Page 36 of Mitchell
Seryn sighed and decided the best response was no response. He didn't know what to say. He would have liked it if Mitchell took him seriously, but hiding inside of a dome while in a hotel room didn't exactly scream maturity, so he'd probably earned what he'd gotten.
"I'm worried about you. You looked pale and sweaty when you first came in." Mitchell had been awake? "Is that because you need blood? Because if it is, I'm ready for you to take it from me."
Seryn was so surprised by the offer, he accidentally let the dome slip away.
Mitchell sighed in relief and then cursed when Seryn began chanting again. He grabbed for Seryn's hand and ended upgrabbing ahold of his wrist because Seryn held the empty bag still. "Oh, no you don't."
Seryn turned away, wiping the tears away from his eyes with his free hand. He should have pulled out of Mitchell's hold, but he liked it too much to make it stop. Instead, he turned his back to Mitchell as much as the hold allowed.
"I just need you to leave me alone for now." So, he could get his shit together was implied. Seryn was usually a lot better at keeping his emotions buried and his visions in check. Meeting Mitchell would either make or break him. It was too soon to tell.
"I'm afraid I can't do that, sweetheart. You got all my protective instincts going, so now I have to take care of you." There was only one problem with that. Mitchell struggled with taking that to the place Seryn needed him to go.
"You don't want that. Not really." Seryn had never been one to lie to himself. In his experience, doing so caused more trouble, not less. And he wouldn't lie to Mitchell either. It was all or nothing.
Mitchell rubbed his thumb over Seryn's wrist. "That's not true and not what I said earlier. Before you left. And besides that, we need each other."
He knew he needed Mitchell. That Mitchell had figured it out too made Seryn stiffen. "What did you say, then?"
"I used your phone and called Jude." The sudden subject change confused Seryn, so he waited to see what Mitchell would say next. "Jude explained how you might have thought I was saying no. But all I meant was maybe we can go a little slower. Maybe you can let me spoil you a little."
Okay. Maybe it wasn't all or nothing. Maybe they could start somewhere in the middle. "If I drink from you, it starts the bonding process."
"I know, but you need it."
"I have another bag. That should do it."
Mitchell let him go to take the bag from Seryn's hand. "You didn't bite anyone else."
"I've never done that before." The bagged stuff was easy to find if a vampire knew where to look. Well, in a bigger city anyway. All he had to do was search for a certain type of bar. Paranormals congregated just like everyone else. Bars were the center of a community. Paranormals weren't an exception. All he had to do was flash his fangs and ask the bartender. Thirty dollars later, and he had two bags of blood.
Mitchell sighed and chuckled. "So, I was jealous for nothing."
That made Seryn smile. "You always will be."
"But you let me stew."
"You deserved it." Seryn faced Mitchell again as he reached into his pocket and pulled out another bag of blood. He showed it to Mitchell, who snatched it from his hand and held it out when Seryn protested. "Give it back."
"Come closer and I will."
Seryn scooted closer, but it wasn't close enough for Mitchell, who wrapped an arm around Seryn's waist and pulled him against his side. Seryn leaned into Mitchell, relaxing.
Mitchell handed the bag over, and Seryn drank. Mitchell watched him. His curiosity was clear. "Does it taste good?"
Seryn stopped drinking to answer. "It's not bad. I'm told it's a little stale having it this way. A lot of vampires who drink bagged blood mix it with alcohol. At least at the bars, they do."
"But you don't?"
"I don't drink alcohol."
"Ever?"
"Once. My foster father made me drink until I puked. I haven't since."
Mitchell cursed. "What the fuck did he do that for?"
"It was part of his punishment. You don't want to know the other part." And Seryn didn't want to go into the gory details.
