When he’d completely drained the glass, Marcus gave a satisfied sigh and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Between the two orgasms and the drink. Marcus was looking healthy, rested, and sated. A man on top of the world.
“Do you actually like the taste?” Ethan asked without thinking and then winced. “Sorry. Are you comfortable talking about it? Would you rather I didn’t ask questions?”
Marcus smiled. “I would prefer it if you ask questions, but a shower first.”
“But—”
Marcus stopped his words by pulling him off the bed and dropping him over his shoulder before carrying him into the shower. He set Ethan to getting the water to the right temperature while Marcus brushed his teeth. As soon as he finished, he kissed Ethan deeply.
There were no questions in the shower because Ethan was completely distracted by Marcus’s devotion to making sure that every inch of his body was properly cleaned. Of course, Ethan had to return the favor to Marcus.
It was only when they were standing in front of the open refrigerator, trying to find something for breakfast at two in the afternoon, that Ethan’s brain started working again and he remembered what they had been talking about.
“You never answered my question!” Ethan declared out of the blue.
“I was wondering when you’d notice,” Marcus said with a chuckle.
Ethan gave him a shove as he grabbed eggs and cheese. There were also some vegetables. Enough for omelets. He set the food on the counter and tossed a green pepper at Marcus. “You can chop that up while you answer my question.”
“Yes, sir,” Marcus teased, but his smile disappeared and his expression grew serious as he started working on the pepper. “Yes, surprisingly, I like the taste. I wasn’t expecting to, but I’m glad I do. Bel thinks that our bodies naturally crave what we need.” He lifted his head and looked at Ethan. “When your body needs protein, you crave a steak. When you need carbs, you crave bread. My body needs blood, human blood, so I crave it. As such, it makes me also like the taste.”
Ethan cracked a few eggs into a bowl and started whisking them. “If you need blood to live, do you also need regular food?”
“Actually, no.”
Ethan stopped whisking and looked at Marcus. “So you don’t need this omelet I’m making for you?”
Marcus grinned. “Nope, but I want it.” He leaned over and stole a quick kiss from Ethan’s parted lips. “I like the taste of food, so I eat it. Rafe does too, but then he likes anything that gives pleasure. Bel sees food as a distraction from his work. He’s largely stopped eating it.”
“And Winter?”
Marcus gave a little shrug. “I think he eats when it suits his purposes, but I don’t think it’s about pleasure.”
“Damnit!” Ethan suddenly swore.
Marcus froze next to him. “What?”
“I just realized that we missed a chance to send your brother a naked ‘best way to start the day’ pic like he sent you.”
“No,” Marcus said fiercely. “I love my brothers, but they are never seeing you naked. You are mine, and I am not sharing you with anyone.”
Ethan grinned at him and resumed working on the omelet. “How often do you need to feed? I get the impression that surviving on bagged blood isn’t an option.”
Marcus pushed the chopped pepper at Ethan and started working on the other items he’d pulled out of the fridge. “It’s not. Bagged blood will help stretch between feedings, but whatever it is that’s missing from our bodies can only be gotten directly from the source. Bel is actually researching what we’re missing and trying to come up with a cure.”
“What? So you don’t need blood?”
“Maybe. But for now, the goal is to live off bagged blood. To answer your question, if I’m not injured again, I can go comfortably for two weeks between feedings. I have stretched to three, but…”
“What?”
Marcus cringed a little. “My brothers have told me that I can be a bit testy if I wait that long.”
Ethan cackled. “Thanks for the warning.” They worked in companionable silence for a bit as Ethan cooked the omelet. It was only when he plated a section for both of them and they sat down that a big question suddenly hit him.
“How old are you?”
Marcus smirked a little at him. “I was thirty years old when I was last a human.”
“And…?” Ethan prodded, practically bouncing in his seat.
“I have been a vampire for one hundred and seventy-six years.”
“Holy shit! That’s amazing.”
Marcus chuckled and went back to his omelet.
“Wait! How old is Rafe?”
Marcus’s smile dimmed a little bit. “One hundred and seventy-six.”
Ethan lowered his fork to his plate and straightened in his chair. Something tightened in his chest, but he still asked. “And Bel?”
“One hundred and seventy-six.”
He didn’t want to ask, but Marcus nodded, indicating that it was okay. “Winter?”