Page 20 of Crave Me

“Blood, darling.” My thumb brushed the pulse point of her slender neck. “It’s how we give fealty to Gold and Garnet—blood loyalty.”

I’d bled with my tattoo.

And now this beautiful creature would bleed for me.

Her eyes narrowed. “You said there were no other stipulations.”

“This isn’t an additional stipulation. I already told you—my prize is the chance to play with you. And in my world, that equates to blood play.” I wrapped my arm around her lower back, my hand still on her nape.

Her nails dug into my shoulders in response, her irises reminding me of liquid gold.

“You’re not the only one who bites, Goddess,” I told her, my lips curling to reveal my fangs. “So what’s it going to be? Will you accept my offer and bleed for me? Or would you rather test my power first?”

CHAPTERFIVE

NYX

This male.

This sensual, intelligent, calculative being.

Mmm.The energy around him pulsed in expectation, ready to strike at any moment.

“Because you haven’t crossed a being of equal or greater power yet. But now you have.”

Some supernaturals boasted their skills unnecessarily, entirely underestimating their contenders. However, this man—thisking—wasn’t overconfident in his assessment. Simply self-aware of his prowess and abilities.

It would be a decent fight.

One I would win, but not without effort.And pain. Not to me, but to the others around us.

Two powerful beings attacking each other in the street would not end well. And I really didn’t want to take this man away from his role. The air of reverence here wasn’t directed at me, but at him—the Gold and Garnet House King.

No one had interrupted our conversation. No one had attacked me after Vesperus had caught the single knife aimed at my head. No one had questioned him offering me temporary asylum either.

They’d all just accepted his word as law.

Not because he was a tyrant, but because they respected him.

This was the kind of male I wanted to know, and not just as a consequence of his intoxicating magic. Even now, I could feel it thrumming in my chest, beating a rhythm that begged me to take him, to accept him, toworshiphim.

No one had ever cast such a magnetic energy over me before.

And I desperately wanted to learn more about this foreign sensation. It was so new and addictive, leaving me really with only one option.

Accept his offer.

Which I’d already planned to do. I could easily play along and escape later, hopefully without causing too much damage to his kingdom in the process. Because I really didn’t want to battle him or the others. I just wanted to exist in peace.

And find my errant magic.

He’d offered me his resources. Why not see what that meant? Why not explore? Why not indulge in this attraction just a little bit more.

I tilted my head to the side, my gaze on him. “You should know that my blood is very powerful.”

“As is mine,” he replied, his accented voice a touch deeper now.

A predator about to strike, I thought, admiring the silver in his irises. It blended with the black edges, reminding me of a bursting star.Alluring. Tempting. Sinful.