he fed came to mind. Was he purposefully staying away from her because he thought she was disgusted by what she saw?
Perhaps she was, in a way. But beyond the instinctive fear she’d initially felt watching him blood-let, there was a new intimacy to their relationship.
He had let her see him at his most terrifying. A tiny shiver swept through her as she remembered how he had dared to hold her stare as he drank from the Solis female.
And the look that passed between them . . .
She lifted her head. “What did it feel like earlier? When you fed?”
He froze. “Why would you ask me that?”
“I’m . . . curious. I want to know what it is about the act that Seraphians crave.”
“No, you don’t.”
“Try me. I may not be as squeamish as you think.”
He sighed. “It’s feeling a weaker creature trapped beneath us. The power of holding their future in our hands. Having complete control. It’s feeling their heartbeat weaken as we slowly drain their life. It’s making someone moan with absolute, mind-numbing pleasure one second and fear the next.”
He was trying to upset her, but there was truth in his words. Her dry throat convulsed as she tried to swallow. “So the high comes from the act itself?”
“It comes from both. The magick in the blood we drain reacts with our deep-rooted predatory instincts to form a release, if you will. Call it bloodlust or something else, there’s truly no name to accurately describe the experience.”
Bloodlust. Considering what she witnessed in the tent, that name seemed more than fitting . . .
“And you enjoy that?” she whispered, already knowing the answer. “The power and control, the savagery?”
He stared quietly into the fire. “Do you want me to lie?”
“I want you to trust me with the truth.”
“Yes, I enjoy it.”
“All of it?”
The tips of his wings curled. “All of it. Deep down, beyond the veneer of manners and civility, that is who I am, Haven.”
She managed to stifle her shiver. “I don’t believe you.”
“Then you are a fool.”
“Stolas.”
He stilled at her voice.
“Come here.”
He was quiet for a long time. Every wild beat of her heart that followed reminded her she was playing a dangerous game. But the way that he had looked at her as he fed, the powerful longing in his face . . .
That wasn’t duty that passed between them. It was something so much more.
He unfolded to his feet. She watched him beneath heavy lids as he prowled over, moving with that fluidity and grace that once unnerved her and now . . . what?
Made her feel safe? No—not safe. She would never be truly safe around him.
There was a soft patter of sand falling against the ground as he shook out his wings, the play of firelight against his midnight and indigo feathers mesmerizing.
The flames at his back cast deep shadows over his features. “Haven, being this close to you so soon after feeding—it could be dangerous.”
“I won’t hurt you.”
He didn’t laugh. “For you.”
She lifted the fur, noting the way his gaze darted to the curve of her neck. “I trust you.”
A low chuckle more growl than laugh vibrated his chest. “You shouldn’t. You really, really shouldn’t.”
“How about this? I am going to tell you what I do know about you. For each statement that’s true, you come a step closer. False, you take a step back.”
“Are you sure you want to play this game, Haven?”
She stared directly into those luminous, teasing, dangerous eyes. “Yes.”
“Your naivety is alarming,” he murmured, but he nodded.
Her pulse was lashing her wrists. Every part of her felt raw, exposed—but he’d bared his soul, dark and savage as it was, and that trust resonated deep inside her.
Now it was her turn.
“You use your savage nature as an excuse to push me away.”
He didn’t say a word as he took a step closer.
“You push me away because you are afraid of hurting me.”
Another step forward.
“You crave my blood, my magick, and you feel guilty about it.”
He retreated.
“Okay, you crave my blood and magick and you don’t feel guilty, but you worry you will act on those impulses and that I will hate you.”
He reclaimed his step.
She dragged in a deep breath. “In Solethenia, after the ball . . . that wasn’t out of duty. You . . . enjoyed it.”
Even with his lips steeped in shadow, she knew they were grinning as he drew closer. He was at the foot of the covers now. His familiar scent of irises and