Priestesses can change humans. It’s for both power and population control. If vampires ruled the world, we’d all die. We need humans to survive.”
“Then why would anyone ask to be fed from?”
He stopped and turned to me, giving a grin that made my heart stop. Only then did I notice the dimples that formed when he smiled, the strong line of his jaw, and the five o’clock shadow that aged him perfectly. “Because it’s highly erotic.”
My breath caught in my throat as his eyes burned into mine, their glow growing brighter as speckles of black tainted their color. He wet his lips. Moments seemed to drag on forever before he finally took the few steps toward me. I backed into the wall, not sure I was ready for him. He stopped when he reached me, leaving only one step between us. His breathing was slow, heavy, matching mine. His eyes invited me to him, and as much as his eyes begged me to accept his invitation, I didn’t know if I could. I loved that he let me be the one to choose whether or not we broke the barrier and took that final step.
I could lose myself in him; I knew this. And what I feared more than vampires, more than my coven finding out about this forbidden romance, more than fighting a thousand Rogues at once, was that my insatiable appetite for ending this war was so easily subdued by my growing attraction to the vampire who stood before me. My body felt ready. My heart felt ready. But my mind told me it was wrong. I needed to remember that once I defeated the Rogues who did this to me, to my coven, I would return to them. I had to believe that they’d welcome me back with open arms; they’d congratulate me on controlling what I had become and using my newfound power to protect the witches. Losing myself in Jasik wasn’t my fear. Losing what I could reobtain with my coven was what terrified me.
His thumb rubbed against the angle of my jaw, sending shivers through my body. “Avah,” he said in his thick British accent. His voice, his plea, betrayed his longing for me, for love.
“Jasik?” a voice said, forcing us back to reality. The blackness in his eyes quickly vanished, and he dropped his arm, stepping back and clearing his throat.
Lillie stood before us. I pushed myself off the wall and crossed my arms. What had I just done? My fangs ached. I was so close to feeding from him—close enough to want to.
“Lillie,” I said, my heart still pounding in my chest, my senses still erotically high. “He was just, um, giving me a tour. We didn’t hear you come in.”
“I’m not sure how you could,” she said, annoyed and turning on her heel. “You know, most pay with their lives for the betrayal you two have committed,” she added before disappearing through the door.
Her words stung. Why had I taken it so far with him? I wondered if her hatred stemmed from more than me being a witch. I wondered if she and Jasik had once been more than friends. I shook my head and looked at the ground, hoping the awkward moment would quickly pass.
I could feel Jasik’s eyes on me, but I couldn’t look at him. I walked away, leaving the room and Jasik behind. I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know how to fix this, these feelings that grew stronger and stronger as each minute passed. I knew I needed to make them go away, but I didn’t know if I wanted to.
Jasik felt good, real. In a world where I questioned everything I was, everything I knew, I didn’t question him—or his feelings for me. The way he looked at me, the way he said my name, the way he made the others keep their distance, I knew there was something there. A simple attraction that could grow into an epic love that lasted until the end of time. I was foolish to believe in such fairytales.
I had only been a vampire for a day, and I already had to remind myself that the emotions I was feeling were for a vampire.
I cleared my mind by focusing on the tour. I needed to learn my way around the house. I
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