Chapter 24
Eric
Why was I lying on a bathroom floor all twisted up like a fucking pretzel?
It only took a second for my senses to kick in. There was someone in the room next door. A human. Nope, not just any human. Finn. My mate.
I smiled as I inhaled deeply. His scent was everywhere, surrounding me just like the blanket that was wrapped around me. It was his blanket, the one he usually kept on his couch. His scent had seeped into the soft, slightly worn-out fabric.
I couldn’t help but smile.
Even after everything that’d happened today—him finding out I was a vampire, running away from me and ignoring my calls—he’d still made sure I was comfortable. More than that, he’d taken care of me, taken care of my injuries. Hell, he’d been mad when I’d declined to drink his blood.
Ohh, I’d wanted to. I’d desperately wanted to. Nothing was as delicious and as satisfying as his blood. But I’d still had the acidic taste of his fear in my mouth, and his apartment reeked of despair and anger.
It just… hadn’t felt right.
I took another deep breath.
The fear and anger were fading. Which was good.
I moved my fingers, one by one, and smiled as I realized they didn’t hurt anymore. Okay. Good. They’d healed. Which meant I’d slept for quite some time, a couple of hours at least.
So, I should be good to head outside, right?
I got up from the floor, listening for Finn, but the only things I heard were his slow and steady heartbeat and his even breaths.
He was sleeping. Good. I hadn’t liked the way he’d looked when I’d arrived.
His hair had stuck up in every direction, his eyes red from crying, face all blotchy and pale.
Seeing him like that had hurt far more than my hands ever could.
Because I’d put him in that situation. Because I hadn’t been honest with him. I hadn’t technically lied to him—our stupid bond wouldn’t have let me—but I’d so carefully danced around the topic that it must’ve felt like lies to him.
Never again.
I rubbed the spot over my heart and shook my head.
He might know I was a vampire, but there were more things we had to talk about.
Later.
I carefully opened the bathroom door and was met by darkness.
Not complete darkness, but the sun must’ve set at least an hour ago.
It was dusky, but the evening sky still held a hint of bluish grey.
For a moment, I just stared at the building opposite this one, at the exact same spot I usually sat right about now, watching Finn.
I’d have to come clean about that eventually. I couldn’t risk him finding out about that part on his own as well, but… not today.
My eyes darted over to the couch. To my mate. He was lying on his side, his hand under his face, his long lashes fanning over his cheek, a relaxed smile on his lips.
Something in my chest unfurled, the last knots of worry falling away.
He still trusted me, he had to. Otherwise, I highly doubted he’d have fallen asleep with me in the other room.
He definitely still cared about me.
I took a step closer and looked for signs of him waking up, but he didn’t move at all as I sat down on the floor in front of him.
My fingers itched to reach out and brush a strand of his light brown hair out of his face.
To caress his soft, rosy skin that looked so much better and healthier than a couple of weeks ago.
He’d been so damn angry when he’d seen me. For a moment, I thought he’d slam the door in my face—and I’d have deserved it. It’d taken me way too long to realize he was furious at me for hurting myself.
I brushed a stray strand out of his face after all.
My caring mate.
My feisty, caring mate.
Oh, how much I’d underestimated him.
I’d always thought of him as innocent and slightly na?ve. Too pure to pull him into my world.
But he was navigating it better than I’d ever expected. Hell, he’d shouted at me, knowing I was a vampire. He’d practically spat in my face that I wasn’t scaring him.
I smiled, feeling his heartbeat beneath my fingertips, his blood calling out to me. I needed to feed, urgently so, but I couldn’t even think about leaving him alone right now. My hunger would have to wait. I was stronger than the gnawing in my gut, stronger than the throbbing in my gums.
He’d watched me drink blood, I realized with a start. Had watched me devouring that fucking disgusting bag of blood like a starving lion would devour a slab of steak. My cheeks heated, and a trickle of unease set in.
He shouldn’t have seen me like that. That’s not how I wanted him to picture me when he thought about me feeding.
Because the time I’d fed off him had been different. It could be different. With us, I knew it would be sensual. Intimate. Ecstatic.
Finn shifted on the couch, and I stopped caressing his cheek, waiting for his eyes to open.
It took a couple of minutes, but eventually they did. And the way he smiled upon seeing me? It made all the pain I’d gone through worth it.
“Hey,” he said sleepily, blinking a couple of times. “How are you?”
