Blood Doll (The Vampire Agape Series Book #3) (The Vampire Agape Series #3) (5 page)

“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. “Sit.” 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.

I retract my razor sharp teeth from her skin and her blood pulsates into my mouth as I take a part of her body into my own. One swallow–that’s all it takes of Avery’s precious blood for us to be melded in a way I could have never imagined before this moment.

I’m able to feel Avery inside and out as I drink from her so there’s no room for doubt. This woman loves me. And I love her. Words aren’t required for us to declare this but I’m a vampire and she’s a human. It shouldn’t be possible for either of us to have these affections and desires for one another.

I slip my hands under Avery’s shirt and allow my fingertips to roam the bare skin of her lower back. I slide my hands upward and run them over her bra. I feel the clasp beneath my fingers and I’m confused by the desire I have to unfasten it.

I wonder what she’d say? Would she slap my hands away? I feel the crazy desire raging inside her and know she wouldn’t. She’d like it very much if I touched her that way but I’m terrified. I don’t know how to do things like that.

I stop drinking from Avery before I’d like but I end it because I don’t want to harm her by taking too much. She braces the back of my head and attempts to hold me in place as I pull away. “Don’t stop.”

I lick the puncture holes on her neck to cease the bleeding. “I have to, baby doll.”

She straightens and looks at me. “Baby doll? Where did that come from?”

It’s a name for someone precious to you. And that’s what she is–precious to me. “I don’t want to call you blood doll. It’s too much like calling you a whore and that’s not what you are to me.”

She brushes her thumb over my bottom lip. “What am I to you?”

That was the question I couldn’t stop rolling around in my head and I still didn’t have the answer. “I don’t think I know. I’m still trying to figure that out.”

She sighs. “I’m still trying to figure it out too. But I like it whatever it is.”

Like didn’t seem to be the right word but I’d roll with it since it’s what she had used. “I do too. I like it a lot.” I kiss the wound I just made on her neck and lick it again to encourage its healing so it would hopefully be mended before the others awakened tonight. They definitely don’t need to see puncture marks on her body or the jig will be up.

“Would you ever consider drinking from another part of my body?”

There were lots of places we could use but I loved her neck because I had great access to her mouth. “Do you have something in mind?”

“Yeah.” She casts her eyes down. “Would you be willing to try it next time?”

She’s nervous. And it’s adorable. “I will try any place you want. All you have to do is ask.”

“Okay. I want to experiment next time.” She kisses my mouth and tugs on my bottom lip with her teeth. “I’m taking vitamins because I want you to drink as much as you need.”

“My body no longer requires much. I already take more than I need because I’m prolonging the way I feel you when your blood is entering my body.”

“It ends too quickly.”

She’s pouting. And again, it’s adorable. “Longer isn’t safe for you.”

“But I’m fine. I don’t feel the loss at all. I’m a blood jewel. I can withstand losing a greater volume of blood than the average human.”

She could have a point. She tolerated chronic large volume loss when she was with Vincent. “I suppose you could be right.”

“I want you to think about amending our agreement.”

We only had one pact so I knew exactly what she meant. “How so?”

“Let’s try two days instead of three.”

I wasn’t into bending rules when it came to her health and safety. “No.”

“Just think about it. Please. For me.”

I swear she can talk me into anything. I wonder if she knows that. “I’ll think about it.” A huge grin forms on her face. “I didn’t say yes.”

“But you will.”

She seems so sure of herself. “Okay, Miss know-it-all. I have something for you.” This thing I was about to do made me nervous as hell. It could go really well or really bad.

Her eyes gleam like those of a hopeful child. “You’re nervous. What is it?”

I use my feet to roll the chair a bit so I can lean over and reach into the desk drawer to my left. “First, you have to close your eyes.”

She does as I ask while nibbling her bottom lip. I think it’s her attempt to stop the smile threatening to spread across her face. Her effort is unsuccessful because she’s grinning despite her best effort.

I dangle her surprise in front of her. “You can open your eyes now.”

She’s given up the fight and is beaming when she opens her eyes. “I love sur …” She stops mid-sentence as she sees the white gold butterfly dangling from my fingers. “My pendant.” She reaches out to touch it. “I thought it was lost forever. Where did you find it?”

Here came the tricky part. I didn’t know if she would be angry with me for taking it from her the first night we met. “Don’t be mad.”

“Why would I be mad? You just returned my most cherished treasure to me.” She’s holding it to her chest, close to her heart.

