I examined the fangs protruding over his plump lips. "You're a different kind of creepy."
He leaned back on his knees and pulled me up so I was in a sitting position. "Didn't think you'd wake up spouting compliments and poetry." He sighed. "It's almost complete."
"Almost?" I croaked. "I have to go through more pain?"
"No…" His eyes flashed. "…just pleasure."
"Wha—"
His mouth was on my neck before I had a chance to utter any more words. His tongue twisted and pushed against the base of my throat.
I bucked off the bed as a sweet sensation of euphoria washed over me.
When he pulled back, his eyes were so bright green it hurt to stare directly at him. "Now that… was me biting you."
"Yeah…" I managed to push the word past my stunned lips. "It was."
He moved off the bed at epic speed and was already at the door when I blinked for a second time. "Stephanie will be in to help you shower and dress. We'll discuss your… duties… when you've regained some of your strength."
"Wait!" I blurted.
He paused at the door, his hands digging into the wood. "Yes?"
"Am I still human?"
He burst out laughing and turned. "Of course… still weak, still fragile, still very much… human."
"Oh…" I nodded, my studies of vampires were clearly lacking since I'd learned that a bite could turn you or worse, kill you. "…that's good, right?"
"Depends on who you ask, I suppose." He shrugged and shut the door softly behind him.
I was too tired to focus on what that cryptic sentence may have meant and didn't have time to mull it over like I typically would because Stephanie burst through that same door two minutes later yelling, "You lived!"
Did that mean she'd thought I would die?
"Good for you." She nodded. "Things are finally looking up!" She clapped her hands and dropped a set of clothes onto the nearby chair. "Let's get you showered and looking your best so you can start producing little vampire babies."
I felt my stomach drop. "Wh-what?"
"It was a joke." She winked. "Well, the vampire babies part. Now, let's get you feeling better. I'll have Alex in here a bit later to stabilize you and—"
"Stabilize me?" I repeated. "What?"
"It's what he does." She nodded. "He's a siren — makes girls feel calm when all they want to do is pull their hair out and scream. I'd do it, but it only works on men… thus the need for him to do it. Don't worry though. It's like taking a Xanax, only it feels way better."
"I don't want to feel drugged," I mumbled, my body aching in places I didn't know even existed. "I think right now I just want a shower."
Stephanie shifted on her feet. "He didn't hurt you… did he?"
Well, my physical body was intact, but my heart was really confused. Did it hurt? No, but something felt wrong. Like I should be happy, elated even, rather than depressed and rejected.
"No," I finally answered. "I'm great."
"Good." She exhaled. "Now, about that shower."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Ethan