Page 47 of Blood Submission

A sharp, instant burn hit his throat as his fangs punched down in his mouth. It was intense, as if he hadn’t fed in months.

“You can, if you need to,” she said, and held out her wrist. “You’re looking a little peaked.”

Dante turned his head to stare at the female beside him calmly offering him her wrist. He wasn’t sure what to make of her offer, or how to accept it. This had never happened to him before. He’d always had to hunt for his food and take what he needed, and he rarely left his victims alive. Unless they were especially deserving of it and he wanted them to be plagued by nightmares for the rest of their short years. They weren’t apt to offer to feed him again, however.

“Go ahead,” she urged. “Drink.”

“Why are you doing this?” He smelled no fear, only her natural mouth-watering scent.

She gave a little shrug. “I just figure that if we’re stuck together now, that we might as well get to know each other and try to make the best ofit.”

“You want to be friends with a monster?” Though the words were lightly spoken, he found he was nervous as he waited for her reply.

“I don’t think you are a monster. I think you did what you felt you had to do to survive, and now you don’t know anything else. And maybe….” She bit the inside of her lip and lowered hereyes.

“What?”

She caught her gaze with his. In it, he saw no pity, just understanding. A linking of similar souls. “Maybe we can offer each other comfort. We both carry the burden of not protecting our children as we should have. And we have to live with that until we can see them again.” A tear slid down her temple as she offered her wrist again.

Dante’s heart pounded, and he grew lightheaded from the blood rushing through his head. He’d never once in all of his years thought he would be so lucky as to find someone to share this long, lonely lifewith.

“Take it, Dante.” Laney snapped him out of his thoughts as she waved her wrist in front ofhim.

He inhaled the sweet smell of her blood. “Thank you,” he whispered in awe. The words sounded foreign on his tongue. Taking the delicate bones between his fingers, he brought her offering to his mouth, and with a hiss of anticipation, he sank his aching fangs into her flesh. Immediately, her honeyed blood filled his mouth. He savored the taste for a few seconds before swallowing. It burned through him, lighting him up inside like a slow-burning fire. Opening his eyes, he saw her small hand clench into a fist, saw particles backlit by the candlelight floating in the air around them like a snow globe. The burning hit his sex, and the semi-hard length instantly became a massive hard-on. He drew up one leg to ease the pain of his erection, the soft rasp of his clothing on his sensitive skin only making it worse.

But overriding it all was the scent of his female. His nostrils flared to take in more. Her sex was aroused, the musky smell consuming her normal fragrance until he was aware of nothing else. He eased his fangs out, only to bite her again, harder this time. Laney gasped, but didn’t cry out. Her free hand gripped the side of his shirt and hungon.

Taking one last drink, he sealed the wounds. Laney moaned as he licked the delicate skin of her inner wrist. Turning his head, his eyes clashed with hers. They were filled with a hunger that matched his own. With a low growl, he reached for her and pulled her on top of him. Her slight weight was barely noticeable. He felt raw inside, vulnerable, the past and the present banging around inside of him with her words.

She tried to rear up, to slide off him again, but he wrapped his arms around her and held her to him. “No, Laney.” He lifted his head off the bed and captured her mouth with his, kissing her until she became pliant. “Take what you want from me,” he told her against her mouth.

“I can’t,” she whispered.

“Whynot?”

“Because I….” The words drifted off as she tried to think of a good argument.

“You are MINE, Laney.” He paused. “And I am yours. Take it.” And then he kissed her again. One hand slid inside the back of her shirt, the bare skin of her back soft beneath his rough palm. Her breath caught as he slid that hand down to cup her ass. He squeezed, and she rolled her hips up, pushing her curves up into his palm. He moved his hand lower, sliding his fingers between her legs from behind and pressing, manipulating her through her pants. The cotton material was no hindrance at all. He could feel every fold of her pussy right through it. Her body responded to him instantly, and she bit his lip even as she wiggled against his fingers. He raised his hips so she could feel the hardness of his sex, could feel what she was doing to him. He rolled his hips against her over and over while his fingers continued to move in circles on her clit. Not too hard, but just hard enough.

He broke off the kiss, nipping at her jaw. “Laney….” Her name hung in the air between them. He slid one powerful thigh between hers, opening her to him. “Say yes, Laney,” Dante demanded. “Tell meyes.”

Laney was panting on top of him, her face pressed into hisneck.

His large body curved beneath her so he could feel as much of her as possible. “Say it.” Her hips kept rocking against him, helping his fingers along. He knew she was almost there. He suddenly removed his fingers and Laney cried out in protest, her head lifting and her eyes popping open only to be caught and held by his. “Tell me I can have you,” he demanded through gritted teeth. “Tell me you wantme.”

When she didn’t answer him, he went for her mouth again, kissing and nipping in between words. “Tell me, Laney.”

“Yes,” she finally said. “Yes.”

Triumph flared within him. He smiled, purring with anticipation. Her eyes widened and her heart pounded as she stared down at him and realized what she’d just agreedto.

It’s too late now, little mouse. You won’t be getting away from me thistime.

Gripping the bottom of her shirt, he yanked it up and off, and her bra soon followed. But it wasn’t enough. He needed to feel her skin onhis.

He rolled to the side, taking her with him and laying her on the bed before rising up to his knees. His eyes roved over the smooth skin of her breasts—quivering with her panting breaths—the curve of her shoulder, the graceful arc of her collarbone, her slender arms. Not wanting to disrupt the sight in front of him for even just the short time it would take him to get his shirt off, he gripped the neckline and tore it from hisbody.

Throwing it to the side like so much trash, he bent down and took one hard dusky nipple between his teeth. Laney arched into his mouth, her hands flying to his arms and her nails digging into his biceps. Dante bit down, releasing the sweet nectar from the blue veins just beneath her skin, then sucked and teased the hard bud until she was squirming and lifting her hips to his. Working his way down her stomach, he paused when he reached the drawstring of her pants, the memory of the marks on her belly threatening to remind him of things he didn’t want to think of right now. Orever.

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