Pulling away from him, I want Theron to know I am revolted.
“Those poor women!They survived a horrendous prehistoric invasion only to be savagely bled dry by their own folk.”Jumping off the bed, I start to pace the floor with the sheet draped around me.“For someone who was human one day before, am I reaching for the moon to think that you could have shown some compassion?”
My sensitivity has zero impact on the vampire lying on the bed.
“I did warn you about my true nature, darlin’.The Red Queen didn’t select pussies to suck on.My thinking is this: maybe real men taste better.”
“Ugh, you are so cocky sometimes.”I must never forget that a long trail of dead women lies in Theron’s wake.But he’s so gentle and kind to me that it’s easy to forget.
And from the way he’s grinning at me right now, Theron couldn’t care less about my soft-hearted outburst.
“You’ll be pleased to know we learned from our mistakes.Believe me, it’s much more fun coupling with a woman when she’s very much alive.A little suck and a big fuck kinda became our motto.If we wanted more blood, we took it from reindeers, because what we ate when we were human made the blood palatable to us.”
“I am pleased to hear that.”Flouncing back to the bed, I throw myself down next to him when he lifts his arm to show me he wants me back in its nook.“So, why did you leave?”
“None of the women in our tribe had the secret ingredient we craved.That, plus the fact no one wanted us there anymore.We were monsters of the night, loathed and feared.The shaman cast us out.All we took with us was our father’s names.”
Secret ingredient?Theron makes females sound like his favorite dish on the menu.
It’s like he can read my mind.
“Luna’s aunt, Tempest Aherne, discovered what it was in the blood we vampires were most attracted to: the part of a human’s essence that carries the imprint of red hair with it.That’s what’s in the—I suppose you could call it beer for lack of a better word—the beer we drink.Artificial red hair fluid.”
“You mean the genes?”
“Yep.”Theron stretches on the bed like a jungle cat, pleased to see that I am understanding him so well.“That’s the word.Our women were blonde.Everyone in our village had fair hair in varying shades of dark to light.We only found the perfect flavor of woman after we traveled south.”
“But you have red highlights in your hair.I noticed that first time I saw you.”
“You are what you eat, sweetheart.”
“Ugh.You can be such a reptile, you know that?And that mountain you mentioned, is that the one under the moon on your t-shirt?”
Pointing to the floor where his t-shirt lies, Theron’s reply is offhand.
“Our MC logo?That’s not the moon, Aila.That’s thesun.It’s a warning.”
“And what warning would that be?”Hey, I’m curious to know more and I might as well make the most of Theron’s laidback confessions.
“Only the sun can save you.”
As horrifying as it might be for me to hear that, I have to admire his candor.I’m trying to imagine what it must have been like for those primitive tribes struggling to make sense of a vampire invasion.
Theron continues.
“To see the world through the lens of a monster’s eyes is not as shocking as you might think.”
Turning on his side, Theron moves his hand over my skin the same as a vision-impaired man might read an exciting book.
“Being part of the original seven was lonely at first.When I was human, I slept in the same lavvu as my family in winter, huddled close to the sod fire, listening to the huffing and stamping of reindeers outside.In summer, we moved with the herd, sleeping under the stars.As monsters, our presence was enough to make every nighttime animal run far away.”
I can’t resist making another sassy comment.
“And humans, too, right?”
Pressing his mouth against my lips with a tempting hunger, Theron uses the tip of his tongue to lick the most sensitive parts.The dimple in my lower lip, the cupid’s bow denting my upper lip.Those forgotten corners of my mouth that I use for smiling.
When he murmurs, the tremor of his gruff voice vibrates my skin.
