Page 15 of Shut Up and Bite Me

I’m done living life with fear at the forefront of everything I do. I knew something was weird about tonight, but I never would have guessed it would have to do with real-life vampires. I haven’t felt more alive than I do right now.

“No,” I answer honestly.

“Good,” she replies, her shoulders relaxing. “I know you have a lot of questions. But let me explain a few things first, okay?”

Nodding, I agree. “Okay.”

The thought of Ms. Barlowe lingers in the back of my mind, but I shoo it away, not caring who walks in at this point.

She rolls onto her stomach, resting her head on the palms of her hands as she looks up at me. “Do you know what I am?”

I lean back on the bed beside her, turning my head to face her. “I have my suspicions.”

“And they are?” She drags out the question like she’s unsure if she even wants to ask it.

“You’re a vampire.”

She smiles softly. “I am. Do you have a better idea of what your role in this is?”

It doesn’t take a genius to figure it out—well, as long as the lore is accurate. “That Ms. Barlowe will drink my blood?”

She nods ever so slightly. “Yes. The bi-annual Culling brings together willing humans and vampires. We make a deal. We feed on you for two weeks, and you walk away with a large lump sum of cash.”

“Well, at least the cash part is still real,” I laugh. “And you said walk away. So she won’t…kill me?”

She cackles. “No,Iwon’t kill you.” She leans back and sticks her hand out between us. “I suppose that I should properly introduce myself. My name is Vivian…Barlowe.”

Everything falls into place, and it’s like the confusing parts of the night are finally clear.

“Barlowe? You’re the one they were all talking about? You’re the one who bid on me?” I ask, the questions falling from my lips of their own accord.

She glances away, and a look of pain crosses her features, but before I can blink, it’s gone, and her gaze is locked back onto mine. “I would love to hear what they were saying. And yes, I’m the one who bid on you.”

“Why?” I ask, wondering if this is a dumb thing to ask after what we shared last night.

Her cheeks redden. “Because I’m not a big fan of people touching what’s mine.”

“Yours?” I chuckle. “Oh, really?”

She looks down into her hands before glancing back up at me, a softness in her hazel eyes, the red gone. “Feeding can bean…intimateexperience, especially if there is any attraction between the involved parties. It can be intense in the best of ways. And the thought of another person having their hands all over you with their fangs sunk into your neck makes me…” She trails off. “The only option was this. Otherwise, a vampire would be dead on this hotel room floor the second they tried to bite you.”

My dick pulses at her possessiveness. I don’t know how I’m finding all of this vampire stuff to seem so normal. Maybe if it were anyone but her telling me this, I would be scared and run out. But maybe this is thatsomething moreI’ve been searching for my entire life.

I’m not going anywhere.

“I love it when you flirt with me,” I tease her, and she smiles.

“You think that’s flirting? Oh baby, we’re just getting started.”

Wind rushes through my hair, and in the blink of an eye, she’s straddling me, the slit of her dress hitched onto her side.

Resting my hands on her hips, I brush my thumbs against her dress and exposed skin. “That explains how you disappeared last night. For a minute, I thought I had imagined you.”

“Sorry about that. I really didn’t want to leave,” she murmurs, leaning forward and resting her hands on my chest.

Silence stretches between us, and my mind starts racing with a thousand what-ifs and questions of the unknown. I’ll start with this. “Will it hurt?”

She shrugs. “At first. The puncture stings, but it quickly fades. Especially when you’re willing to accept the bite. Which you have to be. I won’t feed on you without your consent.”

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