Then Karim was pulling away, uncurling Luis’s hand from his shirt. Luis forced his eyes open.
But instead of Karim, it was Ronan hunched down in front of him. The man was looking at him assessingly.
“Bite haze,” Ronan diagnosed, reaching down to put two fingers on the other side of Luis’s neck, feeling his pulse. He glanced at his watch on the other wrist. “Can be a lot the first time. Give it a few seconds.”
Luis blinked at him. His mind was sluggish.Bite haze?
He hadn’t read about that.
Ronan pulled his hand away, and then reached for Luis’s water. “Here.”
It took all of Luis’s focus to bring it to his mouth and swallow. The cold helped, his thoughts began to arrange themselves once more.
He’d been bitten. Now he was done.
Ronan’s attention stayed on him.
“I’m okay,” Luis said between sips. His words slurred.
“You’re getting there,” Ronan said with a smile. “You did great. Not so scary, huh?”
Scary? No. Scary was not the word Luis would use.
He turned to look at Karim. The vampire was leaning back against the booth, looking subdued.
Their eyes met for a charged beat. Then Karim licked his lips. His fangs were still down.
“Feel sick?” Ronan asked.
“No,” Luis said, setting down the water. “I’m a little… drunk feeling? But otherwise okay.”
Ronan nodded. “Vampire enzymes help with the pain, but they can pack a wallop, especially your first time. You’re looking better though.”
Luis reached up to touch his neck where Karim had bitten him. There was a slight tenderness, a scabbing, but it was nothing like how his arms felt after he drew blood.
“You’ll have scabs for a few hours,” Ronan explained, “but by tomorrow it’ll be pink and fading. In two days, you should have nothing there at all. If you do have any issues or reactions, come back and I’ll take a look at it. You can also go to a walk-in clinic. Once in a while we get someone allergic to the enzymes, but that usually shows up pretty immediately.”
Luis nodded, but his head was stuck on the fact that he’d done it. He’d let a vampire bite him.
He’d let Karim bite him.
“Well,” Karim said, sliding out of the other side of the booth. He looked more himself again. “That was fun. Thanks, Ronan, for your oversight. You’ll make sure he’s okay?” Karim gestured at Luis.
“Yeah, I’ve got him,” Ronan said, friendlier now.
“You’re leaving?” Luis blurted.
Karim’s gaze dipped to him. “We’re not encouraged to linger back here.” He said it almost apologetically.
“That’s correct,” Ronan said. “Have a good night, Mr. Singh.”
Karim gave Ronan a nod, and then started toward the exit with an almost reluctant saunter.
“What…?” Luis watched him go. He was just going to leave? Luis tried to stand, but a heavy hand stopped him.
“Give it another minute,” Ronan said gently. “You didn’t lose much blood, but the bite haze can turn you around for a few minutes.”
Luis didn’t want to give it a few minutes though. Karim had just drank from him, and now he was leaving? Shouldn’t they… talk about this? Discuss what it meant going forward. Were they going to do that again, or…?
