He was silent for so long that she didn’t think he was going to answer her but, finally, just when she’d given up hope, he spoke, his voice soft and gentle. “Think of the most delicious scent you have ever smelled and then multiply that by infinity.”
So… pretty good then.
Without much thought, she offered him her wrist. She would have preferred her neck, but perhaps drinking from the wrist was less intimate and he would be better able to hold himself back from taking too much.
See, she could be smart about this.
She waited, her breath held in stasis, her heart suddenly pounding in her chest as his black eyes lowered to her proffered wrist. He must have stared at it for well over a minute before slowly reaching out and wrapping his long, masculine fingers around her hand, holding her arm steady. His fingers were surprisingly warm and gentle and the contrast in size sent a rush of heat to her core. She couldn’t help but imagine where else she might like those fingers.
Another minute or so passed, or perhaps it was only a second or two, she really had no idea at this point. All of her being was focused on Greyvian as intensely as he was focused on her wrist. She felt hot, her body flushing with heat from the top of her head to the soles of her feet, the sensation adding intensity to her already heightened awareness of him.
Slowly, Greyvian’s upper lip pulled back and his mouth opened, revealing elongated incisors.
At the sight of his desire for her blood, her heart missed a beat and then started pounding in her ears, the sound of Knox and Lucas making fun of each other over the Wii fading into nothing.
Go on, do it, she urged him silently, pleadingly.
As if she’d spoken aloud, he raised her wrist higher, towards his mouth, lowering his head toward it at the same time. When it was a mere inch from his mouth, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the pull of air sending a cool breeze across her fevered skin.
Within a heartbeat, her arm was in her lap and he was heading for the hallway, leaving her to wonder what the hell had just happened. How had he moved so fast? They’d said vampires didn’t have supernatural speed!
So close, yet so far, once again. She obsessed about it for a minute or two before pushing herself to her feet and following after him. She met him in the hallway as he was coming out of the bathroom.
They faced off for a long moment, eyes locked on each other, neither one of them saying a thing. The usually wide hallway seemed obscenely small with him in it, the pale yellow walls closer than normal, the glow of the ceiling light dimmer, casting a more ominous glow. His eyes were still dark, his pupils taking up most of the room, and she knew without a doubt: he wanted her.
She tried to remember what it was that she’d followed after him for, but couldn’t. Those dark eyes mesmerized her. After a long minute, he took two steps towards her until they were practically nose to nose.
“Was there something you wanted to say to me?” he asked, his voice a low growl.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out.
“Let me guess, you just wanted to tempt Fate some more?”
His gaze dropped to her neck and his upper lip pulled back slightly so that she could see the tips of his fangs. His eyes flipped back to hers and the utter lack of emotion there caused her nerve to break and she took a step back.
Greyvian followed and continued to press her until her back was to the wall. His hands came up at chest height, caging her against the wall in a parody of their last encounter. But there was no heat this time—no scorching lust hitting her like a physical force. His eyes were stone-cold, controlled. The eyes of a killer.
If she screamed, Knox would come running.
But then she would have wasted an opportunity. Fearful or not, she couldn’t deny that she was still attracted to him. No. Attraction was such a weak term for what she was feeling. Scorching hot, burn you alive lust was more like it. Right now there was only one thing she wanted more than for him to bite her.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she surged forward, pressing her lips to his. They were warm and soft and the contact sent a little tingle down her spine, shooting straight between her thighs. When he didn’t protest or pull back, she moved her mouth over his, pressing soft kisses to his unmoving lips. She could feel the unnatural length of his incisors behind them and felt an aching tingle in her neck, a phantom bite brought on by intense desire.
She wanted to taste him. Sliding her tongue out, she pushed it against his lower lip, seeking entrance. Once, twice, third time the charm; she purred with satisfaction as his lips parted.
