around him as she reached up from behind with her right hand and firmly grasped his chin between her fingers. Using gentle but deliberate pressure, she tilted his head up and firmly placed her lips against the supple skin of his neck.
Caleb breathed in sharply as his pulse increased, and she smiled into his neck while slowly, passionately kissing near his jugular vein. His hands grasped her arm tentatively as it tightened around his waist. His body was guided backwards as she pulled him against her, his head lolling back against her left shoulder. Her body’s warmth felt soothing against his bare skin.
As she continued to kiss his neck, she intermittently nipped his skin with her teeth in a teasing fashion, appreciating the sharp intake of breath that it evoked from him. She pressed her tongue against his neck as her lips sealed against his skin, waiting for the effect of her saliva to take full effect.
He felt her silky tongue press against his neck, followed by the progressively soothing, numbing sensation that spread around the area where her tongue and mouth concentrated. He reveled in the sensation, decrying its absence, and momentarily wondered if she intended to drink from him while standing, which would be a first. Caleb recalled the fleeting, distant feeling that assailed him as she fed, and his muscles tightened as he wondered if he’d be able to stand ably enough.
As if reading his thoughts, though more accurately sensing his body language, Katrina drew him towards the nearby couch as her mouth remained sealed over his neck.
Relaxing his body in her grip, he allowed her to lay him down onto the couch cushions. He stared into the fabric of her sweater as she knelt beside his prone form. The numbing sensation increased until he scarcely felt her tongue against his skin.
She parted her lips long enough to whisper, “Freeze.”
It was the signal, and he remained perfectly still. He felt a slight pinprick against his neck as her fangs pierced his skin. Her mouth sealed against his neck, and he heard the telltale, subdued slurping sounds as she drew his blood. He closed his eyes and let his mind and body drift across a sea of soothing darkness, accented only by the sounds of his breathing and the faint noises she generated from her consumption. A warm feeling of serenity and compassion flowed through him as she took communion of his blood. Her left hand lay flat against his bare chest, pressing his pendant between her hand and his skin. The fingertips of her right hand gently massaged his scalp as she ran her fingers through his hair. He grinned, reveling in the waves of ecstasy and pleasure as they washed over him.
Finally, he thought.
Time held little meaning to him as he lay with his lover’s body draped across him. The darkened room merely added to the lofty sensation of peacefully hovering in nothingness.
After a time, she ceased drinking and pressed her tongue against his skin to heal the punctures in his neck. The renewed numbness signaled the end of his soothing journey, and he almost regretted its passing. However, he knew that if it never ended, it was only a matter of time before his body’s functioning ceased from blood loss. He wasn’t ready to depart the world so long as Katrina was still part of it. Then, as if on cue, she kissed his neck affectionately and moved to kiss his lips in similar fashion.
“My love, who so willingly submits himself to me,” she whispered with ardor.
Images from the past December replayed in her mind. Caleb had slit his own throat to enable his blood to save her as she lay dying on the dining room floor. The truly selfless nature of sacrificing his life for hers touched her in a beautiful and profound manner, which shook her to the very core of her being. No human had voluntarily surrendered such a thing to her. And quite frankly, she had doubted such a selfless human even existed until then. His near-fatal sacrifice eliminated any doubts of his devotion and commitment to her.
And if not for Paige, I’d not have him today, she mused. Paige Turner, her best friend and former pupil, had used her vampire blood to save Caleb’s life. Yet another debt I can never fully repay.
Her head rested against Caleb’s chest, and she kissed him. Her taste buds savored the lingering flavor of his sweet blood as she listened to his strong heartbeat,