Chapter Sixteen
It turned out we were pretty evenly matched in most games and the competitive spirit meant no one folded willingly but, in the end, Theo triumphed. I took second place which kept me safe from the bet, and Matthias lost.
He wasn’t happy when the blond chose his prize. Theo demanded that tomorrow, after I finished my work, Matthias was to spend the day away from me. The older vampire was furious. There was a terse word exchange that put me on edge, after which Theo pulled me to the side.
“I know it’s underhanded but it’s for his own good,” he explained.
“At first, we didn’t have access to proper food here, like we have at home, just, ah, some refrigerated options that don’t help that much, but now I have scouted the area and we have other venues.
Matthias still refuses to go replenish himself because he would have to be absent from your side for at least a few hours to visit the hospital we made a deal with or cruise for willing blood donors in one of the supernatural clubs. ”
“Feeding from me wasn’t enough?” I asked.
“It helped a lot. But it’s a strain on your body, especially if you aren’t on the right diet,” Theo frowned. “It’s better to not rely on your blood for everyday maintenance of our bodies and to keep it for emergency or for... ahem... entertainment use.”
I flushed, remembering fresh blood was vital for an erection to happen for a vampire. I supposed what Theo was saying made sense; if even continuous feeding of one vampire would be taxing on my body I didn’t have a chance in hell if all three of them wanted to make me their main source of blood.
“I will talk to him,” I promised.
Theo left with a firm nod and I let Matthias do several sets of exercises in the middle of the room, as he tried to channel his anger into motion, before I approached him.
“You chose Tristan as your leader because you believe he will make the right decisions for you,” I stated quietly. “Tell me then: would he approve of you taking time off from guarding me to take care of yourself?”
“You know he would,” Matthias said, sulking. “But I just found you. I never want to leave your side again.”
That was... terrifying in the sweetest of ways.
“Hey, Theo won’t let anything happen to me. I will be here when you get back,” I promised. “I don’t have a phone but how about you text or call Theo and I will respond? Will that help?”
Matthias finally turned to me, his stiff shoulders slumping.
“Yes, it will help. Please,” he said.
That night he held me particularly tightly and his glare scared away anyone who dared to come close to me during my work time, but when Theo approached us he closed his hands into fists and darted off, as if he knew he had to tear himself from me or he would stay attached forever.
“Well, that went well,” Theo commented and we shared amused smiles.
We made our way back to my room.
“What’s the plan? Do you want to do anything specific or just hang?” I waved at my pretty bare room that didn’t offer many entertainment options.
Theo was opening his mouth to answer when a chirp from his phone interrupted him.
“Apparently what we are doing is answering Matthias’s texts,” he sighed, as he shot off a quick response. “Does he really have to interrupt my date before it even begins?”
“Is it a date?” I asked nonchalantly.
“It is if I give you this,” Theo said smugly and pushed a box of chocolates at me.
Strawberry chocolates. As in: real strawberries covered in chocolate.
“Damn, you don’t play fair,” I whistled.
“Only the best for you,” Theo promised. “Does it mean you will give me a chance?”
“I suppose so,” I gave a theatrical put-upon sigh. “The chocolates can come. And so can you.” I gestured for him to follow me to the couch.
“Wanna watch some movies?” Theo dimpled at me, after he threw himself on the couch with childish enthusiasm, bouncing on the cushion. He held up the laptop he brought with him and raised an expectant eyebrow.
“That depends upon what your taste in movies is,” I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Well, currently I’m deliberating between a funny show about gay pirates, or a devastating show about a future where corporations own your soul.”
I blinked at him then smiled.
“I think we will get along just fine.”
We had a good time watching both of the shows on Theo’s laptop and snacking on delicious chocolate strawberries – even if sometimes we were interrupted by a call or a text from Matthias – until darkness fell outside the window.
“I had a good time today,” Theo said. “But it’s getting late and you probably need to go to sleep to get up fresh and early tomorrow... Can I get a kiss before I have to go sleep on the floor?” He made huge puppy eyes at me and I had to laugh.
“One, tomorrow is Sunday, and it’s the one day out of the week I don’t have to work... well, unless I’m taking someone else’s shift for some favors... but this Sunday I’m free. Second, didn’t Matthias tell you he has been sleeping in my bed since day one?”
