Kate closed her eyes. Great! That meant the nanos were eating him already. She had a hungry vampire on her hands. One who was so hungry he was in pain. And she had him in a hotel with over two thousand romance fans waiting to throw themselves at him. It would be like bringing a lion to a hog farm. Kate heaved a sigh. This was all her fault, of course. She supposed she had better fix it.
"All right. How much blood do you need until we can think of a way to get you more?"
He looked surprised. "A full pint would be enough to get me through the day, maybe. But I need—"
"A pint!" Kate shrieked. Dear Lord. "A pint? That's like a milk-bag full."
"Roughly, yes."
Kate considered the matter seriously, it hadn't hurt when he bit her last night. Actually, it had felt damned good. But a pint?
"That's how much they take when you give blood," he told her helpfully.
"Is it?" She had never given blood. But she had seen footage of people giving blood on the news whenever they had those big drives. She supposed he was telling the truth.
"Yes, it is," he assured her. "I really need a lot more, but that's all that it's safe to take without side effects. And it would get me by for a bit."
Heaving a sigh, Kate held her arm out, wrist up toward his mouth. "Go ahead."
Lucern blinked, his nose quivering slightly. She wondered if he could smell her blood. The idea that she smelled like dinner to him was rather distressing.
"Go ahead?" he echoed uncertainly.
"Go ahead and bite me," she said impatiently. Turning her head away, she squinted her eyes in case it hurt this time. It was her wrist, after all, not her neck. Maybe she should have given him her neck.
She stiffened as he took her fingers in his. Kate held her breath, waiting for the bite. Her heart stalled, and she nearly snatched her hand away when she felt his lips touch the sensitive skin of her wrist. But there was no great sharp pain; it just felt like he was nibbling the skin.
Well, she thought as the nibbling sensation moved slowly along her wrist, this wasn't so bad. Much nicer than giving blood at the blood bank, she was sure. Much nicer. Exciting even. She squirmed a bit when the nibbling reached the sensitive inner curve of her elbow. Obviously, he hadn't bitten yet. Or had he? Blinking one eye open, she peered at him. All she could see was his head bent over her arm. He had nice hair. Thick and dark and—
"Oh," she breathed as he took a little nip at her skin. It didn't hurt, just startled her in a sexy kind of way. But Kate didn't think he'd drawn blood or anything. He was already moving further up her arm. The vein must not have been good there, she thought vaguely, watching his head rise farther and farther. When he got to the inside of her upper arm, even with her breast, he suddenly shifted to the side and latched onto her nipple. She started in surprise. She almost protested, but as he drew on her sensitive skin, she decided it might be better if he bit her there anyway. It wouldn't show. He laved and suckled her, then drew her deep into his mouth, and Kate decided that if he was biting her, he could do it anytime.
One of his hands slid up along her stomach to find her other breast. Kate slowly drifted back on the bed, telling herself that it was to prevent feeling faint after he took the pint, but the truth was her body was shaking horribly, her muscles quivering with excitement. She didn't think she could have stayed upright under his sensual onslaught had she wanted to.
Lucern followed her down and braced himself with one elbow as he continued to pleasure her. Kate closed her eyes and let her hands drift into his hair. They knotted and tugged there of their own accord. She didn't mean to interrupt his meal, but she had a sudden hunger of her own—she desperately wanted him to kiss her. When he raised his mouth from her nipple, Kate saw that her flesh was still intact. No biting yet. It appeared that feeding was a rather involved ordeal. She should have known. Lucern wasn't the eat-and-run type.
His mouth came down on hers as she'd wanted, and Kate sighed into the kiss. She also allowed her hands to drift down over his back to find his behind, and she pushed him tight against her even while arching up to meet him. He ground against her without entering, but it seemed to excite him as much as her, because his kiss grew hard, his mouth demanding.
Kate moaned when he tore his lips away and shifted to her neck. Somehow, she knew the time for biting had come and felt herself tensing in preparation. Then she was distracted by the way he moved over her, urging her legs apart. He settled in the cradle of her thighs, his hardness pressing against her.
"I want you," he whispered in her ear, then nibbled at the tender lobe, a sharp tooth running lightly over the skin.
Kate suddenly had the mad idea that, were her ears not pierced, he could have done it for her.
"Kate?"
She forced herself to concentrate. He was asking permission. She wasn't sure for what exactly. To bite her, or to sink his body into hers? Probably both. Kate opened her mouth to vaguely tell him to go ahead when there was a knock at the door.
"Hello? Hey! You two!" Chris called through the door. "Look. I hate to bother you, but the welcome brunch and RT awards start in about fifteen minutes. Are you guys ready?"
Chapter Ten