Wicked Soul (Ancient Blood #1)(17)
Way too young, Liv. And a vampire, I mentally scolded my ovaries. Not that he seemed to be really flirting. He was casually strolling next to me with both hands in the pockets of his wool coat without so much as looking at me.
Yeah, I so wasn’t going there. A shudder rose up through my spine at the thought of mixing the kind of bedroom antics vampires were infamous for with what my lady bits currently seemed focused on. I was way too vanilla to ever want to try out blood play, that’s for damn sure.
“Are you cold?” my vampire companion asked at my shiver.
“Yeah,” I said. It was fucking freezing, and I hadn’t wrapped up as thoroughly as I should have when I got dressed for the night out. Foolishly, I’d chosen vanity over a healthy respect for Chicago’s November temperatures once the sun set.
He didn’t so much as stop as he swiftly unbuttoned his coat and draped it over my shoulders.
“Oh. You don’t have to—I don’t want you to get cold...” My voice died when he shot me an incredulous look, eyebrow raised. “Yeah, okay… vampires don’t feel the cold, do they?”
“No,” he said, an amused twitch to his lips at my belated light bulb-moment.
“Well… thank you,” I said, clutching it closer around me. The same scent—of crisp night air and a hint of earthy notes—as I’d noticed when he’d lent me his shirt months earlier wrapped around me. Flashes of some of the more X-rated dreams I’d been plagued with after we parted helpfully arrived in the forefront of my mind, making my face heat up. Apparently, the smell of him was enough to reactivate whatever had triggered them to begin with.
“Warin…. You know, when you, ah, fed me your blood…?” I asked, doing my best to keep my tone neutral.
“Hmm?”
“Are there… sometimes, uh, side-effects?”
The way he stole a glance at me from below his dark eyelashes made me suspect he was fully aware of what I was referring to.
“There can be some, yes. Which ones depends on the donor and receivers,” he non-answered. “Are you still feeling any… effects?”
I shook my head with vigor, silently thanking the goddess I hadn’t run into him while the dreams were still at their height. “Nope, damn shame too.”
His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Oh?”
I gave him a teasing smile. “Yeah, my skin was flawless for weeks. You have no idea how many girls would kill for never having to reach for their foundation again.”
Warin chuckled at my theatrics.
“Seriously, you should bottle that stuff. You’d make a killing in the beauty industry.” I wasn’t serious at all.
However, Warin’s good-humored smile withered, dark severity taking its place as he grabbed my shoulder lightly, making me stop. “Liv, you can never tell anyone about taking vampire blood, or its effects. Do you understand? Never.”
“Yeah, just joking.” I gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, I’m not about to repay you for saving my life with running my mouth about the healing properties of your blood. Don’t wanna think about what the pharmaceutical industry would do with that information.”
“There’ve been rumors circulating since the Night of Revelations. I am not worried about some foolish human attempting to extract blood from a vampire—but if an undead hears you speaking of such matters, they will end your life.”
“Oh.” I blinked, some of my pleasant buzz disappearing in the face of his seriousness. “Okay, got it. Any other warnings you wanna share? Or has the government got it covered with their anti-vamp campaigns?”
Warin snorted derisively. “They know very little of value.” He released my shoulder and began walking again. I fell in beside him.
“So? Do you have any good tips? Just in case the next vampire I get locked in a cage with isn’t as friendly?”
He chuckled mirthlessly. “I’ve not seen many humans capable of coming out on top from an encounter with a vampire. But we do have some vulnerabilities.”
“Like silver?” I asked, thinking back to the thin chain the fanatics had tied Warin with. “As far as I know, that’s never been in any of the campaigns. I can’t believe those lunatics were better prepared than the Nightwalker Department. Will wearing a silver necklace protect me?”
“No. Nothing will protect you from a vampire, Liv. Your best defense is to avoid us at all costs.”
“Says the vampire currently walking me home in the middle of the night,” I said with a cheeky grin. “Just what any girl wants to hear.”
His laugh sounded more genuine this time. “You’re amusing when you’re intoxicated.”
“Psh.” Eloquent as always. “What about you? Do vampires not get drunk? I saw you finish several glasses.”
“You saw nothing but a well-practiced trick,” he said with a casual shrug. “We can’t ingest alcohol or other food substances. Most of my kind learn sleight of hand if they wish to blend in with humans.”
“Huh,” I said, feeling extra bad that he’d had to sit through getting mauled by my female colleagues while stone-cold sober. “Guess that’s handy—don’t know many other bars that’d let a kid drink.”
“Excuse me?”