Page 56 of Protected by the Vampire

My brows rose. “When were you thinkin’ of doin’ this?”

He straightened and gave me a small, hesitant smile with a shrug. “Now. If you’re ready.”

I didn’t hesitate. “Fuck yeah, I am.” I grinned, and he leaned in to kiss me. Opening up, I deepened the kiss, taking his mouth slow, showing him how much this meant to me.

He pulled away, took my hand, and led me to his bed.

“We’re doin’ it here?” I asked.

“This is the best place for it.”

“Won’t it wreck your sheets or mattress?”

A soft snort left him. “I am a tidy eater. Decades of experience. I won’t lose a drop.” Soon after he said that, his lips thinned, and I could feel the worry rising through the bond.

“Babe, you’ve got this,” I told him, pressing my lips to his in a quick kiss.

He straightened. “I do. Please lie down,” he said.

My heart beat faster now as I did, my body catching up to the reality of it even if my mind was already decided.

Soren moved to sit beside me, slower than usual. His hand came to my jaw, tilting my head slightly, exposing my throat.

My pulse jumped under his fingers.

“You can still stop this,” he said quietly.

I met his gaze. “You know I won’t.”

Something in his expression shifted as his resolve locked into place. “Then I’ll try to make this as fast as I can. I promise I’ll be here the whole time.”

“I know you will. If I do or say anything while I’m out of it, don’t take anythin’ to heart. I love you, and I mean that with my whole soul.”

“I love you more than anything, pet.”

He leaned in, and the moment his fangs pierced my skin, it stung like it always did. Sharp and immediate. But it didn’t stay that way.

The pain melted into heat, into pressure and pleasure, then into something deeper as he began to drink deep.

The bond surged.

I felt his focus, his restraint, his will, the way he was holding himself back even as instinct pushed him forward.

It grounded me.

Even as everything else started to slip.

My body grew heavy first.

Then I felt light.

My heartbeat slowed—each thud weaker than the last.

Soren wrapped his arm around me, holding me in place, steadying me as he fed.

Then everything started to fade. “Soren…,” I murmured, though I wasn’t sure if the sound actually came out.

I felt his response in the tight squeeze. It told me, I’ve got you. But the bond carried it through my system, too, strong and certain.