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SIREN BLOOD

RUSSEL

“Can’t you just…not cause any then?”

I had prepared a plan. I was going to admit that what we were doing looked wrong from the outside, but since we could both be discreet, it wouldn’t hurt anyone. I was going to assure him that saying no to me in bed would never affect our dynamic at the office. We would have talked about boundaries and rules. I would have invented an entire fucking campaign around why our sexual relationship would even become a good thing for him and his career.

Then I was going to bring him to my place and spend the night exploring how much of my venom he could take before he passed out orgasming.

But Eddie asked me not to hurt him.

I went home alone and spent the weekend working and feeling sorry for myself.

On Sunday evening, I sat at the downstairs bar of Levi’s hotel, drinking his best wine. It was late, and the lobby was nearly empty. Aglio was closed today. Levi looked relaxed in a dark-blue shirt, his jacket hanging over a chair.

“Your irises are nearly red,” I observed. “What did you do?”

“Friday was a private party at Aglio, and a couple of lovely girls I met there accepted my invitation to stay at my beach house for the weekend. I might have overfed. You know how much I love bisexual women.” His wink said he didn’t regret a thing.

“I know how much you love to objectify bisexual women,” I grumbled.

Levi just grinned, unrepentant.

Sometimes, I envied him for the ease with which he consumed pleasure. He was very much like my mother in that respect, free of guilt and the existential angst I seemed to carry with me everywhere for no good reason.

“What about you?” he asked. “You look better. When did you feed?”

“Nine days ago.” And I wouldn’t give him details, but something else occurred to me that a vampire of Levi’s age and experience might know about. “I have a question. Has any human ever tasted significantly better to you than anybody else?”

“Sure. It’s pheromones, nutrition, and sometimes just personal taste.”

“This isn’t just some blood that is better than other blood. Imagine a sort of blood so far removed from everything you’ve ever tasted that you won’t want to drink anything else again. It makes you want to grab the person and keep them locked up in your home so you can have them for yourself for the rest of your life.”

Levi gaped at me, his eyebrows arching almost comically. “What happened to you?”

“Have you heard of something like that?” I pressed.

“Folks say all kinds of crazy shit, but you usually don’t. What’s up?”

“Can you keep your mouth shut?”

My friend gestured to himself, looking slightly offended. “Who do you think you’re talking to, Greenwood?”

“Okay.”

I threw back the glass of wine, and Levi immediately refilled it.

“I’ve met a man,” I began. “It was at a club on Twenty-third Street.”

“What? You sneer at the clientele at my club, and then you go and feed at a dive bar?” I rolled my eyes, and Levi waved his hand. “Sorry. Continue.”

“He was a newbie. He had never been bitten before, so it took some convincing, but in the end, he let me feed from him. And he blew my mind. I’d never tasted anything like it. It was like a drug, like he’d hypnotized me.”

My friend was looking at me with concern.

“I’m not exaggerating, and I’m perfectly sane. So far,” I added.

“I believe you.”

“And now I get nauseous trying to convince myself to go feed elsewhere.”

“You said you fed nine days ago.”

I swallowed. “From the same man.”

Levi’s expression looked grave for some reason. “Ah.”

“So? Have you heard of something like that?”

“There was this book someone told me about. Blood of a Siren .”

“A book?” I had no idea Levi read books. Where did he find the time among all the partying? Of course, he called it representation.

“Yeah. It’s a story about a female vampire who can only feed from one human. When he dies, she starves to death.”

I grimaced. “That’s a little extreme.”

Levi shrugged. “It’s fiction.”

I pulled out my phone and typed it in. The book popped up, with mediocre reviews, supposedly based on an old Greek legend, but then there were articles.

What Is Siren Blood?

Scientific Evidence Behind Siren Blood

Siren Blood: Myth versus Reality

I clicked on the last one.

Some would say that the effect of siren blood is simply a vampire creating an emotional bond with a specific prey. However, multiple accounts, even scientific studies with a modicum of credibility, suggest that the unusually potent taste of blood precedes the emotional attachment and might, in some cases, cause it.

“Russel?”

I looked up. “Huh?”

“Who’s the man?”

“Who?”

He smirked. “Your siren.”

My siren . I was reeling from the onslaught of ideas. Emotional attachment. Yes, I was attached—more than I’d ever been to anyone. Was it a bad thing?

“His name is Eddie. He’s the son of Julia Perkins and my direct subordinate at work.”

