Blood Doll (The Vampire Agape Series Book #3) (The Vampire Agape Series #3)

by Georgia Cates

  And it does feel amazing. Drinking from Avery is a pleasure like I’ve never known and I feel how euphoric it makes her because we are joined on a higher level–one I’d never experienced while drinking from any human. Ever. Sure, it is possible to bridge with a human’s emotions while drinking directly from them but never like this. And I’d never remained connected to them afterwards because the minute my mouth left their skin, all links were broken–but not with Avery. My bond to her remains even months later.

  Once I’ve taken what she so happily gives, I pull my mouth away from the piercing and stop the bleeding with my coagulant. I trail my tongue over her wounded skin so the healing process will be significantly decreased and I marvel at the delicious taste of her skin–not her blood. I place a kiss against the spot I just licked before I look up to meet her eyes. “You taste like candy … and sunshine.”

  “Candy I understand. Sunshine … not so much.”

  I run my nose down her arm. “You were in the sun today. I can smell and taste it on your skin.”

  “It was unseasonably warm today so I enjoyed the weather while doing some reading.”

  I kiss her forearm and allow my tongue to brush it. “It changes the flavor of your skin.”

  “Better or worse?”

  “Neither. It’s just different.”

  She turns to face me and leans closer to place her cheek against my chest as she slips her arms around my waist. I bring her closer and we stay like that for a while. “You’re happy?” I feel like I have to ask.

  “Yes. But you already know that, don’t you?”

  How could she know I sensed her feelings … unless she sensed mine too? “Yes. I feel an unusual attachment to you and I’ve never experienced it with any other human. Do you feel it too?”

  “Yes. It began the night we met. I’ve never felt it with any other vampire. You’re the only one.” My mind is reeling because I’ve been mistaken about her all this time. “What is it?”

  “I don’t know. I’d say it’s a blood jewel trait but that can’t be the case since you haven’t meshed with others.” And I’m glad. The thought of her sharing this special bond with another doesn’t make me happy.

  She puts her palms on my chest and slowly slides them up. “How do you feel when we kiss? Do you like it? Because it seems like you do.”

  Her hands continue up my chest and over my shoulders. I slide my hands around her waist until they’re grasping her back. “I like it very much.”

  I pull her close until her body is pressed firmly against mine. She feels so tiny in my arms–and so breakable. She rises onto her tiptoes like she did earlier and our mouths are as close as they can be without touching. “Enough to do it again?”

  I shouldn’t want to kiss her again but I do. “I’d very much like to do it again.”

  And I almost do before someone rings the buzzer. I spin my head in the direction of the sound because I remember the door is unlocked. I hope whoever it is doesn’t open it and walk in on us. “Someone’s at the door.” That was a stupid thing to say since I’m stating the obvious.

  “Should I stay in here out of sight while you answer it?”

  “No.” I take her hand and lead her from the bathroom. “There won’t be any fooling whoever it is. They’ll smell you and become worried when they don’t see you sitting safely in my office.” After she sits, I lean down and briefly kiss her lips. “Try to look calm and act like we didn’t do what we just did.”

  She leans up and nips my lip. “Okay. I’ll try.”

  I find Curry on the other side of the door when I open it. “Sorry to bother you since your door was closed but Avery isn’t in her bed and we can’t find her anywhere.”

  His sniffer must be on the fritz since he doesn’t register her scent. I guess it’s the whole vampire morphing into a human thing–which is probably good–or he’d likely smell her on me since she’s freshly on my lips. And in my mouth.

  I swing the door open a little wider so he’s able to see her sitting in my office. She waves from where she’s sitting. “All is well, Curry. Sol and I are just talking about his decision to leave. I’ve told him he doesn’t have to on my account. I think we’ve worked out our issues so it looks like he’ll be staying after all. Isn’t that great news?”

  He looks back to me. “Worked it out, huh?”

  “Yeah. Working might be a better choice of words. We weren’t quite finished talking but I think it’s safe to say that you can expect things to be much different between us from now on.”

  “Then I shall leave you to finish your peace talks.” Curry looks back at Avery to address her. “I’ll let Jenn know you’ve not gone missing. She was sort of freaking out because she couldn’t find you.”

  “I certainly appreciate you putting her mind at rest.” Damn. She’s such a good actress she almost has me fooled.

  “No problem.”

  I shut the door and fall into the seat next to Avery. “I hate lying to my best friend.”

  “And I’m gonna hate lying to my sister but we agreed it’s what we have to do because they won’t understand or accept what we’re doing.” She places her hand on my leg and strokes it. “This is our decision. Not theirs.”

  “I know but we have to be careful. I don’t think it’s a good idea for us to disappear into my office with me coming out smelling like you. Curry’s losing a lot of his vampires senses but the others aren’t. They’re going to smell you all-over me. I can pass tonight off if I stay in here for a few hours but we need to have a plan for how to handle this in the future.”

  She lifts a strand of her hair and twists it around her finger as she thinks. It’s something I’ve noticed her doing many times. “How can we be together the way we want if they’re always going to smell me on you?”

  There’s only one solution. “I think the safest time would be in the mornings after they’re asleep so your scent will have time to fade before they’re awake again.”

