I tried. Light stabbed my eyes, and I winced. “Hurts.”
“Okay, baby, keep them closed for now.” A kiss was pressed to each of my eyelids just as something prodded my opening.
I arched, wanting more. And then a hard and thick cock pushed inside me. I groaned in both bliss and relief. It felt so good. Stretched me just right and soothed the ache. My body tightened around him as he fed me an inch at a time. “Too slow.” Too gentle. I needed it hard. I needed the fiery ache to go away. I tilted my hips, taking him deeper.
“Be still.”
I couldn’t. “More. Faster.” I raked my nails down his back.
He growled. Then he was hammering into me, and my teeth bit into his shoulder.
*
I had the worst hangover, like, ever.
Groggy, I licked my dry lips, frowning at the bitter taste in my mouth. My throat was painfully dry, my head felt heavy, my stomach was churning, and there were sharp, shooting pains behind my eyes.
Apparently I’d set out to get drunk like it was my job. I was surprised I couldn’t smell alcohol seeping from every pore. I hadn’t felt this dizzy since…hell, it hurt to try to remember. I didn’t even want to know what I looked like—it couldn’t be half as bad as I felt.
I tried to lift my head. A throbbing, head-splitting pain reverberated around my skull. I groaned.
Never again. I was never drinking again.
“Hey, baby, how are you feeling?” The low soft voice belonged to Butch. I’d never heard him sound gentle before.
Slowly, I turned on my side to face him, and a wave of nausea came over me; I closed my mouth tight, fighting the urge to balk.
He slid closer and curled his arm around me. His eyes seemed to be drinking me in, like he hadn’t seen me in years. “Not so good, huh?”
Not good at all. In fact—on top of everything else—I felt strangely uneasy. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t pinpoint what. “I feel weird.” My voice was coarse and scratchy.
He brushed a thumb over my jaw. “Weird how, baby?”
“Just weird.” I couldn’t explain it beyond that. “Who were my drinking buddies last—?” Images flashed in my pounding head. Snapshots of memory. So much pain. God, the thirst, the need to fuck and—
“Imani, you’re gonna be okay,” soothed Butch.
Hangover, my ass. “Something’s very wrong, isn’t it?” Anxious, I went to sit up. My head spun.
“Calm down.” Butch gripped my shoulder, keeping me in place. “What’s the last thing you remember about the night we spoke with Andres?”
I blinked. My memory was pretty foggy, but… “There was a concert.”
He nodded. “That’s right. Good. What happened?”
“I went to say goodbye to Eleanor.” Things got a little hazy after that.
His eyes searched mine. “That’s all you remember?”
The anxiety in his expression made my heart begin to pound. “Tell me whatever it is that I’ve forgotten.”
He inhaled deeply. “You were injected with something at the concert.”
I tensed, doing my best to ignore the sensation of my stomach spinning. “Injected? Injected with what?”
He paused. “A serum that’s supposed to be a vampiric cure.”
My brows flew up. “Are you saying I’m not a vampire?” That couldn’t be right. I still felt like one…sort of.
“I don’t know, baby,” admitted Butch. “Your scent hasn’t changed, but it doesn’t seem to have a vampiric quality to it anymore. You still have the Keja allure, although it’s not the same as before.”
“What do you mean?”
“The allure doesn’t look vampiric or even feel it, but it has the same hypnotic effect.” He cupped my chin. “Try lowering your fangs.”
I tried, but…“They’re gone.” The words came out in a strangled whisper.
“So is the amber tint to your irises. You’re obviously weak, but since you’re the first person to get through the entire transition alive, I don’t know if that’s normal.”
There were a whole lot of things wrong with that sentence. “So I’ve gone through the transition, but I’m still part vampire?”
“I really don’t know.” And that was clearly worrying him. “Midway through the transition, Lena came to see you. She took a look at your DNA. She couldn’t read it because it was, in her words, ‘too fluid.’”
“Too fluid? What does that mean?”
“No idea. She tried to stop the transition but, even with Reuben’s help to amplify her gift, she wasn’t able to help you. Sam and Jared are bringing her to see you some time tonight. Probably in the next hour.” Butch threaded his fingers through mine and kissed my palm. “Think of drinking blood. Does it sound good or make you feel queasy?”
I swallowed. The movement hurt enough to make me wince. “The thought of having anything makes me feel queasy.”