Page 3 of Bite Me
But it clearly wouldn’t happen tonight.
A slim blond guy with heavy eyeliner sauntered over as soon as I glanced vaguely his way. He looked me up and down in an obvious manner and said something witty I immediately forgot. Why was it that the more distant and annoyed I acted, the more attractive I seemed to prey?
He licked his artificially full lips. “Can I offer you a drink?”
Wordlessly, I lifted my glass of red in front of his face.
“Not the kind of drink I had in mind,” he said.
“Straight to the point, huh?”
Smirking, he patted my chest. “I won’t waste your time with chitchat.”
He didn’t care about who I was or what I thought; he wanted the rush of a vampire bite and nothing more. Was it hypocritical to berate him for it? I could just take him to the room Levi had booked me and get it over with. In less than half an hour, I could have my dick in this man’s ass to the hilt and my stomach full of his blood. I’d be fine for another two weeks.
He stepped closer, pushing his knee between my legs until our thighs rubbed together.
“I’ve seen you here before.”
“Possibly. I don’t remember you.”
A flash of irritation passed over his face but disappeared quickly. “So, you in or what?” Faking innocence, he tilted his head to the side, exposing his throat. His pulse fluttered under his fragile skin, his warm human scent like blasts of hot air over my face. But the chemicals he’d doused himself with ruined it.
No, I wasn’t hungry enough for this. I shouldn’t have let Levi drag me up here.
“Thanks for the offer, but I’m good.”
“Go fuck yourself,” the man mumbled and pushed off the bar counter.
I turned my back to the room and finished the wine. After tipping the bartender, I stalked out of there, careful not to make eye contact with anyone.
It would have been a smooth exit had I not bumped into Levi by the elevators.
“You’re done already? Don’t tell me you fed in the toilet stall.”
“I did not.” I pulled the key card out of my pocket. “Thank you. I really appreciate your help, but I won’t be having dinner tonight.”
Levi scrunched his eyebrows together. “What the fuck, Russel? You’re basically gaunt, your irises are paler than my ass, there’s a pot full of young blood right under your nose, and you’releaving?”
It occurred to me I could say something about him serving junk food at his clubs, but I stopped myself at the last second. It would have been a vile comment in more ways than one. Instead, I wordlessly shoved the key card into his jacket pocket, much like he’d done to me.
He lifted his arms and shook his head. “I don’t understand you, man.”
One elevator opened, and I sidestepped Levi to get inside.
I waved as the door began sliding shut. “The wine was great!”
It took a while to get downstairs, with the elevator stopping on several floors of the high-rise hotel, letting people in and out. When I finally got out on the ground floor, my nose was full of aggressive scents. Outside, I looked up at the sky and took a deep breath. Levi’s hotel stood in a prime location at the edge of the park, and the stench of the city was weaker here, diluted by the smell of trees and freshly mowed grass.
I walked home, soaking up the relaxing effect of the night. In a few days, I’d be working a day job again, drowning in traffic and sun-induced headaches. To face it, I would have to feed soon, I knew. But I wasn’t desperate just yet.
2
A KISS
EDDIE
I watched my roommate paint mascara on her lashes with an enviably sure hand. Sheri did everything with confidence. She screwed the cap on and dropped the tube into her make-up bag, then adjusted a pin in her hair, the corner of her lips curving up. She looked amazing, and she knew it. Me? I just wanted to peel off those tight jeans she made me wear and cower under a blanket.
