Page 22 of Wynter's Bite

Goodness, all that did sound nice. To be young and healthy forever... She frowned. “You said you were older than you appear. How old are you?”

“Just under two hundred years.” He eyed her nervously as he uttered the number.

Her head spun at his answer. And she’d thought Lord Tench was ancient. That meant that Justus had lived to see the French and American Revolutions, the Seven Years’ War, and even the witch hunts in the seventeenth century. And if she were to live that long... “My parents would grow old and die before me.” The notion was so strange, as was the idea of never seeing them again. Though it didn’t hurt as much as she’d feared it might.

He nodded. “That is often the most painful thing about our existence. Many refuse immortality for that reason alone.”

“But once I’m married off, I wouldn’t see them often anyway.” Her mother hadn’t seen her own parents since Bethany was born. So perhaps that wouldn’t affect her too much. After all, they were the ones who were trying to get rid of her. Yet there was so much more she wanted to know. “How would you make me into a vampire?”

He gave her a wary look and spoke quietly. “I would drink almost all of your blood and then feed you mine.”

Struggling to hold back her revulsion at the process, Bethany raised a brow. It did not seem overly magical. “If it is that simple, why is the world not full of vampires?”

His lips curved up as if in approval of the question, the same smile he favored her with when she told him her analysis on a piece of literature. “Because it takes at least a century for a vampire to build up the strength to Change a human.”

“How many have you Changed?” She pronounced the capital letter of the word, tamping down the worry that he’d fallen in love before and she could face a rival for his affections.

“None,” he said so emphatically that his answer could be nothing but truthful.

Tenderness unfurled in her heart like a summer rose. After nearly two hundred years, Justus had chosen her to spend his life with. Taking a deep breath, she made her decision. “Would you Change me before or after we marry?”

“After. I first need to seek permission from the Lord Vampire of Rochester to Change you. Then I would speak to your parents and secure a special license, so that we will be permitted a nighttime ceremony.” Justus bent down so his face was inches from hers. “Are you saying you’ll be willing to become a vampire to be my wife?”

Many of the novels she’d read featured the protagonist enduring some great test to prove their love. Bethany couldn’t think of a greater test than becoming a mythical monster. Though truly once Justus explained what being a vampire entailed, they did not sound all that monstrous. Aside from the blood drinking aspect. And she would miss the sun.

“Yes,” she whispered. “But I ask two things.”

“Anything,” he vowed.

“First, I want you to kiss me again.” She reached up and linked her hands behind his neck. “Then I want you to bite me, so I know what it feels like.”

He frowned, but his eyes began to glow a bright, phosphorescent green. Just as they had that night in the Willoughbys’ garden the first night he kissed her. So it had not been a reflection of the fireworks. Did they glow like that when he was hungry? Part of her longed to pull away, for he looked so deadly, yet he was also so beautiful. She had to know, to experience what was integral to his existence, to feel his bite.

Bethany tilted her chin up, silently imploring the vampire to kiss her. A low growl trickled from his throat as his lips came down on hers, teasing and caressing. Heat spiraled in her belly at the taste of him, the feel of his strong arms pulling her tight against his lean, firm body. Her limbs went weak as she kissed him back, craving more of this deep, sensuous connection.

When his mouth dragged away from hers, Bethany whimpered at being deprived, then gasped as he trailed kisses along her cheek and down her neck. He was going to do it! The feel of his lips on such a sensitive part of her body made her tingle all over. Tangling her hands in his hair, she pulled him closer, needing more of this sweet pleasure.

Justus drew back, eyes glowing bright as fiery emeralds and fangs peeking out from his lips. “Are you certain about this?”

“Yes,” she gasped. “But please, be gentle.” Those teeth did look awfully sharp.

His hand slid up the back of her neck, fingers slipping into her hair at the base of her scalp. Those brilliant eyes held her captive as he whispered, “No pain.”

Then he tilted her head and lowered his mouth back to her neck, kissing her until she was quivering in his arms. A sharpness pierced her flesh and a sense of dizzying pressure emanated from the place.

She heard him swallowing then, once, twice, three times. It should have revolted her, or at least it should have hurt, but instead, the sensitive place between her thighs throbbed with intoxicating pleasure with every pull at her throat. Her hips arched upward of their own volition, seeking something else to ease the ache in her loins as she moaned with need.

Justus drew back, licking his lips and breathing heavily. “I hope I did not hurt you. I did not take much, for I cannot have you climbing a tree if you’re dizzy.”

“No, it felt... incredible. Is it like that for everyone you drink from?” Jealousy niggled at her at the thought of other women experiencing this.

He shook his head. “They feel nothing.”

Bethany reached for the wound on her neck, for it had begun to sting, but Justus snatched her hand back and pierced his index finger with a fang. “What are you doing?”

“Healing you.” He pressed his bleeding finger to the place where he’d bitten her. Once more, her neck tingled, albeit with muted intensity. “If we left the humans we fed from with bite marks, our kind would not be long for this world.”

“Oh.” She was surprised to be disappointed that there would be no evidence of the magnificent sensations he’d wrought. “That is most practical.”

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