Bad Taste (Part II) // Colby Brock

248 - Rebecca

"No rambling this time, okay?"

We hadn't moved. Not much, anyway.

I sat straddling Colby's waist leaning over him, and he lay on the ground watching me. His hands had made their way to my hips at some point, but in some miracle we'd been able to keep away from each other aside from that. I was amazed all the feelings passing between us hadn't sent us into hours of ecstasy like it usually did, but I wasn't deluded to the fact that we may have still gone a little far—and that the rubble-covered floor wasn't the most comfortable.

"Okay," I agreed with him.

"As I said, it was no one's fault directly. We both made mistakes that led to this. I can't... I can't say I'm not mad at you a little because we made a deal, but you're young—in the vampire sense. I shouldn't have expected you to make it through without issue just because you did it once." Colby sighed and rubbed into my hips and waist. "You still did incredibly for someone with little resistance. But before we talk about that, how do you feel about what happened?"

I gulped. "Um, I'm mad at myself."

"You can elaborate."

"I just hoped I could resist... and I know how I still feel now about that woman, what you had to do so I don't become a murderer." I pouted to myself as I stared down, which forced me to stare at Colby's thin t-shirt—this one was black, as it was best for hunting in the night.

He muttered, "When you were human, it made sense for me to be mad about other vampires biting you and for you to be mad about other humans getting my blood. But we're both vampires now, Rebecca. It's a lot more complicated. I can't just commit to your blood. You should know that."

"I do know that," I grumbled, "I just don't want to face it. I don't think I'm ready for all that. I think someone else should take me to hunt. Maybe Tara or Xepher—I don't spend enough time with her. Maybe Cassie, too." I glared now at my own lap. I didn't want to meet Colby's gaze as I spoke, but he forced me to look at him with one soft word.

"Baby," I was putty immediately, "if that's what you want at first, then that's what will happen. I'll talk to the girls when we get back. But we won't tell anyone what happened, okay? You're still working out the kinks, they don't need to know everything."

I smiled sadly. "Okay, but I'll probably end up telling Tara."

"Whatever you do, don't tell Katrina," he warned. "If you ever want her to be friends with you, you won't tell her."

"I won't," I blurted.

"Good. Her outlook on you isn't so good, this would just make it worse."

"I get it," I lied. I didn't; lying to Katrina or Tara had always been hard for me unless I was concealing my fondness for them. At least in recent times, I couldn't look them in the eye and tell them a complete lie. Tara also couldn't keep a secret, so when she asked how tonight went and I told her the truth, it would find its way to Katrina eventually. "You know what, I'll keep it from Tara."

"That might be a good idea," Colby approved. "Now for the good stuff," he smiled, "you fed successfully before that woman."

I rolled my eyes. "It was probably just a fluke."

"Hey, I'm not a positive person but I don't think you should think about it that way." He sat up, which effortlessly brought me to a more comfortable position on his lap. I started fixing his hair as he continued. "You still fed very well tonight. I just think you need to work on your resistance around better smells, which we need to work on anyway. You'll be around your sister, father, and hopefully Katrina a lot. You don't want to kill them now, do you?"