Void(41)

“We don’t need to waste time on her. She’s nothing, Blaire,” he said before stroking her hip. I zeroed in on the movement, and his smile brightened, like he could see the toxic jealousy in my eyes. I didn’t understand why I felt this way. My Void was aching to reach out and yank him out of her grip, and I hated myself for it. I barely knew him, and what little I did know was that he was cruel and liked to remind me of my place in this damn world.

But then, I remembered what he’d said. I remembered how he craved my blood. How he craved me. What I wanted to do was reckless and desperate, but it was like the smoke of my Void was urging me to press forward, test the boundaries, prove he wanted me, and wipe the smirk right off of this Blaire bitch’s face.

I pulled my bottom lip in and sunk my teeth into it. I dug in, plunging my sharp points into the plump flesh until a coppery liquid pooled in my mouth. The moment the scent of my blood filled the air, Render’s eyes widened into black depths, and his lips parted. I watched in awe as his chest heaved up and down, a ravishing hunger taking over his body.

“Disgusting,” Blaire said with a frown. “No one here is going to be tempted by your dirty blood. You’re so desperate,” she said with a flick of her hair, oblivious to the firecrackers sizzling between Render and me.

I was too busy watching Render to reply to her. His fangs descended. His face flushed. He was salivating, and I smirked, knowing I’d won.

“That’s what I thought,” I murmured smugly.

I turned to leave, but Render flashed in front of me and gripped my face in his hands. I gasped, but that was all I had time for. Because as soon as my lips parted, he was suddenly devouring me. My broken lip was between his teeth, his hot tongue running over the blood as his fang sunk in to split the bite apart and take more. I hissed in pain but only for a second, because then his venom filled my mouth, turning everything he did to pure bliss.

His hands dominated the angle of my face, tilting it exactly the way he wanted so that his tongue could thrust deeper into my mouth, mixing my blood with every swipe. He pressed forward so that my breasts were squishing against his chest, and I arched farther into him, my hands coming up to hold him by the collar of his dress shirt. He kept pushing, and my spine arched back even farther, like he wanted to tip me right over and pin me to the floor, right here in the middle of the ballroom. And I would’ve let him.

This kiss was carnal and bloody and so fucking good. When he shoved a knee to the juncture of my thighs, all I wanted was to rip the skirt of my dress up around my waist and ride his leg to build the friction that he’d made me crave.

But before it could go any further, hands were suddenly between us, pushing the two of us apart. Render snarled at the intervention, his fangs dripping with saliva and blood, his eyes fully dilated, swallowing his eyes whole.

“Whoa, dude, it’s me,” another vampire student said, watching Render warily as he held him back. “What are you doing with the Void? Did she fucking put you under some sick spell or some shit?” he asked, darting a look at me.

My lips were swollen and bloody, my breathing erratic, and I was still on fire all over with lust, but at seeing everyone staring at us, the ballroom awkwardly shocked, a cold dose of snap the fuck out of it washed over me.

I couldn’t believe what we’d just done. What he’d done in front of all his peers. And based on the look on his face, as it went from pissed off to horror-stricken, I guess that he couldn’t believe it either.

Someone shoved me from behind hard, and the next thing I knew, I was landing on the floor, my knees banging painfully upon impact, and my wrists snapping back as my hands tried to break my fall. When I looked up, I was surrounded by a circle of vampires with Blaire in the center.

“How dare you kiss him!” she screeched, her fangs hovering over her bottom lip.

“He kissed me.”

“You provoked him!”

My eyes flicked to Render, but he was still panting, staring down at me with an inscrutable expression on his face.

“If my blood was so damn dirty, then he wouldn’t have been provoked,” I snapped, getting to my feet in the middle of their intimidating circle. I wasn’t going to lie down on the floor and take it. I’d stand and face them.

“He’s mine,” Blaire said, stepping into my face.

No. He’s mine.

I shook my head. Where had that thought come from?

I wiped the blood from my lips and winced when I saw droplets on the pale pink dress I’d borrowed. I needed to get the stain out. “Whatever. I’m out of here,” I said before pushing past the circle of vamps and out of the room. Luckily, they all let me.

I glanced over my shoulder once before heading into the hall, and I caught Judge Braxton staring at me from across the room. Taking a sip from his drink, he smirked at me, like the whole thing had amused him.

Ignoring him, I pushed through the doors and made my way to the bathroom. I slammed the door shut behind me, thankful that no other girls were inside, and stripped out of my borrowed dress. I held it up to the sink to wash the blood off, scrubbing it with cold water and hand soap.

The door to the girl’s bathroom suddenly opened, and I turned to face it, holding the soapy, wet dress up to my body to hide from whoever was entering. When my eyes caught sight of Quade’s dark gaze and frowning lips, I let out an exasperated sigh.

“What do you want?” I asked before turning back to the sink. I wasn’t ashamed of my body, and I didn’t really give two shits if seeing me in my underwear made him uncomfortable.