Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 53656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 268(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
It was a new form of torture. And I was no stranger to torture. The closet painted with nightshade-laced paint practically had my name on it, no doubt unchanged since the day it was constructed, just waiting for me to get thrown in it again.
Anxiety clawed at my throat, threatening to make me choke on the blood I was trying to get down. The free hand in my lap trembled, and I instinctively reached down to pet Shadow’s fur.
Not Shadow’s.
Talon’s, I mentally corrected myself, but it didn't matter. To every outsider it was my panther, laying dutifully at my feet, just a bit of her massive body sprawled out over the floor-length gown that splayed at my feet underneath the table.
Talon lifted his panther head, leaning into my hand in a comforting, supportive gesture that I knew he’d never give me if he was in his human form. Chalk it up to playing his role incredibly well, the male had absolutely embodied Shadow, who I missed so terribly.
And despite knowing it wasn't really my cat, I was able to pretend just enough to combat the anxiety that threatened to ruin us all.
I had no doubt he could sense the anxiety in me, the bond between shifter and companion he’d created that first day sending him every little emotion as I felt it.
I could easily feel how hungry he was, and that guilt hit harder than watching the innocent human be used like a spigot.
Talon’s hunger was relentless, an incessant ache that made me wonder just how much he enjoyed feeding—it had only been a few days and I’d heard ancient vampires like himself could go months without feeding before descending into bloodmadness. And yet, he seemed to be riding an edge that leaked into my very bones.
I desperately wanted to take that decanter back to my room and give it to him, but I knew my mother had no intention of leaving this table until we’d gorged ourself on every drop. The evidence only further backing up my theory as she poured me another glass the second I finished the first.
I tried to shove my feelings away, both mine and Talon’s. His hunger was incredibly distracting, almost as much as the memory of his mouth on mine. The bastard could probably tell how much desire fluttered through me at the memory, and I honestly couldn't remember a time when I’d been kissed like that.
I'd had my fair share of conquests, but none had ever been so...raw. There was no love shared between Talon and I, that much was clear. We didn’t even have a mutual respect for each other beyond the forced pairing of this mission.
The physical chemistry was undeniable, and I’d been denying myself for so very long.
I was half tempted to beg him for a release just because it’d been so treacherous these last few days. We could both use some tension relief, but knowing him, he’d probably use the request as some kind of ammunition against me.
That’s last thing I needed.
My mother had been throwing around enough of that for a lifetime and it’d only been three days.
“So, you haven't had any luck with anyone else after your utter disaster of a failure in pairing with Alek?” my mother asked as we started our third glass of blood.
My stomach felt sloshy, so much so I had to set the half-full crystal goblet down on the table.
I slid my finger around the rim of the crystal coupe, doing my best to be slow to react to the insult posed as a question.
“There have been many interested suitors,” I said, rattling off a few names of the dukes and earls who’d tried to seduce me recently. “But none have offered the standing in which our family demands.”
Her eyes narrowed at me across the table, and she tilted her head. “Do you have your eye on anyone?”
I continued the circling of the glass, dipping my finger just slightly into the blood, and dropping my hand beneath the table, a move so subtle my mother didn't track it.
“There are a few I have future engagements with who I think will benefit our line.” I answered with the right words, doing my best not to tremble when Talon’s panther tongue glided over my fingers, lapping up the blood.
It wasn't even a fraction of what he needed, but it was all I could offer him at that moment.
A shudder ran the length of my body as he continued to lick my fingertips, the motion slow and deliberate and doing everything to make my core clench with need.
I remembered how that tongue felt in my mouth, shifted or no, and I hated myself for wanting him as badly as I did. Especially when I knew the male wouldn't blink if my mother decided to slit my throat on this table and have me for dessert. I wouldn't put it past the bitch.