Page 17 of To Crave Darkly
JASPER
The sweet intoxicating liquid filled my mouth. It was glorious. Never had I tasted anything so magnificent. Surely this had to be the nectar of the Gods. It was delectable, like nothing I had ever tasted before.
More. I must have more.
I pushed my fangs in deeper, revelling in the flow of blood against my tongue. I gulped the delicious fluid down, enjoying swallow after swallow of beautiful, delicious blood. It pooled in my stomach, satisfying my hunger in ways I could never imagine. I was no longer aware of the injury I had suffered; the blood had healed me in seconds. Energy buzzed through me in a way I had never felt before. I felt like I could run a marathon in minutes or climb a mountain in seconds. This heady rush of bliss consumed me, and I was determined to take every last drop that I could.
I heard the heartbeat slow down to the point it was almost silent. There wasn’t much left for me to take. Consuming blood from the dead was pointless and disgusting. There was no life left in it anymore which meant it had lost its ability to give us life. As I slowed my feeding down, something at the back of my mind niggled at me, warning me that this tasted too good to be true, that something was wrong. But I didn’t care; I was too deep in the clutches of my bloodlust to comprehend anything other than the taste of the hot, wet, sticky blood dripping down my chin as I fed on my victim like a wild animal.
A wheezy breath sounded in my ears, like an annoying bee buzzing round my head, distracting me from the life I was consuming. Ignoring it, I turned my attention back to taking as much blood as I could in the short time my victim had left to give it to me.
Gulp.
Gulp.
“Jasper…stop…”
I stopped. Fear suddenly gripped me in an icy clasp. I recognized that voice, but I couldn’t place it. I retracted my fangs and sealed the wound with a lick of my tongue. As the haze of bloodlust cleared and the beast scarpered back into its cage with its tail between its legs, the enormity of what I had just done hit me with the force of a freight train.
I was suddenly looking at the lifeless, ashen face of Lori.
What had I done?
I shook her in my arms, but she didn’t respond. Closing my eyes, I listened for her heartbeat. It was faint, but it was there. Thank god. Relief flooded through me. Lori’s death was not one I wanted on my hands. I bit the inside of my wrist and held it over her mouth, watching as it dripped bright red onto her pale lips.
“Come on, Lori, fight for me,” I begged. I was holding my breath, waiting to see if she'd take the blood. At the sight of her tongue darting across her lips, relief flooded through me. Thank god she was going to be ok. She might hate me for this but at least she'd be alive. She licked her lips a few more times before her mouth sought the torn flesh of my wrist. Her hands clamped around my forearm and her mouth latched onto me. Her tongue glided across the wound with a ferocity that had me hard. Every suck from her mouth felt like a tug straight down to my cock.
Her eyes flew open and I stared into those beguiling brown irises, losing myself in the warm desire I saw there. She instantly released my wrist and I immediately felt the loss of her lips against my flesh.
“Jasper…,” she whispered. Her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked up at me. I could see her mind working out what had just happened. Her tongue swept across her lips and she moaned in appreciation, like she was tasting the most beautiful morsel of food. To know that she enjoyed the taste of me drove me wild. I crushed my lips to hers, swallowing her gasp of surprise. I used the moment to trace her lips with my tongue before delving into the warm softness of her mouth. The moment she touched the tip of her tongue to mine I was lost. I let out a growl as she pulled the sensitive hairs at the nape of neck and I retaliated by sinking my teeth into her bottom lip. I was rewarded with a groan as she ground her hips against mine. The connection between us pulsed. It was intense, dangerous and it made me ravenous for her. I was high on bloodlust and if I wasn’t careful, I would devour this girl on the spot.
“You taste exquisite,” I said, rubbing my thumb against her bottom lip, now swollen from the kiss and my bite. She looked marked and it had the beast in me doing a little jump for joy.
“Jasper… I….” Her voice took on a breathy tone, but it wasn’t desire that did that.
Oh God. Something was wrong.
“Lori?” I asked, concern making my voice quiver.
“I don’t feel right.” She looked deep in my eyes before a deep, wracking cough ripped from her. Her whole body shook as she coughed, blood spurting through her lips and splattering my face.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I’d never seen anyone reject blood before. Maybe I’d taken too much? Shit, if she died now would she turn?
“Lori, stay with me.” I stood, lifting her in my arms as she carried on coughing. I needed to get back to the Conclave now. The car was wrapped around a tree, so that option was out. I was going to have to run. As I looked down at Lori, now silent and unresponsive, I just hoped I could run fast enough.
Chapter 11
LORI
“Lori…,”
I heard my name as a whisper on the breeze, trying to pull me from the depths of my slumber. But I didn’t want to wake up. I was so tired. My mind drifted back into the deep chasms of unconsciousness, falling deeper and deeper…
“Lori, it’s time to wake up.”
The voice was deep and smoky, like the soft dying embers of a fire. I yearned to wake up and find out who it was, but my body wouldn’t respond. Maybe I was dead. Maybe this was finally the end…
