Worried that Sienna would be harmed by her blood, Katarina was about to pull her wrist away when the human clamped down on it with her hands and held it there while she sucked for all she was worth. When the woman didn’t react any further, she figured it must have just been from shock. Sienna had been close to death after all.
As the seconds ticked by, Katarina found herself focusing on the human’s face. Perfectly arched eyebrows, the same dark brown as her hair; long dark lashes she’d love to possess; a nose that was the perfect shape and size to transform Sienna’s face into an attractive package of features. The female was a beauty; she had to give her that. It seemed unfair that it was coupled with such a delightful scent—a double whammy. Some people had all the luck. Or, perhaps given her near-death state, she should be thinking Sienna wasn’t so lucky at all?
Only about a minute had passed when the human pushed her arm away and lay still, recovering. Katarina licked her wrist and waited. Already Sienna’s cheeks looked rosier and maybe even seemed to glow a little—but surely that was just her imagination?
When the human opened her eyes and looked at her, Katarina noticed that the blue was especially vibrant.
“Thank you,” Sienna said gratefully.
Katarina smiled slightly in acknowledgement but still wondered if she had done the right thing. Especially when she drew in a deep breath and realised that Sienna’s intoxicating scent had completely disappeared. Had her blood done that? Or was it simply because the human had none of her own blood left in her system to make her smell so divine?
The door to the apartment opened suddenly and Greyvian stepped through, followed closely by Knox and Lucas who stepped out and stuck close to his side, as if ready to grab him were he to make a lunge for Sienna. They needn’t have worried. Her brother’s eyes were back to neutral as he eyed the two of them sitting on the floor. The fact that his eyes remained a pale grey as he focused on Sienna told her more than anything that he had had his fill for now.
She had only a moment to wonder if Sienna was the first human he’d ever left alive after a feeding when Greyvian’s eyes narrowed and he drew in a sharp breath. A split second later, his eyes rose to hers with an intensity that left her breathless.
“What did you do?”
10
“What did I do?” Katarina asked incredulously, although the blush creeping up her cheeks spoke volumes about her role in Sienna’s suspiciously rosy cheeks and lack of scent. “I’m not the one who drained her to within an inch of her life!”
The jab struck home, inflicting pain the way it was intended. Not that Greyvian wasn’t already feeling like a complete shit. He couldn’t even begin to come to terms with how close he had come to killing Sienna. The mere thought of her dead was more distressing to him than the thousands of lives he’d taken over the centuries.
To distract himself from the unwanted thought, he narrowed his eyes at his sister and, in a dangerously level voice, asked, “You fed her your blood?”
Katarina flinched at the accusation but then squared her shoulders and looked him in the eye. “What would you like me to have done? Let her die right here on the floor?”
She had him there. Still, the thought of Sienna drinking from anyone but him had the disturbing ability to make him furious.
“Hey folks,” Knox interrupted before the two of them could get into a debate about it, “Why don’t we move this into the apartment? We’ve still got a transitioning male inside, and I’m sure Sienna would like to sit on something more comfortable than the hard floor while she recovers from her ordeal.”
Ordeal. That wasn’t the word he’d use to describe what the two of them had just been through. Foreplay was closer to the mark. Sex with clothes on was even closer if the wet patch in his pants was anything to go by.
Christ. If anybody had told him before today that someone’s blood could have that effect on him he never would have believed them. The memory of it was more than enough to give him a hard on. He would have felt like a complete asshole for having enjoyed himself so immensely while she had been edging closer and closer to death if it wasn’t for the memory of her arms and legs wrapped around him. The knowledge that she had enjoyed it was both a comfort and a source of disturbance.
Only vampires gained pleasure from feeding. Humans only felt pain. What was it about her that made her so different? Why was her blood so potent? Why did she smell so good...?
