Killian wasn’t a wizard, but this felt so perfect I couldn’t imagine anything better.

“Can I interpret this as a yes?” Killian murmured into my ear. “A yes to everything?”

“Yes,” I echoed. “But we still have a lot to talk about, and it will have to wait until after the fight.”

“What do we have to talk about? Unless there are body parts of yours that require permission to touch besides your apparently blessed-and-sanctified-butt that must be protected at all costs?”

I wriggled out of his grasp—I couldn’t let myself get too hopped up on his vampire pheromones or I’d forget why we were here in the first place. “There’s that.” I swiped up the water bottle and took a massive slug. “But there’s also a lot of details we’ll have to work out. Like what kind of schedule we’ll be on so we can make this work, how do we integrate our households, and, most importantly, how are we going to explain this to House Medeis without making it angry enough to inflict ice-cold showers on us for the rest of our lives.”

“Oh.” Killian paused and folded his arms across his chest. “Yes, that is a fair point. Fine. I’ll wait. Even longer.” He rolled his eyes to show what he thought of the idea.

I took another slug of water to give myself something to do, then wiped droplets off my chin. “So…about feeding you. How do we do this?”

This was the part that actually made me a little squirrely. Killian wouldn’t hurt me…but I was going to be pretty vulnerable while he drank.

Thinking of possible feeding methods, something in my stomach flopped. “Do you have to drink from my neck?”

“No,” Killian scoffed. “You’re tiny. If I fed off your neck and collapsed on you, you’d suffocate.”

“I think I’m strong enough to push you off,” I shook a finger at him. “I might have to push you onto the floor, but that’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.”

Killian gave me a flat look. “You dropped Gavino on your head while fighting him. Seeing how I’ll be too out of it to help, we’re going to take precautions. Your arm will work fine—specifically your wrist.”

I honestly felt a little relieved by that. It was a lot less intimidating to offer out my arm than my neck. “Okay.”

Killian made an inspection of the three couches that were in the room. “Besides, this isn’t one of those horrid romances we try selling the humans to convince them we’re not going to eat them.”

“You’re right. It’s just dinner,” I joked.

“Not at all.” Killian turned slightly so he could face me. The set of his mouth and eyebrows were serious. “It’s much bigger than that.”

I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling awkward under his glowing gaze. “Right. So how is this going to go down? Or, what I really want to know, is how much is this going to hurt?”

Killian slid his hands in the pockets of his pants. “There will be some discomfort when I first bite,” he said. “But it will fade after that. I’ll dampen my pheromones so you don’t get groggy off them—it was one of our original survival techniques when blood packs weren’t available and we had to feed off humans.”

I relaxed—I should have known Killian was going to be thoughtful about this. Giving him blood or whatever I should call it was maybe going to be a little embarrassing, but I’d be fine. “That would be great, thanks.”

“I won’t take enough to harm you.” He looked around the room once more, then sat down on the blue leather couch in front of us. “I physically wouldn’t be able to drink that much. Blood from a living being is extremely rich, and with all the magic in your blood I’d probably get violently ill.”

“Killian.” I sat down next to him, one leg folded underneath me, and set my hand on top of his. “I’m not worried that you’re going to harm me.”

He slowly nodded.

I smiled and held out my arm.

He touched my wrist as he slightly maneuvered himself so he wouldn’t be in danger of falling off the couch.

After a moment, he slowly raised my wrist, and kissed me there.

My heart gave an unsettling twist.

He was right—it wasn’t romantic. This was far too stripped down for anything like that. This was the same kind of raw connection I shared with my family and House.

I was nervous, and I could sense that Killian was just as tense as I was.

This won’t work. We need to relax.

So, of course I opened my big mouth. “This is super unsanitary.”

Killian exhaled loudly, his breath feathering my bare arm. “Did you get a nursing degree in the past few months that I am unaware of?”

“No, but you’re going to bite me,” I pointed out.

“Vampires have microorganisms in our spit and bodies that clean out things like bacteria and pathogens,” Killian said. “My spit is not contaminated—I’m more likely to get sick on your blood than the reverse.”

