On the Run with a Vampire by Starre Anise

Author:Starre, Anise
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-10-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

RAVEN

Lucien stares at me. And stares, and stares, and⁠—

“No.”

I scowl at him. “What do you mean, no? Do you, or do you not, need to feed right now?”

Lucien eyes me warily, like he’s worried he’s about to walk headfirst into a trap. Maybe he is. “I don’t understand what relevance that has to your request.”

I hold out a hand and extend two fingers. “Our options are—” I fold down one finger. “You head out there, pluck some poor soul off the street, suck them dry, and add another body to our worryingly long list of crimes. Or—” I fold down the second finger. “You take what you’ve got. Me.”

He shakes his head. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“You need to feed, and I’m here,” I shrug like it’s no big deal and I regularly request vampires to feed from me. “No one has to get hurt, and we can get it over with without putting us in even more danger. What’s it going to be?”

For a second, I’m sure he’s not going to agree. His eyes are hard and cold, but then his gaze flickers downward, and when he looks back up at me, they’re softer. He shifts uneasily in his seat and then runs a hand through his inexplicably still-perfect hair, as if that might help clear his thoughts.

“Bloodlust isn’t to be treated lightly, Ms. Hartley,” he says, finally. His voice is low, pained almost. “I don’t want—I don’t want to hurt you.”

I reach out a hand and place it gently on his arm. I’m pretty sure I feel him relax ever so slightly as soon as my hand makes contact. “You won’t.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do.” I have no idea how I can say that with full certainty, but I know it’s true.

His jaw ticks, and we sit in a stubborn, charged silence for a few beats. Then, with a resigned sigh, he nods slowly. “Fine,” he says, the word barely more than a whisper. “But only because I’m quite close to collapsing. And this is a one-time thing.”

I snort. “Don’t worry, becoming your personal blood bank isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.”

His lips quirk into a lazy half-smile. “Glad we’re on the same page.”

I get half a second to brace myself, and then he’s leaning across the console, running a hand along my jaw and down my neck. I shiver at the touch, but I don’t know why. It’s unexpectedly tender, more of a caress than anything else, really. The kind of way you hold someone precious to you, and not the random woman whose life you accidentally upended.

I can’t help but think back to Halloween two years ago, and how every instinct in me had been screaming at me that this man was dangerous. That I needed to get away from him. I needed to run.

I don’t feel any of that now.

Not for the first time, I have to wonder if there’s something deeply wrong with me because a vampire is currently caressing my neck, and all I can think about is the fact that I could easily get used to this.

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