Something pushed against my lips.

Not a cup. Not glass or porcelain.

Skin.

Hot, male skin.

His hand grabbed my cheeks, squeezing the hinge of my jaw and making my mouth open.

Metallic, warm liquid soaked onto my tongue, bitter and sharp.

It tasted wrong.

My body reacted, trying to reject whatever it was.

Survival instinct jerked me out the quagmire I’d fallen into. Motor control came back, and I fought him off weakly. I tried to stop him administering whatever it was he force-fed me.

“Don’t be stubborn.” Cupping the back of my head, he kept me trapped. “Swallow.”

My gag reflex kicked in, not giving me a choice.

I swallowed against my control.

And winced as the full flavour of what he’d given me exploded.

Copper and salt.

Blood.

My eyes flew open, locking onto his.

“More.” The bed dipped as he leaned closer. The shadow of his face hovered over mine like an eclipse. His fingers moved to my nose, pinching off my air.

My eyes widened in panic.

“Another mouthful and then I’ll let you go.” He held his wrist tight against my lips. “Do it.”

I thrashed but was no match.

His blood trickled down my throat—

I swallowed again on reflex.

He let me go.

My stomach churned as I shot upright, leaning over the edge of the bed to retch.

He pushed me back down with an arrogant sniff. “You throw that up and I’ll kill you right now.”

His eyes burned with truth. His voice full of violent certainty.

I gagged and slammed both hands over my mouth. The surge of nausea rose fierce and hot.

“You’ve been warned,” he murmured.

Fresh sweat broke across my skin as I broke out in shudders. The world came back into blaring colour, sharp and detailed. My tongue dragged over my teeth, tasting iron.

He was too close. Far, far too close.

I almost gagged again.

He raised an eyebrow, daring me.

Doing my best to think about anything other than the fact he’d just fed me his blood, I blurted, “Why did you do that? What the hell were you thinking?”

Holding up his wrist, he revealed the decent cut he’d caused. A long thin line, red and sore sat directly in front of the silver cuff locked tight around him. He smirked at my shock. “Is this you trying to pretend, again, that you don’t know who I am?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I’m not pretending.”

His smirk shifted to a scowl. “Do you honestly expect me to believe that?”

“I don’t really care what you believe. It’s the truth.”

He leaned back a little, the first flicker of uncertainty in his gaze.

A long moment passed before he muttered, “You truly don’t know?”

A tremble went down my spine that had nothing to do with the fact that he made every part of my body come alive and everything to do with the fact that beneath his hate and fury existed a depth of pain and loneliness so vast, it mirrored my own.

It was the kind of agony that ate through skin and bone until all that was left was a toxic blend of wariness and hope.

He made it impossible for me to see him as a monster. I only saw a man who’d been caged too long. And for an impossible second, it felt as if we stared through the same prison bars.

He cleared his throat, breaking the spell and making my cheeks go pink.

Looking away, I fumbled with the blankets just like I fumbled with something to say. “A-Are you saying you’re finally ready to believe me?”

He sucked in a breath and sat taller, his eyes turning frosty again. “No. But no one can act as dumb as you for long.”

My chin shot up as indignation flared. “Your bedside manner could really do with some work.”

“I wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for my traitorous cat.” He glowered at Whisper who hadn’t budged from my side. “He’s the reason I saved you. If it were up to me, I would’ve just let you die.”

“That’s a bit dramatic. And pompous, actually. I wouldn’t have died. I just have these attacks—”

“Regardless. You’re welcome.”

“Why wouldn’t you have helped me?” I held his glower. “Because I’m just a rat to you?”

He scowled. “Eavesdropping on private conversations now?”

“Hard not to when you’re right here.”

“Careful,” he purred. “Just because Whisper likes you doesn’t mean I won’t hurt you.”

All those feelings he’d invoked boomeranged back with scorn. What had I been thinking? Any signs of fragility I’d seen in him must’ve been a trick of the light.

I smiled, a little unhinged. “You know what? Thanks for helping me in whatever weird way you did, but I really, really don’t like you.”

“Oh, look.” His smirk returned. “We’ve finally found something we have in common.”

Eyeing up the blood still oozing from his wrist, he held up his hand. “Fancy some more?”

“Not even if you paid me.”

He stilled, genuine shock making him frown. “You’re telling the truth.”

“And finally, you believe me.”

“I...I think you might be the only person in the entire world who doesn’t want it.”

“Want what?” My eyebrows flew up. “Your blood?”

He shrugged as if he didn’t care but...something pinched his eyes. Nervousness? Self-consciousness?

Who the hell is this man?

His confession that he’d found me noisy the other night—after just a few sentences—hinted he’d lived a very silent, very lonely existence, and...I had no explanation for how that affected me.

I couldn’t take my eyes off him. “Who are you?”

His gaze snapped to mine, narrowed and cold. “Still doubling down on not knowing me? Alright, let’s see how long you can keep this going.”

“Didn’t you just say that no one could remain as stupid as me and not get caught in a lie?”

“Sometimes stupidity wins over smarts.”

“Stop calling me stupid.”

“Stop acting like it then.” He bared his teeth. “And stop being so fucking infuriating.”

“As long as I’m infuriating, you won’t kill me.”

“Are you so sure about that?” He leaned forward a little, his gaze landing on my throat.

“No, I’m not sure.” I shuffled away and placed my hand on Whisper’s head. The panther chuffed happily just as Lucien’s eyes snapped to where I touched his panther.

Uh-oh.

His glare crawled up to mine and stayed there. “You might have fooled that dumb beast, but you won’t fool me.”

I pressed both hands over Whisper’s adorable flicking ears. “Don’t call him dumb.”

“Just stating the truth seeing as he fell for your tricks.” Inhaling hard, he snapped, “Tell me. How did you earn his loyalty enough for him to drag me here?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Liar—”

“Are you always this argumentative?” I snapped.

“When dealing with people who want to harm me? Yes.”

“Oh, my God.” I punched the blankets. “Have you not been listening? I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you. That’s the truth and no matter how much you suspect me, it won’t change!”

Silence fell, letting our argument fall and fade away.

Nodding once, he grabbed the hem of his black shirt and brought it to his mouth. A glimpse of his bare stomach had my insides clenching. Watching him bite the edge of the fabric and tearing a strip off it made me shiver with unexplainable things.

I couldn’t look away as he tied the makeshift bandage around his still bleeding wrist.

Everything he did made me feel tight and tangled inside.

He was the sort of beautiful that made common sense take a running leap out of the window—an ancient, untamed heritage of blended beauty and lethal edges. The sweep of his cheekbones, ink-dark eyes, and blue-black hair, made wickedly indecent thoughts come to mind. Especially with him on my bed.

My gaze dropped to his lips, hating the perfection.

His mouth was utterly indecent for a man who took pleasure in death—it looked as if he should take pleasure in other things. Carnal things.