Page 8 of A Bond Beyond Blood

The tears returned at that, and I shook my head, swiping angrily at the wetness seeping from my eyes.I skimmed to the end, then read the bit in the middle again.

And then I read it again.

Each pass only made me angrier.

But Irelishedthe feeling, the first thing I’d felt besides sadness in days, weeks even.I let it build, let it pump through my veins until I was positively fuming.Pacing the living room, muttering to myself, I came up with a plan.

If this vampire,Eli, thought he was going to show up next month and find me compliant andwilling, he was in for a rude awakening.Daddy may have thought my brothers were hot-headed, but he forgot one very important detail.

We shared the same bloodline; that fire burned within me, too.

One Year Later

Chapter Four

Jack

Sheathing my plastic practice stakes, one on each hip in a custom black leather holster made by my favorite Etsy seller, I backflipped away from Vinny, grinning as I landed on my feet in orthodox fight stance with my fists extended in front of me.

Ready.Waiting.

Eager for him to come after me.

But he only chuckled, shaking his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.“Tuck that right fist a little closer to your body.”

Looking down, I did as he instructed, leaving my left fist extended, and pulling my right a bit more tucked in near my chest.When I looked back up at my trainer, a crimson stain bloomed on his shirt, just inches above his heart.A superficial wound, yes, but one that made pride swell in my chest.

“I’m getting better.”

“You are,” he agreed.“I’m proud of you.”

It shouldn’t have felt so good.God, Iknewit shouldn’t.But his praise sank down between my legs, igniting a throb of need.

As it had countless times before.

I’d been sparring with Vinny for months now, and though I knew it was wrong, that it went against everything I believed in—and a very clear and concise law of the treaty—by the end of each training session, it took everything in me not to crawl up his body and fuck him senseless.

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