I huff out a laugh. ‘No. Well, not unless you want me to.’
A flash of desire or possibly unbridled terror passes across his face.
I touch his chest briefly, and he flinches. ‘I’m joking, Damian. You have my word I won’t take blood from you without your permission. Now or ever.’
I mentally cross my fingers, hoping he doesn’t ask if I’ve taken any from him previously.I didn’t mean to. It was just a little taste.
Damian’s eyes search my face, and I feel like I’m standing on a knife-edge. ‘Please believe me. I really do like you. I can’t stop thinking about you. You’re haunting my dreams.’ I stroke his cheek, and his facial muscles lose their tautness, and he begins to breathe more evenly. I smooth his hair back from his forehead, and his eyes hood slightly at the touch of my fingertips.
‘You really like me?’ he asks at last. ‘And you won’t hurt me?’
‘I really,reallylike you, and Idefinitelywon’thurt you.’
He breathes slowly and evenly as I gently trace his eyebrows and twine my fingers in his hair. At least he’s allowing me to touch him rather than screaming. That’s a good sign.
‘OK, I know I shouldn’t probably believe you, but I do,’ he says at last and rolls his eyes heavenward. ‘God help me.’
I almost tell him that God won’t help him, just as he never helped me. But I don’t want to ruin our fragile equilibrium.
Lowering down onto his chest, I kiss him softly, tentatively. Then when he doesn’t pull away, I kiss him harder. Our tongues meet, and we explore each other curiously. It’s an affirmation that tells me his mind as well as his body are opening up to me, and there’s a glimmer of trust there. And it’s kind of hot. I suck gently on his tongue to deepen the trust (or perhaps slake my lust), and Damian moans softly against my mouth, his arms slipping around me. One of his hands lowers to the small of my back, and I can’t help grinding experimentally against his hard length to let him know I’m not against the idea of—
He breaks our kiss with a gasp.
‘Can I ... can I just ask you something?’
‘Uh, sure.’ I drag my focus reluctantly away from his cock. ‘Yes, ask away.’
‘How exactly do you ... feed?’
I slide off him into the space next to the wall and prop my head on my elbow, resting my cold bare feet against his warm ones.
‘We have a trusted source,’ I explain. ‘Sadie’s ... friend ... Elliott. He runs a blood donation centre from his flat. It’s mainly uni students looking for some extra cash. He drops blood bags off at our flat on a regular basis.’
Damian frowns. ‘So he gives you untested blood? Blood that could have all sorts of diseases? I’m not sure I approve of that.’
I shake my head, feeling a twinge of pleasure that he cares about me—to a small extent anyway. ‘We’re impervious to disease. Besides, Sadie is very strict about him only using students with a clean bill of health from their doctors ...’ I trail off, not wanting to go into too much detail.
But Damian, being interested in the physiological aspect, is now pressing a thumb into my wrist, trying fruitlessly to locate a pulse. His hand lifts to my neck, and he pauses. ‘Can I?’
I nod.
He presses three fingers into my throat, then moves them again, then again. ‘Oh my god,’ he murmurs incredulously after a few seconds. ‘This is seriously fucking with my head. I have so manyquestions.’
‘And I don’t want to keep anything from you.’I’ll tell you what I think you can handle.‘I’m putting it all on the line here.’
‘Are you?’
‘Yes! I’ve never told anyone I’m a vampire.’
Damian nods seriously. ‘I can see why, Florence,’ he says, slipping into his sexy professional dentist voice, which makes me want to laugh.
‘Please call me Floss,’ I beg. ‘It makes me feel like I’m back in the nineteenth century when you call me Florence.’
‘Floss,’ says Damian slowly, like he’s trying it on for size. He doesn’t say anything, then lets out a chortle.
‘What?’
‘A dentist with a girlfriend called Floss. I mean ... That’s hilarious.’
