his intention. So did that mean there was more of Stark's humanity left than there had seemed to be? He'd called my name; he'd recognized me. I'd shivered, reliving the chemistry that had sparked between us right before he died.
"Priestess? Did you not hear me?" Darius and Aphrodite had been staring at me.
"Oh, sorry. Sorry. I was distracted by..." I hadn't wanted to explain that I was thinking about the guy who had almost killed my best friend. I still didn't want to explain that.
"Priestess, I was saying, if Stevie Rae doesn't get blood, this wound, though it missed her heart, could very well be the death of her." The warrior shook his head while he examined Stevie Rae. "Though I cannot tell you for sure that she will heal. She is a new kind of vampyre and I do not know how her body will react, but were she one of my brother warriors, I would be very concerned."
I had drawn a deep breath and readied myself before saying, "Okay. Well. Forget waiting for the Twins and their bloodmobile. Bite me," I told Stevie Rae.
Her eyes fluttered open and she somehow managed the hint of a smile. "Human blood, Z," she said before closing her eyes again.
"She's probably right. Human blood always has a more powerful effect on us than fledgling or even vampyre blood," Darius said.
"Well, then, I'll run and get the Twins," I said, even though I hadn't had any real idea where I would be running to.
"Fresh blood would work better than that bland, refrigerated stuff," Darius said.
He hadn't so much as glanced at Aphrodite, but she definitely got the message. "Oh, for crap's sake! I'm supposed to let her bite me? Again!"
I blinked, not sure what to say. Thankfully, Darius came to the rescue.
"Ask yourself what your Goddess would have you do," he said.
"Well, shit! This being one of the good guys really, really sucks. Literally." She sighed, stood up, and pushed back a sleeve of her black velvet dress. Holding her wrist in front of Stevie Rae's face, she said, "Fine. Go ahead. Bite me. But you owe me big-time. Again. And I do not know why I'm the one who keeps saving your life. I mean, I don't even--" Her words were choked off with a little yip of yikes!
It's still kinda disconcerting to think about what happened next. When Stevie Rae grabbed Aphrodite's arm I saw her entire expression change. She instantly went from my sweet BFF to a feral stranger. Her eyes glowed a nasty dark red, and with a scary hiss she bit the crap out of Aphrodite's wrist.
Then Aphrodite's yikes turned into a disturbingly sensual moan and her eyes closed as Stevie Rae's mouth latched on to her, breaking the skin easily and causing the hot, pulsing blood to flow as my best friend greedily sucked and swallowed like a predator.
Okay, yes. *W IIt was disturbing and nasty, but it was also weirdly erotic. I know it felt good--it had to. That's how vampyres are made. Even being bit by a fledgling will cause the bitee (a human) and the biter (a fledgling) both to experience a very real jolt of intense sexual plea sure. It's how we survive. The old myths about vamps ripping open throats and taking victims by force is pretty much bullpoop--well, unless someone pisses off a vamp pretty badly. And then, even though his or her throat is being ripped out, the bitee would probably like it.
Anyway, we are what we are. And from observing what was going on with Stevie Rae and Aphrodite, it was clear that red vampyres definitely had the whole bring-your-human-pleasure phenomenon going. I mean, Aphrodite had even leaned suggestively into Darius, who wrapped an arm around her and bent to kiss her as Stevie Rae continued sucking on her wrist.
The kiss between the warrior and Aphrodite had so much sizzle to it I swear I could almost see sparks flying. Darius held her carefully so that he didn't cause Stevie Rae to wrench her wrist. Aphrodite wrapped her free arm around him and gave herself to him with an openness that showed exactly how much she trusted him. I felt guilty watching, even though there was an undeniably sexy beauty to what was happening between them.
"Okay. Awkward."
"Seriously. Could have gone my whole life without seeing that."
I'd looked away from Stevie Rae and company to see the Twins standing just inside the blanketed door. Erin was holding several packets of