Page 4 of Taste of Forever (Vampires of Sanguine #3)

I stepped back from the computer and held my phone up as I turned in a small circle to capture the whole room. “Looks like a regular doctor’s office,” I commented. “But something is very weird about this place.”

Once I had footage of the whole room, I stopped the video, went back to audio recording, and stuck the phone back in my leggings. I had no idea when Cedric would be returning and didn’t want to risk getting caught.

My hasty recording ended just in time, because he knocked and poked his head in the door not a minute later.

“We’ve got a recipient ready for you, Jamie.” He widened the doorway. “If you’ll follow me.”

I stepped out into the hallway after him, passing by other staff wearing scrubs of various colors and styles.

“Next time you come, this’ll all go a lot faster,” Cedric said, keeping pace with me.

“You can keep a standing appointment if you’d like, or just drop in whenever.

But if you have a preference for a certain recipient and they like your blood in return, we’ll do our best to keep you paired up for each feeding. ”

“Why would I have a preference?” We passed another brusang in the hallway, a woman with pale blue irises set in black. This time, I knew better than to stare for too long.

“Just as the taste of blood is subjective, so is the experience of providing it,” Cedric explained.

“On your end, sensations can range from mildly uncomfortable to euphoric and pleasurable. It may take some trial and error, but we strive to make it the best experience for both parties.” He opened a door for me.

“Here we are. Go ahead and have a seat.”

A chair matching the ones in the waiting room was set next to a blue folding screen that divided the room in half. Next to the chair, a bit lower than shoulder height if sitting, was a softball-sized hole in the screen.

The donation process had been spelled out in the form I’d read, but seeing it with my own eyes was a completely different experience. I could read words and tell myself it was fiction, but there was no denying reality.

Moments after lowering myself into the chair, I heard a door open on the other side of the screen where I couldn’t see.

Heavy footfalls crossed the room, and I felt a sizable presence drop into the other chair mere inches away.

We could have been sitting on the same couch, if not for the screen between us.

“Hey, how’s your night going?” a warm, smooth voice asked.

“You don’t have to talk to him,” Cedric said before I could respond. “We’ll always protect your anonymity, but how much personal information you want to divulge is up to you.”

An indignant huff came from the other side of the screen. “I asked how their night was going. It’s just making conversation.”

“This donor is new to the process,” Cedric retorted. “I’m just reassuring her of her safety.”

“It’s okay,” I piped up before the male chest-thumping could get out of hand. “My night’s going well, thanks. How’s yours?”

There was a slight shuffle of movement, like he was adjusting his posture in the chair. “Just peachy.”

The two words in that low timbre had a sarcastic tone that piqued my curiosity.

Everything about this situation was like a strange dream.

Some anonymous, silky-voiced vampire was about to bite me and drink my blood.

I heard his voice, could glean his general mood from the way he spoke, but would never see the face or know the name of this person.

“We’re ready whenever the donor side is,” said a woman’s voice from the other side of the screen. I heard what sounded like gloves being put on.

“Go ahead and put your forearm through the screen,” Cedric told me. “You can rest your elbow there.” He nodded at a raised, padded cushion attached to the side of the chair.

I steeled myself with a breath and put my hand and wrist through the softball-sized hole in the screen, feeling like I was voluntarily dunking my arm into shark-infested water.

In hindsight, I probably should have asked more questions about the safety of sticking my arm out for some random vampire to take a bite.

What would really prevent him from draining me dry? Or ripping my arm from its socket?

“Sorry if I’m shaky.” The apology sounded ridiculous as it tumbled out. Did a gazelle say sorry to a lion for its fear?

“Don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

The honeyed voice took on a gentler tone than I expected, and then I felt the warm contact of someone’s skin against mine.

Fingers supporting my wrist. I could see them through the hole in the screen.

Long masculine fingers with short, clean nails and skin slightly paler than mine. His hand felt big.

“Are you comfortable?”

The question, and the concern it conveyed, were more surprises.

“Yes, thank you.”

Something else touched me—a cool jelly-like substance on the upturned underside of my wrist applied with a gloved finger.

“Give it about thirty seconds to take effect, and then he’ll feed from your wrist,” said the female staff member I couldn’t see.