“I’m good,” I said, wiggling my fingers to prove it. “Good as new. How are you?”
Finn grinned.
“Good, now that I know I’m not going crazy. You really are a vampire.”
“Yep.”
He giggled, then sat up.
“I’m gonna keep saying that again and again—and you’ll have to reassure me every time, okay? Because even though I’ve seen it and I know it’s true, it’s still hard to grasp, you know? Vampires are real. And if vampires are… what else is out there?”
I kept my mouth shut. I would answer his questions, all of them, but I had the feeling he’d had enough for one night.
Finn cocked his head, studying my face.
“You know what’s out there, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re gonna tell me.” It wasn’t a question as much as a statement.
“I will.” I took the risk and leaned in, gently booping his nose with my own. “In due time.”
And maybe with Bennie’s help. He was good at explaining the supernatural. He’d done it before. With me.
“Okay.” Finn nodded and yawned. “I feel like I’ve been put through the wringer.”
“It was an exciting day.”
“You could say that. And I think I’ve had about all the excitement I can take for the moment. Soo…”
“So?”
He gave me a lopsided smile. “How about we hit the pause button on all the serious talks we’ll have to have. Just until tomorrow, okay?”
“If you want that.” I’d do just about anything for him. Hitting pause on a conversation I wasn’t keen to have was easy.
“I do. Tonight, I need my boyfriend to snuggle me.”
My heart soared at his words, and I nodded so frantically that his tentative smile turned into a full grin.
“Okay. Good. I also need food. Uhm… what about you?”
I wanted to lie.
I really did.
Because telling him my stomach fucking hurt from hunger was not the way I wanted to introduce him to my vampire side. But I also didn’t want to start our next chapter with me deceiving him yet again.
In the end, I didn’t have to say anything.
He just nodded, a gentle smile on his face.
“That’s what I thought. What about…” He stopped, swallowed heavily, then nodded, as if trying to reassure himself.
“How about you go out and get me… let’s say, Chinese takeout, okay?
And while you’re out, you can take care of…
” He waved vaguely at my mouth. “Your dietary requirements.”
I snorted.
“You mean I go out and find my dinner, then get you yours?”
Finn let out a small laugh.
“If that’s okay with you?”
“Hell yeah.”
I couldn’t believe it. He was sending me out to go feed. Just like that. He wasn’t disgusted at all, and his heart rate had barely spiked at the prospect of me drinking someone’s blood.
I shook my head in disbelief, then did what I’d wanted to do ever since I’d laid eyes on Finn when he’d opened the door for me looking distraught and mad as hell. I grabbed him and pulled him into my arms, holding on for dear life.
Err. Existence.
Whatever.
“Oh, and while you’re out, call Bennie. He called me—a lot. I tried reassuring him that everything’s okay, but he didn’t seem convinced. He kept saying something about you being hurt. No idea how he knew that, since I certainly didn’t tell him anything, but… yeah. Call him.”
I scratched the back of my neck, remembering the moment I’d freaked out and smashed my phone.
“Uhm, I might’ve broken my phone. I can’t call him.”
Finn rolled his eyes and grabbed his from the coffee table. “Here, take mine. I’ll be fine without it for a few minutes.”
“Thank you.” I took the phone off him, caressing his hand for a second before pulling back. “I’m gonna call him as soon as I’m outside. Uhm…” I looked at him and hesitated.
“Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you?”
Was that on the table right now?
Finn looked at me for a while, and he bit his lip. “Okay. Uhm… in general, yes. But uhm… You haven’t brushed your teeth after drinking that bag of blood, so… I have a spare toothbrush you can use after you’re back from, uh, eating. Okay?”
I nodded, relief flooding my whole system.
I could live with that.
Still, I couldn’t go without saying goodbye at all, so I pulled Finn into my arms again and hugged him as hard as I dared.
I’d come so close to losing him today.
So damn close.
I never wanted to go through that again.
“It’s okay,” Finn whispered against my throat. “We’re fine. Now, go and eat, because I’m starving. The sooner you’re back, the sooner I’ll get my dinner too.”
I laughed and nodded, then headed out.
It took me barely any time at all to find a suitable victim.
Okay, truth be told, I’d been lazy. One of his neighbors liked to sneak in a quick smoke on the fire escape, and it’d been my lucky day.
He’d basically presented himself on a silver platter for me, sitting on that rusty metal fire escape, his eyes closed, head resting against the banister so that I could swoop in with a swift motion.
He never heard me coming.