by Ginna Moran
I flick my attention to the small rolling cot set up next to the king-sized bed with fluffy pillows and a gray and white feather-filled duvet that reminds me of clouds. It looks as soft as them too.
Strolling to the bed, I flop back on it, proving my thoughts correct. The bed cuddles my whole body, nearly as good as Berkeley’s goodnight embrace. I stretch my arms over my head and arch my back. This bed is ten times better than the lumpy bunk bed in the donor dorms.
Hudson releases a soft, sexy, almost purring sound in his throat. “Damn, she’s on my bed.”
I don’t respond to his whisper.
Berkeley chuckles from somewhere outside the door. “You can tell her the cot is intended for her.”
“No way. You should see her. I don’t want her to move. I want to climb in and join her. I didn’t think she could get any sexier.”
I thought I could use my super hearing to my advantage, but it’s impossible to pretend I can’t hear Hudson. Sitting up, I say, “You want to join me, huh?”
Hudson darts his gaze from my exposed stomach where my shirt pulled up and to my eyes. “Is that an invitation?”
I twist my lips to the side. “I was only commenting on your conversation with Berkeley.”
“Fuck,” Hudson whispers. “She still has enhanced hearing.”
“What?” This comes from Aspen. I didn’t even know he was here.
I clear my throat. “Hudson’s right. I can hear you still.”
The door to Hudson’s room swings open, and Berkeley hovers in the doorway. “When were you going to tell us?”
“Never, but having you talk about me like I’m not here was getting on my nerves.” I sit up on the bed. “But I’m not in the mood to talk about this right now.”
Torrance appears behind Berkeley. He drinks in the sight of me sprawled out on Hudson’s bed. “Damn,” he murmurs under his breath. I don’t think his swear was about my super hearing, not with the way his eyes practically burn my clothes off.
Aspen shoves him, taking his place. “This can’t be good.”
“Maybe for you,” I say, propping up on my elbows. “So mind your mouths.”
They all just gawk at me.
“And tomorrow, I’m setting some rules,” I add. I wave my finger and point at the tiny bed. “Like sleeping arrangements. You can have the donor bed. I like to sprawl out.”
The looks they all give me speak volumes. I might have to fight them to get what I want.
I narrow my eyes, focusing on Hudson first. “You will follow them if you don’t want me to drive you crazy.”
“Too late for that,” Hudson says, sitting on the edge of his bed.
I smirk and play-kick him. “You have no idea.”
He pretends like he’s going to grab my foot but purposefully misses. “It looks like I’m first up to find out.”
I laugh. “Damn straight. You guys were sorely mistaken to think you could just claim me. So you know, I can’t be claimed.”
I won’t be claimed.
And now that I’m here, knowing I’m not going anywhere, I’m fully prepared to prove it.
Chapter 14
Just a Possession
I ROLL OVER ON MY side and gawk at Hudson sleeping in his bed. The bastard moved me once I fell asleep. And hell. I must’ve been really out. Something like that should’ve woken me up.
Getting up, I pad across the soft rug to his bed. I might not be strong enough to relocate him, but I’m not letting him get off easy for the sneaky-ass move he pulled. I hover over him like a creep to figure out where exactly I need to tug on the blanket to get him off the bed. With how he twisted the blankets around himself, he tossed and turned all day. I wonder if he’s always so restless or if it’s because of me. Not that I’ll ask.
Finding the end of his sheet that he lays on, I gather it between my fingers. This could end badly, startling a vampire like this, but I’m willing to risk such a move. Putting him in his place like he attempted to do with me is totally worth it.
I clench my jaw and silently count to myself. It takes me up to ten before I gather my nerves completely. Yanking the sheet as hard as I can, I manage to roll him to the side of the bed where I finish pulling him off. I scramble to jump over him as he falls to climb onto the bed.
