Chapter Eighteen
R eaper
I carry Athena to my bathroom, wetting a washcloth to clean her before I realize her clothes are covered in blood as well.
I slowly begin to strip them off, giving her time to protest should she not want to be naked with me after everything that has happened.
Once she’s free of the blood-soaked clothing, I move to my own, peeling the layers off, and turn on the shower to warm up.
Once the water temperature is comfortable, I shuffle us both under the warm rivets of water.
“I should have warned you at the café when Bones was checking you over,” I whisper against her wet hair, holding her body to mine.
“We both noticed the signs and thought the same thing, but it didn’t seem feasible in the moment.
There was the sensitivity to light, with your skin burning and peeling. ” I attempt to explain.
I continue, stroking her skin lovingly. “How you stopped being so clumsy, able to balance all of our cups and plates without a second thought. Then there was the way you stared longingly at the rare steaks when you thought no one was paying attention. Oh, and the roof of your mouth was dry. It’s a sure sign of not drinking enough blood.
Remember that for in the future, if the top of your mouth ever feels rigid, you need to drink as soon as possible. ”
She doesn’t reply as Veronica’s blood swirls around our feet in pink spirals before disappearing down the drain.
At this point, I can't tell if the trembling I’m feeling is coming from her or me.
I will never be able to forgive myself for having done this to her.
Not only did she incite the change, but she also put herself in such grave danger with my sire.
Thank God Veronica’s dead now, and we no longer have to worry about her.
There will be plenty of other threats, I’m certain, but she’s one less of them.
With a sigh, I rub my hand through her hair, making sure it’s soaked through enough, and then reach for my shampoo. I quietly admit, “I thought I was doing the right thing, keeping my thoughts to myself until we had more proof. Obviously, I was a fool.”
I gently apply the shampoo into her locks, rubbing her scalp until she moans. “I’ll never forgive myself; it was my fang that scratched you and started the transition.”
Her lids part then, revealing a set of irises that have changed from a rich chocolatey brown I’d fallen in love with to a startling swirl of crimson.
They focus on me with so much emotion, it leaves me momentarily breathless.
“What do you mean it was your fang that scratched me and started the change?”
Guilt crawls up my spine. She would be a normal, happy, healthy human if it weren’t for my greediness in having to taste her, and then finding myself too worked up, I nearly couldn’t stop from taking us a step further.
The memory flashes unbidden—Athena back on the porch, me on my knees before her as my mouth eagerly set to work between her thighs.
God, her flavor was unlike anything I’d ever experienced, making me positively dizzy with hunger and lust. “When I went down on you, darling. I was so into it, my fang pricked your skin.”
“So that’s it? Just one little scratch and you turn me into a vampire? How did it not happen before then, from us kissing?”
“No, it’s not that simple. To turn someone into a vampire, you have to bite the person to make sure your venom is in their system, and then they have to drink at least a few drops of your blood to finish the change. What happened to you was a special circumstance. Not the ordinary in any way.”
“Of course,” she mutters dejectedly, and I squeeze her a bit, reminding her she’s not alone anymore.
I finish rinsing her hair, moving on to the body wash.
I fill my palms with the soap and step away enough to put enough distance between us to gently rub the suds over her skin.
I take my time, relishing in the way her flesh feels under my palms and fingertips.
She’s my most sacred fantasy come to real life.
A mate whom I absolutely adore, here with me, for eternity shall she have me.
I can think of nothing I want more than to worship and care for her for the rest of our time on this planet.
The water continues to fall, the old blood covering us steadily disappearing for good. It may leave behind clean, unblemished skin in its wake, but it can't wash away what’s taken place today or with Athena’s half-blood status.
“I didn’t know your change would happen so fast. I thought we had more time.”
“You still haven’t told me why I’m different.”
I turn off the shower, grab for the towel hanging on my bathroom wall hook, and immediately begin drying her. “How well do you know your parents? I realize it’s a subject we haven’t broached in the past.”
