Karim said something in French, hands still on Julien to lead him from the room.
One moment they were there, the next they were gone.
Luis blinked at the empty room, dazed.
What had just happened?
It took way too long for his brain to piece it together. The bite haze was even stronger with two bites. The replay of events came back slowly.
Julien had bitten him, and… had it been twenty seconds? Longer?
Then he’d asked for more and Julien–Julien had almost given it to him. They’d been out of control. They’d almost crossed a line.
Without Karim, would either of them have stopped? Luis didn’t know. That was not good.
It was minutes before Karim returned. He came in and collapsed on the couch beside Luis with a loud breath. He looked significantly more sober than before.
“Is everything okay?” He was afraid to ask, but needed to know.
“Yeah,” Karim said. “It’s just his… he’ll be okay in a minute.” Karim turned to him. “Are you okay?”
Luis could feel the furrow in his brow. “We… I wasn’t going to stop him,” Luis said. “And he–if you hadn’t been here, would we have–?” Luis couldn’t say it, couldn’t speak it into reality.
Karim knocked his knee into Luis’s gently. “Hey, no. That’s not–that’s not what would’ve happened.”
Luis met his eyes, and Karim’s expression was serious.
“You’re safe here. Yeah, that got a little intense, but I swear to you, even if I hadn’t been here, nothing bad would’ve happened. Jules has drunk from plenty of humans that he had this reaction to, and never once has he lost control and harmed them. Not a single time. That’s not in him.”
“Oh,” Luis said.Plenty of humans?
Focus,that wasn’t the point.
“Hey,” Karim said, voice soft. “Julien will never, ever hurt you. I pulled him away because I jumped the gun, but hewould’ve stopped. I mean, of the two of us, he’s the one with all the self-control.”
Luis nodded. Julien had still been close, but it was true he hadn’t bitten Luis again. And Julien was always so, so careful with him. Luis let out a breath, allowing what Karim said be true.
“That was intense,” Luis said.
“Yeah,” Karim said, looking away. A hand ran through his messy waves. “You have an effect on him.”
Luis wanted to ask what Karim meant by that, but wasn’t brave enough to.
“Anyway,” Karim said. “Two bites tonight, doing okay?”
Luis did a quick self-assessment. He was stillrelaxed, but otherwise felt fine. There was more soreness in his neck than with one bite, but when he touched it, he felt the sealed wound.
“I think I’m good.”
“Need a second juice?” Karim said.
“Do you have another of those açaí ones?” Luis asked.
“I do, hold on,” Karim said, getting up. “Want anything else from the kitchen? Another California roll?”
Luis groaned, his stomach was still stuffed. “Karim, I couldn’t eat another thing.”
The man grinned. “Alright just the juice then,” he said and disappeared.
