Page 125 of Tainted Souls
“What am I here for?” Ace says, his tone brooking no argument.
Saul retreats, reluctance evident in every line of his body.
Ace slips his fingers into his inner pocket and extracts a silver case. He flips it open, briskly removing a cigarette and lighting it with a flick of his wrist. He leans against the outer rim of the alcove, taking a long, contemplative drag, simply watching me as he does.
Flustered under the scrutiny of his gaze, I focus my attention on the smoke curling upward, dissipating before it reaches the ceiling.
“You got it,” he says flatly, his lips curving into something not quite a smile as he nods toward the bloodmaid. The words hold no encouragement, only cold assessment and perhaps a hint of anticipation, as if he’s waiting to see me fail.
I step into the alcove, the scent of her blood calling to me even from this distance. She looks young, perhaps nineteen or twenty, with deep brown eyes that hold no fear, only acceptance.
“My name is Lily,” she offers softly.
“Seraph,” I respond, lowering myself into the settee next to her with careful distance between us.
Beyond the partially drawn curtain, veiling smoke wreathes around Ace’s expressionless face. He’s looking straight ahead now, but I can still feel the weight of his gaze pressing in from the edges.
“I’m aware of your situation,” Lily says, her voice gentle as she shifts closer. “I’ve been doing this for three years now. I know when to tell you to stop.”
I’m unable to meet her eyes. She clearly doesn’t know the full extent of my situation. The real danger she puts herself in with these vampires, even if it’s not perceptible on the surface. She treats her consent like a shield, blind to the fact that no oath holds when a vampire slips past control. It’s gullible at best.
The sound of her heartbeat throbs in my ears, quickening the pace of my own. “I don’t want to hurt you,” I say, teeth clenched against my gnawing thirst after having been denied blood for days.
“You won’t.” She places her hand on mine. “Just listen to my voice. When I say enough, you stop. Simple as that.”
That almost makes me snort. If only it were as simple as that.
Ace clears his throat from beyond the curtain, reminding me that this isn’t really a choice. It’s a command dressed as an opportunity.
I take a deep breath, steeling myself. “Give me your wrist.”
Lily considers this for a moment, then obeys my order. I cradle her arm in my hands, her pulse fluttering beneath my fingertips. I bring my lips close, mimicking what Ace had shown me with Sophia.
My fangs instinctively extend, piercing Lily’s skin. Blood wells up and floods my mouth, warm and sweet and impossibly rich. A soft gasp escapes Lily, but it’s not pain I hear—it’s something closer to pleasure. Her heartbeat hammers harder and harder, until it’s so loud it starts to drown reason, dragging mine into a frenzy with it.
Relief overwhelms me, fierce and demanding.More, it whispers.Take more. We’re both enjoying this. The world narrows to the pulse beneath my lips, the steady flow of life into me. I drink deeply, feeling strength return to my limbs and clarity to my mind.
“That’s enough for now,” Lily’s voice comes from far away, as if through water.
I ignore her, lost in the sensation. The blood is too sweet, too perfect to stop.
“Seraph,” she says, more firmly this time, trying to pull her arm back. “Enough.”
Something in her tone breaks through the haze. I force myself to release her, fangs retracting as I pull away. Blood smears my lips, and I wipe it hastily with the back of my hand.
Lily looks pale but smiles reassuringly. “See? You did well.”
Did I? My heart hammers against my ribs, pure adrenaline making me light-headed. I haven’t torn her apart, haven’t drained her dry.
But I want to.
Lily starts to lower her arm, but I grab her wrist too fast and hard, making her eyes widen in shock.
“What are you doing?” she protests, but I steady her with one hand, the other locked around her forearm. I can feel her pulse weakening, its rhythm faltering beneath my grip, and that flicker of power intoxicates me even more. There’s nothing she can do now.
She is utterly and irrevocably in my control.
The scent of her blood lingers, warm and metallic, and it calls to something deeper. Some instinct I barely understand, but it owns me now. I pull her back toward me and sink my fangs in again, deeper this time. Her blood hits my tongue with the same euphoric sensation as before. There’s no finesse now, no mimicry of Ace’s measured grace.
