Page 9 of Finding Our Home

“And do you promise to return to me once the sun goes down?” I ran my fingers through his hair.

He nodded again, this time without any hesitation. “If you still want me, then yes.”

I hissed and tucked my face against the side of his neck, letting my fangs graze his skin as I muttered, “I want you more than anything.”

He shivered in pleasure, making me smile with the knowledge that I had that effect on him.

I licked his skin and moaned at the taste, then leaned away and laid my head back on the pillow. He looked disappointed, so I ran my thumb over his lips. “You haven’t eaten.” I smirked. “But perhaps I can give you a little something, after all.” I bit into my wrist, then pushed his shoulder so he was flat on his back, and I could hold my wrist to his lips. “Drink up, baby. Drink, and then rest.”

He eyed me briefly, then put his lips on my wrist and gulped down my blood. I groaned at the sight and willed myself to have enough control not to take advantage of him. He needed to rest and he needed food. My blood would hold him over, but he still needed those things, and I wouldn’t have him hurt or hungry or exhausted because I couldn’t keep my lust in check.

That rumble started in my chest again, and I could feel his chest vibrating back. Knowing exactly what that meant made me almost giddy, but I held back so he wouldn’t think I was some crazy vampire he wanted nothing to do with.

When my wound closed, he licked up the blood, then faced me, looking shy with his flush skin. Pulling him into my still rumbling chest, I wrapped him in my arms. The bed was so small, I knew he could feel how badly I wanted him, but I simply held him in my arms, and surprisingly, my monster within wasokay with that. The beast was okay with knowing that Neo was close and safe and that my blood coursed through him. Which could only mean my theory was right.

I was already so far gone over this little human that I hardly knew. But I was looking forward to learning every little thing about him. If I had it my way, Neo wouldn’t need to wait for a bed because he’d be sharing mine from now on.

I could only hope that he’d be accepting when I told him exactly what was going on and exactly who he was to me.

Kissing the top of his head, I settled in for sleep with my little human softly snoring against my chest.

Chapter Five

Neo

I woke up, still snuggled against Dorian’s chest—his very still chest. I’d been warned about this when I first started talking about the idea of becoming a bestower, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. But hearing that they were still like the dead and feeling it against my body was completely different. He wasn’t breathing, he had no heartbeat—well, actually, that wasn’t true. They had a heartbeat, but it was so slow it would go hours without beating, and apparently when they slept, it was even slower. They didn’t actually need to breathe to remain living—or undead—but it helped their bodies and was a habit left over from their human years, so they still breathed when they were awake, but not when they were sleeping.

So it felt like he was dead. And even though I knew he wasn’t—if he were, he’d be turning to ash—my stomach clenched and it felt like my heart was in my throat.

He’s not dead, he’s not dead, he’s not dead.

Dorian had me caged in completely, so once I calmed my ass down, I lay there for a few minutes and breathed him in. He smelled good. I didn’t expect him to smell good; I’d thought they would smell like… the dead. I sighed to myself. I still had a lot to learn about vampires, that was for sure.

My stomach suddenly growled so loudly, I startled in the quiet room, and Dorian’s eyes popped open. Before I knew what was happening, I was flat on my back with a vampire hunched over me. For a brief second, I was afraid he was attacking me, but then I realized that he was actually huddled over me like he was protecting me from some unseen threat.

He took in the room, and I said nothing as my heart raced. Dorian’s eyes were glowing, and he had this look on his face that was pretty damn terrifying. Like he’d kill anything that crossed his path. So I held as still as I could and tried not to pant too loudly.

He hopped out of the bed, but stood there with his back to me for a few seconds before he walked to the door and checked in the hallway. When he turned around, he scanned the room again, then focused on me. After taking me in, his face softened a little, but his voice came out gruff and angry. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I shook my head. “I-it’s fine.” I sat up, bent my knees, and wrapped my arms around them.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then opened them and stepped closer to me. “I thought you were in danger.”

He thoughtIwas in danger? Not himself?

“Something startled me awake. Usually when that happens, it’s because we’re being attacked. I had to make sure you were safe.”

“Wh-why?”

He took another deep breath and stepped close enough to run his fingertips over my cheek. “I care for you already.”

My eyebrows rose. “I haven’t even known you for twenty-four hours.”

He smiled a little. “I know, my treasure, but I hope in time I’ll know everything about you.”

I really had no idea what to do with that, but my cheeks flushed with embarrassment because he looked so sincere.

He sat beside me and looked straight ahead. “I’m coming on too strongly. My apologies, Neo. I’m not used to navigating the human way of thinking.”

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