I clear my throat. “I didn’t just find it. I took it from your neck after Vincent made me drink from you.”

“But why?”

“I wanted a keepsake so I could remember how you made me feel. I know it was wrong but I had no idea how special it was to you when I slipped it off your neck. I didn’t know it was a gift from your mother. Then Curry told me how you made him go back into Vincent’s to look for it and I knew what a huge mistake I had made. And then it seemed like you hated me after you came home with Curry so there was never a good time to return it to you. Until now.”

She takes the necklace from her chest and stares at it in her palm. She’s silent and I’m on the verge of asking her if she’s angry when she lifts her face and tears are rolling down each of her cheeks. “Thank you.”

“I didn’t know how you’d react. I was so afraid you’d be angry at me.”

She kisses my forehead. “I don’t think I could ever be angry with you.” She passes the necklace back to me and lifts her hair. “Would you?”

“Of course.” I fasten the clasp so the butterfly is returned to its rightful place in the dip of Avery’s throat and I’m reminded of the old saying. “You didn’t let it go but it still came back so that means it’s yours.”

Chapter Five

Two days. That’s how long it’s been since I drank from Avery. And I don’t want to wait another day. Correction–I
can’t
wait another day. I’m not certain I’ll make it until dawn with the way I’ve had my baby doll on my mind all night. That’s why I’m sneaking into her bedroom at three in the morning instead of waiting a couple of hours for the others to go down for the day.

She’s sleeping. And dreaming. She’s having a pleasant one and I wonder what it’s about. I hate to wake her from it but I’m greedy this morning. I want her. Now.

I place my hand over her mouth before I turn on her bedside lamp. Her eyes pop open and I hear her muffled scream beneath my hand. I place a single finger from my free hand over my lips and she understands because she quietens down.

Her heart is still pounding hard–although she realizes it’s me–because I’ve just scared the shit out of her. I wish I could give her an explanation but I can’t without the others overhearing so I tug on her hands to pull her out of bed. It’s a gesture she understands.

I grasp her hand as I lead her out of her bedroom and we’re silent as we walk toward my office. I close the door once we’re inside and we’re cut off from the rest of the house. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you but there was no other way to wake you. I had to cover your mouth because I knew you’d scream if I didn’t.”

She looks at the clock on the wall and I recognize her confusion. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” I take her hands in mine and pull her to me. I wrap my arms around her and kiss the side of her neck just below her ear. “I couldn’t wait another minute to see you. I miss having you in my arms.”

“Mmm … I miss being in your arms.” She leans into me and my mouth finds hers but this kiss is different from any we’ve shared before. This one is urgent. And needy.

I trail my mouth down her neck but remember our conversation about trying a different spot next time I fed. “You mentioned trying a new place the next time I drank from you?”

“No three day wait?” Her voice is breathy. And desperate.

“No. I can’t wait another day. I need to be with you. To feel you.”

Her hands find mine and she walks backwards toward my desk. She hops up after pushing some papers aside and slides her silk gown up her legs to reveal her thighs. I can’t stop my eyes from following the black silk as it rises. She points to her femoral artery in the bend of her leg. “I thought you might like to try this one.”

I stand there speechless as I swallow hard. I’ve drunk from the femoral of others many times and it never phased me. Until now. I was definitely feeling excited about the prospect of drinking from Avery’s thigh.

She looks sad when I don’t reply. “You don’t want to?”

I step closer and put my arms around her. “It’s not that, baby doll.”

“Then what is it?” she whispers.

I don’t know what it is. “I have so many new emotions when I’m with you but I don’t know what any of them mean.”

She pulls away so she can see my face. “Do you want to talk about it?”

There it is again. That smell. My mind goes to mush every time it comes around. “No. Right now I want my mouth on you.” I drop to my knees in front of Avery. I grasp her thighs and pull her across my desk until her bottom is on the edge. She releases her gown and grasps the corner of the desk because she’s afraid of falling. “Don’t worry. I won’t let you fall. Ever.”

She relaxes and releases her grip. I’m looking up at her from where I’m kneeling between her knees and she reaches out to run one of her hands through the top of my hair. “I’m falling … but in a different kind of way.”

I kiss the top of her knee. “So I’m not the only one?”

“No. Not by a long shot.”

I move up and kiss the inside of her thigh. “Good. I’m happy to hear that.” She opens her legs to give me full access and I’m taken over by the scent as I kiss her higher on the inside of her opposite leg. I place my lips against the pulsation in the bend of her leg but look up at her face before piercing it. “This is a big vessel. It bleeds fast and hard once I puncture it so I want you to tell me if you feel woozy at all while I’m drinking.”

