Page 31 of Little Wing (Shades of Fairhaven #1)

W e entered Sangre where I had made a reservation for us.

It wasn’t a place I went to often on the account of the comically small portions, but this was a first date, right?

I wanted to impress Lotus, to give her an experience she might otherwise not have had herself.

Watching how she stopped to take in the dimly lit restaurant, I knew I succeeded.

The lighting already set the mood for the dining experience we were about to have, but every other detail deserved just as much attention.

The combination of reclaimed wood and wallpaper lent the space a rustic yet modern feel.

The walls were covered with framed photographs and prints, telling a story of vampires and events that many of us had existed through.

While Lotus looked on, I approached the hostess to let her know we had arrived.

We were led through the dining room full of vampires to a secluded table.

We were far away enough where we wouldn’t need to shout over each other.

Once we were seated, I gave Lotus time to adjust and process what must have been a sensory overload for her. It was a lot if she did in fact not spend much time around vampires and vampire-designed spaces. The way her lips parted and her eyes glistened, it appeared I had assumed correctly .

“Sorry.” She brushed her hair behind her ear and finally looked at me. “This is a lot.”

“Good?”

“You said there was food here? Like, food we eat?”

I nodded. “Blood, but it’s served in unique ways. The chef is a vampire, but you can basically call her a wizard. She’s well-versed in our needs, so it’s all edible and thirst-quenching.”

Lotus hummed quietly.

While we waited for the wait staff to approach our table, Lotus continued to study our surroundings.

I watched her mouth twitch into the smallest smile when she turned to glance at the tables behind us.

Everyone seated was a vampire. Everyone was consuming blood.

And the chatter that she heard was exciting and non-threatening.

When her shoulders relaxed, I could only wonder what happened to her to warrant such defenses.

“Do you work tomorrow?” I asked, leaning back in my chair.

“Reina gave me the day off when I told her we were going out tonight,” she said.

“That’s a good friend.” My lips curved into a smirk, because I didn’t need to peer into her mind to know we shared the same thought of where this evening could lead.

At least, I hoped. I had my desires for the rest of the evening, but I was going to let Lotus decide how she wanted every step to play out.

If she only wanted this dinner to happen, then I would politely drop her off at her home and probably have to fuck my hand in the shower to get her out of my head.

But if she continued to feel the same way I did, then I could very easily have her on her back with her knees spread for me to devour her sweet cunt like a man starved.

I wasn’t a praying man, but I prayed for opportunity to worship ever inch of her.

A young woman with olive skin and light brown hair pulled into a ponytail approached our able, nudging me out of my depraved daydreams. She carried a bottle filled to the neck with crimson liquid. Her gloved hands held it securely while she looked between me and Lotus.

“Welcome to Sangre, dear guests. This evening will consist of a 6-course experience utilizing animal and donor blood. Each course will come out together, so everyone here will dine at the same time. Please note our donors are local and provided their services with absolute consent.”

When the woman listed off the blood types available that we would be sampling with our meals, I noticed Lotus graze her teeth over her bottom lip. It was only when the donors were brought up that she stiffened in her seat.

“Your first glass will be an AB negative from a young man who recently returned from Peru. You may notice a hint of spice in this glass. Truly a remarkable donation for tonight’s experience,” she said as she leaned over to pour us a small glass, just enough to hold us over until the first course.

When she stuck the cork back on the bottle and retreated into the kitchen, Lotus and I were left to admire the viscous liquid in our glasses. I picked mine up and extended my arm across the table. “How about a toast?” I asked.

Dazed, Lotus picked up her glass and I couldn’t help noticing how her hand trembled. Maybe it was just first date jitters? Overwhelming atmosphere? I really hoped I wasn’t messing this up so soon.

“To our first date and to the chance encounters that brought us here,” I winked, waiting for her to bring her own glass to mine. “Maybe even if they were a little stalker-ish at the start.”

