Page 47 of Havenfall Harbor
“Quite well, they didn’t call us creatures of the night for nothing.” I can hear the smile in his words. He’s teasing me.
“Creepy might be a better word for it, if you were watching me sleep.” I bite my bottom lip. This feels good, friendly even.
“I had to do something, you made me promise, after all.” Griffin’s voice grows softer, but closer.
I lick my lips, wishing my mouth wasn’t so dry. “You stayed?” I can hear the vulnerability in my tone.
Griffin hums his answer, and I feel the edge of the bed shift. “Do you remember that situation we talked about?” My head tips back as I feel him grow nearer.
“Yes,” I reply, and it comes out more like a breathy sigh.
“Well, I could fix it for you.”
“What, my situation? I don’t even know what it is.” He’s close now, close enough I can feel the heat from his body.
“You’ve never been bitten.” Griffin’s breath stirs my hair.
“That’s the situation?” I whisper incredulously.
“It’s very distracting, everything about you drives me to distraction.” Fingers trail over my cheek and I jump a little, startled by his touch.
“I mean, that’s…Isn’t that kind of weird that you know that? Is there some sort of vampire virgin signal I’m broadcasting?” I pat down the blankets over my legs. My heart kicks up a bit.
“It’s obvious to me, so I’m sure there are others.” Griffin continues to trail his finger down my jaw.
“I, um, so you want to bite me or…?” I leave the question open-ended. I’m not really sure what’s happening right now. But I’m not really opposed to the idea. I shift my legs. “That will somehow help?”
Griffin
Holy hell.Hundreds of years of near perfect control and this one woman is about to break me. I knew insisting she stay here, in my bed, was a mistake, but I can’t even pretend to regret it. Quinn’s blue eyes are wide, searching, but I don’t sense an ounce of fear from her. Quite the opposite.
Will biting her help? Fuck yes it will. It will let every vampire know she belongs to me. But I don’t think that was what she had in mind when she asked.
She’s so damn trusting. I could have tasted her while she slept, and she would have never known. But I want her to want it at least half as bad as I do. Quinn’s breathing grows rougher. I can see the rise and fall of her chest, and my eyes are drawn to my shirt covering her body. There’s nothing else against her skin but me. My sheets, my shirt. A growl works its way up my throat.
I still haven’t answered her. Venom pools in my mouth. The urge to sink my teeth into her is so fucking strong I’ve never felt anything like it. Not even with Eva.
Thinking about her gives me pause. She’s why I keep my distance from humans. I still can’t fight the guilt I feel about what happened between her and Iris. I swallow the ache that comes with my first love’s name. I made Havenfall into what it is today for her. All the years I’ve been doing this was never for my personal, altruistic motivations. I did it because that’s what she wanted, and I wanted to give her what she wanted.
“Griffin?” Quinn’s voice, so different than the practiced allure of Eva’s, tugs me back to the present.
“Allowing one to feed from you lets the others know you’re not available.” My tone is coarse, but not in the same way it was moments ago. “Why else do you think Noah and the others are so drawn to you?”
Quinn sucks in a breath and holds it. I close my eyes, waiting for the exhale. Waiting for her fire to burn me. But after only a moment she breathes out softly. The harsh words I was hoping for never come.
“I better get going. Thanks for…yeah, well, see ya.” Quinn throws her legs over the side of the bed and puts her hands out to keep herself from bumping into anything. She won’t even ask for help to get out of this tomb I call a bedroom.
I open my mouth, an apology on my tongue, but I bite it instead. Her breath shudders after several long seconds of searching for the exit. Finally, I get up and stalk over to the door and fling it open.
The light from outside makes her squint, and she uses her hand to block her face, but I still see the tear that’s trailing down her cheek. My back bows, it’s like a physical blow to my gut. She lets one sniffle escape before dashing out of my room.
I watch her back, my shirt billowing out behind her as she rushes to the door. Her scent is still filling my nose as regret fills me.
Chapter 15
Quinn
I pushopen the door to my room with my palm, but stand well outside the entry. My eyes are drawn to the floor where the messwas. My mind tries in vain to convince me that the last twelve hours was all a bad dream, brought on by stress. I feel the long cuffs of Griffin’s shirt slip over my hands and the illusion evaporates. Too bad his shirt is all I have on. If I had clothes, I wouldn’t even go back inside my room yet.
