A shiver climbed up my spine and my mind blanked as my teeth finally pierced the skin, dark liquid pouring out from the two puncture wounds straight into my mouth. I made sure to not lose a single drop, unable to help the animalistic growl coming out of my throatas I pulled more of her delicious blood. A warm, sweet, tangy citrus taste covered my tongue. Her head fell backward as she grinded her core against my lower stomach, her moans turning to whimpers as she chased a feeling I still struggled to comprehend but craved just as much.
My mind went quiet, the voices gone without the same fight from last time. Or maybe they did, but I couldn’t hear them over the pleasant buzzing in my ears as I kept drinking, feeling my cock pressing even harder against the buttons of my jeans.
When I slid my tongue one last time against her skin with a satisfied moan, her tight muscles turned limp in my arms, her hand dropping the knife that landed on the floor with a loud clunk. My head was back to being blissfully clear, the dreadful voices that had been plaguing me for over a century once again gone. If I had any doubts before, it was obvious now; Lola’s blood tuned them out. Because she was my mate, or for some other unknown reason, it acted as some kind of poison. Delightful in taste for me, toxic for the parasites hissing at me in my mind.
Now I understood why the voices kept trying to steer me away from her. They were scared. They knew what she could do to them, how she could help me get rid of their influence.
“Thank you,” I whispered in her hair, dropping a small kiss on her temple. She shivered, but didn’t answer. Her pheromones made her smell like citrus and honey, and the scent got somehow more intense in the last minutes. “Are you okay?” I asked, worried I took too much, too fast.
She remained silent, letting out a barely audible whimper.
My heart leaped in my throat as I loosened my hold, letting her slide down until she softly reached the floor.
“Lola?” I kneeled next to her, grabbing at her shoulder to look at her face. She had gone even paler, her eyes and cheeks more sunken. “Fuck! Lola? Lola!”
Chapter 10
Lola
Carter’s voice echoed in the room around us. I tried to smile, to tell him that I was alright, that I was glad I could help him, but no sound managed to come out of my throat. This damn barrier kept draining my energy faster and faster. I should have known that giving my blood to Carter would syphon the last of it.
His eyes were wide and filled with fear as he alternated between shaking my shoulders, holding my face in his hands, and stroking my hair. He kept calling my name, whispering sweet things that I must have been hallucinating as Carter had never been kind to me.
But it felt nice, having him close. Us, not fighting. Him looking at me without all the hatred and disgust that had been filling his eyes since he first saw me.
So nice.
“Lola! Please, tell me what to do. I didn’t mean to—I’m sorry, I didn’t think you—”
He gasped as my hand lifted to cup his cheek. A drop of water fell on my forehead, bringing overwhelming feelings with it.Terror. He thought he drained me of all my blood. I forced a smile, pulling his face closer to mine until our mouth connected. His lips parted in surprise as my tongue slid in, caressing his soft skin. The kiss was tender. Shy.Scared.
But filled with so much longing that a soft light already shone in the back of my eyes.
“Fuck, we should have dealt with—”
“Shh.”
He sighed against my lips. Who would have thought that Carter would be willingly making out with me on the kitchen floor? Certainly not me nor anyone else who ever saw us interacting in the past.
“I know what she needs,” hesaid to himself, his thoughts starting to echo in my head. “But can I even give it to her? I’ve never been with anyone before. I’m not good enough. Maybe I should—”
“Ouch!” he hissed as I bit his lower lip. Carter tried to pull his head back, only stopped by my whimper. He growled against my mouth. “What was that for?”
I didn’t answer, kissing him more fiercely, gasping with every wave of energy I stole from the simple kiss. My head wasn’t as dizzy, my muscles not trembling anymore. The boost wouldn’t last long, but it would allow me to hold on a few more days.
“Lola…Tell me what to do. I don’t—I want to help, but I-I don’t know how, I’m—”
“You don’t need to do anything,” I whispered as he released a shuddering breath against my parted lips.
“I want to,” he thought, shifting his hips slightly, our kiss deepening.
“Lola, please. Let me—”
“No,youdon’t have to do anything,” I whispered in between kisses.
“But I want to—” He interrupted himself. No matter how hard he tried to convince himself, I could feel his doubts. His anxiety. He was afraid to fuck it up. To dowrong.
“There are other ways you can help me,” I said, searching his eyes for signs he understood. His puzzled look told me everything I needed to know about his lack of sexual experience. “Do you want to?”