The first sensation of her tongue sliding into his warm mouth strengthened the tingling arousal in her body. Careful not to cut herself on the sharp points of his incisors, she explored what she could of his mouth with delicate little flicks of her tongue. He tasted like nothing she’d ever had before—a little sweet, a little bitter, something unnameable.
Her arms slid up around his neck of their own volition, urging his prone body closer. She was no longer afraid of his detachment. She was certain it was just a front to keep her at bay. All she had to do was break through it to the raging lust she knew lay beneath.
Pressing her chest to his, she angled her head to deepen the kiss, revelling in the sensation of his muscular body pressed so intimately against hers.
Suddenly it was like a floodgate opened. With a growl, Greyvian pressed her into the wall, the evidence of his arousal a hard line against her hip, his mouth a hot, hard assault on her senses.
She was instantly lost in a sea of lust. The male was a superb kisser. Hot, passionate and hungry—more than enough to send a warm gush of heat to her sex. She didn’t know how he managed to kiss her with those fangs of his, but she never felt even the slightest prick, despite the force of the kiss.
As his tongue began a rhythm she desperately wanted him to mirror with another part of his anatomy, she rubbed her thighs together, trying to ease the tingling ache. She was so aroused she was certain it wouldn’t take more than a moment to reach orgasm. It was the kind of chemistry you only read about in romance novels and she was desperate to bring it to its conclusion.
Greyvian, however, had other ideas. With a hiss, he wrenched her arms from around his neck, flattened his palm against her breastbone and pushed himself away from her, his fangs gleaming in the artificial glow of the light bulb above her head as he held her pressed against the wall. Chests heaving, eyes locked onto each other, they stood like that for countless seconds. She wanted to touch him, to continue what they’d begun, but from the look on his face, she would surely be shot down.
“It’s okay, you can bite me,” she said, thinking maybe that was why he’d pulled back.
“Stay away from me,” he hissed from between his fangs, black eyes gleaming with some emotion she couldn’t name. He pushed the heel of his hand into her chest as if for emphasis, and then, as if a switch had been thrown, dropped his arm and straightened, expression closing down, that neutral mask replacing the heat of his emotions.
Feeling at a loss, her body buzzing with the intensity of her arousal, she watched silently as he left the hallway, his broad shoulders filling the doorway. And then he was gone. She sagged against the wall and wanted to cry.
Swallowing a few times, she tried to compose herself and was immediately aware of a strange taste on her tongue. Something she’d never experienced before. Something she couldn’t put a name to, as there was nothing that compared. It was mixed with a slight taste of metal—was it her blood, or Greyvian’s? Given the nature of their kiss, it wouldn’t surprise her if it was both.
She was still wondering over it when Knox found her.
He wore an expression of alarm even as he entered the hallway, like he already thought something bad had happened, and it didn’t alter as he saw her pressed against the wall. His gaze raked over her neck and then back to her expression.
“What happened? Did he—” he shook his head and grimaced slightly. “Of course he didn’t.
Are you alright?”
She sighed and blew out a long breath, straightening away from the wall.
“Yeah,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “I’m fine.”
He continued to eyeball her but didn’t ask for an explanation of what had happened. That was good—because she didn’t really feel like telling him that her advances had been rejected right when things had been getting good.
She couldn’t understand it. Why wouldn’t Greyvian bite her? What had changed since their first meeting? He’d been about to do it then. If it hadn’t been for the guys interrupting them, she was certain he would have gone through with it.
So, why wouldn’t he do it now?
“Knox, can I ask you something?”
The blonde nodded and waited with an air of expectation.
She wanted to ask him why Greyvian wouldn’t bite her, but she lost her nerve at the last minute. That would be too revealing.
“What do I smell like to you?” she asked instead.
He grinned knowingly and drew in a deep breath. Closing his eyes, he seemed to focus on the smell. She jumped slightly when his fangs shot out in length and wondered idly if that hurt at all.
“Sweet,” he told her. “A hint of chocolate, a smidge of rum. But mostly—something you can’t put a name to. In short—utterly delicious. Why do you ask?”
