Obediently he swished water around his mouth when we were back in our room. Needless to say, none of us had packed toothpaste.
“Don’t fret, luv. With your lineage, you couldn’t catch it if you tried. No germs or viruses can survive in vampire blood. You’ve never been sick a day in your life, were you?”
“Actually…no. But germs aside, it’s gross.”
I marveled at the point he’d brought up. No one appreciates their health until they’re sick, so I’d never stopped to wonder at the flawless record of mine. We’d see if I lived long enough to catch a cold.
“Come here.”
Bones was seated on the bed and he patted his lap. Like a child visiting Santa at the mall, I sat on it. Unlike a child, I curled my arms around him and prepared to drink his blood for all I was worth. “You’ll tell me when to stop?”
Anxiousness clouded my voice. This wouldn’t turn me, but it was taking a short trip down a road I’d never wanted to travel.
“Promise.”
The single word calmed me. He’d never lied to me.
“Tell me again why we aren’t doing your wrist?” That seemed somehow less…icky.
Bones tightened his arms around me.
“Because then I couldn’t hold you. Quit stalling. You know what to do.”
I pressed my mouth to his neck where his jugular would be. Since his heart didn’t beat, there wouldn’t be a rush of arterial spray. No, this would take suction. You know what they say, I thought darkly as I bit down hard enough for my square teeth to pierce his skin. Life sucks and then you die.
The first warm splash made my stomach recoil, but I forced myself to swallow. A normal person can only drink a pint of blood before the body naturally regurgitated it. My normality had never been an issue before and it wasn’t now. I bit him again when the wound started to close, and Bones held the back of my head and pressed me closer.
“Harder.” The word was clipped, and he let out a small gasp. Pain or pleasure, I wasn’t sure, and didn’t want to ask.
“More.”
This when I attempted to pull away. The harsh copper taste of his blood curled in my mouth. In this volume, it was miles away from the drops I’d taken over the last few months. I drank deeper, ignoring the urge to spit it out.
Something started to happen inside me. Strength grew, unfurling its tentacles and branching out to slither through me. Everything seemed at once sharper. His skin under me had a scent far stronger than I’d ever noticed. The room was perfumed with the earlier sweat from my body, and the bodies of those before us. Background noise of the people in the units around us increased in volume, as did the sounds from outside. My vision crystallized into a clarity it had never experienced. The darkness lightened shade by shade.
The feel of his skin splitting beneath my teeth became almost sensual. I bit him harder, suddenly enjoying the spill of his blood into my mouth. I yanked his head back, biting him again, and it felt so good. Like something I’d waited my whole life to do. I started to feel warm. My legs curled around his waist as I pressed against him, yanking his head back farther still, and all at once his blood tasted…delicious.
“Enough.”
Bones wrenched my mouth away and I fought him, because I didn’t want to stop. Couldn’t stop. With a snarl, I tried to snap my teeth back onto his throat, but he twisted my arms behind me and threw himself on top of me. The weight of his body and his strength pinned me down.
“Just relax. Breathe. Ride it out, Kitten, it will pass.”
At first I struggled, then gradually the craze that gripped me eased until I no longer looked at Bones and wanted to drink him dry. The word bloodlust had a whole new meaning for me now.
“How do you stand it?” My breath came in shallow pants and he released his iron grip on my arms. He didn’t move off me yet, however.
“You don’t, not for the first few days. You kill anything near you to fill the need when it hits. After that, you learn to control it. What you had was only a taste. By next week, the effects will be out of your system. You’ll be back to yourself.”
His complete confidence that I would see next week was unflappable. Who was I to argue?
“I can smell you.” Wonder etched my voice. “I smell myself on your skin. I smell everything. My God, there are so many scents in this room….”
Out of all the other senses, which were merely heightened, this one was almost completely new. Bones had often commented that my nose was for decoration only, since it was one of the few parts of me that was almost human. Never before had I any idea what an incredible asset a sense of smell was. I could be blind and deaf and know exactly what was around me by odor alone.
“I didn’t realize how different things were for you. How can you ever walk by a public bathroom and not pass out?” Funny what the mind thinks of at the most absurd moments.
Bones smiled and kissed me lightly. “Willpower, pet.”