Theo gasped in outrage.
“That bastard! He let me believe he was sleeping on the floor like I had to!”
“Third, yes, you can have a kiss.”
The outrage left Theo immediately as he focused on a more important feeling of my lips on his.
At first, the kiss was sweet, a mere press against each other, but it quickly turned into the heat of open mouths, and then the slickness of tongue twinning around each other. Before I even realized, my hands wandered to roam over Theo’s body and he pulled away from me with a groan.
“Maybe I should sleep on the floor... if you let me in your bed I don’t know if I can stop myself...”
“Am I so irresistible?” I asked. Maybe exposing my neck was a bit mean but I wanted more of that devilish red to seep into Theo’s bright eyes.
“You have no idea, Victoria,” Theo leaned closer, his nostrils flaring as if he was hypnotized by the display. “The moment we smelled your blood we knew you were ours. Our soulmate, our future, our everything.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” I pushed Theo back, my fingers digging into his shoulders. “You... what?! There’s actually a reason you fixated on me so hard? I’m... your mate?”
“Oh,” Theo blinked at me. “I thought Tristan or Matthias had told you already... Uh, surprise? We have a magical bond?”
“ You have a magical bond, I don’t feel anything,” I said sternly only to wince at the way Theo’s expression crumbled.
Okay, so maybe, just maybe, they had my attention from the moment I saw them but.
.. magic?! I just accepted that I, as a person with no supernatural creature inheritance, could not do anything magical only to learn I was magical?
Or... cursed? Affecting the vampires in some strange way?
“How does it feel to you?” I asked Theo.
“You... your blood, when we first met, smelled like a beautiful meadow full of blooming flowers. Like almonds in honey. Irresistible, tailor-made for me. In my whole life, I have never smelled anything so perfect. And then I saw how distressed you were and I wanted to kill that vile man. And not only him, his father too. He wasn’t worthy of even looking at you,” Theo said and, at some point, his words slurred just a little.
I realized his fangs had dropped, the terrifying visage of a vampire out in the open, complete with red eyes and a thundering expression on his face.
“That only tells me that I’m catnip to vampires,” I said helplessly. “Not that you are my soulmate.”
“Can you... trust me?” Theo placed his hand on his unbeating heart and looked at me so earnestly. “I have never felt so sure of anything in my life as I am of the fact that you are my soulmate.”
“I can’t just blindly trust in this,” I said. “But I can give you a chance to prove it to me.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Oof!” The air was knocked from my lungs as Theo threw himself at me, ensnaring me in a tight hug and peppering my face with kisses.
Just like that, we were back on the trajectory we left as the kisses turned less innocent.
“If my blood smells so good to you... do you want a taste?” I whispered in Theo’s ear, making him shiver.
“Yes! I... yes...” the poor man seemed to be lost for words.
“You can taste me. But promise me something.”
“Anything!”
“Promise me you will actually fuck me. I can feel you already rising. Will just a bit of my blood be enough to make it work? Matthias had some trouble on that front,” I shared.
“Ha! Matthias did that to himself with his stubbornness. I’m well-fed on medical blood. If all you want is for me to be up to the task I probably don’t even need your blood...” Theo paused to look at the pulsing vein in my neck and swallowed convulsively. “But I really, really want to taste it.”
It was heady being wanted so much. Theo was practically salivating at the thought of having me but he was still waiting for my permission like a good boy.
“Where do you want to bite me? Here?” I ran my fingertips over the side of my neck. “Or somewhere else?”
“The neck is... too much of a temptation if I’m only to take a little,” Theo admitted, flushing with embarrassment at his lack of willpower.
“But there are other options... your wrist...” I shivered as he pressed a toothy kiss to the inside of my wrist. “Your thighs...” he dipped his hands between my legs, caressing the inside of my thigh so close to where I was getting wet from his touches. “Your breasts...”
My quick inhale shuddered into a moan as Theo’s hand found its way under my shirt.
His slender hand cupped one of my breasts.
I had forgone my bra when I changed out of my work clothes, preferring not to be trapped in it all day, and now I was reaping the reward as the vampire’s fingers found naked skin.
“Yes! That! The last one. I want that!” I said in a rush.