IM01 - Carpe Noctem by Katie Salidas Read Free Book Online

eyes beckoned me to remain locked in his hypnotizing gaze. They were magnetic, drawing me in. I could easily stare at those beautiful pools of gray forever. Guilt became a distant memory; my only focus was Lysander.
    “Alyssa,” he said in his soothing, velvety voice. “We hunt to survive. Remember this.”
    I nodded absently, lost in his eyes.
    “Since it is too close to dawn, tonight, you may drink a little from me.” He looked down and unbuttoned the sleeve of his shirt.
    I shook the fog out of my head, feeling a little drowsy. Relief washed though me, knowing I wouldn’t have to hunt just yet.
    Lysander held out his arm in offering to me. My eyes grew wide as I looked down at his pale skin. A small, thin vein pulsed just below the surface. I wasn’t quite sure what he expected me to do. Nervously, I reached to hold his hand.
    “You must break the skin with your teeth,” Lysander said. A small smile perked up the corners of his mouth. “Use your sharpest teeth to gently pierce the vein just below the skin.”
    I ran my tongue across my teeth, as I had done before, noting the sharper ones.
    He nudged his arm closer to me. “Go ahead, Alyssa. You will not hurt me. Drink.”
    I glanced back up at Lysander’s face and smiled awkwardly. I didn’t want to drink blood, his or anyone’s. The ache in my stomach still nagged at me like an unyielding beast, begging me for blood. My mouth instinctively watered in anticipation seeing the pulsing vein, but I couldn’t move. I was frozen with anxiety.
    Lysander raised his wrist to my mouth. “It’s okay, Alyssa. Drink.”
    I couldn’t bite down. I sat there paralyzed, mouth open, his wrist just barely touching the sharpest of my teeth. I was afraid of becoming a blood-drinking monster.
    I can’t do this. No. There’s no way .
    I must have sat there for too long. Lysander had to have sensed something wasn’t right. I was faltering on what, to him, should have been a simple act.
    He reached his other hand up and firmly held the back of my head. Before I knew what was happening, he shoved his wrist into my already-bared teeth.
    I saw him wince as my teeth pierced his skin. He leaned my head backward with his wrist pressed against my lips.
    A gush of blood flooded my mouth. Thick and sweet, it poured down my throat. This wasn’t the liquid fire I had experienced before. This was like a drug. It tingled as it filled my mouth. I felt every refreshing drop as it ran down my throat. Pleasurable sensations, like the full-body rush of an orgasm, rewarded me with each swallow. My head buzzed with energy. My heart felt like a pounding drum, beating hard and fast against the wall of my chest. The dry burning stopped. My muscles no longer ached. The nagging in my stomach halted. I felt quenched, though some part of me still wanted more.
    Lysander released his grip on my head and pulled his wrist away. I moaned in need as he stood up and walked away, out of my view.
    “You will have to learn how to do this yourself, Alyssa.” His voice trailed behind him. “I will not force-feed you every night.”
    Almost as soon as I felt the high, I returned to reality. I looked down to see I had spilled blood everywhere. My tank top, my jeans, and the couch were spotted with the drippings of his blood. Lysander returned with a small towel and wiped his arm. I saw spots of blood in his shirt.
    Heat rose to my face, flushing my cheeks. I sat up. “Sorry. I just—” What was I going to say? Sorry, I just couldn’t bite you? That sounded too corny to say, even if it was the truth. There was no way to explain to him how I was feeling at that moment. As much as I was repulsed at the thought of drinking blood, I enjoyed the high it brought.
    I was torn, terrified of becoming a horrible bloodthirsty monster. Already my body was begging for more of his blood. The addiction had begun. The euphoric state left me almost as soon as I had felt it, and I knew only blood would bring it back.
    “This is