But I trust Lucas completely. He’ll never lose control.
Swallowing a mouthful of blood, he drives his cock into me, holding it there for a second as he takes in one last drink of blood. He keeps his mouth over the wound on my neck as he comes, licking up the blood that seeps out but not sucking out more.
Cock pulsing inside of me, Lucas gently puts two fingers over the bite on my neck.
“Your blood,” Lucas starts, licking the last bit of it off his lips. “It tastes like the sun.”
I smile. “I’ll have to lay out and tan more often then. I was topless this time.”
“I wish I could see that.”
“I can lay around topless inside.”
“I mean you in the sun.” He presses a little harder against the bite wounds, needing to apply pressure for a good minute before the bleeding stops.
I rake my fingers through his messy hair. I accidentally cast a spell to make windows filter out the harmful light of the sun. And I know moonstone absorbs enough sunlight to burn him.
“Maybe you can. I might be able to figure out a way.”
“I can, through the window.”
“I know, but I mean I might be able to figure out a way for you to day-walk.”
And if I did figure out a way to allow a vampire to walk in the sunlight, the Grand Coven would have my head for sure.
Chapter 17
I feel a little dizzy when I sit up, which Lucas warned me about. Anytime he drinks a decent amount of my blood, he always babies me for the next few hours while my body heals.
“Are you all right, my love?” Lucas pulls his sweatpants back on and speeds over. I sit back down on the mattress and blink a few times.
“Yeah. Just dizzy like you said.”
“Lie back down. I’ll bring you water.”
“I can get it.”
“I know.” He’s already grabbing the blanket to tuck me back in. “And I can too.” He kisses my forehead and speeds out of the room, returning a few seconds later with a glass of water. I take a big drink and set it on the nightstand.
“Do you have to work tonight?”
“I’m done going over the bookkeeping, but I did plan on going in. I allowed Dina to feed last night so her fangs would grow back. I plan to rip them out again after I question her.”
“What if she gives you answers?”
“I’ll still rip them out, as I will continue to do for the rest of her afterlife. She bit you. Tasted your blood. She hurt you.” Anger flashes in Lucas’s eyes, and to anyone else, he’d look terrifying right now. “I will find out who sent her and do the same to them.”
“I almost forgot vampire bounty hunters were after me.” I reach for my water again and take another drink. “What does that say about my life? It’s so full of danger and drama that I forgot a group of vampires are against assimilation and want me dead.”
“They want you for something, but not dead. Not yet at least.”
“The Grand Coven knows we’re together. Those rogue vamps know. The Vampire Council will find out soon enough.” I let out a snort of laughter. “Breaking us apart might be the only thing the Grand Coven and the VC ever agree on.”
“That would be a first.”
I finish the water and slowly get up and go to the dresser to get myself a pair of underwear. Most of my clothes are at my house in Thorne Hill and I usually pack just enough for a few days at a time when I come here. It’s kind of annoying, but I don’t have enough clothes to split evenly between both houses.
We’ll be together in Thorne Hill soon enough.
I put the black romper I’d worn earlier back on and go into the bathroom to brush out my hair. Lucas and I go downstairs together, and I head right into the kitchen. I need to eat after he drinks my blood, or I’ll start to feel sick later.
“Do you want me to cook for you?” he asks.
“Why do I get the feeling you want to cook?”
“It’s a challenge,” he says with a smile. “I’ve mastered toast now.”
“You have,” I laugh. “And sure, that would be really sweet. I’m still craving mac and cheese and there’s a box of it in the pantry.”
Lucas turns, having to look around the kitchen for the pantry. I don’t think he’s ever opened it before.
“You think you can handle it?” I ask as he reads the instructions on the box.
“This is rather simple.”
“You say that now,” I tease and sit at the island counter. My purse is on the barstool next to me, and the feather is inside. I pull it out, stroking the spine with my finger. Lucas turns, opening and closing his cabinets.
“The pots are in the lazy Susan,” I tell him, tucking the feather under the counter. “It’s that corner cabinet over there.” I point to it, finding it amusing that he has no idea where anything is in his own kitchen.
I keep the feather in my lap and steal a glance down at it, like a kid sneaking looks at a cell phone in class. I don’t know why I want to keep this a secret. Maybe because I can’t explain why I like it?
“What are you doing?” Eliza comes into the kitchen, stopping short when she sees Lucas at the stove.
“Making Callie lunch.” Lucas fills the pot with water and sets it on the oven.
“But that’s human food.”
“She’s human.”
Eliza wrinkles her nose. “Speaking of lunch, mine is on the way. Then I’m going to bed.”
“Clean up after yourself,” Lucas tells her, and I snicker. She really is like his fully grown child. Giving Lucas an annoyed glare, Eliza saunters off, waiting for, well, I’m not sure.
“Eliza doesn’t drink bottled blood, right?” I ask.
“No, I won’t allow it.” Lucas steps back and stares at the pot of water, waiting for it to boil.
“So, when she said her lunch is coming here, she means a person?”
“Yes. There is a service to order from. You pick who you want, and they come to you.”
“I’ve heard of that.” I run the feather over the inside of my palm. “And the protests against it.”
“Your father led one of the biggest.”
“Ugh, don’t even bring him up.” I shudder. “I say what people want to do with their own bodies is their own choice. As long as they’re not hurting anyone, right?”
“I’ve always agreed with that.”
I stick the feather back in my purse when Lucas isn’t looking and get up, going over to the pot. “I can cheat.” Holding my hands over it, I magically bring the water to a boil.
Lucas smiles and dumps the noodles into the pot. “Get some wine and sit down. I’ll bring you the food when it’s done.”
I don’t have the heart to tell him if I drank wine right now, I’d be drunk after two sips. He’s trying hard to be involved in every aspect of my life. Teaching himself how to cook means more to me than I expected.
Pouring myself another cup of coffee, I go back to the counter and look through Pinterest, showing Lucas different ideas for the kitchen. We’ve been in Chicago for a few days and I’m looking forward to going back to Thorne Hill to see how much progress has been done on the house.
“I wish they could put the pool in now,” I joke. “But I know it would end up being a mess of dust and scrap and whatever else they take out of the house.”
“Once the structural damage has been fixed, it shouldn’t be too messy. Maybe by the fall.”
“It’s too cold in the fall for me to swim.”
“How cold is too cold for you?”
“It kind of depends. If the water is warm and the sun is out, probably like seventy-five. We could get a hot tub and use it year-round.”
“Okay,” he agrees right away.
“And a stable full of white ponies,” I add just to see what he’ll say.
“Wouldn’t you rather have a horse? You’re too tall for a pony.” He turns around with a smile. “And white doesn’t suit you. You need a black horse, like a Friesian.”
?
??Ohhh, those are pretty. I took riding lessons before my father sold me to science, and someone at the stable had a pair of Friesians. I was a kid then, obviously, and I remember them being huge.”
“If you want horses, I’ll get you horses. It’s been a while since I’ve owned any.”
“I didn’t know you even liked horses.”
“In my human life, we depended on them. As a vampire, I could cover more ground on my own, but still traveled on horseback. I owned racehorses for years but got out of the business.”
“How come?”
“I didn’t like seeing the horses mistreated. I might have drained a few owners and thought it was best to find a new interest to invest my time and money into.”