“Somebody get a hose.” Endelle laughed, then her gaze shifted to Parisa. “As for you, ascender, let me check your fangs. You disappeared before I could see if everything worked.”
“I’m not lowering my shields,” she cried. “Because if that freak tries to invade my mind once more, I don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Chill, ascender. You won’t need to lower your shields. Now c’mon, because the caterer’s telling me our dinner is ready.”
Parisa returned to the cradle of Endelle’s hands.
“All right, open your mouth.”
Parisa obeyed.
“Now lower your fangs. It’s not rocket science, just think the thought.”
Parisa closed her eyes and relaxed her shoulders.
Medichi watched her tense suddenly and then he saw them emerge, sharp, pointed, and erotic. This meant one thing—his woman could take his blood.
A shiver ran through his body so profound, he actually took a step back to balance himself.
Parisa’s head swiveled in Endelle’s grasp. “What’s with the sage?” she cried. She sounded a little funny because of the fangs. She put a hand to her lips then closed her eyes once more.
Slowly she opened her eyes again, then her mouth, and touched her teeth. She had drawn her fangs back into her gums. “Well, that was really weird.” But she looked over at Medichi again and must have realized his present conundrum. “Oh. My. God.”
“Yeah,” he said, but his voice had dropped about an octave. His eyelids felt heavy. The wave of tangerine that hit him forced him to take another step back.
“Your fangs are working all right,” Endelle said. “But I think we’re going to need another hose. Jesus H. Christ.” She made a disgusted sound at the back of her throat. “Okay, you’re officially ascended. Let’s eat.”
She stepped away from Parisa and headed to her right, to the adjoining rotunda, her stilettos clacking across the marble floor. Her robe disappeared at the same time, revealing a leopard-skin dress. The warriors followed her. Trailing behind, Marcus and Havily argued in whispers.
“Babe, be reasonable,” Marcus said. “You’re protected because of the bond. Parisa will be, too, once she completes the breh-hedden.”
“Bullshit,” Havily whispered back. She quickened her pace and disappeared into the dining room.
“Babe,” Marcus whined, following after.
The ceremony rotunda was now empty.
Medichi kept backing up and Parisa followed after him, her gaze locked to his, her mind all but reading his. He backed up until he hit a wall and both he and Parisa were invisible to the other guests.
“I want a taste … now,” she whispered.
Medichi groaned and God help him, he was going to give it to her. Talk about playing with fire. She put her hands on his shoulders and rose up on tiptoes, her gaze pinned to his throat. With her heels she didn’t have that far to go, even though he was six-seven.
But he stopped her.
“Why not?” she asked, a squeak in her voice.
She stared at the vein in his neck, which throbbed heavily now. He wanted her to have it but he leaned down next to her ear and said, “If you take my vein I won’t be able to control what I do and I don’t think you want anyone finding us in here like that.”
He drew back. She blinked up at him. “Wrist?” she asked. Dear God, she licked her lips again, and the tips of her fangs showed.
“You’d better do it quick and when I say stop, you’d better stop.”
“Okay.” Could her voice sound any more seductive? And she was shedding tangerine like she was an orchard.
He offered his wrist. She took it in both hands, then licked a line over the collection of veins that showed blue. She looked up at him. “I used to watch you when you would take women into the booths at the Blood and Bite.”
“I know,” he growled. “You told me.” He should have been shocked. She was a good little librarian. Okay, maybe not so good, but it wasn’t helping the problem his erection was having with his tunic. He was making one fine tent out of it. Once more he leaned close to her ear.
“Lick it a few more times. Because you’re a vampire now, the veins will rise to the surface just right.” She obeyed him. Her tongue was small and wet, very feminine. He became a thin glass window that would shatter with the slightest pressure. “Yeah,” he murmured. He kissed her earlobe. “Now go ahead, do what feels natural.”
She did.
Her fangs struck and he hissed. The sharp sting, the knowledge that she had pierced him, that she could pierce him in other places, sent pleasure streaking up his arm and spreading like fire down his chest and into his groin. Then she started to suck, her head bobbing over his wrist. He groaned. He was so close to coming and she wasn’t even taking blood from his neck, for Christ’s sake.
She whimpered as he stroked her hair, her cheek, her chin. Antony, she sent, her voice plaintive through his mind. I can taste sage as though your scent flavors even your blood.
He wanted her to take it all, to drink him empty, to take the last f**king drop. The breh-hedden roared through him as if his life force was her food.
The scent of tangerines rose into the air around him until he was mindless. Antony, I don’t think I can stop. And I want you. I want you between my thighs … now.
He didn’t want to stop, either, but the voice that had been seductive had turned deep and guttural, more animal than woman. Dammit, he should have waited until they were back at the villa. He tried to speak, then thought—Why not let her have a few more swallows? He put his palm on her neck, riding the sucking bobs of her head, then moved in close and ground his erection against her hip. She made mewling sounds now and sucked harder. Dammit. For a terrible moment, he actually considered turning her into the wall and penetrating her. He knew she’d welcome him.
With a will that came from the simple knowledge that a room full of people waited for them, he used his free hand and slid a finger into her mouth. As soon as he broke the suction of her lips, she withdrew her fangs and took a deep breath.
His wrist was reddened from the sucking. He smiled. He’d wear it as a badge tonight. He wished it was possible to create a scar so that he’d always have a reminder of this moment. It was the rare scar that stuck, though, in the ascended world.
He held her close.
“I feel dizzy.”
“Sharing blood like this will do it.”
“All I could think about was how much I needed the rest of your body. How much I want you inside me.”