Chary by nature, Vail’s first instinct hadn’t been to climb into the bathwater with Victoria, but his solution of kneeling beside the tub was quickly proving to be unsatisfactory. Even if he merely tried to feed on her from where he sat on his heels, he disliked the cold porcelain that prevented him from enveloping her lithe body in his arms. So, when she revealed that there were indeed other towels that he could use, he nodded and rose to his feet to remove his shoes and trousers, eager to close the distance between them.

He pushed the garments aside with his foot to keep them from being splashed by any stray water droplets as he joined his human lover in the warm, scented bath. The temperature made his skin tingle pleasantly, and he settled down comfortably across from her, taking a moment to enjoy the pleasant sensation. In a tub designed for just one person, there wasn’t an excess of space for both of them, but he found a way to overcome the issue. Beneath the water, he slid his hands along her shapely legs, following the contours from her ankles to her thighs, and met her gaze with a sly smirk just before he pulled her by the hips up onto his lap.

“That’s better,” he said decidedly, leaning in to close the gap that remained between them. The feeling of her legs around his waist made his heart race, but even more exciting was the proximity of her neck to his mouth. He could feel the urge to bite her pluck at his willpower again, and he licked his lips hungrily. Since she had been ill whilst staying with his family, he had abstained from drinking her blood, and before then, her blood had been too thin to provide him the nourishment it usually did. Despite the few times he had gone out to feed on other humans recently, he had a particular craving for the Crest heiress that hadn’t been satisfied in over a week.

“You are far more than just prey to me,” he murmured again, snaking his arms around her bare shoulders and lower back. “But I trust you won’t mind if I indulge myself a little…” Holding her close, he didn’t have the patience to wait for a response as he chased the statement by trailing his tongue over her supple neck. He’d managed to cling to his composure long enough to express his feeling to her, and now that he had, there was nothing pressing enough to convince him to keep fighting against his impulse to feed. His hazel irises shrank down to the size of thin rings against his dilated pupils as his bloodlust took over and he primed her soft flesh for the bite.