Page 16 of First Bite
Chapter Six
Braden and I lay there in silence, our bodies connected and clinging to each other in a loving embrace. I didn’t want to let him go.
“I love this,” I said, pressing my lips into the center of his chest. “Just you and me.”
“I’m still trying to process it all,” he leaned back some, our bodies disconnecting. “I’m so very sorry I impulsively drank from you.”
I propped myself up on my elbow, not embarrassed I was sitting there fully exposed to him in the dim lighting of his room. He traced along my breast while his brilliant blue eyes followed the trail of goosebumps his fingertips created. I moaned, feeling myself fire up in response to his tender touch, and I watched a tiny smile tug at the corners of his mouth.
“Don’t apologize for that. You just proved that you can trust yourself not to hurt me. I’m so proud of you.” I kissed the cleft in his chin. I really needed to take a cold shower or something because I felt like my appetite for the man was increasing as I lay naked next to him. “I need a shower. I don’t want to leave you though.”
“Can you tell me something before you leave?” he asked.
“Anything.”
“Why were you telling me before that you were in pain? Was I hurting you?”
“No.” I shook my head, “Once we really got into it, out of nowhere it felt like my veins were on fire. I mean, at the risk of sounding overdramatic, it really felt like there was lava in my veins. Once you started drinking from me, the burning subsided.”
Braden sat up. “It was the strangest thing,” he started, “One minute I was totally immersed in your body and feeling how amazing it was to finally be with you and let my emotions take over, then the potent fragrance of your blood overwhelmed me entirely. It was as if I had never fed before in my life.” His expression darkened, “My thirst was uncontrollable, and I was sure I would drain every last ounce of blood from you before I came back to my senses. Thank God your blood replenishes itself. If it didn’t, I would’ve drained you long before I stopped feeding.”
I smiled in response to his concerned expression. “I think we learned something new today about the bond and the Life-Blood connection.”
Braden’s eyebrows shot up. “Yeah, mostly that my cousins are going to throw a raging fit after they get caught up to speed about me notbehavingmyself.”
“No, and fuck them and their overprotective opinions. I really felt something, I just don’t know if you felt it too or not. Something changed.”
He ran his hand through my hair. “What did you feel? Do you think something is awakening inside of you?”
“Possibly…I heard your thoughts.” I stopped as soon as his eyes widened. “Sothat’s new.”
“Wait, what? You read my thoughts?” he asked, staggered by what I’d confessed. “That isn’t possible. Since my cousins and I merged, there has never been any supernatural force that could read our minds. At what point did this happen?”
“When you were drinking from me.” I smiled at him. “That’s when your thoughts were in my head like you were saying every word out loud to me.”
“Are you still able to hear them?”
“No.”
“When did it stop?”
“Are you upset?”
“No, no, absolutely not, baby,” he brought a hand over my waist, sliding my body toward his. “I just need to know when it started and when it stopped. There’s got to be something important in those details. I’ve never heard anything about Life Bloods having this capability, but it may explain why we are so intensely connected.”
“It ended when you stopped feeding on me.”
“Puzzling,” he said.
“I know, but I don’t understand why this didn’t happen when I was with Logan.”
“Logan had his emotions shut off when you were together.” He nipped my bottom lip and molded our bodies closer together. “He wasn’t allowing any form of connection or bonding to happen with you on an emotional level. What happened with you today had to have only happened because I opened myself up. I wasn’t just fucking you,” his lips caressed my neck. “I was giving myself over to you emotionally. It was the most remarkable experience I’ve ever had.”
Reluctantly, I pulled my face back. “Your face and your eyes,” I said as I traced the dark stubble covering his cheeks and let out a laugh, “I don’t even know how to say this. Your face was already flawless, of course, and your eyes have always been the most beautiful gemstone color, but now you look like a portrait of perfection. Damn, you’re beautiful.”
Braden grinned. “I feel like I’m amped up on a drug or something. I want to take you again so badly it’s painful, but I’m sure I’d hurt you now. I feel stronger than I ever have, and I don’t trust this new feeling.”
“Do you feel our bond? I mean, I feel like you and I filled some crazy void I never knew we had. You are the entire world to me, Braden. I can’t explain the connection I feel to you right now. It’s real, and it’s so powerful.”
