She had been hungrier than she realized, and the nourishment he supplied satisfied her on an indescribable level. It was the best-tasting blood she’d ever sampled and she drank ravenously from his vein.
Gluttonous, she fed greedily, unsure if her hunger would ever be sated. He pulled her onto his lap and settled her body over his. She shut her eyes as his palm gently coaxed her up and down.
“That’s it, Larissa, take everything you need.”
She needed friction. Her body slowly rocked as other sensations unraveled. Something tugged inside of her, and a new hunger developed in her core. She desired pressure—something to bring some sort of relief.
“Yes, sweet Larissa,” he groaned, his hands pressing along her back and guiding her rocking motions.
She moaned against his throat and pulled harder at his vein. Her hips swayed.
The tickle of his soft hair teased her into a sort of frenzy. She licked at his throat, no longer simply feeding but slaking a darker hunger. Warm lips, softer than flower petals, traced over her skin, teasing softly at her pulse. He coaxed her head back and dragged the edge of his nose from her pulse to the curve of her shoulder. She arched before him, her spine bending as her pelvis fit perfectly against his.
Something was happening. Pressure coiled inside of her, building and stretching. His hands held her, guiding her rolling hips, pulling her hard against his arousal. A little longer and—
Larissa stilled.
Suddenly aware of what she was doing, she flew off the bishop’s lap, flipping the coffee table on its side and covering her face with her hands. Mortified, she pressed her back into the far wall. What had she done?
“Larissa, you did nothing wrong.”
Trembling fingers traced her lips, where she could still taste his potent blood. His rich scent clung to her skin. “You compelled me!”
“You needed to feed.”
“You made me do it! How could you take away my choice?”
“I only did what was necessary. You were emotional and suffering from sharp hunger pains.”
She shook her head. That didn’t justify his actions. “How could you?”
“It was for your own good, Larissa.”
“For my own good? My own good? My own good!” Her body carried the lingering tells of his contact. The muscles of her sex clamped with need, finding only emptiness. Her body was unwittingly aroused. Fury spilled into outrage. “Get out of my apartment!”
“Larissa—”
“I said leave!” The front door flung open. “You got your wish, now get out. I want my last day alone.”
“That wasn’t the agreement.”
“You took advantage of me! You compelled me!”
“You threw me down a garbage chute. I dare to say we’re even.”
Except feeding from him wasn’t garbage. It was divine, and that knowledge enraged her all the more. For nearly two years, she’d been feeding off the sewage in her husband’s veins.
She wiped her mouth on the back of her hand, resisting the urge to spit. “I’m a married female!”
“You don’t love him and he doesn’t love you!” he bellowed with such startling ferocity his roar echoed off the rafters.
“Thank you, Bishop,” she said with no emotion. “Thank you for reminding me just how empty my marriage is and, once again, valuing me as worthless as a sow at an auction. Now, get out.”
“I’m not leaving—”
“You’re awful!” she screamed, at her wit’s end. “Haven’t you done enough? I just want to be left the hell alone to mourn my last day of freedom!”
Something tickled along her scalp again as she recognized the slight sensation of an intruder probing the surface of her mind. Appalled, she slammed a lid on her private thoughts and redirected his telepathic energy back at the source.
He gripped his head and shouted, staggering back several steps. “Enough!”
They both panted and glared at each other.
His eyes narrowed and a broken blood vessel flooded his eye. “How did you do that?”
She wasn’t entirely sure. She merely threw his command back at him. “Serves you right.” She was glad she hurt him. “How does it feel to have your own powers used against you?”
“That was more than my power. You intensified it by at least a thousand percent.”
“I did not.”
She couldn’t have. Her sister was telepathic and her brother was an empath, but she had no such gifts. Even Cain was discovering ways to control the weather, but Larissa had always been the plain and boring one. Perhaps she built up a strong defense from rejecting Grace’s intrusions over the last two decades.
The whites of his eyes slowly returned. “Do not do it again.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Don’t compel me again.”
He growled and angrily adjusted his shirt. Maybe he was finally leaving.
His hair was sticking up on end, and she liked seeing him disheveled. “Tomorrow will be a long and tedious day. I suggest you get some rest.”
The nerve of him. “If you stay here, I won’t sleep.”