King Hall (Forever Evermore, #1)(60)

“There you are.” He lifted a lazy hand, running the hot pads of his fingers over my cheek slowly, sloppily, before his hand flopped on the bed. “It makes sense now.” His eyes closed, and he went slack. Asleep.

What the hell did he mean by that?

“He’s not dead, is he?” Jack asked quickly, sounding half-serious.

“No,” I whispered, taking Jack’s hand and pressing his fingers to Ezra’s throat, to his steady pulse. “Just sleeping. Give him a minute.”

“What happened there at the beginning?” Pearl asked.

I climbed off his sleeping form, flipping my hair out of my face to see, and told them honestly, “It was hard not to send the same vibes I always sent Dominic. It took a second for me to break the bloodlust’s hold, and send him peaceful thoughts…” I trailed off when I saw the looks they wore. Their expressions were of shock, and I quickly sputtered, “I think I got the hang of it there at the end. I won’t send you guys—”

“No, that’s not what all this,” Pearl interrupted, shaking her head and waving a hand in front of her stunned face, “is about.” She paused, cocking her head. “My God! I can’t believe the difference drinking from someone live does!” She pointed to my bathroom. “Go look at yourself. You look like…”

“How she did when Dominic was alive,” Jack finished, staring in fascination.

Racing to the bathroom, I gawked at myself in the mirror. I hadn’t looked like a zombie before, but in comparison to now, I probably had. My cheeks were currently flushed. My blue eyes sparkled. My lips were red instead of pink. I just flat out looked healthier. “Wow.”

Jack had followed me, and nodded. “Yeah. Wow.”

Instantly, I pulled out my toothbrush as I stared at myself, mechanically going through the process of brushing my teeth, and mumbled around a mouthful of toothpaste, “I even feel warmer. It’s actually kind of hot in here.” I hadn’t realized the difference it made drinking from the source. After Dominic had died most things had become dull, so I hadn’t noticed the physical effects his death had taken on my body.

Jack pointed to me, his brown eyes big. “That explains why you were always so cold!”

I pointed back to him with my toothbrush, grinning bubbles. “I bet you’re right.” All of this made sense for what Ezra meant as he had stared at me before falling asleep. He had understood because he lived the life of a Vampire. I, on the other hand, only knew the basics.

I spat and wiped my mouth, heading back out to my bedroom.

Pearl was covering Ezra with a blanket. “Can you wake him up? We need to finish this conversation.” She shook his shoulder. His eyes stayed closed. “He’s seriously out.”

My eyebrows came together at his lethargy…and I suddenly remembered he hadn’t had a lot of blood today. Plus, he had skipped his blood yesterday. “Fuck.” I went to his side, instantly biting my wrist and placing it against his mouth. His heartbeat was slower, still in the range of normal, but his blood sugar had to be too low for this sort of reaction to happen.

“I didn’t think about his lack of blood the past two days.” He still didn’t drink, and my wrist healed. I bit it again, squeezed. More blood came out this time, and he stirred, but only slightly. “Come on, Ezra. Just bite.” Not a whole lot of response, so I bit my healed wrist again, repeated squeezing it.

His breath caught.

Unexpectedly, he lifted in a blur.

Not even a blink later, I had a pair of fangs slicing into my neck.

First time for everything, I suppose.

Now on his lap, wrapped in his arms, I grunted because he wasn’t being gentle. It hurt like no other, and I had to stop myself from trying to pull away. I knew he wasn’t with it right now, thanks to me being a dumbass.

A guttural groan came from deep within his chest as he opened his mouth wide, taking a vicious pull. I sucked in a harsh breath, and remained still. If I moved right now, I would probably end up with my throat sliced open, which he further proved by crushing me against his chest with his next pull.

Jack muttered, “This looks more brutal than today’s drinking. Should we stop it?”

“You try to stop it right now, and he will lose it,” I rasped as he took another pull.

“Is he hurting you?” Pearl asked quietly.

“I’m fine,” I panted. A blatant lie, but if they interrupted, it was sayonara, Lily.

His mouth felt like flames as he took another healthy gulp but, just as suddenly as he had struck, he froze. There was a moment of complete stillness. His fingers spread wide on my back, and a push of power infiltrated my suffering.

I only felt soft, feather-like caresses brushing all over me. It felt like a massage from angels. My entire body and mind went limp. The next thing I remembered was a pair of spring green eyes staring down at me, and I blinked, bringing them into focus.

Ezra whispered, “Now I know why you were so freaked about my fangs the first day we met. Your taste is,” he cleared his throat, “unique. I would have known if I had tasted you before.” Another clearing of his throat before he asked softly, “Are you alright?”

I nodded. I felt a little dizzy, but I wasn’t hurt.

“You did the right thing not trying to get away,” he stated very slowly. “I didn’t think about my not drinking and the effects it would have.” His wide lips thinned. “I’m sorry.”