Vail could hear the hesitation in Victoria’s voice when she responded to him, but he was too enthralled by the thought of drinking her blood again to take a metaphorical step back and question if she was prepared to endure a feed that eve. Assuming that she was just nervous about being bitten, he pushed the detail aside as he primed her skin. He knew how to be gentle in the midst of his lust for her blood, and she had recovered quite a bit since Lord Spencer had taken too much. As such, he wasn’t concerned about hurting her like he had the last time he’d impulsively ignored her weakened condition.

When he finally pierced her flesh with his long canines, he felt the quiver run through her body and held onto her instinctively to keep her from slipping out of his grasp. Unlike the last time, her blood flowed much thicker and tasted just as rich as ever before, and he lapped it up zealously. The metallic tang on his tongue and the intoxicating scent in his nose made it difficult for him not to lose himself to a frenzy, but he took intentionally slow breaths to stay grounded as he fed. Her frightful whimpers didn’t escape his keen ears. He didn’t want to fray her nerves any more than they already were by gripping her too firmly and leaving bruises or taking too much of her blood.

However, her shivering didn’t seem to stop. He licked the scarlet liquid from his lips and glanced at her sideways as she continued to tremble in his arms. Her veins were still producing a steady flow, so he was reluctant to quit just yet, but it bothered him to see her act so scared of him. He thought she knew that he would never bring her close to death’s door like her fiancé had. He cared about her deeply, and even though he couldn’t suppress his nature, he did everything in his power to make the experience less unpleasant for her.

Careful not to let her see the blood on his jaw, he lifted one hand to hold her head against his shoulder, trying to comfort her. “Victoria, you need to calm down,” he spoke gently. “The bite is over. I’m not going to take more than what is already flowing, but if you hyperventilate, you could pass out.” His gaze returned to the weeping punctures in her neck. During the time he had paused to address her, some of the blood had trickled down her shoulder into the bathwater. He used his other hand to wipe the thin dribble from her skin and passed his tongue over his fingers so as not to waste the excess.