She eventually takes the towel from me, wrapping her hair up in it to dry while I use another towel to dry myself off. “My mom raised me for the most part. I never met my father, though.”
“Did she show you pictures of him or tell you his name, by any chance?”
She shakes her head. “No, nothing. Whenever I asked, she always said he was a soldier passing through, and after their short romance, she never saw him again.”
I nod. Exactly as we’d thought. I hate to be the one to tell her this, but I’ve held back enough as it is. “Bones and I think he is a vampire.”
“A vampire? But why?”
“Because you aren’t just another turned vampire. You see, for you to go through the change without drinking any blood, and only from a small scratch with maybe a drop of venom, you’d have to be a half-blood.”
“What’s a half-blood?”
“Exactly as it sounds, you have one vampire parent, your father. My drop of venom never should’ve fazed you, or altered your body in any way, but it immediately set off the change.
Not only that, but when a vampire turns, they’re in a lot of pain for many days as the venom fights everything inside of them.
You showed up here looking like a vamp who’d gone through the change years back, not merely a day or two. ”
I lead her into the bedroom, continuing, “Not only that, but you are unnaturally strong. You were able to fight and hold off Veronica, a sire who has been around more years than any of us in the club. The only way you’d be able to do that is if you were born a half-blood.”
“So, now I’m a vampire. Forever?”
I nod. Pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Yes, darling. Forever.”
“Where does that leave us?” She finally works up the nerve to ask, but I could sense she’s been thinking about it from the moment we’d stepped into the shower.
I should’ve addressed it sooner, but she needed to know just how sorry I truly am for stealing her choice from her on becoming a vampire.
I would never hurt her in any way, especially turning her against her will.
“You are mine, Athena. I could feel it in the marrow of my bones from the first time I laid my eyes on you that you were meant to be mine. I guess the real question is, how does that make you feel? Do you feel anything for me?” I can sense her emotions just as I do with my brothers, only hers are so much stronger.
I’m guessing it's because she’s my mate, and our souls are now tethered for eternity.
“Of course, I feel something for you. I feel too much, Reaper. I don’t know how to explain it, and the sensation inside me only seems to have gotten stronger over the past few days.”
“It’s the change.”
She nods. “I like knowing I’m yours and you’re mine. It brings a sense of peace inside me, in an unstable time otherwise. As for turning me, you keep apologizing as if you had a say in the matter.”
“I did. I took away your choice. It was my fang that initiated the change.”
“You’re wrong. Weren’t you listening to yourself when you explained that my father was a vampire? That I was already born a half-blood?”
“Of course, but…”
“No butts. I was obviously meant to be this way. To be a vampire.”
“You had the gene. It was carried over from your father, but it was my venom that made you change.” I try to make her understand how serious this is for me, how it breaks my heart to do this to her.
“Exactly. I already had the gene for my entire life. Honestly? I’m glad it was your venom that made me come into my full potential, and not someone else. It feels wrong somehow, like their venom wouldn’t be right for me. Does that make sense?”
I nod. “Yes, more than you know. There’s a reason for it. We’re not just compatible, we’re mates . Fated to be together, my soul is tethered to yours for the rest of our lives.”
“Mates?” She whispers, her eyes growing wide as she takes in the severity of the term. “What does that mean?”
“The world chose our two souls to be a perfect match. I will never love another like I love you.”
“Already,” she breathes the word nearly silent, but I still hear it with my heightened senses. “Y-you love me already, and you’re not just saying it. I can feel it in my heart, like an explosion of warmth, making me feel worshipped. It’s the only way I can explain the sensation.”
I nod. “Yes, that is my love pouring through our bond.”
“I love you, Reaper, so much. Thank you for being the one to turn me. It’s an honor to have shared that with you. Knowing my mate is the one to change me means everything . I’d have wanted you to turn me anyway, once I found out about you. I only ever want to be by your side.”
