Page 24 of The Vampire's Mercy

He didn’t answer, waiting for me to speak.

Those eyes are too much…“Because I’ve never gifted blood before, and I wanted to try it.”

The king barely moved. “For fun?”

“Yeah.”

“For pleasure?” His expression was unreadable.

I swallowed a nervous lump. “Yeah.”

“I see. Just like most mortals.”

“Yeah.”

He took another step forward, his hands dropping to his sides.

He was taller than me. I’d put him at about six three to my six feet.

“Were you hoping to meet me?” he probed.

The purring tone along with the fresh wave of lust got my knees buckling as it careened through my defenses. I collapsed, but he caught me. On me within a millisecond, pulling me upright before my knees cracked against marble.

Faster than regular vamps by a lot.

Shit.

I sucked in air, his fresh, citrusy scent overwhelming me.

Oh, shit.

His grip was firm yet gentle, his face too close to mine. So temptingly close, those lips inches away, my body primed and ready for him. I needed him to tear these clothes off and fuck me immediately. Just fuck me beyond time and space. Tear me apart, put me back together, then do it all over again.

No. No. No. No.

Fucking no!

But my defenses were like a pile of paper in the wind. He’d got to me, rendering me useless.

“Drew?” he said, every cell in my body sparking with desire.

My limbs went soft and I went limp, my face colliding with his chest.

Oh, no. Oh, no. I’d become an insect lured into a trap like a fly to a blue snap flower. Totally screwed, no way out.

Something snapped inside me. A burst of realization, a mighty slap of reason. I was built to resist this shit, no matter how powerful.

What the hell is wrong with you?Those words thundered inside me, forcing me off the king.

I stepped back, standing straighter, breaking the surface of his seductive lake.

He raked a hand through his hair, still not breaking eye contact, his emotionless expression still in place.

I got back to myself, assessing the bathroom properly. Two windows, the kind you slid up and down. One open, cool air blowing in, the other closed. Seeing as the king blocked the door, the window would have to do.

Don’t play your hand yet.

I smiled, mentally brushing myself down. “Shall we go somewhere less bathroomy?”