King Hall (Forever Evermore, #1)(87)

I elbowed him in the ribs, cutting him off.

He groaned in mock pain.

“You want to play or not?” Keeping one eye shut was hard after a while.

Deeply, he purred, “Oh, I want to play.”

I sighed heavily.

“Fine, I’ll behave.”

I waited.

“Really, I’ll be good.”

Still, I waited.

“Sweetheart, I want the damn prize. I’ll be as virtuous as a saint. Promise.” A pause, then a rumbled growl, “Unless, you don’t want me virtuous.”

“Ezra?”

Innocent. “Yes?”

“Shut. Up.”

He did. He even started pseudo snoring when I took so long to start, waiting on him to open his trap once more, but I began moving my head again, writing with my blue eye’s light. He hummed in his throat. “It starts with a ‘B’.”

“Yep.” More head moving.

He watched silently, and then slowly sounded it out. “B…Bi…Bit…Bite…M…Me.” A gentle chuckle. “Bite me?”

“Yes, sir. I know you’re thirsty. You didn’t drink tonight.”

“No, Lily, that doesn’t—”

Slapping a hand over his mouth, I stopped him. “Just take a little. It won’t hurt me or make me too weak.” I took my hand off his mouth as I felt his fangs descend. “Good, you actually agreed without too much argument.”

“I’m parched,” he rumbled quietly, beginning to roll. “Arguing isn’t in me right now, but I’ll make up for it in the morning.”

I snickered. He was a grump in the mornings. “Nothing really new there.”

“Be quiet,” he whispered, yanking me flat on my back.

Gasping at the rough movement, I felt his face against my neck before I could blink.

He inhaled deeply, a quiet groan escaping. He slipped over me, wrapping a hand behind my nape and lifting demandingly, not waiting for me to do so, making half my body arch and my head fall back. Leaning on one elbow, he kept part of his weight off me, but he was still heavy.

Reflexively, I spread my legs, and his own slid between mine, relieving some of his bulk.

He was being more forceful than normal, but he had said he was parched. When Vamps got too thirsty, some of their predator came out. That was normal, so I wasn’t afraid when his fangs brushed my skin, sliding from my ear to my pulse as the predator in him tried to scare me.

I merely ran my fingers through his spiked hair, a soothing motion.

His fangs paused on my pulse, and he sucked in a harsh breath, whispering rapidly, “Sorry.” Their grip loosening on my neck, his fingers massaged. “I’ll try not to take much.” His fangs immediately sliced into my flesh, and he groaned gutturally as he took a hard pull, his muscles flexing against my body and, a bare beat later, I was caressed by angel’s feathers, the intense, pure grace brilliant.

Sighing in contentment, I blinked open my eyes, perceiving he was done drinking. We were now lying on our sides, facing each other, while I had a death grip on his hair.

He was grinning, his fangs still slightly descended, but not completely lowered, meaning he had, indeed, only taken a little. Just enough to take the edge off. In a break between the full bed of quiet snores, he whispered, “Thank you.”

Snuggling my head under his chin, my hands loosened in his hair. “Welcome.”





Chapter Seventeen


Unsure of what woke me, I blinked my eyes open to a dark room. Instinct had me scenting the air, and I instantly knew that the man crushing me was Ezra. With another blink, my location came back to me, remembering that all of us were sleeping at King Venclaire’s, in Ezra’s bedroom, in his bed.

One more blink, and I also realized that in our slumber, Ezra and I had moved from our sides. I was lying on my back and Ezra was using my right boob as a pillow. His other hand was up under my shirt, cupping my left boob — sans bra for bed — and the rest of his body was sprawled over my stomach and legs. He was snoring quietly. Maybe drooling a little, too, since the part of my shirt near his mouth was damp and clinging to my skin. Somehow, us sleeping under the same blanket never ended up proper.

My arms were around his neck, and I grunted, trying to wiggle out from under his frigging immense weight, but he just grunted, pressing down harder, and started snoring full out. Opening my mouth to wake him, I froze. There was another scent in the air. Not one of my friends’, either.

Inhaling deeper, I found the scent was…muted. Barely noticeable really, but still there. My heart kicked into overdrive when I couldn’t figure it out. The scent confused me and my senses. It was like I should know it, but it was only vaguely hovering. Maybe, come and gone?

That made my heart speed even faster: comprehending someone had been in the room while we were sleeping. Very near breathless, I began scanning the room, my eyes glowing severely as I attempted to see if anything was amiss.

I had accomplished evaluating half the room when Ezra’s snore abruptly stopped and he froze over me, his muscles clenching. This also meant his cupping palm squeezed my boob. His hand froze with the action, probably recognizing what he had a hold of. I didn’t really pay attention, though, still scanning.

His head snapped up, his eyes glowing on my face. “What’s the matter? Your heart’s going berserk,” he inhaled sharply, “and you’re scared.” His hand was slowly releasing my breast as if, if he did it slowly enough, I wouldn’t notice it had been there in the first place.