Page 26 of Bloody Temptations

The question takes away all of the happy feelings his soft, feathery touches are sending through me. I try rolling my shoulders to get rid of the tension that has suddenly gripped them, but all it does is make Kai stop touching me.

“Uh, no. He wasn’t there.”

“But didn’t he tell you not to eat? That’s like, one of the first things they share.”

Where is that waitress with the drinks? I wonder, flicking my eyes to the gap in the makeshift booth wall. Licking my lips, I take a breath that is just moving my chest by reflex rather than taking in air.

“I actually lost my maker the morning after I was turned. I woke up on my own. Pretty much been that way ever since.” The confession rushes out of me, the words tripping over themselves on my tongue.

I don’t want to look at Kai, keeping my eyes focused on the gold flecks on the dark wood of the table, unsure whether I dread seeing the pity or the horror more. His fingers return to the base of my neck. The touch isn’t gentle now, though. It’s firm, his thumb rubbing a reassuring circle where my hair meets my skin. They work their way across my neck until his fingers exert a gentle pressure on the side of my jaw, encouraging me to turn to face him. Swallowing hard, I let him turn my face.

“I’m sorry, Finn. That is really, really shit. No being should be left like that.” Kai’s absolute sincerity takes the edge off the sadness in his eyes.

My smile is a tight line, more of a grimace, and I bob my head in agreement. “Yeah, it wasn’t great. I mean, learning how to do the whole vampire thing while also figuring out how to get home without frying in the sun wasn’t exactly a high point of my life. But it’s okay.”

“My parents helped. I was allowed to stay with them for the first week, so long as we had regular visits from the nurses at the local senior shifter’s home to check I was okay. The nurse probably told me about the food thing, but there was so much information I couldn’t really take it all in, and by the time the craving got too bad I was here in Osneau on my own.”

We would have been really screwed without the nurses. None of us had any idea about, well, anything. Blood, feeding and the incredible hunger of the freshly turned were all well beyond us. Usually your maker teaches you that sort of thing, but obviously, mine couldn’t.

Kai tsks sympathetically. It’s not an uncomfortable, pitying sound. He gets it. “That’s so shit. You shouldn’t have been all alone like that.”

“Probably not. But at least I had my parents when I was back in Twin Heads. They did most of the paperwork to get me registered and my new records set up. There was extra because I needed them for here and Ulydessia and back in Carconnois and then I needed a new passport and license too. I didn’t know how much there was until I saw Mum at the table with Dad one evening filling them out. And I’m here now, so it’s not all bad.”

Kai’s eyes search my face and then he smiles softly. “Well, I am very glad you’re here.”

He squeezes my neck again, sending a really inconvenient electric pulse through me. Then his hand drops back to the couch, letting go of me. I am very close to begging him to put it back; the constant pressure of his knee against my leg is the only thing holding me back.

“Same. Very glad.”

Our waitress seems to have the world’s worst timing, choosing to interrupt the magnetic moment of eye contact rather than the awkward word vomit. Rude.

The drinks do look awesome, big mugs of blood infused with chocolate topped with bloody pink whipped cream. There’s even special vamp-safe sprinkles. We ooh and ahh over them for a second and Kai makes an absolute show of scooping up a spoonful of the cream and licking it off in a way that has my cock and my teeth aching. I have to shift around a little on the tiny confines of the couch to cover myself.

“It’s good that your parents were so keen to help. They supportive?” He asks after our first sips, not even letting the delicious chocolatey blood taste truly sink into my senses.

“Yeah. I mean, I couldn’t have stopped them from doing the paperwork if I tried—they did it during the day—but like, they are trying. It’s just not what they expected for my life.” I huff a bitter laugh. “Not exactly what I expected either.”

“What did you expect?” The question is caring, the intensity of his eyes on me making my skin prickle.

Sighing deeply, I roll my head, which has the added benefit of rubbing myself against his hand behind me. It’s the closest I’ve come to a shifter reflex in months.

“Not to get fired and lose my shiny new adult job in the city. Or my sweet apartment.”

Kai’s fingers soothe the tense muscles where they press against me. It feels too good to share this stuff. I haven’t had anyone to talk about it with. I just wish it wasn’t a smokin’ hot guy like him.

I mean, not that he’s gonna wanna get in my pants anyway, but I’m sure my whining isn’t helping.

“You were fired for turning?”

I nod, trying to stop my stomach from fluttering at his indignation on my behalf.

“Well, technically it was for having unapproved time off, and because I couldn’t exactly be an executive’s PA when we’re on different times like that. But there were options. I could have moved departments or something. And then, I got evicted because my neighbour told them I was a vamp. My lease was renewing and they said I had to do a whole new application. They used me switching jobs as the reason, even though my parents guaranteed the rent.”

I brave a look at Kai. His face is an angry storm—I’ve never seen that look on him. It’s scary. A little hot too, the way the scowl makes the red ring in his eyes burn and his fangs sharpen.

“That is some serious bullshit. Why didn’t you contact the VLC?” The VLC—Vampire Legal Collective—is an organisation that helps vampires fight against discrimination.

“I didn’t know about them, and then when I found out, it was too late.” I shrug, like I don’t care, but Kai doesn’t believe me. He’s clenching his mug so tightly, I feel bad for ruining our night with my problems. Besides, I don’t want to talk about me and my shit anymore. I think about it enough. What I really want is to know more about him. “What about your parents? Are they supportive?”

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