Page 15 of Death Comes for Her
Too much venom. Too much blood loss.
The dizzying euphoria morphed into lightheaded nausea. My breathy whimpers turned into pained groans. Each breath came shallow as I melted into the couch cushions and Dante’s lap. I was losing too much blood—so much that I couldn’t care about the hardness prodding my back.
I did the only thing that came to mind to make them stop.
“Sierra.” My voice came out as a wet rasp.
Simon lurched away as my voice snapped him out of his haze. Head thrown back, eyes blown wide, and gold staining his lips and chin. His hair had fallen over his forehead in snowy threads, looking viciously disheveled. Nostrils flaring with each stuttered inhale, his mask slowly returned as an indolent sneer.
“Dante,” he said.
A wide, firm tongue laved over my neck, hungrily catching escaped streams, as if loathe to let a single drop go to waste. He groaned, low and deep, as he dropped his head onto my shoulder. His amused breath tickled my skin.
He lifted his head. “Your name?”
I nodded feebly. My weighted eyelids sealed shut as my muscles went lax.
“Fuck, she tastes good.”
“Best blood we’ve consumed in ages,” Simon begrudgingly admitted.
“Gods, I feel like there’s fire in my veins.”
The man behind my back shifted forward, partially squishing me against the back cushion. I heard rustling fabric, and a surprised breath when the body between my legs dipped forward. Wet smacking and erotic groans followed.
It agonized me, but I peeled my eyes open. Shock flared through my chest, clearing out a fraction of my muddled mind. I stared up, frozen and tingling, as I watched Dante gripping the back of Simon’s neck and claiming his mouth.
Bent towards one another and casting me in shadows, the two vampires kissed above me. Caged between their bodies, trapped between muscle and heat, the noises they made as they devoured one another made my core tighten.
Dante licked at the gold dripping from Simon’s mouth. Simon parted his lips, letting Dante plunder his mouth for any remaining drop of my blood they could share.
Dante caught Simon’s lip, tugging it with a wanton groan.
Simon’s eyes flared open, and he snatched himself from Dante’s grasp. He tore himself free with a hiss, brows pinched, and nose scrunched. Anger painted his twisted expression, filling my belly with fear.
He surged off the couch, seething at Dante. “You know we aren’t like that anymore.”
“It’s just a bit of fun. Don’t think too hard about it.” Dante leaned back against the armrest, shrugging dismissively. Heat continued darkening his eyes, but he simply swiped a thumb over his wet, swollen lips. His other hand swept over my chest as if he wasn’t truly interested in the pale vampire.
With his posture change, I was laying across his lap like a helpless, drowsy creature. My head rested on his tensing abdomen, and something hard at the apex of his hips dug into my spine—it twitched.
Oh, gods.
The venom in my system begged me to wriggle against him. My mind had enough clarity to fight that deranged want.
Simon snarled, baring his gleaming fangs. A breath passed, a silent moment of inner reflection. A cold reserve settled over his features, once again masking that he’d ever experienced an emotion. He straightened his clothes, swiped his thumb over a wet spot at the corner of his mouth, and promptly marched for the door. It slammed shut with his departure.
Dante’s hand passively smoothed over my head as he stewed in his thoughts. Incapacitated and numbed by venom, I remained unmoving. Loins burning and breathing hard, I had no choice but to let the vampire stroke my hair as one would a pet.
It was demeaning, sure. But as weak and tired as I’d grown, I didn’t want to complain. The petting was humiliatingly comforting against the maelstrom of thoughts and feelings thrashing through me. His muscular hand maintained a startlingly delicate touch. I almost sighed at his gentle ministrations.
It nearly startled me when he broke the silence.
“Good girl for telling us your name.” His knuckles skimmed over my cheek in a motion bordering on affection. “As a reward for your obedience, I’ll permit you free movement through the manor.” He lifted me from his lap, leaving me in a drained heap on the couch as he stood.
My throat constricted when I tried to speak. Dante moved out of sight and my gaze dropped to the low orange and yellow flames smoldering in the fireplace. The gentle crackling mingled with his heavy footsteps.
“Stay away from the grounds. Not like you could run or escape if you wanted to. There are dogs in the yard, and they’re quite hungry.” His laugh was harsh. Then the door clicked, and he was gone.
