Page 20 of Fated to the Vampire Prince
Even if I was that cost.
Chapter 10
Picorer
CLAIRE
Iopened the door to my bedchamber, bracing myself for the vampire to sweep inside, pin me against the wall, and sink his teeth into my throat, but he didn’t move. He just stood there, staring like he’d forgotten how to breathe. His eyes traced a slow, languid path down my body, heat blooming everywhere his gaze landed—like a hunter setting snares, trapping me in place.
He was drinking me in, but not the way I’d braced for. His gaze lingered on the swell of my breasts. My nipples tightened beneath the thin fabric of my shift, as if coaxed into hard peaks by the weight of his stare. I rolled my shoulders back and lifted my chin, trying to ignore how delicious it felt to be desired and pretend to be unbothered by him.
“Please, come in, Your Grace.” The words left me in a bare whisper, but I knew he could hear me as if I screamed it. I stepped out of the way to allow him inside.
The sound of my voice seemed to jolt him from his daze.
“Your robe…” he replied.
He closed the distance between us in two slow steps. Mybreath caught as his hand found the loose fabric, pulling the edges together over my chest. The whisper of silk against my skin made me shiver.
Then his long fingers found the sash, easily threading the ends to make a knot at my waist. His knuckles brushed my stomach as he worked. The faintest touch, but it sent an unexpected shock through me, rolling down my spine and pooling low. My thighs pressed together instinctively, my body betraying me, turning warm and slick despite the danger of what came next.
For someone whom I despised so deeply, his touch ignited something I couldn’t ignore.
When Bastien was done with the knot, he tested it to ensure it was secure by slipping a finger under the sash and tugging, which I wasn’t expecting. I gasped, my hands splaying out on his hard chest to catch myself. He steadied me with a hand on my low back, holding me flush against him.
I tipped my head back, lips parting as I looked up at him. The hunger in his eyes nearly undid me. My toes curled against the soft carpet.
“This isn’t the convent. You would do well to knot your robe.”
“I’ll keep that in mind, Your Grace,” I said. Not sure what else to say.
“Good.”
Every muscle inside me tightened and melted against him at the same time. He didn’t pull away, nor did I, but something stiffened between us. Something hard that pressed against my stomach. Something that my body instinctively leaned into. I forced myself to steady my gaze on his, taking in every inch of him to distract myself from that hardness. Trying—and failing—to ignore it.
This close, his eyes were as clear and blue as the water thatlapped at the shore near the Falls of Amara, my favorite place in the whole world. Especially when the sun kissed my bare skin, and the breeze was warm. Right now, he was making me feel warmer than the sun ever had. My attention drifted to his mouth. To the way his lips were parted. I shook my head to clear the fantasy.The sleeping draught.It was already working. My thoughts unraveled into dreamy wisps. Ill-conceived fantasies. I needed him to take his fill of me before I was too tired to think straight.
“Aren’t you going to come in?” I asked, my voice breathy and much higher than normal.
He hesitated for a moment longer, then released his hold on me. Stepping back and running a hand through his hair. “Get your cloak. And put on some slippers. I want to show you something.”
Confused, I took a step backward, trying to relieve myself of the effect his scent and his body had on me. I had to keep my wits about me. “But what about our feeding? You need to eat, don’t you?”
His reply was not hurried. His gaze ticked down my body and back up again, as if he were assessing me. “I’m not hungry.”
I squinted, recalling what Lady Okeri had said to Tyson. “But you look weak.”
“I assure you, I amnotweak, Miss Donadieu. Now, if you’ll be so good as to follow me.”
I bit my lip, trying to think. I needed to act. I’d already drank the sleeping draught. Desperately, I reached for his hand. His skin, while cool, was rough and calloused from days in the saddle. I lifted it to my neck. The fire crackled. The muffled sounds of those still drinking could be heard below.
“Your Grace” I said, “Please. Let me do my job.”
“Your heart is racing. I can feel it.” His thumb skated across my throat. “Just here.”
He leaned in, and I had no idea what he meant to do.Just bite me,I thought. But he didn’t. He just got closer. And closer. Until my only thoughts were of his lips and how desperately I wanted to feel them against mine. A terrible, awful thing to think.
Bastien dropped his hand from my throat. “I said,follow me.”
