Page 75 of A Trial By Blood

I couldn’t take it, not knowing what she was feeling. This was torture. “I need to know what you’re thinking, Rose. I can’t work it out. I don’t understand…any of this, what’s happening between us. I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I’m not a wolf, or a hound, or a witch. I don’t understand females like they do. I’m afraid of making a mistake with you. That I could lose you if I keep…doing everything wrong.”

Her fingers curled around mine, holding my hand tighter. “Nothing you do or want from me could ever be wrong, Ronan. I promise you, everything you want from me, I want from you.”

I shook my head. “No, you don’t understand the things I want, Rose. What I want from you, with you—”

“I promise you, I want those things from you as well. All of it.”

My mouth went dry.

“I haven’t said it again, the time hasn’t been right, it’s still not, but I need you to know that what I said to you that night, the night I thought I was going to die… Ronan, I meant every word. Those feelings, they haven’t changed. So when you get the urge to kiss me or hug me or touch me, then you should do it.”

My throat was so tight, there was no chance of speaking, so I let my instincts lead, and I reached for her, gripping the back of her neck and pulling her to me. I pressed my lips to hers. This wasn’t the first time we’d kissed like this. But this time, it wasn’t because of a dying wish or in the throes of blood lust, and I could acknowledge I felt completely out of my depth. But I wanted her so badly, there was no stopping.

I needed deeper, more. I growled in frustration, and Rose parted her lips. My tongue immediately slipped inside for a taste, and then instinct took over. I kissed her. I kissed my female like I’d been hungering to. Like I constantly hungered to.

Her hand touched the side of my throat, her fingers curling deep, holding me to her, kissing me back. She liked it, the way I kissed her, and she wanted me just as fiercely. Pleasure filled me. I never wanted to stop.

Finally, though, I forced myself to lift my head. Rose was panting, her lips darker and puffier than before. Her cheeks were darker as well, and her eyes were bright. I cupped the side of her face. “You’re so beautiful,” I rasped.

Her teeth sunk into that plump lower lip, and she looked up at me with soft eyes. “So are you.”

I didn’t know what to say. I’d never cared about my appearance. But it pleased me that she liked my features. “I want to keep kissing you.” I pressed my lips to hers one more time. “But I think we need to leave.”

She nodded. “You’re right. We have to stop…for now.”

I dragged my gaze from her mouth. “For now.”

* * *

“You’ll have to use your powers to get us in,” Rose said when we pulled up in the museum’s parking lot. We’d spent most of the day going over what we knew and chasing leads that didn’t take us anywhere.

Now it was late afternoon, and we were outside the museum. It backed on to the witch’s council building but was run separately. Rose had informed me it was more efficient like that, for warding purposes, and one of the reasons we’d left this place until last. It had been closed the last couple of days, more than likely due to the robbery and the missing guard who worked here, and had been well protected, making it harder to get into.

I took her hand and led her around the corner where no one would see us, then lifted my powers. We headed back to the front, completely concealed, and walked through the large double doors and into the main foyer. “There’ll be cameras, and no doubt extra security. We’ll need to stay under my block. The parking lot was relatively empty, but we don’t want to be seen. There are at least twenty people here.”

“Is that a rough guess, or something else?” she asked.

“I can hear their hearts beating.”

“You can?” She tilted her head to the side. “Do you think I can do that?”

I stopped her in the middle of the wide marble floor. “I’m not a bat shifter, but it’s a common skill among blood drinkers. Close your eyes.”

She let her lids drift shut, and I immediately ate up the sight of her. She said nothing I did was wrong, that I could have whatever I wanted when it came to her, but if I kissed her now like I wanted to, would she like it? And would I be able to stop? I forced the image from my mind. “Block everything else out and slow down your breathing. Bats are nocturnal, they prefer the dark. With your eyes closed, your other senses should heighten.”

The pulse at the base of her throat fluttered even as she worked at slowing down her breathing. I wanted to suck on her skin there, right over that pretty little vein—nibble, kiss, lick, bite—again, I resisted.

“I can hear them, Ronan.” A smile curled her lips. “I can hear them.” Her eyes opened. “I should feel weird about it, and I guess I do a bit, considering I have this skill to hunt people down to feed on their blood, but it’s still pretty cool.”

Her joy filled me somehow, her pleasure becoming mine.

“Next up, learning to fly,” she said, beaming. “My wings are getting stronger every day.”

The joy dissipated. “You could plummet to your death.” I shook my head. “No. No, I won’t allow you to do that.”

Her lips pressed together. “No?”

I shook my head. “It’s too dangerous.”