Page 35 of Ashvale: The Vampire's Kiss

“I guess I’m worried I won’t feel the same.” I shrugged like it was no big deal and jumped when Em’s hand fell on my shoulder and squeezed. “Hiding my emotions is one thing, faking them… I’m shit at it.”

“True,” Novalie said and stood in a motion so smooth it felt like music. “It’s been a long fucking day and it’s hitting you—that’s all. Let’s go and get something to drink and then sleep before you get cranky instead of wallow-y.”

The chair squeaked when I stood and my nose wrinkled. “I don’t feel like getting drunk will help anything.” Especially as it seemed to be near-impossible with a vampire’s tolerance.

“That’s not the kind of drink she means,” Emerson said quietly, her grin full of mischief as she passed me to hold open the door. “Besides, Hayes is right. You need it after… earlier.” I winced as the realisation hit me—Novalie had obviously found blood from somewhere after her transformation, but she was still a new vampire. Hungrier and more emotional than most until she adjusts to her new body, and I’d shirked my duties again by not seeing to her needs.

“I honestly can’t decide if it’s gross or genius,” Novalie said as the door thumped closed behind us, all of us avoiding looking at the spot on the ground that still held some of my blood. She led the way and I jogged to keep up, unused to her being able to keep pace. I didn’t know what she was talking about until she pushed open a door one corridor and three turns away from our rooms.

Blood was thick in the air, metallic and heady, and I understood now what Novalie had meant. The space was decked out like a lounge with plush velvet pillows and silky blankets draped on almost every surface. Some of the volunteers had shunned the sofas and loungers in favour of the floor though. Blood dripped steadily from one man’s neck and onto the thick cream rug he was sprawled upon, the vampire at his neck sloppy in his bite. It was easy to see why. The pop of his cock sliding out of another vampire’s mouth made me jolt and I realised we were staring.

There were screens for privacy, soft peaches and dusky oranges attempting to distract from the debauchery with polished elegance. It didn’t succeed. Most of the screens weren’t in use, many vampires opting to feed more publicly, a claiming or an invitation.

The humans present ranged in age, colour and gender, but the look of bliss on their faces was identical. Novalie had already walked over to a human girl who had smiled invitingly as soon as she’d glimpsed Novalie’s fangs. But Emerson stayed by my side.

Two vampires close to us began to argue over the attention of a young, admittedly gorgeous, human man before deciding they could share and I pulled Emerson away, closer to Novalie and the girl. Em approached and picked up the girl’s wrist, biting down until she gasped.

I hadn’t realised I was hungry until we’d walked in here, but now the blood was getting to me. My head was dizzy with the sounds, the scents, a sinful kind of overload that caught me in its spell.

Before I knew what I was doing, creamy skin was arching under my hands as I guided the girl’s neck to one side and struck.

Heat filled me, blood on my tongue and dotting my lips as I drank and drank. The girl cried out, the three of us feeding from her bringing her to orgasm, muscles quivering until she slumped, spent.

I pulled away abruptly, quickly licking the wound to help it heal. This was why feeding rooms like this were bad news—vampires packed into a room, surrounded by blood and sex… it was asking for trouble. How many lost control in here, amidst the bloodlust?

My eyes ran around the room and found everyone there too engrossed in what they were doing to pay attention to anybody else. In here, you could die and nobody would even notice.

I nudged Novalie and then pinched her arm when she didn’t pull back. Her head snapped up and her fangs flashed as she hissed before shrinking back when I growled. “You good?”

Reason returned to her eyes and she nodded, her smile apologetic as Emerson managed to bring herself back from the edge with no prompting.

“Let’s get out of here,” I muttered. “Before one of us kills somebody.”

Chapter Seventeen

Leonora

I sat up with a gasp, my empty hand still heavy from a weight that existed only in my dream.

Brown eyes. The fear. The acceptance. The sound it had made when I’d dropped his heart to the floor.

Rowan.

Head still full of the fog of sleep, I nearly didn’t notice the other person in the bed also sitting upright.

I’d opted to stay with Novalie and Emerson, the bed more than big enough for the three of us to sleep in comfortably. The candle on the side had burned low and the light flickered over the umber of Emerson’s skin as she watched me with sightless eyes.

She nodded her head like I’d asked her a question, a bloody tear dripping down her face. “Soon. He’s almost ready.”

“Who?” My voice was a rough croak and I didn’t stop her when Emerson laid back down as if nothing had happened. The air felt too still and I could sense eyes on me, like Emerson was watching as I swung my legs out of bed. I glanced back once before I left and turned away quickly when the flickering flame caught on blank irises within the shadow of the bed.

We had to find a way to get her visions under control. It was all well and good being able to see the future, but not if you couldn’t remember it and had no idea what it meant. If we weren’t careful, Em’s predictions could do more harm than good.

My door across the hall opened soundlessly and I padded inside, shutting it firmly behind me before sinking into the empty bed. The room was quiet, but it felt hollow instead of peaceful, like every movement I made was loud enough to wake the dead.

Noise in the hall had my eyes flashing open and then closing quickly again when I recognised the familiar tread. A cool breeze stirred my hair as the blood bond seemed to purr and stretch. My body relaxed, like this was what I’d needed all along to make the room feel comfortable, and I kept my eyes closed, breaths even. Hayes said nothing, either believing I was actually asleep or opting to allow the ruse as he climbed into the bed at my back.

The warmth of his body sank into me, the palm sliding under the hem of my baggy T-shirt to wrap around my waist making me shiver. What I felt for Hayes was complicated at best, but when we were like this, everything else faded away.

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