Page 35 of Taste of Fate

She laughed as I poured. “It’s nice of you to say that, but you don’t have to flatter me.”

“I’m not. You should absolutely sell this in the human market. I bet vampire bars would love it too. They wouldn’t even have to mix it with blood. More?” I held out the bottle to her and she nodded, allowing me to fill her glass.

“I want to tweak some things first, but I’ll think about it.” She took another small sip, the liquid beginning to stain her pink lips a dark, sultry red.

My fangs went back to throbbing, and now the ache in my cock was undeniable. I wanted to drink the wine from Tavi’s lips, taste her delicious creation mixed with the taste of her. Not even her blood, but the taste of her kiss.

And if I pricked her lip with a fang, would she like it? I knew how to feed without causing pain. The thought of her blood mixing with her wine, with her, why did it sound like the perfect cocktail? A trinity of flavors that would feed and sustain me like nothing else could.

I drew my gaze up to find Tavi staring at me. Did she catch me fantasizing about her mouth?

“I wanted to ask you something, Cyan.” She seemed nervous again, and set her wine down.

“Shoot.” I took another drink, savoring the wine while waiting for her question with bated breath.

“Do you know when I’d be able to visit Sapien?” She laced her fingers together and then pulled them apart. “I’d really like to see Amy soon, if that’s okay.”

“How about next week? I’ll have the night off Tuesday.” I set my wine on the counter. “You’ll want to stay overday, right? I’ll just need to find a spot nearby to crash during that time, but I have friends out in that direction. Shouldn’t be a problem.”

The joy lighting up her smile and eyes was something I wanted to see all the fucking time. My need to see her happiness was only slightly stronger than the ache for her blood.

“Really? Oh, that’s perfect! That would be amazing, Cyan. Thank you.”

“Sure. Also it’s completely slipped my mind, but I’ll get you two phones before then. That way, you can give one to Amy when you visit.”

A stab of guilt pierced me. If I’d been taking proper care of my blood pet like I should have, I would have gotten her a phone when she first arrived. Instead, I’d been avoiding her.

“Are you sure?” She twirled the stem of her wine glass. “You’ve done so much for me already.”

Had I, really? It felt like I’d barely done anything except neglect her. She’d been thrown into this place full of people who were not her species, and what had I done to make the transition easier? Buy her a few tubes and glass bottles while letting her crash at my place?

“It’s no issue, Tavi.” I savored her nickname like I had her wine. “You miss your friend. It’s the least I can do, actually.”

The next thing she did was beyond anything I expected. She moved slowly enough that my senses could track it, I just didn’t comprehend any of it. Tavi came close to me, reached her arms around my neck, and hugged me.

It was light at first. Tentative. Then she squeezed around my shoulders in earnest.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

I remembered too late that I didn’t have a shirt on. She was touching me, and fuck, she was warm. Soft. Her breath ghosted over my cheek. I hugged around her waist without thought, pulling her in with gentle pressure. It was wholly unfair that her back curved at just the right angle so that my arms fit comfortably around her.

Her neck was so close too. I could turn my face and my lips would make contact with that delicate, fluttering pulse. Her blood called to me like a siren’s song, desperate to break past that soft skin and flow over my tongue. She must not have known how much she was flirting with danger, how fucking hard my jaw clenched to keep myself from ripping into her like a beast.

When I couldn’t stand it anymore, on the knife edge of breaking my vow to her, I forced myself away.

Tavi’s hold around my shoulders broke abruptly as I stepped out of her embrace, my hands on her shoulders so she wouldn’t do something crazy like hug me again.

“I’m happy to help,” I told her with a strained smile. “I should probably try to get some sleep before night falls. Thank you for the wine, it really is incredible and you’re very talented. I’ll get the phones for you tonight. See you later, Tavi.”

My feet were moving before the words finished rushing out of my mouth like a waterfall. I couldn’t bring myself to look at Tavi’s face as I spoke. The risk was too high that I would kiss her, and then really taste her.

The aching in my fangs and cock didn’t cease when I got to my bedroom. I already knew sleep would not be happening so I turned on the shower, keeping the water cold. When I stripped and stepped under the freezing spray, it barely chased away the heat roaring through me.

My erection would not deflate no matter how much I tried to ignore it and give in to the cold. When I took myself in hand and stroked to ease the ache, my eyelids fell shut with a groan.

None of my usual fantasies came to mind. No memories of past hookups or wild escapades of blood and hedonism had my hips canting into the air, thrusting through my fist while freezing water pelted my shoulders and chest.

No, it was the face of a human woman with reddish-brown hair, a shy smile, and stormy eyes that had me panting and jerking myself faster, desperate for relief.

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