Page 50 of Bite of Passage
“The glass will reflect dark spells.The dwarves bespelled it with both an intention spell and a protection charm.”
“What’s an intention spell?”
“Any with malicious intent would feel its warning.If they attack by casting a spell, the being casting it will get burned.”
“Can you put it on?”She held out her wrist him to clasp the bracelet into place.
As he did, his fingers dwelled on her skin.“There are many here who would hurt you.This may slow one of them down, but it won’t save you if a vampire comes at you planning to bite.”
“Even you?”
“It wouldn’t stop me.”
“So far, you’ve excelled at not turning humans.I don’t see any reason to doubt you’ll resist the urge.”
His eyes burned into her, drifted to her neck and back to her face.“You’re harder to resist than others.”
ChapterTwenty
He’d spooked her.
Good.She should fear him.He’d never been more tempted to bite a human.Biting to turn.Biting to keep.Not simply biting to drink and kill.
He’d never kill Gemma.
He wanted her to stay, even if that meant playing dirty and binding her to him with sex.This woman had the potential to be easily addicted.However, sex put him at risk of biting her for real.
Any woman who admitted to liking sex, orgasms, and adventure…
Which was exactly why he must remain cautious around her.
The past twenty-four hours, aside from the last hour or so with her, had been some of his worst in a long time.He was exhausted and mentally torn apart.The last two hours of the ride home had been intense, listening for her heartbeat and staying alert for anything that might attack.It could have been so much worse than an arrow.It could have been him fighting for her with the Directorate or against Cade.
Cade hadn’t needed to release her.That he had spoke volumes.It meant he trusted Skarde not to activate the prophecy.Or maybe he wanted it activated.Skarde couldn’t sort out which without Cade to answer his questions.
The longer he was around Gemma, the less he wanted to be without her.
This small moment gave him a glimpse at a life without loneliness.She was entertaining enough to help him forget about the ugliness of the world.She could be a partner.The more he thought about it, the more he wanted it.Now that the floodgates of possibility had opened, it was all he thought about.
She announced, “This was fun.The food here is incredible.Thanks for the adventure of convincing you not to die—again.No one at home will ever believe what happened during my day.Time to get that doorway open.”
“Gemma—”
“No.”She stood and lifted her skirt all the way to her knees to march up the winding staircase.“That looks says you want to bite me.Your goal should be to avoid burning in hell.My goal is to remain human and not turn evil.”
“I’m not going to bite you.”He caught her when she almost slipped on a stair.
She murmured her thanks.
By the time she reached the top of the stairs, her breaths came hard.Her heart pounded loudly from the exertion.Thethud thudof the organ in her chest moving blood through her body… Blood lust roared through his brain.
Dizziness consumed him like a three-dimensional physical force.He stumbled behind her on the trek back to his bedroom.He caught himself on the doorframe as the world spun.A few solid blinks and he felt more under control, less in thrall to blood lust.
Once in front of the mirror in his bedroom, she stopped.“The problem isn’t you.It’s me.I’m not sure I’d fight if you tried to go for my neck.Not because you’re sexy.I mean, you are.Never doubt how I feel about that.The reason is I like you.I could completely see myself trying to save you over and over.”
She extended her hand at the mirror.
His heart shuddered like an iron fist wrapped around it, constricting his blood flow as her hand extended forward in slow motion.
