Still, I held back.
“Do you think it might be better…” I cleared my throat, trying to think how to put it. “Do you think maybe I should…should drink from your wrist again instead…instead of your, uh, neck?” I asked Ari, hoping he wouldn’t take offense.
He looked at me steadily for a long moment.
“Dios—are you really that afraid of me, Kaitlyn? Or is it my Drake you fear?”
“It’s not that!” I exclaimed hastily. “Or, I mean, it’s that a little bit but it’s also…” I licked my lips, trying to think how to say what I needed to say without embarrassing myself to death. “Don’t you think it feels, uh, weird when I bite you?” I asked at last.
“Weird?” He cocked an eyebrow at me.
“You know…” I made a motion with my hand, feeling my cheeks burn. “Intimate,” I said at last.
“Yes.” He nodded. “It is extremely intimate. And very pleasurable, to be honest.” He cocked his head to one side, considering me. “Is it for you, too?”
“Yes,” I almost whispered, feeling my hands clench into fists at my sides. “And it’s weird to have such, uh, intimate feelings with someone I don’t really know.”
“We are getting to know each other, now,” he pointed out, smiling a little. “The more we talk, the more you know me and the more I know you.”
“I guess.” I hesitated, shifting from foot to foot.
“Look, if you’d rather drink from my arm, that’s all right with me,” Ari said, frowning a little. “Here.”
He took off his school jacket with its neat black lapels and the Nocturne Academy crest on one side and rolled up the crisp white cotton shirt sleeve to bare his right wrist. He held it out to me in a mute gesture of welcome and I felt my fangs itching again as I noticed a pulsing blue vein that almost seemed to be beckoning to me.
Hesitantly I approached him. His warm scent seemed to fill my senses as I took his wrist delicately in both hands, barely touching him.
He had really nice hands for a guy, I couldn’t help noticing. They were big and square and the nails were neatly cut and very clean. I wondered if they elongated into talons when he turned into his Drake and then tried to push the thought away.
My throat burned with thirst and I bent my face to his wrist, aware that he was watching me intently through half-lidded eyes. He held perfectly still as I bared my fangs and sank them into his flesh, piercing the vein with their curving points.
I had wanted to stand while I drank from him, to put a little distance between us and try to lessen the intense feelings that flowed between us when I took his vein. But I hadn’t counted on the effect his blood had on me.
At the first amazing mouthful, I felt a moan leave my throat and my knees buckled as sensations too strong to deny or ignore rushed through me.
“Cuidado, L’lorna!”
Ari caught me in his arms and the next thing I knew, I was in his lap—the very place I’d been avoiding. But his blood tasted so good and the feelings flowing between us were so strong, I found I no longer minded.
With another little moan, I curled up against him and drew another delicious mouthful of blood into my mouth, savoring it as it nourished and filled me.
His blood was strong, I thought—incredibly strong. Of course, I hadn’t tasted many kinds of blood—just Avery’s and the bagged human and beef blood Griffin had given me. But compared to those, the big Drake’s blood had an almost alcoholic quality to it—like really strong liquor.
Not that I had been in the habit of drinking hard liquor, of course. But my mom had let me taste Scotch once when I was younger—just enough to let me know I didn’t want any more of it. I still remembered the way that single swallow had bloomed fire in my belly and made my head swim.
Ari’s blood was like that—strong but delicious and it flowed down my throat like the finest wine. It occurred to me that if drinking from a human would be like eating at McDonalds, drinking from Ari would be akin to eating at a restaurant with three Michelin stars. He was a gourmet beverage and he was offering himself to me free of charge.
Why? The question drifted through my brain again but I pushed it to the back of my mind. Right now the blood pouring down my throat took precedence over everything else. I didn’t want to think about anything but how good it tasted…and how good it made me feel to drink from him.
Avery threw back his head and groaned as he continued to cradle me in his lap. Clearly he was feeling it too and just as clearly, he was enjoying our connection as much as I was.