I peeked up at his amused face and then back down to find that vein again. "I never noticed before, but your veins are just like mine."
He chucked, his body lightly rumbling under mine. "No, you probably wouldn't have noticed that. You weren't as focused on blood before." I peeked back up at him and he grinned. "Why are you surprised? Of course I still have veins."
I gave him a wry grin and rolled my eyes. "I know that." I looked back down as he shifted again and the vein reappeared. Lightly, I stroked it with my finger. Focusing my senses, I could feel the blood moving under his skin, I even imagined that I could hear it surging through his body. "It's moving," I muttered, mystified.
He laughed again and brought his hand to my back, pulling me into him. "Of course it is. Did you think my blood was stagnant? Just pooling at my feet? Or maybe suspended...like Jell-o?" He laughed again, and I could tell my ignorance on the subject greatly amused him.
I glared when I looked back up at him. "Well, yeah, actually." I furrowed my brows. "You don't have a pumping heart, how does your blood circulate?"
He smiled and ran a finger down my cheek. "I'm a vampire, Emma. Don't try and apply the rules of human anatomy to me." I gave him a blank look and he laughed. "I don't know how. I haven't exactly dissected a vampire to find out. But, something in our blood keeps it moving. We don't need a circulatory system; our blood takes care of its own." He cocked his head, considering. "I think that's one of the problems with being mixed, having that kind of blood along with a heartbeat." He looked at me and shrugged. "The two are constantly battling each other; the vampiric blood wanting to move on its own, at its own fast pace, the rest of the body wanting a slower, more relaxed rhythm."
I grinned at the image that popped into my head. "Like an insolent teenager, battling its parents." I stopped grinning when I realized that my body was fighting with itself now too.
He sighed as he looked over my changed expression. "Yeah, something like that." He raised my jaw and made me look at him. "But in answer to your implied question, yes, it moves." A thought occurred to him, and he gave me a devilish smile. "How else did you think I could still...perform?"
I blushed and laughed, smacking his chest and settling down to stare at that fascinating artery again. He laughed underneath me and held me tight.
I pictured that blood, just under the surface and thought of the blood I'd downed earlier. I wondered if Alanna would bring more with the dinner I could hear her finishing up in the kitchen. It marveled me a little that I actually wanted her to. Of course, what happened next marveled me even more.
As I watched that flowing vein under his skin, I found my lips moving towards it. Teren resumed talking, explaining other theories of vampirism that he had, but that vein commanded all of my attention. I brought my lips to his cool skin and felt the flow against my flesh. It didn't pulse like my blood, it was just a constant stream, a river, surging under the surface. A never-ending loop of fresh, cool, refreshing blood. My tongue came out to lightly stroke his skin and he instantly stopped talking again. I think he stopped breathing too. I was too fascinated to pay close enough attention though.
I pressed down on the vein with my tongue, his skin still slightly salty to me, even dead, and the vein popped back up when I released it. I groaned a little bit at the pleasing sensation and my teeth instantly snapped back down into place. My tongue had been in the way and I poked right into it. I pulled back from his skin, wincing in pain. "Ow, damn it."
Teren rubbed my back, but didn't laugh at me injuring myself again. Instead he looked at me with an eyebrow raised. His eyes took in my extended fangs and he furrowed his brows.
What?" I asked cautiously, feeling a little stupid that I'd basically been thinking about snacking on him. Hadn't I just sworn I'd never do that?
He seemed to know what I'd been about to do too. "Were you going to bite me?" His voice came out amused and a little concerned.
I looked down, embarrassed. "No, I don't know...maybe." I looked back up at him quickly. "I wouldn't have, not without asking you." Not that I wanted to, not really anyway.
He shook his head, brushing aside my concern. "I heal fast, Emma, you wouldn't have hurt me. I'm just..." He tilted his head and rubbed my back, looking worried.
"What?" I asked again, thinking I'd just about done something really wrong. "Do vampires not feed on each other? Not that I want to," I quickly added.
He shook his head again. "Sometimes they do, Great-Gran sometimes likes a little... But that's not what I'm..." He stopped again and bit his lip.
I sighed and felt tears sting my eyes. I was doing something wrong, I just didn't know what. I wish he'd just tell me what faux-pas I was making. It wasn't really my fault anyway. I'd only had a day to really get used to these cravings. He was born this way, used to it from day one.
His finger lifted my jaw when he noticed the emotion in my eyes. "Hey, you're okay, Emma." He smiled warmly and shook his head. "I'm not angry at you. It's okay if you want to bite me." He raised an eyebrow and grinned devilishly again. "I think I'd even like that."
I ignored his expression and felt myself pouting. "But you're concerned...why?"
He looked down for a second and then met my eyes again. "Your cravings." He shook his head again. "They just seem more advanced, like when I was close to..." He stopped talking, his eyes moistening.
