A wave of euphoric dizziness swept over me as the high from his blood took hold. Under my T-shirt, my nipples hardened, and my clit throbbed between my thighs. Jesus Christ, it was like I’d just taken Viagra.
Ethan arched an eyebrow. “Tegan?”
I swallowed thickly. “I’m fine, just a little discombobulated. Vampire blood is like a drug.”
“Some people also describe it like an aphrodisiac,” he countered. “For both parties. That’s why I …”
“Why you pounced on me? Yeah, I got that. Obviously, you wouldn’t come near me otherwise.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Well, you’ve been pretending I don’t exist. This is the first time you’ve spoken to me in weeks.”
He didn’t respond. Instead, his eyes traced the curve of my hips. I’d been drowning my sorrows with a little too much food lately. Dad in hell. Ethan hating me. Theodore back to wreak havoc. Comfort eating was my only comfort. The local corner shop owner was making a fortune from the amount of Fry’s Turkish Delight bars I’d been purchasing.
“You’ve put on weight,” he commented.
“First, he ignores me, then he calls me fat. You really know how to boost a girl’s ego,” I said dryly.
“I didn’t call you fat. On the contrary, the weight suits you.” There was that flash of heat again, but it was gone in an instant. Carefully masked behind a wall of indifference. I wished I couldn’t feel his blood rushing through my veins, infiltrating my pleasure centres and making me feel like I could conquer the world. Vampires should bottle this stuff and sell it to humans. It would be incredibly lucrative.
“Your pupils are very dilated,” he said then, standing to come and inspect me. “Perhaps you did drink too much.”
“Just riding the high,” I said. “It’ll die down soon I’m sure.”
His attention wandered over me. “Describe it.”
“Describe what?”
“How my blood makes you feel.”
“Nah, don’t fancy doing that right now,” I swallowed thickly and closed my eyes, because seriously, feeling the way I did and him being so close, I was in danger of doing something stupid.
“I can smell that you want me.”
Tingles travelled down my spine. Oh, so he was trying to torture me via sexual frustration? Right, got it. There were worse forms of revenge. Also, two could play at that game. I had no intention of letting him win. I opened my eyes, braced my hands on his chest, and summoned a small measure of magic as I pushed him back. The extra force caused him to stumble and fall back into the bathtub. He looked furious until I stepped into the tub with him and sat astride his lap.
Normally, I’d never be so bold, but the blood high had taken over. I wasn’t myself. I heard him suck in a surprised breath as I leaned down and pressed my lips to the pulse pounding in his neck. My effect on him felt like a prize. A growl rumbled from deep in his chest.
“You must be feeling very brave to use your magic on me like that,” he said, a husky threat in his voice.
I pulled back and stared down at him. “Don’t underestimate me, Cristescu. I’m a formidable opponent, and I’m not going to roll over and play dead anymore.”
He bared his teeth for a fraction of a second. “You betrayed me.”
“True, but you were hardly a saint. You need to get over it.”
“Fuck you.”
I shot him a smirk as my gaze wandered down to his blatantly hard cock. “Yeah, it’s clear you want to. How embarrassing. Sorry I’m so irresistible to you.”
With that, I moved to climb out of the tub, but Ethan grabbed my hips and flipped us so that he hovered over me, a wild look in his eyes. Remind me why was I goading him? I was playing with fire, and I was only an inch away from getting burned.
“I should teach you a lesson,” he said, his voice pure gravel as he nestled his erection between my thighs. It was all I could do not to moan at the rush of heat that flooded me.
I bit my lip. His eyes wandered to the movement. I squirmed beneath him, and he groaned. My eyes locked with his, and a storm roiled in his gold irises. I wanted him to devour me and I wanted to flee all at the same time. The warring emotions had me all twisted up inside.
“Is everything okay up there?” Rita called from downstairs, and just like that, the weird sexual tension-filled