by Cd Hussey
There was a brief pause and it stung because Slade knew he was asking for too much and she was hesitating. "Never mind-" he started.
"No problem, Slade," she said quickly, interrupting him. "Just let me finish up here and I'll be right there. Fifteen minutes tops." She hung up the phone before he had a chance to protest.
Slade stared at the dead phone in his hand. Maybe he shouldn't have called her. There was a refrigerator filled with blood in Luxure's back room.
He grimaced at the thought. Not only was the taste of anticoagulant as unappealing as the taste of lube during oral sex, but the shit had a tendency to make him sick. It wasn't just a little nausea either, but Sorority girl, hugging the toilet after a night of jungle juice, type of sick. And damn if hurling up the blood his body apparently needed didn't defeat the whole fucking purpose.
Still, the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to call Nikki and tell her not to come. She was his only Donor right now, and that was a lot for one person to bear. His cravings weren't as strong as some Sang's, but they were strong enough it meant she had to get stuck with a needle a few times a week. It'd be easier if they were lovers. Blood and sex mixed naturally.
He had her number pulled up and was about to push talk when she stepped through the front door. "Hey," she said by way of greeting. Wearing a soft smile on her dark red lips, she gave him a quick hug before sitting on one of the barstools. She glanced around the empty bar.
"Where's Armand?"
"On his honeymoon."
"Still?" Nikki's surprise wasn't unwarranted. Armand had been out for three weeks.
"Until the end of the month."
She laughed. "That's some honeymoon."
"Yeah, well, they deserve it."
She leveled her blue gaze on him. "So, you're okay with Julia now?"
"I am. She's a good girl." Nikki gave him a hard look. Slade shrugged. "So I had my doubts at first. But she's cool." Doubts was an understatement. When Julia had first stumbled into Luxure, practically one year ago to the date, he'd hated everything about her. As a perpetual outsider that thrived on the fringes of society, Slade was naturally wary of seemingly normal people. And Julia had represented everything he distrusted about those that walk a traditional path. The judging, the fear, the misunderstanding...Initially, she'd proven him right. But she redeemed herself, and now, Slade was actually quite fond of her. In the end, it didn't matter two shits how he felt. Julia made Armand happier than Slade had ever seen him, and that was the important thing.
"Well, I have a hard time trusting someone with zero tattoos. There's something completely unnatural about it," Nikki said with a laugh. A tattoo artist, Nikki was covered in ink. There wasn't a bare spot of skin on her back, chest, or either arm. She was an incredible artist, and had done most of Slade's ink.
She hopped off the barstool. "You ready to get this party started? You look like shit." She headed towards the blood room. "I'm not going to lie. I'm a little disappointed Armand isn't here. He's a damn magician with a needle. Never even feel the thing go in." She stopped at the locked door to the blood room and waited for Slade.
Key in hand, he paused. "If this is ever too much for you-"
She cut him off. "I'm just giving you shit."
"I know. I'm just sayin'. If it gets to be too much..." He didn't care for the pangs of guilt that were building in his gut.
"I'll let you know," she assured. "But it isn't an issue. This is the least I can do. I owe you everything. If it wasn't for you and Armand, I'd be dead. I haven't forgotten that."
Neither had Slade. Nikki's ex was a douche-bag heroine addict that liked to knock her around. For years, she endured numerous black eyes, broken ribs, and bruises no amount of makeup could cover, before finally finding the courage to end the relationship. When the restraining order only got her a trip to the emergency room with a ruptured spleen, Slade and Armand took matters into their own hands. They left the guy alive, barely. He split town immediately after, and no one had seen him since, which was best for his health.
"And Jenn's okay with this," Slade probed on. One abusive penis had been enough man for Nikki's lifetime. She was now a lesbian.
"I'm not going to say she gets it, but she's cool. Are you going to unlock the door or not?"
He hesitated and Nikki sighed. "Jesus Christ! Don't pussy out on me, Scott Corelli. Open the door, draw some blood, and let's go! I love you baby, but I don't have all night."
Hearing his real name was an affront to his senses. She obviously meant business. He pushed opened the door. "Fair enough."
Pulling a tourniquet off one the neatly organized shelves, Nikki tied off her left arm, flexing her hand until the vein at the crook of her elbow bulged. She leaned against a stainless steel table. "Look, I know this isn't ideal for you," she said as she scrubbed the injection site with an alcohol swab. "And I understand you feel like your imposing. But honestly, I'm happy to help." Catching his gaze, she touched his arm. "As long as you need me. As. Long."
He nodded. "Thank you." He didn't know what else to add, so he moved to the sink and washed his hands. After pulling on a pair of latex gloves, he grabbed a fresh needle and three, and then after a second thought, four Vacutainers. He usually only needed about an ounce of blood at a time, 30mL or three Vacutainers. But this craving was stronger than normal. An extra 10mL certainly wouldn't hurt, and might possibly delay the next urge a little longer.
Setting the glass tubes on the table next to Nikki, he gently steadied her left arm and prepared to pierce the vein. The shaking hadn't subsiding, and he realized very quickly that there was no way he'd be able to stick a needle anywhere, let alone into Nikki's fragile vein.
"Wow," she said, her eyes on his trembling hand. "You really did need me to come over."
"I don't get it. I didn't wait any longer than normal." The situation was a little frightening. If his cravings were getting stronger, he needed to find a second Donor ASAP.
Nikki took the needle from him, slipping it quickly and smoothly into the swollen vein on her arm. She smiled sheepishly at Slade's surprised expression and shrugged her tattooed shoulders. "From my heroine days," she explained.
There was no room for judging in Slade's world. He grabbed one of the red glass tubes and clicked it in the holder. Blood immediately began to spill into the tube. He withdrew and replaced them in rapid succession until all four tubes were filled, and then he gently removed the tourniquet and needle. He handed Nikki a Betadine soaked cotton swab, which she pressed against the needle hole.
She rose from the table. "I'm going to take off," she said, planting a quick kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you in a few?"
Slade's nod was small, weak.
"Cool." She gave him a brief, rigid hug. "Don't stress, man. I meant what I said."
She slipped out of the room, and Slade heard the front door open and then shut. He took her place leaning on the table. As he peeled the red rubber cap from one of the filled Vacutainers and swallowed the thick, red liquid in one smooth gulp, he thought about how far from ideal the situation was. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate Nikki and everything she did for him. Shit, he was eternally grateful. But sucking blood out of test tubes gathered in some uber sterile environment, well, it left something to be desired to say the least.
Blood might be a necessity for him, but it was meant to be shared and savored in an intimate exchange, not traded in a tit-for-tat you saved my ass now I save yours exchange.
Slade sighed as the last 10mL shot hit his tongue and slid smoothly down his throat. Ideally, this would be shared with a lover. Maybe in his younger days he'd been happy to graze off whatever tail presented itself, but now he was ready for something more substantial, more meaningful. There was more to this blood exchange than lust, fetish or even basic necessity. He'd seen it with Armand and Julia. Now, he was ready to experience it.
About the Author
When not writing, CD Hussey enjoys a career as a professional engineer in the Midwest
. A chronic hobbyist, her hobbies range from aerial silks to mountain biking and include everything in between. With an ongoing love affair with New Orleans, expect to see her in the Crescent City at least twice a year.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
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