Like the kind Nektas said that I brought to Nyktos. Peace that allowed him to sleep deeply when I was near. I wanted that to be true, maybe even more desperately than I wanted to stay where I was, but Nyktos eased his wrist from me. I watched the wounds close with heavy eyes, his skin smoothing until no sign of his bite remained.
“Wow,” I whispered.
“Impressed now?”
“No.”
He raised a brow.
“A little,” I admitted, still tasting his blood—on my lips, my tongue, and inside me, making me all tingly and warm. I shivered as his hand left my hair and slid down my cheek, but I wasn’t cold. His touch…it was amplified. I felt it everywhere.
“Much better,” Nyktos murmured.
I followed his stare to my shoulder, where there’d been jagged, angry tears moments ago. The skin was pink and slightly raised, but that was all. “Good gods.”
Nyktos’s thumb drifted over my chin, turning my attention from my shoulder. “How are you feeling?”
I…I really didn’t know. “My skin is humming.”
“It’s my—” Nyktos stiffened as I flicked my tongue over my lower lip, finding the lingering taste of his blood there. Wisps of eather spread out from behind his pupils. “It’s my blood,” he finished, his tone rugged. Coarse.
“I can feel it—your blood.” My gaze fixed on that single strand of hair resting against his cheek. I knew we had important things to discuss, but I became solely focused on the heat of him, more concentrated where the wounds had been—and in other places. “Your blood is really…hot.”
Thick lashes lowered. “Is it?”
“Mm-hmm,” I murmured, lifting an arm that no longer hurt. I curled my fingers around the strand of hair. My thoughts glided from one thing to another. “You’re not mad at me?”
“For what?”
“I didn’t stay inside.”
“Right now, I’m just glad you’re not dead.” His head tilted slightly. “Ask me if I’m mad later.”
I laughed. “I think I’ll pass on that.”
Nyktos had gone still again, but inside, I was anything but. Everything thrummed: my blood, muscles, nerve endings. “I feel different.”
“At the risk of sounding repetitive, it’s my blood.”
“I didn’t feel like this the last time.” I took the strand of hair and tucked it behind his ear.
“You only had a drop last time.” His eyes closed as I drew my fingers along the curve of his cheek, feeling the texture of his skin. It was smooth, like his blood, giving way to the faint scratch of stubble. “Not nearly enough to feel any of these effects.”
“The humming?” I kept exploring, tracing the outline of his jaw to the corner of his lips, knowing he would never allow me to touch him like this at any other time. I would never let myself. “The tingling?”
“The heat.” The tips of his fangs appeared between his parted lips, and a heaviness settled in my chest at the sight of them. It wasn’t the painful pressure of anxiety but a sinful weight that sent a razor-sharp pulse of desire through me. “The essence in a god’s blood has many effects, but they come on far quicker and stronger when it’s the blood of a Primal.”
“Oh,” I murmured, following the lush curve of his lower lip.
Nyktos was quiet for several moments. “You miss your lake, don’t you?”
My gaze flew to his as my fingers halted. “I do.”
“I could tell.”
“How could…？” I trailed off as he leaned into my hand. The pads of my fingers slipped over his lower lip. Muscles low in my stomach loosened and then clenched as my blood—his blood—pumped through me. An ache blossomed in the very center of me, so sudden and potent that I drew in a ragged breath.
“What other…effects does your blood have?” I asked, surprised by the throatiness of my voice.
“It can cause a brief sensation of general wellness. A high. It can make you feel stronger. Lure you into believing you’re invincible.” Nyktos’s lashes swept up, and the tendrils of eather swirled lazily. “It can also make you want.”
Desire licked through me, leaving behind a pounding flood of arousal. “I want,” I whispered. “Very badly.”
His nostrils flared as his fingers skated over my jaw. “I know.”
My chest rose with a deep breath, and I wasn’t sure if that helped or worsened things as the tips of my breasts brushed his arm. I lifted my other hand, pressing it to my heart, where I felt it beating fast. My fingers spread out, grazing a hardened nipple. The ache intensified as he drew his hand down the side of my neck and across my shoulder. The slight touch echoed through my entire body. My back arched as I bit my lower lip, moaning as I tasted traces of his blood there.