“Devyn," they said in unison, and then they sighed dreamily. Just hearing his name, the moisture in Bride's mouth increased.
"I'm Ann, by the way," the redhead said. "The brunette is Claire, and the blonde is Madison." As she spoke, she wrapped the self-tightening tourniquet around Bride's arm and cleaned the inside of her elbow.
"What's Devyn got to do with everyone wanting to meet me?"
"He decorated your cell," Madison said, her tone making it clear that should have been obvious to Bride. "Everything here, he picked out."
"He did what?" She had thought it odd that AIR had spent so much money on a real oak dresser and a mattress made from true feathers, but she'd never suspected Devyn's involvement.
Ann lifted a butterfly needle. "We were set to buy the cheapest stuff we could find—sorry, but it's true—when he told us not to bother, that he'd buy what you needed with his own money."
Why would he do such things? She was nothing to him. He was already dating other women. Not that he'd ever taken Bride on a date. And not that she would have said yes if he had. Really.
Ann pushed the sharp needle into her vein, blood slowly, too slowly, filling the tube attached to the other end. "Dallas told me he heard Devyn call you sweetheart."
"Yeah. So." Devyn had an endearment for everyone. "He's only ever called me darling," Claire said.
"Me, too. Darling this and darling that. He calls Eden Black pet, and he's obsessed with her, but he's never called her sweetheart."
Bride's teeth and nails sharpened dangerously. "Obsessed with her? Why?"
"She's Rakan, and he's never had a Rakan."
Sounded like something Devyn would say. I want to kill Eden Black.
"But, anyway, he tortured that human for you." Claire stepped around the table and eyed Bride questioningly. "Even cut his head off."
"Yes. But only because I had something he wanted." She couldn't keep the bitterness from her tone.
Madison, too, veered around and faced her. "Honey, he pursued me for a week—that's the most I could resist him, and the most time he'd give me. He'd already moved on to someone else when I threw myself at him to regain his attention. Anyway, during that week he heard my partner berate me, call me names. Believe me, I had something he wanted, too, but he didn't kill Tate for me. Didn't even yell at him."
Wait. "You've been with Devyn?"
Smiling happily, Madison nodded. So did Ann and Claire. Bride's eyes widened. "All of you have been with him?”
“Nearly every female agent in AIR," Ann said, and she didn't sound upset.
"Why that... that... man-whore!" Bride had known he was promiscuous, but damn. Was there no one he wouldn't screw? Probably not. Besides Bride. Her, he pleasured with his fingers and his mouth but didn't penetrate.
Why hadn't he taken her? She'd been willing. Much as she would have liked to deny that, she couldn't.
The tourniquet loosened on its own, and Ann tugged it from Bride's arm. She withdrew the needle with one hand and placed a bandage over the puncture wound with the other. "So tell me. What was he like? With you?"
All three women leaned in close, their heartbeats suddenly a roar in her ears.
Bride squirmed in her seat, sweating, now having trouble catching her breath. Her gaze locked on Ann's pulse, and even more moisture flooded her mouth. The agent's skin appeared soft, her vein full. One little nibble wouldn't—
Argh! No.
"Bride?" one of them said.
She blinked, bringing them back in focus. No blood. Not now. They were still staring at her, waiting. Waiting for information about Devyn. She knew they wanted to compare her experiences with their own so they could feel better about how he'd treated them. Fine. She'd give them all the gory details.
"He nearly blinded me with that glowing skin thing," she said stiffly. "I mean, really. How annoying is that?"
"He glowed?" Claire asked, brow puckering.
The three women shared a strange look, as though silently asking each other if Devyn had glowed for them. Each one shook her head no.
He hadn't glowed for them?
"Tell us more," Madison pleaded.
The words tumbled from her before she could stop them. "He tried to make me beg for it, but I refused. He gave it to me anyway, but he wouldn't let me leave afterward. And when I tried to walk away, he tightened his hold. Talk about frustrating!" See, she wanted to shout. He's not a prize. He was domineering and too determined to have his way.
