I freeze as though someone has poured ice cold water down my back. “You’re a vampire?”
Red eyes snap back to me. “I am.”
“Nofuckingway!” I shout, causing my throat to tighten and ache. There are probably bruises on my neck that I can’t see yet, but dammit if I don’t feel the way my skin is throbbing.
“You sound surprised.” One corner of his stained lips twitches up. “I must be your first.”
“I haven’t had a ‘first’ anything since I was fifteen,” I remark, a slip of the tongue. I don’t know why, but fear mixed with almost-dying makes for a mean cocktail of word vomit.
“Lucky you.” This time, he does smile.
“Lucky me,” I echo.
“Listen here,” he starts, his voice lowering to a serious tone. “I’ve been asleep for too long in this tower. I know nothing of the world outside anymore. So, I’ll make you a deal.”
“How long is too long?” I ask, feeling colder the longer I sit here and talk. I know I’m bleeding, and the headache is only getting worse.
“One hundred years,” he says flatly. “I need… guidance. A companion who knows their way around, someone who can teach me. Can you do that? If you can, I will heal you here and now.”
He wants a teacher? Boy, is he barking up the wrong tree. I shudder against him. “Do I have time to think about it?” I manage, but my voice is weak, fading.
“No.” His voice is curt and precise. “You’re going into shock. If I don’t heal you, you’ll die.”
“Oh, well, if that’s the case…” A hysterical laugh bubbles out of me. “I’m all yours.”
My words are so slurred together that I’m not sure he heard me, or understood what I was saying. A blanket of darkness has settled over me, and I suddenly feel weightless. This must be a dream…no, a nightmare. If I close my eyes now, I’m sure I’ll wake up and forget this was ever real. Only, that isn’t the case. There’s a nagging feeling of doubt in my periphery, but I don’t know… why.
What was I even talking about?
“Open your mouth,” someone whispers.I feel the cool, smooth pressure of something solid press to my lips.
A sweet, almost cloying flavor hits my tongue and then races to the back of my throat. I swallow it greedily, hands clamping over the object at my mouth as I eagerly suckle more. It reminds me of too hot summer days when the pollen in the air is as thick as the humidity. It’s honeyed at first, but turns bitter after a while. And like a long sip of wine, it lingers.
“Enough.” His sharp voice cuts into my thoughts and I let go, falling back into his one waiting arm.
A laugh bubbles out of me. “I kinda feel… drunk.”
I also feelgood, happy even. Every part of my body is warmed. I don’t even feel the pain in my leg or head anymore. I run my hands along my body, shivering from the barest of touches against my skin, which feels as soft as a mink sweater. I sigh at the thought, sinking my hands back down my breasts to sit between my thighs. More than just drunk, I’m aroused, too. Giggles erupt from my chest, turning to boisterous laughter.
“What’s your name?” I hear the man ask.
I feel like I’m floating as I answer him. “Millie. My name is Millie.”
“Gray,” he says. “You can call me Gray.”
“Gray…” I laugh, but the humor is suddenly choked out of me by the rising heat beneath my skin. Without warning, what feltgood and warm now feels white-hot, as if I’m melting. I struggle for air, breathing hard through the pain.
“What’s wrong?” The alarm in Gray’s voice sounds sincere, and he pulls me closer.
“Fire!” I claw at my ruined costume, tearing at it with desperation. “I’m on fire!”
The pain is there, but the worst part is that it doesn’t blot out the arousal I felt, too. They’re fighting for dominance inside of me, edging me without release. It’s the worst thing I’ve ever felt in my entire life.
“Fuck,” Gray hisses under his breath. “I’ve never seen this before.”
He takes one of my hands and tries to stop me from hurting myself. When his skin touches mine, relief immediately follows. The fire in my hand cools and I release a loud sigh. I would be embarrassed by the sound if it wasn’t for the hope that if he touched me more, the pain would go away.
“Millie?” he asks, confused.
