chances.
“It’s great,” I said, setting Silver down. He immediately flew onto the couch and snuggled into the soft-looking cushions. Within moments, his eyes were shut. I must not be the only one who’d had enough of this day.
Ian came over and began to smooth my hair from my face, but he couldn’t get far since it immediately tangled around his fingers. Teleporting was hell on a hairstyle. My hair would look less disheveled if I’d been repeatedly electrocuted.
“None of this is great, Veritas.”
His hand stayed in my hair, while his gaze filled with an empathy I couldn’t stand to acknowledge. I tried to swallow away the new tightness in my throat. I didn’t deserve what was in his eyes. Not when I’d failed so badly by letting Ereshki fool me again. I’d put both of us in more danger than before, and that had already been in the you’re-probably-going-to-die category.
“I should start on a new protection spell,” I said, turning away to stride into the next room. It was a conservatory, and in another mood, I would have loved its windows-for-walls and bright white trim. Now, I hated it because the windows bounced my reflection back at me everywhere I looked. Still, it was better than Ian giving me none of the anger I deserved—and needed—to shield myself from the enormity of what I’d done.
Before I took my next step, Ian was in front of me.
“Veritas,” he began.
I grabbed him and yanked his head down to mine. Then I jumped up to wrap my legs around his waist. If I couldn’t avoid Ian, I could at least be sure he wasn’t in a talking mood.
He caught me, holding my hips while his mouth opened to give me a blisteringly sensual kiss. I sucked on his tongue, then dug my fangs in until I tasted the coppery-flavored wine of his blood. He rolled his hips, sending a sweet ache into my loins. Now I was thoroughly distracted, too.
“I’m going to bite you everywhere,” I breathed, dragging my fangs across his lower lip to suck the ruby drops that welled.
“Are you?” he growled as he untangled my legs from his waist, then dropped to his knees while holding my hips. He pressed his mouth between my legs and exhaled until his hot breath penetrated my clothes with its own touch.
An exquisite clenching had me gripping his head to hold him closer. He chuckled, and it went right through me as well, teasing flesh that throbbed to feel more of him. I tried to unzip my pants to give him better access, but he stopped me, chuckling again as he held me more firmly while releasing another deep, tantalizing exhale.
A cry left me when he ended that exhale with a lingering bite. My pants kept his fangs from piercing skin, but their skillful application of pressure sent ripples of ecstasy through me. His response to my cry was a deep lave that was somehow as erotic as if it had seared bare flesh. My hands trembled as they fisted in his hair. Now, I wanted him with a ferocity that made me feel as if I’d turned feral, and he hadn’t even gotten my pants off yet.
He wouldn’t anytime soon, either. I could see it in the sensually taunting glint in his eyes right before he lowered his mouth again. Another deep, molten exhale combined with more tantalizing friction had me shuddering against him. No, he’d tease me until I was mindless from desire, and as glorious as that usually was, I couldn’t wait for it. I had to have him now.
I closed my eyes, focusing on the part of him I needed deep inside me. Then I wrapped my power around that long, thick member and very gently pulled.
His surprised hiss felt like it went all through me.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a strangled voice.
I smiled without opening my eyes, pulling on that power gently again. Why had it never occurred to me to do this before? Erections were only possible when the member filled with blood. I could call that blood closer to the surface, until Ian was awash in sensitivity, making the barest brush of fabric from his pants feel the same as my mouth sliding up to engulf his cock.
Or my fangs sliding into its tip, if I focused that power more selectively while pulling on it a little harder . . .
He let out a hoarse shout, his grip on me tightening until I heard a