Page 62 of Just One Bite
“What was it like?”
“Like … everyone else has been eating the most delicious chocolate cake and I’ve been chomping on carrots my whole life. It’s so fucking good. It’s like warm and … there’s this feeling when it slides down your throat—”
He stops, as if he’s just now registering that I’m human and he’s talking about consuming my blood. “It’s good. And I’m really happy you’re not in The Donor Program because I don’t want anyone else biting you.”
Oh, what would my mother think?No. It’s fine. This isn’t much different from being in the actual program. That thought sends my heart pumping. It is different because I’m not contractually obligated to do anything for the rest of my life.
The contract was the problem. The contract is what killed her.
“Is that a protective werewolf thing?”
“No, I think this is more of the vampire side kicking in. Vampires get very possessive when they find someone with good blood. And yours is top shelf. You never told me why you and your sisters aren’t in The Donor Program.”
There’s a silence between us as we get into our school uniforms. The whole interaction is fluid. We stand in front of each other and finish at the same time. Without asking, he helps me adjust my hair, and I help him with his. It’s too natural. Like a well-worn path, but we haven’t walked this before.
“My dad hates it. My mom was in, and she … died. It was an accident. She was already weak from a lingering illness, and the stress on her heart was too much.”
“I’m sorry.”
I hate the pity that comes from telling someone my mom died, but Parker’s sorry doesn’t feel like pity.
He knows.
I shrug. “My dad gave up his job and all his research, started joining these anti–Donor Program support groups. All it did was instill fear in my sisters. I wouldn’t join, but … I don’t hate it as he does. I hate him more for being so useless and not doing anything but scaring them with his stories.”
He shakes his head like he understands, and I know he does.
“I think my mom would be disappointed. She would understand his resentment, but … she believed in The Donor Program. My mom was naturally a believer in things bigger than herself.”
A memory sparks in my mind. It’s a glimmer.
My mom smiles at me and holds her Donor Program badge in my face.
“You see this? This means I help the people in Vviveren.”
“What about your dad issues you mentioned?” I ask.
“He’s a dick to pretty much everyone except my stepmom who has never liked hearing about my mom. I think it’s because she knows their love was different. After my mom died, he met her. She brought her son to live with us and then my dad ended up having a daughter with her. He treats her like a princess, so that’s good.”
“Your mom … died too?”
“Yeah, her name was Lucy.” His brows shoot up like he’s shocked he said it, then he softens. “She got sick. She wasn’t in The Donor Program, even though my dad is a vampire. She was the Alpha of her pack, and it’s typically frowned upon for pack leaders to be donors. My dad wasn’t interested in doing anything with me after she died. I think I reminded him too much of my mom. Which is good. She deserves to live on.”
Parker’s staring at my lips, and as I finish my drink. There’s a little scar below his bottom lip, and his upper one is cut as if a claw nicked him. For a brief moment, I imagine those lips on mine again in a messy upper-lip kiss.
I clear my throat and lean away. “If you feel better. Then hold up your half of our deal and get ready for class.”
“Yes ma’am.”
He shovels the food into his mouth I smuggled from the dining hall.
“So about earlier. Would you let me … bite you again?” He says it between chews. I’m reminded I should be disgusted, but I'm not.
“You got blood on my sweater.”
“You’re right, I should have had better control.”
There are about a million reasons I should say no to letting Parker bite me again, but oddly, even with the audition results coming today, I don’t have the usual anxious nausea in my stomach.