“Do you want a taste?”
His eyes opened, revealing light green irises and slightly enlarged pupils.
“Are you offering?” he asked, the tip of his pink tongue darting out to wet his bottom lip.
She shrugged a shoulder, unsure. Did she just want the experience itself, or was it just an excuse to get Greyvian close to her?
The blonde took a step towards her, then pulled himself up short and shook his head, his pupils contracting to a more normal size. “Tempting,” he told her, his easy grin stretching across his face. “But it’s better if I don’t. I have a feeling that one taste wouldn’t be enough, and we can’t really afford the distraction right now.”
Jacob. Shit. She’d forgotten that he was about to transition and would need Greyvian’s blood. Was that why Greyvian had pulled back? Was he afraid that one taste would lead to too many distractions? It was hard to imagine coming from a male as seemingly controlled as he. Besides, wasn’t the desire to taste her already a distraction? Would actually tasting her really make it that much harder to resist?
“When did you feed last?” she asked Knox, mulling over a thought. The blonde hadn’t actually answered her the last time she’d asked him and she wondered if it might have something to do with the intensity of blood lust. Although, Greyvian did say that he’d fed on his little excursion outside, so maybe not?
“Just before coming here, actually. That little fight we had at the café was quite filling. Why?”
“I just wondered if maybe the desire to taste me was affected by how recently you had fed, how hungry you are. I figured maybe Grey reacted so strongly because he hadn’t fed as recently as you had.”
Knox’s expression seemed conflicted as he rubbed his jaw and thought about it until the silence grew so long she couldn’t stand it any longer.
“What? Tell me, please.”
Finally, the blonde sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Fine, if you’re going to be like a dog with a bone about the whole thing. I don’t believe hunger has that much to do with it. Sure, I’d probably be more inclined to take you up on the offer of a taste if I were hungry, but with Grey…. I didn’t want to say this in front of Jacob, because frankly he has enough to deal with right now, but normally, vampires don’t drink human blood. It does nothing for us. We need to drink the blood of another vampire for our bodies to start cell reproduction.”
Huh, who’d have thought?
“Greyvian, on the other hand, is the only vampire in known existence, previous and present, that can’t digest vampire blood. It actually makes him feel sick. Human blood is the only type his body wants. To Lucas and I, your scent is a mere curiosity—a mild temptation, if you will. With Greyvian...” he left the rest up to her imagination.
Oh, wow. The only human-blood-drinking vampire in existence. That had to be a bit rough. She had an unsettling thought. “So, Jacob will more than likely need human blood?”
Knox nodded sadly.
“And, how do vampires view humans?”
Knox’s smile was more grimace than anything. “Well, for reasons I have yet to confirm, it’s pretty safe to say that most full-blooded vampires hate humans with a passion.”
Damn. Could her best friend not catch a break in life? Was he destined to be an outcast no matter what species he was a part of? Just when they’d thought he’d outgrown all of that High School Bullshit, she had the feeling he was about to be thrown back into it. Although, this time, it would probably be worse, if the little fight with Knox’s buddy earlier was anything to go by.
Is that what Greyvian’s world was like? All alone in a sea of prejudiced vampires with different dietary requirements to him? No wonder he was so withdrawn. She supposed being cool and controlled was better than the alternative.
She didn’t need to ask Knox how he felt about humans, seeing as he’d been one previously and had been perfectly nice to her, but she did have another question.
“What is your relationship with Greyvian?” she asked the blonde, wondering if Greyvian had at least one ally in the whole thing. “Are you friends, or am I right in thinking that you benefit somehow from his acquaintance?”