  “But if they’re asleep, you should be too.”

  Sleep isn’t an issue for me. I’ve been doing without it for a while. “Let that be my problem to deal with.”

  “I don’t want you to harm yourself by being awake during the day.”

  Knowing she worries about me makes my heart melt. “I won’t. I’ve been doing this for a while, you know?”

  She gets up from her chair and sits in my lap. “How long is a while?”

  I’m old as hell and I wonder if it’ll bother her. “I was twenty-five when I was turned so I was born three hundred years ago.”

  She looks surprised. I don’t think she had any idea I was that old. “So you’ve been a vampire for two hundred and seventy-five years?”

  I place my hand on her lower back and massage. “Does that bother you?”

  “Not at all. I like older men.” She breaks into a mischievous grin as she leans down to kiss me.

  When we pull away I look into her eyes trying to decide how young I think she is. “What is your age?”

  “I’m twenty.” I think she interprets the look on my face as a direct indicator of the distress I feel because she quickly adds, “But I’ll be twenty-one next month.” As if one year really makes a difference.

  I’m silent for a good minute before I’m able to respond. “Shit, Avery. You’re even younger than Chansey.” I remember the hard time I gave Curry about having a relationship with a young girl. I may have even called her a child but at least she turned out to be his intended. Now I’m doing whatever this is with an even younger girl and she isn’t my mate so I have no excuse.

  “I’m not a child so don’t go there. I feel much older than twenty after the things I’ve been through.”

  “I know and I’m so sorry for everything you’ve experienced in your short life. I wish I could take it all away for you.” She leans over and places her head on my shoulder. She’s curled up like a child in my lap so I put my arms around her to hold her close. “Don’t worry. Vincent will never get to you aga
in.”

  The mention of her former captor sends her heart racing. “You don’t know that. That monster could find me years from now.”

  I should tell her about the oath to protect her. Maybe it’ll put her at ease knowing I’ve sworn to always be near her and keep her from being harmed. “What do you know about sacred vows–I mean the kind a vampire makes?”

  “Nothing.”

  “I want you to look at me when I say this.” She sits upright and twists in my lap so she can see me. “A sacred vow occurs when a vampire makes a pledge. It’s an oath that exists for the lifetime of the vampire so it isn’t taken lightly because it’s unbreakable and can’t be undone. It’s a very old tradition but because there’s no going back, very few vampires practice this.” I take her hand in mine and grasp it tightly. Even if it’s only in the background, I’ll forever be a part of her life and I have no idea what her reaction will be. “I’ve declared only one sacred vow in my two hundred and seventy-five years as a vampire. It is to keep you safe at any cost.”

  I see her drawing a conclusion. “By any cost, you mean … ”

  “I will die protecting you if necessary.”

  She’s upset. “No. I don’t want that. I’d never want you to die for me.”

  Good thing it isn’t her choice to make. “It’s done and there’s no undoing it.”

  “When did you do this?”

  “The morning Curry brought you to the compound. And I’m not sorry. I’d do it again if given the choice.”

  She places her palm against my face. “I can’t believe you did that for me.”

  I move her hand to my mouth and kiss it. “I am your protector. Always.”

  She leans forward and places her forehead against mine. I feel her sweet breath against my lips and I can’t resist kissing them. She welcomes my tongue into her mouth and I reel over all the sensations rushing toward me at once. I remember the way I felt when I kissed Lisette but it could never come close to rivaling this.

  Avery rises and turns so she may position a knee on each side of my hips. She lowers herself to straddle me and wraps her arms around my neck. I watch her finger tap against the pulsation in her neck as she tilts her head to invite me closer. “Kiss me right here.”

  I know what she’s doing. She wants me to drink from her again. I won’t but I lean forward to place my lips against the throbbing vessel because I want to taste her skin.

  She places her hand on the back of my head and presses my mouth against her throat. “I want you to drink from me again.”

  “It’s too soon.”

  “It’s not. Twice in the same day is nothing to me. I’ll be fine.”

  I know her body can withstand a large blood loss but that isn’t the point. “Fine isn’t good enough for me. I want you healthy and glowing.”

  “I would definitely glow if we connected like we did a few minutes ago.”

  Humans aren’t meant to have their blood drained so often. “Drinking from you too soon is hazardous to your health and I think we just covered how committed I am to your safety and well-being.”

  She sucks my lip into her mouth. “You’d never hurt me.”

  We needed boundaries. “That’s right. I wouldn’t and that’s why I won’t drink from you more than once every three days. Your body needs time to compensate for the blood loss.”

  “Three days? I don’t want to go that long without intertwining myself with you.” A sad look comes over her face. “Unless you don’t want me.”

  I can’t believe she’s trying to pull that card on me. “You don’t need to hear me tell you how much I want you. You can feel it.”

  “You’re right. I do.” She puts her head on my shoulder and nuzzles against my neck. “Won’t you need blood more often than every few days?”

  Not as of lately. “I can do without.”

  “I don’t want you doing without. You wouldn’t ask me to not eat.”

  She doesn’t understand what it’s like for me. Hell, I didn’t even understand. But things had changed. “I don’t need as much blood as I once did. I can easily go three days between feeding.”