“I will.”

“Lean back and rest on your elbows. It’ll be more comfortable if your leg isn’t bent so much.”

She repositions and I’m wishing we were in her bedroom instead of this office. But that isn’t safe this time of night. “Are you okay?”

“Perfect.”

I push the edge of her underwear up for better access to her artery and see that her skin is bare and smooth beneath her black satin panties. It’s not at all what I was expecting. That’s when I realize I actually had expectations so I’m forced to admit I have been thinking about her body entirely more than what any vampire would consider normal. And it certainly wasn’t natural to be thinking about her body beneath her panties.

“What’s wrong?” She has a concerned look on her face and I sense her worry but I’m not certain what sparked it. Perhaps it’s the look on my face and she’s afraid I’ve changed my mind.

“Nothing is wrong.” I kiss her groin again. “I guess I’m just a little surprised by this.”

“By what?” She has no idea what I’m referring to.

I divert my eyes toward her panties. “You’re smooth there.”

“Oh.” She blushes crimson. “You don’t like it?”

Why would a man not like it? “No, it’s not that. I just wasn’t expecting it. I’m surprised. That’s all.”

“It’s not a problem for you?”

It most definitely could be a problem but not for the reasons she suspects. I like it far more than I should–just like everything else about her. “Not at all.”

She leans back again. “Good. I don’t want anything distracting you.”

Was she kidding me? It wasn’t possible to not be distracted by what was a mere two inches to the right of my nose and mouth.

I shook my head as if to clear its preoccupation and then sank my teeth into the vessel that would bring me and Avery as close as two people could possibly be. It’s like a geyser–both the blood and the link we are sharing. Large gushes of Avery’s blood pulsate into my mouth after I withdraw my teeth so I swallow fast. I knew this artery would be generous but I had forgotten how much so until the force of the first surge hits my tongue.

The tie occurring between us is different this time. It’s much more powerful than anything we’ve experienced thus far. I’m uncertain if it’s because I’m taking in a larger volume of blood at a faster rate or if it’s … something else. I’m able to go deeper into her mind than ever before and that’s when I see the depth of her affection for me. She loves me in a way I didn’t know was possible. Unconditionally.

It’s overwhelming. And it scares the hell out of me. We shouldn’t be doing this.

I jerk away from Avery and blood gushes from her wound, streaming down her leg to form a puddle on the floor. She sits up on my desk and looks down at the spurt coming from the bend of her leg. Her confusion is unmistakable. I would see it in her expression even if I didn’t know it from the union our minds and hearts share.

I’ve yanked the rug from beneath her. And I feel terrible.

“I’m so sorry.” I lower my mouth to her groin to stop the hemorrhage. I’m glad I must use it to close the two bleeding punctures because it gives me an excuse to not explain the way I just freaked out. But it’s only temporary.

I can’t look at her face when I finish. I don’t want to see the perplexity in her eyes. Nor do I want her to see the shame in mine.

I’m staring at the large puddle of blood on the wood flooring of my office. “I should wipe this up before the others smell it.”

I step away from her so I can grab a towel from the bathroom but she places her hand on my lower arm and stops me. She isn’t letting me get away without talking this over first. “That was different. And extremely intense.”

I find comfort in hearing her admit that it was a powerful experience for her as well but I still feel like I owe her an explanation for my reaction. “Your blood flowed more forcefully than I expected. I didn’t remember how quickly that vessel would bleed out and yours seemed to be gushing.” She knows I’m using that as an excuse for my response but it isn’t the part she wants me to clarify. “It was startling to be so deep within your mind. I wasn’t prepared for it and then I worried it was happening because I was taking too much blood.”

She brushes her fingers through my hair as she watches my eyes. “You have to stop being afraid and enjoy the things we do.”

I never want her to think I don’t cherish her. “
Enjoy
doesn’t even begin to describe how much I relish our relationship and the way we come together.”

“Good. Can we agree that what’s happening between us is beautiful–and that it’s a gift–so we should treat it as such and stop feeling guilty about taking pleasure in one another?”

I hadn’t thought of it that way. Avery is right. And she is what makes this beautiful. She is the gift. “You’re right.”

“I’m glad you’re starting to see things my way.” She grabs my hands and pulls me closer. “Because I can’t wait to see what happens when we do this again.”