Page 27 of Blood Day (Blood Alliance #7)

We would still have our month.

But now I had to find a way to alter her path. Because the moon chase could not be her future. I refused to allow it.

“Master Cedric,” she moaned, that voice going straight to my groin and igniting my need for more.

We’d only just begun our journey together. Then Silvano had robbed us of what precious little time we had left.

Eight months felt like nothing to one my age.

Yet those months had stretched on for what felt like an eternity.

I guided her back to the ground again with my fangs embedded in her throat.

She writhed in response, her legs automatically parting in blatant invitation. I settled between her thighs, my hand leaving her hair to move downward and cup her breast.

Much better , I thought, pleased with her body’s natural response to receiving proper meals.

She arched into me, completely lost to my bite and the endorphins flooding her system.

Another needy little sound left her throat.

I reveled in it and smiled as I sensed another vampire approaching us. He would have heard the slip in her conditioning. That would benefit me when I stated my desire to keep her for a month.

Unless he chose to take her himself.

But I doubted he would.

I’d seen his interest in another .

I lifted my gaze to find him only ten feet away with that particular female in his arms, her body lifeless. However, the hint of a pulse told me she was still alive. Barely.

“Are you going to kill her?” His deep voice made Lily freeze beneath me. She would recognize it since he’d been her instructor these last few months. “Because I think that would be a waste.”

The warning in his tone was unexpected.

Prince Khalid wasn’t one to care about frivolous deaths. He was a renowned assassin, after all.

When I’d called him with the news about Silvano’s demand, he’d told me he would take care of temporarily reassigning my classes. The university bordered his region, making it his responsibility to oversee.

But I’d been rather stunned to find out he’d flown in to personally cover the classes in my absence. I’d expected him to delegate the task.

However, his name on the schedule read as Master Khalid, not Prince Khalid , which left me wondering what game he was playing here.

He wasn’t like other royals. He tended to do his own thing and lurk in the shadows.

So if he was here, he was here for a reason.

And I really did not want to intrude on his plans.

I carefully released Lily’s neck and went to my knees between her spread thighs, purposefully holding myself in an inferior position to him as a show of respect.

“It would be a waste,” I agreed with him, referring back to his comments regarding ending Lily’s life.

He studied me for a beat. “Then she’s released?”

“No. I’m claiming her for the month.”

His dark eyebrows rose. “Oh?”

“Is that going to be a problem? ”

“Not at all,” he replied. “The palace could use more life.”

A subtle reminder that he was staying there now as well. And his bloodline made him my superior, too. Which meant I would have to share her when he asked.

I dipped my chin in acknowledgment of his unspoken threat.

He returned the gesture. “Let’s plan to have evening breakfast. I believe we have certain things to discuss. Eight o’clock sharp will do.”

“Yes, My?—”

“Enjoy your night,” he interjected, strolling away before I could deliver the formal acceptance of his request.

I stared after him, then glanced down to find Lily lying perfectly still beneath me. Her wide eyes were filled with a thousand questions.

And underlined with just a smidge of hatred.

I could work with that.

“Will you stand up with me now?” I asked. “Or do I need to pick you up?”

She lifted a shaking hand to her neck and the puncture wounds that had not yet healed. “I’ll stand.”

I moved to my feet first, brushed the sand off my pants, and then waited for her to follow. She was slow but managed to find her balance after a few seconds of wobbling.

Then she tried to shake off the sand clinging to her clothes and hair and nearly fell again.

I caught her by the hip and used my opposite hand to help her. She gritted her teeth but didn’t comment. And the look didn’t abate even as I combed my fingers through her long golden hair.

“You’ll need a shower to get it all off of you,” I said softly .

She didn’t reply. Instead, she closed her eyes for a beat and shivered. Her pale skin indicated that she was feeling the effects of her blood loss.

And the open wounds on her neck probably weren’t helping.

I gently pulled her closer and pressed my mouth to the bite mark. She gasped, her hands finding my shoulders for balance.

I sliced my tongue and ran it across the indentations, then I took her mouth and forced her to swallow some of my essence.

She didn’t fight me this time.

Nor did she bite me.

She merely accepted my kiss without returning it.

I grinned, liking this new challenge in her. “We’re going to have fun together, little flower.”

“You mean you are going to have fun,” she corrected, the fierceness in her tone surprising me.

I grasped the back of her nape, forcing her to meet my gaze. “No, sweet flower. It’s we . You’ll see.”

She narrowed her gaze. “I don’t want to play.”

“As I said already, that’s really too bad. Because I came back to this hellhole specifically to play with you. And I have no intention of changing my plans.”