Hudson releases a growl, shooting to his feet. I pull the blankets up to my chin, my fear instincts going off like crazy. He aims a dagger at me, his chest heaving, his eyes crazy silver. He must have weapons everywhere. I didn’t take that into account. I was willing to risk getting bit but not stabbed.
“Don’t hurt me,” I say, grabbing a pillow like it could possibly protect me.
Hudson’s face softens at my words. “What the hell were you thinking, love? You can’t sneak up on a sleeping vampire. If you wanted to sleep in bed with me, all you had to do was ask. I’d have heard you.”
My wild heartbeat settles down now that I know I’m not about to die. Hudson plops on the bed next to me without a word and pulls the blankets around us. I lie in surprise as he turns on his side, taking up the tiny sliver of bed between my spot and the edge.
“Do you always watch people while they sleep?” he murmurs with his back to me.
I blush crazy-hard and attempt to push him off the bed. He doesn’t budge this time. My fingers dig into his shirtless back, his skin warm from the blankets compared to the usual coolness of a vampire’s skin that I’m used to.
“Are we really going to play this game now?” he asks, rolling over.
My hands move with him, and we stare at my palms pressing against the taut planes of his chest. The blanket drapes low over his chiseled body, revealing the band of his underwear—what I think are boxer-briefs. I was too caught up on my fear when he was standing to get a good look at him.
“Fiona?” My name sounds out softly on Hudson’s lips, his eyes meeting mine. “Are you okay?”
I realize I haven’t said anything to him since asking him not to hurt me, and he doesn’t know that my lack of words is because his closeness—how hot he looks lying beside me, how he acts like this is the most normal thing to do—gets me in a good way. My mind wanders to places it shouldn’t go.
Licking my lips, I manage to nod my head and say, “I’m fine. It’s just...you moved me, you bastard.” I finally break his stare, his charm losing its effect on me. I now remember why I did what I did in the first place.
He chuckles. “Damn straight, I did. I tried—and I really mean it—to give you what you wanted, but that bed sucks. I fell off it twice. I tried to wake you up, but you’re grumpy as hell in your sleep, so I moved you. I’d apologize, but I’m not sorry.”
I glare at him. “I am not grumpy.”
“You snapped your teeth like a wild beast.”
I try to shove my hands into his chest, but he’s quick to move, and I fall into him. I freeze, resting my cheek against his shoulder blade with my arm dangled around him. I inhale a soft breath, the sudden heavy silence between us speaking volumes. I love this way too much. So does he.
“Fiona...” Hudson shifts to his back so that I nestle in the crook of his arm, the front of my body resting against the side of his. “You were right about driving me crazy. I need to get up before I try to kiss—”
I cut off his warning with my lips, totally turned on by his admission. Because I want nothing more than to kiss him too. Hudson pulls me on top of him so that I can kiss him deeper, not even caring that we both just woke up. I moan softly, his mouth tasting as sweet as he smells.
His hands slide down the lengths of my sides to dig into my hips, pushing me slightly lower until I feel how hard he is for me. “Your kiss tastes as amazing as your blood,” he murmurs, drawing his tongue along the seam of my lips to brush his tongue to mine.
I ease back a little to put an inch of space between our mouths. “I wouldn’t know about yours. I never did get a chance to taste you like I have with your brothers.”
His eyes flash silver with my comment. “You love t
esting me.”
“What? Are you afraid?” I smirk at him. “Can’t lose your power over me now, can you?”
A frown hardens his features, my words striking a nerve with him. “I’d never manipulate your mind without your permission, Fiona.”
I think I actually believe him. “Why not?”
He sits up with me still on top of him so that we face each other on an even level. My legs remain slung over his, though the space between our bodies allows me to think more clearly. Being this close to Hudson, kissing him, prods at my deep-seated nature as a dhampir. I enjoy letting my blood lust control me more than I should...if it’s even that. My attraction to Hudson is far more than wanting to taste his blood.