Thinking about her scent reminded him of the fact that it was now gone. Even though she was twenty feet away, he should have been able to smell her intoxicating scent, yet all he could smell was the dry, dusty air, a hint of floor polish, the unique scents of Knox and Lucas and a hint of Vanilla perfume from Katarina. Sienna was practically invisible to his sense of smell. In fact, as Katarina helped Sienna to her feet and the two of them walked towards him, there was no doubt—he definitely couldn’t smell her any longer. The most he got from her was a hint of strawberries, possibly from her shampoo.
He didn’t know whether to be relieved or alarmed at the sudden change. Her lack of scent definitely pointed to the conclusion that it was her blood that had caused her to smell so divine, but what did that mean? Was she human? Or something more?
As she and Katarina moved past him, he distantly noted that Knox and Lucas each took hold of his arm, as if they were afraid he’d jump her again. They needn’t have worried. Even though the memory of her blood called to him and he would drink it again in a heartbeat if it were safe, for the moment he was satisfied.
Extremely so.
As she stepped past him, time seemed to slow as her vibrant blue eyes met and held his, promising him things that could never eventuate. While the memory of feeding from her would be firmly entrenched in his mind for the rest of eternity, it was an impossible relationship. She was human. He was not. She was mortal. He was not. She was innocent. He was… not.
No matter how appealing the idea of repeating their carpet grind, it simply couldn’t happen. The desire for her blood would always outweigh the desire for her body and eventually he would end up finishing her off completely.
Shutting down his thoughts, he composed his features into the neutral expression he usually affected with little effort and gave her absolutely nothing in return. As she turned her gaze away from him to watch where she was walking, he caught the slight frown on her face and knew he had been successful in deflecting her hope.
For now.
Shaking Knox and Lucas off, he followed the two females into the apartment, idly rubbing the side of his head in a futile attempt to ease the ache.
What the hell had they used?
* * *
Once Sienna was satisfied that Jacob was still alive, she sank down onto the sofa, feeling understandably tired. The little boost of energy she had received from Katarina’s blood was fading fast and all she wanted to do was stretch out and go to sleep, but Knox wouldn’t let her. He kept insisting that she drink water and stay conscious so that he could be sure she wouldn’t sink into a coma or anything.
“You need more blood,” he said, green eyes serious as he appraised her cheeks, his fingers pressing against the vein in her wrist. “Your pulse is racing and your cheeks are pale.”
Well, that wasn’t really very surprising, she thought tiredly. Given the length of time Greyvian had fed on her, he’d probably sucked about two and a bit litres of blood from her body. She’d read somewhere that the human body contained, on average, 4.7 litres of blood. Having lost probably just under half of her required volume, she should probably be dead right about now, having suffered cardiac arrest. After Katarina’s donation, however, she was probably sitting at about 3.2 litres of blood. Not good. Thirty percent blood loss was enough to send her into shock. Knox was right. She needed more blood.
If only to stop her brain from doing more math.
“How do you suppose I go about getting more?” she asked, appalled at the way her words slurred but unable to do anything about it. “They’d ask too ma
ny questions at the hospital. Or should I just drop by a blood bank and ask them for a donation?”
Knox smiled briefly, confirming that she was in trouble. In the past twenty or so hours she’d come to understand that there wasn’t much the male didn’t laugh at, so if he could only manage a brief smile now it meant that she probably didn’t have too long.
Without consultation, he raised his wrist towards his mouth. Before he could sink his teeth in, Greyvian once again put the lie to a vampire’s professed lack of supernatural speed and was suddenly standing beside him, hand locked around the blonde’s wrist and a growl rumbling in his throat.
“No.” There was no mistaking the word for anything other than a command.
Butterflies erupted in Sienna’s stomach; especially as that growl brought back memories of his body on top of hers, his mouth at her throat, his hips grinding into hers. There was no mistake that he wanted her in more ways than one and she was heartened to see that he might be just a little bit jealous right now.
