Page 78 of Bitten & Burned
“Absolutely not.”
Cassian sighed. Theatrically.
“By my estimation,” he said, “I’m nearing five hundred.”
I let out a low whistle. “And I’m twenty-seven, which means… yikes.”
“Quite the age gap,” he said, lips twitching.
“You look good for your age.”
“You say that now. Just wait until I start insisting music peaked in Year 543.”
I laughed—and immediately winced when my ribs protested. Cassian’s hand shifted at once, steadying me, like he’d been waiting for the moment I tried to move too quickly.
“You seem like you were turned around my age. So I don’t think it matters.”
“That’s kind of you. Many would balk.”
“No different than Vael being a hundred and twenty,” I said.
“I suppose not,” he allowed.
“So Anton’s next oldest?”
“Yes. But don’t ask how old he is—he’d stake me for telling you.”
“Well, Dmitri’s one-eighty-six, so Anton’s somewhere between that and five hundred.”
“Precisely. But if you want to know? Ask him. I value my un-staked status.”
I laughed—and wheezed when something pinched in my chest.
“Gods—what was that, first my ribs, now my chest?”
Cassian’s expression softened. “You were very near death when I found you.” A pause. “I feared I might have been too late.”
“You weren’t,” I whispered. “I’m here.”
“You very nearly weren’t.”
Tears welled up in my eyes. I blinked rapidly—pointless, but instinctual.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“You have nothing to be sorry for.”
“I begged Quil. To do it.” My voice cracked. “I enjoyed it… immensely. Until I didn’t.”
Cassian was quiet for a moment. Not judging—just giving my words room to breathe.
Then he said, gently, “As I’m sure you know… vampires tend to enjoy it immensely as well. It’s meant to feel good. We do it to live, obviously, but we also do it to make a connection.”
I blinked, tears stinging again. “What about when it ends like that?”
“Especially then.” His tone didn’t waver. “Rowena, what happened wasn’t wrong because you enjoyed it.” His thumb brushed away a tear I hadn’t realized had fallen. “And, it wasn’t wrong because you wanted it.” He paused, meeting my eyes. “It was wrong because he couldn’t stop when you needed him to.”
I curled in a little tighter against him. I didn’t know I needed to hear that until he said it.
