Page 51 of Risking Immortality

“Come and sit down.”

I make my way over to her. My first reaction is to give her some space, but Erin grabs my hand and pulls me close. Moving, she ends up on my lap, her hands around my neck. “Are you going to kiss me now? It’s been hours.”

“Do you… do you still want me to?”

“Amelia, I know we have a lot to talk about and there are tons of things you need to explain to me, but at this moment, all I want is the feel of your lips on mine.”

Closing the gap, I kiss her with everything I’ve got. A flicker of a feeling hums in my abdomen. It’s not frenzied or chaotic. It’s the feeling of hope.

Twenty

We talk into the wee hours. Erin asks questions, some of which are silly, some not. I answer everything. I leave nothing out. By the time we are both fighting sleep, Erin has learned our entire history.

The smell of coffee wakes me. Cracking open my eyes, I let myself adjust to the light stealing into the bedroom. It’s the first time since Erin has stayed here that she is the first one to rise. Sitting up in bed, I stretch my arms over my head. I’m naked, but not because we had sex. It didn’t seem appropriate last night. There was too much to go over.

“Morning, sleepyhead,” Erin calls. She walks in carrying a tray full of delicious smelling treats and, to my utter surprise, a matte black bottle. It’s full of red, I already know that. I’ve kept them hidden ever since Erin started spending time here, but she’s obviously done some investigating.

“Morning,” I reply, eyeing Erin and the bottle.

“So, we have toast, fruit and yogurt, cereal, croissants, and this,” she gestures to the bottle.

“Um, thank you.”

“It’s important you drink it, right?”

“As much as water is important to you.”

“Okay, so drink, eat, and then we’ll talk some more.”

Erin climbs back into bed and starts nibbling on a croissant. I can see her side-eying me as I reach for the bottle. Instead of looking disgusted, Erin seems intrigued. Unscrewing the lid, I take several deep pulls. It has been too long since I’ve had a drink.

With my thirst quenched, I eat some granola with yogurt. I’ve decided not to push Erin, but to wait for her to come to me with questions. The one thing I have learned about her is that she needs time to digest information.

“What does it taste like to a vampire?” Erin already knows we only drink animal blood.

“Water, I suppose. There is no real taste.”

“Can I taste it?” I’m visibly taken aback by the question.

“Um, if you really want, but I’d hazard a guess it will taste metallic to you, just like your own blood.”

“Probably, but I’m interested.”

Handing over the bottle, I continue to eat my breakfast. I can see Erin from the corner of my eye sniffing the liquid. Unperturbed, she takes a small sip.

“It doesn’t really taste of much, you’re right.” That’s strange.

“Really?”

“Yeah, I mean, there is a bit of a metallic taste, but not much.”

We continue breakfast, and I finish the bottle of red. It’s going to be so much easier keeping myself hydrated now Erin knows. “What do you want to do today?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” Erin moves the breakfast tray to the floor, then snuggles closer to me. “After everything we spoke about, I think it makes sense that I move in here.”

“What?” Don’t get overexcited Amelia!

“Yes. I can’t see you collapse again, Amelia, and we both know that’s likely to happen the longer I’m away from you. So, until we bond, I want to be here.”

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