Page 72 of This Blood that Bonds Us

“Kilian’s true intention was apparent. We were never fearful of him. Kilian is an open book. He wants one thing. I knew he’d want something from me and he’d be hard to please if he didn’t get it. I didn’t provide much for him. My time with The Family was brief. I was changed only for service and never fullyintegrated like your brothers. Important enough for them to kill my mother but not enough for me to see their main operation. I was changed by a rank much lower than your brothers’.”

I nodded, thankful conversations with Dom didn’t require me to say much.

“I believe that’s the only reason Akira left me alive. He hoped that I would return. There have been many Legion lost to The Family and not by death. Akira thought of it as a game. He enjoyed turning Kilian’s men over to his own side.”

We reached the door to the library. Felix passed us in the hallway and grunted at me before I entered. Kimberly sat in an armchair with her hair pulled out of her face while she read and scribbled notes in her notebook. The tired ache in my body disappeared. She looked adorable in research mode, and I almost forgot about how stressed out it made her. She hid it well, but she was quieter in Alaska; she talked less and worried more.

“I’ll be right back,” Dom said, closing the door behind him.

Her eyes shot up to me. “Aaron. Oh my god.”

I flashed her a toothy smile. “It’s just a little blood.”

She didn’t smile. Only blinked a few times as she stood to survey me.

“What’s wrong?”

She stared with wide eyes. “It . . . I think it scares me to see you this way.”

“Oh. I’m fine, Kim. I have to learn how to deal with the blood loss. It’s good practice.”

“Are you sure? Can I help . . .?”

“That depends, do you want Kilian catching us in the library to be the way he finds out about this?”

“Aaron, you’re dripping blood on the floor.”

With a feather touch, she brushed the blood on my shoulder.

“Builds endurance,” I said, like the room wasn’t wobbly.

“Can you be quick?” Her doe eyes beckoned me, and all my blood rushed south. Shewantedme to bite her, and anything Kimberly Burns asked me to do, I really wanted to do for her.

“I-I . . . Yeah.” I pressed in till her back hit the bookcase. “Can you be quiet?”

She nodded, and I took her wrist and tuned into the sound of her pulse. Getting to drink from her was a gift. A grotesque, bewildering gift. My teeth tore the flesh of her wrist—the same wrist that held the scars I’d given her as a human—as I held her eye contact, and the heat of her blood filled my mouth. Her heart beat fresh blood into my veins, and I could see more.Feelmore.

A small gasp escaped her mouth, and I pressed into her again as a reminder to stay hidden. I wrapped my other hand behind her head so I could hold her while our hips crushed together. Something about the pressure of her always felt right. Like her blood did.

After a few more seconds, I licked the remnants of blood away. She hadn’t trained, so her wound closed quickly. With a quick kiss, I let her hand fall back at her side.

“You look so beautiful when your cheeks flush like that.”

Her smile was back.

“I just like this.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “I hate how much I enjoy this.”

The taste of her blood lingered on my lips. How long had I wanted this, and now I could have it? What was the consequence or reason?

She gripped at the hair on my neck. “You’re not the only one.”

The door clicked and we separated. Dom and Kilian funneled into the room.

“Ah, happy to see you both. Dom told me you want to see me. I apologize. I’ve been out at a meeting.”

“So, uh, we have something we need to talk to you about.”

Kilian and Dom shared a look.