Page 134 of Blood Day

I slipped through the water to stand in front of her, my hand releasing hers to grab her hips.

“I d-don’t know how to swim, Cedric,” she stammered, grabbing my shoulders.

“I know.” I pressed a kiss to her thundering pulse and inhaled deeply, loving the fragrance of terror surrounding her. “Your fear is intoxicating, Lily.” I wanted more of it, my predatory side growling with excitement.

She didn’t disappoint, her gasp a beautiful sound in the still night as I pulled her deeper into the pool and away from where she could stand.

Her arms circled my neck, her heart thudding rapidly against my chest.

“So alluring,” I whispered, my mouth still near her pulse as I used my legs to keep us afloat. “You would scream if I shoved you away right now, all your programming fracturing in your brilliant need to survive. That’s what my kind truly craves—that ultimate realization when a human realizes she’s going to die and her natural response to it. No amount of teaching can kill that instinct, Lily.”

Humans were trained not to react.

But it didn’t matter.

When faced with a terrible death, they always begged.

“The reason some stay silent is simply that they can’t speak.” My fangs skimmed her throat. “They’re either too far gone or drunk on pleasure, but inside, they’re screaming, begging to be saved.”

I kicked us to a deeper section where I could no longer touch the ground. She trembled violently against me. “Cedric…”

“It would be so easy,” I whispered. “One push. You’dscream until you gargled, trying futilely to claw your way to the surface, only to fail. My blood in your system would prolong the torment, too. A cruel death. One I wouldn’t wish upon anyone.”

I shifted my hold on her hips and her arms squeezed, her skin breaking out in goose bumps as true horror gripped her heart.

I inhaled again, my cock rock hard against her lower belly. “There is nothing more alluring than terrified prey, little flower.” I kissed her neck, my hands gently exploring her sides, prolonging the torment.

“Please,” she whispered, quivering in a way that made me want to fuck her right here, right now. She would cry. She would scream. She would end up coming all over my shaft in an exquisite display of fear-induced passion. Then I’d pull her underwater, just to force that sensation to build even more.

But that wasn’t what she needed for her first time.

It wasn’t what she deserved, either.

That would be an advanced course, one we’d try when she trusted me more.

I lifted one of my hands to her hair, fisting the still-dry strands and pulling her slightly back. “Take a deep breath.”

“Cedric…”

“Take a deep breath, Lily,” I repeated.

Her eyes were filled with tears, but she did as I asked.

Then I took us both under to dampen our hair.

She froze against me, her arms locked tightly around my neck.

I waited a beat, then kicked us back up to the surface and used the momentum to take us toward the waterfall.

A sob ripped from her mouth as she attempted to inhale.

It was a beautiful sound, one I shouldn’t enjoy as much as I did. But it was so filled with life and expectation that I couldn’t help indulging in it.

She made mefeel.

And while some of that feeling was tainted with regret at having stirred that sound from her, most of it was pure elation over feeling anything at all.

This little flower was turning me into a human, giving me a healthy dose of humanity and reminding me what it was like to truly live again.