One by one, the women straightened. They shared another look. A look of wonder, this time.
"What?" she demanded, wiping at the sweat on her brow with the back of her wrist. Her hand was trembling.
Ann was the first to shake off the awe. "He held you? After he finished with you?"
"Yes." Why were the lights in the cell suddenly winking on and off? Light, dark, light, dark. And why didn't the agents seem to notice?
"He couldn't get his clothes on fast enough with me," Madison said with a pout.
"Two seconds after he came, he thanked me and rolled from the bed," Claire said. "He was out the door a minute after that."
Both females sounded like they stood at the end of a tunnel, their voices thick and distant, slowed.
"He did me up against a wall and patted my head when he was done. Then he walked away and never looked back." Ann sounded closer, but no less slurred. "'Course, I couldn't chase him because I was boneless, completely sated." She paused. "Bride, are you okay? Don't take this the wrong way, but you look terrible."
They watched her with expectation, waiting for her reply. About Devyn? About her health? She didn't know what to say. Clearly they thought it was a miracle that Devyn had stayed with her after his climax, but they couldn't know that he'd had nowhere else to go. That he'd been waiting for Macy. That he hadn't trusted Bride to stay put.
He didn't like her, not the way they thought. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone on a date with another female. He would have been here, claiming his kisses. Feeding her that delicious blood. Blood ... Need blood.
"Bride?"
Dizziness flooded her mind, her thoughts breaking apart, unable to realign themselves. Where was she? What was happening to her? She pushed to shaky legs, but they were too weak to hold her weight, and she crashed into the cold concrete floor. A sharp pain exploded in her temple, and the world around her blackened completely.
"Open your eyes, sweetheart." Word of Bride's collapse had spread through AIR quickly, and Devyn had come running. Though he'd forced himself to remain outside headquarters these last three days, he'd never strayed far from the building.
Not even for the date he'd called a halt to half an hour into. He'd taken an agent to dinner, but before the appetizer had even arrived, he'd tossed a wad of cash on the table and left. Hadn't been right. Hadn't felt right. Bride was being drained, and he was out having fun. Well, not fun. He'd been miserable, unable to charm or flirt with his intended partner for the night.
He didn't know who he was anymore, or what he wanted. No, not true. He wanted Bride.
It was as if, when she'd kissed him and come on his fingers, she'd changed him. As if she'd somehow planted stronger seeds of obsession in his brain, and those seeds were now growing. He didn't know how to act anymore. Didn't know what to do with her.
He found himself thinking about her at the oddest moments. Like when he was on a date with another woman. Like when he was in the car and reached a traffic light flashing green. Like when he'd cut his fingertip and wiped the blood away.
What claimed the bulk of those thoughts was the fact that there'd been pain mixed with her pleasure. When she'd climaxed, she'd screamed, and it had not only been because of his exceptional skill. He wanted to know why she'd hurt and how to prevent it next time. For there would be a next time.
"Bride," he said more firmly. She was too pale, too still. He knew beyond a doubt she hadn't eaten in days. He'd kept tabs on her, and also knew she'd thrown up her one and only bag of plasma. "Wake up, and I'll let you slap me around. You know you want to."
A moan slipped from her, soft, barely discernible.
Of course the thought of hurting him physically had been the thing to rouse her. Her lashes fluttered open, casting flickering shadows on her cheeks. Those hazel irises were glazed, dull, but when they latched on to the pulse at his neck, they lit, swirled, once more like living emeralds, glowing.
He'd moved her to the bed, and he was stretched beside her, his head resting on his upraised palm. "You need to eat, sweetheart."
Desperately her hands pushed at him. "Get away from me." The words were slurred, thick. Her gaze never left his neck. "You have to get away from me."
"Drink from me. Hurry, or dinner's gonna get cold.”
“Go. Please, go."
"Not until you drink. It's an all-you-can-eat buffet tonight.”
