“You still want to claim me, don’t you?” I ask in a rasp whisper.
“I’m not going to.”
His hand runs down my chest, and he squeezes a breast in his grip. My entire body trembles against the contact.
“Where’s your family?” he asks me, looking up into my eyes. That’s the most personal thing he’s asked yet. And very random, considering the circumstances.
“Dead. At least my mother is. I never knew my father. I’ve only ever seen one picture of him with my mom’s sister. And… Mom died in a mental institution.”
“Mental institution?” he asks.
I nod slowly, and he frowns. “What were their names?”
“Lindsey Cartwright. Like I said, I don’t know anything about my sperm donor, which is essentially all he was. My turn. What’s your last name?”
He smirks as he lets his hand roam over my body some more.
“I don’t have one anymore. Most of us try to keep a surname changed up to keep people from finding us, or to blend with the humans. I’ve always been a little different. I prefer the one-name thing. It’s simpler, and I lay lower than the rest. Kane has so many houses, and I just stick to them instead of collecting my own.”
“What did your name used to be?”
He continues avoiding eye contact.
“You’re the only one I’m going to tell the truth. The rest only know the lie.”
I’m not sure what that means, but I watch as his lips press against the swells of my breasts, sliding from one to the other.
“Clayton.”
That name sounds familiar, but I can’t place it.
“Why do you lie about it to the others?”
He shrugs. “I like to make sure no one can ever go after the surviving members of my family. None of my friends would, of course, but it’s easier to live the lie than to worry about the truth getting out.”
I run my fingers through his faux hawk, finding it surprisingly soft, and I watch in wonder as the blue tips turn orange. It’s fascinating.
“Once upon a time, I was a rich, popular, spoiled kid who didn’t appreciate anything. Then one day I was this.” He motions to himself. “Then Gage’s brother fucked me up even more by somehow infusing magic into my blood to make me stronger. It also… It’s like it made me darker. I once hated the kill. Now I get off on it.”
Yeah… That should definitely not turn me on.
“I once hated the thought of ever siring anyone, now it’s all I think about. I used to barely drink blood because it sickened me to admit what I was. Now I love it, want it, need it… I’m toxic, Leah. And you’re the prime target of my attention right now. I’m running low on willpower. Stop making touching you so easy. I wasn’t kidding the night I told you I’d ruin you. Because I fucking will.”
It’s a warning and a threat in one breath, yet I stay exactly where I am instead of moving.
“What about you?” he asks, looking up. “What were you like when you were younger?”
I snort derisively. “Really weird. I liked horror movies. Lots of horror movies. I also liked weapons, even though I never learned how to use them. I collected them though, even if it was only to look at them and pretend I could defend myself if I had to. I was fascinated by swords, knives and…”
My voice trails off when he cocks an eyebrow, and I slowly let that sink in.
“Shit,” I mumble, and he smirks.
“It’s your nature to be curious about monsters and weaponry. It’s in your blood.”
“It made me the weird chick at school. You have no idea how hard it was to be a girl like I was. Having a mentally unstable mother known as the “town crazy” made it worse. I lived in a small town, and I was the brunt of everyone’s jokes.”
He tenses against me. “Who fucked with you?”