I needed Ace. Where had he been and how had I existed without his hard cock dragging every last inch of pleasure from my pussy until I might never see straight again? We pressed and pulled until he shouted my name, coming inside of me.
When it was over, we panted together, wrapped up and tangled in both arms, legs, and the sheets on the bed.
He rubbed his thumb down the side of my face. “Where have you been all these months?”
We both knew the answer, so instead I pointed out, “This is about the time when you call a meeting then everyone disappears for the night.”
He smirked then rolled away, grabbing his phone. For a second, he scanned through it. “The usual bullshit. The war. Blah blah blah. The elders can’t text. Hell, they can barely handle using the phone to make calls, so instead they have someone else text for them. Every night, it’s the same message. Every night, I have to send a message to let everyone know when to meet.” He rolled onto his back. “I’m thinking tonight we don’t have a meeting.”
I leaned onto my elbow to watch him. Ace was beautiful, but I knew better than to expect any sweet words post-coitus. “Don’t you think canceling your meeting will draw unwanted attention? Shouldn’t you act as normal as you can?”
He shook his head. “Those three weren’t exactly acting normal. Besides, I’m just not having a meeting tonight; it won’t make waves. But make no mistake, this won’t stay hidden. Not for very long, anyway. We’ll be in the public eye soon, and Rowan will know before that.”
Truthfully, I missed him. With the other four back—well, sort of their vampire versions, anyway—it really didn’t feel right to be without Rowan.
But these guys knew him as a vampire, and I didn’t.
“How bad will it be?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Depends on which Rowan shows up. I told you, he is the perfect vampire.”
I took his hand. “Funny, I’m pretty sure they would have said that about you, too.”
Ace tilted his head. “Yet I’m the poorest made vampire ever.” He got out of bed and dressed while I watched.
I could just go to bed right then. It would be easy—I’d lie down and let the whole day go. I was human—or at least I assumed I was, despite my ability to feed four vampires with no issue—so I was supposed to sleep at night. But if I did, I’d never get to see the guys.Somehow, I have to make this work, even if it means sleeping at odd hours and always being a little bit tired.
Or maybe the blood loss made me tire.I bet I’m really anemic.
I gave myself a minute to reset before I dressed and followed him out to the main room. They stood in a circle, and all glanced my way when I entered. “Did I catch you in a private conversation?”
“I was just telling them what I told you—that Rowan will know about this.” He looked over his shoulder at me. “Pretending he won’t is ridiculous. The elders hurt you, they abused you.”
Caesar crossed his arms over his chest. “Not your father, but the rest of them, yes.”
I walked toward them, the blow of the air conditioning bringing a chill to my skin. Or maybe it was the memories of which he spoke? Not long ago, I’d been at the mercy of those vampires. I could be again. I needed to remember that, even as the trauma started to fade from my mind. It was as though every feed I got from these four took me further and further from that time.
“Why is that?” Ace looked at me. “Why did my father not feed from you?”
“Maybe he prefers something in an AB negative?” I made a bad joke, but it seemed like someone had to say something about blood type. Tanner rolled his eyes but smiled at me. I walked over to him and extended my neck toward him. He pressed his nose to the curve of my skin for a second before he took what he needed. It was always almost nothing. Seconds later, he pulled away, visibly swallowing before his voice must have returned.
“That’s a myth you know. We can’t actually taste the difference between blood types.”
Griffin rocked back on his feet. “Speak for yourself. I can taste differences. I can tell blood types.”
Ace ran a hand through his hair. “Really? I can’t.”
“Me either.” Caesar sighed. “We all have our strengths. Listen, I agree. Rowan will eventually find out, but I don’t trust him to not take her to the elders and have her executed. Not to mention all of us. I’m more concerned about Maci, but we’ll die, too. The question is why the elders were so intent on harming her in the first place. She was a human girl we made friends with for one week before we died. We held guns to our heads and insisted she be around to be brought to us when we came back. They didn’t have to dothis. And they certainly never acted like they were taken with her blood like we all are. I think our first and foremost concern isn’t Rowan, but the elders. She can’t be taken to the elders.”
I walked away from them, looking for cookies.Do we have cookies?I was pretty sure I’d bought some. After a second, I located some gingerbread cookies—perfect. I took a bite and the sugar rushed to my mouth. I never wanted to give up the chance to eat these kinds of things. They’d been a total treat for me growing up. I basically got to eat them if someone sent them in for birthdays at school. Someone else’s birthday, not mine, since my mother hardly ever remembered, not that we would’ve had the money to send snacks for the whole class anyway.
When the school eliminated people bringing in birthday snacks because of food allergies, my gingerbread cookies disappeared. Cupcakes, too. I closed my eyes and chewed. With my eyes still closed, I spoke to the room. “Do you ever miss eating?”
I opened my eyes to see why no one answered and found them all staring at me. Ace shook his head. “We’re talking about your possible death, and you want to talk about food?”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, that’s exactly what I want to talk about. One hundred percent.”
Griffin walked over then put his arm around me. “It depends on the food. Cooking food smells like death to me. I don’t like the scent. It’s nauseating, actually, but something like that cookie smells like nothing. I miss the concept of eating. I never tasted anything as delicious as your blood, so, no, I don’t miss eating. Do any of you?”