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“I’m not going to kill you,” I repeated.

“Ha! Like I’m going to believe that.”

I shook my head and flicked my eyes upwards. Give me strength. “I’m not going to kill you.”

Maybe this time he’d believe me.

“Riiight,” he drawled, his eyebrows raising high above his emerald-green eyes. “And the gun is for what? Shits and giggles?”

Clearly, he did not believe me.

A flash of anger burned hot under my skin, and I could feel my restraint wearing thin. “No, but if I wanted you dead, I would have killed you the second you set foot in this alley.”

“What about Charlie?”

Yes, what about Charlie? That good for nothing, backstabbing petty thief. A snarl crawled out my throat before I could hold it back. “I will find him, torture and then watch the life bleed from his eyes.”

If Vlad were here, I’m sure he’d be giving me some cocky, sarcastic line about how stupid I was for going without feeding for so long, but there was nothing I could do about it now. It was forbidden to feed off humans without consent, or without a blood contract. And as good as this guy smelled, I wasn’t about to break the rules for him.

His sandy blonde brows pinched in an adorable little frown. “I have a question—”

“Why am I telling you all this?” I cut in, cocking my eyebrow. “Because, whilst I might not be killing you, I cannot let you go.”

“Wh-what?” His heart lurched in his chest and with it, the most wonderful scent hit my nose. Spices and fire and sex. A concoction that reminded me of long nights wrapped in sheets by an open fire. Familiar. Warm.Home.

My eyes dropped to the curve of his throat and fixated on his pulse point. His heart thudded so loudly that it was like a drum in my ears, calling to me. Interesting.

“You’ve seen too much,” I gritted out, but I wasn’t really concentrating on what I said. I just wanted him closer. “Come here. Now.”

His nostrils widened, his pupils dilated, and a subtle blush crept up his neck. Fuck. I wondered if he blushed like that everywhere.

“No. Please just let me go.”

I wanted to, but something was bursting to life in my veins. Something unquenchable. Something dark and obsessive. Something that just wanted him.

Mine.

Hmm… that couldn’t be good. Perhaps I was becoming delirious.

Not that I’d ever been delirious a day in my life.

“Please don’t kill me. I don’t want to die. I was just trying to help, and I didn’t mean to interrupt. I’ll just pretend I didn’t see anything. I mean, who am I going to tell? There’s only old Mrs Mickles who lives next door who has loads of cats and—”

I shot forward and slammed my hand over his mouth. God, his scent was even more powerful this close to him. I wanted to lick the length of my tongue along his neck, just to taste his skin.

I grunted. This was ridiculous. I needed to get away from him. I needed to feed and clear my head. Maybe this was just a result of malnourishment or something. Or perhaps a bad batch of blood.

Or maybe I was finding excuses.

“You talk too much.”

He whimpered, and the sound went straight to my cock.

“I know,” I said. “This won’t hurt.”

A spark of defiance flashed in his eyes, and I had to admit, there was something captivating about that little spark that burnt brightly in those green depths.

He kicked his feet out, aiming for my shins, but I blocked his hits. I thrust my knees against his thighs and slotted my hips against his, pinning him to the wall. His fingers clawed at the hand I had over his mouth, but it wasn’t enough to stop me. He was coming with me, whether he liked it or not.