by Abby Blake
“I don’t think I can. You know—AIDS, hepatitis, deadly diseases that kill innocent people…”
Benjamin seemed to smile at that. “Skye, you’re no longer ‘people.’ You’re a vampire now. Blood-borne diseases like that only taint the taste of the blood. They can’t hurt you. Not anymore.”
“Oh.” It was turning out to be a rather weird conversation. Even though inside her head she knew they were telling her the truth, she couldn’t quite extend her belief to the fact that she would now need to drink blood to survive. “Um…maybe later.”
Benjamin gave her a look that told her he knew she was stalling, but he stepped closer, took the mug from Samuel, and placed it on the bedside table where she could reach it.
“Can I call my sister now? What time is it? She must beside herself with worry.”
“Sure,” Samuel said as his arm tightened around her middle for a moment, “as soon as we figure out what you should tell her. The whole vampire part is something best left out.” Benjamin nodded in agreement and then helped her to her feet. This time she managed to take the sheet with her.
“So what should I tell her?”
Samuel shrugged. “It’s been our experience that trying to hold on to the life you had while human just makes everything more complicated. You can’t tell her about being a vampire. You can’t go out in the sunshine. You’ll always feel cold to a human’s touch. You’ll be faster and stronger than you ever thought possible, but none of that is compatible with your old life. I’m sorry, Skye, but life as you knew it is over.” He stepped closer, touching her face even though he seemed to try not to. “Technically you would have died last night so your sister would have lost you anyway.”
“So I shouldn’t call my sister?” That didn’t sit well with Skye at all. Jennifer had spent her entire life taking her role as big sister very seriously. To disappear without a trace seemed beyond cruel.
Benjamin handed her a cell phone. “Call her. Tell her you’re leaving town for a few days. We’ll figure out the rest later.”
“I’m leaving town?” Yesterday she was a boring doctor’s receptionist whose idea of a good time was to read a book in bed. Her sister wasn’t going to believe that she just decided to take a holiday without saving and planning and booking everything in advance. She wasn’t a fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants type of person.
“Tell her you met a man,” Samuel suggested with a wink. Technically she’d met two men if the way they both kept touching her meant anything, but that was probably an even more unlikely scenario from her sister’s point of view. “Trust me,” he said.
She rolled her eyes at his exaggerated lascivious expression but smiled at his attempt at humor. Her emotions were all over the place, so it was kind of nice to have Benjamin’s solid practicality and Samuel’s light humor to keep her grounded.
Skye took the phone, dialed her sister’s number, and winced at the overly loud greeting from her sister. Jennifer’s voice was hoarse, her tone hopeful, but it was her reaction to Skye’s first word that broke her heart.
“Oh, thank God. Skye, honey, I’ve been so worried. Are you okay? Do you need a lift? Where are you? I’ll come get you.”
“Jen, I’m okay. I just…lost track of time.”
“That’s okay,” Jennifer said quickly. Obviously she was very upset to accept such a vague excuse. “Just tell me where you are and I’ll come get you. The important thing is that we get you home where you’re safe.”
“Jen,” Skye said. She shot Benjamin a pleading look. She just wanted to tell her sister she’d come home straight away. He gave her a sympathetic look but shook his head slightly. “Jen, I…um…met a man. He…um…we…um…we’re going to…”
Samuel leaned over and grabbed the phone from her. Ordinarily she’d be appalled at any man who tried to interfere in a conversation between her and her sister, but today she was grateful. Maybe Samuel would be able to soothe her sister’s worries.
“Hi, Jennifer. This is Samuel Eldridge. I feel I must apologize for monopolizing your sister’s time. We very literally talked all night. We were only supposed to sleep for a little while, but before we knew it the day was over.”
The day was over? Skye moved toward the window and peeked out the blind to see that night had indeed fallen. She must have slept nearly twenty hours. Was it any wonder her sister was frantic with worry?