Knox looked up at him, a frown on his face. “She needs blood, Greyvian.”
A muscle twitched in his jaw and he stared down at the half-breed in silence, his pale grey eyes intense. “Not yours.”
Knox lifted an eyebrow in amusement. “Yours then?”
Sienna almost nodded her head in agreement but managed to keep it to a slight twitch as she thought about the implications of that. Donating his blood would mean that he’d need more blood and that would mean he’d want her blood, defeating the purpose of giving her blood in the first place.
When Greyvian didn’t reply, the blonde laughed shortly. “I didn’t think so. I’d suggest Katarina, but I think she’s already given and probably shouldn’t give any more today. If you have a better idea, put words to it.”
For a long, tense, minute, Greyvian stared down at Knox. Sienna would have given anything to know what he was thinking, but his expression remained passive. Finally, his fingers relaxed and Knox was able to take his hand back, raising it to his mouth once more.
Sienna watched Greyvian as he turned away, possibly not wanting to watch, and only distantly noted that Knox put his wrist to her mouth. Opening up, she allowed the thick liquid to pool on her tongue, her focus on Grey as he walked towards the kitchen. What was he thinking? Was he really jealous? Territorial? Or was it just the thought of blood that had him walking away from them?
Swallowing her first mouthful of Knox’s blood, she noted the strangely sweet taste of it and then was reminded once again that vampire blood packed a hell of a punch as all of her muscles spasmed like her entire body was one big cramp. Clenching her hands into fists, she suffered through it without groaning like a Nancy as she had before in the hallway until it finally passed a moment or two later. As her muscles melted back into the sofa cushions, she was able to swallow another mouthful without reaction.
Focusing her eyes towards the kitchen, she found that Greyvian had turned around and that his intense gaze was now locked onto hers. He said nothing and his expression gave nothing away as she continued to swallow Knox’s blood, sucking now to pull it into her mouth faster. She imagined it was Grey’s blood she was drinking as her gaze remained locked with his and felt the butterflies take flight in her stomach once again as his eyes darkened seductively.
With every mouthful, she felt stronger and more alert, but the taste of it started to lose its sweetness, gaining more of a metallic sting that became too much for her in the end. Breaking eye contact with Greyvian, she looked up at Knox and then pushed his wrist away. She figured she must have drunk a good litre and should be out of the woods now—if merely ingesting vampire blood was enough to replenish her stocks. She couldn’t see how it was possible, but then, they were vampires. Anything was possible now.
“Thank you,” she told the blonde, receiving a nod in return.
Sitting up, she was relieved to find that her muscles were now able to support her body and that her heart no longer seemed to be competing in a race for gold. Her mouth, however, felt like she’d been sucking on metal filings. Without needing to be asked, Knox handed her a glass of water, smirking when she started to skol it down as if she were dying of thirst.
“How do you feel?” he asked, taking the glass from her and putting it back on the coffee table.
“Good. Better. Thanks again.”
“You’re welcome. Any side effects? I haven’t actually fed too many humans my blood, so I’m curious.”
She shrugged and shook her head, not really sure what he wanted her to say. There was that electric jolt to begin with, but she assumed that was normal since she’d had the same effect with Katarina’s blood. Speaking of, “Your blood isn’t as sweet as Katarina’s,” she said for want of something to say.
“Really?” he asked, surprised, giving Katarina the once over. “Well, you wouldn’t know it to look at her, would you?”
Katarina made a face at the blonde and the two of them engaged in some light-hearted banter. She only vaguely paid attention as her eyes once again drifted in the direction of the kitchen. Greyvian was standing by the island bench holding a frypan and inspecting the base of it with a bemused expression on his face.
After a moment he looked up, his gaze focusing on Knox, who was still flirting with Katarina. “This is what you used?”
The blonde looked over and shrugged, smiling in amusement. “Would you rather I’d stabbed you with a knife?”
