could think about was me. All you could feel was me. Because all I could feel, all my thoughts, were centered on you.”

Minerva stared at me, her body completely still. Finally, she inhaled, slow and deep, and leaned forward, gathering her legs beneath her. She crawled across the short distance that separated us on the mattress, coming to kneel in front of me.

She kept a few inches of space between us, close enough that I felt the residual chill coming from her body, smelled the lavender and mint of her skin, and saw the thrum of her pulse at the base of her neck, steady and warm from the blood that ran through her veins.

Her hands rested on her thighs as she continued to look up at me. “Yet you still think you could have harmed me, Tal? That you wouldn’t have noticed if you bit too deep or bruised me?”

It was difficult to swallow past the lump in my throat as I thought about her questions. She was right. I’d been so focused on her pleasure—not my own—that I would have been aware if she even flinched or gasped in pain. It would have been as obvious to me as her arousal.

As she had before, Minerva knew my answer even though I didn’t verbalize it. She reached out, taking both my hands in hers and bringing them to rest on her bare thighs. Her skin felt shockingly cool when my knuckles brushed her legs. Her magic was still very close to the surface of her skin, keeping her body cooler than mine.

“I’ve never said this to anyone other than a family member,” she began, her voice low and serious. “So, I want you to understand exactly what I’m offering you when I say this.”

I nodded, not wanting to speak. Her expression and the fine tension in her body told me everything I needed to know. Whatever she was about to say was important to her, and I needed to pay close attention.

“I trust you, Tal,” she said. “I trust you not to hurt me. I trust you to watch my back and to help me when I need it. I trust you enough to share my body with you.”

It was a start, but what of her heart?

I wanted her to trust me with every part of her. To know that I would cherish every piece, whether broken or whole.

She paused, licking her lips. “I know you want more from me, but I’ve lived behind the walls I’ve built for a very long time. I had to protect Ally even more than I needed to protect myself. It’s not something I can change at a mere thought. I’ll need…” Minerva sighed. “I’ll need some time.”

Cautiously, I tugged on her hands, pulling her toward me. She came willingly, slipping her knees between mine. She leaned forward, her cheek resting over my heart.

I wrapped my arms around her holding her close. “But you’ll try?”

She nodded, her skin warming against mine. “I will.” Minerva tilted her head back to look up at me. “I am.”

I lifted one hand to brush the wild tangle of red hair away from her face. “That’s all I can ask.”

I wanted her to know that I fully comprehended what she’d just shared with me. “You are my equal in all the ways that matter most, little witch. Anything you’re willing to share with me will make me happy.”

Her smile faded as her gaze searched my face. “You really mean that, don’t you?”

I nodded.

She wiggled one arm from between us and cupped my face with her hand. Her thumb brushed over my bottom lip, the touch light and tender.

The way she looked at me in this moment…

It pierced the wall of my chest and grasped my heart in a vise. I was afraid to breathe, not because it hurt, but because I didn’t want to break the spell that swirled between us. Silence surrounded us, yet my heart heard everything she couldn’t bring herself to say.

Chapter

Twenty-Five

Minerva

As much as I wanted to remain at home, tucked into my bed (or my bathtub) with Talant, I had a business to run. After a weekend dealing with Davian’s shitty attitude about his new reality, I also needed to escape to my store to prevent a homicide—specifically me killing him. For an incredibly powerful being who had lived for thousands of years, Davian complained like a bratty tweenager who had his phone taken away. About every-damn-thing.

One of the things he’d complained about was his lack of clothing, so when I texted Ally to let her know I would be at the store on Monday, I also asked her if Dax had any castoff clothing for the two divas…I mean gods living in my house. She said she would take care of it, and I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or disappointed that Talant would have more shirts to wear.

Then again, I doubted he would wear them even if he had a selection.

Talant wanted to come to work with me, but I flat-out refused because then his brother would insist on coming, too. So, I left my house at nine-thirty on Monday morning, kissing Talant good-bye on my way out the door and telling Davian to findsomething productive to do, and all but ran to my car in my eagerness to get out of my house.

Part of my enthusiasm also had to do with having some space from Talant. The dynamic between us had changed since the night I’d drawn down the moon. While he was still a master of snarky one-liners, he was affectionate, physically and verbally. It wasn’t something I was accustomed to. He watched me as though I were the only person in the world he wanted to see. He held me at night like he was afraid I would vanish if he let me go.

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