  “But Sebastian partakes of the blood swans every day and he’s older than you.”

  “I think he probably does it mostly for the companionship. He can’t possibly require blood every day if I don’t.”

  She lifts her face and looks me right in my eyes. “Promise you’ll come to me if you need to feed.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  “Do you think it’ll be hard to pretend nothing is going on between us when we’re with the others?”

  I feel like quite the actor. “I’ve been pretending everything was normal between us for months now. I think I’m pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself.”

  “Your poker face is quite good. No one suspects anything so I guess we’ll continue as we were but how are we going to do … this?”

  “We wait and you’ll come to me on the third morning when the others are sleeping.”

  “But I don’t want to wait that long to be with you again. Can we see each other the mornings you don’t drink from me?”

  Vampires associate with their blood dolls for very few reasons other than the drinking of their blood but that isn’t what was happening here. I couldn’t give a name to what we were doing just yet but it definitely wasn’t that. “I’d like that very much.”

  Chapter Four

  Three days. That’s how long it’s been since I drank from Avery but this morning will put an end to our wait.

  We’ve been thieves stealing every available moment together and taken far more chances than we should. It’s becoming harder each day to not allow myself to look at her for too long. Touching her at dinner is now pure torment because it always ends too soon. I almost blew it last night when I held her hand for too long after the sacrament and I strongly suspect Jenn noticed. I’m almost certain of it.

  It’s dawn and the others are down for the day. Avery should come to me at any moment and I’m impatient to have her in my arms. It has nothing to do with drinking her blood and never has; I don’t need it. I just want to share our special coalesce again.

  And return her most treasured possession.

  The buzzer rings and I streak toward the door to open it. I can’t walk at human speed because I’m too anxious about having her close. I’m enchanted by her–not that I’d want to break free of the spell she’s cast over me.

  I open the door and she gives me that look–the one that tells me she can’t wait to be in my arms with my mouth pressed against her skin.

  I suddenly feel timid about what we’re going to do. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” Her hands are behind her back and she’s twisting back and forth as she shrugs her shoulders and tilts her head to the side. She looks so sweet and innocent. It’s a great look on her.

  As if possible, I want her more than ever.

  She brings her hands from where they’re hidden behind her back and I take them so I can pull her into my office. Once she’s inside, I push the door closed. And lock it. I don’t want anyone walking in and interrupting what comes next.

  I can’t wait to touch and kiss her so I pull her close. She puts her hands over my shoulders and leans in, pressing her body into mine. Our lips touch and she opens her mouth to invite my tongue inside. She tastes so good–all sweet and minty.

  I feel her mouth spread into a smile. “Today took it’s sweet time getting here.”

  “I couldn’t agree more.”

  “How do you want to do it this time? The bathroom again? Or would you be willing to try something … different?”

  All of what she just said sounded naughty. “Sounds like you have something in mind.”

  “I do if you’re up for it.”

  She wasn’t the only one that had been thinking about this for days. “I’ll try anything you want.”

  She takes my hands and leads me around to my chair behind the desk. She puts her hands on my chest and pushes. “Si
t.” I do as she says and she climbs onto my lap–a knee on each side of my hips–so she’s straddling me. I think she likes this position.

  Oh, hell. There it is again–that intoxicating aroma that takes over and controls my brain anytime when we’re close like this.

  She reaches for her hair and pulls it away from her neck so it falls over one shoulder. “I want to try doing it like this if it’s okay with you.”

  Hell, yeah. I’m on board.

  She’s amazing, simply amazing. “I’m good with this.” That’s such an understatement. I’m well beyond okay with it.

  “Perfect.” She leans closer and tilts her head. She’s trembling. I might mistake that for fear if I didn’t feel her emotions but I know better. It’s desire. She wants this as much as I do and it’s the ultimate turn-on.

  I press my mouth against her neck to kiss it but I don’t pierce the vein just yet. I have other things I want to do first.

  I splay my hands over the small of her back and pull her body close to mine. She grinds her hips against me and I breathe in the surrounding aroma. It pushes me to want–maybe even commands me–to do things I shouldn’t.

  She grips the back of my head and presses my mouth to her pulsating vein. I go from wanting to kiss her sweetly to being driven toward something entirely different. Something … more. Something … human. And I feel myself being taken over by an intense desire to be joined to her but it has nothing to do with the consumption of her blood.

  “No more waiting.” She leans back and brings me with her, my mouth never breaking contact with her skin. “Bite me now, Sol. I don’t want to go another second without feeling you.”

  I want more but I’m confused by the means of how to obtain it. The act of drinking from her is the only method we have for creating the special fusion we covet so much.

  I want to merge with her just as much as she does–maybe even more–so she doesn’t have to ask again. My incisors are out and ready. They lengthened the moment her intoxicating aroma hit my senses.

  I pierce her vein quickly. She moans and slightly jerks when my sharp teeth enter her tender skin. I didn’t think I liked this–the part where I cause her pain–but it’s the complete opposite. She relishes the pleasure behind the pain so that makes me enjoy doing it. It’s another unexpected surprise.