Page 33 of Bite The Power That Feeds

Kingsnake came to my side. “The process is simple. Draw close, release your fangs, and then bite. The blood will flow into your mouth instantly. Only take until the hunger subsides, then withdraw. Since it’s your first time, you’ll want more, but you’ll need to cut yourself off. Otherwise, you risk killing the source.”

I remembered when he’d first bitten me. He was an experienced vampire, but even he struggled to control himself when he had a taste of my blood. I feared my response would be even worse.

“I’ll be here the entire time.” He couldn’t feel my unease the way I could feel his, but he could see it written across my face like text on a scroll. “It’s your first time, so don’t burden yourself with unrealistic expectations. I will interfere once you go too long.”

I suddenly felt the hunger in a painful wave. It tightened my stomach. Made me weak and anxious at the same time. Now I didn’t care that I was about to bite a woman instead of a man. I just wanted to eat.

He seemed to see it in my eyes, the hunger of a vampire. “Go for it.” There was an armchair in the room, so he took a seat, his knees planted far apart, one elbow on the armrest, his fingertips rubbing together like there was a grain of sand between them.

I looked at her, the blond woman who continued to stand there, her eyes shifting from Kingsnake once she had my attention. We were the same height, our eyes level, so my teeth should reach her throat with ease.

It was an out-of-body experience, an unease that crept down my spine. I was so unsure of myself, incapable of walking up to her and taking what I wanted. But I was hungry, and that fueled my first few steps.

I drew near, so close together like we were lovers. My eyes watched hers. Hers watched mine.

Then I reached up and grasped her golden curls before I brushed them back from her neck.

Kingsnake’s arousal was instant, like the moment a kettle on the hot stove started to whistle. From the shadows of the armchair, he watched us with his closed fist covering his hard mouth.

My fingers sank deeper into her hair and pushed it back to leave her neck exposed to me, the flesh so smooth and unblemished. My hunger increased tenfold, and I felt my fangs protrude entirely on their own, as if on instinct. Now the momentum was in place, and as if swept up in the speed of the stream, I was moved forward. My fangs were so sharp that I pierced her flesh instantly, and I listened to the quiet gasp she released at the pain.

The pain I would never feel again—because I was undead.

The blood hit my tongue…and it was indescribable. Like a drink of water in the hot desert, a hot meal after a long fast, it was pure bliss. My arm automatically tightened around her back, and I pulled her to me, sinking my fangs deeper as more blood flooded my mouth. My hunger was unsatiated. In fact, it was deeper than before.

Kingsnake’s arousal had deepened the moment I’d gripped her around the waist. His heat was an inferno in that room, watching me take my first prey with conviction. Instead of feeling the despair I felt when he satisfied his hunger, he got a show that jolted his desire.

It made the feeding better, feeling his hotness surround me as I fed from the woman who offered her body openly. My hand stayed in her hair and kept it back as I feasted on her flesh. My hunger was eventually satisfied, but I kept going, overeating just the way I did when I was alive. The food tasted so good that I continued to shovel it into my mouth and force it into my stomach. My fingers deepened on her body as I drained her, taking more than I needed, without regard to her well-being.

Kingsnake’s strong voice came to me. “Sweetheart.”

I kept my grip on her, refusing to let her go.

“Enough.”

I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t stop.

Now he said my name, something he hadn’t done in a very long time. “Larisa.” He raised his voice, scolding me like a parent scolded a child. I only had seconds to behave before the punishment came. “You don’t want to kill this woman.”

That severed the trance. My fangs left her flesh, and I withdrew, still feeling the rush of euphoria in my veins. I saw the blood drip down her neck. Felt the fullness I hadn’t felt since I was last alive.

She drifted away, moving to a chair nearby.

Kingsnake stepped in front of me, his hand landing on my arm to balance me. His eyes burned into mine, his heat still searing because his arousal hadn’t died with his admonishment. He watched me, watched me work through the experience.

My eyes dropped, ashamed by what I’d done and how much I’d enjoyed it. I was officially a nightwalker, taking the blood of others for my own pleasure. The only consolation I had was the fact that I’d experienced it myself, knew how good it could feel.

As the seconds trickled by, I felt the rejuvenation, the strength that came from nowhere. I felt better than I ever had, even the moment I’d first opened my eyes. The strength in my arms and legs was undeniable. My focus was suddenly sharp as a blade. I always knew I had the power of the Originals, but now I actually felt it.

His hand moved into my hair and wiped the drop of blood in the corner of my mouth. “How do you feel?”

My answer emerged as a whisper. “Better…”

He tilted my head, making my eyes meet his.

“A lot better.”

Subtly, a smile entered his hard mouth.

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