Page 28 of Kingly Bitten
“I’m aware of the Blood Day proceedings and the allocations to different camps.”
He nodded. “And you think your two friends can survive that? Because that’s what will happen to them, or worse, considering their immortality. They’re glorified blood bags, Calina. Just like you. And the superior beings of this world are not kind to their food.”
He demonstrated what he meant with his eyes as he tracked over every exposed inch of my body. Hunger blazed in his irises, and I could tell it wasn’t just blood he desired, butme.
I shivered, the prospect of becoming his new toy making my stomach twist.
Lilith had frequently used me for my blood, but never for sex. However, I’d witnessed the act countless times. She had often thrown humans into the cells for the vampires and lycans to play with as a form of reward for their acquiescence during our studies. Those who’d chosen not to obey had been subjected to mental torture until they’d yielded to her command.
Just like she’d tossed misbehaving lab technicians into the cells for a lesson with the superior beings.
I’d never been subjected to that treatment, her punishments for me much more personal in nature.
“I can’t free them,” Jace continued. “And I won’t free you. But I can make their lives—and yours—more comfortable if you comply.”
He didn’t bother to voice the alternative, because we both heard it in his tone.
Don’t comply and I’ll make your life decidedly uncomfortable,I thought in an English accent that poorly rivaled his own. His voice resembled posh elegance, while mine was strongly midwestern United States. Or what used to be that area, anyway.
I glanced at the window several feet away, noting the balcony beyond it and the dark sky overhead. The humidity here was different, making my skin clammy despite the cool air brushing it.
It left me wondering where he’d taken me. A trivial curiosity, considering my situation.
Jace stood and wandered to a bar in the corner near the tall windows. Either he’d misunderstood my perusal, or my wandering eyes had made him thirsty. He filled a single glass with bronze liquid, took a sip, and sauntered toward me.
“Open your mouth,” he murmured as he pressed the rim to my lips.
I attempted to tell him I didn’t need a drink, but he tipped the contents over my tongue, forcing me to swallow. The alcohol burned on the way down, making me gag.
He grinned. “We’ll work on that.”
“Why?” I asked, my voice hoarse.
“Because it’ll suit a future use,” he replied, taking another drink from the same side of the glass as I’d touched with my mouth.
I shivered, the action distinctly intimate. Like we’d just engaged in an unspoken vow of some kind.
Which was entirely impractical and inexplicable. I hadn’t promised him anything. Nor had I agreed to a single term.
The edge of the glass met my lips again. I opened and swallowed, this time without the gag. A dark glimmer graced his silver-blue eyes.
“Already learning,” he mused, lowering the drink away from my mouth.
A jolt sizzled through my veins as the cool glass brushed my nipple. His eyes lowered to watch the movement, his touch clearly intentional because he repeated it with the other breast.
Was this meant to be some wicked form of interrogation? Or was he merely a predator taunting his prey?
“I almost hope you refuse to comply,” he murmured. “Your pale skin would redden so beautifully. And I would very much enjoy coaxing reactions from you along the way.”
The glass rolled across my skin once more, except this time he tilted the contents of it to spill bronze liquid onto my breast.
Goose bumps pebbled along my skin.
Then my breath caught in my throat as he bent his head to catch the droplets with his tongue.
Heat caressed my skin, his mouth an unexpected kiss to my senses.
Ohhh…