Levi’s eyebrows hiked up again. “Holy shit, Russel. When you mess up, you mess up . Damn. His mom is in jail for fraud and tax evasion after the most humiliating public trial of the decade, and now you’ll cost him his job.”

I glared at Levi. “I won’t cost Eddie his job.”

“It’s rule number one. We don’t feed from colleagues and employees.”

“I thought rule number one was not feeding from people who don’t want it.”

Levi just cocked his head to the side, waiting me out.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, okay?” I cried. “I didn’t know he worked for Fowles & Tito when I met him. I drank from him at the club, and we both had a great time, but he left before I could get his number. Then I spent the weekend looking for him because I couldn’t stop thinking about him. And on Monday, he stood in the conference room at my new workplace.”

“But you fed from him again.”

I hunched over my drink. “I didn’t mean to. I went four weeks without blood. But then…”

“Four weeks? Jesus! I don’t do more than one week, man. Are you nuts?”

I glared at my friend. “I was trying to do the right thing. I was going to feed from someone else, but I kept postponing it. Then we worked late, and after breathing him in for hours, I almost fell on my ass from dizziness. The hunger was killing me. He saw I was unwell and offered me his arm. It wasn’t supposed to get out of hand.”

Levi snorted. “Yeah, right. Have you ever fed without fucking the prey? I’ve heard it’s possible but don’t know anyone who actually managed that level of self-restraint.”

I shook my head. “I sucked him off and came into my pants.”

“There you go.”

“That was nine days ago.”

“You must be getting hungry again, especially seeing him at work every day. What are you going to do?”

“No idea. Research siren blood and see if I can do something about it.”

“And you can’t bring yourself to drink from anyone?”

“No.”

He squared his shoulders and lifted his chin. He looked as if he’d been given a challenge. “You should try it. Maybe it will, like, break the spell.”

Would it? I gazed at the glass in front of me. I could imagine the blood was wine and just drink. But would I want to touch that person?

I want Eddie.

Levi tapped a finger on the table in my line of sight. “You don’t want to push for a relationship and cost this guy his career, you can’t harass him at work, and you can’t starve yourself. Let’s go feed. We’ll rip off the Band-Aid.”

“I can’t.”

“You must. C’mon. I know just the place.”

It felt like cheating. I was about to cheat on a lover I didn’t have. “It won’t work.”

“How do you know that if you haven’t even tried?”

I rubbed a hand down my face. Everything in me revolted.

My friend’s heavy hand landed on my shoulder. “This guy, Eddie, he doesn’t know about your little problem, does he?”

“No.”

“Does he want to have a relationship with you?”

Eddie was clearly attracted to me, but the mere attraction wasn’t enough of a reason to risk his fragile livelihood and hard-earned reputation. He had already been through hell and back by no fault of his own. How selfish was I that I still hoped to seduce him?

“He told me to forget that anything had ever happened between us and asked me not to cause him any harm.” As I said those words out loud, my chest hurt. I knew what I had to do, and I hated it.

My friend sighed, squeezing my shoulder. “Leave the man alone.”

He was right. The pain in my chest grew, throbbing along my ribs, but I nodded.

“Come,” Levi said. “We’ll get you fed.”

Levi took his car from the hotel’s underground garage and drove us out of the business district. After fifteen minutes, he turned onto a winding driveway lined with actual fire torches. The place looked like an entrance to a luxury spa. He left the key with a valet and led me through a lobby full of exotic greenery. The receptionist recognized him immediately.

“Welcome, Mr. Castillo.”

Levi waved in response.

We entered a garden of sorts with a myriad of alcoves and small bars. Cabanas with curtains were cleverly spaced out among trees and bushes, giving a sense of privacy to each group of guests. I could see movement inside some of the cabanas, but before I could figure out what was going on, Levi found a low sofa in a corner, partially hidden behind creeping vines.

“What is this place?” I asked as we sat, not sure I wanted to hear the answer.

“Just another dinner club.” Levi’s expression looked too innocent.

Before I could push for an explanation, a beautiful young woman came to us, clad in a barely there skirt and a bikini top. She smiled brightly at Levi.

“What can I do for you, Mr. Castillo?”

“I’d like a full dinner for my friend. A male, twenty to thirty, preferably a bottom.”

She appraised me with a smile and returned her gaze to Levi. “And for you, Mr. Castillo?”

“Maybe later. Thank you.”

She nodded. “I’ll be right back.”

“You took me to a brothel?” I hissed as soon as she was out of earshot.

