“What does that mean?”
“There are vampires who have been turned from humans, and there are vampires who are born into this world. I was born into this world, as are most of the vampires you’ve come into contact with in your daily life. It’s seen as a highly taboo practice for a vampire to turn a human now.”
A shocked laugh bubbles up from her lungs. “Well, I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know vampires existed until exactly one minute ago, so…yeah.”
“We blend in,” I tell her. “On purpose.”
“So…you and your brothers were born…like humans are born?”
“Yes.”
Her jaw drops. “That’s…how?”
“Vampires can mate with humans, Kylie. But they have to be the right humans with the right bloodline.”
“Can you…turn me into a vampire?”
“Sure.” I shrug. “If I wanted to.”
“But you don’t want to do that?”
“Fuck no.” I shake my head. “I’d rather off myself than do that.”
For a moment, her mouth turns down at the corners, and I furrow my brow as I take in her reaction.
“Are you disappointed?”
“I…” She blows out a breath. “Don’t know what I am right now.”
“The idea of changing anything about you is abhorrent to me,” I tell her and mean every single fucking word. I just want her. In all of her perfect humanness.
She nods and digs her teeth into her bottom lip. “So…vampires like you don’t need blood to survive?”
“No. And we don’t need human food either. Think of us as kind of self-contained battery packs, I guess.”
“Well, if you don’t need blood to survive, what do you need it for?”
I shrug. “Power. Pleasure. Longevity. And in some cases, healing. It’s an enhancer. And blood like yours…is the best.”
“So, I have good blood?”
I nod, and my mouth waters at the mere thought of her perfect, tempting blood. “Good isn’t a strong enough word for your blood, Kylie.”
“Human blood can heal?”
I nod.
“But I thought vampires couldn’t die…?”
“Once we turn twenty-eight, we age at a much slower rate than humans, but we can die. Not easily and only at the hands of another vamp, but we can.”
“How slow are you talking about?”
“We can live centuries. There are vampires out there who are five hundred years old.”
She pauses for a long moment. “And you saidpleasure?” she asks, and her cheeks flush red. “In regard to…uh…drinking human blood.”
I smile. I can’t help it. Everything about the word rolling off her tongue is exciting. “Yes. Sucking blood from your mate during intercourse can beverypleasurable. For both the human and the vampire.”
