Page 92 of Blood Day: Part One
I dipped my chin in acknowledgment of his unspoken threat.
He returned the gesture. “Let’s plan to have evening breakfast. I believe we have certain things to discuss. Eight o’clock sharp will do.”
“Yes, My—”
“Enjoy your night,” he interjected, strolling away before I could deliver the formal acceptance of his request.
I stared after him, then glanced down to find Lily lying perfectly still beneath me. Her wide eyes were filled with a thousand questions.
And underlined with just a smidge of hatred.
I could work with that.
“Will you stand up with me now?” I asked. “Or do I need to pick you up?”
She lifted a shaking hand to her neck and the puncture wounds that had not yet healed. “I’ll stand.”
I moved to my feet first, brushed the sand off my pants, and then waited for her to follow. She was slow but managed to find her balance after a few seconds of wobbling.
Then she tried to shake off the sand clinging to her clothes and hair and nearly fell again.
I caught her by the hip and used my opposite hand to help her. She gritted her teeth but didn’t comment. And the look didn’t abate even as I combed my fingers through her long golden hair.
“You’ll need a shower to get it all off of you,” I said softly.
She didn’t reply. Instead, she closed her eyes for a beat and shivered. Her pale skin indicated that she was feeling the effects of her blood loss.
And the open wounds on her neck probably weren’t helping.
I gently pulled her closer and pressed my mouth to the bite mark. She gasped, her hands finding my shoulders for balance.
I sliced my tongue and ran it across the indentations, then I took her mouth and forced her to swallow some of my essence.
She didn’t fight me this time.
Nor did she bite me.
She merely accepted my kiss without returning it.
I grinned, liking this new challenge in her. “We’re going to have fun together, little flower.”
“You meanyouare going to have fun,” she corrected, the fierceness in her tone surprising me.
I grasped the back of her nape, forcing her to meet my gaze. “No, sweet flower. It’swe. You’ll see.”
She narrowed her gaze. “I don’t want to play.”
“As I said already, that’s really too bad. Because I came back to this hellhole specifically to play with you. And I have no intention of changing my plans.”
Chapter20
Lily
“Follow me,Prospect. One step out of line and I’ll assume that means you prefer to be carried.” Master Cedric’s words wrapped around me like a noose, yanking me forward as though he held the end of my leash.
Mostly because I was too busy processing his earlier words to fight my instinct to obey.
“I came back to this hellhole specifically to play with you.”
