Page 15

15

HOW TO FEED YOUR PREY

RUSSEL

The night was merciful. It forgave everything. At night, my head was clearer and my mind calmer.

Eddie was asleep, his lips parted, eyelids pale, and cheeks tinted soft pink. He looked content…and breathtaking. The quiet was a contrast to his passionate cries and pleas only an hour ago. The taste of his blood in my mouth and his flesh clutching my dick as he came were now burned into my memory as the greatest pleasure I could ever experience.

I’d been ruminating about the meaning of life forever, and I’d never gotten anywhere close to figuring it out. But tonight, for the first time, the pointlessness of it all didn’t bother me. Even if I was put on Earth merely to fuck Eddie and make him come as much as possible, it would be enough for me. Was I allowed to love him? Then I’d never complain about a thing ever again.

Propped up on one elbow by his side, I watched his serene face. The man who held my life in his hands. What would he say if he knew?

The legend about the vampire who starved to death after their beloved prey passed away—it was possible. I could see how that could happen.

With a fingertip, I touched a strand of chestnut hair above Eddie’s forehead and traced the shape of his eyebrow. The tip of his nose twitched, making me smile.

He must have been exhausted to pass out cold like that. I wouldn’t disturb him. I lay by his side and stared at his profile in the dark until my eyes closed.

I slept for three hours, then took my laptop to bed and worked until the sunlight crept in through the narrow gaps around the blinds. I didn’t have any food to offer Eddie, but a grocery store two blocks down opened at six. I walked past it on my way to work every day.

I left a note on the nightstand, weighed down by Eddie’s phone I’d put on charge. I was about to tie my shoelaces when I remembered something else. I tiptoed back to my bedroom and laid out a T-shirt and clean underwear for Eddie when he woke up. Then I slipped outside.

The high-rise neighborhood protected me from the morning glare as I jogged to the store. What did Eddie like? Should I buy eggs and bacon? I’d seen Eddie eat at work and knew he wasn’t a vegetarian. But I’d never cooked a thing in my life. I searched online, then bought fresh croissants and a couple of ciabattas, yogurt, granola, fresh orange juice, mozzarella, dried ham, cream cheese, tomatoes, and an avocado.

On my way home, I was watching a video on how to make a tomato and avocado sandwich when it struck me that I didn’t have a single sharp knife at home. And I needed olive oil and salt! I spun around and hurried back to the store.

The sound of the shower running welcomed me as I entered my apartment later. I could smell Eddie in my home, just a faint, warm human scent that made me giddy. I stuffed the groceries into my otherwise perpetually empty fridge, and Eddie appeared in the kitchen, blinking blearily. His wet hair curled toward the tips, and he had a faint hint of stubble on his jaw.

“Hi,” he rasped. He looked vulnerable and a little afraid.

I set the paper bag with croissants on the table and walked over to him. Kissing his cheek, I wrapped my arms around him. He smelled soft and sleepy and fucking delectable.

“Good morning. Did you sleep okay?”

He leaned into my embrace and exhaled. “Yeah.”

“Are you hungry? I went to the grocery store, but I didn’t know what you liked, so I just got a few random things.”

“I saw the note. You didn’t have to do that.”

His quiet voice in my home sounded so strange. Since I’d moved in a year ago, I’d never had anyone visit me here.

“You need breakfast.”

He snuffled a soft laugh against my neck, so I leaned back to look at his face.

His lips curved, and he squinted. “Don’t you need breakfast?”

“I’m good for a few days.” I rubbed my thumb over his plush bottom lip. “But I do like snacking between meals.”

Throwing his head back, Eddie laughed out loud, all joyful and carefree. It was a beautiful sound.

“So, what did you buy?”

I grabbed his hand and opened the fridge for his inspection.

“What the internet advised me, except for eggs and bacon. I didn’t trust myself to cook. I haven’t used the stove once.”

Eddie chuckled. “Dear me, you don’t even know how to cook eggs.”

“I only eat rare steak on occasion.”

“Huh. I forgot about that. Red wine and red meat.”

“The only things aside from blood that vampires can consume.”

“And the steak… Can it replace the blood? I mean nutrition-wise.” He pulled out the cheese and inspected the contents of the paper bags with baked goods.

“Not really. Most vampires eat it because it’s the only thing they can order in a restaurant or because they like the taste. But I can’t eat it more often than once every few months.”

I offered him a plate, and he sat at the table.

“Why?” he asked.

I lowered myself onto a chair, facing him. “It gives me digestive problems.”

Eddie blushed. “Oh. Sorry.”

“Yeah, let’s not go there. Would you like orange juice?”

“Just water. I’ll have the juice later. You don’t happen to have coffee, hm?”