Samuel continued talking to Jennifer, charming her into believing that Skye had really chosen to take an unplanned holiday on a whirlwind romance. Surprisingly, Samuel rattled off a cell phone number and assured her sister that she could call Skye at any time. It obviously went a long way to convincing Jennifer to trust him because he handed the phone back to her a moment later.
“Jen?”
“Skye, he sounds like a decent guy. Are you sure about this? I mean, don’t let him charm you into something you don’t really want to do. If you really don’t want to go with him, tell me where you are and I’ll come get you.” Apparently, Samuel wasn’t quite as convincing as he thought he was.
“No, Jen. I’m happy to go with him. I need this.” Technically she was referring to the time it would take to adjust to living in the paranormal world, but her sister took it the way she’d hoped.
“You do. You really do. It’s about time you had some excitement in your life.”
“Thanks, Jen. I’ll call you when I can.”
“Damn straight you will, or I’ll track you and lover boy down.” The words were affectionately spoken, but Skye had no doubt her sister meant every word. She smiled at Jennifer’s ability to always support her, the grin widening as her overprotective, wonderfully loving big sister started rattling off the practicalities. “I’ll call your boss and let him know you’re taking time off. With the amount of vacation time he owes you he has no right to complain at the short notice. I’ll keep an eye on your place. Water the plants. Collect your mail. Have I forgotten anything?”
“I don’t think so,” Skye said with a smile in her voice.
“Okay, well, have fun. Call me. And for heaven’s sake use a condom.”
Judging by the smirks covering both men’s faces, they could hear both sides of this conversation.
“Of course,” she said, trying not to look at the blood slowly congealing in a coffee cup not five feet away from her. “Thanks, Jen. I’m really glad you’re my sister.”
“Back at you, kid,” she said in echo of their teenage years. There was only a four-year gap between them, but when Jennifer had been sixteen and Skye only twelve, it had seemed insurmountable. These days they were very literally best friends.
Sighing with relief that at least her sister wasn’t worrying herself to death, Skye turned to the men and waited for one of them to tell her what would happen next.
“You know we don’t need condoms, right?”
She smiled at Samuel’s take on what was most important from that conversation.
“So, now what?”
“Now you feed and get some more sleep.”
It wasn’t until he said the words that she realized just how tired she really was. Hell, she’d slept practically a whole day, how could she still be sleepy?
“It’s the change, sweetheart,” Samuel said as he lifted her in his arms and carried her back to the bed. “You’ll likely sleep for a few more days yet, but when the change is complete, you’ll notice an increase in hearing and visual acuity. You’ll be stronger and able to move much faster than before. You won’t be able to walk in the sun without completely covering every inch of skin, but there are considerable advantages to being a vampire.”
“But before you can do any of that, you need to feed,” Benjamin said as he held the cup of blood out to her. He frowned when she shook her head. “Skye, if you leave it too long between feeds you’re likely to go sucking on some poor innocent passerby. Part of what we need to teach you is how to control your hunger.”
“I’m fine. I’m not hungry, really.”
“If you say so,�
�� Benjamin said with what could only be described as fake nonchalance. He slid onto the bed beside her and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. Unexpectedly he deepened the contact, groaning as his tongue slid into her open mouth and explored inside. She sighed as Samuel lay down behind her, his hands traveling over her hip and thigh, gliding higher to skim over her breast, the nipple pulling tight, demanding more. She was panting, her body alive with arousal, her pussy leaking juices onto her thighs as they both suddenly stopped.
Benjamin held her close, pressing her face against his throat as she tried to comprehend why they’d stopped. But then the delicious smell of the blood pounding through the vein in his neck caught her attention, and before she understood what she intended, she sank her teeth into his flesh.
He groaned, pulling her over the top of him as she fed. He tore impatiently at the material of the sheet, finally untangling it so that he could spread her naked body over his. She could feel his hard cock pressed against the entrance to her pussy. He tilted his hips, pushing her hard against his denim-covered erection.