“Christ, Athena,” I mutter, my gut twisted up with emotion for her.
How did she know those were the words I needed to hear to finally forgive myself?
“Please tell me I can make love to you? I’ve thought of it every night since I first tasted your pussy.
I want to feel you wrapped around me in every way. ”
“Yes, please, Reaper. I need you; my body craves your touch all over,” she sighs, shifting from the edge of my bed until she’s lying in the middle of it, naked and waiting for me to taste her.
Her body is a feast for my eyes, as I drop my towel and take in her nakedness.
She’s stunning, all pale flesh and curves.
Vampirism suits her in many ways, making my mouth water with the thought of finally biting her.
With my towel gone, I kneel on the bed and then crawl toward the middle, moving between her spread thighs like a man parched, finally about to gorge myself on a stream full of sustenance.
The scent of her sweet, enticing arousal fills my nostrils, making my fangs ache with need as I stare at the wet slit between her pussy lips. “I’m going to taste every delicious inch of you,” I promise, my voice gravelly, laced with desire.
“So ready to be savored,” I comment against her silky skin, trailing kisses down her soft stomach.
I position myself between her legs, my shoulders wide enough that her thighs spread more to accommodate me.
The scent of her arousal this close makes my fangs tingle, and a few drops of venom already begin to fill my mouth.
I’m impossibly hard, my cock aching to the point I rub it into the comforter and shake my head with a chuckle.
I haven’t even begun my exploration of her, and my cock is more than ready to lay claim.
I can't deny myself any longer, I decide, as I stare at her glistening pussy. She's perfect—swollen and wet, her arousal dripping down her inner thighs. “So stunning,” I compliment before leaning in to taste her. I feel like I’ve waited forever for this moment, and I’m going to savor every second.
The first swipe of my tongue makes her cry out, her hands fisting in the sheets.
My eyes roll heavenward as her flavor explodes inside my mouth, and I groan in approval.
I lick her slowly at first, relishing her flavor, learning what makes her squirm.
I run my tongue along her outer lips, appreciating every single inch of her.
She whimpers, her hands finding my hair, fingers tangling in it as I delve deeper. When I circle her clit with the tip of my tongue, her thighs clench around my head, urging me closer. My tongue continues to flick at her clit, applying just enough pressure to make her hips buck.
“Reaper,” she says my name on a moan. “Oh, don’t stop!”
I have no intention of stopping as I slip two fingers inside her, curling them a bit until I manage to hit the spot that makes her see stars.
I suck her clit between my lips and delight in the way her walls clench around me, warm and tight, making me imagine how her hot little cunt will feel wrapped around my thick cock.
Before I claim any pleasure from her body, I want to feel her lose complete control and fall apart on my tongue.
Her thighs tremble against my shoulders, her body a shaky, sweaty, glorious mess as each of her breaths comes out ragged with every stroke of my tongue.
I can feel her getting close, as her inner walls clamp down around my fingers.
It’s such a turn on knowing I’m making her feel this way, to touch and taste this beautiful woman before me, whom I get to call my mate.
I increase my pace, my tongue flicking faster against her sensitive bud.
“Come for me, my darling,” I quietly command against her flesh.
“I want to taste you when you finally give in and fall over to the pleasure.” My words are the final straw in the hat.
They send her spiraling over a pent-up mountain of repressed desire and straight into her orgasm.
She cries out my name, loudly, as a touch of bliss crashes through her.
Her greedy pussy clenches, attempting to draw my fingers in deeper as she spasms rhythmically.
In the next beat, she’s coming all over my tongue, and like the covetous vamp I am, I lick up every last drop.
I don’t stop right away either, continuing to work her through her pleasure, drawing her orgasm out until she’s reduced to nothing more than merely gasping and tugging at my hair.
“R-Reaper, please,” she begs, her voice already hoarse from her moaning and crying out my name.
Damn, I love the sound of that.
“I need you, inside me, now .”