She held out her arm. “Do it or I will.”
Why was she so adamant about this? She was too exhausted to think about much of anything, and she didn’t have the energy to question her motivations. She just knew she didn’t like that grayish tint to Ash’s skin.
Raum must have read the determination on her face. “All right. I like you, human.” He smiled suddenly, and she realized she hadn’t seen him do it before. While Meph seemed to be the joker of the family, Raum was darker and broodier. Something in his golden eyes told her there was a reason for that.
But of course there was. He was ademon.
“It’s going to freak you out,” Raum said.
“Why? I mean, besides the obvious fact that he’s drinking my blood.”
He cocked a brow. “Come here and I’ll show you.”
With only a little hesitation, Eva did as he bade, and they crouched besides Ash’s still form. He really did look pale, and her resolve strengthened.
“Give me your hand,” Raum said, setting the knife down on the floor.
Eva put her palm out. He curled his much bigger hand around it, holding out her index finger. With his free hand, Raum reached forward and parted Ash’s lips.
“See his canines? They look sharp, don’t they.” He gave her a look.
“No...” Her eyes widened. “He’s not a—”
“No. But they’re created with demon blood, and since Ash is the real deal, he’s got the hardware.”
“Wait, vampires—?”
But her thoughts scattered quickly as Raum pressed the tip of Eva’s finger into Ash’s canine. Somehow, the tooth was sharp enough to draw blood, and as soon as she touched it, both canines elongated.
Eva gasped and jerked back. “Oh my god.”
“Not exactly.” Raum looked at her. “Still offering?”
She stared at those intimidating teeth and considered saying no. Then she thought,What the hell. She’d already seen him turn into a seven-foot-tall, red-skinned monster with horns. What were some measly vampire fangs after that?
She looked into Raum’s gold eyes and nodded.
“Okay.” He gently grasped her wrist in one hand and her forearm in the other. “Unconscious or not, he’s going to bite your wrist when I put it in front of him. It’s instinct. Fair warning, it’s going to hurt. Ready?”
She nodded, so nervous she felt sick.
Raum lowered her arm over Ash’s mouth. Just as Raum warned, he struck like a freaking cobra, jerking forward and stabbing those sharp teeth right into her arm. She gasped at the pain, her eyes watering.
Ow.There was nothing romantic or sexy about this. Screw all those vampire kinks because this fuckinghurt!
One of Ash’s hands jerked up and grabbed her wrist, holding it to his mouth so she couldn’t escape, and he growled deep in his chest. The sound was kind of sexy. Ugh, she was messed up. He was drinking her blood, for god’s sake.
“Okay, that’s enough,” Raum said. “He doesn’t need much.” In one fluid motion, he ripped Ash’s fingers off her arm and disengaged his fangs from her wrist, shoving Ash back when he instinctively lunged for her again.
Raum held him down with two hands. “Enough.”
Ash growled like a feral animal while Eva sat on her ass on the floor, looking between him and the twin puncture wounds on her arm. “Holy shit.”
She’d let a demon drink her blood. She was doomed for sure.
“Holy shit is right. Look how fast he’s healing.” Raum glanced at Eva with a frown. “You must have some pretty potent blood.”
Eva sat up onto her knees to watch Ash’s horribly burned wound healing before her eyes. Within minutes, it had faded to a scar. She looked at his face, amazed to see the color coming back to his cheeks. He exhaled deeply and relaxed into the couch cushions.
