“Can I set you against the wall here without setting off another trap?” I asked quickly.

The slight dip of his head was either a nod or he was about to pass out. I propped him against the obsidian wall. The swirling storm in my chest refused to stop.

“You’ll heal, right?”

“It’s cursed copper.” The words came out strained.

Panic swept through me. “But you’re a vampire. You’ll heal. Right?”

He strained to lift his head up, dull, hooded eyes looking back at me.

“Not without blood.”

I bit back a curse. He’d never make it out in this condition to feed. And I didn’t stand a chance at going out to get him an animal. Even if I could navigate the traps on the way out, I doubted that would be enough. He’d once said animal blood was barely enough to survive on. To heal wounds of this magnitude, it wouldn’t suffice.

No choice.

“Feed on me.”

It was hard to tell which of us was more surprised by my words. His eyes widened, pain forgotten for the moment while he took me in. As for me, all I could see was that moment playing over and over in my mind, the impact of the floor as I was slammed to the ground while he shielded my body with his own.

“Before I change my mind,” I said with impatience, trying to hide my urgency. Hadn’t I sworn I’d die before I ever let a vampire drink my blood? Not after that night. But here I was, offering, instead of leaving him to die.

“You’re sure?” he rasped.

“You’re bleeding out. I’m pretty godsdamned sure!”

The promise of blood roused him from his stupor. Still, this weak, he could do little to move from where he was propped against the wall. I sank to my knees in front of him, kneeling between his legs. I steeled my core, readying for the pain that would come. I’d endured worse. And he’d saved me twice over. I owed him a debt.

Was the debt really the only reason I didn’t want Raphael to die? He bent his head, red eyes glowing in the dark. Lithe fingers brushed my hair away, tickling my shoulder blades.

His breath burned hot against my skin. I fought a shiver. Fear? Worry for him? His hands gripped my shoulder for stability. I was grateful for the brace, because if he didn’t hold me in place I might bolt before allowing him to do this.

He lowered his mouth to my neck.

And I let the vampire bite me.

OceanofPDF.com

Chapter Twenty-Three

A gasp flew from my mouth when his fangs pressed into my neck, twin points digging into my flesh.

I’d expected pain. I’d braced for it as stoically as I could manage. And maybe there was some, the slightest pinprick.

But it was erased as a tide of heat rose inside me at the contact.

His fingers clenched my arms tighter, as though to hold me in place, but I couldn’t have moved away if I wanted to. My eyes shut as I gave in to the sensation. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced before.

Bliss.

That was the only word for it. I arched in his grip, urging him to drink me deeper. My chest pressed against him, my nipples pebbling into stiff peaks. My body warmed throughout, my thighs squeezing together as desire pooled between my legs. The only thing I knew was pleasure, and I never wanted it to stop. It feels so, so good. I’d give him everything just to have more of this.

Raphael abruptly shoved me away, ripping his fangs from my neck.

I blinked, the daze receding.

He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, pupils blown wide as they flicked between my neck and my expression. I slammed my own palm over the spot he’d bitten, but the wounds were already healing. Under my palm, my pulse raced. I tried and failed to tame my shallow breaths, leaning back on my heels as we stared at each other.

“Your taste… you’re without parallel.”

The words were a caress in the worst way because Raphael didn’t even seem to realize he’d said them. His slight rasp raked over my body, which still throbbed with need. I’d never experienced any approximation for what he’d just stirred in me, and all at once I felt lost.

I let a vampire feed on me.

Horror. I should be feeling horror. But none came.

“So did it work?” I demanded, trying to stir the panic I’d felt just moments ago while he’d seemed on the brink of death. It was like I was drugged. The frantic energy I knew should be there was just out of reach, while it was all I could do not to ask him to bite me again.

Raphael rolled his neck.

“It did.”

He rose to his feet and offered me a hand. I pushed myself up from the ground without taking it, trying to hide my sway. Of course, he noticed. To avoid meeting his gaze, I demanded he turn around, and I inspected his back.

Unmarred.

It was startling. I’d expected some healing, but this was… well, it was like magic. The skin appeared as though it had never been broken, had never taken a dozen copper arrows directly, even as his blood coated the floor.

We returned to the glowing hallway.

“Don’t open the Black Grimoire, but pick it up,” he ordered as the book we’d abandoned on the floor came into view.

“You sure it won’t set off another trap?”

“You removed it from its resting place. The worst of the protective magic should be gone, and most of it will fade once we leave.”

I lifted the grimoire into my arms, clutching it to my chest to avoid temptation. Its edges were stained with blood now.

“How do we get out?” There was no chance I could make it over that chasm again.

“That’s the easy part.”

The easy part turned out to be a secret passage that Raphael activated with a few careful touches of the runes on the wall. It led us down a winding corridor, one without the perfect angles of the rest of the temple. My torch was dead; I had to clutch the tattered back of his shirt to avoid stumbling. I fought the inane urge to spread my fingers over the freshly mended skin, as if I could convince myself the arrows had never been there.

That the bite had never happened.

That I’d never offered to let a vampire feed on me.

We hit what seemed to be a dead end just a few minutes later, but with a couple more touches, the barrier disappeared. Moonlight splintered past Raphael. I’d been about to ask why we didn’t just enter through whatever passage when I tilted my head and realized exactly where the opening led.

Into nothing.

More accurately, we were at least twenty feet in the air. Before I could ask Raphael just how we were supposed to get down, he jumped.

I shrieked and clapped a hand over my mouth, edging tentatively closer so I could peer out.

And there was Raphael. Not splattered against the ground, but standing tall, waving to me while the silver light of the moons danced through his hair and bounced off his skin.

“Jump down,” he called.

I shook my head, trembling slightly while I gripped the book for stability. Its gentle thrum of magic did little to steady me. Blame it on the blood loss. “I can’t! I’ll break my neck.”

“I’ll catch you,” he assured me. “Trust me.”

Trust a vampire to save my life.

A third time.

I jumped.

Air whooshed past me, blowing my hair away. I tucked my legs in and shut my eyes, bracing for death or at least several broken bones.

Contact.

But not with the ground. Strong, steady arms held me, one under my knees, the other supporting my back. I slowly unclenched my face, forcing my eyelids to open.

Raphael grinned down at me. “Told you.”

I blew out a breath, trying to calm my racing heart as I tried to process the fact we’d not only survived this crazy adventure, but we also had the lost Black Grimoire with us.

Raphael made no move to drop me as he surveyed our surroundings. I found myself relaxing in his arms, breathing in his cedar scent like I could wrap it around me and hold it close. The rise and fall of his chest was gentle, even if no heart beat inside it.