Carefully, Lotus clinked her glass against mine and brought it back down to the table. As the liquid swirled in her glass, I noticed the way her eyes followed the motion. She didn’t even try to poke fun at my attempt at humor in my toast. Her eyes just stared at the blood in her glass.

“Hey,” I spoke, moving my hand toward hers. “You okay?”

“Human blood,” Lotus whimpered, bringing the glass back to her nose so she could inhale deeply.

“Yes?” My brows raised. Donor blood wasn’t uncommon.

It was one of our amended laws for vampires.

We were allowed to consume human blood only in the instance of a donor, otherwise it was animal or synthetic blood.

Donors provided their blood with their consent.

It was more expensive, but it wasn’t illegal.

“This is from a human,” Lotus whispered.

“It’s completely legal, Lo. It’s nothing to be concerned about. Listen, Sangre has a license and everything and all the donors are contracted, so there’s no shady business.” I searched her expression for any sign of what she was thinking, but I came up blank.

“I…” she whispered, her voice thin and small.

I set my glass down and leaned forward to avoid raising my voice more than needed as I spoke. “What’s wrong?”

“I have not—" she swallowed hard, not taking her eyes off the glass. “I have not tasted human blood in over a century.”

Shit. I knew I was going to fuck this up somehow.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know!”

While I knew that she didn’t venture to this part of town often, if at all, I didn’t think that she was consuming animal blood exclusively. I felt like a shithead—it was like bringing a vegan to a BBQ joint and acting shocked when they didn’t touch any of the food!

“I’m so sorry, Lo. I didn’t know.” I slid my hand slowly to the base of her glass. “You don’t need to drink that.” When I tried to pull the glass away, her fingers wound around the stem of it firmly .

“No,” she exhaled softly and brought the glass to her lips. “I just did not expect it, that’s all. I’m alright.”

I allowed her a moment to tip the glass back far enough for the crimson liquid to pour into her mouth.

My cock reacted at the sight of pure ecstasy washing over her face.

She tipped it further back and enjoyed another sip before she parted her lips to reveal her teeth, coated in blood.

Whatever Lotus was giving tonight, I wanted to worship at her feet if it meant I could see more of that pleasure on her face.

“What do you think?” I murmured, afraid to disturb the euphoric expression on her face. When her lips thinned into a pleased smile, I pressed for more confirmation that I didn’t mess things up completely. “Was that good?”

“I don’t know how I’ve held back for so long,” Lotus giggled lightly, the sound so joyful that my own lips couldn’t hold back in widening into grin. “It’s like a light inside me that has been off for so long is finally lit up. Wow—what a new world this is.”

“Yeah, it really is,” I trailed off, still so lost in the freed expression on the woman sitting across from me.

Our first course arrived on a small plate that had a ceramic spoon set atop a bed of micro greens that none of us were going to touch. Our eyes were fixed on the violet bubble surrounded by crimson foam. I waited to see Lotus’s reaction and cackled as she studied her plate.

She leaned in to be almost eye-level with the plates before looking up at me. “This is,” she started, then hesitated before speaking again. “This is still blood? ”

“Apparently!” I tried to stifle another laugh. I mean, it was pretty ridiculous. At least both of us understood that blood was great in a glass and that was just about as innovative as one had to get beside consuming it straight from the tap… well, human tap, that is.

While we sampled each plate that was set before us, we mainly enjoyed the glasses of blood that were there to accompany each plate.

Lotus’ pleasure blossomed with each sip that she took.

I took note of which glass made her eyes light up more.

This was pure indulgence at this point, but seeing her light up was better than anything I could have imagined.

Once our dining experience reached its finale, I took her hand and led her out of the restaurant where the crisp air greeted us. This was the end of the scene. Only Lotus could decide whether it would be the end of the Act.

“Silas,” she finally spoke after we stood outside for a few minutes.

“Hmm?”

“Can you walk me home?”