𝙒𝙝𝙤 𝙠𝙣𝙚𝙬 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙗𝙚 𝙨𝙤 𝙙𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙨?
Newly graduated accountant Cordelia Ashling has come to terms with the fact that her life is destined to be absolutely uneventful. That is until her parents gift her wi...
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I breathe in deep, soaking in the scent of Cordelia's blood thumping through her veins. It calls to me all the time, but it is nearly irresistible when it is laced with fear or lust. My teeth ache to sink into her, to pierce her supple skin and let her warm blood flow over my tongue. I want to see the way her body reacts to my venom. Will she arch her back or beg me for more? Will she enjoy the sting before the euphoria takes over? Giving into the temptation and finding out might be my damnation.
My lips move down her cheek and follow the curve of her jaw. I press them to her pulse, counting each beat. I swear I hear my name within the rhythm. Just a taste, one tiny nick and I will stop. My tongue slips past my lips, getting the smallest taste of her skin before she pulls away.
"We need to talk."
I slap my hand over my mouth and massage my aching teeth. The last thing I want is for her to see me losing myself to bloodlust when her mind is somewhere else.
But when I make eye contact with her, I see her mind is not completely somewhere else. She just wants to talk before we start back where we left off. It's the responsible thing to do. I admire her resolve. I wish I had more of it, but when it comes to her, I'm quickly losing control.
"All right, Cordelia. I'm right here. Let's talk."
She turns in bed to face me. She already looks better; the dark circles under her eyes have faded and her skin has more of the rosy tone in it I've grown to lo—adore.
"I met my dad in my dreams. That's why I was crying. I was telling him goodbye, and I wanted to make sure he knew I wasn't angry with him anymore. Because I was for a minute there. But now I understand why he and my mom didn't tell me. Elias, they thought this island was safe. He said that it would start wars if you all started killing each other. Is that true?"
"It is."
She runs her hand over the side of her face and into her hair. Her mouth hangs open, like she is searching for the right words to say. Our lives are so different in that way. She has so much to discover, and most of what this world and mine have to offer lost their effect on me long ago.
"What's happening are acts of war. What does that mean for vampires and werewolves and everyone else?"
I sink down on the mattress beside her, pressing my body closer to her than appropriate. This isn't the time to be sedating my libido, but I need some kind of contact to stay focused. "The trolls and warlocks will want retribution for their losses. If the ruler of the murderer's people doesn't hand them over, they will consider them in cahoots with the murderer. It will get bloody."
"Shit," she murmurs, and for a moment I am afraid she's going to jump up and do that thing where she paces around the room while she thinks and talks.
But she doesn't. She slides one of her legs between mine and tangles our feet together. "I have one question, Elias. One question that if you tell me you don't know the answer to, I'll leave it alone and won't ask again."
