Page 40 of Bleeding Love

“Roman, I’m gonna come!” she whimpered, her hands balling into fists.

“Not yet. Just a bit longer,” I whispered in her ear before kissing the back of her neck. My hunger was fully sated, I could go on without drinking blood for weeks, months even, but in the moments I had her writhing beneath me, all I could think about was tasting her on my tongue.

The thought alone was enough to push me over the edge and I came, reminding myself not to squeeze her hands too hard, lest I fracture another bone like the last time. She screamed as she climaxed, legs shaking and breath coming out in heavy pants.

I caught her before she slumped to the ground, carrying her to the couch in the next room. Her face was flushed with color and there was a faint imprint of my hand around her throat, but there was no hint of pain or fear coming off her. Not of anger, either, despite the glare she sent me.

She rubbed her wrists, then offered them to me. Such a simple gesture of trust, yet it still rattled me while I muttered the incantations and slipped the cuffs off her.

“I have a present for you,” I said as I massaged the bruised skin, watching it heal beneath my fingers while her magic returned to serve her. Celeste perked up, her eyes lighting with curiosity. “I was planning to give you this earlier, but…you distracted me.”

She rolled her eyes so she missed it when I slipped the long, thin parcel from the inside pocket of my jacket. Holding it between my thumb and forefinger, I offered it to her. She narrowed her eyes, turning it around as if trying to guess what it was.

I slid beside her on the couch while she fought to remove the velvet wrapping, then opened the box inside. I had to make sure it was secured since I couldn’t risk breaking it on the way.

Her eyes widened when she peeked inside the box, and she pressed a hand to her mouth. She stood perfectly still, staring at her present like she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. I watched her, wondering if I could find several more of those just to watch her make that face again.

“Is this what I think it is?” she whispered as she plucked out the thin wooden branch from inside the box. It was raw and unrefined, but I was sure she could turn it in whatever she wanted.

“Enchanted wood.” I nodded, looking over the seemingly unimpressive stick. It had taken me half a year to find one, and almost as long to obtain it. “I figured you can use one after the last one…broke.”

“You mean the one thatyoubroke?” she scoffed. I opened my mouth to tell her it was an accident when she threw herself at me. She pressed her mouth against mine, but before I could respond, she was kissing my whole face with childish glee, her arms tightening around my neck even as I tried to push her back. I eventually gave up, letting her do it until she was panting.

She slacked in my lap, still clinging to my neck with one hand, while the other held the enchanted wood in front of her eyes.

“This is really sweet, Roman, thank you. It will help me so much with the potions and the spells I’ve been working on! And, this will make it less likely to blow something up! These things are excellent for more intricate spellcasting.” She looked at me again, eyes gleaming with so much joy and excitement that I found myself smiling. I pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, reveling at how soft and warm her skin was at my fingers, when, as she often did when things got too emotionally intimate between us, she turned away and cleared her throat.

I considered holding her down when she tried to get up but decided against it. I was already occupying most of her time and she seemed perfectly content with letting me make love to her whenever I wished that I couldn’t deprive her of her personal time, especially when she was doing all her work without even leaving the house.

That was, until she took a step and swayed. She would have fallen to the floor if I hadn’t caught her in the last possible second. Helping her sit back on the couch, I studied her face with worry—her cheeks were still flushed, but she suddenly looked pale, almost sickly. Panic swelled in my chest.

“What’s wrong? Was I too rough?”

As if expecting the question, she waved her hand in dismissal. “No, no, it’s…my fault.” She avoided my eyes, heart jumping at the lie, but with me crouching in front of her and caging her with my hands, she wasn’t going anywhere before she told me the truth.

“Celeste?”

She sighed with exasperation, the color on her cheeks intensifying.

“I might have overdone it a bit while you were away. I was working on a potion and it required a constant observation and…” She gave me a sheepish smile as she shrugged, but then her face fell when I didn’t respond in kind.

“When was the last time you slept?” I asked.

“Two days ago.”

“And when did you eat last?” I pushed, already knowing I wouldn’t like the answer.

“Yesterday…I think.” She winced.

Sighing, I tried to rein in my frustration while I got up.

“I was gone for five days. Five days!” I snapped. “How you have survived on your own for centuries is a mystery to me! No wonder you’ve died so many times, you can’t even keep yourself fed!” She looked down at her hand, still squeezing her present, and at that moment, she looked so young and small, that my anger vanished in an instant. I sighed again. “I’ll bring you something to eat, then you are going to sleep.” Her hand tightened on the enchanted wood and she opened her mouth as if to argue, but I gave her a warning look. “Do not argue with me or I am taking your present back. You can’t die, Celeste. I’m not letting that happen on my watch.”

She gasped in indignation, hugging the wand to her chest and muttering a defeated,‘Fine!’

I nodded, making a sign for her to stay put then headed for the kitchen. I was just thinking I had to find a human to take care of her and do the chores around the house when I sensed a strange presence.

It wasn’t another vampire, and it wasn’t a witch; it was too quiet and too fast to be a human too. Definitely not a wild animal either—all of them avoided these lands after I started hunting them.

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