Of Witches and Warlocks: The Complete Series

Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hardly pausing a second to consider my words, he opened his mouth, exposing his fangs and tearing into his forearm, drawing blood. He lifted his arm to my face, and my mouth greedily sought out the wound as he slipped his hand into my hair.

Knotting his fingers into the silky strands, he yanked my head to the left, and I struggled to keep his arm tightly against me as I sucked in generous gulps from the wound.

He sank his teeth into my neck, and I jerked, crying out at the intimate contact. Vance grabbed me to him with his free arm, holding me close until he had backed me against the counter.

I couldn't believe the power our bond was creating between us as we performed a true exchange, blood for blood. It was both selfish and the ultimate gift, all in one moment.

Vance carried it even further—linking his mind with mine. The emotions he felt added to the bloodletting, making me gasp from the total and complete intimacy of the moment.

"Well, well. What have we going on here? A consensual exchange?" Damien's voice broke into the moment.

Opening my eyes, I glared at him, but didn't release Vance's arm, continuing to draw blood, and he remained at my neck as well.

"Stop it, now, you two," Damien ordered, but we both ignored him, or tried to anyway. "I said stop!" Damien's voice came louder this time, and he threw an energy wave out that knocked us both apart, throwing us to opposite sides of the room.

Feeling tired, I didn't have the strength to fight him. I slumped back against the wall, and lifted my hand to wipe some of Vance's blood away, licking each finger greedily and sucking at the remnants that were there.

Vance looked worn out, and he toppled slightly to his side against the cupboards.

"What the hell were you two thinking?" Damien growled, looking between us. "We have a mission to complete tonight! This isn't something I can just reschedule! I have to have that artifact!"

I closed my eyes, too exhausted to care, even though I could feel the fury emanating from him.

The next thing I knew, Damien was sweeping me up into his arms, cursing under his breath as he carried me to my room, laying me gently on the bed. He grabbed me by the chin.

"Look at me!" he ordered, and I desperately tried to lift my eyes to meet his. He tilted my head roughly, his gaze hard and glittering like ice, and I felt his magic freeze my body. "I'm canceling all your appointments for the afternoon. You will lay here and build as much energy as you can before the party tonight. Thankfully you should repair more quickly this time since you were replenishing what he was taking."

Studying me intently for a moment, he brought his lips close to my mouth, so close they brushed repeatedly against mine while he spoke. "If things don't go as planned, remember I'll consider that a break in your contract, and I will collect!" He dropped the rest of the way, pressing his mouth against mine briefly, but roughly, licking over it with his tongue, before he moved to my ear. "I hear you two when you're together. You know that, don't you? Trust me. I can't think of any debt I'd rather collect more."

He moved so he could look into my eyes. I glared at him as hotly.

"I mean it, Portia," he said, the heat in his voice dripping over me as he slipped the back of his hand down my arm. "I'm a man of my word, most of the time. But you I want, and you I mean to have, one way or another."

A crashing sound echoed through the room, and suddenly Damien fell on top of me, wood splinters flying all around him. I looked up to find Vance holding pieces of a broken chair in his hands.