Page 4 of Hot Blooded

“It would’ve happened no matter who I fed from.” Was it his imagination, or had she looked mildly offended by that? “My kind can only, er, ‘rise to the occasion’ when we have live blood in our system. I haven’t had live blood in just under a century.”

Her eyes grew wide at that, but for once, it wasn’t fear. “You haven’t had an erection in nearly a hundred years?”

Amos scowled at her. “I don’t recall prying into your sex life.”

Tessa flushed again, looking away. “Yeah, well, you just got a front row seat to about the extent of it,” she muttered.

He started to reply, then froze, mouth hanging open. Had she just told him that she wasn’t having sex with anybody?

Tessa seemed to realize it at the same time. She dropped her face into her hand. “Please forget I just said that.”

He would never. The knowledge that he alone was making her come went straight to some primitive, lizard part of his brain and lit it up like a Christmas tree. Mine, the lizard thought smugly.

No. Very much not yours, Amos argued back.

“Well, I doubt you can beat a century of celibacy,” he told Tessa. Deep in his hindbrain, the lizard hissed in dismay.

“Ha. I’m on my way.” She shook her head, but she seemed over the worse of her embarrassment. “Alright, so, you’re done feeding for today? Or…” She nervously traced her fingers over the puncture marks on her neck.

He liked seeing them on her. Looking his victi—donor—looking his donor in the eyes and having a conversation after the fact was a novel experience. He wanted to suck on the marks. Not to feed, just to feel them. Just to feel them on her, radiating her intoxicating scent and inviting warmth while his tongue traced over her beating pulse.

Christ. That wasn’t helping the erection situation. He needed her to leave so he could take care of it.

“That’s all. I apologize that it was so upsetting for you. It was a pleasure meeting you. I imagine we probably won’t see each other again, so best wishes in all your future endeavors.” Amos plucked up her bag and handed it over to her.

Tessa accepted it, holding it against her chest, not quite meeting his gaze. “Actually, I think the agency keeps the same donor and recipient paired together, unless there’s some sort of problem.”

Amos went still for a moment as her words registered. “You’re saying… there is no problem?”

She shook her head, cheeks going pink again. “I mean, unless there’s a problem for you?”

Smelling her sweet scent, drinking her intoxicating blood, and feeling her climax in his arms on a regular basis? “No,” he said gruffly. “There’s no problem.”

“Okay.” She nodded. And kept nodding. “Yeah. So. Uh, I’ll see you on Wednesday?”

He’d signed on for three feedings a week. At the time, it had felt like a ridiculously lavish indulgence. Suddenly, it wasn’t nearly enough. “Wednesday,” he agreed, trying to keep his voice from sinking into a growl. “I’ll see you Wednesday.”

“Okay. Cool.” Her gaze slid away from his.

Amos walked her to the door, holding it for her as she stepped into the night. When she was gone, he shut the door and fell back against it, ripping his trousers open and taking himself in hand. It took only three strokes before he was doubled over, groaning through the first orgasm he’d felt in a century. He nearly fell over, bracing himself against the wall as wave after wave of pleasure seized through his whole body. Had they always been this good? It’d been a long time, but he wasn’t certain he'd ever come this hard.

When the ecstatic spasms finally relented, he slid to the floor, gasping for breath, totally spent.

Wednesday couldn’t come soon enough.

Chapter 2

“Hey, Ma, I’m heading out now.”

Tessa’s mother twisted around to look at her from her spot on the couch. The living room lights were all off, her tired face lit only by the glow of the TV. Her mother was only in her mid-fifties, but over the past year since Dad had passed away, she’d aged immeasurably. Her hair had gone from mostly black to mostly gray. The lines on her face had become deeply set, dragging her mouth into a permanent frown, making her once-bright eyes look hollow and shadowed.

It was the first night in more than two weeks that one or more of the aunties wasn’t over, chatting with Ma in the kitchen over coffee. Tessa appreciated the quiet—her family got to be overwhelming. But without them, Ma seemed more withdrawn than usual.

“This early?” Ma asked, glancing at the time on her phone. “Don’t you start at ten?”

“I’ve been picking up extra hours,” Tessa lied.

Ma’s frown deepened. “You already switched to third shift, now you’re taking overtime? Why? You’re going to work yourself into the ground, make yourself sick, just like your father—”

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