Knox regarded her for a long minute and then seemed to come to a decision. When he spoke, his voice was soft, compassionate, but there was no doubt in her mind that he was one hundred percent serious. “Greyvian is not a warm cuddly male, Sienna. He’s had a hard life—probably more so than even I can imagine—and it’s hardened him in return. I don’t think he’s ever been close to anyone and I doubt he even knows how. Before I walked into this apartment and saw him ready to go you, I’d never seen even a trace of emotion on his face or in his voice. Didn’t even think it possible, to tell you the truth.
“I have no idea what drives him and couldn’t tell you what he’s capable of, although, there are plenty of stories floating around. Personally, I couldn’t give a crap that he drinks human blood, but....” the blonde trailed off, looking as if he hadn’t meant to touch on the subject.
“But what?”
He shook his head. “Just try to keep your distance from him. If not for your sake, then try to see it from his point of view. Your scent is a distraction to me, but it has to be a torment to him. At the moment, he’s being more of a gentleman about it than I’d ever give him credit for, but don’t push him too far or you’re likely to get yourself hurt.”
Hurt, not killed. Had he made that distinction on purpose, or was he giving Greyvian the benefit of the doubt? And he hadn’t answered her question.
“Are you friends?” she asked again.
Knox smiled. “If Greyvian were the type of male to have friends, then, yes, I would be one to him.”
There was one more question she had to ask Knox, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to ask if her scent turned him on. Maybe she just didn’t want her bubble burst by finding out it was just her scent that did it for Greyvian. She was hoping it was something more.
“In fact,” Knox said, folding his arms in front of his chest and giving her a serious stare-down, “I think it might be best that you find somewhere else to stay until after Jacob’s transition. Take the temptation and torment away altogether.”
Sienna shook her head. “No way. Jacob needs me here.”
Knox raised an eyebrow. “Jacob is unconscious. He doesn’t even know that you’re here. You could be on Mars and he wouldn’t give a fuck.”
Stubbornly she shook her head again. “No. I want to be here when he transitions. I want to make sure he comes through okay.”
The blonde appraised her with a deep frown and then threw up his hands. “You can’t say I didn’t
warn you.”
* * *
The waiting was slowly driving Greyvian insane. It was a real effort of will to keep his body in the one spot, to not fidget, to not stand up and pace the room. Just that unfamiliar feeling alone was enough to drive him mad, but if that wasn’t enough, Sienna’s scent was added to the mix. It was an even greater effort of will to keep himself from launching his body at her, from taking her down onto the plush rug and sinking his fangs into her soft flesh; or, with the memory of that kiss they’d shared still fresh in his mind, a different part of his anatomy.
The incessant prattle of Knox and Lucas debating the merits of chocolate sauce on french fries was also slowly driving him insane. He wasn’t used to this much conversation happening around him and wanted to be able to sit in silence. Even if it was only for a minute.
He wanted this transition to be over with already. He wanted to be away from the constant temptation of blood he couldn’t drink, conversation he couldn’t escape, and emotions he wasn’t used to feeling. He was more than aware that his eyes were constantly black now, whether due to bloodlust or the emotional turmoil inside he knew not. The one thing he was certain of was that he was on edge and he didn’t like the feeling.
“Which part of the city do you live in?” Sienna asked, managing to draw his attention from his inner struggle long enough for him to notice that both Knox and Lucas were watching him carefully. Their concern ignited a fire of rage within him that added to his already volatile mood. Clenching his fists, he stared them down until they shrugged and looked away.
Only then did he turn to Sienna, a cold glare at the ready, yet when he looked into her lovely blue eyes, he couldn’t quite bring it to bear. “Northside,” he replied, amazed that his voice was steady, inflectionless.
“Do you have an apartment?”
“Yes.”
“Are you working anywhere at the moment?”
“No.”
She looked at him with those wide blue eyes of hers as if silently imploring him to be more open, to give back a little in the conversation, but he wasn’t used to conversing. It didn’t come naturally to him. He hadn’t a clue what she wanted him to say. Hadn’t a clue why she wanted him to say anything at all. He hadn’t exactly been the most approachable male since their first encounter.
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