Sickly, Sweet - Book One

Ch. 19 - Half-Alive

Our bodies are pressed tightly together - not a single inch keeping us apart. Loud and aggressive music hits my eardrums, buzzing through my body and stopping my heart. The night exceeded my expectations and gave back the sliver of faith I need to trust Valentine. He showed me things and we created memories. It was the cliche romance that every soul yearned for.

Heat filled everything that was touching, especially the skin under his fingertips. His hands laid comfortably on my waist as mine wrapped around his neck. "Why did you bring me here? Are you trying to redeem yourself?" I ask, referring to the dark and crammed club he took us into. The interior differed from others I had been to. The walls were cold and smooth, like porcelain. The individuals around us were your ordinary vampires, hungry for blood and sex.

"I want you to experience all that my world offers. Even the unrefined and carnal indulgence of bathing in blood." His voice, husky and deep, awakens my carnal desires. I want him, just as much as he does me.

"How is that going to happen? I don't see humans dancing around us."

He lightly brushes his lips against mine and speaks close to my ear. "Count to five and you'll find out."

I follow his instruction and closed my eyes. "One," I whisper and he kisses me under my ear. His breath fans my neck seductively and I shiver.

"Two," I moan out as he licks the spot where he bit me on our first encounter.

"Three," he lightly trails the edge of his fangs over the puncture wounds. I press myself harder against him wanting to feel him. He groans in pleasure against my skin and I shudder in ecstacy.

I couldn't speak any longer. Four. He makes his way up my jaw and stops just at the corner of my lips.

"Five," this time he speaks and the strong smell of blood surrounds me. His thumb pushes my chin upward and I watch in awe as blood showers from the ceiling. It's a bloodbath. Warm liquid drips into my mouth and drenches my hair and clothes. I smile against the droplets and look up at Valentine who was staring at me like the most bizarre specimen.

He closes the space left between us by taking my mouth into his. The sudden move and flowing blood heated my core and sparked a different feeling between us. Taking us to a higher level. I could taste the delicious lifeline pass between our tongues and slowly cascade down my throat. Hands were touching and bodies grinding to the electrifying music - arousing every emotion left in my body.

I am left to whimper when he stops and pulls his face away. It was a brief but intense kiss under the crimson libation. There is something very attractive about a man covered in blood and a relationship based on aggression and reluctance. My tongue relishes in the delicious blood that runs down my body, soaking my clothes, seeping into my skin. It was an electrifying experience, one that I have waited for to awaken my soul and live again.

As the blood runs, our skin slides against each other, teasing and waiting for one of us to make the next move. Of course, the next move will determine our future, it will set a new standard for our relationship. A relationship that is now on the brink of exploding, but, am I expecting something too soon?

"Do you torture all women like this?" I rasp against his wet shoulder. He licks the blood from my neck and places a kiss on my collarbone. The thick blood coats our skin.

"No." His cool breath was a refreshing sensation on my wet skin. "Only you."

"Well, aren't I special?" I smirk.

He gives me a crooked smile. "You have no idea, sweetheart."

I could smell his delicious scent mixed with blood and it has me wanting to taste him. I graze my fangs over his neck which caused him to groan aloud. It was a satisfying sound that made me smile. I trail my tongue over his skin, tasting every bit of him, relishing each buzz the blood left on my tongue.