63 | ENTICING OFFER

I focus on the feel of Blue’s hand around mine as we run from the scene of the crash, back to Kiwina. The rough scrape of his skin against mine, hot flesh against my colder skin, firm and comforting. The farther we get from the scent of fresh blood, the better I feel, my head clearing and thirst cooling slightly. But only slightly.

I was less than a foot from the good stuff. That kind of temptation reignited the kept-in-check all-consuming fire of the thirst and my fangs are refusing to retract. It doesn’t help that the last person I drank from is with me right now, the memory of the taste of blood sparkling along my tongue like a fizzy drink. I can’t stop my tongue from tracing the roof of my mouth, trying desperately to forget the taste of him, but it’s like trying to forget what chocolate tastes like.

An echo of the euphoric feeling flutters through me and settles in the pit of my stomach.

I drop Blue’s hand. Stopping dead right before the edges of the Azure territory - *his* territory. I had almost forgotten about that too. Blue’s an Alpha now. He shouldn’t have left his territory when things are so unstable. Something could have happened while he was gone, putting his whole Pack in jeopardy. A frown tugs on my mouth, my chaotic emotions swelling with the realization that Blue left his territory to come get me. Again.

The last time he’d done that, however, he wasn’t the leader of an entire Pack.

Blue stops with me, his eyes sparkling in the darkness with silvery light amid the darker grey, the shimmering sends warm tingles through me. Entirely good and entirely calm. Like he thinks this was no big deal. I’m so shocked he’d think leaving the territory - even for a few minutes - to come get me would be worth endangering his whole family that my head spins. I take a step back - but the movement makes him lurch forward, a flare of panic burning in his eyes. I freeze again, my heart fracturing and chipping a little more.

“I’m not running.” I hold up a hand to stop him as I lean back against a nearby tree, letting the giant pine steady me. Blue gives me a tiny, jerky nod that isn’t all-together confident. “I was clearing my head. Smelled…” I shiver as I relay the events in those few words and wrap my arms around myself to try and help the amulet keep the vamp-chill at bay. My mouth is still too-full with the pointed canines, their tips dimpling my bottom lip and having me try and hide them behind a hand. It almost feels like I’m trying to talk with food in my mouth.

“You didn’t hurt her.” Blue reminds me, taking a step closer to me so there’s only a foot of space between us. I allow it, since he doesn’t try to bridge the space between us. But his scent, that damned tasty aroma of parchment, pine, and blood, is teasing my nose and making the burning in my throat and jaw intensify. I stretch my mouth a few times to see if that will help get rid of the discomfort. It doesn’t.

“I was close.” I admit, tightening my arms around myself as the slight jump of his pulse on the side of his neck catches my eye. The tantalizing song of his blood rushing through his body echoes softly in my head. Steady, strong, and just a little faster than it had been a few moments ago. My tongue skims the seam of my lips, longing to taste his blood-

“You can.” Blue interrupts my line of thought, the calm of his voice cutting through me like a blade. Again, like this is no big deal. I nearly keel over as my mouth gapes, utterly surprised by his implicated offer.

“Have you lost your mind?” I choke out when his impassive expression doesn’t change. He’s absolutely serious.

“I don’t see what the problem is, Red.” Blue sighs, like we’re talking about why chocolate is better than vanilla…and not over me sticking my fangs into his throat and drinking his blood fresh from the tap.

“Th-the problem is I don’t know if I can stop-” I splutter incredulously, but Blue’s ready as he interrupts me.

“You have before.” Blue reminds me with a slight quirk of one of his eyebrows, challenging me to disagree with the truth.

“Yeah. Once. *One* time. I’m not about to try it again-” And I’m not about to *test* that again.

“Why not?” Blue’s voice is verging on impatience and…a little disappointment.

“*Why not?*” I echo, my voice rising to a near-hysterical pitch. He’s not getting it. “Cause I might kill you!” *You psycho!* I add in my head, momentarily forgetting we’re mentally linked. Blue chuckles, a grin twisting his lips and breaking his impassive mask.

“We’re going to be together eventually, Red. Do you really think I’m going to make you keep your fangs away from me every moment of every day?” He takes a tiny step forward, my automatic reaction to take one back myself is stopped by the tree I’ve placed at my back. “It’s not in your nature, I get that.” Blue adds softly, his eyes dimming the slightest degree and a deeper warmth making butterflies flutter in my stomach.

“But-but-” I stutter, trying desperately to come up with an argument aside from the one I have. It was the one thing I’ve had on repeat in the back of my mind to stop me from revisiting the idea of drinking from him again. Without it, I’ve got nothing.

“*But* nothing. It’s not how these kinds of think work.” Blue chuckles, taking another step closer to me, leaving less than five inches between us. His head’s dipped low so our eyes are almost level and I only have to lean my suddenly heavy head back against the rough bark of the tree to look at him. *He’s close enough to touch…to kiss*. Something whispers in the back of my mind - not his voice but my own.

“These kinds of *what*?” I clarify, my cheeks burning as I catch the flare of heat in his eyes as he hears the little voice in my head. The chilly night air is balmy now, almost a little too warm - or maybe that’s just the mingling heat as his closeness warms me.

“Relationships.” Blue replies without missing a beat. “I don’t know, Red,” His eyes are lingering over my mouth now as they flicker back and forth between my eyes before dipping. “Vamps who have non-vamp partners or lovers or whatever - drink from them from time to time. It’s not a big deal.” *Not a big deal*…

“I could kill you.” I spell it out so he’ll get it.

“Could, but you won’t.” Blue counters calmly, like we’re talking about dinner options and not his life. Though technically…we’re talking about both. “I trust you, Red. You know that.” I search his eyes for long moment, feeling the resounding confidence and trust he’s placed in me so strong in the bond. Strong enough to feel it in the mark on my neck as it, too, warms up.

“You shouldn’t.” I mutter. “I couldn’t live with myself if I killed you.” I tell him, as if he doesn’t know. Blue’s expression softens a little more, that gentle curve of his lips ticking up a little into a smile at makes my heart skip a beat. My mouth goes dry and for the briefest second, it’s like we’re all alone in the world. Not even my thirst manages to put a damper on my mood as I feel his rough fingertips glide over my cheek.

“I hate seeing you in pain like this.” Blue murmurs softly, leaning in so our foreheads touch. My eyes automatically flutter shut, the warms of his breath moves to the side of my face, tickling my ear. “You won’t ever learn to control the thirst until you’re used to actually drinking from the source.” His logic is sound. Or so my brain repeats, the little whisper of the vampiric thirst has my mouth watering again as his scent wraps around me. Enticing and warm, promising the same euphoric pleasure I’d gotten the first time. “I’ve already given you my heart, Red. What’s a little blood?” Blue’s words make my breath hitch in my chest, heart taking off like a rocket and soaring as my whole body seems to lighten.

I open my mouth to speak - say something - but I can’t seem to make my mouth move as a billion-and-one things sing loud in my head. The physical distraction of his neck moving to brush against my mouth has me snapping out of the inner chaos. But my fangs are still out. Still sharp as scalpels. And it’s clear Blue’s really trying to push for this as he moves to apply a gentle pressure on my cheek. My face angles just right, and my fangs break right through his skin.