“I think you caved in part of my skull,” Grey complained in a totally un-Greyvian-like manner, rubbing the back of his head.
“You wouldn’t be walking if it had,” Katarina scoffed. “Quit your complaining.”
The male scowled at his sister, but there wasn’t any feeling in it.
“You’re lucky Knox was the one to do something,” she continued archly. “I would have gone for the knife.”
“You always did like to stab things,” Greyvian muttered, placing the frypan back on the bench. He walked over to the fridge and opened the door, studiously ignoring Katarina as she retorted that as she recalled, he was the one doing all the stabbing these days.
Sienna smiled, amused at their bantering and this unexpected side to Greyvian.
“Speaking of hitting you over the head,” Knox said, eyeing Greyvian suspiciously. “You should have been unconscious with how hard I hit you, but you barely flinched. What’s up with that?”
“And then there’s the super-speed,” Lucas reminded in the dry, stoic way that he had. “Let’s not forget about that.”
All eyes were on Greyvian now, but the male, ignoring them all, reached into the fridge and pulled out a bottle of cola. As he closed the door, he returned their stares without expression, twisted the lid off the bottle, tossed it in the trash and then took a long drink, almost as if he were stalling. When he had drunk half the bottle, he lowered it again and smacked his lips in satisfaction. None of them were dissuaded and were all still staring at him. He didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he actually smiled a little as he walked towards them and dropped down into an armchair, all swagger and grace.
Sienna couldn’t take her eyes off him. He was sex on legs.
“You’ve been holding out on us, Grey,” Knox admonished. “How long have you had these super powers?”
“What super powers?” Greyvian asked, feigning innocence.
“The super speed, the super constitution, and any other super powers you’ve been hiding from us,” Knox said, his expression serious now.
“I wasn’t hiding them,” Greyvian replied offhandedly, taking a sip from his drink before adding, “I just never had occasion to use them around you before.”
So it was true. Greyvian had powers the others didn’t. Was it his human diet? There really couldn’t be any other reason, could there? He was the only one in existence who drank the blood of humans, and, if she wasn’t mistaken, he seemed to be the only one with super powers, so it had to be that.
Knox seemed just as baffled by it as she did. “I’ve never h
eard anything like this before. I mean… I’ve heard of other vampires living off human blood, but they’ve never developed any abilities from it. What makes you so different?”
“What do you mean you’ve heard of other vampires living off human blood?” Katarina asked, horrified.
Greyvian snorted loudly and rolled his eyes, again being very un-Greyvian-like, and said, “Pleeeease, they do not live off human blood. Every one of those cocksuckers still needs vampire blood to remain healthy. They just do it because they’re sadists and get their kicks out of scaring the human folk. Believe me—I’ve met each and every one of them.”
Hearing the word cocksuckers come out of Greyvian’s mouth was only slightly more surprising than the derogatory tone of voice that he used while speaking about them. What was even more surprising was the way he waved his bottle of cola about to punctuate his words.
He looked and sounded drunk. And she wasn’t the only one who noticed.
“Greyvian, you feeling okay?” Knox asked, shooting a glance her way, as if it were her fault he was acting like this. Oh, wait, Grey had just drunk a few litres of her blood. Maybe it was her fault. Not that she was really complaining. She kind of liked this new, open, talkative Greyvian.
“Fine. Why?” he asked, taking another sip of his drink and looking at each of them like he had no idea why they’d ask in the first place.
Before Knox could answer, Greyvian’s gaze shot over in the direction of the hallway and a small smile curved his lips. A moment later they all heard a shuffling sound as Jacob came into the room.
Perhaps they could add super hearing to the list?
“You made it,” Greyvian said by way of greeting, raising his bottle in toast.
With effort, Sienna managed to drag her gaze away from Greyvian to look over the back of the couch at her best friend. He looked a little worse for wear, but he looked a lot better than he had previously. At least now his skin had some colour to it.
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