Gwyneira wasn’t sure exactly when she’d fallen for Emrys Hawthorn. He’d slipped into her veins like an administered poison, and her heart had already been tainted by him.  She could remain unattached with him.  She had to.  There was no room for a fanciful romance, not with what she was about to do.  

When she rose from her desk, the chair legs squealed in protest against the floor.  As if warning her this was a bad decision.  Perhaps the biggest mistake of her life.  No matter, she had no intention of backing down now.  Her heartbeat hammered in her chest as she made her way over to Emrys, hovering over him as he watched her with a curious head tilt.  

“We will not speak of this again.  It will be a one time thing because I do not wish to be vampire-chow.  You may think you’re in control now, but I’ve seen what a starved vampire turns into.  I will not let you ruin yourself and make the bat cops more suspicious of you.” Gwyneira bit her bottom lip, until she tasted a coppery tang. 

“Gwyneira-”

She hesitated only a moment before straddling his lap, bracing her hands against his broad shoulders.  Over her thunderous heartbeat, she barely heard him say her name and had no clue what he’d asked her as his own hands wrapped her waist to keep her steady.  She tried not to think about how well their bodies molded together, how desperately she’d thought of doing something like this before when he’d cozied up in her chair.

It was easy to silence him with a kiss.  His lips were surprisingly soft and pliant, and when his tongue swept across the seam of her own, he moaned against her mouth.  Goddesses, it might’ve been the most wicked thing she’d ever heard.  She pulled back for a breath, only for him to claim her lips himself, kissing her with more passion than she’d ever had from past inexperienced lovers.  He wasn’t gentle in the slightest with her lips, and she quite liked that.

“Gwyneira,” he rasped, his beautiful crimson eyes glowing for her.  Blood stained his lips, her blood.  “Just let me…  let me gather myself.  I’m sorry.” He gently traced his thumb over her swollen lip.  “I shouldn’t have-”

Gwyneira slipped her hands along the sides of his head, fingertips lightly brushing the pointy tips of his ears.  That had a tiny touch of color in them, but not enough.  “Don’t apologize for kissing me like that.  I’m giving you my blood, Emrys.  So stop with the wallowing and savor me.” Heat filled her face for wording it in such a suggestive manner, but she didn’t have the nerve to correct herself.  

“Tell me where to bite you.” Emrys’ reservations vanished, and he eagerly looked up to her like an obedient mutt awaited his command.  His icy hands snaked up her shirt from the sides of her hips, massaging the soft skin.  “I just won’t mark your pretty neck.  No matter how tempting it is.”

“Anywhere that’s not visible,” Gwyneira murmured.  

“Hmm.” Emrys hummed, licking his lips.  “I’d prefer you somewhere comfortable when I do this.  Perhaps your bed?  Or a soft blanket here on the floor?”

Heat flooded through Gwyneira’s face as she gazed back toward her hidden room. “Bed’s fine, I suppose.” 

Strong arms hefted her up with ease, and Gwyneira wrapped her legs around his waist on instinct as he rose. She buried her burning face against his shoulder. He walked them over to her bookshelf and she plucked her wand from her robe’s pocket with a soft chant to reveal it. She sealed it back behind them right before he eased her down gently onto her bed. 

Emrys crouched to her level, resting a hand against her thigh.  “You don’t have to do this, you know.  I’m perfectly content with those small drops of blood from your lovely lips.”

“Like hell you are.” Gwyneira bristled as she slipped out of her robe and tossed it aside.  Nerves had her fiddling with a loose string on the sleeve of her apricot blouse, tugging and tugging until it unraveled enough to snap off.  

“Gwyneira.” His low, husky voice did unmentionable things to her, and she shivered. “Listen to me, love.”

Gentle fingers came to rest on her chin, tilting her head to face him.  Gwyneira inhaled a sharp breath at the sight of him, as if he could burn a hole right through her.  She’d never had anyone gaze upon her with such a ferocious hunger before, and heat pooled in her lower belly as she struggled to keep from turning into a puddle at his mere touch.

“You have all the power here.  Do you understand me?” Emrys asked.  “At any moment you’re uncomfortable or need me to stop, you force me to.  You’re a brilliant witch, so I know you’re well-versed in defensive spells.  Tell me to stop, and I will in a heartbeat.  If you’re too scared to use your words, hex me.  Make me fly across your room or seal my jaw shut.  I don’t care.  I won’t be upset with you, okay?”

“Okay, I- I understand,” she rasped.

“Good.” Emrys moved his fingers away from her chin, letting them lightly brush down her neck before withdrawing them.  “Have you decided where you want me to bite you?  Or would you rather I choose?”

Gwyneira hitched a breath, sputtering out, “You choose.”

Emrys smirked.  “How about your arm?” He rolled up her sleeve, fingers dancing along her naked skin.  “Right here is perfect.” He pressed his thumb against the crook of her elbow.  “Just lay down and relax your body, okay?”

“For someone who rarely drinks blood from the source, you really know what you’re doing.” Gwyneira nestled her head down on her pillows, unable to look away from his penetrating stare.  

“I educated myself in the matter so I never hurt anyone again.  Even with these precautions, it still makes me unease,” Emrys admitted, and he lowered his lips toward her arm.

Gwyneira anticipated a sharp bite, her body tensing on impulse. Instead, Emrys’ trailed kisses from her wrist up to her inner arm with his soft lips.  He’d positioned himself right beside her on the bed, removing his own coat and boots on the floor to join her.  Emrys wrapped his hand around her arm, his pupils dilating as the tips of his fangs poked out from his mouth.  

The waiting killed her.  His fingers lightly traced the path of veins up her wrist, yet he remained unearthly still.  She was tempted to coax a little magic to nick her skin just to get him excited, until he finally surrendered with a tortured moan. But he didn’t bite her.  Not at first.  He licked her skin like it was the most exquisite delicacy he’d ever had.

