Page 143 of Hell Bound

The bath was large enough to hold three people, and I walked down the steps, stopping before I came close to Sameera.

She stood up, water dripping from her hair, smiling as she held the razor. “Hands out, pet.”

Pypentha sucked in a breath, and I remembered belatedly that she was Tainted, too. She was related to this bitch.

And she never got her fill of blood to drink. She’d once told me she lived in constant thirst, a never-ending hunger gnawing at her.

Sameera touched the razor’s edge to my inner arm, dimpling the skin, and drew it down in a smooth slice.

My mind registered the pain only after the initial gush of hot blood spilled into the water. A bright, singing pain followed by burning.

Sameera brought the razor to my other arm, and this time the flow bursting out splattered across her pale skin.

She hummed, running her fingers over herself, tracing designs in the scarlet flood.

Pypentha swallowed hard, nostrils flared, staring at the opposite wall. Her hands were clenched on her thighs, threatening to dig into her own skin.

“Delicious.” Sameera brought the razor to my throat, smiling faintly. “I could drink all of you, but as you are my favorite pet, I would hate to lose you before you have fulfilled your purpose.”

The cold edge of the blade drifted downwards, and she opened several thin slices over my chest, operating with a surgeon’s precision.

The bathwater was crimson when she finally lowered the blade, admiring her work.

I shuddered when she leaned in, dragging her tongue over my chest. The gashes weren’t deep enough to kill me, but a grayish fuzz was creeping in at the edges of my vision.

Sameera settled back in the bloodied waters, licking her lips. “You may wash me, cousin.”

A low whine escaped Pypentha before she could stop it. She didn’t try hiding her shakes as she picked up a sponge and dipped it in the bloody water, jaw clenched tight.

In the muggy heat of the room, the scent of copper seemed magnified, spilling down my throat.

Sameera looked up at me from under her eyelashes, wearing that satisfied smile I hated so much as Pypentha carefully scrubbed at her back. “Such good dogs. Once the whore queen is dead, I think I shall keep both of you for my personal collection.”

My fists clenched, and Sameera’s gaze dropped to that tiny movement.

“Oh, does that upset you, Lucifer?” She drifted forward, wearing my blood from chin to breasts. “To hear that succubus called a whore? She is, after all, the reason you are here now.”

Claws traced along my thighs.

“If not for her, you would have had a life.”

Upwards, over my stomach… She ran a claw alongside one of the thin cuts in my chest.

“You would have beenfree.”

She dug her claws into the gash, peeling both sides apart and revealing the redness of wet muscle.

Blood sprayed across her face, and Sameera turned to smile slyly at Pypentha over her shoulder. “Want a taste?”

Pypentha was nearly hyperventilating, her pupils dilated to mere pinpricks. “I… no, not the Commander’s…”

She crouched on the side of the bath, clutching the sponge so tightly she was nearly shredding it.

“If you’re not going to share with me after I so generously offered…” Sameera pulled one of her hands out of my wound, flicking her fingers at Pypentha, “Then getout.”

Several drops of my blood hit Pypentha in the face, splashing over her lips and cheeks in vivid color.

As though in a trance, her tongue edged out, just licking her bottom lip.

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