Shit . Coffee! How could I have forgotten about coffee?

I must have looked horrified because Eddie’s expression softened, and he patted my hand. “Hey. That’s fine. This is a great breakfast, thank you so much.”

“I forgot you drink coffee.”

“There are many things to keep track of when caring for your prey. I’m impressed as it is.”

I opened my mouth, then closed it. Was that what he thought? Eddie spread cream cheese on a ciabatta and took a bite.

“You’re not just any prey.”

He raised his eyebrows, chewing. When he swallowed, he waved his hand. “Forget I said that. You don’t have to explain. I promised I would let you feed from me, and I will. Besides, this is a mutually advantageous deal.” He sounded all casual, but I could see the uneasiness in his eyes and the tension in his shoulders. His gaze wandered around my kitchen restlessly.

“No, Eddie.” I sounded harsher than I’d intended.

He froze, his eyes meeting mine.

“I want you to understand,” I said.

“Understand what?”

I gestured between us. “This.”

Eddie set the piece of bread aside. “Then explain.”

Where to even start? “You taste better than anyone I’ve ever been with.”

He frowned.

“That’s not accurate.” I took a deep breath, and fool that I was, I told him the truth. “Your blood tastes like a miracle to me. It’s like a drug. I can barely describe it. It’s not just how it feels in my mouth and stomach, but what it does to my brain. It’s like drinking distilled joy and passion.”

Eddie looked at me with his lips parted, his breakfast seemingly forgotten.

“After the very first bite, I knew you were unique. I tried to catch up with you at the club, but the bartender stopped me and you got away before I could ask for your number.”

“We waved down a cab,” he murmured, looking stunned.

“During that weekend, I searched for you. I left a message at the club on Twenty-third and scrolled through every single queer man in the metropolitan area on three different dating apps, hoping to spot your face somewhere. I couldn’t find you. And then you were there, at the office, within arm’s reach, and I couldn’t touch you. I told myself I needed to feed so I could face you at work, but I kept putting it off because I just couldn’t imagine drinking from anyone else. I still can’t.”

“So all of this is because…I taste different than others?”

Leaning across the table, I cupped his cheek and held his eyes. He looked scared, and that wouldn’t do.

“No, Eddie. It’s everything about you. You’re brilliant; you blow my mind whenever you open your mouth. And beautiful. God, you’re so beautiful that I sometimes feel I should protect my eyes. When you laugh, it’s like looking into the sun. I’m not hungry now, not at all, but I still want to be near you for as long as you will let me.”

The mix of fear, excitement, and hope on his face was irresistible, and I blurted out the next question.

“Can you stay one more day?”

Glassy and a little dazed, Eddie’s eyes roamed my face.

“Okay,” he murmured.

Clearly, I had more luck than sense. I gestured to the plates on the table. “I should let you eat in peace.”

Smiling, Eddie picked up the ciabatta and took another bite. His cheeks gained an adorable shade of pink again, but I knew better than to stare at him during his breakfast.

Straightening up, I eyed the dishwasher.

“I should finally learn how to work this thing,” I muttered more to myself.

“Do you even have dishwasher tablets?” Eddie asked from behind me.

I frowned as I pressed the start button. The machine blinked to life. “What tablets?”

Eddie burst out laughing.

I did the dishes by hand, which Eddie commented was impressive. Now, he was openly making fun of me, but I was happy to be his clown as long as he was laughing.

“I wash my wineglasses,” I clarified as I ran the dish towel around a plate.

“True, I forgot about the wine. By the way, since I’m staying the weekend, I should buy stuff for lunch and dinner. You can just point me in the direction of the store.”

“Absolutely not. You’re my guest. You choose, and I’ll order in.”

I wanted to take him out for dinner, dammit. The weather was nice, cloudy but no rain, but we couldn’t even risk going out for a walk in the evening. A clandestine affair wasn’t at all the adventure it was rumored to be.

After I put the last plate into the cupboard, I turned to find Eddie leaning with his butt on the kitchen table, dressed in the cotton T-shirt and boxer briefs, looking at me somewhat coyly. I dropped the dish towel on the counter behind me and moved to cage him in. He tilted his face up and grazed his lower lip with his teeth.

Irresistible.

I had to kiss him. Eddie opened for me, pliant and eager, and I licked his tongue. He palmed my back, then ran one hand down my spine and over my ass cheek. Just that simple caress made my fangs itch. I grabbed him by his thighs and lifted him up. Eddie grunted with surprise but didn’t break the kiss as I carried him to the living room.

The sofa was the nearest comfortable surface. As soon as I sat down with him in my lap, we ground against each other, my erection pressing against his. Straddling me, Eddie humped my lap, and I snuck my hands into his underwear. The happy groan he made when I grabbed his ass cheeks with both hands…

“You love this, don’t you?” I ran my fingers through his crease.

