Page 25 of Lore and Lust
“My hand?” Nino tilts his head.
“Yes… please,” Haruka says, his gaunt expression finally softening. Nino holds his open palm in between them and Haruka gently takes hold of his wrist. His fingertips are cool as he pulls Nino’s palm toward his mouth. The innocent contact sends warm tingles up Nino’s arm.
Haruka hesitates briefly. He keeps his eyes on Nino as he softly licks then bites into the base of his palm near his thumb. He feels Haruka’s incisors elongate to pierce his skin. Slowly, Haruka’s eyes alight, burning bright crimson as he feeds.
He doesn’t feed long. Nor does he pull deeply. When he finishes, he lifts his head from Nino’s palm, neatly licking the quickly healing puncture marks before sitting up straight. He intentionally breathes in, then out. Nino can physically feel the subtle shift in Haruka’s innate energy, as if something hidden is gradually swelling. Cool and strong.
When Haruka looks at him, the apprehension in his eyes is obvious. “Thank you, Nino,” he says, his irises slowly burning out.
“You’re welcome. How do you feel? Much less miserable?”
It’s quiet—barely perceptible—but Haruka breathes a soft laugh through his nose. “Yes… much less.”
* * *
Late the next morning,Nino paces the room with his smartphone, desperately searching for service. The dramatic, old stone castle set in the sweeping English countryside isn’t exactly cellular friendly.
When he finds a promising spot in his bedroom beside a full-sized medieval suit of armor, he quickly hits speed dial for his best friend. After three rings she picks up.
“Ciao ciao,” she says warmly, making Nino smile.
“She answers,” he teases. “It’s a miracle.”
“You always call me when I’m in the museum working. Don’t be a brat. How’s Sussex? I hear it’s pretty shitty this time of year?”
“English weather.” Nino shrugs, relaxing back against the faded red-gold tapestry hanging from the wall. “Things are okay. The ceremony was as awkward as I thought it would be.”
“No kidding. Yuck. Well, actually… I guess it could be hot, depending on the couple?”
“It wasn’t. And one of the grooms-to-be attacked Haruka in the middle of the night.”
Nino pauses for reaction and Cellina delivers. Her typically sultry voice is practically a shriek.
“What?What are you talking about?”
“It’s been crazy here, Lina. You know I get the occasional weirdo in my bar, but the stuff Haruka goes through is next level.”
“No wonder he hides in his house all the time,” Cellina says. “Poor guy.”
Nino rubs the back of his neck, a small grin forming on his lips. “I… offered myself to him. Last night.”
He pauses again, but instead of the anticipated reaction, the silence goes on a little too long. “Lina?”
“Nino, are you being serious?”
She can’t see him, but he nods anyway. The seriousness in her voice serves as a mirror for the reality and weight of his bold decision. “Yeah,” he says. “I am. His bloodline is so damn old… He can’t really function on first-gen blood like most purebreds can.”
“That’s amazing,” she says, her voice sincere. “Goodness… I’m just so surprised. I mean, you were practically gushing over him a couple days ago—”
“I was notgushing.”
“Okay,” she says, amusement behind her voice. “But you’re obviously comfortable with him and think highly of him. Did he accept? Are you his source now?”
Nino lays his head back against the wall. “We haven’t talked through the details yet. He was in a bad situation when I fed him, so I let him get some rest afterward. Hopefully we can talk about it today… I don’t want things to be awkward.”
“Do you want to be his source?” Cellina asks.
Nino only pauses a beat, registering the question. “I do. He definitely needs a higher-level source than what he’s been getting. I told you his skin is a weird color?”
