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We were locked in a staring contest and as I held his gaze I was certain his eyes got redder.

“I’m fine… for now,” he said through clenched teeth.

I felt lost. All I could do was beseech him to trust me.

“Tell me what you need.”

His eyes zeroed in on my neck, irises filling with red the color of blood. Blood…

“I… I can’t,” Matthias said as if the denial was hurting him and pressed his forehead to mine.

I laid my hand over his chest. His heart wasn’t beating.

“Theo said to tell you: you can share your secret with me,” I said gently. “But would it be easier if I said the words?”

Matthias pulled his head away but I didn’t let him go far. My hands wrapped around his neck to ensure he wouldn’t run. He looked scared. Terrified. But also… hopeful.

“You are a vampire, aren’t you?” I said, feeling the thrill of finally uttering those crazy words. “And what you need is my blood.”

“Your blood is what Iwant,” Matthias leaned towards my neck and took a deep, shuddering breath in. “It sings to me, with its sweetness. But as forneed… I can get it elsewhere. You don’t have to be scared of me.”

The declaration elicited many feelings in me and fear was only a small portion of them. It felt almost like a spice added to make a meal better.

“I don’t want you to get it elsewhere,” I said vehemently. Jealousy. Possessiveness. Lust. Those were feelings that filled me in this moment. “You quenched my hunger, and I want to quench yours.”

The red eyes blinked slowly as he took me in, noting the reactions of my body with his sharpened senses. My wildly beating heart, the blown pupils, the way my hand shook just a little from excitement… they all told him a story. I was an open book and he was taking his time reading me.

Could he sense how wet I was getting?

“Hmm, I don’t know, maybe I should make you eat some juicy, fat steaks with red vegetables to get more iron in your diet, before I take a bite,” he said, mischief dancing in his eyes.

“Is that so? You want to fatten me up like a lamb for slaughter?”

“Not exactly fatten you up but a good diet is certainly beneficial. It means I can take more and return to your taste faster,” Matthias lowered his head to my neck and I tilted my head to give him more access. His lips brushed against my neck as he spoke. “I don’t know if, after a week without proper meals, I can feed on you safely...”

“But you can still have a taste, right?” I asked with sudden desperation. “Just a little…”

“There’s nothing I want more, little bird,” Matthias groaned. His tongue darted out to lap at my neck where my pulse beat a staccato rhythm.

“Bite me then,” I pleaded.

His mouth opened to reveal long fangs and his expression was almost dazed. I thought he would sink those teeth into the pale column of my throat but he shook his head like a dog and some clarity returned to his gaze.

“Not the neck,” he said hoarsely. “I won’t be able to stop myself if I bite there. Give me your hand.”

The vampire took my offered hand and pulled me to the couch. I ended up astride his lap.

“This will hurt just for a moment,” was all the warning I got before lethally sharp fangs raked over the inside of my wrist.

The pain was sharp but the sting quickly turned into a different sensation as Matthias ran his tongue over the bleeding wound. It felt as if what he was doing connected straight to my pussy. I opened my legs wider, pushing against his sculpted body only to find… he was completely flaccid. But before I could worry if vampires were capable of having the kind of sex I wanted I felt the cock beneath me stir to life.

His whole body warmed. A flush appeared on Matthias’ face as he licked at the dripping blood. I was the one bringing him to life, letting him experience the joy of blood stirring in his lower parts to result in an erection. He was halfway there and hemuffled a moan into my red-streaked skin, cleaning every trace of the life-giving substance with his tongue.

And then he stopped.

“That’s enough. Thank you, sweetness. You taste exquisite,” he pulled back with effort, until his head hit the back of the couch. He stared at the ceiling, flushed and dazed. I had a feeling he was trying to resist the temptation by not looking at me.

A look at my wrist showed me the wound was already closing. The vampire saliva had healing properties. Matthias didn’t take much of my blood, but he had a point that I wasn’t in the best shape, so I didn’t push him to take more.