Eddie bit my lip. “Uh-huh. Love it when you touch my ass. But I’m sore after last night.”

He grinned cheekily, letting me know he didn’t mind that kind of soreness at all. I trailed kisses down his neck and licked the spot where I’d bitten him before. He moaned.

“Sweetheart?” I whispered against his skin. “You know the effect my saliva has on small superficial wounds…” I licked again, waiting for him to catch up.

“Oh.”

I grazed his neck with my teeth. “Will you get on your knees for me?”

He leaned back to look me in the face, and his eyes grew darker. I gently stroked his straining cock through the cotton with just my fingertips, and he hissed. Then I patted his hips.

“Kneel on the sofa, Eddie.”

“Oh God,” he muttered as he lifted his leg and knelt on the cushion beside me. I tugged his briefs all the way down to expose his ass.

“Spread your legs and push your ass out.”

He hesitated.

“I’ve never done this.”

Damn . “Are you telling me that with how gorgeous your ass is, nobody has ever rimmed you?”

“No.”

I kissed one of the birthmarks on his ass cheeks. “Will you let me do it?”

“Yes.” His reply was quick, making me smile.

I used my thumbs to part his cheeks and expose his hole. There were tiny reddish marks on the little star, traces of our fucking last night. And because I was a bastard, I liked seeing those. I’d fucked Eddie good. Hard and deep, stretching his hole, making him come.

Eddie shifted nervously. “Okay. I’ve showered just before breakfast, so… I think we’re good to… Oh my God!”

I ran my tongue through his crease and over his hole. I lingered on the star, coating it with my saliva, then pressing open-mouthed kisses around it and down Eddie’s taint. I licked from his balls back to his hole, letting his quiet moans guide me. He let out a soft cry when I pressed the tip of my tongue to his hole. Soon, he loosened up and pushed back. I licked inside him, and Eddie’s cries became wild and uninhibited. Pride filled my chest. I was the first to show him this kind of pleasure. With how sensitive he was, of course, he loved rimming. I swirled my tongue around his open hole.

“Touch yourself, sweetheart.”

“I’ll come,” he warned.

“Do it. I want to feel your hole squeeze my tongue when you come for me.” I dove back in, shoving my tongue deep.

“Oh fuck! Fuck…”

I tongue-fucked his hole, and Eddie’s voice broke. He orgasmed on a high-pitched cry, and the ring of muscle spasmed around my tongue. Panting, Eddie collapsed with his chest onto the cushions, but his ass remained high in the air. I palmed his ass cheeks and licked over his hole soothingly as it twitched a couple more times. The skin was pink and healthy now, the chafing and tiny fissures gone. It glistened with my spit. I pressed a chaste kiss to the sweet pucker.

“How does it feel now?” I asked, nuzzling his ass cheek.

“Hmpf.”

Eddie rolled to his side, so I braced myself on my arms above him and found his gaze.

“Good?”

“Epic.” He lifted his hand to show me the cum dripping down his fingers. “Tissues?”

I shook my head and caught his wrist. I licked his hand clean while he watched me with half-lidded eyes.

“What about you?” he asked, grazing my erection with the back of his hand. “Do you want to bite me?”

That fucking blush! And could I really have this? My Eddie, with his brilliant mind and his precious blood, offering himself to me guilelessly…

What if I could have him with me here every night? I could feed whenever while bathing him in ecstasy. I could take a small sip here and there just to feel him shiver with pleasure. His warmth, his laughter, his taste…mine all day, every day.

“Do you want me to?” I rasped, surprised my voice worked under the crushing wave of yearning. “I’ll make you come again.”

He smirked. “That would take a while.”

“Not at all.”

I let my fangs drop, and Eddie’s lips parted as he sucked in a breath. Staring at my fangs, his pupils widened.

“You look so hot like this. Scary, but so hot.”

I flicked my tongue against my teeth, and Eddie tilted his head to the side. I grazed a vein on his throat while I curled my hand around his cock.

“Please!” His rushed plea made me grin.

When I bit him, he cried out and bucked into my hand. I stroked him with a firm grip and sucked only a few mouthfuls, then I bit him again, only skin deep into his shoulder. I came against his hip, my fangs in his hot flesh.

Eddie’s moans crested, and his cock jerked in my hand. A few drops of cum spilled over my fingers. I licked the double wounds, then my fingers, and then I kissed him deeply, holding him to my chest as his heartbeat calmed down.

“I love making you come,” I whispered against his lips.

Eddie grinned, looking drunk. “You’re awfully good at it.”