“I said go!"
He tsked. "I don't know why you're so stubborn about this. You're hungry. I'm willing. Maybe you'll be able to keep it all down. Which wouldn't surprise me. It's mine, after all, so there's clearly none better."
"I don't want your blood," she said, trying to scramble away herself.
She didn't, did she? His eyes narrowed. They'd see about that once he prodded her temper. "Guess what? I took a female on a date. An agent. A six-armed Delensean. I haven't had one of those in years. The prospect of having one again amused me."
"I know," she snarled, some of her color returning. "You picked her up immediately after leaving my bed and dropping me off here."
"I can't deny it."
"Did you sleep with her?" No longer was she trying to get away. Now she was leaning into him, nails clawing past his shirt and at his skin. "No, wait. Don't tell me. I don't want to know. I just want you to leave."
"You're right. I should leave. I should go on another date. Maybe with a Rakan this time. I've never had one of those, you know. I've heard they're the best, though, so I really should make an effort to —"
With a roar, she was on top of him, pinning him to the mattress, her fangs in his neck, cutting deep, his blood flowing into her mouth. There was a sting, then only warm pleasure. He could hear her swallowing, purring as the flavor met her tongue. Finally.
"That's a good girl. Take everything you need." Her lower body ground against his.
Already he was hard as a rock, arching up to meet her thrusts. "Just so you know, I didn't sleep with that agent."
A mewling sound escaped her, and her teeth gentled on his neck. When she tried to disengage completely, he petted her hair with firm strokes, holding her in place. "Nope. I'm enjoying this. Because I was such a good boy on my date, you have to see to my needs. That means you don't get to stop yet."
On and on she continued to drink, her purrs growing louder, her body writhing faster ... faster, using him, taking what it needed, propelling her higher. Devyn gritted his teeth against the bliss, determined not to come like this again. A difficult task. She felt so good against him, she smelled like the sweetest flower, was finally doing something he'd commanded her to do.
Spots of color began to cloud his vision; she was taking a lot of blood, but still he didn't push her away. She needed it, and he had it to give. Even enjoyed the giving. "More," he said, the word barely audible. "Everything."
A hoarse cry slipped from her as she wrenched her mouth away. Up and down her chest moved in quick succession, her hard nipples abrading his chest. Exquisite, he thought. A trickle of crimson slid down her chin. Her lips were red, dewy. Her eyes no longer glowed, but her skin was so rosy it was like the petal of a rose.
"How's your stomach?" he asked. Wow. He sounded halfway to the grave.
"I—it's fine." She blinked in astonishment. "It's actually calm.”
“I was ... right then. Better than ... most."
"Devyn?" she said with concern.
He didn't have the energy to form another word.
"Devyn," she repeated, determined this time. "I'm sorry, so sorry. I didn't mean to take so much. I didn't mean... I'll make it better. Okay? All right?" Slowly she leaned down and kissed him. Drops of his own blood seeped into his mouth. No, not his, he thought then. Hers. She'd swiped her tongue across her fangs, cutting the delicate tissue, and was feeding him that healing blood of hers.
Damn, damn, damn, was the next thought to hit him as some of his strength returned. He shoved her away from him and scrambled from the bed. He was panting, trembling, but he managed to maintain his balance.
"Devyn?" she said uncertainly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take so much. You just tasted so good, and it had been so long ... I'm really, really sorry, but I made it better. I did. You're already stronger. See?"
He scrubbed a hand down his face. She knows nothing about vampires, he reminded himself. She had no idea the magnitude of what she'd just done. Or did she? His gaze intensified on her. She sat up, smoothing her hair from her face with a wobbly hand. She wore an expression of concern and remorse.
No, she didn't know. Her ignorance didn't make it any better, though. He'd come in here to check on her and give her blood.
And okay, yeah. He'd wanted to see and kiss her, but he hadn't come for this. Maybe he should have warned her never to do it. Maybe he should have— No. No! He wouldn't take the blame for this.