Page 97 of Blood Day

I couldn’t stop studying.

I couldn’t stopcraving.

This was the worst kind of trick. Vampires were alluring by nature. It was how they subdued their prey. Even knowing that, I was a slave to my urges.

His stomach flexed as he added his boxers to his clothing pile, his arms bulging with power and tangible strength. I tried to focus on that perfection, to not follow the light dusting of hair from his navel downward, but my innate desire toseehim coerced my gaze into dropping.

Long. Proud. Hard.

Oh, Goddess.

I swallowed again for an entirely different reason. My throat courses had prepared me for a male of his size. But I suddenly wondered if I’d been prepared enough.

He reached for me, his fingers grasping my chin to tug my gaze upward. “Looking at me like that is going to lead to activities we’re not ready for yet.” His fingers danced along my jaw, then down my neck, before grazing my nipple in a light caress that made my toes curl on his way to grabbing my hand.

That touch might not have been on purpose, but it certainly felt intentional. And the underlying amusement in his dark irises confirmed that suspicion.

He tugged me toward the shower, leading me inside, and directly under the rainfall.

I closed my eyes.

His hand left mine, his fingertips trailing up my arm tomy shoulder and into my hair to brush the dampening strands.

“I missed you, Lily,” he whispered, his breath a kiss against my cheek as his opposite hand went to my hip. “This shower is for you. You make the rules. You tell me what you need, what you want. And I’ll give it to you, Lily, no matter the ask.”

Chapter 21

Lily

Master Cedric’slips lightly touched mine, sending a shiver through my being.

This was another trick. A game I didn’t know how to play. Yet his words lulled me into a soothing state, my entire being shuddering beneath the sudden change from tensed to relaxed.

It was as though he’d enchanted me with a few softly spoken statements.

I knew better than to accept them.

But some broken part of me wanted them to be real. To believe him. Totrusthim.

An insane notion.

A lethal one.

Yet I had nothing to lose. He’d already outlined my fate. Why not indulge and take advantage of this small offering? Perhaps it would be enough to fill my dreams at night.

Or maybe it would become the worst kind of torture.

A beautiful torment to haunt my dark future.

Was it worth the risk?

Should I ignore the offer?

Did he even mean it?

Maybe this was all just a way to use my yearnings against me. Should I give him that playing hand?

“Tell me what you want, Lily,” he whispered against my mouth, his fingers still combing through my hair. “Tell me how to make this up to you.”