Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119694 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 598(@200wpm)___ 479(@250wpm)___ 399(@300wpm)
His eyes flash, and not with hunger. I see irritation in those red pupils.
“Don’t insult yourself, Julia. You are curvy—fucking beautiful. And yes—your blood carries the cure mine needs. I searched for you. I would have crossed a thousand worlds to get to you or to bring you to me.”
“There it is, again” I say, crossing my arms over my breasts. “You just want me for my blood.”
“I want you for you,” he says, and the way he looks at me—his eyes half-lidded with lust—makes me shiver. “But I won’t lie. I need what only you can give. The Sanguis Vita strengthens when you are warmed and pleasured. Drinking from you is the only way to break the family curse my father called down upon us.”
“Fantastic.” I fling a hand at the chandelier. “So I’m here to be your personal nurse and blood bag.”
He frowns.
“You are a Queen—my Queen.”
“Don’t do that,” I say, and to my horror I can feel tears pricking behind my eyes. “Don’t pretty it up. You can call me a ‘Queen” all you want but if you won’t let me leave, what I am is your prisoner.”
He starts to protest but I cut him off.
“Look, I’m tired. I’m cold. I’m naked in a bathroom that looks like Versailles and you keep saying I’m yours and I don’t even know if my cat ate his dinner. I miss him and I miss my crappy little apartment and my friends and my home!”
“It’s natural to feel some homesickness at first, my lovely one. But don’t worry—it will pass as we get to know each other.”
He puts the little golden knife back in his pocket—I notice that the wound on his wrist is already healed—and picks up the sponge again. He begins to wash me once more and this time he goes slow. He’s careful where the slime clings in delicate places, as if I’m made of fine china. I can’t help thinking that he has such big hands, but it’s clear he knows how to handle fragile things.
I try to hold on to my homesickness and my anger but as he washes me, I feel them slipping away. For some reason, things are different. I’m warmer now, for one thing—his blood really worked, I guess. But I feel other differences in my body too.
And then he puts down the sponge and starts using his hands, stroking and rubbing…caressing my bare skin. I know I should protest, but for some reason I don’t. Heat coils low in my belly, spreading outward like someone lit a fuse under my skin. Every nerve feels alive, buzzing.
His big warm hand massages my shoulder and it’s not just cleaning—it’s a caress. My nipples are so tight they almost hurt. I press my thighs together tightly under the water, trying to hide the sudden ache blooming there.
Oh God, what’s wrong with me? Does this have to do with that sip I took of his blood? I shift restlessly and the water laps at the sides of the tub.
“Easy, little one,” Lucian murmurs, his voice a soft growl and his eyes lazy with lust. His hand lingers on my arm, longer than necessary, his thumb brushing the inside of my elbow. “You feel it, don’t you?”
I swallow hard. My voice comes out rough.
“Feel what exactly?”
“The Blood-Bond,” he says simply, as though it’s the most natural thing in the world. “My blood has awakened yours. It sharpens sensation. Turns warmth into fire…pleasure into rapture.”
Oh my God, I was right—it was blood. It’s acting on me like…like Vampire Viagra. Great—just great.
“I didn’t sign up for this,” I say, but my body’s betraying me yet again. My head tips back as his fingers trail lower…across my collarbone…down between my breasts.
His hand is large and warm and he seems to be an expert on how to touch me—seriously he could teach a few of my ex-boyfriends a lesson. He cups one breast as if he’s simply making sure I’m clean, but then his thumb brushes over my nipple. A lightning bolt shoots through me and I gasp at the intense pleasure.
“So sensitive,” he murmurs, almost to himself. He strokes again, slower, more deliberate, until my right peak is tight and aching. “Beautiful.”
I’m moaning as his gentle touch sends sparks of pleasure through my whole body, but I know I can’t keep giving in this way.
I grab his wrist under the water.
“Stop! Don’t…don’t do that.” But my voice doesn’t sound convincing, not even to me.
Lucian leans closer, his breath hot at my ear.
“Don’t lie to me, lovely one. Your body craves me as surely as I crave you. You long for my touch on your skin. You want to let me suck these luscious nipples.” He squeezes briefly, making me gasp. “You want to spread your thighs and let me taste that sweet little pussy.”