38. Chapter Thirty-Eight - Teagan
Chapter Thirty-Eight - Teagan
Sen tilts my chin up as he gently lifts a mug to my lips. Sighing, I swallow as blood coats the inside of my mouth and flows down my throat, my tongue lapping at the edges once it’s all gone.
He pulls away, leaning forward to lick up a red drop running down my chin.
“Good?” Sen asks, kissing the corner of my lips possessively.
“Good,” I sigh, dropping down onto the mound of pillows with my hands crossed over my full stomach.
“Good,” Sen repeats, crawling over me to lie at my side, rolling me into his chest and tucking my face into his neck.
“Good,” I whisper, breathing in his scent. He smells like wild green and soft sheets, comforting things.
We’ve been back at the mansion now for three days. Kai has only left my side when I looked him in the eye and said, ‘Can you go away so Sen and I can fuck?’
I thought he’d roll his eyes like he normally would. Instead, he looked on the verge of tears as he laid a hand on my head and said he’s happy I’m right where I belong, before leaving us.
“I’m sorry,” Sen says. “I know you wanted to wait to become a vampire.”
“Stop apologising,” I tell him, like I’ve told him a hundred times already. “Being alive is great.”
“Do you remember anything?” Sen cradles the back of my head. He also rarely leaves my side.
I’m getting tired of being treated like a piece of delicate china. But I also remember so clearly the anguish stamped on Kai and Sen’s faces when I came back. In some ways, it’s more painful than when Summer’s obsidian blade slid between my ribs. So I’ll forgive them.
Summer, I’ll never forgive.
“Do you remember?” I run my fingers under his T-shirt, feeling all his warm muscles underneath. “You died, too, right?”
The reminder of my death makes his embrace tighten. “I suppose so.” Sen thinks about it, then shrugs. “I don’t remember anything.”
“Same. I feel like…I dunno. Like maybe I’ve forgotten something? It’s hard to explain. I think I’ll need paint and a canvas.”
Sen looks over to the walls covered in paintings. “Not enough?”
The day we returned, I wanted to paint, but I was too exhausted.
On the second day, the urge was making me vibrate.
Kai worried I would crumble from exhaustion.
Sen worried, too, but he still brought me my backpack and searched the mansion’s many corners for a random assortment of half-used paint cans.
I thanked him with a blowjob, then covered the walls of our temporary room in an explosion of everything.
It was exactly what I needed.
So was the blowjob and two-finger fucking he gave me after.
I smile at Sen. He smiles back, understanding me in a way no one else ever will.
“Whatever you want, sweetheart,” Sen tells me. Our eyes connect, the bond between us unbreakable, and I hear all his unsaid words; I have his heart. He has mine.
I slide my fingers through his silky hair to pull him close, to kiss him with all the love and passion I have for my detective. And between each gasp or swipe of my tongue, I tell him ‘I love you’ and ‘I love you’ and ‘always’.
There’s a knock at the door. I expect it to be Kai—again—but when we reluctantly part, it’s Elio standing there.
“I was…hoping to speak with you,” Elio says, face scowling and looking away.
At this point, I think I know him well enough to tell that his scowl is hiding a blush.
Sen glances between us both before slowly rising. “Let me get you some more blood.”
I nod, watching him leave as Elio comes closer.
He doesn’t sit on the bed. He stands by the window, his arms tightly tucked at his sides as he looks below at the wreckage.
He’s quiet for a long time, which is fine; I’ve only seen him once since returning from my stone-cold slumber when he confirmed the tether between me and Summer was broken.
I thanked him for everything; he only shrugged and left for his room.
“Your Mum was a bitch.”
He snorts something between a laugh and a sigh.
“But I’m really sorry.”
He stares out the window for a moment longer, then glances at me from over his shoulder. “A house full of vampires and a blood mage,” he says, a small shake of his head, “and yet you’re the strangest thing here.”
I flash him my fangs. “Not so much anymore.”
A few hairs fall from his messy bun as he watches me struggle to retract my fangs. Getting them out is a simple push; putting them back takes more effort.
“Do I…” he trails off, chewing his bottom lip.
Finally, my fangs retract, and I wait for Elio to gather whatever courage he needs.
“How do I smell?” His voice comes out as a shaky, uncertain whisper.
He’s asking if he smells like a blood mage. Elio promised never to use a spellbook, and he broke that promise to save me. So if giving him the truth is the only way I can thank him, then that’s what I’ll do.
“Come closer, my sense of smell still isn’t that strong.”
Chin held high, he approaches as if preparing himself for the worst. I breathe in deep. My scent of warm sand and sweet tea lingers on the sheets, mixed perfectly with Sen’s. I smell the wood and brick of the walls, the sun pouring in from the window.
And… “Blood.”
Elio’s shoulders don’t drop, but a tremor of disappointment runs through him.
“But not rotted,” I tell him, drawing back. “You don’t smell gross. You actually smell kinda nice.”
“Of course you’d say that.” He rolls his eyes, but I spot the flicker of relief. “You’re a vampire now.”
I shrug.
“So it isn’t…bad?” he asks quietly, gaze skittering away.
I shake my head. “I promise.”
“Thank you…for…” Elio shifts, clears his throat. “Emma was…not a good parent. Probably the worst. But…”
I nod to the bed. After a confused pause, Elio lowers onto the corner, posture rigid as a pole. I shift so we’re sitting side by side, our shoulders touching.
“Do you like being a vampire?” Elio asks.
“I like sucking Sen.”
Elio scoffs, shaking his head. “I’m not going to respond to that.”
“Have you ever let a vampire suck on you?”
Elio’s face scrunches up. “No way.”
“You should try it.” I lunge at Elio, snapping my blunt teeth. “Maybe you’ll like it.”
“Oh my god,” he complains while trying to hide his laughter. “Get away from me! You’re such a weirdo.”
I don’t say anything. Why bother correcting him when it’s true? Besides, I’m too busy laughing.