Helping

Her breath caught and her eyes widened with his question. Was he asking her if he could eat her?! "W-what?" she mumbled.

He smiled as he watched how nervous she was. "I asked if I could taste you."

That made her cheeks burn hotter! She fought a shiver and swallowed hard as she thought about the implications of his words. Who said stuff like that so casually?! Was he not aware of what he was saying?

"I apologize, wrong wording," he said with a chuckle.

Her eyes narrowed at him. He sure didn't sound apologetic!

"Can I… have a drink? I won't kill you or hurt you in any way. I promise." He felt his heart pounding excitedly as he watched the troubled expression in her eyes. She wasn't saying yes, but she hadn't flat out refused him as she would have before. It made his heart soar as it gave him hope.

Rose gulped. She couldn't believe he was asking her something like this. "Don't you have other people for this?"

He looked into her eyes and stopped smiling. "I haven't touched another woman since we got engaged, not even to feed. You will be the only woman I touch for the rest of my life Rose. Whether it's to eat or…" He let his words trail and licked his lips as their eyes held.

Her breath caught at his words. The insinuation behind them made her shiver and she felt her heart stop as she watched his tongue run over his lips, as if savoring her. Her heart began to pound in her chest. The butterflies in her stomach scared her to death. Why was she feeling like this over simple words? She gulped as she saw the sincerity in his eyes. He was telling her the truth. He really hadn't fed since then? That had been weeks ago! Wasn't he hungry? Could vampires last that long without eating? Wouldn't they shrivel up and die or something? "Can you go this long without eating?"

He smiled at the change of subject. "Yes. I'm not going to die. I still drink blood just not directly from a body. It's like eating something that you need, but never really satisfies you. It leaves you hungry, wanting more. It leaves you craving a fresh body," he said as his lips lifted into a mischievous crooked grin.

"How have you been able to hold back so long?"

"I have a reason to hold back. My wife will be the only woman I touch for the rest of my life. When I think about that, it's easier to control my thirst."

She admired his determination and was a flattered that he felt that strongly for her. She wasn't sure she'd be able to do that if she were in his place. It must take a lot of willpower.

"That is, until I have you near me. When you're around me, it's a lot harder to control myself. You make me go crazy." He reached out and grabbed her face, moving closer to her on the couch.

Rose froze when she felt the heat of his caress on her skin. His heat began to envelop her slowly, making the air around her feel warmer, and she unconsciously moved back a bit. She swallowed hard as he got close enough to kiss her. Why did her throat feel so dry?

"It's a bit harder to control my hunger for you, but not impossible. Maybe it's my love for you, or maybe the way your blood smells, but as soon as I sense you, or smell you, my hunger awakens and I have to use everything in me to keep it at bay."

"What does my blood smell like? Is it different than other blood?" she asked curiously. She had seen movies about vampires having a favorite person because of how their blood smelled, and she was curious to know what was in her blood that made Caleb hungrier for her than other humans.

"You smell sweeter than anyone else. It's like when you smell your favorite dessert, you instantly get hungry and crave it. Multiply that feeling times a thousand and you'll start to understand how I feel."

She frowned. "And you feel like this every time you see me?"

"Yes," he said with a smile. "It's getting harder and harder to hold back." He watched her eyes widen and chuckled. "I told you I would never hurt you and I meant it."

She nodded. "So how can we stop your hunger so you don't feel like this all the time?" she asked worried.

His smile widened. "You're worried about me?" The thought of her worrying about him made him happy beyond words.

She looked away and blushed. "It's not that, I just… I don't want to wake up one day with your fangs in my neck."

He chuckled at her words. "You make me sound like a wild animal that can't control himself."

She looked back at him and bit her bottom lip. "So, what can we do? Is there a special vaccine that you can take that will help you quench your thirst? Or maybe a pill?" Once again, vampire movies aided her mind.

He laughed harder at her naïve words. "I'm not sick Rose. It's not a condition, it's who I am."

She felt embarrassed at her own stupidity. How could there be a vaccine for vampires? She chuckled dryly. "Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"There is one way you can help me," he said as he brought her hand up again. He kissed her wrist and smiled at her. "What do you say?"

"You mean drinking my blood?" She wasn't sure why she was asking when she already knew exactly what he meant. She felt her mind was turning into mush in front of him. She was becoming stupider by the minute.

He didn't answer her question, simply smiled at her, waiting.

She bit her bottom lip and frowned. "Well, maybe I could use a needle to take some blood out and put it in a cup for you," she said nervously as she watched his eyes shine.

He chuckled. "It would be the same as drinking blood from a glass. It wouldn't be satisfying enough." He lied. Just drinking her blood alone would keep him going for weeks, but he wasn't going to pass up the chance to feed directly from her body. He knew she was a nice girl. If she thought he was in trouble because of her, she would try to help him.

She frowned and sighed. "T-then…" She gulped nervously as she saw his lips press against her wrist again. She cleared her throat. "Will it last long?"

He shook his head. "You'll be surprised by how fast it's done."

"Will it hurt?"

He smiled. "No. It's not going to hurt you. It'll feel like a pair of needles piercing into your skin for a second, then nothing." Well not nothing, he thought, but he would let her find out on her own.

Her heart hitched at the devilish grin on his lips. She couldn't help but wonder what it felt like. She knew she had to help him; otherwise, he would keep on suffering. And what if he lost it one day and really attacked her? She sighed and nodded nervously. "Okay, but just a little."

He had never expected this to happen so soon. He hadn't even been sure she would agree to help him this way when he asked, but he couldn't be happier with the way things had turned out. This was a big step forward. It meant she was letting him get closer to her, even if she didn't realize it herself; she was opening herself up to him. He smiled and brought her hand up to his lips. He kissed it and then pulled out his tongue to run it over her skin.

Her breath caught as his actions sent a small shiver down her body. She trembled, feeling it deep in her core. Shit. What was going on? She gulped and watched as his tongue began to run in circles over her wrist. "D-do you have to do that?" she asked nervously.

"Yes," he answered immediately. He looked up at her, with a mischievous smile on his lips. "Are you ready?" he asked, voice hoarse as he fought to keep hold of his desire. Just knowing he was going to be able to taste her was driving him crazy.

She nodded and shut her eyes tightly, waiting for him to bite into her. She waited a few seconds, but nothing happened. She opened her eyes to see why it was taking him so long, but as soon as she met his eyes, she felt his fangs sink into her wrist. She gasped in shock as red eyes looked back at her and her eyes widened as she felt his fangs slowly digging deeper and deeper into her skin. The atmosphere around them, the look in his eyes, the feeling of his fangs going into her skin felt intimate, so sensual it made her body tremble.