Page 59 of Oklahoma Storms
The same blood that was in the tea.
I grab her wrist before she can dip the spoon in the soup. “Is there blood in this and the tea?”
“Yes.” She points out the bandage on her hand. “Vampires like blood, right? You need blood. I have blood. Seems like a simple fix. And your color is already better. You don’t look like you’re about to fall over and die.”
She pushes another spoonful into my mouth, her blood stitching me back together from the inside out.
“Sugar, the blood I needed was yours. No other blood will do.” I take the bowl and spoon away from her, setting them on the nightstand, and take her hands in mine. “Anyone else’s blood will make me sick.”
“Just mine? Why?”
Why.
The question I’ve been dreading the most.
“Do you need more soup? Maybe you need more blood for this conversation?” She leans over to pick up the bowl, scooting closer to me.
I’m able to wrap an arm around her now, my fingers drifting up and down her side. “I’ll never say no to your soup. It’s delicious. What is it?” I open my mouth when she feeds me again. I wrap my lips around the spoon, sucking the soup down.
“It’s zosui. It’s rice gruel with dashi broth, beaten eggs, chives, and A-negative blood of yours truly.” She beams, gathering her long hair only to place it on the opposite shoulder, teasing me with the slender column of her neck.
I lick my lips. “A-negative? Happens to be my favorite.”
Her cheeks pinken, and they become brighter as she feeds me again. “That’s good. That would be a shame if you didn’t like it.”
Our eyes lock. “Is it?” I ask, my energy returning, my body healing enough that I’m able to flirt with my mate. “What’s good about that? What’s good about you giving your blood to a vampire, Nariko? You should be running.”
“Would you chase me if I ran?”
I growl, matching the tone of the thunder outside. My eyes continue to blaze as I lean in closer, smelling the natural floral scent she radiates. “To the edge of the earth,” I admit.
“Why?” Nariko stirs the soup with the spoon, her eyes full of curiosity.
I take a deep breath, risking everything, not knowing if she’ll run away screaming. “Because you’re my fated mate, Nariko. For paranormals, that means I can’t live without you, and unfortunately, you can’t live without me, either.”
I expect her emotions to be all over the place and panicked. I prepare myself for the onslaught to hit me. As always, she’s calm, as if she didn’t just hear the news that her life has changed forever.
“Is this why you’re sick? Is this why I’ve been feeling different, too? Right now, I get really hot at times. Unbearably hot and…” Her blush deepens, and embarrassment is what I feel from her next.
I squeeze her leg, then reach for her face, pressing a finger against her jaw to make her look at me. “And?”
A large wave of lust hits me next, my cock hardening in my sweatpants.
“And the only way it fades is if I make myself orgasm.”
A rumble of pleasure purrs within my chest. “Do you finger fuck yourself while thinking of me, Sugar?”
She nods, her hair falling forward, covering her cheeks.
I can’t have that.
I move her hair, tucking it behind the shell of her ear. Her breath catches when our skin makes contact, her lashes fluttering from the touch.
“Do you…has that happened to you yet?” she whispers, her throat bobbing when she swallows.
She’s so cute when she’s nervous.
If I had the energy, I’d show her just what I think about, but I’m still healing, and I won’t be able to claim her until I drink from her vein.
