Page 25 of Shut Up and Bite Me

“I love your skirt, by the way, Vivian,” Autumn compliments me.

Rising onto the balls of my feet and back down, I study my outfit. Black turtleneck tucked into a tight black-and-white plaid tulip skirt with black pantyhose beneath and cute black combat-style boots.

“Thanks,” I murmur politely and hand her cash to cover my bill plus tip, which she carefully stows in the register.

“I’m Autumn,” she greets Greyson, sticking her hand over the counter. “It is so nice to meet you. Autumn’s never brought one of her bloodlings here before.”

It’s no secret to Autumn that Greyson is my bloodling. I don’t keep humans in my company, except for during the Culling, although typically I spend mere minutes with them, and I never parade them around in public.

But at this point, the entire vampire community knows about my participation in the Culling. If they weren’t at the event, I’m sure the gossip would have already traveled to them and fast.

“Is that so?” he asks, side-eyeing me while sticking his hand out to her.

The second her hand connects with his, she sucks in a sharp breath, her eyes widening and face paling. Goose bumps erupt on my arms at her reaction.

If it were anyone else, I wouldn’t have thought twice, but despite Autumn’s petite size, her power is immaculately strong.

Opening my senses up to her, I am knocked back by the intense surprise, confusion, and worry.

“What?” I bite out, demanding to know what she’s thinking.

She studies him quizzically. “I don’t know.” She pauses like she’s trying to decipher what just happened. “I felt your energy intertwined with his. I’ve never experienced that before. It was…very odd.”

Well, what the fuck does that mean?

“It’s probably just me having an off day. It happens all of the time, more than I would like to admit.” She laughs painfully, but I don’t miss the forcefulness of her breath or the denial emanating from her that she couldn’t hide if she tried.

Holding her stare, I give her a look that I know she’ll understand. One that says,We’ll discuss this later.

She nods before planting a smile on her lips. “I’m sure I will see you both again soon.”

“Bye, Autumn!” Looping my arm in Greyson’s, I lead us out of the door.

Greyson clears his throat. “Was that weird to you? Or just weird to me? Although, right now, everything is weird to me.”

I chuckle. “Probably just you. Autumn is always like that though—she can’t help it. Her magic is strong, and sometimes it can be uncontrollable. I’m sure that’s what happened back there. She was probably just confusing our energies.”

“Our energies?” he asks, and I realize I should probably explain myself.

“Witches can sense people’s energy either by touch or scent. It depends on the witch and their bloodline. It’s how they know who is who at their core andwhatthey are. Every individual has their own energy wave. Like how humans tell others apart from their fingerprints and DNA, witches do so with energy. Like she said, she has off days. I’m sure that’s why she thought she sensed my energy on you.”

“Could it have just rubbed off? Like from last night?” he asks as we near my car.

Shrugging, I brush off his concern. “Yeah, probably. I don’t know exactly how it works.”

He seems to accept my answer, and I don’t say another word about it.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. I know all about witches and their energy readings. What I don’t understand is why my energy was recognizable in him. I need to see her again without Greyson. She held back, not wanting to scare him, but I need the truth because Autumn knew that sensing my energy in him should be impossible, but she lied.

And so did I.

Waking up this morning with Vivian in my arms is something I never knew I needed or even wanted.

Somehow, last night was even better than the first time, and I honestly don’t know how that’s even fucking possible. I don’t know if it has something to do with the feeding or if it’s just her, but I think I might be addicted.

I still can’t get over how crazy this is yet so natural. There is something sexy about the fact that my very blood is keeping her alive. It’s…invigorating. I want her to drink from me constantly. I love knowing it’s my blood that’s pumping through her veins when I bury myself inside of her.

She’s insatiable. Beautiful. Mysterious. I want to know everything about her.

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