Page 34 of Love Bites (Timber Creek #2)
CHAPTER 34
SUMMER
“Anything else from Rhain?” I asked, zipping up my backpack. I packed light, hoping this would be a quick trip.
“He’s arrived in Venice, but the others don’t seem to be there yet. No sign of Malachi, but that doesn’t mean much. My best guess is, he’ll arrive with the Conclave, and they’ll keep him well-hidden until they want to show him off.” Max set his phone down next to his almost untouched eggs. “We’ll vanish to somewhere in the outskirts and then meet up with him.”
His fingers started tapping on the table, though otherwise he appeared calm. I slid into the seat next to him, laying my hand on his to still the tapping.
“He’ll be there. We’ll get him out.”
He managed a grim smile.
“Not hungry?” I nodded at his plate. After River had carried off the box of cinnamon rolls we’d made, Max and I had come back upstairs and I’d made a more filling late breakfast.
Max lifted a shoulder, but I didn’t miss the way his gaze flicked to my neck.
“Oh, I’m dumb,” I said on a laugh, and his eyes hardened. “You need more blood, right? Must take a lot of magic to get back and forth from Europe in two days.” Sweeping my hair over my shoulder, I tilted my head, baring my neck. “We’re in this together, Max. You need to speak up if you need blood.”
“One,” Max started, his hand on my jaw tilting my head back upright, “no one is allowed to call my wife dumb, so make sure I never hear those words from your lips again.” His hand trailed down my neck, over my shoulder, down my arm, and my entire body shivered at his words. “Two, yes. It does take a lot of magic.” His fingers circled my wrist, raising it towards him. “Three, I’ll never be able to ask for your blood, Summer. To ask for the life force that keeps your heart beating, to put my needs over your well-being.” His lips skated the underside of my wrist, and I had to clench my thighs together under the table. “But when you offer it to me so freely, Goddess forgive me, I can’t say no.”
His fangs sank into the flesh of my wrist. A gasp left my lips at the sharp pain that quickly morphed into pleasure, nerves all over my body lighting up as he lapped tenderly at my wrist, not spilling a drop. Max’s dark hair fell across his forehead as he closed his eyes, dark lashes fanning over his tan skin, and I let out a pathetic whimper.
My thighs squeezed tighter, an aching emptiness taking root inside me as my breathing quickened, my heart rate increasing.
I sat paralyzed by need, overwhelmed by wanting him, his closeness intoxicating. Each time we did this, my need for him grew until it was an all-encompassing thing, blocking out the rest of my logical mind. I wanted to lean over, inhale his sandalwood and coppery scent deep into my lungs, sink my own fangs into his neck, mark him as my —
Too soon, his fangs retracted, and he gently laved his tongue over the wounds, sealing them as he retreated.
Turning my hand over, his deep blue eyes met my own as he pressed a kiss to the back of my hand, murmuring, “Thank you, sweet Summer.”
I took a shaky breath, licking my lips and clearing my throat. What had just happened? I’d never felt the driving need to ‘mark’ anyone before.
“A-anytime,” I breathed, trying to blink myself back to coherency as Max set my hand back on the table. As I resisted the urge to reach out for him, to pull him in and push him down on my kitchen floor.
“You all right?”
Max had stood, and when I raised my head to look at him, the playful smirk and knowing look in his eye told me he was completely aware of the need coursing through me.
I narrowed my eyes. “Did you do that on purpose?”
“Do what?”
I gave him a look. He flicked up an eyebrow. “What purpose would it possibly serve to distract us both before the most dangerous day of our lives?”
Damn him, he had a point. Some of the tension had left me in the wake of his distraction.
“Touché, Monster Mash.” I pushed to stand, my chair scraping over the floor a jarring reawakening to reality. Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I jabbed a thumb to the ceiling. “Shall we?”