AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They are lovely,” I respond quickly, not wanting to annoy him further. “But I live in a flat. I have nowhere to grow them. Poppies need outside space and recently turned soil.”
He’s not listening to my explanation, clearly indignant that I’m not over the moon with his gifting choice. “Fine, if you don’t want them, I’ll take it back.”
This is going to end up in an argument, and I really don’t want to fight in a posh restaurant on my birthday. Swallowing my pride, I take a deep breath and shake my head. “No, it’s fine. I’ll find somewhere to plant them.” Smiling, I reach out and touch his hand gently. “Thank you.”
Beaming, he squeezes my hand and leans back in his chair. “You’re welcome. I searched for ages to find ones I thought you would like. It took me hours. I hope you appreciate them, as they were very expensive.”
Disappointment floods me at his words. I don’t expect gifts, and certainly not expensive ones, yet I can tell that despite his claims, these seeds are actually a free packet that came with a newspaper thanks to the sticker on the front. Not only did he put in minimal effort and not remove the proof, but he then tried to lie about it and make me feel bad when I mentioned I can’t use them. I don’t know what to say to him, because anything I do say will only start an argument.
Thankfully, the waiter arrives at the table with our food, saving me from having to reply. All other thoughts flee my mind when my eyes lock on the steak. It’s been seared on the top and bottom, but the rest of the meat is red and bloody. Usually this would turn my stomach and make me gag. Now, though, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into it. If we weren’t in a restaurant, I’d pick it up with my hands and tear into it, licking the blood off the plate.
Grabbing my knife and fork, I start cutting into the meat, stuffing a large piece in my mouth as soon as it’s free. My eyes roll into the back of my head as the meat lands on my tongue, the flavour rich and oh so good. Groaning with pleasure, I dive in, fully aware of Colin staring at me in horror like I just sprouted a second head.
Walking from the restaurant, we make our way down the residential street, heading to my flat. I’m comfortably full, and I feel sated in a way I haven’t for a long time. Perhaps I should splurge on steak more often.
We’ve been walking in companionable silence. The restaurant is only ten minutes away from where I live, and the walk is giving us a chance to digest our food. As another part of my birthday, Colin is going to spend the night, something he’s never done before. I don’t know why, but he always makes excuses to leave in the early hours of the morning. If he wasn’t so insistent that we were in a relationship, I might think he was just using me for sex. Even so, it’s finally happening tonight, and I’m looking forward to waking up in the morning and having him next to me.
My mind returns to our meal. Colin was quiet throughout, and I know he was watching me as I ate, but I was too busy remembering to chew to really pay attention. Now that I look back though, I recognise he was unhappy. Even now, what I thought was comfortable silence feels more rigid, and he seems distant.
“Thank you for taking me to dinner. That steak was so good,” I say in an attempt to bring him out of his funk.
“Yes, you’ve said so. Many times.” His voice is harsh as he turns his gaze onto me. “You looked like a rabid animal.” He shakes his head with revulsion. He’s obviously been holding this back, and now the words are bursting out of him without restraint. Colin doesn’t care whether or not he wounds me.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I shrug my shoulders and shrink in on myself with embarrassment. Was I that bad? “I was hungry.” My voice is quiet, and it makes me sound weak as I try to defend myself.
I glance up, and relief floods through me as I see the entrance to my flat just ahead. I want to get inside, forget this conversation, and snuggle up in front of the TV with him.
“You’re still coming in, right?” I don’t know why I’m asking when this is what we already decided on, but his strange mood makes me feel hesitant.
“Yes, although I can’t stay for long.” Brushing it off as though it’s nothing, he strides over to the entrance and waits for me with a raised brow.
Disappointment fills me again. He was supposed to spend the night, that was all I asked for—not to mention he already agreed to it—and now he changed his mind. Have I put him off with my eating habits, or had he already decided he wasn’t going to stay?
“Oh, okay.” My head hangs, and I’m unable to hide my disappointment. Needing an excuse to look away, I search my bag for my keys so he can’t see the full extent of my sadness.
He leans against the doorframe, watching me as I climb up the stairs to the entrance. “Don’t sound like that. You know I have to get back for work.”
Work. Everything with him is about his work, and I can never seem to escape it. While I do believe that he loves his job, part of me also wonders if he uses it as an excuse to get out of doing things with me he doesn’t want to do.
“Okay, let’s not waste any of our time outside discussing it then,” I say, gesturing for him to follow me.
Pushing the door open, I climb the flight of stairs and unlock the door that leads to my flat. When I step inside, I see that the living room is empty, but from the quiet music I hear coming through Tina’s closed door, I know she’s home.
Our two-bedroom flat is small but cosy. We’ve made it a safe space for the two of us, with large comfortable sofas and bookshelves lining the walls. We have lots of lamps to light up the area and banish the darkness, along with an open-plan kitchen.
Colin’s hands land on my waist as soon as we step through the door, his fingers sliding down to my waistband as he caresses me. Desire and something that feels like hunger breaks free, taking over my body. Spinning, I take his hand in mine and practically drag him to my room, needing to feel his body against mine. He laughs and follows eagerly. This is what we are good at, the physical side of things, and honestly, I think it’s the only thing that keeps us together.
I slam the door to my room behind us and push him towards my bed. To my surprise, he stumbles and falls back onto the mattress with a grunt. I must have pushed him harder than I thought. Not giving it much thought, I close the space between us in the blink of an eye and push him back so he’s leaning against the headboard, and I’m able to climb onto his lap.
He grips my hips and grins up at me, knowing what is about to happen. We meet in the middle for a kiss, but as soon as our lips touch, I turn ravenous, kissing him like my life depends on it. I run my tongue along the ridge of his teeth before pressing it against the points of his incisors. He jerks back and raises a hand to his lip. “You just cut me with your teeth.”
A bead of blood wells on his lower lip, but I don’t care about his accusation—my full attention is on his blood. Why am I so attracted to it? I want to coat myself in it and roll around, tasting him in my mouth. The tangy, almost metallic smell of it fills the air, and before I know it, I’m leaning in to kiss him again, my tongue flicking across the tiny wound.
As soon as the blood hits my tongue, something strange happens. My body starts to… change. My back arches, and I gasp as every muscle in my body suddenly seems to shift into something different. My skin stretches and tingles, smoothing out and removing all blemishes. My jaw aches like never before, and the pain is enough to bring tears to my eyes. It feels like something is pushing against the gums at the front of my mouth, forcing them to split. A blinding pain shocks me, but within seconds, the agony is gone, as is the ache in my mouth. Instead, all I feel is hunger. I just ate, so I shouldn’t feel so empty, yet I do, and I’m ravenous.
Colin stares at me with a frown, a small smear of blood across his lips. Blood. I focus once more on his blood, tracking it like a tiger would stalk its prey. A slow thumping noise catches my attention, and my eyes land on Colin’s neck, right over his jugular. I’m hearing his heart, the slow thump-thump of his heartbeat moving all that blood around his body.
Allowing my instincts to take over, I lean down and latch onto his neck, sinking my teeth into his artery. Colin gasps and stills under my touch, but after a few gulps of his blood, everything else fades away until it’s only me and the pulse under my tongue. I’ve never tasted anything as good as this. The steak was like cheap fast food in comparison to this. I’m starving, and I’m blinded by that need.
