Page 27 of Bonded By Blood
Right. Abilities. “I’m guessing all of my senses are heightened, not just smell and hearing. Since I swear this is the third flavor of blood I’ve had.” Which was a very, very strange thing to be sure of.
Brianna nodded. “A, B, and O. Not necessarily in that order. We like to give new Turns a taste for each type early on. It may or may not actually help with the process, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.”
Joe arched a brow and looked at what red liquid remained in his glass. “Does it make a difference?”
Brianna shrugged casually and took a large swallow of her own before replying. “Only in taste. Some vampires have developed a preference for a specific blood type, others prefer a variety.” She paused, her lips scrunched to one side of her face as if she were thinking, and finally she added, “Think of it like food. You can get a lot of different foods from one animal, and not all people like all of them. At the end of the day, however, food is food.”
Joe chuckled. “Like ham, sausage, or bacon?”
“For instance.”
He downed the rest of his drink and set the glass on the small bedside table. “What about vision? I haven’t noticed much of a difference, but I’m pretty sure I’ve heard vampires have excellent vision.”
“We do,” she said. “You’ve been too disoriented so far to pick up on the differences.” She licked a dribble of spilled blood off her lower lip, distracting him. “You’ll really start to notice the change in your sight when the sun goes down. That’s where vampiric vision is at its finest.”
Given a vampire’s natural resistance to sunlight, he could understand that. And that leaves… “Touch,” he said, mostly to himself. How did one determine a difference to that sensation?
Brianna bent down and set her glass on the floor. “Touch is best explained by example.”
Joe watched as she reached out and took his nearest hand, twining it with hers. Her skin was soft, the way he remembered it, but the softness this time felt … richer, somehow. She didn’t give him time to think about it before she leaned forward, brushed her other hand over his jaw, and pulled him to her for a kiss. Her lips felt fuller, plumper, against his than he remembered. Her fingers slid along his jaw, teasing his earlobe before trailing down his neck. The softness of her skin mixed with the heat and pressure from the movement seemed somehow more intense, in turn adding to the fire building in his blood. Her lips parted and her tongue teased his skin before slipping into his mouth, deftly avoiding his fangs, and Joe lost the ability to scrutinize the changes in sensation.
He threaded the fingers of his free hand into her hair and cupped the back of her head. She tasted divine and when she sucked on his tongue he groaned and freed his hand from hers in order to wind his arm around her back. A soft, mewl-like sound whispered up from her as he pulled her closer and she took hold of the sleeve over his shoulder. Their tongues rolled together again and the kiss broke, slowly.
Brianna moved her hand from his neck to his hair, burying her fingers in what was undoubtedly an uncombed mess, and brought her lips to his ear. “Would you like to touch more of me?”
Joe swallowed hard.
There was a note of amusement in her voice when she asked, “Would you like me to touch you?” She punctuated the question by teasing the side of his neck with her tongue.
Shit. “Yes.” There was no use denying it. “But—” How did he ask this right? “Are you sure?” He knew she’d dismissed the guard after their blood delivery, but there were so many other factors. High among them the simple fact that he wouldn’t have expected her to escalate the relationship that quickly—he hadn’t been sure it would progress that far, period.
Brianna eased back a little, her thumb massaging his hairline. Her black eyes shined up at him in the dim, artificial lighting. “You’re a rare man, Joe Pearce. I like that. I like you.” She brushed her lips teasingly over his. “Tell me, does a woman need a reason more than that?”
He had no idea what she thought was so unusual about him, but he wasn’t so much of an idiot as to insist on asking about it. “No,” he said, leaning down and finding the skin of her throat with his lips. “No, she doesn’t.”
She moaned softly as he trailed his kisses along her skin and it wasn’t long before she dragged her hands down his sides and tugged up his shirt. Her hands slipped beneath, fingers splaying over his abdomen, and Joe hissed under his breath. A simple touch had never felt so good. He leaned back and his shirt landed on the floor. He wasn’t even sure which of them did the actual work of removing it. Before he could reach for her again, Brianna stood and, facing him, lowered the zipper of her dress.
Like a scene from a movie, the modest dress pooled at her feet. She wore a strapless bra and matching panties, over two-inch heels.
Joe fought the urge to rub his palm over his erection as he took in the sight of her. Whatever else she was, she was a goddess. “Brianna…”
She stepped back up to him, this time between his knees, and sat on his thigh. A sinful grin lifting her lips, she teased, “Don’t get shy on me.”
He pushed out a breath and matched her grin, settling his hands on her skin. One on her outer thigh and one on her back, letting the smooth heat radiate into him. “You’ll have to forgive me. I’ve never seen perfection before.”
Brianna laughed and leaned into him, looping her arms around his neck. “Charmer,” she whispered before their lips met in another kiss.
The awe that had overwhelmed him faded away and Joe pulled her closer, kissed her harder. Her skin was taut and smooth over her back, soft and supple around her thigh. He slid his tongue along hers as he ran his hands over her body, squeezing and stroking, enjoying as she began to squirm. Her breasts pressed against his chest and her legs brushed over his straining arousal.
One of her hands dragged down his abdomen, nails faintly scraping, and she palmed his dick firmly.
Joe growled as she retreated from the kiss, breathing heavy. He moved to pop the buckle on his belt, desperate to free himself, but Brianna swatted his hand away.
“Let me,” she said. She slipped from his lap before he could stop her, unfastened his belt, and with minimal help from him the last of his clothes were down around his ankles.
He felt a little guilty for how much he enjoyed the sight she presented, kneeling between his legs in her undergarments and heels. She met his gaze and licked her lips with slow, deliberate purpose. He barely bit back his groan, then he failed completely when she closed her hand around his cock and started to pump. He curled his hands into the bedding as she picked up speed.
Brianna bowed her head and swirled her tongue around his tip, then down the length of his shaft. Her fingers worked his balls and she hummed, so softly he barely heard it, but the sound vibrated straight through him. Her name slipped from his mouth unintentionally and she rewarded him by wrapping her lips around him. Her mouth was moist and hot as it embraced his penis, her tongue flattened as she took him deeper. She gripped him a little harder simultaneously, pumping him with short, sharp strokes.