Blood and Blade (Goddess with a Blade #6) - Lauren Dane Page 0,95
“I went to the ranch last night.”
He understood then. She’d seen her mother, or her Goddess, and that always seemed to tire her.
“It was a good visit?” He fervently hoped so.
“Yes, it was. I was a little at loose ends. A visit to the shrine usually helps even me out and get me back on track. It did last night, for sure. Are you rested and ready for tonight?”
He took her into his arms. “Rested yes. Ready? Well, ready as one can be when going up against an enemy he knows little about.”
“I can help with some of that. David put together a guide to Faeries for dummies or whatever you want to call it. It’s got bullet points and not one but two Venn diagrams. A lot of the information he’s distilled is very useful.”
“Okay, good. I...” He hesitated. He needed to go feed. Normally he only had to every few days but if they were going to battle in a few hours, he needed to have as much power as possible.
“That’s the other thing I can help with. You should feed from me.”
He blew out a shaky breath. “It’s not necessary. I can feed from a donor.” He knew the reasons why she’d made a vow to never let a Vampire feed from her again once she escaped the Keep at sixteen.
He knew what it meant every time she let him take a sip of her supercharged blood. He’d take her up on a genuine offer, but never one she thought she had to make for someone else’s sake. Even his own.
She brushed the hair back from her neck, tucking it at her back and tipped her head. Offering herself to him openly and freely.
He didn’t need to take very much. Especially because her blood was so rich in magic and power. It wouldn’t weaken her physically. He just wanted to guard her heart.
“I know you’re trying to talk yourself into all the reasons you shouldn’t,” Rowan said softly. “But I’m giving you the best reason to do it and that’s me offering my blood to you freely. Take it. I want you to.”
It was the last bit that dug in so deep he could do nothing but step closer to her and wrap his arms around her as he breathed her in.
Brushing his lips over her shoulder and then up her neck, he nipped her ear. “I love you, Rowan.”
Her sigh was satisfied. Pleased.
The sound was a gift. Like everything else she gave to him every single day.
He drew his aching incisors over the fat carotid on her neck, just breaking through the skin.
Her blood, thick and rich and full of the power of a goddess and all the Ancient Vampires who’d given her blood to save her life, rolled over his tongue and into his system, all but knocking him flat as he held on tight.
Her moan of pleasure was enough to bring his feed to an end. He’d taken a sip. More than enough for his purposes that evening. More than enough to strengthen their already brilliant, adamantine bond.
He drew the flat of his tongue over the wound, closing it, before pressing a kiss there.
She placed both her hands on his cheeks and drew him to her mouth. He feasted then, loving her taste, loving that she was his.
When they broke apart a few minutes later, his system hummed with power and their connection was bright and strong. He also had an erection and wanted nothing more than to dump her on the bed and fuck her until they both came.
Which wasn’t possible at that point because the phone in her back pocket had buzzed enough times he knew they were being called for something that needed attention right then.
“Give me a moment and I’ll join you out there,” he murmured against her mouth.
She growled. “We can ignore it.”
That made him laugh. “Your friends are as obnoxious as you are. If you ignore them too long, there’ll be a pounding on the door. There’s time for this later.” He placed her hand over his cock and groaned as she squeezed gently.
Her phone pinged again and she snarled a series of very bad words in various languages.
“Assholes. They’re all assholes,” she said as she headed for the door.
* * *
Horny as fuck and frustrated that she had no opportunity to go ahead and fix that, Rowan headed to the living room, reading all the texts that’d come in over the last few minutes.