“What’s what like?” He held her so tight, as though he was afraid she’d slip away. His fingers teased the strands of her hair and she shivered.
“Drinking my blood.”
Ronan pulled away and stared into her face. His irises flashed with silver and a furrow marred his brow. “It’s everything,” he replied in a hoarse whisper. “I’ve fed from dhampirs, taken my king’s own blood the night he turned me. But even my first taste as a true vampire can’t compare to the experience of taking your vein, Naya.” He stroked his fingers through the hair that framed her face as he studied her. “I am in love with the locks of your hair,” he remarked with a quiet laugh. “Like threads of raw silk against my skin.”
“I could cut some for you to carry around in your pocket.” She looked away with a nervous laugh, afraid that he might see the shameless want shining in her eyes. “You know, if you’re into that sort of thing.” She’d used the joke to deflect from the fact that what she wanted to hear from him was that he was in love with more than just her hair. Though she decried the idea of belonging to anyone, Naya wanted a male to love her. Even if she was bald, ugly, too thick, or too thin. And most of all, she wanted a male to love her even when she was powerless. When she had nothing more to offer than herself.
“To cut even a strand of your hair would be a travesty.” He continued to stroke her as though the act itself kept him grounded. “I want it long and wild.”
Naya’s lips hitched in a half smile. “It’s not long enough, huh?”
“Hardly. I want it cascading down your back, covering your breasts. I want your hair to brush my chest, the tops of my thighs as you ride me.”
Heat swamped her, pulsing low in Naya’s abdomen. She wanted him so badly that she ached and nothing short of joining their bodies would make that hurt go away. It wasn’t normal to want someone so badly. This went beyond obsession. It was a need that couldn’t be sated.
“The sun is still up.” Naya swallowed down the lump that rose in her throat. She needed to put some distance between them, but her body refused to move. “Shouldn’t you be out for the count?”
His brows pulled together as Ronan searched her face. “Cold darkness woke me.” Pain marred his handsome face and Naya smoothed her thumbs over the furrows that lined his forehead. “It’s growing stronger. Harder to fight. Luz might be driving her dagger through my heart sooner than either of us thinks.”
“That’s not going to happen.”
“It might. My thirst is unquenchable, Naya. The darkness is insatiable. I’ll gladly die if it keeps you safe from me. My only regret will be not having the opportunity to join with you in a true mate bond and enjoy your body while I take your vein.”
The idea of having Ronan’s fangs buried in her throat while he fucked her sent a thrill through Naya’s bloodstream. “Is that what a vampire mating entails?” Bororo matings were more ceremonial than physical. Always performed at the full moon and witnessed by every member of the tribe’s pod. It was an unbreakable contract. One that, if broken, would gain swift retribution. The Bororo were big on shame. And breaking sacred vows was as shameful as it came. “Sex and blood?”
“Can you think of anything better?” Ronan asked with a flirtatious grin. It turned Naya’s insides to mush and caused her heart to beat wildly in her chest. “The tether is sacred for so many reasons, Naya. When tethered, our souls are returned to us from an empty oblivion.” He cupped the back of her neck, his artful fingers loosening the tight muscles there. She let out a soft sigh, her lids drooping. The sound of his voice, his touch, his very presence, was a comfort unlike anything she’d ever known. “And though we can gather strength from our covens, from that bond that connects us all, the blood of our mate is an elixir of life and power that has no equal. It makes us stronger not only as individuals but as a whole. The tether is revered among vampires.”
“And the sex?”
“Isn’t sex a sacred act no matter your creed? Is it not the one thing that solidifies any mate bond?”
Naya smiled. “So true. But…” She worried her lip between her teeth. “You seem to want to bite me when we’re intimate. Is drinking blood and sex tied?”
Ronan’s lips curved in a sensual grin that revealed the sharp tips of his fangs. “My mate is so curious.” He searched her face and silver chased across his gaze. “It warms my blood.”
A flush crept to Naya’s cheeks. She wasn’t a vampire, but even she sensed the connection. Wanted his bite as he pleasured her. It supercharged every sensation in her body. Heightened her sensitivity. “It makes me…” She paused. Let out a nervous breath as she looked away.