A Taste for Blood

Excerpt From: A Taste for Blood

A scrawny man not worth a vampire’s bite, let alone a sip, sat at the desk in front of me, his head of brown curls shielding whatever it was he’d just written down. I focused on the back of his neck. His beating heart was easily drowned out by the thump of electronic music waiting beyond a set of double doors.

The music called to me almost as much as the sweet, salty and tangy tastes I was bound to find once I got inside. Vampire-friendly clubs such as this housed the best kind of porn available to man and vampire alike, but I wasn’t in it for the slender legs, curved breasts or delicious bloodbath that was vampire-on-human sex. Not all of it, anyway.

Just one.

Smells. Tastes. Even hearing the flow of blood from every sub in the room was enough to put me on edge, but there was only one human I wanted to see…taste.

I clenched my fists and studied the black duffel bag I’d brought along with me. Aside from the cuffs and collar I’d thrown in earlier this evening, its contents never changed. A few pints of blood, ointment, bandages, condoms and lube—everything a vampire could possibly need.

I closed my eyes and tried not to think of her bare neck. Of the deep bite I’d left her with the last time I’d been here. My stomach turned with guilt. I’d taken it too far too soon. I only hoped tonight she’d say yes and invite me in for seconds. Thirds.

"Welcome to Horizons. How may I help you?" the desk clerk asked, raising his eyebrows at me. The colour drained from his face, and he stood from his chair. "You again."

I smiled at his surprise and waved a hand. "Please, sit down, uh…"

"Tyler," he offered, signing me in on his slip of paper.

I bit my bottom lip. "Is she here?"

Tyler sat back down and gestured to the door to my left. "Try not to drain her this time, will you, Alex? She has a shift in the morning, and I’d rather she not be among the walking dead."

I couldn’t be bothered with his tone just then. Not tonight. Anything that kept me from reaching Kassidy, especially when I was this close, would have to wait until morning.

For now, I focused on what was on the other side of the door. Warm blood. And with it, Kassidy’s submission. I wouldn’t be draining her tonight, but I couldn’t promise she wouldn’t look half alive tomorrow.

Steeling myself for what was ahead, promising I wouldn’t bite the first human with a heartbeat, I pushed through. It didn’t matter. I would’ve reacted the same way even if I’d been holding my breath.

A tremor ran over my spine as every nerve ending in my body tingled with the tell-tale signs of needing to feed. On someone. Anyone. I shook my head, walking past a mix of warm and cold bodies. They danced in the middle of the room and stank of blood. Of having had too much to drink. The humans out there were willing participants, but they weren’t protected by the clan or our laws.

Those outside private rooms were there for one reason only. To get high. To get so close to death they’d be left floating for days at a time. I wouldn’t be used as some kind of drug. Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for my brothers and sisters.

Vampires working off their high looked in my direction.

Thank God Kassidy has a private room.

Very few vampires fed on her, and those who did first needed her permission to enter the room. I’d been granted access months ago, but I always asked anyway. The first request was one of our unwritten laws. Those following were at my discretion.

Hanging a left, I walked down a long hallway. Away from the deafening music. Away from the vampire high. Away from temptation.

After passing the second door down the hall, I picked up my pace. Most of the rooms were empty, either by design or because the subs were away—I didn’t know which, nor did I care. The less chance I had of hearing a heartbeat on the other side of the wall, the better. I hadn’t fed on Kassidy in over a week, and the donors at the blood den were junk food compared to her.

Most of them, anyway.