me. Letting it drop to the floor beside his head, I look back at his pale face and smile, no doubt my mouth and teeth covered in the bright red blood, which is currently pumping from his neck.
He gasps, his eyes wide and filled with fear, and that knowing look people get when they realise they are dying and there’s nothing they can do to stop it. They finally understand the fragility of life and how easy it is to snuff out. This man craved power and money, and it won’t help him while he bleeds to death in the back alley of his own club.
“Messy, but effective,” Griffin drawls, and I look over to see him leaning against the building, watching me as I hover over Marco’s cooling body. His breath is rattling now, his body fighting as it dies and decays beneath me.
I don’t know whether it’s the blood, pain, or even the killing, but it calls to me, making me act on instinct. At the moment, that instinct is geared towards Griffin, a call pulling between us.
His eyes round as I fling myself at him, leaving Marco to die alone. Unlike Nos, he doesn’t catch me. He grunts as I hit his body, climb up him, and wrap my arms and legs around him.
“Whoa, Dawn, look at me. This is just the power, death is heady, it brings out our baser instincts for any monster. Just breathe,” he says, but his hands slip to my arse and hold me to him.
Licking my lips, I watch him like he is the prey and his eyes narrow dangerously, that mist and smoke reappearing in his gaze. “Vasculo,” he warns, his voice pained like he’s fighting his own instincts, but I don’t. It might be stupid, it might be wrong, but they haven’t led me awry since my rebirth. Life is fleeting, why not just go with it?
Licking down his neck, leaving a blood trail behind, I taste the sweat and flavour that is just Griffin. It explodes in my mouth like the sweetest wine, making me groan.
“You taste like smoke and magic,” I murmur and he groans, the sound rolling through me and making me shiver.
“Dawn.” The way he chokes my name out is like a plea, but for mercy or more, I’m not sure.
Trailing my tongue across his cheek, I hover over his lips. He might look like an angel but he tastes like sin, and I’m craving more. I wait there, our breathes mixing as we both freeze.
“Griffin,” I murmur and he groans. His hand reaches up and cups the back of my head, his fingers weaving into my hair as he yanks me to him, closing that distance and kissing me.
My lips part and he sweeps his tongue in, the taste of blood mixing with him and making me moan and rub against him. He kisses me hard, dominant, like it’s our first and last, and before I know it he yanks me away and drops me to the ground, backing away from me. His chest heaves, his eyes are dark, and Marco’s blood paints his mouth.
I hear a noise behind me and spin, crouching down ready to spring at the encroaching person, but I freeze at the sight of Nos. He’s framed by the alley light, watching me with glowing, white eyes, and his body is vibrating with the need to change.
“Little Monster,” he growls, and I straighten as he strides towards me, completely ignoring Griffin. Did he see us kissing? Will he care?
He doesn’t stop until we are pressed together, his hand touching me gently, almost reverently, as he cups my chin and raises my head until I meet his eyes.
Watching me intently, he sweeps his thumb across my lips and lifts it away, showing me the blood. I swallow hard and watch in rapt fascination as he sucks it into his mouth.
“What have you been up to, Little Monster?” he whispers seductively. He lifts his head and grins when he spots the body of the dead mobster on the alley ground.
Then his eyebrow arches as he looks at Griffin. “Fallen,” he greets, nodding his head, but I see his eyes twitch and clench.
Fallen? Like Fallen angel?
I look over at Griffin to see his face wiped clean, his hands by his side in a stance ready to fight as he eyes Nos. It’s clear he doesn’t know what he is and he doesn’t like that, or maybe it’s the fact that Nos is touching