Page 38 of Bonded Through Bite

As soon as he says it, I sense the exhaustion and slight stabs of hunger. I try to shake my head, but the men are already on the move. In no time, we are all back in Rafael’s bedroom and piled on the bed. They set me in the middle and worriedly look over me.

I apparently attacked Rafael with my venom and they are worried about me. Guilt drowns every other emotion I have and tears prickle in my eyes.

“It’s all right, Samantha,” Rafael says.

“No, no, it’s not.” I shake my head sharply.

“Yes, it is. Now, drink from Santiago so you’ll feel better. I need to work your venom out of my system before you can drink from me again and I’m not willing to wait that long for you to have a drink.”

“Yes, darling. Take from me,” Santiago murmurs and leans closer.

Panicking, I pull back and turn my head away.

“It’s all right, Samantha. You won’t harm him now. You have no venom left for a while.”

“No, no. I can’t!”

“Yes, you can.” Rafael tries to calm me.

“No!” I push at both of them hard enough that I get some space. “I won’t. I can’t.”

“Samantha—”

“I’ll get sick! I can’t drink from him.”

“What?”

“What do you mean sick? Vampires don’t get sick.” Santiago sounds worried and confused.

“I do.” I gasp. The panic brings the headache with it and the idea of Santiago’s blood makes me nauseous. “I drank from a blood bag when I woke up and it hurt like hell… No, tasted my own blood first, right after I crashed through the first door. I didn’t mean to, but I was so hungry. It was enough to make me sick. Then I found the blood bag⁠—”

“Samantha, breathe,” Rafael says and gathers me back into his arms. I’m shaking and rubbing my temples, trying to organize my thoughts.

“I can’t drink from him. I can’t drink from anyone but Rafael.” I try desperately to explain so they don’t make me drink from Santiago. “Only him. Everything else makes me sick. It hurts so bad,” I manage to say between gasps and bury my face in Rafael’s chest.

“Shh, sweetheart,” he murmurs, soothingly rubbing my back.

“That’s why I got so angry. I realized I can’t drink from anyone else. Please don’t make me drink from Santiago. Please,” I plead with him.

“I won’t. Hush, sweetheart, look at me. I promise, I won’t force you,” he continues once our eyes meet.

“How did you realize that you can’t drink from me?” Santiago asks, and he’s now keeping more distance between us. “Earlier, you were eyeing my neck like it was your personal candy store.”

I take a couple of calming breaths and turn my face so I can look at him.

“When I had your finger in my mouth, I thought about taking a sip. I tried to prick you with my fangs, but something held me back. Then the nausea hit, just from the idea of drinking your blood. I didn’t have any problems thinking about sex with you or licking your skin from head to toe, but the idea of even a drop of your blood made me want to hurl my guts out.”

Santiago’s face screws up, like he’s trying to hold back laughter, and I frown at him. This is not funny from where I’m sitting. He must realize that I’m getting pissed off again because he points behind me and I twist to look at Rafael.

“He…” Santiago chokes. “His face when you said you thought about licking me from head to toe.” He can’t hold it back anymore and chuckles. The scowl on Rafael’s face returns and my lips twitch. He doesn’t need to say a word for me to get the jealous vibe.

“I’d say you don’t have anything to worry about,” I say, poking at his chest. “But relationships and commitment weren’t high on my list when there was a definite end day in sight… Now you’ve taken that away and tying myself to one man for eternity… I want a buffet, and I’m not going to be stuck eating one thing for the rest of my life—undead life. Whatever.”

When his scowl turns smug, I smack his chest, avoiding the gashes that are still open. “What?”

“Sounds to me like that’s exactly what you are going to do. You are going to drink my blood over and over and over again for the rest of your undead life.”

“Not very smart to antagonize her like that,” Santiago mutters.