Page 20 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

Which was why I swallowed automatically, completely under his thrall.

Ambrosia , some part of me registered. He’s giving me his blood again .

Not copious amounts like he had from his wrist, but just a little from his tongue. Enough to renew my spirits and stroke my senses back to life. I was still high on his essence from before; this just emboldened the sensations and made them that much deeper.

Was he trying to remind me of our secret? Or was he testing my resolve to remain quiet ?

I wasn’t sure.

And my mind refused to process any potential responses to the questions.

All I wanted was him, his mouth, his taste, his tongue.

But he pulled away, breaking our kiss, and slid his lips along my jaw to my neck.

His fangs pierced my throat in the next instant, making my legs buckle from the unexpected intrusion. A muscular band— his arm —wrapped around my back, holding me upright as his opposite hand remained around my nape.

I succumbed to him, allowing him to drink, dazed from the flavor of his blood and the pleasure of his bite.

My veins burned.

My stomach clenched.

And my thighs rubbed together to create necessary friction.

I barely recognized myself, this wanton version of me so different from the one who’d wanted to be a Vigil. She still existed deep down. Maybe. I’d search for her later.

Master Cedric’s leg slid between mine, his muscular thigh pressing into my heated center and giving me the pressure I needed.

I moaned.

He growled.

Then the mattress of my bed met my back, startling me back into reality.

Master Cedric still had one leg between mine with his knee planted on the bed, but his arm was no longer around my back. His hands were on my shoulders instead, pinning me beneath him as he pressed his mouth to my ear.

“Careful,” he whispered. “Prospects don’t react.”

His words sent a chill down my spine.

He’d told me to react earlier, to scream for him, to allow him to hear my pleasure .

And now he was telling me not to react.

He was reminding me of my place, taking away the brief glimpse of freedom he’d allowed from the university walls.

A cruel trick. A harsh punishment.

“Master Cedric,” I breathed, wanting to apologize, to go back to being his Lily.

But his palm covered my mouth. “Silence, Prospect.” The ice in his tone drilled a hole right through my spirit, leaving me hollow and frozen beneath him.

He bit me again, cascading a wave of heat over my form that threatened to thaw me from my frigid state. I clamped down on my lower lip to hold back my scream, the sound one of agony mingled with pleasure.

Tears filled my eyes.

My world spiraling out of control in a blink.

I wanted to lift my hips against his.

I wanted to shove him off of me.

I wanted to scream an apology against his mouth.

I wanted to dig my nails into his shoulders to hold on for dear life and beg him to take me back to his palace.

I wanted to disappear and forget him entirely.

All at once, every single desire mixed inside me, threatening to overwhelm my control. Years of training kicked in, attempting to push it all down, to keep me from reacting. But I couldn’t stop the lone tear from escaping my eye.

Master Cedric’s thumb swiped it away, his palm still covering my mouth. Then his thigh pressed into my core, causing electricity to hum through my being and zap my heart into overdrive.

It was too much sensation.

Too much emotion .

I was going to explode. Scream. Shatter .

His lips captured mine as I tumbled into oblivion, my body vibrating from the onslaught of fire and ice mating inside my veins.

It stirred chaos inside me. Burning. Shivering. Screeching for release.

Oh…

I cried out, but he caught the sound with his tongue, his blood filling my mouth and forcing me to swallow.

I gagged, coughed, sputtered, but he demanded that I take it, accept it, embrace it.

All while his eyes held mine, conveying some hidden message I couldn’t understand.

By the time he finished, my soul felt ripped to shreds. I couldn’t breathe or process what’d just happened.

He glared down at me in disgust, his expression one I would never forget.

Fury.

Hatred.

Sadness.

I trembled, not liking this turn of events at all.

He’d just ruined every kiss, every moment, every memory , we’d created.

Dead. Gone. Destroyed .

Just like my name. Just like my hope.

He pressed his forehead to mine, his breath feathering over my lips. “Consider this our final lesson,” he whispered, his words oddly sounding like a goodbye. Just like the way our kiss had started. A finality lurked between us. One I couldn’t quite define.

Because he no longer wished to play this game?

Because he no longer wanted to torture me?

Because he was about to kill me?

All of the notions were possible outcomes.

His lips brushed mine a final time, then he stood, his shoulders rigid, his gaze giving nothing away. He glanced once at my neck, and in the next instant, he was gone.

The door to my room slammed, sending a jolt down my spine.

My chance for voicing an apology was gone.

And now I had no idea what tomorrow would bring.

Another test? Another failure? More of his blood?

I blinked, my heart still racing in my chest.

Another chill swept over me, a sense of dread unfurling inside my heart.

Somehow, this entire exchange felt like my biggest failure to date, like I’d done something incredibly wrong. Like I’d ruined my chance at experiencing something more .

It’d been there for a second. A brief moment in time.

Leaving me with nothing.

Just a hollow soul.

A rapidly beating heart.

And the sense that tomorrow would become one of the worst days of my life. Perhaps even my last.