Page 5 of Accidental Blood Lust
I can’t look away as he drags the sharp blade along the muscle of his forearm now though, creating a cut that’s deeper than any of the thorn scratches. A dark trickle of blood pours out, and even though that human part of my brain recoils in disgust, it’s been too long since I’ve fed and my instincts take over.
He shoves his arm in front of me again and I latch on, groaning with pleasure when the first drop touches my tongue.I can taste his magic swirling in his blood, making it sweeter than anything I’ve tasted before. I run my tongue over the open wound and gulp down everything he’s offering me. I can feel my strength returning, my wounds healing, and my cock stiffening.
“Okay, stop.”
I hear him faintly, but I can’t stop. It’s too good. I need it. I need all of it. I sink my fangs deeper into his flesh and he hisses.
“Stop,” he says again, more firmly this time. He puts his free hand in the middle of my chest, and I get a forceful jolt of magic that pushes me back.
“Sorry,” I pant, licking the remnants of his blood from my lips and scrambling to sit as far away as possible on the far end of the couch so I won’t accidentally attack him.
“It’s okay.” He picks up the shirt he loaned me and wraps it around the wound.
It will stop bleeding soon and should heal within a few minutes, but I understand why he wants to cover it up in the meantime.
“Sorry,” I mutter again, but I don’t mean about the feeding mishap just now. “You weren’t answering my texts.”
“We broke up, Loch. When you break up with someone, you don’t get to keep texting and coming over to see them.”
“I didn’t want to break up.”
“Well, you should have thought about that before you got yourself turned into a fucking vampire,” he growls. “I didn’t want this either, Loch, but I’m not the one who made this mess.”
I slump back on the couch. I want to keep arguing, but he’s right. It was my stupid, impulsive decision that got us here. But I’m not ready to just let him go. I can’t. I won’t. Maybe I need a better approach, because showing up half-dead in the woods behind his house clearly isn’t a power move. With my belly full for the first time in weeks and my body still healing, exhaustion sets back in.
“Is it okay if I sleep here until the sun goes down?” I ask, already stretching out on the couch.
“Yeah, go right ahead. I’m going to be out in the garden.”
He doesn’t give me a chance to say anything else before he’s out the door. I don’t know if he actually feels like gardening or if he just knows it’s safe out there since I can’t follow him. I guess it doesn’t matter much what his reason is.
I make myself as comfortable as possible and my eyelids get heavy. I promise myself that when I wake up, I’m going to come up with a plan to get Jareth back, and then I drift off to sleep.
THREE
JARETH
Loch has been asleep the entire day, so by the time the sun is setting, I go over to the couch and gently nudge him. It’s been damn near torture keeping my distance from him, but it’s necessary. He betrayed me on a level I just don’t think I can forgive. The worst part is, I still don’t really know why he did it. He hasn’t been able to articulate his motives in a way that makes any sense to me.
“Hmm?” Loch moans and stretches his arms above his head as his awareness slowly returns.
He opens his eyes, focusing on me, and when he does a beautiful smile blooms on his face. It makes my chest hurt with desire and need and, gods be damned, love. It lingers, as I suspect it will for a long time.
“Sunset, Loch. It’s safe now.”
“Good.” His voice is scratchy, the way it was every morning when he woke up in my bed.
I miss the way the sunlight filtered across his features, showcasing the coppery color of his hair. Reluctantly I admit he’s even more beautiful now. Damn vampire benefits.
“Thank you, Jare.” Loch sits up slowly, dragging a hand through his tangled hair. “I really needed this.”
“What are you going to do to ensure it doesn’t happen again?”
He frowns, pulling his gaze from mine. “I’ll figure it out. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“No? I found you half-dead in my garden. I don’t need to worry?”
He makes an exasperated face, rolling his eyes. “I fucked up, okay? I’ll fix it.”
