Page 24 of Kidnapping Their Third

Even as she said the words, she plucked the necklace from Kimble’s hand. It was surprisingly cool to the touch considering Kimble had been grasping it in his hands.

“It looks old, like an antique,” she murmured, examining the intricate carvings on the face of it, forming circles around the stone. It reminded her of the cuneiform writing she’d seen as a kid during a school trip to a museum.

The chain was made of the same metal as the disk with an unfamiliar clasp that took her a few tries to get undone. It didn’t help that Kimble was intensely focused on her the entire time, as if he was trying to push her to move faster with the power of his gaze alone.

Getting the clasp closed was as hard as getting it open but when it locked in place, she felt a flash of static electricity wash over her skin. That wasn’t the only weird thing, the disk got hot. Not warm but hot. It wasn’t enough to be uncomfortable, but it was noticeable. Within seconds, the heat was gone. The disk hung down past her collarbone and felt so light it might as well have not been there.

Pressing a palm over it, she refused to think about the significance of the gift, and her eagerness to take it. She liked the idea of jewelry but had never worn it much. However, she couldn’t imagine taking this piece off.

Pressing her palm over it, she smiled up at Kimble. “This is one of the nicest things anyone has ever given me.”

Kimble beamed and lowered his face to hers. “Flock,” he whispered, and she could hear the devotion and love behind those words.

The urge to say something stupid likeI love you toopressed against the back of her throat, but she stifled the words. Swallowing hard, she pressed her lips against his.

A happy sigh came out of Kimble as he opened his mouth and invited her to deepen the kiss. Swept up in the moment, Cora slid her tongue in his mouth and found his fangs half descended.

Running the tip of her tongue over them, she shivered. The thought of him sinking those fangs into her made her want to press his face to her neck. She’d never understood why so many people swooned over vampires until now!

She had no idea how long they stood there kissing. She tangled her fingers into his messy black hair to hold his head stillwhile they kissed. With a soft groan, Kimble wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against his body, then stood up. Her feet left the ground as he effortlessly held her.

She could feel his lean muscle through his thin t-shirt. She wanted to run her hands over his body and when she was done doing that, she wanted to go back and do it again with her tongue.

The first indication that Kimble wasn’t feeling well was when he swayed a little. She wouldn’t have noticed except when it happened again, he abruptly ended the kiss and set her down. Blinking rapidly, he opened his mouth to talk and then went corpse white.

“Sit down before you fall,” Cora ordered, grabbing his hands from around her and leading him to her couch. They were nearly there when Kimble’s legs gave out. He crashed painfully to his knees.

“Are you hurt?” Cora asked, dropping to one knee next to him. Kimble looked up and shook his head, but his gaze wasn’t right. He didn’t seem to be able to focus on her.

“You need blood,” she realized. “Can you get on the couch if I push it closer? Once I’ve got you comfortable, I’ll call Pike. He can tell me where to order the blood from. You’re going to be fine, Kimble. I’ll take care of you.”

Kimble managed a half smile before his eyes rolled back and he slumped sideways. Cora wasn’t fast enough to catch his head before it hit her hardwood floors.

“Damn,” she muttered, staring at the unconscious vampire. “If this keeps up, I'm going to make you wear a helmet all the time.”

***

Pike arrived less than a minute after the blood delivery guy dropped off a little cooler packed full of bags of blood. The moment Cora opened the door, he rushed to Kimble’s side.

“Why do you keep doing this to me?” he whispered, picking up one of Kimble’s limp hands. “I swear I'm going to be the first shifter in history that has a heart attack.”

Carrying the cooler to them, Cora took a spot on Kimble’s other side. “I got up to make myself some tea and found him in my living room. I don’t know how long he’s been here.”

“He wasn’t home when I got there, so your guess is as good as mine.” Pike tried to smile, but the remnants of his earlier fear made the smile look forced. “Have you fed him yet?”

“No,” Cora said, opening the cooler and handing one of the bags to Pike. “It just arrived.”

Accepting the bag, Pike slipped his big hand under Kimble’s head and lifted. Pressing the bag to Kimble’s mouth, Pike whispered pleas for him to eat.

The vampire didn’t move.

“Should we open the bag and pour it in his mouth?” Cora asked.

“That doesn’t work,” Pike said with a tired sigh. “He chokes on it. Would you talk to him too? It might help.”

Putting her mouth close to Kimble's ear, she spoke in a calm but firm voice. “Kimble, I need you to open your mouth and bite into that bag right now. If you don’t, I’m going to be pissed.”

Kimble jerked slightly and opened his mouth. Pike was able to maneuver the bag between his lips and press it up onto his half-descended fangs.

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