Lucas licks up the blood that drips down my neck and then sucks down a mouthful, arms going around my body. He holds me tight at he pulls more blood from my body.
I let my eyes fall shut and keep his head against me, not allowing him to pull away yet if he tried. He can drink a substantial amount of my blood and I’ll be okay. A little weak, but okay.
“Callie,” Abby says, voice strained. “That’s enough.”
“I’m fine,” I tell her, and I start to fall back from Lucas’s weight on me. He sucks hard, and I know I’ll have a bruise in the morning.
“Cal,” she says again and steps closer. “That’s enough!”
“Not human, remember?”
“Not fully human. Part of you still is, and that part is still susceptible to human ailments. Like losing too much blood.”
Lucas pulls his head back and laps at the blood on my neck. “She’s right,” he tells me, licking his lips.
“Do you feel better?” I ask, bringing my hand to my neck, needing to cover the two little bite wounds on my neck. Unlike vampires, my blood does clot—faster than the average human. Lucas told me so, which works to our advantage.
“A little. I’m…I’m tired,” he says, almost as if the words are foreign to him. “But it’s not like how I normally feel tired.”
Lucas is on top of me, having laid me down as he fed off of me. He probably shouldn’t be putting that type of pressure on the wound.
“Lie down on your back,” I tell him.
He wiggles his eyebrows. “What are you going to do to me?”
“I’m going to make sure you didn’t pop your stitches.”
“Kinky.”
I shake my head. “You’re impossible.”
“That’s why you love me, isn’t it?” He slowly sits up, wincing as he moves.
“Partly. The other part is your money.”
“I knew it.” He laughs and makes a face.
“Yeah, that’s going to hurt,” Abby says, still standing there looking at us with shock on her face. “I couldn’t laugh for days after I had a C-section.” She turns her gaze to me. “I’m going to get you some water. You lost a lot of blood, too.”
“Not more than usual,” I say, which only makes Abby frown. She’s gone from fearing vampires to supporting my marriage to one in only a few months. I have to give her props for that. Getting used to the idea that Lucas drinks my blood is still hard for her to grasp. Hell, it’s still a little weird to me. Even weirder is Lucas liking when I drink his blood.
Lucas and I carefully resituate on the couch so he’s lying on his back. I’m hanging off the edge of the couch, but the discomfort is distant in my mind. All that matters is that I’m here, next to Lucas. I push his hair back again, tears in my eyes.
“Told you I’d be okay,” he grumbles.
“Right,” I reply, but we both know he’s far from okay. Abby stopped the bleeding…for now. “Close your eyes,” I tell him and rake my fingers through his hair. “Rest for a bit and then we’ll go home.”
He nods and lets his eyes fall shut, reaching up and taking my hand. I love him so fucking much. He has to be okay.
He just has to.
“Thank you, Callie,” he whispers and retracts his fangs.
“Of course, Lucas.”
“I don’t mean for bringing me here and having your sister sew my skin together with pretty pink thread.”
My lips twitch up in a half-smile. “You noticed?”
“Eliza will like it, at least.”
“Eliza is going to freak out,” I counter.
“Best not to tell her. Not yet, at least.”
“Can she sense when you’re in danger?”
He shakes his head and slits his eyes open. “She’ll know if I die.”
“Well, it’s not going to come to it.” I gently hook my leg over his, careful not to put any pressure on his stomach. “If you didn’t thank me for taking care of you, then what are you thanking me for?”
“For this.”
“Are you delusional from lack of blood?”
He smiles again. “Possibly. But the fact that you’re with me, that you love me enough to marry me…” His eyes flutter shut.
I blink back tears and press my lips to his. “Rest,” I whisper, and he nods before going still.
“Callie?” Abby says softly, coming back into the living room holding a glass of water. “Are you awake?”
“Yeah,” I reply, just as soft. I slowly pull away from Lucas, ungracefully falling off the couch. I stand and realize just how covered in blood I am. “Sorry about the blood. We’ll…we’ll replace the couch if it’s stained.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Abby hands me the glass of water and waves her hand in the air. “I hate that thing, anyway. It’s so big and bulky, but Phil didn’t want to get rid of it because it’s comfortable.”
I take a drink of water. “It is.”