Right, this was the numbing gel mentioned in the form. They applied it to prevent any pain during the initial bite.

This was it. This was actually about to happen. If my phone wasn’t picking up clear audio, I was going to be really pissed about going through all this for nothing. Assuming I survived.

“Okay,” I said, trying not to let my nerves show.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” said the man about to drink my blood. “I’m actually pretty good at this. I’ve been a vampire my whole life.”

Somehow, the unexpected humor broke through my fear and pulled a laugh out of me. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, and I do come here often. I don’t even need an invitation.”

A vampire making vampire jokes? What kind of alternate universe was this? The whole absurdity of this experience had me giggling, because what else could I do but laugh?

My giggling fit ended just as the female employee wiped the excess numbing gel from my wrist. “It should be set by now.”

A firm grip wrapped around my wrist and forearm. It didn’t hurt, but also ensured I wasn’t going anywhere. After his effort to ease my nerves with laughter, the hold felt secure, almost comforting.

“This won’t hurt you. I promise.”

I already knew it wouldn’t. That was what the gel was for. But I absolutely did not mind that silky voice reassuring me, even promising me.

“Okay,” I said, bracing myself with deep breaths. “I’m ready.”

A few seconds passed before I felt the soft pressure of lips on my wrist. I tensed at the contact only because I was expecting much worse, but it almost felt like a soft touch of affection. Not quite a kiss, but almost.

Next came the sharpness of what could only be his fangs. I felt no pain, but he pierced through my skin like a knife through butter. When he pulled at my vein, the last thing I expected was a rush of sensitivity.

It was a full-body shiver that made me aware of everything, from the toes inside my socks to my pulse in my lips. Actually, I could feel my pulse in more places. Even between my legs.

Been a while since I felt anything down there.

The vampire took a few more draws at my wrist before I realized my pulse was pounding harder, and the sensitivity all over my body was ramping up.

I clamped my thighs together in an effort to ease the ache between them.

My skin felt hot, my clothes too scratchy.

The mouth on my wrist pulled in a tight seal and I fought the urge to squirm.

I craved friction. Frustration and aching need coiled within me, building an urgent desperation for release.

When my breaths turned to pants and I found myself stifling whimpers and moans, the realization hit me like a brick wall.

I was turned on. Really fucking turned on, like I never had been before in my life.

A creature I had never believed to be real was currently drinking my blood and I felt moments away from an orgasm because of it.

The absurdity of the situation left my mind and was replaced by an all-consuming need.

Every pull of the vampire’s mouth felt like a teasing stroke of fingers against my clit, winding me up, but never enough to reach my destination.

I needed more, like his mouth on me down there.

I needed something thick and solid to fill up this ache inside me, to pound me roughly while I tasted sharp, fanged kisses…

Then, all at once, the delicious sensations were ripped away. My pulse still pounded insistently, my breaths short, but the vampire’s mouth was gone from my wrist.

The same voice that had gently reassured me now growled, “Get your fucking hands off me if you want to keep them.”

Things were happening around me quickly, and my lust-drunk brain was struggling to catch up. Someone grabbed my arm, urging me to stand up. I rose on wobbly legs and then was pulled through an open door into a hallway.

“Jamie? Jamie, are you alright? Can you hear me?”

“Who the hell is Jamie?” I muttered.

“It’s okay. We have a recovery room if you’re feeling faint. Just follow me.”

I blinked, the hallway and Cedric’s face coming into focus. Everything slowly filtered in, and the more I processed what had just happened, the more horrified I felt.

“Oh, God.” I held up my wrist and stared at the two small puncture marks left behind by the vampire’s fangs.

It really happened. And it really made me feel like… that .

Cedric said something, probably asking if I was okay again, but all I heard was noise.

“I can’t stay here. I have to go home.”

No one tried to stop me as I turned and went down a hallway, then pushed on a door marked Donor Exit. The cool night air against my heated skin felt like the slap of reality that I badly needed.

Another man had brought me to the brink of orgasm.

Not only that. I had been really, really into it. I didn’t want it to stop.

Guilt sat heavily in my chest as I started toward home, where my boyfriend of five years would be waiting for me.