“Actually, you know what?” he said standing abruptly. “I’m feeling a little off.” He waved a hand towards the door. “I’m just gonna go and get some fresh air. Be back in a sec.”
“You want me to come with?” Ian was halfway off his stool, but Jesse stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.
“Nah, it’s fine.” The last thing he needed was Ian out there with him while he was trying to get himself back under control. “I won’t be long.”
“Okay.” Ian had a slight frown, but he let Jesse go without further protest, thank fuck.
Head down, refusing to breathe in anymore of his surroundings, Jesse made his way to the front door and escape. Whoever was bleeding, they were in the other direction, making his exit relatively easy.
Once out in the street, Jesse ducked into the alley next door, far enough down not to be all that noticeable, and leant against the wall. Head back, eyes closed, he worked on pushing the need for blood back down, away from the surface. It’d been so long since it’d taken him by surprise like that, he’d forgotten what it was like. Normally he felt it building, had enough warning to get himself something to eat and never find himself in a position like this—hungry and in the middle of fucking Bristol on a Friday night.
Movement further down the alley caught his attention, the scratch of claws on concrete. Rat maybe? No, too big. Cat? The thought was fleeting, but he dismissed the idea as soon as it popped into his head. He wasn’t feeding on someone’s fucking pet.
Especially not a cat.
The smart thing to do would be to go home, back to the safety of his coven, then feed and send his apologies to Ian.
It was what he should do.
What Raph would want him to do.
But every part of Jesse wanted to go back in there. Wanted to feel Ian’s body against his as they danced some more. Wanted to go home with him and taste every part of him. His fangs dropped down of their own accord as Jesse pictured biting into him. Imagined his fangs sinking into the tender skin of Ian’s wrist as he fucked him with slow measured strokes, drawing out his orgasm as he fed on his blood.
“Jesus Christ,” he hissed, opening his eyes and trying to shake the image away. He was hard, almost painfully so in the ridiculously tight jeans he had on. Palming his cock did nothing to alleviate it, and Jesse groaned, needing so many things right then, his head swam with it.
A scent on the air caught his attention and his head snapped around to the front of the alley.
Lys.
And she came bearing gifts.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” his voice barely carried, it was so quiet, but loud enough for her to hear. Without thinking, he widened his stance, ready.
“Hey,” she raised her hands. “Calm the fuck down.” As she got closer, the second scent accompanying her grew stronger, thicker in the air, and Jesse moaned softly, licking over his fangs. “I was on a MacDonald’s run for the nurses, and I caught your scent.”
Jesse scoffed. “And you just happened to carry a pack of blood around with you?”
She grinned. “Fine. I knew you were coming here, and on the off chance you might need a little something extra, I came prepared.” She slipped her hand inside her coat and drew out a familiar-looking package. Jesse almost drooled at the sight of it. “I was going to text you as I got near, but then I scented you out here.” She threw him the bag, and Jesse plucked it out of the air, wasting no time in tearing into it.
Even colder than he liked, it tasted like heaven on his tongue, and Jesse didn’t stop until he’d empty the bag of every last drop.
“Better?” Lys asked, eyeing him from a few feet away.
Control returned, Jesse cringed at the state he’d let himself lapse into. “Yeah. Thanks.” He licked his lips, trying to remove every trace of blood. “And I’m sorry for...”
“For behaving like an arse?” She took the blood bag off him, wrapped it in another plastic bag, and tucked it back in her coat. “I’ll take this home with me tonight, along with the receipt. We can add it to the files tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Jesse slumped back against the wall, embarrassed that he’d let things slip so spectacularly out of his grasp.
“This isn’t like you, Jesse,” she said, voice soft. “What happened?”
“It was too easy.”
“What was?”
“Everything. The bar, Ian... All of it. I almost felt human again.”
She closed the distance between them in the blink of an eye, wrapping her arms around him. “Oh Jesse. It’s because of Callum, isn’t it?”
