Page 18 of Love Bitten

“I’m sure you’re glad they’ve healed.”

Luke shrugged. “I kind of miss them, actually. Every time I saw myself in a mirror, I thought of you.” He grimaced. “Er, I meant because of the cuts, not the mirror. Sorry.”

I shook my head and put a finger to his lips to shut him up before he made another faux pas. I was hardly listening to the things he said, though.

Drawing myself closer, I caressed the faint scars on his skin. They were smooth and soft like the rest of his neck. I couldn’t help myself as I ran my finger over them a second time, wishing I could puncture the supple pink skin again.

Luke must have sensed my desire. Catching my hand with his, he held it against the scars as he tipped his head, caressing his cheek against my knuckles. I shivered, the sensation I didn’t think I was capable of having running down my spine.

Luke’s fingers squeezed tighter around my wrist. “I’d be open to receiving more bite marks today if you’re interested.” His voice was barely above a whisper, but I heard it perfectly.

I was never one to turn down a taste of blood. I had to be careful now, as I was walking a thin line. I desperately wanted to give into those hedonistic pleasures, but I had to retain some sense of control. I didn’t want to hurt Luke on only our second date when even an accident could be irreconcilable, or make him uncomfortable with my actions.

“I would very much enjoy that,” I told him. “But not on your neck.”

“Why not?”

“We must be careful not to let your skin heal fully and not leave permanent scars. And, as you said, you had to hide your neck from your colleagues at work. That simply won’t do.”

“Where, then?”

“Your shoulder, your back, your thigh – wherever you want. Tell me and I shall draw blood – but not yet. First, let us go up to my room where it will be easier to clean up. This dining hall is not made for feasts of blood.”

If I’d let myself have my way, I would have thrown the glass off the table and lifted Luke onto it that second. But someone had to keep me in check, and I was the only one who knew how. It wasn’t pleasant to deny myself pleasures of the flesh at times like this, not when I was so close to getting what I desired.

I turned around and strode out of the dining hall before I changed my mind. Luke followed me out and up the stairs, stopping by the photographs and artwork again to admire the now-cleaned glass and frames.

“Was your great-grandmother the first in your family to be turned?” Luke asked, stopping me dead in my tracks,

“Why, yes,” I said slowly. “How did you infer that?”

Luke pointed to the stoic young woman’s mouth in the painting. “She has no indentations on her lower lip, indicating that she didn’t have prominent fangs at the time this painting was created. If I recall correctly, showing marks on the lip was a common artistic expression to denote vampirism before photography existed or was widely available, even if actual vampires don’t have noticeable marks on their lips most of the time – which means she was either fully or partially human when this portrait was done. There’s debate whether vampires were portrayed that way to make them look scarier to humans or if it’s because not being able to see a clear marker of vampirism is more frightening to us.”

“Well, well, someone’s been reading A Complete History of Vampires.” I tried to hide my smile, but it was impossible.

“Just a little,” Luke admitted. “I hope it’s accurate. I, um, I got it at the library.”

“Yes, it’s the single most accurate recording of vampirism from the dawn of humans till about 1950. After that, works on vampires became more prolific and were no longer banned in schools and most libraries.”

“Books on vampirism were banned?”

“I take it you have not gotten past chapter 24?”

“I fell asleep in the middle of chapter 20 yesterday and I haven’t had time to read anymore since.”

Luke was pleased to be able to hold a semi-coherent conversation on my kind’s history, and I didn’t bother hiding my delight. It overjoyed me to know that a human cared so much about learning more about me that he sought out knowledge independently.

If my gesture of cleaning had been sweet, his gesture was saccharine, and I didn’t mind one bit.

17

LUKE

Xander pushed me against the door as it closed behind us, clicking into place. His hands were on me before I could say a word, feeling me up as he kissed me softly and deeply. He moved his lips down, pressing his teeth against my neck hard enough to send a dull ache through the scars he left last time.

His fingers grasped the bottom of my shirt which he tugged on, pulling over my head in a single swift motion. He moved to my pants next, wasting no time in getting those off. I waited for him to strip down too, but that moment never came. I made a move to take his shirt off, but his hands grabbed onto mine and pulled them away before I revealed even an inch of his waist.

“Aren’t we having sex?” I asked breathlessly.

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