Page 39 of Bonded Through Bite

I jerk away from Rafael and crawl to sit in Santiago’s lap.

“You seem to be the smarter one of the two of you. Since he’s being a jerk right now, how about you give me those orgasms?” I suggest and tilt my head.

“Rafael, do you want to do some damage control here?” Santiago asks over my head.

Rafael pulls me back into his arms and leans to kiss my neck. “I’m sorry, Samantha,” he says. “Can you focus on something other than orgasms for just a moment, and I promise I’ll make it worth your while?”

I mull it over and find that it’s actually quite difficult to focus on anything. “I’m not sure,” I mutter and snuggle closer. I know I’m still pissed at him, but it seems I’m not able to focus on that either. All my brain capacity is used to absorb the feeling of his lips trailing down my throat and I arch, giving him better access.

“She’s way more in control than I’ve ever seen a new vampire be.”

“She is still right here,” I mutter or moan when Rafael nibbles my neck.

“I’m sorry, little fangs. But you are acting more like a two-year-old than two days old. It’s messing with me,” Santiago replies.

Rafael heaves a sigh and pulls back. He cups my chin and lifts my gaze to meet his. “Will you explode on the walls if I sip from Santiago? I need blood to fight your venom off before I can feed you.”

“You don’t need to feed me.”

“Yes, I do,” he says at the same time as Santiago growls. He then looks sheepish but doesn’t back down.

“He needs to feed you. Please don’t make this difficult for us, little fangs. It might not be a full moon, but our instincts are still riding us hard.”

“I thought moon cycles were a werewolf thing?”

“They are.” He smiles.

“Wait! Are there werewolves here?” I squeak. Thea always said shifters are volatile and can smell blood from long distances.

“Don’t worry. No mongrel will accost you under my watch,” Santiago replies with a smile. “Now, will you stay calm or do we need to distract you first?”

“What… oh right, Rafael drinking from you.” My brain thankfully catches up because Santiago using the word distraction in his deep voice should be illegal. “I’ll be honest, I have no idea how I feel about that.” I turn to look between them and try to figure it out. “Are you two lovers?” I blurt out and Rafael smiles. I bet he can now hear the jealousy in my voice.

“No. We were turned by the same vampire. It’s complicated,” Rafael murmurs.

“Not that we haven’t⁠—”

“Not the time,” Rafael snaps at Santiago. It seems that they can’t decide whose turn it is to be the idiot. I raise my hand like in school.

“Yes, darling?” Santiago asks.

“I sort of get why Rafael is acting the way he is, but why are you…”

“Acting all possessive, protective, and like a general pain in the ass?” Rafael provides.

“Yep, that,” I agree.

Santiago laughs. “I feel a pull toward you, and you were turned by Rafael, so there’s a connection there too. To top it off, you are a new vampire. We are hardwired to take care of the ones we turn, most of the time… Anyway, I would hazard a guess that it is all those things and the fact that I can feel Rafael’s desperate need to take care of you seeping into our bond.”

“So it doesn’t have anything to do with me, per se?” I’m not sure if I find that reassuring or not.

Santiago’s eyes frost over, the green fading behind gray. “It has everything to do with you, little fangs. Don’t kid yourself.”

“But you said⁠—”

My protest gets muffled under his lips. Santiago kisses me hard, not giving me time to process one feeling before a new one surfaces. My eyes slide shut and I clutch at his shoulders. I see stars when his fangs scrape my bottom lip and my body jumps into overdrive.

Rafael decides to join in and kisses my neck. “Samantha,” he whispers. “You need to feed from me soon. Can you hold back so I can take blood from Santiago first?”