Page 14 of Threads of Crimson

A slow smile spread on Benji’s face. “I bet you do.” Leaning his elbow on the table, he propped his face in his hand. “What else do you like?”

My teeth descended without permission. Like I’d lost control of my own body, I picked up his hand while staring at the spot on his neck that beckoned to me.

“Lysandro?” he asked in that breathy whisper. The same one he’d used last week to assure me that this was what he wanted. Me. My teeth sinking into his flesh.

Massaging his wrist, I said, “I like how you taste.”

His pulse spiked out of control, along with a waft of desire so strong it was impossible to ignore it. Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply. He whimpered, such a needy little sound that I almost forgot to make him voice his consent. “So you want⁠—”

“Please, please, please,” he chanted, cutting me off.

I bit back a groan. The dark pleasure swirling inside of me. My beast had caught its prey, and I was helpless to control him. This time I moved slowly, licking over his warm skin, teasing him but also myself, before sinking into flesh and letting his blood coat my tongue.

Benji tried biting back a moan, but he was as powerless to stop it as I was to wanting to hear his pleasure. The sweet stickiness of his essence filled me with a warmth I hadn’t experienced since standing in direct sunlight on a hot summer day lifetimes ago.

He tasted like all the good things in life, the things I no longer allowed myself to enjoy, but his desire had heightened after last week. As I pulled gently, not really needing nourishment but craving the taste, he bit back another moan.

“Give it to me, Benji. Don’t hold back,” I sent through my mind, willing my nature to give him maximum pleasure.

I didn’t know how or why he heard me, but the loud groan that fell from his lips proved he had. His body curled over my head, and with lips and tongue, I nursed his flesh right until I felt him close to falling over the edge.

When I retreated, licking over my marks, his moan turned into a groaning whimper of frustration. A sadistic snicker slipped out of my own mouth unbidden. Oh yes, the little human would go home and jerk off tonight, if he even made it that long. Perhaps he’d use the bathroom here.

The image of him closing himself in a stall, shoving down his pants and yanking out his dick to stroke it at a punishing pace, needing an orgasm more than his next breath, was enough to make me want to cum.

What the fuck was this human doing to me?

Chapter

Four

LYSANDRO

After six months of showing up to Velvet Vein every Saturday night, I no longer felt quite so conspicuous. Unfortunately, that also meant more of my kind seemed to think it was okay to smile and nod.

To humor Damien, and for Benji’s safety, I played nice—to a degree. If there was another place—that didn’t include Benji’s home or mine—that we could go to spend time together, then I’d make the change, but that felt like too much.

Crossing the threshold, the steady thump of Benji’s heartbeat drew my attention. He rose from what had become our table, giving Rafe a little wave as he moved toward the bathroom hallway. The human had such a little bladder, which I found endlessly amusing once he owned up to it.

Stopping at the bar—because I made a habit of doing that now—I asked Rafe, “How are you doing?”

He flashed his cute, endearing grin my direction. “Can’t complain. How was your week?”

“Long,” I admitted, much to the shock of the few vampires in our vicinity. They saw me as a cold, quiet ancient being, unaware of just how normal a life I had back in Willowhope.

Rafe handed me a bottle of water. “He’s sticking to H₂O tonight.”

Slipping my hand into my pocket, I pulled out a wad of bills that I brought specifically for him and passed it across the counter with a, “Thank you.”

He looked down at it, then leaned toward me and whispered, “You don’t have to tip me so much every week, you know?”

It was cute, if not dangerous, that after working here so long, he didn’t think that the predators around him couldn’t hear his whisper-soft voice. I knew Damien paid his employees well, and the immortal amongst us had quadruple what the one-percenters thought made them so superior, so we were normally generous with our cash since to us, it was disposable, but there was no question that this man would make triple the money as a donor.

“Put it in your pocket, Rafe,” I said in a tone that brooked no argument. He complied with a smile, and I continued toward the table.

I was a little surprised that Benji hadn’t returned yet, so I opened myself up enough to hear into the restrooms. From the hallway, I heard the elevated beat of his heart, like he’d been running, and then a pained whimper. The water bottle slipped from my fingers as I blurred in his direction.

Taking the scene in at once, I saw a beast of a vampire angled over Benji’s body like they were lovers sneaking a tryst in the shadows. The bloodsucker had one hand pressed over Benji’s mouth, while his other hand wandered, grappling at my human’s⁠—