I exhaled, understanding. "You think I'm close to a changeover, because of how much blood interests me?" He nodded, swallowing heavily. I looked down, absorbing that. One of the twins jostled me while I was thinking and I grinned and looked back up at him. "It's them, Teren."
He scrunched his brows and was about to ask who when he stopped and looked at my stomach. Understanding, he smiled and removing his ice pack hand from my neck, snaked it down to my stomach. My hand trailed down to meet his. "All of my cravings have ramped up because of them - ice cream, pasta, hot chocolate..."
"Sex," he interrupted, that grin on his face again.
I rolled my eyes and hit his chest again. "And now, blood," I finished, ignoring him. His smile relaxed into an easy one. "It's not because I'm close to dying, it's just because of them." I said it matter-of-factly, like somehow saying it firmly enough, would make it true. But the truth was, we had no idea. All of this was new territory for the whole family. He nodded and looked reassured, but my new vision could tell that he wasn't. But he only returned his hand to my neck, encouraged me to rest against his chest, and continued stroking my hair while he talked to me about things I could do around the ranch so I didn't get too bored.
This was just something we'd both pretend to believe. It was better than the alternative.
I felt Alanna approaching awhile later. Felt her, heard her, and smelled her, and the dinner she carried. No more sneaking up on this girl. Out of courtesy, she knocked before entering our room. She smiled warmly at the image of Teren and me, snuggling together in bed, and then set a tray of food - soup and a grilled cheese sandwich, sick person food - on the night stand. The tray also held a glass of milk and right beside it, two steaming cups. My fangs were still out and they extended a little more as I watched her pick up that tall thermos. She handed one to me as Teren helped me sit upright. I started drinking it immediately, still a little grossed out, but wanting it too much to care anymore. Teren and Alanna both chuckled at me and I paused and watched them watch me; Alanna hadn't even gotten around to handing Teren his yet. She smiled warmly at me and urged me to continue. "It's alright, Emma," she encouraged.
Blushing, I continued drinking, more slowly, and Teren smiled before taking a sip of his. He thanked his mother, his fangs out as well now, and she rumpled his hair before wishing us both a good night. Teren turned back to me and smiled widely around his mug. I didn't know what pleased him more, us drinking together, or downing what I now understood to be the best damn stuff on earth.
I grinned as I paused. "I can't believe we're drinking blood together." I laughed once and shook my head, noting that my neck felt even better as the blood acted as a natural pain reliever.
He grinned and tilted back his cup. "Think of the possibilities now. When your neck is healed, we could even paint each other's bodies with it and then lick it off." He laughed, so I knew he was joking, but I stopped and stared at him at the thought. His eyes took in mine and he stopped laughing, he stopped breathing again too. That made me giggle, as I tilted back my drink.
I sighed as I finished my cup. "I can't believe I enjoy this. I can't believe I'm a vampire...sort of."
He tilted his head as he finished his. "You've never thought about it? Really?"
I sighed again as I handed the cup to him. He put them both on the nightstand and put an arm around me. I leaned into his side and looked up at him. "Well, of course I've thought about it. I mean, you can't exactly date a vampire and not think about it." He smiled at that, a little sadly, and I continued. "But, after the way you reacted when I asked for Ashley, I just sort of took it off the table and stopped thinking about it. Plus...I didn't want to be tempted to kill my friends and family. That's not cool."
He laughed genuinely at that and hugged me. Kissing my hair, he muttered, "I think you can handle it."
I heard Alanna laugh at that too and Jack ask her what was funny. While I heard her repeat my comment, I pulled away from Teren to give him a serious look. "I'm sorry about asking you to change my sister. That I begged you to bite her, to drain her blood when you didn't want to. That was wrong of me to try and make you do that. It was wrong of me to even ask."
He sighed and shook his head, his hand going to cup my cheek. "You had a right to ask. I'm sorry I overacted. We just...we don't do that...normally."
He sighed again and looked down. I put my hand under his chin, bringing his gaze back to mine. "I know. I get that now. I love you." He nodded and kissed me. I looked over his face as I pulled back. "Do you want to tell me what happened?"
He understood my vague question about the night he gave me his blood and looked at the sheets, shaking his head. "No, not really."
I sighed and ran a finger down his cheek. "Will you anyway?" I whispered that, and it was quite loud and clear, even to my own ears. He looked over at the tray of food Alanna had brought in, and sighing softly, he reached over and grabbed a plate piled high with grilled cheese sandwich halves. Handing it to me, he started telling me about what was probably the worst night of his life.
"I was by your side before you even made it to the ground." He shook his head, staring at the sheets again. "But I still wasn't fast enough." I paused in picking up a still warm sandwich, to put my hand on his chest encouragingly. He glanced over at me and sort of smiled. Sighing again, he laid his head back and shifted his gaze to the ceiling. I noted the silence in the house, as Alanna listened to her son speak his pain. "Ben had already gotten him. Great-Gran pulled him off of you, and all I saw was blood. So much blood. His, yours. It was awful. Everyone was talking to me at the same time and everything seemed so loud."