She swallowed his blood, moaning at the delicious taste, sucking harder as orgasm spun closer.
But then his large hand was there, pulling her away from his throat, the delicious taste of his life-blood taken from her before either of her hungers were sated.
He slid out from under her, grabbed the cup of blood, and handed it to her. This time she took it, confused by her own actions, bewildered by his behavior, and supremely pissed off to be denied something she’d wanted so much.
“Drink, baby girl,” he said in a voice that showed he was hurting as much as her right now.
She tipped the cup into her mouth, pleasantly surprised that the cold human blood didn’t taste nearly as bad as she’d been expecting. She drained it and handed him back the empty cup.
“Get some rest,” Benjamin said, touching her face affectionately as Samuel pulled her into the cradle of his body and got them both comfortable. She wanted to deny her need for sleep and demand they give her body the release she’d been craving, but an unexpected wave of dizziness overtook her, and she felt her eyelids shut.
Chapter Four
“That was cruel,” Samuel said with a soft laugh, caressing his hand through Skye’s hair as the beautiful blonde fell asleep.
“She had to experience firsthand what it was like to lose control if she didn’t feed. It was the only way I could think of to show her safely.”
“Oh, I have no objections to the lesson, just the part where I’m lying here aching.”
Benjamin grimaced. “You think you’re aching. When she bit me…” He let the words trail off as he ran a hand through his hair. “I never expected the experience to be quite so erotic. I meant only to show her what happened when she loses control. My desperate need for her wasn’t actually something I anticipated.”
“I know what you mean,” Samuel said as he tried to adjust his jeans to a more comfortable position.
Benjamin sat on the edge of the bed and stared at Skye’s face, now relaxed in sleep. “It would seem that when it comes to our newly made vampire, neither of us has the willpower we once had.”
“So what are we going to do about it?” Samuel asked the question in a light tone of voice, but it seemed by his friend’s reaction that Benjamin wasn’t fooled. It was obvious that they were both very attracted to the beautiful blonde.
“I’m not sure,” Benjamin said slowly. “She seems to feel an attraction to both of us as well, but that could just be a reaction to the change. Not many humans are open-minded enough to enter a triad relationship.”
“Is that what you want?” Samuel asked, trying not to sound too eager. They’d shared the last two hundred years side by side. It almost seemed appropriate that they would share a woman as well.
“I don’t think it matters what we want,” Benjamin said, leaning over and smoothing hair away from Skye’s face. “It’s up to Skye.”
* * * *
Thank heaven for e-readers.
Skye would have been bored out of her skull if Samuel hadn’t been able to retrieve her favorite piece of technology from her apartment. He’d also gathered clothes, shoes, and toiletries so that she would feel more comfortable surrounded by her own stuff as she slowly changed into a vampire.
She’d met the whole squad—all ten members in the past few days. She’d been overwhelmed with how many different paranormal species they represented, but had been assured that being surrounded by werewolves, bear-shifters, demons, warlocks, and of course other vampires, would eventually feel normal. For now, they all treated her like a little sister. She didn’t mind it so much from the others, but from Samuel and Benjamin it was quite annoying.
They’d spent the last three nights on the road, tracking the movements of the vampires who’d attacked her. Of course, Skye had spent most of that time sleeping, but the awake hours were becoming increasingly frustrating. Each morning Benjamin crawled into the bed with her, held her close, and admonished her to get some sleep, and each evening she woke curled in Samuel’s embrace. Neither man seemed inclined to pursue any type of physical relationship. Anytime she considered throwing herself at one or both of them, memories of the bite she’d taken out of Benjamin rose up to haunt her. She’d never experienced anything quite so erotic in her life—well, her human life, at least. It had made her more cautious about feeding when they said she should, but it hadn’t quelled the need building inside her. Each night things became just that much harder.