“Oh, get off your high horse, Russel. It’s a club. Just a different concept—one with a menu. And yes, the people get paid. Very well, I might add.”

“I shouldn’t have come with you.” I was about to stand, but Levi caught my arm.

“You need to eat, and you clearly don’t have the emotional capacity to seduce someone. Here, you can just bite and suck. No chitchat, no wooing, just food. You can even think of your Eddie while you do it.”

Silly me, I hesitated.

Suddenly, a young man appeared in front of us. He was wearing nothing but a white harness and a matching jockstrap. He looked like a god, with a chiseled, gym-toned body, dark-brown velvety skin, smooth jaw, the fullest, sensual lips, and midnight eyes.

The Adonis met my gaze and smiled. “Good evening, sir. May I offer you a taste?”

He lowered himself onto a pouf by the sofa and extended his arm toward me.

This was so easy. I had no idea how much Levi paid for a membership here, but it was certainly over my budget.

I could drag the man to the cabana a few feet from where we sat and just drink.

Fucking hell, was I seriously considering it?

“What’s on the menu?” Levi asked.

The guy’s pleasant smile didn’t waver. “Biting and drinking from any place on my body. Oral and anal sex during feeding. I’m versatile.”

“And if my friend here doesn’t want to have sex at all?”

The escort eyed me curiously. “We don’t have to touch aside from the bite if that’s what you prefer. I’m sensitive to the venom, though. You’ll have to excuse me if I come from that.”

“That’s actually great, right?” Levi elbowed me. “Go on. Have a sip.”

I stared at the prominent veins on the young man’s arm. I took his wrist in my hand and lifted it to my nose. I sniffed. He smelled nice, but it did nothing for me. My cock remained soft, and my stomach felt curiously full.

My fangs refused to drop.

Instead of the flood of saliva that always came with feeding, my mouth felt as if I’d been eating hot sand. Then, a violent cramp seized my middle.

I dropped the man’s arm as if it burned me. This was insane. This couldn’t be true.

“Excuse me.”

I shot up, sidestepped the escort, and marched out of there.

After my dramatic exit, I felt like a fool. I stood in front of the hotel, looking from left to right. I didn’t even know where the parking lot was. Not that I had the keys to Levi’s car. I’d need to go back and have the receptionist call me a cab.

“Hey!” Levi caught up with me outside.

“I’m sorry,” I said before he could rip into me. “I know you meant well, but I can’t.”

“Why?”

“I can’t do it. It has to be Eddie.”

Levi put his hands on his hips, staring me down. “You’re acting like a nutcase, my friend. Just bite and suck. Don’t think about it!”

“I couldn’t even make my fangs drop.”

His annoyed expression turned into concern. “Fuck. Really?”

Pacing, I breathed deeply and tried to disperse the nausea. “What if it’s not just the blood?” I asked.

“What?”

“What if it’s all of him?”

“What do you mean?”

“I kept talking about the blood, but it’s all of Eddie. He’s the siren. He’s…”

Levi stepped closer and grabbed me by my shoulders. “Slow down. I’m not following.”

“Of course, you aren’t.”

He found my gaze and looked at me imploringly. “Explain it to me like I’m a moron,” he said in a low voice.

I snorted out a helpless laugh. “Just touching the guy back there felt like a betrayal. My stomach turned as if I had eaten human food. If I’d bitten the man, I would have vomited all over him. Well, if I’d managed to make my fangs drop, which…” I shook my head. “I can’t. I can’t, Levi.”

“Back up for a second. What betrayal? Eddie and you are not in a relationship. You bit him twice, and he asked you to leave him alone.”

I took a step back and glanced at the sky. We were far enough from the city center that a few of the brightest stars were visible. Dropping his arms, Levi waited. I could feel his worried gaze on me.

“I’m falling for Eddie. I think I’m… Yeah. Maybe I’m in love with him.” Strangely, I felt relieved saying it out loud.

“You’re in love.” My friend sounded suspicious.

I love Eddie . Because he deserved nothing less. The guilt seemed to lift from my shoulders, and I realized I was suddenly smiling. I can love Eddie.

“Would that be so bad?” I asked Levi. But he was the least likely man to offer me good advice on love, of all things.

Instantly, he proved me right. “I don’t know. Some folks say it sucks.”

It made me chuckle. “We’ll just have to see, then.”

“Can he feel the same?”

A new, unexplored realm of yearning and heartbreak hid in the answer to that question. “I have no idea. I think he’s scared.”

Levi winced. “That’s not good.”

“No. It’s not.”