Page 41 of Blood So Brutal

“I’m not marrying you,” she argued.

I took a step back, taking my blood with me and clicking my tongue once. “Still so stubborn. Fine; then you’ll have to find Jessiah to help you, though he may not be as willing.”

I moved to turn away, but she stopped me with a hand on my bicep. “Wait.”

Silence lingered, heavier than any weight. “Yes, Huntress?”

One thick swallow. “I’ll do it.”

“I need to hear more than that.” Blood dripped down my elbow, landing on the forest ground beneath us. “I need to hear you say it.”

“I’ll agree to marry you.” She spit the words out as quickly as possible. “I’ll do it.”

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread on my face, the satisfaction that rolled through my body at the sound. Yes, this was all forced, but those words…

Huntyr would be mine. Not Jessiah’s, not my father’s.Mine.

“See?” I teased, holding my forearm back between us. “Was that so hard?”

“You’re still just as big of an asshole as ever. How do I–” She paused and looked away in shame.

I used my free hand to caress the back of her head, gently urging her forward. “You know how. Trust those fiery instincts of yours.”

I let my hand fall to her neck, feeling her rapid pulse as I rubbed my thumb over the vein there.

Fuck, Huntyr was so perfect. Everything about her, even this part of her that she hated so much, that she tried to avoid so desperately, was perfect. Watching her mouth slide closer and closer to the blood on my forearm…

I was in deep, deep trouble.

Her lips made contact with my wrist first, barely brushing over the single trail of dripping blood. It was as light as a feathered kiss, but I sucked in a sharp breath anyway.

A wave of desire rolled through me, and I let Huntyr feel it through our bond, let her feel how much Iwanted her to drink.

She kissed my wrist again then, fiercer than the first time, more confident. She kissed me again and again until her tongue slipped out and slid against my skin.

My cock throbbed in my trousers, and I fought back a moan. Then, she was pushing me, keeping my forearm to her mouth with one hand while guiding me to lean against the nearest tree with the other. She licked the dripping blood until there was none left, and then she paused.

“Well?” I breathed, voice hoarse. “How is it?”

Her chest rose and fell with rapid breaths, and then her wild eyes met mine. “Do you want to feel?”

Her emotions slammed into me, delight and pleasure andwant. But under it all was the same dark, creeping creature thatlurked in me, the sleeping beast that came out only in these moments.

“Huntress,” I gasped, but she was already pulling my forearm back to her mouth so I could feel that, too, until her own pleasure mixed with mine.

Her teeth brushed my skin, hesitating.

“It’s okay.” I snaked my free arm around her waist, pulling her to me until she was flush against my body. “It’s okay.”

She moaned as fangs protruded from her teeth. It wasn’t painful for fangs to appear, but her mouth would take time to adjust each time she fed.

“I won’t let you lose control, Huntress. Feed.”

And then, she fed.

Her teeth slid into my skin with a satisfying pinch, and she kept that bond open so I could be distracted by the wave of euphoria within her. I hardly noticed the pain, hardly noticed the blood she took as her mouth moved against me.

“Fuck,” I moaned. A wave of lust hit her too, fierce and uncontrollable. She slid between my legs, grinding herself against my length and making me throw my head back against the tree bark. “You’re trying to kill me, aren’t you?”

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