[©Lynnifer Ice – February 24, 2023]
----------------------------------
"It's nothing for you to worry about, Alex," Liam softly said as he came in and leaned against the kitchen counter. "Xinith can take care of himself. Besides, it's probably better if you don't know."
"Why?" I glared at Liam a little too harshly, "Why can't I know? Is it because I'm human? He fucking MARKED ME without my permission, and you want to defend him?!" I shouted, slamming my palm against the table and blinking away the angry tears that threatened to blur my vision.
"That's not…," Liam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "That's not what I meant…."
"Then what the hell did you mean?! I hate being in a place and situations that I know almost nothing about!" I stood so quickly that I nearly knocked my chair back to the ground. I felt so much angrier than I should have.
"I think what Liam is trying to say," Sasi came around, placing his hands on my shoulders, gently pushing downward until I was seated again, "is that we grew up with Xinith. We were never friends with him, and we've never been enemies. We just tolerate each other's existence, and we know way more about him than most do.
Nobody is trying to insult you or make you feel inferior. You need to understand that since he's met you, his behavior toward others has changed. It's subtle, and maybe nobody else has noticed, but the four of us have. He's always had a soft spot for humans, and perhaps he doesn't convey his feelings as most people would, but he has good intentions at heart."
"By the stars, I am so thirsty," Aron complained as he stalked into the kitchen, eyes closed, water dripping off his dark blonde hair, trickling onto his fair skin. He was headed to the fridge, and when my eyes wandered to his body only to find him stark-naked; Sasi covered my eyes with both of his hands.
"DAMMIT, ARON! PUT SOME DAMN CLOTHES ON! HAVE YOU NO SHAME?!" Sasi spat, clearly bothered by Aron's display.
"You've seen me nude thousands of times. Why is this any diff- OH HOLY SHIT, THERE'S A WOMAN IN OUR DORM!" Aron shrieked. "Fuck, I didn't even pick up on her scent. I'll go grab a pair of shorts or something," I heard him quickly mutter before rushing out of the kitchen.
"Can I look now?" I deadpanned, unmoving. It was not the first time I had seen a man naked. I lived with five older brothers who gave zero fucks who saw their junks swinging freely in the wind.
As Sasi took his hands off of my eyes, my breath hitched. Standing in front of me, leaning down to my height, was Blake. His charcoal hair was damp, a few droplets of water hanging at the end of the strands of his hair. A small towel hung around the back of his neck and across his shoulders. His usually hazel but now red eyes glistened with curiosity as his lips spread into a grin, his hands resting on his knees.
"What brings you to our home, my dear lady?" Blake inquired, his eyes gently searching mine as he patiently waited for my answer. "People might get the wrong idea if they see you wandering into dorms that isn't yours, especially at night."
"I was… brought here. Why… Why are your eyes red?" I stumbled over my words, remembering I had seen their eyes change once before when blood was involved. I had seen too many horror movies that just made me more than anxious.
"Ah, that," Blake swiped his thumb over his lower lip, "I was feeling parched, so…."
"Parched…?" I gulped, feeling uneasy.
"Still am, actually," Blake smiled a bit too friendly before he looked up to Sasi, who was behind me. "Excuse me for a moment, Alex," he told me before straightening himself.
I blinked, looking straight ahead to find myself at eye level with Blake's groin. I noted he was only wearing a towel around his waist and that he… I had to do a double-take, but yes, I did indeed see that he had an erection he was hiding under his towel. Whether it was halfly or fully, I didn't want to know.
As my eyes followed up along his dampened abs and chest, I saw Blake lean forward, being careful not to touch me as he reached toward Sasi, who cringed when Blake smirked at him. I almost wish I had looked away, but at the same didn't regret watching when Sasi grumbled before taking his shirt off over his head and turning around with his back touching the back of the chair.
I would be lying if I said that it didn't look pretty hot. I mean, goddamn! Do they all have sculpted abs? I do appreciate a good-looking guy with juuuust the right amount of muscle – not too much, but not too little.
Blake reached a hand around Sasi's head, pulling it to the left as he brought his head closer to his shoulder. I continued to watch in curiosity as Sasi relaxed his muscles as Blake's fangs elongated before sinking deeply into the flesh of Sasi's shoulder. Sasi did not flinch nor make a sound, only waiting patiently for Blake to finish. It felt like forever, but it was only a few minutes as I listened to the sound of blood trickling down Blake's throat as he drank his fill from Sasi.
The sound reminds me of a serene garden waterfall. Judging by their reactions, this must be a regular thing that happens around here. It doesn't explain Blake's awkward boner, but I won't say a word about it to him; I'll just pretend I did not see it.
My nose twitched in curiosity as I thought about this interaction. When Blake let go of Sasi's shoulder, I could just barely see the little holes in his skin left by Blake, but I was not ready when they just suddenly closed up in the blink of an eye. Blake licked his lips, straightening his posture as Sasi put his shirt back on and turned around before peering down at me with an eyebrow raised.
"Nosey much?" Sasi teased with a side smirk, "Never seen a vamp feed before?"
"Not outside the movies," I shamelessly responded, still in awe as seeing it happen in real life was nothing like it was depicted on screen. It had almost completely distracted me from thinking about what was happening outside with Xinith and possibly a wild bear that had snuck onto campus!
"So then," Blake started as he reached to the side and pulled up a chair, sitting in front of me, obviously not caring that his towel was dangerously close to exposing what hid beneath, "What brings you here at this hour?" He smiled before taking the towel from behind his neck and beginning to dry his hair with it, "Surely, you didn't come just because you missed me already."
Was he always this flirty?
"Actually," Liam cleared his throat from behind, "I brought her here." When Blake sharply turned his head to scowl at him, Liam defensively waved his hands, "Don't look at me like I'm some kind of kidnapper, Blake! Xinith handed her off to me and asked me to get her out of-…"
"Out of where?" Blake quickly asked, his aloofness from before gone.
"Outside…," Liam tried to explain with vague details, and when he didn't add more, Blake turned to me with a gentle smile.
"Alex dear, what happened outside?"
"Well, one minute Xinith is carrying me back to the dorms through that little wooded area, and the next he's running, holding a little too tightly onto me-…," I started to explain my point of view before Blake interrupted, holding a finger up.
"What was he running from?" Blake furrowed his brows as he took in all the information that I could supply.
"Well, that's the thing, I don't know," I shrugged my shoulders, "I heard a guttural growl and thought maybe a wild bear but I couldn't see anything because Xinith wouldn't let me look."
"Alex," Blake swallowed, placing one hand over mine in my lap with a small pat, "There are no bears around here."
- End of Chapter Twenty-Four -