“You’re so damn stubborn.”
Before I can get in a response, Nik is on top of me, his legs on either side of my hips, and his hands pressed into the mattress on either side of my head.
Glaring at him, I say, “What the fuck are you doing?”
“You don’t want to feed on the staff. Fine. But at least let me share my feed with you.”
I look at him as my brows lift in surprise. Fae don’t typically do that. It’s not a secret that we can take energy from each other, but it’s not a common practice. “You want me to—”
“Feed on me,” he cuts in with a smirk. “Yep.”
“Nikolai, that’s ridiculous.”
His hair falls in front of his face as he leans closer. “It’s not. You need energy, and you don’t want to take it from the humans around here, so I’m your only option right now.”
I ponder his suggestion, still watching him, still warmed by the closeness of him. “I’ve never done that before.”
“Kiss me.”
My eyes widen. “What?”
Amusement flickers across his face. “Kiss. Me.”
“I don’t need to kiss you to absorb your energy.”
He grins. “I know.”
I lower my gaze to his mouth. I shouldn’t do this. The urge to push him off and flee the room is nagging at me, but the need to feed is slowly overcoming it. That, and the infuriating desire to kiss him senseless.
He tips his face down; his breath is warm against my face. “Do it,” he encourages, “orI’mgoing to kissyou.”
Bringing my face forward enough so my bottom lip brushes his, I close my eyes and focus on the emotions he’s letting off. I’ve been at this long enough, I barely have to put any effort into the feed. I slow my breathing and relax my muscles. I open myself to the emotions and allow them to enter my body, replenishing my energy. Power sings in my veins as I press my mouth firmly against Nikolai’s, sealing us together.
Light, vibrant energy flows into me as I tug him closer. It’s not surprising Nikolai is made up of this energy; the twinge of jealousy that snaps through me makes me crave more. I want it for myself. God knows I wouldn’t have it otherwise—not these days.
He makes a deep sound at the back of this throat, making my pulse race, and flicks his tongue along my lower lip until I open my mouth to let him in.
It isn’t until he gives me a gentle nip that I realize I’m not feeding anymore. We’re just kissing now.
I press my hand against his chest and push him back until we break apart.
He stands, shifting back a couple steps, and sits on the other bed.
Clearing my throat, I sit up and run my hand over my hair to set it back in place. “Thanks,” I say, pissed at myself for feeling so damn awkward. It wasn’t the kiss, either, it was the intensity of feeding from him that set me off.You’re afraid to need him. The voice in my head sounds annoyingly close to my own, but I shove it away.
Nikolai laughs, still catching his breath. “Anytime, kitten.” He licks his lips. “Seriously.”
I turn my face away from him and kick back the sheets. Glancing at my clothes, I sigh. I don’t feel like getting out of bed and going to my room to change, but I don’t want to sleep in what I wore all day.
Nikolai is thumbing through his suitcase when I swing my legs over the side of the bed and stand. Biting my lip, I snag a gray T-shirt out of his hand. It’s soft and smells like fabric softener and him.
He cocks a brow. “We’re sharing clothes now?”
I tug my shirt off and drop it, standing in front of him in my black lace bra. “I don’t want to wake the others. Plus, it’s too hot in here to sleep in what I brought,” I explain.
“We could always sleep naked,” he suggests.
I choke on a laugh as I unbutton my shorts and shimmy them off. “Funny.”