Page 42 of Kingly Bitten

Probably something about the vampiric ability to subdue prey—a fact he’d more than proven in the shower. Because I would have done anything to continue feeling like that in his arms.

His mouth sealed over my pulse, his teeth touching my skin.

My heart skipped a beat as he pierced my vein with effortless ease, like my throat was his to claim. He growled, the predator in him reveling in my taste.

Then his palm skimmed my hip on his way to the apex between my thighs.

I waited with bated breath to feel that erotic touch, and he didn’t disappoint, his finger sliding between my folds and drawing exquisite pleasure from my flesh.

It felt like a dream. It probably was one. A fantasy I never knew I desired. But oh, how I desired it now.

This vampire was dangerous. He’d taken over my thoughts. Consumed me. Derailed my focus. Possessed me in a manner so foreign that I wasn’t sure how to fight him.

Predator, my mind whispered.Apex predator.

I knew this.

Yet I succumbed to his touch anyway.

Maybe because I’d never experienced anything like this. Lilith’s hands were tools she’d used to hurt me and others.

Jace… his hands… they wereaddictive.

His mouth worked against my throat, but not harshly. It was just like in the shower, where he’d drunk in slow, measured motions.

Unlike the way he’d struck me in Bunker 47.

Why?I wanted to ask.Why are you doing this?

But my lips refused me.

And in the next moment, I was moaning out a release that pulsated through every ounce of my being. I felt him grin into my neck, his teeth no longer embedded in my skin.

“Why?” I rasped, trying to recall the exact phrasing of my question, my body on fire and trembling violently.

“Why?” he repeated against my ear. “Why am I giving you pleasure?”

I tried to nod but found myself too blissed out to move properly. He must have sensed me trying because his smile grew.

“There is nothing I enjoy more in this world than hearing a woman moan like that upon waking up,” he murmured, kissing the space right below my ear. “Did it help in your analysis?”

I blinked. “Analysis?”

“Yes, the one tied to your theory about your arousal.” He nudged me onto my back and went to his elbow beside me, his icy blue eyes glittering with amusement as he stared down at me. “You stated last night that your arousal is a result of me being a vampire. Remember?”

This time my neck worked a little, allowing me to dip my chin. Because yes, I recalled the statement. However, I didn’t understand why that caused him to be so… so… I couldn’t find the word. Kind, maybe? Nice? Attentive?Interested? He’d already subdued me, yet he’d barely taken any blood from my vein.

What was the point?

“Has our experiment proven that theory correct?” he asked, drawing me back to our conversation. “Or do you wish to revise your assessment?”

Experiment?I thought, frowning.Is that what this is? An experiment?“Why?”

He studied me. “I disagree with your hypothesis and intend to prove it false.”

“But why?” Why did such a trivial thing matter to him? I was beneath him. My opinion shouldn’t matter. Lilith had never cared for anything I’d had to say unless it’d been in regard to a scientific finding. And even then, she’d hardly accepted my word at face value. I’d had to prove it through a brand-new test while she’d observed.

His palm drifted from my lower belly up to the side of my face, cupping my cheek. “Because I find it offensive that you think the only reason you’re turned on by my presence is because I’m a vampire. That may play into it, but the rest is all me.”