Page 94 of Bitten & Burned
“Hmm…?”
“Can I… taste you? Your blood, I mean.”
His hand stilled in my hair for a short moment before he began stroking again. “Rowena…there’s… something you should know.”
“About… your blood?” I asked.
“Yes. You know how every vampire’s blood is different? How every vampire has different… enhancements?”
“Yes,” I repeated, wondering if a point was on the horizon.
“Mine’s… sort of in my blood.”
“Like Cassian’s?”
He sighed. “Yes and no… my blood’s not addictive, but it’s… well…”
He was silent for a moment, thinking before continuing.
“Let’s just say, my blood doesn’t quench desire. It tends to... pour fuel on it.”
“Oh,” I said. “So you don’t want me to drink it because?—”
“I never said that. I just… wanted you to be aware, it might make you feel things that… you might not have been feeling before.”
“Anton, you just gave me three orgasms with your mouth alone, suffice it to say… I have all the feelings for you right now. All the good ones.”
I could have sworn he blushed a little before continuing. “I just wanted to be certain you knew.”
“What happens exactly?”
“It varies from person to person, but I’ve seen a wide range of reactions…”
“Such as?”
Anton’s gaze flicked to mine, thoughtful. “There was a violinist once. She swore she could taste music after drinking from me—said every note lingered on her tongue like wine.”
I blinked. “Taste music?”
He nodded, eyes distant. “A sculptor in Vienna lost her voice for three days—she could only sculpt what she wanted to say. Created some of her best work that week. And… there was a prince in Cairo who got so aroused he proposed marriage mid-bite. Didn’t even remember doing it.”
I grinned. “That tracks.”
Anton arched an eyebrow, lips twitching. “It doesn’t always affect people like that. Sometimes it just… heightens what’s already there.”
I pressed a hand to his chest. “Anton.”
He stilled.
“I want you. All of you—the blood, the danger, the chaos. The catastrophe of you. I’m not asking because I want an altered state. I’m asking because I wantyou.”
His expression shifted—reverent, almost stunned. “Then come get me, darling.”
I inhaled and sat up. He sat up as well, coaxing me to sit in front of him. He folded his legs. I folded mine. He brought his wrist to his lips, eyes locked on mine as his teeth broke skin. When he held it out, blood welled in bright drops and slid down his arm. I used my tongue to catch it before latching on. He sucked in air like it hurt, but I could tell by the way he was breathing that it didn’t. Far from it.
The first swallow burned sweet, thick, and hot, coating my tongue like burnt sugar. He tasted like honey and iron, with something bitter at the end. Not unpleasant—just enough to give it bite. Not only a taste, but a feeling.Arrogance.
I groaned and took a big gulp.
