Page 26 of Norah

Silence drags as Norah nibbles her lower lip with her teeth, thinking. “I get it, Ethan, I really do. It frustrated me when you pulled me out of the bar; I was thinking,oh no, I’ll have to psych myself up for this all over again. But I think if our situations were reversed, and I knew you were going out meeting and feeding from women, I’d be beside myself. I would probably do the same thing you did, but with some hair pulling added in.” She gives a crooked grin, and I relax.Partially forgiven, at least.

I reach for her hands, and relief whooshes through me when she allows me to take them. I have to bring it up again, even knowing the answer might be no. “Baby… you know what I’m going to ask, but please don’t say no before really thinking about it.”

Norah shakes her head, but I continue in a rush. “Just listen, please. It would solve both of our problems. If you take my blood, you won’t have to go out searching anymore. All the stress would be gone, and you’d be able to feed at home. And I wouldn’t have to have the mental images of men approaching you, while you’re miserable and anxious the whole time.”

I’m watching Norah’s expression, and she looks like she might actually consider this, so I continue. “Beyond that, Iwantto do this for you. To protect you from doing something that makes you unhappy. I understand you’re afraid, but I know in my soul that you would never hurt me. We could take whatever precautions you want. But please, give this a try.” I tug at her hands and she allows me to pull her into my lap. My arms go around her and I tuck her head under my chin. “Please consider it, Norah. I promise it’ll be OK.”

“OK.” So quiet I can barely hear it, Norah whispers her response into my chest. “We can try it one time, to see how it goes.”

“It’ll be fine, baby, I promise.”

Strange Collection

NORAH

What was I thinking?Why did I agree to this again?

Somehow, against my better judgment, I’m preparing to take Ethan’s blood. Tonight. In a few minutes, in fact. Which is surely the reason my stomach feels like it’s about to revolt. Not that it would matter, given that I don’t eat actual food unless I choose to, but the feeling is the same.

Ethan walks into the living room, where I’ve set up all my tools, and at once I’m reminded why I agreed to his plan.I love him, and I’ll do anything to make him happy. It’s funny that despite all my nerves, he looks completely relaxed. He’s wearing a black long-sleeved Henley that showcases his muscled arms, and jeans worn in all the right places. His dark hair is damp and tousled from his shower, face cleanly shaven, and he smells like peppermint and cinnamon. His deep green eyes capture mine, crinkling with his smile, as he sits next to me on the floor.

“This is a strange collection of stuff, Norah.” He’s sorting through the unique items I’ve collected for this experiment: towels, water, handcuffs, and a sharp knife. “Are we trying a little BDSM after this?” He twirls the handcuffs on his finger with a laugh.

“No.” I snatch the handcuffs back. “This is serious. I need to make sure you’ll be safe.” I pause and inspect his face. “Are yousureabout this?”

“For the hundredth time, yes. Now stop stalling.” He nudges me with his arm, then kisses my forehead.

“OK… First, I’ll need to be handcuffed to something big. The couch is the largest item in the room, so that’s the best choice. I can move it, but its size will slow me down.” I snap one cuff to my wrist and the other to the leg of the couch. “The towels and water are for cleanup, just in case.”

“Also, the towel can put pressure on your wound if something goes wrong. And you’ll hold the knife while I take your blood.” I hand it to him, making a satisfied note of its sharpness. “If it seems like I’m getting out of control, or hurting you, stab me with it. Leg, arm, someplace you can sink it in deep.”

Ethan recoils in horror, gasping, “Whywould Istabyou? I’mnotdoing that!”

“It won’t kill me; I’ll heal; but in combination with the handcuffs, you can escape from me.” I look at his shocked face. “I know you don’t like it. But this is the only way I can think of to make this safer. Promise me you’ll use the knife if necessary, otherwise we can’t do this.”

Face creased in a frown, Ethan grinds his teeth and grits. “Fine. I promise. But itwon’tbe necessary.”

He picks up the knife and switches it to the hand farthest from me. I take his other arm and hold it, sliding up his sleeve. My heart is racing so hard, I can’t hear anything besides its frenzied beats. It’s almost surreal, sitting on the floor holding Ethan’s arm, ready to sink my fangs into his skin. “Please tell me how everything feels and if it hurts, alright?” I look down at his arm and think he’s shaking, but then realize it’smeinstead.

“Norah, it’s going to be fine.” He strokes my cheek, and twists my hair through his fingers. “The longer you delay, the harder it gets. Just do this.”

Oh God, I hope so. I try to steady my hands; I want his arm still when I puncture his wrist to avoid any tearing. Allowing my fangs to reveal themselves, I lower my head to Ethan’s wrist and bite down. As soon as I feel the skin puncture, my eyes fly up to his, gauging his reaction. There’s no evidence of pain, just a slight inhale of breath.

“It doesn’t hurt, just a tiny pinch,” he reassures me. “Keep going.”

I press my mouth over the two marks I made, and cautiously allow the smallest amount of blood into my mouth. It floods my senses, like nothing I’ve experienced before. I swallow the blood and pull in a bit more, trying to examine the differences from all the other times I’ve fed. As the blood continues to flow, I look at Ethan again, questioning.

He’s smiling, looking pleased. “It feels good. Not painful at all. It makes me feel connected to you, but I can’t quite explain how.”

A connection, yes, there’s definitely that. As his blood feeds my hunger, it also brings comfort. Ethan’s blood feelsdifferent. More intense, more nourishing, justmore. In all the times I’ve fed before, from all the different men I chose, I always walked away feeling ashamed and unclean. But taking his gift, his blood, leaves me feeling safe and comforted.

Hesitant to take more, especially this time, I lift my mouth away and watch the residual venom from my fangs seal the small wounds shut. I brush away two small droplets of blood that escaped, and look up at Ethan, wondering what his reaction will be. This went better than I had imagined, and the overwhelming sense of relief makes me giddy. Even so, a niggling worry remains; did I do something that will repulse him? “Tell me, how was it? Are you OK?”

“I’m perfectly fine; all your worrying was for nothing.” He unlocks the cuff from my wrist and hauls me into his lap. “It’s how I said; I felt connected to you. Like if I was apartof you. The sensation was… it’s hard to explain. Kind of like a soft tingling with rushes of pleasure and warmth. Nothing hurt, not even when you bit me.” He pauses, considering. “I also felt proud and protective, because I could provide for you, to give you something you need. So all good on my end. What about you? How did you feel?”

His response is beyond anything I dreamed. After all my worries over what could happen, it’s like a giant weight has been lifted. I hug Ethan tightly and brush a kiss along his jaw. “It was… different from any other time. Everything felt better. I didn’t have terrible guilt taking the blood like I usually do. And your blood…” I hesitate as I realize how weird it will sound. “I don’t want this to sound creepy. It’s weird to talk about taking your blood.”

“I think by now, it’s OK to talk about.” He laughs, his warm breath rustling my hair. “I wouldreallylike to know what it was like.”

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