Chapter 10

Over the next few days, feedings had become a chore. Not because Lily particularly minded them, but because she had stopped denying the prince access to her neck. Leon had told her that blood is like milk—freshest from the source. That for some reason, it was far more satisfying when drinking it straight from the flesh. That the most delectable source was found in the neck where blood was freshest and more easily drained.

But, he warned Lily, it also meant biting very close to her carotid artery. She was still mortal, after all. "Don’t trust a vampire who doesn’t know his limits," Leon had said.

But the prince seemed self-disciplined. He always stopped before she felt a spell coming on—drinking only enough to satisfy his hunger and not a drop more. That hadn’t changed, but the fierceness in his bite, the power in his body had.