Lexi gave him a guarded look.
“What does all that mean?”
Gaze looked at her for a long moment. Then he glanced up at the ceiling of the hovercoach and she could have sworn she heard him murmuring a nearly-silent prayer. Then he looked back at her again.
“It means we need blood to drink,” he told her heavily.
“What? Blood to drink!” Lexi felt her stomach clench in a knot of fear. Had she stupidly locked herself into a coach with a couple of blood sucking monsters?
Gaze seemed to see her fear because he put out both of his large, well-shaped hands in a gesture of appeal.
“Yes, blood,” he said. “Not much—just a few swallows every now and then. But if we don’t get it, we could die. That’s what’s wrong with my brother—the slavers who captured us blew a hole in his side and he lost a lot of blood. Normally our bodies heal very quickly as you can see…”
He indicated the ragged hole in the side and back of Bound’s dark blue shirt. Looking through it, Lexi could see that that skin was pink and new-looking, unlike the deep tan a few shades lighter than her own skin tones, that predominated everywhere else on the Kindred’s big body.
“But healing himself took all his reserves and we were both already running dry—that’s what we call it when we haven’t been to a donor for a long time and we need a few swallows of blood,” Gaze continued to explain. “So now he’s basically dying and if he doesn’t get to drink from a donor soon, I’ll lose him.”
He looked at her appealingly and though he didn’t outright ask, Lexi could see what he wanted her to do.
“You want me to let your brother drink my blood?” she asked, raising her eyebrows incredulously. “Seriously?”
“He’ll die, otherwise,” Gaze said simply. “Unless you know of a willing female donor we can pay to let us bite her and drink from her,” he added. “We cannot drink from other males or I would have tried to give him some of my own blood—though I have little to spare.”
“A female willing to let a strange male sink his fangs into her on Yonnie Six where males are considered lower than dirt? I doubt it,” Lexi snorted.
“I didn’t think so,” Gaze said, shaking his head. “We were headed home to our own planet of Tranq Prime to get a crimson drink when the slavers caught us. Even if you take us back to our ship—which might still be in the space port where we left it—we won’t get home in time.” He looked down at his hands. “I’m going to lose my brother.”
At his words, Lexi felt a strange determination come over her. She had saved these males—she had paid a million credits for them put together and she had beaten that nasty Mistress Crueltongue at her own game. How the other woman would laugh if she could see the predicament Lexi was in now—that she was about to lose one of the males she’d bargained so fiercely for!
No, she couldn’t have it—she wouldn’t have it, Lexi decided.
“You’re not going to lose him,” she heard herself saying. “I didn’t save you from the Death Mines just to let you die in my hovercoach,” she added, a touch defiantly because what she was about to do was definitely not something a good citizen of Zetta Prime would ever consider. Still, she hadn’t paid a million credits for the two of them to let them die now. And besides, their combined scent was still filling the confines of the coach, making her feel slightly reckless.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed up the sleeve of her plain blue dress and pressed her wrist to the big Kindred’s mouth.
“Drink,” she told him.
NINE
At first it seemed that Bound hadn’t heard her. His eyes had fluttered closed again and his dark lashes lay like fans against his high cheekbones. But when she pressed the underside of her wrist to his lips, the big Kindred began to stir. Slowly, he reached up and caught Lexi’s hand in his own, much larger one. Then his lips parted and she could feel the sharp prick of his fangs against the sensitive skin of her wrist, though he hadn’t pierced her flesh yet.
Oh Goddess of Mercy, what have I let myself in for? This is going to hurt—I know it is!
No sooner had the thought entered her mind than she felt a brief, sharp pain as the long, sharp fangs drove into the delicate bracelet of veins. She gave a little gasp and might have yanked her arm away by instinct…except that Bound held her firmly in place.
After a tense moment, Lexi realized that it didn’t hurt anymore. The fangs had been withdrawn and there was just suction now as the big Kindred drank from her wrist.
All right—this is all right, she told herself. Everything is going to be fine.
Then she turned her head and saw Gaze watching them. The hunger in his pale, changeable eyes was unmistakable but he looked away quickly when he saw Lexi notice him.
“You…you need to drink too, don’t you?” she asked softly.
“I can wait until we get home.” But his voice was hoarse with need and Lexi felt unwilling pity tugging at her heart. Why did she feel so much for these two males who were complete strangers to her? What was it about them that drew her?
She didn’t have an answer, but she couldn’t deny what she was feeling—or that she wanted to give both of them what they needed.
“Here.” She held out her left wrist to Gaze, who was still sitting on the floor beside her.
He looked up at her, his eyes filled with hunger.
“Are you certain? It seems too much to ask.”
“You’re not asking, I’m offering,” Lexi said firmly. “Go on.”
She offered her wrist again and this time the light Kindred took it.
“Thank you,” he said hoarsely, and—baring his fangs—he sank them quickly and neatly into her wrist.
Lexi bit her lip, but she was prepared for the pain this time. It was over quickly and there was nothing but suction…at first, anyway.
And then the strange sensations started.
At first, it felt as though the sucking of their mouths was pulling something from deep within her—some long-buried emotion she had never felt before. Then her nipples began to tighten and the place between her legs began to tingle.
These were strange, unfamiliar sensations to Lexi. Living as she had on a planet full of women and not being attracted to any of them, she had nothing to fantasize about and so had never experienced the urge to touch or pleasure herself. Of course, there was a thriving trade in vibrating pleasure wands on Zetta Prime, and Lexi had tried one once or twice out of curiosity, but she’d never found them very interesting.
Now, for the first time, she felt as though parts of her body were awakening—coming to life in a way that was both inconvenient and embarrassing…but oh, so pleasurable.
What’s wrong with me? Why am I reacting this way just to letting them drink from me?
She shifted uncomfortably, squeezing her thighs together tightly. The area between her thighs felt slick and hot with need and her nipples were so tight they hurt. What was going on?
Gaze seemed to notice something strange was going on too, because he finished drinking and sealed the slight wounds he’d made with a leisurely swipe of his tongue. Then he looked up at Lexi.
“Mistress?” he murmured. “Are you well?” His pale eyes were half-lidded and his nostrils flared, as though he was scenting something delicious.