Page 51 of Purrfectly Peculiar Pixie

This time, when Leon tugged his hands, I allowed him to pull free. He leaned back into his chair, allowing the frame to take his weight. His silence was answer enough.

Following suit, I scooted back, sitting properly so I could contemplate what I’d just learned. “Are you certain?”

“Without a doubt,” he quickly answered.

“Well, shit.” It wasn’t my finest verbal moment, but it was all I could contemplate. “What…? I mean, why? Do you know why you can only drink from me now?” Compared to most pixies, I probably had a better, general working knowledge of vampire physiology. That still didn’t mean I knew everything. Besides, currently, my brain seemed to be on hiatus in a location with no cell service.

Leon’s gaze traveled around the room, landing on everything but me. Just when I thought he’d keep his silence, Leon dropped his bombshell. “You are my beloved. Even contemplating drinking another source is revolting.”

I reared back as if I’d been physically slapped. “Beloved?” I knew Leon was interested in me, that we had something I wanted to explore, but that wasn’t a word vampires casually threw around. It was also a word vampires didn’t often use. As far as I knew, few vamps ever found their beloveds. Lucroy Moony and Peaches were the first recorded vampire/pixie bond. Was Leon seriously sitting there telling me we were about to be the second? Maybe there had been others I wasn’t aware of. Word was slowly leaking through the vampire and pixie communities. The possibility opened up all kinds of squirmy cans of worms.

Weighty, nearly suffocating silence tried to steal my breath. I tried thinking through the problem only to wonder if this was truly a problem. I mean, I liked Leon. I thought I might even love him, but for me at least, there simply hadn’t been enough time. I wasn’t a terribly sociable pixie. Most who knew me considered me a loner. I’d never truly contemplated settling down. Pallas’s cats mated and settled to a degree, but they didn’t seek out other company.

A wickedly wry half grin settled on Leon’s face. “Do you regret your earlier promise?”

I didn’t have to think twice and answered an easy “no. I don’t regret it.”

“But you’d like to run,” Leon accused.

“Honestly, I’m not sure what I want to do, but running isn’t at the top of the list. It’s just… It’s a lot to take in.” My mind tumbled over what Leon’s words meant. Sometimes words were weightier than the heaviest elephant. I closed my eyes, breathing deeply. I was used to solving situations. This one was no different and I needed to approach it like I did everything else life threw my direction—one issue at a time.

Thinking into a far-off future was too overwhelming. The immediate concern was Leon’s health. He needed to feed. He needed to feed from me. Pain wasn’t a foreign concept. I wasn’t one to seek it out, but I didn’t shy away from the possibility either. Currently, it wasn’t my pain I worried over. It was Leon’s. If he bit me and it hurt again, would he be able to get past that? Would the guilt overwhelm him to the point he couldn’t feed?

Looking at his sallow cheeks and dejected spirit, I decided I couldn’t risk it. But as with nearly everything, where there was a will, there was a way.

Standing, my toes dug into the plush rug below. Again, I assumed I had Peaches to thank for my considerately soft surroundings. Leon didn’t try and push me off when I straddled his lap. He didn’t wrap his arms around me either. It was like crawling into the lap of a marble statue.

Fingertips pressed to Leon’s chin, I lifted my vampire’s face. As always, Leon could have resisted the move. I counted it as a win that he didn’t.

Running my hands across his cheeks, I pushed a strand of hair behind his ear, sifting those strands through my fingers. “Leon, look at me.” It took a few seconds, but Leon’s onyx eyes rounded to focus on mine. There was so much desperate want hidden within those deep depths.

“I do not wish to harm you. I—”

“Shh.” I pressed a fingertip to Leon’s lips. “I know you don’t. And you’re not going to. Here’s what we’re going to do.” Pulling my finger away, I shifted the nail into a sharp claw. Leon’s eyes widened when he realized what I was about to do. I didn’t give him time to object. In one quick motion, I sliced through my opposite wrist. Blood welled to the surface. I’d probably cut a little too deep, but I wanted to make certain the wound was large enough to fulfill Leon’s needs.

“Drink,” I ordered, holding my wrist to Leon’s lips.

A groan, guttural and monstrous tore through Leon’s chest. There was a half-second hesitation before he grabbed my arm and pulled my wrist to his lips. I felt the press of his fangs, but they didn’t pierce my skin. His tongue worried the wound’s edges. It wasn’t horrid, but the sensation was far from pleasant.

Leon sucked, mouthing the wound, pulling my blood deep into his mouth and greedily swallowing. The flow probably wasn’t as good this way, but it was safer for me and him. At least, for now. I had no idea what the future would hold. That was a problem for later. Right now, I had one objective and that was feeding Leon.

I gripped the back of Leon’s head, encouragingly pressing his mouth against my skin. “That’s it. Take what you need,” I softly whispered into his ear while skimming my blunt nails along his scalp. “It’s okay, Leon. Everything is going to be okay.” I had no idea if that was true. Right now, it didn’t matter. Right now, the only thing that mattered was this moment, feeding Leon, making sure he was healthy and strong.

Did I love Leon McMillan? My brain wasn’t certain. My heart was positive.

ChapterEighteen

Leon

So good.Groans of appreciation and need filled the air, all of those sounds coming from deep within my soul. Not even the first sip of blood I’d ingested after being turned had tasted this divine.

I drank and drank. Licking and teasing the wound to keep it open. The vague feeling of Phlox’s fingers brushing along my scalp soothed me, his whispered words little more than a background melody. I could feel the beat of his heart, pounding fast and hard at first, then slowing into a more languid rhythm. His skin was cool to the touch, but that wasn’t strange. Phlox ran colder than the typical pixie.

The black hole of craving faded and reason slowly took its place. Phlox’s fingers no longer brushed my skin and his head now lay against my chest. Sealing the wound, I finally pulled away, licking every last drop of my beloved’s precious liquid from my lips.

I sighed, the ache in my throat and chest finally eased. I wouldn’t go so far as to say I was sated, but the gnawing hunger had abated.

Wrapping my arms around Phlox, I pulled his languid body close. His wings didn’t so much as twitch. They lay there, as unmoving as him. Panic didn’t slam into me. I could still feel and hear the steady beat of Phlox’s heart along with the gentle rise and fall of his chest. I’d taken a little too much, but nothing beyond repair.

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