Page 26 of The Human’s Heart

He closed his eyes and breathed slowly, obviously calming himself down. “Hugo, I say this with all the love in the world… what the fuck?”

I snorted and shook my head. “It was just a little tiny cut. It was so small, it’s already healed.” I held up my finger to show him. There wasn’t even a scar or anything.

He examined my finger, then pressed a kiss to the very spot I’d cut. To my surprise, he sucked my finger into his mouth, and I saw a flick of his incubus shadow come out.

“Oh, is that how it is?” My belly swooped, and my dick twitched, definitely interested in whatever Zay wanted to do.

He nodded his head. “Yep. But only after you tell me what you thought of the blood.” He grabbed my hips and lifted me effortlessly onto the counter next to my little experiment.

“Vampire blood tastes like chocolate wine or something. Human blood is disgusting.”

He nodded. “Makes sense, but just so you know, if you were a vampire, you’d like the taste of human blood too.”

I wrinkled my nose. “Are you sure about that?”

“I’ve never met a vamp that didn’t like the taste of human blood, of any blood, really. Some have preferences, but I’ve never met one who hated any type.”

Hm. That was something to think on. I nodded and shrugged. But just because he’d never heard of it didn’t mean there wasn’t someone out there like that.

As if hearing my thoughts—and hell, maybe he had—he nodded. “That’s true. Maybe there’s someone out there who doesn’t like it. But, mezelie, there are so many different types of blood out there. If you decide to be changed, I’m sure we could find one you like… and you obviously already like vampire blood, so that’s a good sign, right?”

I let out a long drawn-out sigh. “Yeah, you’re right. I don’t hate it. But the thought of having to actually bite into someone’s skin and suck blood out…” I shuddered. “That’s horrific.”

“We can work around that if we have to.”

“Fair.” I supposed that was true. Julius was putting his blood in vials for me after all. “But what if it’s not possible to use a needle or whatever? What if I have to use my teeth? I get that we can do it that way for the most part, but there’s always a possibility that I’ll still have to… you know, bite someone.” I shuddered at the thought.

“What if it’s my blood? My skin you’re sucking on?”

“What?”

“It’s not uncommon for a vampire’s mate to give their viramore a little nibble now and then. Some even take over feeding them full time. There are supplements and potions that help the mate produce enough blood.” His eyes were shining, clearly amused by this. Or at least amused by my reaction to his words.

My eyebrows shot up, and as I pictured it, as I thought about sucking on Zay’s neck, or his wrist, or fuck, his inner thigh, I felt my dick twitch again. Holy shit. Did I actually think drinking from him would be sexy?

He hummed and moved even closer to me so his lips were right in front of mine. “Mm. It would be sexy.” He leaned down and kissed my neck. “It would be fun.” He moved up my neck, his lips lightly trailing along my skin and making me shiver. “I know I’d like it… a lot.”

He leaned in and gave my neck a bite, making me jump and laugh as he pretended to eat me, tickling the shit out of me. I laughed and pushed on him, and he laughed loudly, continuing to tickle me for another minute. But then his touches went from tickle-fest to caressing, and I sighed, wrapping my arms and legs around him as I pulled him more firmly against me.

He sucked on the skin of my neck with another hum before letting go. “You actually do taste good.”

I snorted. “Skin is not blood.”

He shrugged and smiled at me, meeting my gaze. “I bet that tastes good too.”

“It really doesn’t.”

He snorted and pecked my lips before letting out an annoyed sigh and resting his forehead against mine. “I hear people in our backyard.”

I glanced toward the window, but the curtain was blocking my view. “Really?”

“Yep. Annnnddd Granddad and Grandpa just got here too. Ugh. Let’s go greet them before they catch us like this.”

I gave him a tight hug and a kiss before he backed away so I could hop down from the counter. It only took us a minute to clean up my mess, so we were out the door before either of his grandparents could catch us joking around in the kitchen.

After hugs from Ailin and Sebastian—they really were a huggy family—I decided to walk over with them and Zay to speak to the construction supervisor, Parez.

The man shook hands with everyone, including me, and I couldn’t help but wonder what he was. Was he a shifter or something else? If he was a shifter, what exactly did he shift into?