I pressed my palm against her back, smoothing down each vertebrae of the spine before giving the lobe of her ear a gentle bite. Our bodies were hidden away in the dark, abandoned hallway while the others communed.
So supple, so delectable.
I could feel the heat radiate from her skin; it made it all the more stimulating. My stomach twitched, forcing me to close my eyes and hold it together just a bit longer.
Patience. Patience is a virtue.
“That tickles.” She let out a breathy laugh, her hands pressing on my chest.
“Does it?” I left kisses over her shoulder, pulling at the loose nightgown. I leaned closer, my other hand at the back of her head as she leaned against the wall of the hallway. “Are you this sensitive elsewhere? Or will you let me find out?”
“Luka!” she scolded, glancing to either side as if someone would walk in.
“Are you shy?” I whispered against her skin, lingering closer to her neck.
“Someone might see!”
“Is that a problem?” I hummed, my eyes glancing from her face and back to her neck.
I lied, she didn’t smell like hickory or thyme. She smelled like sweat. The nervous kind that agitated my appetite. Her skin was so warm. Her neck pulsed steadily, each bulge of the artery giving me a beautiful image of the blood pushing through, pump by pump. Soon, the pulsing of her neck and my own heart synced. My fangs scraped against my tongue as they pushed forward. Writhing. Wanting.Starving.
“No!” A sharp shove to my chest.
A trickle of wetness dripped down my cheek. I wiped away the blood from my eye, staring at the feeble thing.No?
“You know you’re not allowed.” She glared, a small furrow in her brow as she pretended to keep her composure.
I raised a brow, looming over her. “Here I was thinking we were really hitting it off.”
“We have strict rules here, Mr. Novikov.”
“And who are these rules for? Hm?” I leaned down slowly to meet her at eye level, leaning my elbow on the wall just above her head.
“A-Alina said you are not to be fed.”
“And what do you get from this rule? You are harming no one except yourself by letting me feed from you. Is autonomy not part of your silly rules?”
Her throat bobbed, swallowing thickly as her eyes darted around, anywhere but at me.
“Fine,” I snarled, standing straight.
She slipped from between myself and the wall faster than a wet fish. Slippery, skittish.
I leaned back, resting my head back and gently tapping my head against the wall.
I was far from starving, butdamn,it was frustrating. The people in this town, Vipera or human, seem to be skeptical of new faces. They remembered them, too.
At least here, there are also fewer people to hide from, and a fast-moving river to dump the body.
The better half of the evening was spent in the communal space. The first floor consisted of all shared rooms and shared spaces used by the entire Nest. Today we were in one of the living room lounge areas by a fire. We called this one the green room due to the wallpaper. The dark setting made a perfect place to destress, something cozy.
The setup was similar to the farmhouse, except three couches boxed in the mantel with a table in the middle. I sat on one of them in the middle with a girl on either side. Phoebe was in a similar position across from me. We all had things to do, whether it was reading, writing, embroidering—I was reading, but it was interesting seeing what the others did in their free time, especially at quiet times like this.
“Are you going to the market tomorrow? I wanted to get a few things,” Phoebe whispered to the woman next to her, handing her a small list.
“I thought your group didn’t like to overspend,” I commented, glancing up from my book.
“It has been a rough few days. I feel like we could all use a hearty feast to raise morale.”
