Sacrifice (Bloodline Vampires #1) - Katee Robert Page 0,46

of sheer desperation. I wanted it so badly; surely if it existed, it would have appeared before now?

I stare down at my suitcase. Am I supposed to get dressed again? We’re just going to end up naked, right? It seems weird to put on clothes, but it seems even weirder to just walk in there without anything on me at all.

After calling myself seven different kinds of fool, I pull out a short, thin robe and shrug into it. It’s as close to a reasonable compromise as I can come up with, but I still feel incredibly vulnerable as I pad back to Malachi’s room.

They’ve turned off the lights and added a scattering of candles around the perimeter of the room. I don’t know if it’s meant to be romantic, but it feels like I’m about to play sacrifice in some kind of arcane ritual. All three of the men wear lounge pants and nothing else. Apparently they were as hesitant to start out naked as I was.

All three of their attention narrows on me as I step into the room and softly shut the door behind me. It feels different than it has up to this point. I am painfully aware this trio are apex predators and I am one measly step above human.

I might not survive the night.

They’re going to have to be very, very careful to ensure I do.

The thought has a borderline hysterical laugh bubbling up, but I clamp my jaw shut to keep it inside. Malachi crosses to me, and I appreciate he’s walking human-slow instead of blurring. I don’t think my nerves can handle being startled right now.

He takes my shoulders and smooths his thumbs over my collarbones. “Rylan says condoms will affect things.”

I blink. Of all the things I expected, that wasn’t on the list. “What?”

“There’s magic even in our semen,” Rylan says from his spot next to the window. “It can’t hurt to add it in, along with the blood.”

I blink again. “That sounds like one hell of a line.”

Did he smile? It’s hard to say. Wolf nudges him with his shoulder. “You’re playing fast and loose, old friend.”

“No, I’m not.”

Wolf laughs. “Whatever you have to tell yourself.” He turns to me. His eyes are already crimson and his smile is more than a little deranged. “You ready, love?”

No. I’m not even close to ready.

Malachi steps between me and the other vampires. “Breathe, Mina.”

“I’m breathing.” I sound more like I’m wheezing. This is a mess. How am I supposed to get to some point of magical orgasm-to-end-all-orgasms when I feel so skittish, I’m half a second from turning around and running out of this room like my hair is on fire? I look up at Malachi. “Bite me?”

His eyes widen just a fraction and it’s as if my nerves trigger something in him. The strange expression he’s been wearing since Rylan showed up disappears and he gives me a slow smile. “Where’s the fun in that, little dhampir?”

It seems like it’s been forever since he called me that, but I can’t help leaning toward him in response. “This isn’t fun. This is serious.”

“I’m going to kiss you now.” He makes no move to close the distance between us farther. “And then Wolf is going to touch you. And then Rylan. Okay?”

Is he asking permission now? I’ve already agreed to this. There’s no reason to walk me through this like I’m an innocent. Except I am damn near an innocent when it comes to this kind of stuff. Having sex a handful of times does not prepare one for whatever this is supposed to be. “Okay,” I say softly.

“If at any point you want to stop, we stop.”

Behind him, Wolf laughs. “She won’t want to stop once we get going.”

Malachi ignores him. “Do you understand?”

Does he understand by constantly putting this in my hands, he’s stripping me of the ability to fully let go? I can’t pretend I’m just a butterfly being swept along before a gale-force wind, praying that it doesn’t rip me to pieces. It’s so much easier when you don’t have a choice, and Malachi insists on giving me one, over and over again. I kind of hate him for it. I kind of love him for it, too.

I take a shaky breath. “Yes, I understand.”

Instead of pressing me farther, he leans down and brushes a light kiss to my lips. And then another one. I’m so tense, a soft touch might make me shatter, but the third kiss comes