He pulled me to him, wrapping his arms around my waist. “It’s just the blood,” he whispered. “Your human bones can still break if you fall.”
“I know that,” I answered, feeling embarrassed now.
All of a sudden, the sun was too bright. It dizzied me. I stared into the window of a boutique across the street where there were all sorts of glittery dresses on display. Despite the distance, I could see the stitch in every sequin, every thread weaved throughout the fabric. The details hurt my brain.
Somewhere close by, a seagull cawed, and I heard too many notes in the one sound, too many levels of noise. I clamped my hands over my ears to block it out.
“Tegan, are you alright?” Ethan asked in concern.
Before I had the chance to reply, I passed out.
***
When I woke up, I was lying on the couch in Ethan’s living room, while he held a cool, damp face cloth to my forehead. It felt soothing.
“Hey,” he said when he saw my eyes flicker open.
“Hey,” I replied, a little croaky.
“I think you might have drunk too much from me,” he went on apologetically. “That’s why you passed out.”
“I felt like I was going to go crazy from sensory overload,” I said. “Is that what it feels like to be you?
A small smile curved his lips. “I have the natural ability to turn it on and off at will. Since you are human, you don’t have that ability. My blood had fully hit your system when we were out on the street, which is why you fainted.”
“I feel better now. The high is wearing off.”
I reached down and rubbed my shin where it ached, most likely from the jump I took across the roof. The blood didn’t protect me from being hurt, it just protected me from feeling pain in the moment. Huh. Not as fantastic as I originally imagined then. And now that the high was dwindling, I felt a sharpness in my veins crying out for more blood.
So, this was what it felt like to be addicted.
I licked my lips as my eyes zoned in on Ethan’s smooth neck. There wasn’t a single hint of the cut he gave himself this morning. Without realising it, I was sitting up and leaning closer to him, my breathing erratic.
He put both his hands on my shoulders and pushed me back down onto the couch.
“I hoped this wouldn’t happen,” he said, a look of self-remonstration on his face. “I should’ve been more careful.”
“What?” I asked, but I wasn’t really listening. Instead, I was imagining all the sweet blood rushing through his veins, singing for me to drink it.
“That you would want more. I didn’t think it would happen so quickly though, but you’ve developed an addiction.”
His words broke me out of my trance. “Oh.” A pause as the seriousness of what he said hit home. “Oh.”
A silence elapsed.
“Well, we just won’t do it again,” I said, pulling farther back and folding my arms across my chest with great effort. Ethan didn’t look happy at how I distanced myself from him.
“Fuck. But I really like it when you drink from me, Tegan.”
“I really like it, too,” I admitted, meeting his eyes. “But we can’t do it anymore. It’s too risky. We’ll only do it if it’s a life-or-death situation and I need your blood to heal. Alright?” I thrust my hand out for him to shake.
He looked at me with affection and then finally shook my hand. “Deal,” he said before pulling me onto his lap and attacking my mouth, plunging his tongue inside. A minute or two later, somebody cleared their throat, and Ethan zipped away from me, his posture guarded, ready for an attack.
My heartbeat slowed when I saw it was only Lucas. He stood in the doorway with an eager look on his face. His eyes traced over Ethan, taking in the changes in his appearance. The power. Power that I gave to him. Then Lucas’s gaze flicked to me, and I practically saw the thoughts churning in his mind. Was he thinking how he could drink from me and then he’d be like Ethan, too?
“Oh, quit looking at me like that,” Lucas chided. “I have no intention of biting you. I don’t want to be powerful. It’s more trouble than it’s worth. Better leave that job to someone else.”
“Lucas,” Ethan interjected. “How did you get in here?”
Lucas jangled a key in his hand. “I have a spare, remember?”
Ethan narrowed his gaze. “I hope you made sure nobody saw you coming inside.”
“I might not be a super-vampire, but I’m not stupid,” Lucas replied, walking to the window and glancing out. He whistled. “That’s some queue. When are you going to deal with them?”
He must’ve been talking about the vampires waiting to pledge their allegiance to Ethan. They’d been gone during the day, but now that the sky had darkened, they were back.