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My lips part at the pinch of pain, and I fight the urge to fall into the rush of warm and pleasurable sensations that accompany the bite. Unlike at the bash, he doesn’t linger tonight. He pulls back and bites his own wrist before offering it to me. I stare at the blood that beads to the surface and drips down his pale skin. Am I really doing this?

“Please, Raina.”

I’m going to regret this—I know it with every fiber of my being—but it’s for Addy. I have to do whatever I can to find her. Not to mention, this little deal will piss off both Drake and Melody. With that thought bolstering me, I take his wrist and seal my lips around the bite, sucking on the wound. His blood is warm and coppery, rich like dark chocolate too. I swallow and quickly pull back, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, smearing blood over my lips.

Bellamy watches me with hooded eyes.

“Is that all—oh!” The magic of the blood bargain wraps around me and steals my breath. The buzzing sensation extends to Bellamy and coils around him before slithering between our bodies. A familiar heat stings my forearm. I clench my jaw, forcing myself not to flinch as the bargain brands itself beneath my skin.

As quickly as it came, the magic of the spell fades away.

There. It’s done. Now he can tell me whatever he knows about the chief justice. Speaking of. “How do you know John?”

Bellamy holds my gaze, his signature smirk nowhere to be found. “He’s my father—well, adoptive father.” His confession steals the oxygen from my lungs, but he’s studying me so intently, I fight to keep my expression as void as his.

What did I just agree to? Gathering intel on John is one thing, but getting it from his son? It’s too late to take back the bargain. I’ll have to be careful with how I go about this. Mindful.

Leaning close, the vampire brushes his lips over the shell of my ear. “Time to play,” he whispers.

My eyebrows press together in confusion.

Bellamy’s lips skim down my neck, and the barest brush of his fangs makes my heart trip over itself. I grasp his shirt, fisting it. Normally a flood of panic would hit me. Not with him. With this vampire, I want nothing more than to expose my throat and beg him to take a drink.

Goddess, curse the effects of his bite.

“Don’t forget to pretend like you like me.” His shadows quickly recede to reveal Melody seething with hands on her hips.

“What the fuck is this?” she demands.

I side-eye Bellamy. Did he know she was there?

His fingers thread through the strands of my hair, tipping my head, and his fangs tease over my pulse point, distracting me from the question.

A shudder of anticipation rolls down my spine. I’ll never tell him, but an insatiable need slams into me. Like an addict desperate for their next hit. The sharp points of his fangs press into my neck, sinking into my skin with agonizing slowness, as if he wants to draw out the experience. So different from the way he bit my wrist. He massages my scalp, tasting me with a flick of his tongue before biting me fully.

A pinch of pain shoots through me milliseconds before euphoria slams into me. I instantly arch my back, tipping my head into his hand to give him better access. The pressure of him swallowing creates a delicious warmth between my legs that I should be ashamed of, but it’s so powerful, I can’t think of anything but giving him more of my blood. A soft gasp tumbles from my lips, and I press my thighs together to relieve the ache, fully aware that my arousal is probably heady in the air.

The lowest of moans rumbles in his throat in answer, his hips pressing into mine, revealing his hard, thick length that throbs for me.

It’s nice to know I’m not the only one affected by the bite.

A violent flash of white outside steals my attention for a moment, and the library trembles beneath the boom of thunder that follows the lightning strike. Melody’s eyes burn with hatred when I meet them. Warning signs go off in my head, but as Bellamy tugs on my hair and swallows again, pleasure overrides everything else.

My clit throbs and, somehow, somehow, his bite sends a swirl of sensations around the sensitive nerves. They move languidly at first, then faster and faster. I exhale shakily, barely hanging on to my sanity.

What is he doing to me? I should push him away. Make him stop.

But, Goddess, I don’t want him to.

He rocks his hips, his cock pressing against me through the fabric separating us, and my entire body clenches with want. Heart hammering, my eyelids flutter closed, body softening in his hold. I relent to his control, my own hands anchoring themselves in the soft strands of his black hair. Shadows caress over me, circling my pebbled nipples, pinching and squeezing.

Goddess, I didn’t know vampire bites could feel like this.

Flashes of light threaten to shatter the moment, but I don’t open my eyes. Bellamy rewards me with shadows slipping beneath my shirt, skimming up my body. Goose bumps chase after their touch. He grinds against me, lighting up every nerve ending.

My lips part. Holy shit, I’m close. I’m right there, just⁠—

A hundred panes of glass shatter. Shards slice across my arm and cheek, splitting the skin, before they clink against the tiled floor. The pain should force me back to reality, but it amplifies everything. Goddess above, I think I’m going to come.