Page 49 of Absolution

The fact that Con was still in bed, awake, but unfazed, gave me hope that maybe he wasn’t as terrified of me as a vampire as he let on. Did vampires die when they slept? Did I stop breathing? My heartbeat still? Did my flesh go cold? I felt warm. But that could have been Luca’s heat absorbing into me. Or the zinging warmth of the bracelet still wrapped around my wrist.

Luca smelled like a steak breakfast with a side of bacon and a huge glass of orange juice. Fuck. His neck was only inches away, pulsing with sweet life that my stomach decided it really wanted with a loud grumble. Con froze and glanced our way. I jolted up out of the bed, unseating Luca, and rushed into the kitchen. The blood in the bag wouldn’t be nearly as satisfying, but I wasn’t going to send Con into fits today either.

Luca appeared a moment later, rubbing his eyes as he headed to the coffeepot, put in a pod and hit the button. He watched me empty a packet into a mug. I nuked the blood for almost a minute to take the chill off. Not much was going to help the flavor. It smelled like old blood I realized. I carefully lifted the warm mug out of the microwave, trying not to cringe at the smell.

Luca took a knife out of the cutting block and sliced his arm, drawing a thin line of blood. He squeezed the wound, letting the droplets pool for a few seconds. My mouth watered at the thought of licking that wound. Fuck, was I twisted or what? But he let the drops fall into my mug, squeezing a few more out before offering me his arm to lick the wound closed.

I ran my tongue along the length of it, wishing it were his cock and I was already full of blood for the day. I kept my eyes locked on his. He shivered.

“Fuck,” he grumbled. “Did you mean to send me that thought?” His wound closed, and I took a sip of the blood in the mug. Not terrible. It was like adding a bit of cream to coffee. An edge of bitterness, not enough to make it good, but just enough to make it palatable.

“What thought?” I asked, watching Luca rinse the knife then put it in the dishwasher. He picked up the mug of coffee and took a large gulp, black.

“Of you sucking my cock.”

I had thought it, but hadn’t realized I’d been sending it. Was that what Gabe had meant about giving someone we fed on pleasure? “Wasn’t intentional.”

“Not unwelcome,” Luca said. He sipped at his coffee for a few minutes longer, still rubbing his eyes like it was five in the morning instead of two in the afternoon. “You can suck my cock anytime.” He raised an arm and sniffed. “But I need a shower. Sleep stink isn’t attractive on anyone but a vampire. You guys don’t sweat like the rest of us plebes do.”

I gulped down the blood, trying not to think of Luca naked in the shower, covered in soap. He’d showered in front of me before, so I knew how tight his ass was, and the width of his thick cock, which I had yet to taste. My body was starting to wake up. Blood beginning to move again.

“In case you need an official invitation,” Luca continued as he set his cup down and headed toward the shower. “The door will be unlocked, and I’d love to have a naked vampire for breakfast.” He disappeared around the corner, fine ass fading into the shadows of the apartment. I stood there, contemplating a thousand things, but only really one. Sex with Luca.

Fuck.

I finished the mug in several huge gulps, rinsed it, and added it to the top rack of the washer before finding my way to the bathroom. I hoped Kelly wasn’t home because there was only one bathroom in their apartment. It was huge and had been remodeled recently with a large walk-in shower, and a separate clawfoot tub, but there was still only one toilet. He might not like walking in on Luca and I fucking in his shower.

I passed Con, who still sat on the bed playing a game on his phone, and paused. “You okay?” I asked him.

“Yeah,” he said a little tightly.

“I didn’t bite him.”

“It’s okay if you do.”

“We don’t have to do it in front of you.”

He shrugged. “Luca said you guys have a twenty-minute head start.”

It took me a few seconds to process that. Did that mean Luca expected Con to join us in the shower? Was I okay with that? I thought of all Con’s ink and water running over his skin while Luca and I tasted him…

Yeah, I was okay with it. Consenting adults, learning to live, and all that shit. I walked into the bathroom. Luca had the shower on and had stripped out of his little undies. He was a fine man, honed muscle tone, olive skin and pretty eyes. I didn’t really care for the facial scruff. A beard would have been okay, but the artful mess that was popular right now did nothing for me.

“Any chance you’d shave?” I asked him. What was the worst he could say? No? Fuck you, get out of the bathroom? Whatever.

He glanced my way, then at the sink, before padding over to the counter and pulling out an electric razor. “All of it?” He wanted to know.

“Yes.” I’d never had scruff, and since I was full blood Chinese, I might never have any. On Luca, I just wanted those lips pure and clean. The idea made me hard as I watched him stand at the sink, shaving off the shadow, naked ass swaying to some song I couldn’t hear. He was so attractive. The kind of guy all the girls wanted and all the boys dreamed about. I’d never be that. In the reflection in the mirror—yes, vampires have reflections—I felt very pale next to him. Pretty, I guess. Not as pretty as Seiran, but not the masculine beauty that was Con either.

“What’s with the expression?” Luca wanted to know.

“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied.

“You’re brooding.”

I was, wasn’t I? “Just thinking how different we are.”

“You could undress,” he said. “Make us less different.”