Page 36 of Two Thousand Shadows

“Nope. Just an uncomfortable tingling sensation. Think of it as a cat’s sixth sense. It’s never steered me wrong. And right now, it’s saying that we’re not out of danger.” Leo leaned forward so he could look at Chen on the other side of Junjie. “Can he feed from me? That way, you and Mei Lian remain at full strength if we run into trouble?”

“What? I can’t do that!” Junjie wheezed in horror even as a thrill of excitement pulsed within him. While part of him might be against the idea of feeding from Leo, most of him was completely on board with the idea. He might have even allowed himself a fantasy or two featuring a very naked Leo underneath him as he sank his fangs deep inside of him.

But that was a fantasy!

This was real life.

Friends didn’t bite friends. They weren’t food.

Family was different. His clan mates had shared their blood with each other frequently, usually as a stop-gap measure until they could hunt.

“It’s not a good idea,” Chen murmured.

That wasn’t a no.

“Neither is him feeding from you or Mei Lian, leaving one of you weaker when you might be needed in a fight. We all know I’m not good in a fight, so I can afford to lose a bit. Like a pint, right?” Leo turned to look at Junjie, his smile crooked and nervous. “You wouldn’t need more than that, right?”

“I wouldn’t dare to take even that much. I won’t take a drop.”

“But feeding from me now means that there are three vampires at full strength to take on the fae instead of two.”

An irritated groan rose from Mei Lian. “The car is good. Chen drives and I got shotgun. Jun-Jun is in the back with Leo, taking a quick bite so that I’m not the only one fighting the fae if they come after us.” Junjie started to argue with her, but he stopped when she pointed her spear at him. “He’s offering. Take it.”

Okay, she had a good point.

With a sigh, Junjie nodded and allowed Leo to help him into the SUV. The rest of them climbed in, and Chen got them the hell out of there with a spray of gravel and dirt from the tires.

They were on the road for a couple of minutes when Leo touched his clenched fist and grinned at him. “How do you want to do this?”

Junjie rubbed a trembling hand across his lips. His fangs were already sliding down into place from a mix of hunger and the promise of a hot meal waiting to be taken. “Give me your wrist. I’ll take a tiny bit from there or maybe the inside of your elbow. It won’t take more than a minute. I’ll try to make it fast.”

“Really?” Leo said in a whine.

“What’s wrong?”

Leo gave a single shoulder shrug while hanging his head. “It’s not very sexy or romantic that way.”

It wasn’t easy to ignore the snickering from the front seat, but Junjie pushed on. “I don’t understand. I didn’t think you wanted to do this. You seemed nervous a minute ago.”

“I was. A minute ago. But I’ve had time to think about it, and all the vampire movies I’ve watched are so sexy the way the vampire holds his victim and kisses along their neck before biting them. Besides, it’s not like the mated members of your clan are all that quiet. You don’t need a cat’s hearing to pick up on Moon shouting, ‘Bite me! Bite me! Bite me, my sexy master!’ at the top of his lungs every morning.”

“Enough!” Chen roared, but no one paid attention to him. Mei Lian was laughing so hard, she was choking on air. If she hadn’t been wearing a seat belt, she would have fallen to the floor. Junjie buried his flaming cheeks in his hands. Only Leo would have the balls to say something like that. They’d be lucky if Chen didn’t pull the car over and skin Leo alive.

“I’m just saying that if I’m going to be a blood donor, it can at least be fun. I want you to bite my neck.”

Junjie lowered his hands enough to see Leo stretch out his neck and tap a prominent vein, begging for his fangs. If hunger wasn’t gnawing on the remains of his brain, he would have denied Leo’s request and refused to feed until they reached the manor.

But the blood loss from the damned fae arrows had left him hungrier than he’d felt in a long time. He wanted to feed, and snatching up some innocent human wouldn’t cut it. Right now, he wanted to feast on Leo.

“Fine,” Junjie growled. He’d pushed him to his limit with this mix of temptation and painful need. He pressed the button on Leo’s seat belt and freed him. The cat shifter was still shruggingthe strap from across his body when Junjie grabbed his arm and pulled him into his lap.

“Whoa!” Leo gasped, his hand pressing against Junjie’s shoulder to steady himself at this sudden change in the seating arrangement.

“I hope you’re not having second thoughts, because we’re now past that point,” Junjie warned.

“No, I…” Leo exhaled, and the words fell away as he seemed to lose his train of thought the moment Junjie shoved his hand into Leo’s hair, cradling the back of his head. With so little effort, he turned and tilted the cat shifter’s head just right, giving him access to the sweet spot as Leo stiffened in his lap and clawed at the seat behind Junjie.

The rest of the SUV and its occupants disappeared as Junjie buried his face in Leo’s neck at long last and breathed in his scent. As he’d expected, below the smell of elf blood was the rich, full aroma of Leo’s blood as it rushed through his veins. It mixed with his musky and soft scent. Nothing could have stopped Junjie from licking a line up his throat, pausing ever so slightly over that throbbing vein before continuing up to his ear.

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