Page 69 of Trapped for Her Blood
Axe approaches. “Assuming we’re talking about the same vampire, she used magic to capture me and turn me into this—” he pounds his chest “—thisthingI’ve become! And then she used her magic again to trap me down here.”
“Octavia is your Maker?” Ryker asks, his voice full of shock.
Axe shrugs. “Small curvy woman? Dark, chin length hair, big eyes full of spite and anger?”
“Sounds like her,” Ryker says.
“Why would she imprison her Progeny down here?” Zuben asks.
“No clue,” Axe replies. “But it was clear she was disappointed after she turned me into a vampire. Like she expected something else to happen.”
Zuben is quiet for a moment, clearly thinking, but then turns back toward Ryker. “You have not yet explained what came of your attempt to make a deal with Octavia? What did you do to land back down here, wrapped in silver chains and exposed to sunlight?”
A tremor runs through Ryker. “I refused to marry her.” He glances at me. “Let’s say she didn’t take it too well.”
“Didn’t someone say she already had mates?” I ask, suddenly confused.
“Yup,” Ryker says. “She wanted me as hubby number six.”
“You’re kidding.” I look into his eyes. “No wonder you refused.”
“That’s not why I rejected her.”
“It’s not?” He’d be willing to be one of six husbands? That doesn’t make any sense to me based on what I know of Ryker, of any man, but there’s been so much new information in the past hour, and so much happened leading up to this, that I can’t process it all right now.
Ryker’s eyes flutter shut, and he shudders again as he staggers back a few steps.
“Ryker needs to feed,” Zuben says flatly. “Healing from the burns has completely drained him.”
Ryker nods, and I step toward him, excitement racing through me at the idea, and my sex starting to pulse in anticipation. Axe and I were interrupted earlier and I never—
“I fed on Ember’s blood.” Axe’s voice breaks into my thoughts. “Not long before you and Psycho showed up in the cave.” He looks at me with concern.
“Not even a day has passed,” Axe adds. “Can she feed someone else so soon?” Stepping up behind me, Axe slides his arm around my waist and pulls me in close, and the woodsy, masculine scent of him steals my ability to breathe for a moment, heightening my desires.
How can I want both men so badly at the same time? All three of them if I’m honest.
“Whether or not Ember chooses to feed Ryker is up to her.” Zuben shifts into professor tone. “If you are asking whether or not a human iscapableof feeding two vampires within—” he looks at his watch “—fifteen hours? Then the answer is yes. But that does not mean that she has any obligation—”
“I’ll do it,” I interject.
Ryker’s gaze rises to meet mine.
“If he wants…” My heart starts racing. My mouth is dry. “I mean, if you need to feed, I would be happy to…” My racing heart thumps as I remember the night that he fed from me and took my virginity. All that transpired between us—both physical and emotional.
I know the other men are here with us in the cave, but all of a sudden, the only things I see are in Ryker’s eyes. What I see are desire,need, and the promise of pleasure. I’m nearly panting now, so overwhelmed by the idea of him drinking my blood and the sex that might follow; all other thoughts incinerate in my mind.
“Very well,” Zuben says flatly. “Perhaps Axel and I should leave you alone for a while.”
Axe grunts. I can’t even turn toward the other two men, but can hear them moving.
“Psycho mentioned that leather was no longer available in the dungeons,” Zuben says. “Am I correct then to infer that other forms of clothing are available?”
“Yeah,” Axe says gruffly. “I know where we can find clothes.”
The two men pass through my peripheral vision, leaving me alone in the cave with Ryker.
Chapter Twenty-One
