Page 33 of Blood as Sweet as Roses
But I shouldn’t dwell on it too much. I’m worried that if I stay in bed much longer, I’ll doze back off again. I’ve slept almost the entire day already! But I’m delighted to think that the sun will go down again in only a few hours.
I pull myself out of bed, and start to draw a hot bath. The tub is deep, but it fills quickly with soapy water. As I wait, I run my finger over the two crimson dots on my wrist. A warm, unexpected sense of satisfaction fills me up as I look at them.
This must be what Sean and Chelsie were talking about. I hadnoidea that being bitten would be like that. That it could feel so…transcendent. So powerfully intimate and vulnerable.
And it was only my wrist…
I ease into the bath water, and it soothes my aching muscles. It’s nice not to have anything to do, or anywhere to go. I’ve never been able to relax so completely before. It’s a strange feeling, one that I’m not used to.
After my bath, I eat a huge breakfast (lunch?Dinner?) in the restaurant. I’ve got to replenish my strength for tonight.
Tonight.
I wait restlessly for the sun to go down. To distract myself, I try to study my nursing textbooks. I sit at the pillowed bench by my picture window, peeking out impatiently at the twilight.
When the sun finally seems to have gone down, I quickly pull on another dress (black, with a peplum, that I wore to my high school graduation) and I apply a little mascara before hurrying downstairs. I don’t even wait for Sean and Chelsie.
But Crimson isn’t in the lounge. At least, not yet. In fact, there are no other vampires here this early. Just a few living humans chatting on the couches. The music is still light and quiet, the DJ scrolling on her phone in her neon red booth.
With a sigh, I take a glass of wine from a server. I glance over at the group of mingling humans, but I feel too awkward to approach them. Maybe I should walk around a little bit, work out some of this restless feeling.
I wander around the maze-like halls of the mansion, careful not to get too close to the vampires’ offices. I don’t want to repeat that mistake again. At the end of one hallway is a door that leads outside. It’s dark, so I can’t see very well, but I peek my head out. It looks like a large courtyard. Maybe the rose garden is out here somewhere.
But it’s a little too dark, and I’m nervous to roam around by myself late at night. Perhaps I’ll come back another time.
I turn back toward the lounge, finishing off my glass of wine as I go. There’s a lovely warm buzz across my skin, and a pleasant tingle of anticipation flickers in my stomach as I imagine seeing Crimson again.
“I want tosavouryou.”
She had said those words.
“Would you rather kneel?”
My face gets hot again as I consider it. Maybe Iwouldenjoy doing something like that.Servingher…
That’s not…crossing any lines, is it? I mean, it’s myjob, right? I’m supposed to be donating my blood to the vampires.
I just hadn’t expected toenjoyit so much…
I give my empty wine glass to a passing server, and I enter the lounge once again. Now, the music is louder, the lights dimmer, and the air has started to thicken with tension and desire. The dance floor is starting to fill with living humans casting provocative glances at the darkly-attired vampires who roam the periphery of the lounge.
My eyes scan the room eagerly. Chelsie and Sean are already seated on a couch, chatting and drinking wine. But they’re not the ones I’m looking for.
Sheis.
Crimson, wearing a black blazer with a deep V-neck shirt, and leather pants. I wonder what they feel like…
Then I see what she’s doing, and I pause.
She’s speaking with another living human, across one of the standing tables.
My stomach twists.
The girl is giggling, twirling her blond hair through her fingers. She stands on one hip, accentuating the lavish curves of her body. She wears a lace dress, tight against her body, cut low over her bodice. Her lips are painted blood red, and she bats her long lashes teasingly at Crimson.
Howdareshe.
It’s ridiculous, I know. I have no claim over Crimson. But the sight of her with someone else…the idea of her drinking another human’s blood tonight…makes my chest tight. Jealously, I glare across the lounge at the other girl, at her stupid dress, at her six-inch heels…