Now that she didn’t require as much sleep, Skye was noticing all the changes becoming a vampire had wrought on her body. Just as they’d told her it would, her eyesight and hearing had improved immensely. She was stronger, faster, and way more coordinated than she’d ever been in her human life. The trouble was that it also made her incredibly more sensitive to touch.
She had no idea if that was normal for a vampire or not, but she found herself buying increasingly erotic romances on her e-reader and devouring them in mere hours. Thank heavens it was all electronic. If she’d actually had to go into a store and buy the books, she would have been mortified by the thought that they might see. As it was, she was having a hard time hiding the effects the stories were having on her.
“Not tired?” Benjamin asked as he stepped through the adjoining door between this motel room and the one Alex and Thomas were sharing. As far as she could tell, that was fairly standard practice for the ten members of their PUP squad. She’d almost giggled when she’d heard the acronym, yet it was obvious that not only did they do an important job, but that they were all very good at it.
“No,” Skye said shyly. That was the weirdest part. Despite the fact that she was wildly attracted to both of these men, the more she got to know them, the quieter she’d become. A part of her wondered if that was why neither man had kissed her since that night. Unless it was because she’d hurt Benjamin by feeding on him. The question was out of her mouth before she’d really decided to ask it.
He looked surprised. “No, baby girl, you didn’t hurt me.”
“So why haven’t you…I mean why…um…” It was obvious that he was following precisely what she meant even though her ability to verbalize her thoughts wasn’t exactly working.
He leaned over and cupped her face in his warm hand. Funny how a few days ago he’d seemed cold to her touch. Would she now feel as cold to another human as he once had to her? He smiled slightly, but seemed to hesitate before speaking.
“The change can be traumatic and confusing. We just didn’t want to make it worse.”
“So you do want to kiss me?”
He smiled, whispered the words “of course,” but then moved away instead of moving closer.
“So why don’t you?” She could feel her cheeks turning bright red with her embarrassment. It seemed that was something becoming a vampire hadn’t changed.
“Because I want to kiss you, too,” Samuel said from the doorway.
“So you’re…um…waiting for me to
choose, or something?”
Benjamin shrugged, but Samuel was more direct. He walked over to the chair where she sat, lifted her to her feet, and pulled her into his embrace. She went happily. It felt right to let him hold her—to let them both hold her—and she didn’t want to be denied that closeness any longer.
“We didn’t want to overwhelm you.”
“Uh-huh.” It probably sounded a little sarcastic, and maybe it was, but being kissed by two men she was attracted to seemed the least overwhelming of the things that had happened in the past week.
Samuel laughed as if he could hear every word in her head. “So, should I take it that you’re comfortable kissing both of us?”
Again embarrassment heated her cheeks, but she reminded herself that she’d spent her human years “playing it safe” and all it had done was make her lonely. Maybe her new life as a vampire was a chance to embrace the things she wanted. She nodded, determined to brazen out the red-faced embarrassment.
“What about,” Benjamin asked as he moved closer and embraced her from behind, “kissing both of us at the same time?”
“I think that m–might be a little d–difficult from a logistical point of view.” Her words may have stumbled, but it wasn’t from fear. Heat was already swirling through her body as images of the ménage stories she’d been reading danced through her mind.
“True,” Samuel said with another soft laugh as he slid his hands to the front of her shirt and gently massaged her aching breasts through the material. “How would you feel about kissing me while Benjamin fucks you?”
“I–I–I”—Wow, did it just get way hotter in here?—“think I might enjoy that,” she said as her body tightened and throbbed in response to his naughty words. Benjamin groaned and pulled her tightly against his body, his hard cock pressing against the crease of her ass. Samuel took her lips in a devastating kiss, his tongue exploring her mouth with a desperation that thrilled her. Finally, he pulled away, panting hard.
“Tell us to stop,” Benjamin whispered in her ear as his hands caressed her stomach through the thin material of her shirt.