I feigned helplessness. “I don’t know. It could be.”

“Everything comes at a price, Carrie.” He sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.

Taking a deep breath, I hiked my nightgown above my knees with one hand and gently pushed him to the bed with the other. I straddled him, lifting the silk to my waist, and guided his erection into my body.

He moaned and I gasped as I sank down his cold length. I lifted my hips, letting him slip almost completely out, and pressed my throat to his mouth.

The change came over him almost immediately as he pierced my neck. I forced myself to concentrate on the feeling of him inside me, the sensations that made my head swim, so he wouldn’t see the true reason for the favor I would ask.

Or the pain that suddenly knifed through my heart.

This would be the last time we’d be together. I don’t know why it bothered me so much. I blamed all the feelings I had for him on the blood tie. But maybe that blame had been misplaced. Maybe I really did care for him. But the decision had already been made. I’d promised Nathan, and I had a duty to protect Ziggy. There was no changing my mind now. If I grieved for Cyrus in the end, it would be my burden to bear.

I rose on my knees, letting just the tip of him rest against me. He strained up from the bed, trying to reenter me. I made a move to get off him completely, and he stopped fighting.

“You’re trying to hide from me,” he whispered, leaning up to run his tongue over the scar he’d created on my neck. “But you aren’t strong enough. I can see what you want. Say it.”

My hands shook as I stroked his hair back from his forehead. Was this a trick? How much did he really see? “I want to choose who the Soul Eater gets.”

His body went still at the words, and for a moment, I thought he would turn me down. Or worse, reveal that he’d seen through my ruse and kill me on the spot.

Wrapping his powerful arms around me, he flipped me onto my back and filled me in one, brutal thrust. “Whatever my princess wants.”

I suppose I should have felt like a total whore at this moment, but my relief was so overwhelming I almost laughed. I threw my head back and surrendered to the feeling of my sire’s hands on me, his cock filling me. When I came, I shouted so loud I was sure I’d woken the entire household.

Cyrus finished soon after, collapsing on top of me with a smile.

“Saturday will be a night to remember,” he rasped against my cheek.

A tear fell from my eye.

You have no idea.

Seventeen

Happy New Year

When I woke the next night, Cyrus was gone. I curled into the space he’d vacated, expecting warmth but finding none. Of course. Vampire. No body heat. I sat up, chuckling at my stupidity, but my good mood vanished at the sight of Dahlia leaning against the closed door.