Page 37 of Death is Familiar

The anticipation of the bite-yet-to-come released a steady stream of adrenaline into my system. My heart pounded in my ears. A cold sweat blistered my palms. My patience was growing thin—like a water droplet eating through paper, thin.

And just when I was sure I couldn’t take any more, just when I was on the edge of shouting “hurry up and do it already”, she bit.

9

Idrew in a sharp breath as two distinctive pricks pierced my neck. The bite wasn’t painful, but it was enough of a shock to send my already apprehensive body into high alert and onto the verge of entering fight mode, which wasn’t a good thing. Fight mode had the habit of taking over. Of consuming me until I was no longer myself. The beast within me laid bare, until it knew I was safe.

But here it would be an unwelcome possession.

I closed my eyes, trying to forget that we were in a room full of people, most of whom were envious of my position, while the woman, Carmen, sucked on my neck.

And she was sucking.

After the initial prick, she didn’t release me. No. She drew me closer, pulling more of me into her mouth. Tugging. Tasting. It took me mentally counting past ten Mississippi to realize she was dead set on giving me a hickey. Leaving an undeniable mark on my flesh that would be much more noticeable than the two tiny holes I’d been expecting.

She was making this a show.

A flutter of panic slammed into my chest. Staving off fight mode had left an opening for other more vulnerable parts of me to slip through. My scars, my healing brand, the discomfort of being exposed and on display flashed through me. And all I wanted to do was get away.

“Mmm…” she purred into my neck, and she drew in closer, repositioning my chin. An act that told me she wasn’t letting me go any time soon.

This. This right here was why I hated vampires. The control. The dominance. Every single thing I had said and thought about the vamps in the car with Jack and Todd on our way to Huntington simmered in my mind. About to boil over.

But that thought flipped a switch. And in a very Jack-like fashion, I began searching for loopholes. Something, anything, that would get me out of the discomfort and exhibitionism I was experiencing.

Technically, I had my mark. I could call ‘holy water’ or ‘silver’, and I still should have been permitted entry. But I needed her on my side if I had a chance of getting Todd in, bite-free.

Fine. I could withstand a little more excessive sucking. For him.

The angry edges of my panic subsided. My body relaxed—somewhat. She couldn’t attach herself to my neck forever. The discomfort was temporary. It was just flesh and bone. Just lips on my neck. My body had gone through worse. Was going through something worse.

With a sudden smack of skin and lips, Carmen released me. Even with a dull throbbing on my collar, which I had no doubt was blossoming into splotches of concord and cabernet, relief flooded my pores. Breathing came easier.

“Oh, yes.” She wiped her bottom lip, fixing the smudge of her lipstick back into a perfect line, then ran a thumb over where she left her mark on me. “You’ll do nicely.”

Her attention flashed over the rest of the room, the room I was working hard to ignore, when her eyes flared. Whatever it was, she liked what she saw.

“Come, darling, let me show you what you get for behaving so well.” Eyes still fixed over my shoulder, she laced her fingers through mine, leading me toward the inner sanctum.

But I couldn’t go in. Not yet. There was still something I needed to do.

I planted my feet, my angry and heavily stilettoed feet, and located Todd, who was a lot closer than I was expecting, motioning for him to join us.

“What are you doing?” Carmen whispered. There was an edge to her voice I couldn’t place. It fell somewhere between anger and interest.

I ignored how wrong the words felt on my tongue. “Getting my man-toy.”

She pursed her lips, sizing up Todd as he approached. “My plans involved keeping you all to myself. I have no intention of biting… him. If that’s what you’re asking. Though I’m sure he’d whet someone else’s appetite.”

“Are you alright?” Todd asked, unnerved. The apprehension he carried with him was palpable, well beyond his base-level irritation.

I squeezed Carmen’s hand, ignoring Todd’s question. “Oh no. He’s already been bitten.”

“What are you doing?”

“Show her your neck.” The lighting was dim enough, his tattoos dark enough, that it would be hard to tell whether or not he had been bitten. If he had been bitten.

A small, almost imperceptible, muscle ticked in Todd’s jaw as he turned his head to the side.