“Because I want you to like me by your own free will. The only time I’d ever use that ability on a human is if they were trying to hurt someone, saw something that could jeopardize not only their life but others, and maybe to link minds to create a fantasy...upon request, that is.” Hudson grins at my reaction to his last comment. “But reality is far more fun.”
His admission leaves my mind whirling. Hudson is far from being anywhere near the asshole that Culver was. And maybe I’ve known it all along. The same goes for his brothers. Apart from this weird-ass agreement and their desire to claim me, they’re not as bad as the shadow dwellers I spent all my life training to fight against.
It’s something I should’ve known. Hudson—and the rest of his brothers for that matter—act pretty similar to the blood sources the elders kept in our community. The only difference is that the blood sources gave up their status and power, allowing humans to control them in return for a constant blood supply. I don’t see that happening any time soon with the Kings. But what I can see is more compromise than I ever imagined.
“You do make it so,” I say a little late, pulling myself from my thoughts. “This morning has been...entertaining.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Entertaining?”
I bob my head and lean forward a bit. “Enlightening.”
Closing the space, he kisses me again. “What else?”
“Not like what I imagined.”
“Better?” he murmurs, tightening his hands around my back to pull me onto his lap.
“A little.”
Resting his forehead to mine, he kisses me again like he can’t get enough. I hope he never does. I never thought I could wake up in a place like this, with someone like this, and actually enjoy myself. “What would make it fucking amazing?”
“If we didn’t have to get up. I don’t exactly enjoy spending the night with a bunch of people who are afraid to be near me.” I purse my lips. “Thanks for that, by the way.”
“I’d apologize but I like it this way. You’re mine, Fiona—well, I guess now ours—and I see how the other donors look at you. The other covens too.”
“Well, you don’t have to worry about other covens. I kind of like yours.”
“And the donors? Seeing you on top of that guy, with his blood on you, fuck.”
“Well, I do have a plan to get out of the whole personal blood source thing,” I tease. “I can’t exactly fulfill that task with you.”
He play-growls at me and pushes me onto my back. “We can try.”
He rests his body between my legs, his desire as hard as the rest of him, and I dig my fingers into his shoulders in anticipation. I don’t know exactly what I’m doing but I like how Hudson makes me feel. It’s far different from the few hookups I’ve had with the blood sources in Mount Light Haven. This isn’t about blood. It’s more.
A soft alarm rings through the air, declaring breakfast will start soon. It’s the only thing that stops me from teasing him back. I meet his gaze, his desire for me making it hard to think about anything else. If the alarm didn’t go off, I don’t think we’d ever leave this bed. That I’d even want to.
“Or not,” I whisper, my heartbeat matching the sudden quickness of my breath as I pull myself from the lust Hudson arose in me.
He slides his arms around me and kisses me for a bit longer. With a groan, he rolls off. “I think I might hate my classes now too.”
“Which I assume are far better than mine.”
Hudson offers me his hand to help me to my feet, and he lets me get ready in his private bathroom. A fresh uniform rests on the bed, awaiting me when I stroll out of the bathroom in only a towel. I head to the partition in the corner to change. Hudson did go all out to make sure cohabiting wasn’t going to be awkward for me, which I appreciate.
Berkeley waits for me at the table with his blood draw equipment ready to go. I can’t stop the frown crossing my face at the reminder. I don’t know why, but I find that I feel more like a blood source getting my blood drawn this way. The times I let the vampires back home drink my blood, it was far more fun. They made it so it felt like we were reciprocating fulfilling our needs and not actually treating each other like food.
Berkeley looks up. “Headmistress Rasmussen thought keeping the splitting of your contract would be better left in private. We will only ever drink gen. pop. blood in the dining hall.”
Strong arms wrap around me from behind, and Hudson rests his chin on my shoulder. “I hope this is okay.”
I let him nudge me toward the table. “It’s fine. I just need a little time to get used to this idea of being someone’s breakfast.”
