“What if I want to be on top next time?”

“Oh, I’m totally open to that.”

“Are you?” she teased, enjoying the lighthearted banter between them.

“Mhm.” His hands continued to massage her scalp, and he fell silent for a few seconds. Then he cleared his throat. “Uh, Ursula. There’s something I wanted to ask you.”

Surprised at his hesitant tone, she tensed slightly. “Yes?”

“Remember when you told me that your captors wouldn’t allow you any sexual gratification?”

She nodded.

“You said that the reason was that they thought your blood wouldn’t be potent anymore.”

Ursula’s breath hitched. She knew where this conversation was going. And she didn’t know whether she dreaded it or welcomed it. “That’s what they claimed.”

“I was wondering . . . if that meant, the drugging affect of your blood would be gone forever, or just for a period of time, like maybe a few hours or days. Have you ever given it any thought?”

“I never thought of it. Not while I was imprisoned.” Though she’d been thinking of it since—ever since he’d told her in the van that he wanted to bite her while making love to her.

Oliver’s hands removed some of the foam from her hair, dropping it into the bathwater. Then his hands came up again, caressing her neck.

“Did you like my bite?”

A shiver ran down her spine, making her entire body tingle. “It was different from all the other bites. It was . . . gentle.” And she had loved it. But she was scared to admit it openly. Because it would invite too many problems.

Oliver pulled her back, dipping the back of her head into the water to rinse her hair. When she sat up again, he drew her back against his chest, circling his arms around her torso, his cheek next to hers.

Excitement and fear collided inside her when he dipped his head to kiss her neck. She held her breath, half dreading, half hoping that he would sink his fangs into her, but he removed his lips from her skin again.

“You were beautiful when I watched you react to my virtual bite. But I was envious too. Because you experienced it first hand and I didn’t.” His voice was husky, and one of his hands now slid down to her belly and lower still until he reached her sex. He cupped it, then extended his middle finger and drove into her.

She let out a stifled moan. “Oliver, I . . . it’s too risky. We don’t know what’ll happen.” She couldn’t let him bite her, not just for her own sake, but also for his. She didn’t want him to become a drug addict. She cared too much about him to let this happen. “Please, you don’t know how you’ll react to it.”

She sensed him freeze, then withdraw his hand from her sex. “Baby, did you think I was going to bite you now? I’m not.”

She turned her head, surprised. “You’re not? But why . . . I thought you were asking me.”

Oliver shook his head and smiled. “I wanted to know if you would allow me to take a sample of your blood and have it tested.”

“Tested?”

“Yes, you know that Maya is a doctor. We could give her samples of your blood from before we have sex and then again from after. And then she can see if there’s a difference. Maybe then we can figure out if what they said is true, and if it is, for how long your blood is safe after sex.”

The hopeful glint in his eyes was undeniable.

“Do you really think that Maya can do that?”

“She’s a good doctor. And she’s done a lot of research on what affects vampires and what doesn’t. I trust her.”

Slowly, she let the implications of his request sink in. “And if it’s safe, what will you do then?”

His blue eyes looked mesmerizing when he gazed at her with scarcely-restrained desire. She barely felt how he sat up and turned her body so that she straddled him. Underneath her, she felt the hard ridge of his erection probe at her core. Slowly, he pulled her down onto him, impaling her on his shaft.

“That’ll depend on you. It’s your decision.” He kissed her gently. “You already know what I want; now the question is: what do you want?”

A few days ago, her answer would have been clear cut and instantaneous, but tonight things were more complicated. She was falling in love with Oliver, and she wanted to give him everything he wanted. But did that include her blood? Was she willing to give him what her captors had stolen from her for three years? And if she did—if there was indeed a way for him to drink her blood without being affected by the drug within—would he be able to hold onto his control without falling into bloodlust and sucking her dry? She’d seen him when he’d craved blood before. What would happen when he couldn’t control that craving any longer?