Heat pooled low in her belly when those fangs pierced her like a viper.  It stung for a moment, enough to make her whimper as his grip on her tightened.  A low groan rumbled off his throat as he fed. She could feel her blood rushing to fill his mouth, and an oddly pleasurable sensation fluttered through her body.  It started from her arm, flowing lower and lower until she clenched her thighs together in a poor woman’s effort as she gasped. 

Bliss seeped through her veins while he sucked strong draws of blood from her arm.  Her muscles had relaxed from his venom, perhaps even a bit too much. It didn’t hurt like she’d expected it to, like how they depicted ruthless vampires who cared for nothing more than a quick meal. Her body certainly ached, but it wasn’t from sharp, stabbing pain. It was an ache nestled deep within her, yearning for more of him.

When Emrys gently pulled away, two streams of blood trickled from the tender pinpricks he’d left behind. It tickled the heel of her hand before he lapped it up with one long stroke of his tongue like she was sweet, melting ice cream.  

“Come here,” Emrys purred, and that sound alone was nearly enough to unravel her.  He tucked loose strands of her hair behind her ear with a soft chuckle, then moved to lower his lips near the column of her neck and kissed the delicate skin.  “Unless you’d rather I leave.  I can always return to my chair in your office.”

“Please, don’t go.” Gwyneira hadn’t meant to sound so desperate, so needy.  It made her flush in embarrassment because she’d never been so intimately entangled with a vampire ever in her life.  “Y-You still need blood, don’t you?” 

“How could I say no to some sweet dessert before bed too?”  He flashed her such a vampiric smirk, exposing the sharp points of his fangs stained with her blood. One hand snaked up her leg before his fingers hooked onto the waistband of her pants.  “May I?” Those piercing red eyes met hers with such a feral, voracious look that had her trembling in anticipation.  

“Yes,” The word slipped out breathlessly, and she raised her hips lifted at his touch, his slim and nimble fingers gliding her slacks down her legs with ease.  She whimpered at the cold air that nipped her naked skin, thighs pressing tightly together. 

“Your skin’s so soft.” Hands that once chilled her felt warm on her thighs.  “Like velvet.” Emrys had slipped down the bed in the blink of an eye, his face nestled far too close between her legs as warmth traveled up her neck and burned her cheeks. 

“What are you..?” The question got lodged in her throat, heartbeat thundering in her chest.  

“Just tasting my sweet dessert.” 

Emrys eased her legs apart, his face lowering between her legs with a sinfully wicked glint in his eyes.  He planted delicate kisses against her inner thigh, and she shivered against him.  She knew what was coming, the anticipation of his bite sent such a thrill through her, but he dragged it to tease her.  His lips and tongue alternated between each thigh, until finally, those sharp fangs sank into her.

The pain ebbed away to a numb pleasure as he fed off her, her hips rolling in undulating waves against him.  She reached down, tangling her fingers in his soft midnight locks of hair as a soft moan escaped her.  Embarrassment tightened in her chest at making such a sound, yet Emrys only tightened his firm hands on her thighs and drank her in more. 

Gwyneira wasn’t sure how long she lay there quivering against him.  Her body still ached when he extracted his fangs from her thigh, licking the streams of blood that tried to escape. With her fingers still tangled in his hair, she was tempted to pull him back to her.  

“Do you want more?” Emrys wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, then licked his lips.  

Shouldn’t she be asking him that? Vampire feedings could be intense, but she’d never expected anything so sensual.  She couldn’t bring herself to admit how much she yearned for him, how the heat between her legs had become unbearable.

Yet that hardened shell she’d built up around herself had cracked.  

“Please,” she whimpered.

She gasped when he yanked her to him, his fingers digging into her thighs like he never wanted to let her go.  When his lips met her molten lava center, she cried out his name and tugged on his hair as unfathomable pleasure wicked through her like fire.  Gwyneira closed her eyes, arching her back as the world around her faded away to nothing but the two of them.

It was heaven and hell all in one.  She reveled in the feel of that sinful tongue of his, how each of his grunts rumbled through her core as he savored every bit of her.  How would she ever look at him the same?  How could they go back to a strictly professional relationship?  

Every inch of her being tightened as she whimpered his name far too shamelessly for her to ever speak it again.  She bucked against him when she came on his tongue, fisting his hair and riding out her release in sheer bliss. 

Tremors made her breath stutter, and she’d barely reopened her eyes when she struggled to formulate a proper response after that.  Emrys panted against her thighs, and he left wet kisses on them before moving up to caress her face far too tenderly for a vampire.  

“Are you all right?” Emrys asked softly.

“I’m good,” Gwyneira managed with a strangled chuckle.  Perhaps more than good.

Her belly fluttered when he moved away from her legs, coming to embrace her from the side.  He eyed her lips for a moment, as if contemplating it, and kissed her.  It was slow and sensual, unlike when she’d given him the first drops of her blood.  She couldn’t rid the thought of how it resembled a lover’s tender kiss, and knew from that moment forward, she would need to distance herself from him somehow.  

Was that what she truly desired? Could she move on from him like this never happened? 

“Gwyneira, darling,” he whispered into her hair.  “You are the most brilliant and beautiful witch I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.  And Goddesses do you taste divine.”

Her heart clenched at his words, yet she couldn’t help the shy smile she gave him.  “My blood’s that good, huh?”

Emrys chuckled, planting a kiss to her rosy cheek.  “I’m not talking about your delicious blood, darling.”

Gwyneira buried her blushing face into her sheets, wondering how she would ever let that vampire go.  Honestly, if she had it her way, she’d just keep him there with her forever.