Page 44 of Sold to the Dark Vampire Prince

“Yes,” she whispered in a rush. “I want you to. I mean, I want to feed you.”

Before she could help herself, her fingers reached out, threading through his hair. Alexander’s eyes briefly hooded.

“You can keep doing that if you want to.” Then he carefully positioned his fangs at her wrist.

Alex closed his eyes, and she could see his shoulders were starting to shake. Her legs began to quake as he moved in closer, gently nudging her knees further apart to accommodate the breadth of those glorious shoulders. Gods, she wondered what he looked like with his shirt off—

His thumb continued tracing her wrist and she felt another pulse of wetness at the juncture of her legs. She knew she should hate herself for being both aroused and terrified by what he was about to do, the animalistic power of it, but somehow… couldn’t. She wanted this. Wanted his fangs in her vein.

Just like before, there was a brief nick of pain, her legs going wobbly as her world threatened to contract. Black spots blotted out her visual field, followed by a familiar dropping sensation in her stomach. She knew she would faint, accepted it as an inevitability, and yet she wanted to hang on to the last fleeting seconds of feeding Alex for as long as she could. She wanted to feel the intimacy of him pulling from her wrist, to relish in the electric warmth building low in her hips and fluttering across her skin as he took from her in deep, rhythmic pulls.

She felt… woozy. But strangely, she hadn’t passed out yet. Her fingers continued teasing through Alexander’s hair. She thought back to the explosion on the road earlier that day. She’d encountered blood then, too, and hadn’t passed out. Was it possible there was something about Alex’s vampire venom that was making her more resistant to her fainting spells?

And then, just as quickly as he’d started to feed, Alex was withdrawing, sealing the wound closed with his venom and tongue.

“You’re shaking.” He swept her into his arms. “You didn’t pass out this time. How are you feeling?”

“A little lightheaded.” She reached up to tuck back a lock of hair that had fallen across his forehead as he laid her carefully in her bed.

“Let me get you some juice. I’ll be right back.”

Dani scooted to one end of the bed. It was a twin, the small room she shared with Evan already cramped between their belongings. She’d just tucked her legs beneath her and was examining the puncture marks on her wrist when Alex slipped back into the room.

“I wasn’t sure if you had a favorite, so I brought apple and orange.”

Dani scooted over to make more room, and reached out to take the apple. “I like both. We don’t often have juice. It’s a special treat.”

“Of course.” He looked down. “That was insensitive of me. I didn’t think.”

“We come from very different worlds.” She took a sip of her juice. “Evan and I had to grow up very quickly after our parents died. There wasn’t time for boys or relationships.” She toyed with the bottle cap. “We were so busy surviving that I didn’t have time to think about first kisses or what I might have liked to experience if I was attracted to someone. I haven’t ever been with anyone before.”

“And you’re very sure you still want to go through with this?” he asked softly. “I know you must think the worst of vampires, and with good reason, but I would never want to be with you, or anyone else who due to circumstances, couldn’t fully consent.” He leaned in, tracing her hair back behind her ear so that their noses were very close in the dark room. Dani felt her breathing quicken. “The moment you finally come to me, I want it to be because you’re dizzy with anticipation. I want you to whimper every time my hands move over your body, telling me where you want them to go. If you’re not ready, then we wait.”

“It isn’t that I don’t want to.” She took his hand in fingers that were now shaking. His thumb stroked her index finger encouragingly. “Only that this is very new to me. I want you to touch me tonight.”

“Then we shall go slowly.” He reached for her empty juice glass and set both bottles on the ground beside the bed. Mirroring her positioning, he reached for her hands. “That way you can tell me if what I’m doing feels good to you, and how I can make it feel even better. May I hold you? Your blood is in my veins, and I confess, it’s driving something primal and possessive within me to have you pressed close to me right now. But if that’s not okay—”

“Yes,” she breathed, heart beating faster. “I would like that very much.”

Stretching out on the bed, she pulled him down beside her. Snowflakes drifted down outside the open window. Alexander lifted one of his arms and after a moment’s hesitation, she scooted closer so that her head was resting against his shoulder. His hoodie was warm and smelled of the same spicy cinnamon scent. His fingers trailed lightly through her hair. She nuzzled into his neck, and he sighed.

“We don’t have to do this,” he said at last. “I don’t care what Sera says. I don’t want your first kiss to be something you regret.”

She chewed her lip. “Can I tell you a secret?”

He smiled, lifting her wrist to his mouth and kissing the slightly tender marks where he’d taken from her. “I adore every new facet of Dani Girard that I’m learning about tonight.”

“Even my saucepan?”

“I plan to have an entire set delivered first thing in the morning so you can brain me with them every time I come over. But do go on.”

“It’s possible that between talk of hockey, banned books and saucepans, I might have wanted to kiss a certain lawyer I know for some time now.”

“I see.” His thumb traced hers in the dark. “Not the prince?”

“Mmmm… not so much.” She reached up to smooth strands of hair off his face, gentling the remark. “Between talk of artisanal cheese and fae wine, he didn’t hold the same appeal. Or at least, not until very recently.”

“May I ask why?” he teased. “Other than his unfortunate debacle with that one press briefing?”