Page 9 of Threads of Crimson 2

Wrinkling my nose, I glared at him. “Why in the world would I travel when I have a perfectly delicious donor right here?”

His stupidly pretty green eyes sparkled, making them even more alluring. “Delicious, huh?”

“Come,” I said, stomping away.

He followed me out a side door, down the narrow steps, and into my personal sanctuary. “Ohh, I get to go into your office? I heard no one’s allowed in here.”

There was a reason for that, which he’d see soon enough. Unlocking the door, I stepped back and allowed him to pass me. I thanked my lucky stars that we were already closed since he squealed with excitement.

“Lysandro, this is awesome,” he said, skipping around the room so fast that he looked like a baby fledgling learning how to control his increased speed. “It’s like a smaller version of your lovely home.”

He screeched to a halt next to my King-sized bed. “Is this where you’ve been sleeping?”

I shrugged. “When I need a rest.” Or when I needed to escape the scent of sandalwood, patchouli, and possibility—the enticing aroma that wafted off of him now that he seemed to be happier.

Although, how he was more content and less unhappy with me as the only person he truly knew in town, I didn’t understand. We saw each other here and nowhere else. I was sure he talked to Rafe a lot, but still, how much fun could that be for him? Maybe I needed to…what? Hang out with him more?

He jumped back onto the mattress, gleefully bouncing a couple of times before patting the spot next to him. “Come on over, and I’ll feed you.”

I stared at the spot like it had personally offended me. I couldn’t sit on a bed with him. That was a recipe for disaster. Instead, I walked to the small desk and motioned for him to sit in the chair.

He rose slowly and sauntered toward me, smirking the whole time. Was this it? Would this be the night I gave him my carefully prepared speech to let him down gently?

His arm brushed my chest as he stepped past the chair, turned, and popped his butt up onto my desk. “What are you doing?”

He nodded at the chair. “There isn’t another chair in here, and you shouldn’t have to stand. Of course, we’d both be more comfortable on your bed, but…” He shrugged one shoulder. “I get it. I’m pretty irresistible.”

I hadn’t figured out how to respond to that when he kicked at the chair with his foot. “Sit.”

As I sat, still worried this might be some kind of trap to steal another kiss, he held out his arm, wrist up, and his blood called to me, singing its siren song louder than ever. My mouth watered, fangs descended, and it took centuries and centuries of control to not spiral into bloodlust.

My teeth pierced his skin, and he shifted, putting his groin so close to my face that I could smell his precum, and as I sucked, he threw his head back with the moan I’d always watched him hide at Velvet Vein. My own dick went hard as stone.

I knew he was a trickster.

The days passed into weeks, and we developed a rhythm. Benji had an affinity with the children and the elderly, so he kept himself busy with them while restocking the shelves and helping my older employees become more proficient with their computer skills. I was always conscious of him, but I thought I hid it pretty well.

He only dropped his professional façade when he’d slip into my sanctuary to donate his blood to me. He wouldn’t allow me to pay for his services anymore since he lived in my house and received a payroll check from the library. While I didn’t agree with his reasoning, I accepted it since I knew that I’d always provide whatever the young mortal needed.

It was so much easier keeping an eye on him now that he lived in Willowhope, and I didn’t have to blur to the city. I could reach Belflower Lane before he could, so I ensured he made it home safely each night—not that he knew that—generally waiting until the light in my bedroom went out before returning to my own room for the night.

“You ready?” he asked, waltzing by me, dangling the skeleton key to my office from one finger. I’d given it to him in case of emergencies, but he used it whenever he wanted. Which I didn’t hate, even if I’d never admit it.

I followed him in, confused when he sat in the chair instead of taking his spot on my desk. “Lysandro, we need to talk about your feedings.”

Narrowing my eyes, I tried desperately to remind him—and myself—that I was the one in charge here. “In what way?”

He pulled the collar of his shirt down while tilting his neck to the side, exposing the pale skin there, the pulse hammering in his neck. “I think you should take it from here.”

Just the idea of sinking my teeth into that lovely, unblemished flesh sent desire flaring through me. So many of my kind treated the carotid and femoral arteries like just another place to pull their nourishment from, but to me, it was more intimate than that.

Allowing myself to get that close to another’s body, them allowing me that kind of access…

I bit back a groan, fighting my beast for control. We both wanted that, to suck and nip at every point of this man’s luscious skin.

“Benji,” I started, then stopped as alarm bells rang in my mind, and I hissed.

“Uh, Lysandro. What’s wrong?”