Page 210 of A Dance of Water

Luella felt the vampire in her mind as he whispered,Disappointed? I can touch more than innocently if you’d like, but I fear what Tharen would do if we interrupted his sleep.His words caused a whirlwind inside her—spinning her around and winding her up, then dissolving into carefully curated joviality. He knew she wasn’t ready for more and didn’t push her.

"You mean me, pet?" Bastian asked aloud. He, too, lay down, and she was the only one of them left sitting up, uncomfortable and out of her element.

Honesty was pulled from within her as she said, "All of you. You all haunt my dreams."

Az tensed. "Even me?"

She hesitated, contemplating. "Yes, even you," she said softly. "But haunting is not always bad. I enjoy being haunted by you."

"Then I’ll haunt you," Az murmured, "always, if that’s what you need."

His hand was warm as she stroked over the lines of his palm. She held him still and placed her palm against his, noting how his hand dwarfed hers entirely.

The demon huffed a laugh, watching how fascinated she was by their difference in size. He let her play for a moment, but then laced their fingers and used the grip to tug her down onto her back, nestled between them both.

"You need sleep, angel," the demon said. "Dawn will arrive soon." As she tried to get comfortable, Az soothed her fidgeting with a hand on her waist, tugging her deeper into the crook of his body.

Bastian shifted closer, his breaths tickling her neck. His nose brushed the pillow she lay on, and it was so intimate to have them both here, under her sheets, trapping her with them. Their scents wrapped around her… She never wanted to fall asleep, never wanted to let this moment go.

The warm amulet was nestled between her breasts, under Tharen’s shirt—the mage’s scent baked into her skin. He was all over her, even when he wasn’t around. Neither of the males in her bed seemed to mind that she was coated in the scent of another.

Luella tugged the sheet up to her chin, blinking up at the moon’s glow cast onto the white canopy.

Sleep evaded her. Even though she would soon have to awaken, her mind didn’t seem to want to let her go.

Her head shifted on the pillow, finding the dim red glow of Bastian’s eyes, open and staring at her.

Her voice was so, so soft as she whispered into the night, "Doesn’t this bother you? Why do you get along so well compared to the others?"

Bastian reached down and grabbed her hand, bringing it up to his lips. His fangs brushed against the tip of her finger, and she gasped. His dark lashes cast shadows onto his pale cheeks as he pressed his nose to her palm and moved lower to the thin skin on her wrist. "We have a common goal." His breath ghosted along her skin.She never knew a wrist could be so sensitive. "You," he murmured, looking up at her.

Az’s hand tightened on her waist. "I would never do anything to cause you pain, Lu. They are your Vincire, just as I am. Even though they don’t deserve it, it would hurt you to be away from them."

"Oh," she breathed.

Bastian laid their joined hands on the mattress between them. "Don’t be sad, pet. They’ll come around."

"That’s not what I was?—"

"No lies," the vampire tsked. "You hate to see us apart. I know you do. I know you care." He moved until his face was a breath away from hers, so close, she could count the flecks of darker red in his irises. She hadn’t noticed it before in the dim light, but the faintest smudge of scarlet was just under his plush bottom lip.

Luella swallowed thickly, staring at his mouth, unable to stop herself:

"Is that b-blood?"

His brows furrowed, swiping a thumb across his lower lip. Flakes of red fell off. "Hm. I thought I had cleaned up…"

"You mean you—you drank before coming to my bed?" she asked, breathless.

Az’s fingers pressed tighter into her waist.

Bastian pulled away from her, staring up at the ceiling, much like she had done earlier. "I do not think you would want me in your bed if I had not sated my hunger. And I certainly don’t think you would have offered up yourself."

"No," she asserted, tugging her hand away from him and tucking it under her chin, fearful of the blood-hungry monster lying beside her.

"I’ve not hurt you yet, pet, and I’ve had every opportunity to take from you." His voice was tinged with only the barest hints of hurt.

She trusted him but…

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