Chapter 90
Chapter 90
Amos went inhumanly still. “Yes p>
“You attacked people p>
“Yes p>
“Did you kill them p>
He hesitated. “I don’t think so p>
“You don’t think so p>
He let out a small, recriminating laugh. “I didn’t exactly see them
safely home and tucked into their beds, Chloe. I was a hunter and they were prey. I didn’t intentionally kill because I don’t take
pleasure in inflicting harm. But I hunted to survive, and I didn’t see
my victims as anything other than meals.” His eyes were still black
moons, his pale face taut with suppressed wildness.
She let out an unsteady breath. “Wow. Way to soften it p>
Amos’s gaze intensified. “Would you rather I lied to you p>
She shook her head, turning to face him. The motion made her head
reel, and she clutched the arm of the couch unsteadily. Amos reached for her, bracing her up.
“Here.” He took the energy bar from her and unwrapped it before
pressing it back into her hand. “Eat p>
“I wasn’t this dizzy last time,” she said, pressing her hand against her temple.
Chapter 90
“It was probably adrenaline. You’re not as frightened this time.” His lips flattened into a thin line. “Or, you weren’t p>
She took a bite of the energy bar. It was delicious, though she had no idea what was in it. Rich people ingredients, probably. Ancient grains she’d never heard of, nuts that cost more than gold, and a superfruit that could only be found on a single mountaintop in Tibet. She chewed slowly, thinking, wondering why she wasn’t as scared as she probably should be.
“So, you went for over a century without live blood. What made you
stop hunting people p>
“As I aged, I mellowed. I was able to resist blood cravings for longer, to think more long–term about how I hunted and what the impacts
were. Even with those changes, I would have probably had to
continue hunting to survive. In an ideal world, I would have
bloodmate, but it just… never happened for me. Instead, in the late
nineteen–thirties, blood storage was invented, and blood banking
became a normal feature of hospitals. I didn’t have to hunt
anymore p>
“Oh.” So he hadn’t had much of a choice in the first place, but when
he was given a choice, he went with the less harmful one. “What’s a
bloodmate p>
“Ah. Well.” He was sitting with his elbows braced on his knees, and
his gaze went to his linked hands, his cheeks tinged slightly pink. “A bloodmate is usually a… a loved one, who provides a regular source of live blood to their vampire p>
“By ‘loved one,‘ I assume you don’t mean family p>
“No.” His flush deepened. “I mean a lover p>
Chloe glanced away, feeling a wave of sympathy. Amos had spent more than a century hoping to find a lover he could feed intimately from. And instead, he was stuck with a choice between cold, bagged
Chapter 90
blood or paying a stranger to give him a hollow semblance of what he really wanted. Her gaze strayed to his crotch. He’d tucked his
erection down one pant leg, the outline visible beneath his jeans.
After a moment, she realized she was just blatantly ogling and jerked his gaze away. Luckily, Amos was oblivious, still staring at his
linked hands.
“Do vampires…” Her mouth went dry. She swallowed, licked her lips.
“Do vampires have sex when they feed p>
He slanted a dark glance at her. “Are you asking if I’m a rapist p>
Chloe nearly choked on the energy bar. “What? No!” She hadn’t been
thinking about his pre–blood–bank hunting days. She’d been thinking
about, well, herself. And how interesting it might be to have sex while he was feeding on her. “But, uh… now that you bring it up
He laughed, a sound as dark as the shadows in his eyes. “No, I’v
never done anything more than feed on my prey. I have no doubt
that there are monsters who do such things to their victims. But for
most of us, that intimacy is only fulfilling with a bloodmate.” He
sighed. “But, finding a long–term bloodmate is difficult and
dangerous. Very few vampires ever manage it p>
Chloe finished the energy bar and when she didn’t reach for anything else, Amos opened a bottle of pomegranate juice and pushed it on her.
“What’s so dangerous about finding a bloodmate?” It seemed like the
danger would be all on the human side.
“Exposure, primarily. For a very long time, revealing yourself to someone could’ve meant villagers with torches and pitchforks coming after you. Now the danger is government scientists and private laboratories p>
She frowned. “But you revealed yourself to me, and I’m a stranger p>
Chapter 90
“Yes, but the agency has measures in place for selecting safe donors. And once you’re accepted, they take other measures to ensure your
silence p>
That was true. It had taken a referral from an existing donor, a very thorough background check, several rounds of interviews, and a
psych evaluation before she had been approved as a donor. After
that, she’d signed an extremely thick NDA, and had had the less
official consequences of running her mouth laid out for her–which
mostly relied on a scheme of ruining her life through total and utter financial destruction in addition to having her involuntarily
hospitalized in a psychiatric ward.
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