“Oh, so you’re like a dog,” I said.

“What.” Killian sat back in the couch after that, a look of disbelief etched on his handsome face.

“You know there’s a saying that a dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s,” I said.

Killian dropped my arm entirely and rubbed his eyes. “First of all, I can’t even begin to deconstruct how wrong that is.”

I couldn’t hold my laughter in any longer. It erupted from me. “Killian, I’m joking,” I said. “I was just lightening up the moment.”

“You have an inappropriate sense of humor.” Although his words were critical, the lines of his muscles were more relaxed.

“I don’t know why you were expecting anything different,” I said. “I beat a wizard senseless with a dictionary.”

A tiny smile pulled on his lips. “Thank you.” He leaned forward and kissed my forehead. “We’ll be fine.”

He raised my wrist to his mouth again, glancing at me when I didn’t object, and then bit.

It stung a little like a shot—a momentary pinch of pain. I felt it when his pheromones or microorganisms in his spit or whatever it was kicked in. The pain faded away, and I felt just a tiny bit bubbly—like I’d just downed a shot of espresso.

Maybe that was adrenaline, though?

I couldn’t feel his teeth anymore, just the gentle brush of his lips—although I had the nagging sensation that I wanted to itch the spot where his mouth was.

But after a few seconds, I realized something was very, very different.

I didn’t feel hot.

Wizards ran hot due to magic, and since I’d unsealed my magic my body temperature spiked into sweaty at the drop of a hat. I was always hot.

Except the spot where Killian’s lips brushed my wrist was…cool. Like putting your feet in a lake at sunset.

Even better, I could feel the sensation ripple slowly through my body. The uncontainable heat slowly faded, leaving a cool, calming sensation behind. I felt…balanced.

That sensation was why I didn’t freak out even though the feeding process took a lot longer than I thought it would.

I assumed it’d be a minute maximum. It was closer to five before Killian licked the spot (like a dog—but I wasn’t going to push my luck twice in such a short span of time) and my blood clotted.

I don’t know if it was the vampire spit or what, but the bite mark scabbed over within seconds.

I was so busy marveling over my arm I almost missed it when Killian fell back against the couch, his head sagging on his neck. “You taste so much better than I thought.” His British accent was so strong I could practically poke it, and his eyes were lazily lowered to half-mast.

“I taste like Christmas dinner, good to know,” I said.

Killian snorted. “No. You taste like sunlight. I didn’t know how much I’ve missed it—how it used to feel. Now it just dulls the senses…You let me experience something I’d forgotten, something I thought I’d never have again.” He flicked his eyes in my direction as he sagged deeper into the couch. “In more than one way.” He tried to brush my cheek, but the high of drinking fresh blood must have gotten to him because he couldn’t quite raise his hand high enough. “And that’s all there is to it.” His words were slurring together more—he probably didn’t have long before he was going to pass out.

I glanced down at my arm—which now held no sign of the bite mark, not like it mattered, I would wear a coat for the fight anyway. “You don’t need any more?”

“No,” Killian said. “But if you leave me, I’ll come find you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” I said.

“Good.” He shut his eyes and exhaled, and for the first time since I’d set eyes on Killian while running from Mason, he relaxed.

Every muscle in his body loosened, and he yawned widely, resembling a cat.

One of his shoulders dropped, and he jerked in the couch.

“Here, just lie down.” I stood—pleasantly surprised when I moved that I didn’t feel any ill side effects from the process—and crouched next to the couch.

Killian obediently stretched out, his long limbs draped over the cushions. “It won’t be too long,” he said.

“Yep. Just sleep it off. When you wake up we’ll finish preparing to face the Night Court.” I brushed some of his hair out of his face.

He didn’t move or reply.

I waited several more seconds before I realized he was sleeping.

I studied the fearsome Eminence who I’d gone through so much with, and who had stood by and believed in me when my own people wouldn’t. He was terrifying, and yet he’d just given me the greatest gift he could have given: his trust. “Thank you, Killian.” My heart brimmed with joy, my body still felt blissfully cool, and I’m sure I grinned like a moron as I lightly brushed my lips against Killian’s. “I love you.”