Page 113 of Eternal Craving

I sat back on the edge of a casket. “Just give her some of your blood.”

“What?”

“You’re special now.”

“I’m damned.”

“I was also confused when I was first turned. Like you, I struggled to understand my desires.”

He leaned against my legs.

“Benjamin, there’s no going back. You must come to terms with what you are.” My teeth pierced my wrist and blood trickled. Benjamin leaned in and followed the scarlet trail, pressing his lips up against the gash.

Thoughts of Jacob came to mind, how I’d enjoyed taking care of him. Now I bestowed a different kind of nurturing. After all that had unraveled in my life, I’d managed to hold onto the last remnants of kindness, bestowing it now to this sweet, frightened boy.

He let go and stared at me in awe, his mouth and chin covered in red smudges.

“Feel better?” I asked.

He gave a nod. I ran my fingers through his hair and Benjamin swooned.

I pulled away from him. “Let me give some to Rachel.”

“It’s all my fault.”

“Life takes us down roads that we are unprepared for.”

“Your son?”

Despite trying to lock him out, he’d glimpsed images. “You’ll need to feed like that once every night,” I said. “Take criminals. It’ll be easier. Just take a few sips and let them drink a little back and they’ll remember nothing.”

“But you’ve not done that for a while?”

He’d done more than glimpse. “Just don’t get caught.” I emphasized the importance of that statement with a pointed finger.

There was truth in his words, that I’d far from taken my own advice. Over the last few weeks, I’d been so crazed that I hadn’t taken small drinks, rather I’d sucked my victims dry. “I need to go back to my old ways.”

Even though I’d taken thieves and murderers, I couldn’t shake the guilt and, when least expected, the memory of their faces revisited me.

As though full of wonder, his eyes widened. “Such a life you’ve had.”

An unfamiliar sense of affection filled me. I’d been so distracted lately that I’d forgotten how kindness felt. As soon as I saw Sunaria, I’d remind her how much she meant to me. Her patience had been extraordinary. Despite the fact that I’d pushed her away, she’d stayed. I missed her.

“Perhaps you should turn away.” I encouraged him.

“What are you going to do?”

“Save her.” I pulled Rachel into my arms. Her soft, spiraling curls tumbled over my forearm.

She gazed up and I smiled at her and gestured to Benjamin. She turned her head to look at him and gave a frown.

“Please hurry.” Benjamin placed a hand over her eyes. “It’s best she doesn’t look.”

“And you,” I said. “Turn away.”

I leaned into her neck and kissed her milky, soft skin. Rachel shuddered. Flawless pleasure, the purest claret stolen from an innocent. Images so perfect that I hesitated to cease, indulging in the moment, aware enough that it wasn’t mine.

Another bite into my wrist and blood flowed again, dropping onto her grey lips and trickling into her dry mouth. Rachel’s tongue greeted the bloody drops, her breasts rising and falling. A hint of lavender wafted. Rachel and I shared the lull. She quivered again as she swallowed, and death’s scent dissipated. Her cheeks, once a dusky hue, were now flushed.