Hudson holds my free hand while Berkeley extracts my blood. “I don’t consider you my breakfast. You’re not a meal to me. More like...the beautiful, irresistible, hot as fuck woman I’m lucky enough to survive on.”
Warmth blooms across my chest at his words. “Laying on the charm rather thick, aren’t you?”
He kisses my shoulder. “Never, love.”
If it weren’t for Rylie’s door opening, I might have turned to kiss him on the lips like he obviously wants. Instead, I sit straighter in my chair and force my mouth to smile at her. She flicks her gaze to mine for a second and strides across the room to the bathroom.
Turning to glance at us, she says, “You need to adjust the sound of the alarm in my room. I didn’t hear it go off. Now, I’ll barely have time for breakfast. Unlike some people, I have to follow the rules. I will not get humiliated by getting whacked like an animal by my instructor for being late.”
“I’m sorry, Rylie. I would’ve woken you up had I known,” I say, glancing at Hudson.
“Whatever.” She slams the door to the bathroom, cutting off anything else I could try to say to make her morning better.
Berkeley gets to his feet. “I’ll grab her something to eat from the kitchen.”
“Maybe see about stopping the whole punishment thing with her too? You guys did it for me,” I say, pushing my chair back.
He nods. “I’ll see what I can do. Personal donors are treated a bit differently.”
Berkeley disappears, leaving me alone with Hudson. I peer at the closed doors of Aspen and Torrance’s rooms, but I don’t hear any movement. They might have already left for the day. Without vampire speed, I know I’ve slowed Hudson down. Berkeley too.
“We can stop by the dining hall to say hi to them before class if you want,” Hudson says, tugging me toward the door.
I flick my gaze to his. “Is that okay?”
He nods. “They’ll be happy you thought about them.”
“What about you? Does it bother you that I do?” I can’t stop myself from asking, especially knowing Headmistress Rasmussen’s concern over dealing with the possessive and jealous nature of vampires. The fact that they need contracts and other bullshit even to maintain peace shows exactly how hard it is for them to share.
He chuckles. “Far less than I expected.”
Before we reach the door, Hudson stops and rolls up the sleeve of his dress shirt. I freeze in anticipation, excitement and confusion washing over me. He sinks his fangs into his arm, sending dark ruby blood dripping in rivulets to his elbow as he extends it to me.
“Will you drink my blood, Fiona? Your concern about mind mani
pulation might have been unfounded with me, but with others...I don’t want to risk it. It was something my brothers and I discussed last night. It’ll also make sure you recover more quickly from the frequent blood draws. Blood Life Corp technically doesn’t allow the exchange, because of the lack of control it allows, so please don’t mention this.”
“So why didn’t you just give me some in bed?” It takes everything in me not to snatch his arm. My hunger burns worse than ever since it’s been what feels like forever since I had blood. And that fact worries me. Before, I could go longer than this. I think the venom bite might have enhanced my dhampir mutation more than I realized.
“It would’ve been far too dangerous,” he murmurs. “I can tell you’re not ready for that kind of intimacy with me, and you already test my restraint as it is.”
“It’s too bad you just assume what you think I’m ready for.” I grab his arm and pull it to my mouth to drink his offering of blood. I can’t help the soft moan that escapes me, his blood satiating more than just my hunger. It quenches my curiosity about how he tastes—incredibly delicious like his brothers—far better than the other vampires I’ve encountered. No one tastes exactly the same, and I’m lucky I like him this much.
Sliding his free hand around to the small of my back, Hudson pulls me even closer, trailing his hand down to squeeze my ass.
“This is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced,” he whispers, leaning into me to brush his lips to my neck. “My brothers were right.”
I frown and pull away from his arm. “Wait, what? You guys talk about what you do with me?”
He takes a step back, his brows lowering on his head. “We tell each other everything.”
Fury explodes through me, and I push him away from me. I can’t believe this. “Just when I thought I could possibly like you all. I should’ve known better.” I storm around him and fling the door leading to the hallway open.