Page 20 of Thicker than Blood
His eyes pulse again, and in response, my stomach flutters. Oh good. New kink unlocked.
“It would be my pleasure. Not now though. I have more to show you.”
He offers me his hand again, and while I’m used to the cooler temperature of a vampire’s skin, there’s something about Elias’s that strikes me as different. He’s warmer than most volunteers I’ve met, and I’m dying to know why. I wish I had a thermometer with me.
We enter a room covered in pillows, with people lounging around like one big cuddle pile. Three absolutely stunning men are in the center with a man sitting on a chair between them. One is blond, one darker skinned, and the other has a shaved head. The man in the chair has his arms tied to a pole above his head, his legs splayed apart and secured to the legs of the wooden chair. He’s completely naked and covered in streaks of blood that drip from his neck, but the look on his face is absolutely blissful. When one of the vampires sucks the man’s cock, the crowd watching releases a variety of noises, from soft cheers to decadent moans, and I’m hit with a wave of heat.
“Ooh.”
Elias chuckles. “That’s lust you feel. Palpable, delicious lust. Can you taste it like I can?”
“No.”
“Shame.” He’s behind me again, and as I sway into him, his erect cock brushes against my ass.
“Is human lust the same as vampiric lust?”
He clicks his teeth. “No, curious mortal. It’s so much stronger for me. I feel it as clearly as I feel rain or sunshine or a breeze. If I were a weaker man, I’d be mad with desire right now, desperate to fuck anything in my path.”
His breath tickles the back of my neck and my cock throbs again.
“But I’ve had centuries to practice my restraint.”
“That’s good.”
“Mmm, yes. Now you see some of your peers aren’t so worried about the no-sex-with-vampires rule either.”
“What?” I look at the man on the chair again. “He’s mortal?”
“Oh yes, and here of his own volition. He’s come three times now. The triplets adore him.”
I watch with mixed emotions as one of the vampires—the triplets, apparently, who look nothing alike—bites into the man’s thigh while another sinks his fangs in just above the man’s nipple. He writhes and moans, bucking his hips to fuck the other vampire’s mouth, and a thousand questions fill my mind in response. How does a vampire suck dick with fangs? Does he retract them or is that part of the experience? How did a mortal find out about this place? Is it really safe to fuck a vampire, much less three? Would I, if given the opportunity?
Oh, this is bad. Very, very bad. The rules are meaningless here.
“You’re panicking,” Elias says. “Why?”
“The rules. How many mortals come here?”
“Perhaps it’s better if you don’t know.” He swings me around so I’m facing him. “Rules are important to you?”
I nod. “It’s how this works.”
“But is it? All of this has been happening for years, since long before the treaty, and everything is fine, is it not?”
He has a point.
“Would you like to go back upstairs?”
Would I? Glancing around, I’m torn. The researcher in me is in heaven, but the man who knows the rules is conflicted.
“Or…” Elias says with a smile, “we could sit and have a drink. You’re under no obligation to do anything but experience the atmosphere. Perhaps you’ll find you like it.”
I’m smart enough to know I should get the fuck out of here while my integrity is intact, but what if I never get the opportunity to see this again? If I pay attention, I’m positive I could come away with information that will help further my research.
With all the courage I can summon, I meet Elias’s gaze. “I think I’ll have a drink.”
His smile grows. “Delightful.”