"Almost?" I croaked. "I have to go through more pain?"
"No…" His eyes flashed. "…just pleasure."
"Wha—"
His mouth was on my neck before I had a chance to utter any more words. His tongue twisted and pushed against the base of my throat.
I bucked off the bed as a sweet sensation of euphoria washed over me.
When he pulled back, his eyes were so bright green it hurt to stare directly at him. "Now that… was me biting you."
"Yeah…" I managed to push the word past my stunned lips. "It was."
He moved off the bed at epic speed and was already at the door when I blinked for a second time. "Stephanie will be in to help you shower and dress. We'll discuss your… duties… when you've regained some of your strength."
"Wait!" I blurted.
He paused at the door, his hands digging into the wood. "Yes?"
"Am I still human?"
He burst out laughing and turned. "Of course… still weak, still fragile, still very much… human."
"Oh…" I nodded, my studies of vampires were clearly lacking since I'd learned that a bite could turn you or worse, kill you. "…that's good, right?"
"Depends on who you ask, I suppose." He shrugged and shut the door softly behind him.
I was too tired to focus on what that cryptic sentence may have meant and didn't have time to mull it over like I typically would because Stephanie burst through that same door two minutes later yelling, "You lived!"
Did that mean she'd thought I would die?
"Good for you." She nodded. "Things are finally looking up!" She clapped her hands and dropped a set of clothes onto the nearby chair. "Let's get you showered and looking your best so you can start producing little vampire babies."
I felt my stomach drop. "Wh-what?"
"It was a joke." She winked. "Well, the vampire babies part. Now, let's get you feeling better. I'll have Alex in here a bit later to stabilize you and—"
"Stabilize me?" I repeated. "What?"
"It's what he does." She nodded. "He's a siren — makes girls feel calm when all they want to do is pull their hair out and scream. I'd do it, but it only works on men… thus the need for him to do it. Don't worry though. It's like taking a Xanax, only it feels way better."
"I don't want to feel drugged," I mumbled, my body aching in places I didn't know even existed. "I think right now I just want a shower."
Stephanie shifted on her feet. "He didn't hurt you… did he?"
Well, my physical body was intact, but my heart was really confused. Did it hurt? No, but something felt wrong. Like I should be happy, elated even, rather than depressed and rejected.
"No," I finally answered. "I'm great."
"Good." She exhaled. "Now, about that shower."
Ethan
I still tasted her blood on my lips, was embarrassed for the first time in a century when Alex glanced up from his spot at the kitchen table to see me licking my lips like I'd just devoured the poor girl.
He shook his head. "Been that long, huh?"
"Alex…" I closed my eyes and prayed for patience. "…remind me why I let you live here?"
"I'm good-looking," he answered simply. "Besides, I'm a hell of a fighter — scrappy, I think is how you define my kind. You need me."
"Stop." I pressed my fingertips to my temples and rubbed. The ache to have her had consumed me so much that I'd run down the stairs moving so fast I'd nearly collided with a wall, and grabbed blood from the fridge.
I didn't need it.
But I craved it.
And if I didn't drink the donated blood, I sure as hell was going to drain her and enjoyed very last drop.
"I wonder…" Alex's voice pierced my thoughts. "What's it like?" He leaned forward. "Having to learn self-control all over again… being as ancient as you are?"
I ignored him.
He kept talking.
"Blood-free for a century and now…" He grinned and licked his lips. "Kind of like falling off the wagon, yeah?"
"You're giving me a headache." I threw the empty bag of blood at his face. He moved to the side and snickered. "And I'm fine. Everything is just—"
Her smell was intoxicating. She was walking down the stairs, so her heart picked up speed, her body giving off a scent of burnt vanilla and oranges with a hint of sugar. My mouth literally watered.
"Fine?" Alex said in a mocking voice. "Was that what you were going to say? Damn, man show a little decorum, you look… starved."
"I am," I whispered and fought the urge to rock back and forth. That was the problem with mating — with bonding. Nothing tasted like her, nothing ever would, and typically, having her as my mate gave me full access.
But the more I took…
The stronger the bond.
And the more I wanted…
It was a vicious overwhelming cycle. It would lead me to become emotionally invested while she, as a human, could simply pretend.