Page 17 of Eternally Yours

My muscles tightened, and I braced my hands on the kitchen counter, anticipating the pop and sting of her fangs. Fuck. A growling moan vibrated through her as she bit down. There was no grace about it. Her body knew what she needed, and she took it from me without restraint. A long exhale pushed out from my lungs, my chest heaving as I let the feeling of her lips latching onto my neck intoxicate me.

Her hands snaked up my chest and I fought to keep mine pinned on the granite. Slowly trailing her fingers up my neck, she threaded them through my hair, scratching at my scalp with her nails as she pulled more blood from my wound. The electric currents that rippled through me had me at the verge of ripping that fucking robe off and fucking her right on that counter.

Her body pressed harder against mine, her movements fluid, inviting me to do the one thing I knew we couldn’t. Loren didn’t know what my blood was doing to her, that feeding like this was the precursor to bloodmating, that every inch of our bodies was yelling at us to consummate this union.

“Loren,” I panted, her own scent filling my nose. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, soft, spicy, and bold, one hundred percent a wanton female vampire. I could only imagine how incredible her blood would taste. How fucking unreal it would feel to take her body as I fed from her as well.

Shit. I placed my hands on her naked thighs and her skin felt like it was on fire. I inched my fingers closer to her center. It would be so easy. So goddamn easy to slip my hands further and feel her wetness.

My head spun and my muscles weakened. At first, I thought it was from the euphoric state she’d put me in, but then I realized she was drawing too much blood. Last thing I needed right now was to pass out on her in the middle of a fervent feeding. “Loren…you need to stop.”

But she didn’t listen. Instead, she pulled harder, her fangs sinking deeper into my flesh. How was that possible? Vampire fangs were never longer than two inches. I felt her so deep in my neck muscles, I knew my wounds would take a long time to heal. But I couldn’t give a flying fuck. I was harder than steel. Without thought, I picked her up off the counter, her legs wrapping around my waist.

I held on to her ass as she gyrated her hips over my erection. Oh yeah, she was so fucking wet, I could feel it as I pressed her into me. She was so turned on, the erotic moans vibrating through her did nothing to ebb my growing lust for her. I didn’t stop her. I couldn’t. Loren needed this as much as I did.

To hell with all the damn rules. If this was my fate, so be it.

But then Catharine’s words echoed in my head. The last time I’d let myself get this far I swore it would never happen again. Elizabeth’s face flashed in my mind and it was the mercy I didn’t deserve. Summoning strength from where I had none, I implored her, “Loren, that’s enough. You need to stop. You’re going to drain me dry.”

She growled.

“God damn. Please. If you don’t stop rubbing against me… I won’t be able to hold back either.”

She wouldn’t release her grip, and my knees began to weaken. Soon, I wouldn’t be able to hold us up.

With little choice left, I seized her by the waist and shoved her from me with the last of my strength. She landed on the floor hard, sliding across the marble until her back hit the refrigerator. Pain spiderwebbed across my neck, and I pressed a hand to the wound to stop the bleeding, waiting for the initial healing to begin.

She stared at me, eyes wide and flashing with shame. Fucking perfect. I’d hurt her during such a vulnerable moment and now she regretted drinking from me. Blinking, she seemed to shake the feeding stupor from her mind as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.

“I’m… so sorry,” she said in a soft whisper.

Her chin was still stained red from her ravenous feeding. I mimed wiping my chin and nodded to her, silently letting her know she still had blood on her face. Her sheepish expression melted me. Her beauty was captivating, but what made me want her more was knowing that her beast was trapped inside a timid girl. All I wanted was to rattle that beast. To have it feed from me again. For it to let me feed from her.

The evidence of that was standing proud below my waist. Traitorous prick. There was no hiding what I wanted from her. She must’ve read my thoughts because her gaze briefly traveled down to my groin, but she lifted it right back up when she noticed I’d caught her staring.

“It’s an involuntary reaction to the…ah...” I grunted out a cough. “…the um…feeding.”

She nodded in understanding, her cheeks reddening.

So fucking adorable. And I was a fucking asshole for enjoying her discomfort.

Rising to her feet with caution, Loren scanned her limbs, flexing her fingers as if unsure of the sensations coursing through her body.

“The tingly fire is normal,” I said, rising to my own feet. “It means your cells are using my blood to regenerate at an accelerated rate. Our heightened senses, ability to heal quickly, and our immortality come at a high cost.”

Still looking at her own body in awe, she curved a smile. “It feels… invigorating. Like I’m invincible.”

Spoken like a newbie.

“Hold on to your horse, cowgirl,” I said, grabbing the empty blood bag and tossing it into the built-in biohazard disposable unit secured next to the fridge. “That feeling won’t last forever, especially if you’re only riding on vampire blood.” Resting my backside on the stove I never used, I crossed my arms and faced her, my erection under better control.

“Despite our gifts,” I continued, “Our bodies can’t metabolize the oxygen we breathe. We need human blood to do that. What you’re experiencing is a result of drinking from a vampire who had already fed. The effect is muted. And it won’t last as long as when you drink human blood straight up.”

Her face tensed as if solving a riddle. “We had one bag of blood. If this is all just from one pint, it’s not as bad as you made it sound. Killing a human isn’t necessary in order to live as a vampire.” She peered over at me with a hopeful smile.

“I’d already sucked about eight of those dry before you decided to come out of the bedroom.”

She paused, mulling over my reply. “The average human holds ten. That means…”

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