The reaction hit fast. My breath hitched, shoulders tensing as my free hand instinctively tightened in her hair, holding her steady as she fed. The pull deepened, sharper now, more certain, and I had to grit my teeth to stay grounded.
She was changing. The moment her fangs pierced my skin, she pulled from me, faster, deeper, more urgent. Her body was waking, rebuilding, taking everything I gave her and turning it into something new.
Within minutes, I was unraveling, half-mad with it, willing to give her anything, everything, as long as she didn’t stop.
I bit down on my tongue, trying to hold back the sound threatening to escape, but there was nothing I could do to stop the way my body responded. Heat built, desire tightening low in my stomach as I hardened against her.
“Calix.”
Rack’s voice cut through, tight with something I didn’t have time to read.
I dragged in a breath, forcing my focus back. The edges of my vision had started to blur, a warning I couldn’t ignore.
“I need more,” I said, my voice rougher than I meant it to be. “Blood. Now.”
My gaze dropped back to her. She still hadn’t opened her eyes, but she was feeding like something feral, growing stronger with every second.
“Here.”
Rack moved fast. When I looked up, his sleeve was already pushed back, his arm extended without hesitation.
I blinked at him.
“What are you?—”
“I’m here, and it's the freshest blood around. Not to mention, the magic in my veins will speed up the process naturally.”
For a second, I just stared at him. Once again, he played the righteous white knight, while I was the bastard, consumed by hunger, craving what didn’t belong to him.
I rolled my eyes before sinking my teeth into his arm. His body jerked, a sharp breath hissing through his teeth, but he held still. I let free a slow, satisfied smile against his skin.
That’s what you get for playing the hero.
His taste was different than I thought it would be. It was charged, layered with something sharper, something alive in a way human blood wasn’t. Magic.
I could feel the lightness of the air and the spiciness of the fire fighting along my tongue. His taste wasn't bad either—smoke and wild berry, kind of like fine wine. It burned down my throat in a way that steadied me, giving me something to push forward.
For a while, everything blurred together. Her pulling from me. Me pulling from him.
The steady exchange, the rhythm of it, continued until the room seemed to narrow down to nothing but the flow between us. Life moving, shifting, rebuilding.
Then a shift. Subtle but different. My eyes snapped open, and I ripped my fangs out of Rack. He stumbled back, swaying on his feet before he tumbled to the ground from blood loss.
Her grip had changed, becoming firmer and deliberate. I pulled back just as her eyes opened, bright and burning, something new staring back at me. Crimson eyes stared up at me, swarming with lust and desire as her tongue flicked along my skin.
Then her hand plunged inside my sweats and wrapped itself around my dick, pumping up and down as those hypnotic ruby irises stared up at me in recognition.
A low groan escaped me before I could stop it, filled with relief and something darker, as she surged upward with suddenstrength, grabbing hold of me like she already knew exactly what she was doing. Putting me on my back as she climbed on top, she slammed her lips to mine.
My response was immediate. The deep monstrous hunger took over, and I wrapped my arms around her, pushing my hips up, rubbing myself against her center. Our tongues wrapped around each other, each of us trying to devour the other.
And just like that, she was no longer dying. She was something else entirely.
A sharp tear split through the air as my pants gave way, the sound loud in the room. Her hands were already on me, fists clutching, fingers digging into my chest like she needed something solid to anchor herself. I caught the hem of her shirt and dragged it up and over her head in one rough motion, the material twisting before it flew somewhere behind us.
It still wasn’t fast enough.
Frustration snapped through me, and I grabbed the front of her jeans, yanking them apart hard. The denim split straight down the seam, giving way under my hands as she kicked each leg free without hesitation.
