That was why Merrick’s eyes went cold at the sound of Theo’s name? Because he had once drunk my blood? I tried to remember the last time I’d even thought of that incident. My God, that was not at all the reason I’d expected. "Do you not recall the incident?" Merrick spoke softly now, rising from the sofa and slowly approaching the window where I stood. "Yes," I managed. "I refused to get on the horse with him, so he drained my blood to weaken me, or in the hope that you would finish the job. I woke up in your bed." "On the brink of death," Merrick said, and something dark flashed in his gaze. "And under his spell." I blinked at him, and then looked down for a moment. Yes, now I recalled the surge of pleasure that came with Theo's bite, the way I had found myself clinging to him as he worked his lips against my throat. That was the effect of a vampire's venom, as I now knew firsthand from both sides of the equation. How embarrassing to think of myself in Theo's embrace, flushed and pliant, begging to be consumed.
