I can sense the rapid departure of the pain of my injuries. This is way more powerful than the time I drank from Dru. Perhaps the older the vampire, the more potent their blood. Although I have no clue how old Dru is, but I imagine she’s a good deal younger than Ethan. There’s something way too modern about her, whereas Ethan sometimes talks like someone out of an old film or a book. He’s a fifty/fifty mix of modern cool and old fashioned sensibilities. Often those sensibilities are a little too old fashioned for my tastes, especially the control freak factor.
These thoughts filter through my brain while I’m vaguely aware of Ethan’s hand slipping beneath my t-shirt and gripping tightly onto my hip with need as we continue to consume each other with our eyes. I literally am consuming him, drinking down his heavenly sweet blood.
Then, all too soon, his hand clamps onto my chin and eases my mouth away from his wrist. I withdraw with a loud gasp, as the excess blood drips down from my mouth. Ethan’s fangs are still extended and it seems like it’s taking all of his will power to back away from me now. His hand lets go of my hip and he steps back to sit down on the edge of the bath. We haven’t once let our gazes drop from each other.
A few brief moments pass before I gain some level of coherent thought. “Um, thanks, I guess,” I mumble at him and look away. I step over to the sink and turn on the tap, before washing my red mouth until it’s free of Ethan’s blood. I’m shivering al
l over now, half because of his blood being in my system and half because I’m hyper aware that he’s watching my every movement.
I’ve been getting this feeling a lot the past few days. The feeling that Ethan is watching me when I’m not looking. Like he might actually be finding it difficult to stay away from me, despite his cool, calm and collected disposition. He must be having some sort of internal conflict over whether or not to forgive me for my betrayal. He’s definitely very far off from coming to any conclusion about me though. Somehow I can tell that Ethan providing me with relief from my injuries does not a reconciliation make.
“How do you feel now?” he asks, and it looks like he’s holding back a small smirk. Obviously he knows his blood makes me feel amazing. I might actually have to go and have a lie down, it’s such a massive high. My head is almost dizzy with this feeling of euphoria. Is it the same for blood donors when the vampires feed from them, I wonder? If so, I can definitely see the attraction, even if I’m squeamish about the process.
“Good,” I answer, too begrudging to actually explain to him that I am high as a fucking kite right now. He knows it anyway, and now he does smirk at me.
“I would think that ‘good’ is a slight understatement, wouldn’t you?”
“Well, maybe if we were friends I would describe to you how I’m feeling in a little more detail, but since that’s not the case, ‘good’ will have to suffice.”
Ethan’s smirk deepens. His eyes trace every curve of my body. I’ve been drowning my worries with a little too much food lately. Dad in hell. Ethan hating me. Theodore back to reek havoc. Comfort eating has been my only comfort. I haven’t yet ventured into the realm of fat, thank God, but I’m definitely teetering in the balance.
Ethan starts to speak. “My blood is rushing through your veins, invigorating them. Every good feeling you might be having is enhanced ten times over. For instance, if I were to touch the sensitive spot beneath your ear with my lips you would undulate in a pleasure so intense it would be as though I were actually inside of you. Plunging hard into you.”
Tingles travel down my spine. Oh, he’s definitely trying to torture me. Two can play at that game. I step over to him and sit astride his lap. I press my lips to the exact spot he just mentioned, only beneath his own ear. A deep growl rumbles in his chest.
“Feeling brave?” he whispers.
“Maybe.” I whisper back. What the hell am I playing at? This isn’t like me at all. I’ve never been this sexually aggressive before in my life. It’s his blood, definitely his blood. With great effort I draw away from him and stand up.
“Too much for you, sugar?” he asks with a satisfied look on his face.
“Piss off, Ethan.” I storm out of the bathroom and into the room I’m currently sharing with Amanda. She’s not around though, Noreen must have taken her out for a walk or something. I can hear Ethan chuckling as he goes back down the stairs to rejoin Rita.
I lay down on the clean white sheets and enjoy the after effects of vampire blood consumption. My head is a swirling, multi-coloured mix of euphoric pleasure. My every pore tingles, the feeling radiates through me, and not one single worry pollutes my mind. This is nice. It’s like when you hit that perfect balance of drunkenness where you don’t remember why you were miserable enough to go and get drunk in the first place, but better. Way better.
I slip off my shoes and crawl further onto the bed, pushing my cheek against the soft fluffiness of the pillow and grinning like a maniac for no apparent reason at all. That’s the last thing I remember doing when I’m woken up a while later by the creak of the door opening. I don’t want to leave this perfect slumber, but I open my eyes nonetheless to see who has just entered the room. It’s Amanda, her vibrant pink hair is the first thing I see, although the colour is growing out a little bit now. You can see the dark brown roots.
She’s been doing pretty well, considering the fact that Lucas has been sniffing around since he’s living just over the road with Ethan. Delilah has held true to her promise though, and is ensuring that he keeps his distance from my friend. Noreen has been giving her this special medicinal brew several times a day. It’s healing her addiction, as well as keeping a level head on her shoulders. There’s a bit of magic in it, just enough to allow her to get better, because humans can’t recover naturally from the addiction to a vampire’s bite.
“Hey Mandy, where have you been?” I ask, rubbing my sleepy eyes.
“Out with Noreen and Alvie, we went shopping for like, magical stuff.”
She says those last two words with a certain level of awe. Amanda has only very recently had her eyes opened to what is really going on in this city. When she’d been Lucas’ blood donor she’d been too out of it to fully comprehend her situation. Now that she’s almost better she understands what had really been happening to her. It was a bit of a shock to the system for her in the beginning, but although the road was rocky, we’re getting there now. She’ll probably be well enough to go home in a couple of days. The thought makes me lonely, I’ve become accustomed to having her with me.
She lets out a long breath before she speaks. “So, I’ve been thinking that I might head home tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow, isn’t that a little bit soon?” I ask.
“Not really Tegan, I feel better, much better. Noreen says I’m well enough to go back to living at my old place.”
“Oh…well, I’ll miss you.”
She frowns a little, then smiles at me. “Tegan you have enough on your plate right now without having to worry about me. I feel healthier than I have in a long time, and I have no intention of going anywhere near “the fanged ones” ever again.” She gestures bunny ears and puts on a Dracula voice when she says “fanged ones”. I suppose she really must be feeling better if she’s got a sense of humour about it all.
“Yeah well, be that as it may, you need to be careful when you go out at night. Vampires aren’t the only scary things in this city, you know.”
Amanda nods quietly. I hear somebody coming up the stairs, and then there’s a knock on the bedroom door. A second later Finn calls, “Hey Amanda, tell that lazy wagon to get up, we’re having a meeting in the living room in ten minutes. The vamps are on their way over.”