Page 25 of Bound in Violet Ink
My brows raise. “It’s desperate alright.”
He raises that hand of mine back to his face and brushes his lips against my skin. The heat of his breath and mouth against my flesh may as well be the final act of seduction. My entire arm nearly goes limp at such a gesture, havingneverbeen so swept off my feet byanysuitor. He then raises those liquid silver eyes to meet mine, smirking at what must be the effect he has on me. When he releases my hand, I almost want to slap him for not following through. Sure, I had hoped, when younger, that whoever Silas chose for me would somehow magically be a perfectly romantic partner.
To actually feeldesirefor someone thatIchoose.
And now I wantthisman.
Kane moves to the bedside table, opening a black leather bag to remove a vial—flecked with pearlescence—holding it between his fingers as he turns around to present it to me.
“What is this?”
“The moon’s serum.”
My gaze snaps to his. We both share a silent conversation, because this is more than just biting my neck. This initiatesthebond, allowing his bite to be one of many steps to bring us to permanence in an ancient rite.
What shocks me the most is that I want to rip it from his hands and down it all.Lethim bite me. This is the most romance I’ve gotten in my entire life, and he’s right, to feign Silas, I need an army. And mating with Kane would be theperfectrevenge. And if the fates care about me at all, I’ll get to enjoy my days rather than loathe them.
It’s not as if the concept of marrying a man for my freedom is new to me. If anything, this is an opportunity I don’t want to waste.
Taking it from his hand, I uncork it with a soft pop. With my other hand, I pinch the side of my finger so I can dig my fang into it, a bubble of blood forming that drips into the vial.
The scent from inside is wild—feral and sweet, like moonlight on bloodied stone.
“Well,” he murmurs, eyes narrowing with pleased surprise. “You’re quite eager.”
“Kiss my hand like that more often and I’ll grow into this without a problem,” I say, handing it to him with my head held high. “I don’t want to go back to Silas. And you’re right, if I go out there without belonging to any court, then it’s only a matter of time.”
He chuckles low in his throat, piercing his own finger with the same precision—no wince, no pause. His blood meets mine inside the vial like two rivers converging. “And what was your initial plan?”
“I was going to somehow make it to the Everwoods.”
“That’s two months of riding on horseback.”
“I know,” I sigh, shame brushing the edges of my voice. “I’ve never even been outside the castle alone. Honestly, I’d have been caught in the first week. But... I was willing to give it my all.”
He doesn’t gloat. He simply drinks—half the vial, head tilting slightly as the serum slides down his throat. Then he offers the rest to me.
I hold the half-emptied thing, hesitating when considering all those who follow him will have to sacrifice something for me. “And you’re okay with having your court defend me?”
“I’m in need of a suitor, and taking you would provoke Silas enough that I think half my people would support it just for that alone.”
I tip the vial back and drink. Fire and starlight twist down my throat, blooming inside my chest like I’ve just watered a plant that’s been waiting for its nectar. “So, we’re both doing this to piss off Silas?”
A sharp, haunted anger flashes in his eyes. “It’s a common denominator for acting swiftly, but we’re both here because of the pulse between us. Don’t ever forget that.”
My breath comes deeper now, slower. I’m transported back to that first, ink-smudged letter I dared to send him, how my hand trembled, how my heart didn’t. It’s like being stained in his scent finally lets my mind be a little freer, not as obsessed with closing the distance. “It won’t be a problem remembering when you haunted me nearly every night.”
That deeper hunger, almost vulnerable, appears in his eyes again. My lips slightly part, that surge ofneedreturning, and it’s then that he wraps that hand around the nape of my neck as if it’s always belonged on my body. There’s no time to think about it before his fangs pierce my flesh, my body tensing. The heat of his mouth and my blood make me gasp, which turns to a whimper when he digs deeper for the sake of it before he pulls back, licking my neck so pain and pleasure uncomfortably intertwine.
When he finally pulls back, I see it written in his eyes that something has changed between us, irrevocably.
“There’s no second vial,” I realize out loud.
He licks my blood from his lips. “You’ll return it once you’re within my court.”
The strangest thing happens within me. It’s as if I can feel what my presence does to him, and a deep, concerning need within me wants to kiss him terribly. “You really do want me,” I say, the reassurance in such a sensation, the final act of approval I needed.
“Is that surprising?”
