Page 23 of Blood Lord

"Oh, Raziel," I warn him.

"More?" he asks.

Without waiting for a reply, his thumb presses to my clit harder, and he releases his hold on my hip to lean down. He brings his mouth to my breast, suckling at my nipple before I feel that sharp pinch and another dose of euphoria floods my veins.

I'm so drunk on him that I feel dizzy. I explode, coming harder than I ever have, and I vaguely realize that Raziel has thrust all the way into me, drinking me as he finishes.

It's so erotic that another orgasm rolls through me as another wave of that pleasure hits, and he unlatches as I clench around him. My eyes roll back in my head, and he smooths my hair back, whispering in my ear, "Rest now. I don't want to overwork your body."

I don't have a choice to argue with him as I fall asleep.

13

Raziel

Selene passed out almost immediately after I retracted my fangs. I don't blame her. I know that it is a lot to handle for a human, and I've never seen one so eager to be bitten. It thrills me to my core, and I don't want to push her too hard.

I don't want that pleasure-filled pain to lose its spark.

I want her to crave me. Like I already do her.

I smooth her hair back, mesmerized by the white-blond strands. They're as icy as my skin, and they slip through my fingers as I brush out her hair softly. A small voice in the back of my head remarks how she already looks like a vrakken.

Why not make her one?

I squash the thought immediately, and a hard lump forms in my throat. My fingers trail around her warm skin, feeling the life thrumming there, and it strikes me hard as I remind myself that I am a dead man walking.

My chest aches as I stare down at Selene's beautiful face, and my desire for her is unmatched—no matter how hard a small voice in the back of my head tries to put an end to it.

When I told her I was a vrakken, I didn't expect her to take it so well. I thought she was going to run in fear or reject me or in some way tell me I'm a monster. A creature more powerful than the dark elves that are forced into the shadows and feeds from her? It sounds terrifying.

But Selene took in a stride, accepting me with open arms and curiosity. I've never been regarded that way, not by other vrakken or humans when they were more abundant. I've either been treated as the predator I am or with thinly veiled apathy.

Even more surprising than that, Selene accepted my feeding of her without a bat of an eye. She had no problem giving herself over to me, even encouraging it. I know that a large part of that is due to the pleasure it brings her, but it is still shocking to me that she was unbothered by natural state.

I sigh softly, trailing my fingers down her naked back. "Why do you accept me so easily?" I whisper. It's something I've never known, and it strikes me deep to my core.

Never let her go.

The thought jolts through me, and I gasp at the very thought. This human has been so drawn in, and now that I know what it is like to taste her, to be with her, I can't give that up. I know that she has to remain above ground, but I am suddenly desperate to find some way around that.

As I've aged, I've found that my interests fade quickly, any new emotion vanishing as quickly as it had come. I thought the same would happen with Selene. She drew me in immediately, filling me to the brim with new experiences, and I'm still overflowing. None of that has dwindled, and I start to wonder how long these emotions will stay.

Are they impervious to my apathy as an unaging being? Is there something that transcends the loneliness of eternity?

If so, I think I found it, and it has changed my whole world.

She has brought out more life in the world around me. I remember the way that being Changed shifted my senses: everything was more intense, more vibrant. After we discovered the wildsponts, I was overwhelmed with how bright they were and free flowing with magic.

And yet, that all pales to how the world looks now that I've met Selene.

It's like, because of her, the world looks richer in color. The air tastes sweeter, and I feel lighter. She's lifted weights off of me I didn't know were there, and all just by being herself.

I've never felt anything like this before, and while I already felt fiercely protective of her before—hence, the dead human—I now couldn't even imagine letting her out of my sight. Just the thought of being without her makes my chest start to cave in.

Holy First, I think I'm falling in love.

Me, a vrakken. I am falling in love with my fated prey, and while I know that can be a deadly game, I can't think of a single reason I'd want to squash this new life she has breathed into me.

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