Page 12 of Taste of Forever
My hand returned to Justin’s back, where I rubbed in wide circles. I added pressure, making it more of a massage as I leaned in closer.
“When are you going to bed?” I asked, letting my voice drop, low and sultry.
“Mm, I dunno. Few hours, at least.” His dismissive answer was punctuated by rapid mouse clicks and aggressive key strokes.
I brought my hands over his shoulders and ran them down his chest. “Is there any way I can convince you to come to bed sooner?” Dodging his headphone cord, I kissed his neck.
“I mean, I can try, but we’ve been planning to raid this dungeon all week. This is the only time we could get this many people together. The party needs me.”
And your girlfriend is trying to fuck you. Is this really where your priorities are?
I smothered the voice of resentment, which I was starting to think of as a little demon on my shoulder, and tried one more time.
“I miss you, Jus. We haven’t gone to bed together in weeks.” I kissed his neck again, flicking my tongue in a way that used to drive him wild.
It wasn’t even sex that I was after, although that would be a bonus. I missed the intimacy we used to have, our nightly routine of cuddling in bed and kissing goodnight before falling asleep.
Now, Justin leaned away from my touch, rolling his shoulder to break contact. “Should’ve thought of that before you started working night shift. We’re on totally different schedules now.”
I straightened, hurt shooting through me like ice water. “And whose idea was that? I moved to nights for the shift deferential because we were struggling. I was worried about never seeing each other, butyousuggested it. Remember?”
His response? A shake of his head and a sigh. “Yeah, DimeBag, I’m still here,” he said into the microphone.
“Unbelievable,” I groaned, heading for the bedroom.
After a shower and brushing my teeth, I flopped into bed and stared at the ceiling. Sleep wouldn’t come for hours. My work schedule had turned me into a night owl, so I was wide awake to stew—to listen to every whisper from that little resentment demon on my shoulder.
What kind of man turns down sex to play a computer game? He doesn’t even pretend to care anymore. Why do I even bother?
Is he getting his needs met somewhere else?
That last thought made me flop violently onto my side, facing my nightstand where my phone lay charging. No, Justin wasn’t a cheater, despite all his faults. I was just projecting because it felt likeIhad come dangerously close to cheating tonight.
I reached for my phone without thinking, but stopped short of picking it up.
A vampire drinking my blood showed me more concern and care than my own boyfriend tonight. How messed up is that?
I had been nothing but an anonymous, faceless blood donor, and he’d made me laugh to relax me. He told me not to be afraid, assured me he wouldn’t hurt me.
And he hadn’t.
He’d made me feel incredible.
My skin heated at the memory. Not just at the physical pleasure, but the sound of his honeyed voice. The weight of his presence—so close to me but impossible to see. Who was he? Didall vampires have that effect when they walked into a room? His presence seemed to demand attention, demand respect.
But I hadn’t felt afraid. The whole situation was strange and scary, buthewasn’t. He’d made me feel comforted, like he would shield me from harm. And then fuck me into oblivion after he finished drinking my blood. Or maybewhilehe drank it.
I rubbed my eyes with a sigh. It had been so long since I’d felt desired that my mind was truly spiraling, thinking of blood and vampires as sexy. Ugh, absolutely not.
Justin really didn’t need to do much to show me that he cared, that he still loved and desired me. I wanted to believe that he did, that he was just comfortable in the relationship and didn’t see the need for romantic gestures anymore. It wasn’t like I was asking for flowers or even a date night—a spontaneous kiss would have made me swoon. A, “Hey, how was your night?” would make me feel I mattered.
Really?asked the resentment demon on my shoulder.You think a starving woman will be satisfied with sprinkles of breadcrumbs?
Well, no. Maybe not satisfied. But it would be better than how things were now. A step in the right direction.
Minutes crawled by and I was no closer to falling asleep. Justin swore and yelled at his teammates in the living room, oblivious to the real world. And the real world had vampires in it. I was still wrapping my head around that.
Justin had been mildly concerned when I had been held captive for three days at the prepper village, but we’d fought about something stupid right before. When I finally returned home, he figured I’d been staying at a friend’s place to cool off.
