skin, even as he began to move his mouth along my throat in a half caress, half nibbling motion. His teeth added just the promise of sting, and I wasn’t clenching my ass or my pussy in anticipation of that bite.
No, I absolutely wasn’t.
“The last son of a bitch who bit me nearly drained me to death,” I said in as icy a controlled tone as I could manage given the conflicting messages of ‘no’ and ‘oh fuck yes’ my body seemed to be giving out. The musk of his desire scented the air heavily around me, a cloud of choking testosterone and something so very decadently other that I had to fight against sucking it in greedily.
Whatever he was, he smelled divine.
It, I mentally corrected. It. Not he.
A pause, then a soft kiss and the rasp of his stubble against my flesh like he was rubbing his cheek against my throat. Fuck me, that actually felt good.
“What was his name?” The question slid through me, inviting me to answer, beckoning as surely as if he’d slid his fingers into my wet pussy and crooked them until I saw stars.
Stop it.
My traitorous body needed to shitcan those thoughts right now. I was not hungry, and contrary to all the lovely rumors about my kind, I didn’t just spread my legs for every dick I met.
Not even hard, hot dicks that would probably take some effort to engulf and would likely drill me until I saw stars.
Nope, not doing it.
What was the name of the fucker who drained me to the brink of death then force-fed me his blood? Not happening.
When I caught up to him—and I would—I planned to break his legs and then every other joint in his body, give him just enough blood to heal, then start over.
A few centuries of that, and I might get bored.
Asshole.
“You can tell me, Kitten,” Maddox invited in that sexy baritone. “I promise to share, but I’d rather end your maker before he recalls the persuasive power he might have over you.”
That made me laugh. “He can’t control me.”
The idea was so patently ridiculous, I couldn’t stop the chuckles shaking me. He lifted his head abruptly as I ran a hand over my face trying to suppress the mirth. The riveted stare suggested he’d never heard a woman laugh before.
How sad for him.
“All vampires can control their get, at least in the beginning. It’s how baby vamps are kept from going absolutely mad and slaughtering whole villages.” Then he seemed to consider it and shrugged. “Unless, of course, that’s what you want to happen. Beyond that, only the most powerful can control another vamp.”
“The prince of the city couldn’t control me, sugar, trust me. My so-called maker couldn’t either. Probably because, wait for it, I’m not a vampire.”
The gentlest stroke of his fingers eased beneath the hem of my shirt and caressed the flesh there. It was pleasant, not provocative, so I didn’t break his hand. “Are you sure about that?”
“Yes.” No doubt existed in me on that front at all. “Ugh, why am I talking to you? I have a bathroom to build.”
“Perhaps because I’m here,” Maddox suggested. “And you’re not shivering from the cold anymore.”
I hadn’t been shivering before.
“It could also be, I’m on your side and came to rescue you.”
“Well, you’re doing a bang-up job so far,” I remarked. “How’s that going for you?”
“Challenging,” he admitted. “Yet, you won’t hear me complaining about the time together.”
I rolled my eyes. Not charmed.
“Then what was all that growling and shackling earlier, hmmm?” Yeah, wiggle out of that one.
“The shackles, I apologized for,” he said, catching my hand and lifting it to press his lips against my wrist.
“Not that I heard.”
“No?” A tease.
“No.” I kept my tone flat.
“Hmm.” Another kiss placed right over my pulse point that had absolutely nothing to do with the tautness in my core. I wasn’t hungry.
Why was I getting all soft and cuddly?
Ugh.
I would not be one of those women.
Or even one of those succubi.
“Then please accept my apologies, Kitten,” he murmured against my skin, the vibrations sending little shocks racing up my arm. “The intention was never to harm you.”
“Huh.”
He lifted his head, and his eyes shimmered as he stared at me. Interesting. All pretense of humanity abandoned those slitted eyes.
“What are you?” I asked before I could think better of opening that door.
“Curious, Kitten?”
I jerked my wrist from his clasp and slapped his chest. “Stop. Calling. Me. That.”