Page 73 of Taste of Death

This would be so perfect if I could let my guard down with him. I pictured it behind my eyelids like a distant fantasy. Being brave enough to let him see me naked, to shed my clothes without a care and see nothing but lust and desire in his expression. In my head, I saw it play out like a movie. Our bodies entwining with no barriers or shyness between us. I saw my lips move, forming fearless words as I told this gorgeous vampire that I was falling hard and fast for him.

But my heart had been battered enough to know that I shouldn’t expect fantasies to become real.

Chapter 22

Novak

Amy is my blood mate.

It didn’t fully hit me until I’d been standing under the shower head for a few minutes. The result of my embarrassingly fast orgasm had washed away, and at the first thought of her, my cock thickened and pulsed, already needy for a real touch from her.

Onlyher.

Her blood was better than anything I’d ever tasted in my life. It was life itself, beautifully bright and vibrant on my tongue. Every swallow felt like a caress from my throat to my groin. I had felt some tingles of arousal from drinking blood before, but nothing like that. Amy had never even touched me directly and yet I’d made a premature mess of myself like I was a juvenile being gripped and stroked by my wildest fantasy.

Amy was everything I never dared to fantasize about because I never thought she could be real. She came to me when she needed safety in a vulnerable moment, defended me because of who I was, not because she was hoping to gain something from my clan’s name. She didn’t even care about the status of Rathka’s Order, or our contentious history with Blood ‘til Dawn. This stunning brusang with galaxies in her eyes and kitten fangs cared aboutme.

But blood mates were on a different level than caring for. Her blood was chemically and nutritionally perfect for me and me alone. All other blood sources would taste rancid and foul now that I’d tasted her. My vampire biology wanted me hooked on the one source that was my perfect biological match until my death.

That was absolutely fine with me. Another six hundred years of kissing Amy’s perfect neck before I sank into her? Sign me up.

The only question was, did she feel the same way?

I closed my eyes under the shower’s spray, the hot water running over me a poor replacement for Amy’s fingers. Weeks ago, when she first came to my house, she made a little offhand comment.Why does your blood taste so good?

At the time, I chalked it up to the fact that she was starving. Any blood would have tasted like a miracle. But then I remembered scenting her arousal in my kitchen, her little moans and squirms when she took from my wrist the first time. And the fact that she had never successfully taken blood from anyone else but me.

Had our true, physical chemistry been driving us toward each other since the very beginning?

“Fuck.” My head tilted back, letting the water rain down on my face. “Temkra, is it really true?”

No answer came from the shower head. If I really wanted an answer from the goddess, I’d have to meditate at my mother’s altar in my office. Or consult with a member of Temkra’s Blood.

A blood mate. For me, the disgraced second son of an extinct clan. After centuries of trying to prove myself worthy, it felt too good to be true.

Amy was already in my bed, asleep and breathing deeply, when I turned off the shower and dried myself. I slid in next to her slowly, taking care not to disturb her rest. Once beside her, I couldn’t seem to shut my brain off. I was lying in bed with my blood mate beside me, and she had no idea.

Now I had an even better reason to end the arrangement with Baros. Not even he could argue against who Temkra had chosen for me.

But there was still a problem that could get in the way of our happiness. One that had an insatiable hunger for vampire flesh and was currently haunting my basement.

My sleep had beenfitful and restless, with long stretches of staring at the ceiling and watching Amy lying peacefully next to me. She roused when dusk fell, adorable as she stretched to wakefulness.

“Evening.” I slid against her back, kissing her nape as my arm went around her waist.

“Mm, hello.” She rolled into me, snuggling into my chest until she found a comfortable spot. “Sleep well?”

I kissed the top of her head. “Well enough. You?”

“Like the dead.” She yawned and kissed the space between my collarbones, firing up my pulse. “I should probably call Tavia to let her know I’m alive and well.”

Besides a relaxed sigh that sent her melting into me, Amy made no effort to move.

“Are you staying another night?” My hand moved lazily up and down her back, smoothing out the large T-shirt she wore to bed.

Amy’s head lifted, her brow furrowing. “I should probably go, huh? This is what, three straight days? I’m sure you want your space.”

I cupped her ass, ran my hand down the back of her thigh until I reached her knee, then brought her leg over my hip. “Do I look like I want space from you?”

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