Thicker than Blood

8. Geordi

CHAPTER 8

Geordi

M y skin is still crawling from the incubi. A part of me really wanted to say yes, to let them show me what sex is like with a non-human, but what a slippery slope that would be. Besides, if I’m gonna have sex with a supernatural being it has to be a vampire. What kind of vampire researcher would I be if I didn’t test those goods first?

“Can we go upstairs though?” I ask, desperate to get out of this hopped-up sex palace. “I need silence to concentrate.”

“Of course.” Elias stands, offering his hand to me as if I can’t stand on my own.

I take it anyway. If he wants to be a gentleman, who am I to balk at that? As we walk back towards the stairs, a loud cry comes from my left, breaking through the music and voices, and I turn sharply in that direction. Elias drops my hand, and in barely a blink, he’s across the room holding a man against the wall by his neck.

The man’s eyes glow and he bares his fangs, hissing at Elias. Beside him is another man, small and delicate like a doll, holding his chest and breathing hard. I hurry over to hear what’s happening.

“This is your last fucking warning,” Elias snarls, then, shockingly, snaps the being’s neck.

The vampire shrieks as Elias lets him drop to the floor. I stare in frozen horror.

“Are you alright?” Elias asks the obviously mortal man in a soft voice.

Elias raises his hand and Benicio appears with a glass of liquid. Elias pulls the man’s hand away from his neck, surveying the holes dripping blood, but even I know more damage was done than just feeding. His skin is jagged and torn just below the feeding wounds.

“Oh dear,” Elias says. “Give me just a second and I’ll fix you up.”

He leans in, locking his mouth over the man’s wounds while the other vampire groans and writhes in pain at their feet. I know what Elias is doing. He’s healing the man, but for some reason, as my stomach twists and my chest tightens, I find it unusually unpleasant to watch. Maybe it’s because I’ve never actually witnessed it so up close, or maybe I just don’t like it because it’s Elias? Stupid crush.

After a minute or so, Elias lifts his head, his lips stained with mortal blood, and the victim leans against the wall, completely healed but clearly dazed.

“How do you feel now?”

The mortal nods, smiling. “Thank you. I don’t know what happened. I said he could feed, then all of a sudden he tore into my skin.”

“My apologies. Tobias is going through something. I assure you it won’t happen again.”

“Drink this juice,” Benicio says, offering the man a drink.

Elias turns back towards me, but before he approaches, he leans down to the struggling vampire. “Benicio will see to it that you get home where you can heal. I expect you to come to me and explain yourself or be banned from Paradiso. Understood?”

The vampire clearly can’t speak, so he just huffs a breath and blinks. Elias seems satisfied with that response, and as he stands and straightens his cuff links, my stomach flutters.

I almost can’t believe I’m really here and witnessing all of this. I’d pinch myself, but if I’m dreaming I’d rather not wake up just yet.

“So sorry for the interruption.” Elias smiles as if he didn’t just descend into violence seconds ago.

“No problem. How long will it take to heal from a broken neck?”

“Weeks. He’ll have plenty of time to consider his transgressions. We have strict rules down here that keep the mortals alive, and he broke one.”

“I thought you didn’t care about rules.”

Elias’s eyes glimmer. “Touché. In this case, keeping the mortals alive and well keeps us under the radar so that we can freely break all the other rules imposed on us.”

“Smart.”

“I am.”

“Do you think he’s behind the attacks?”

Elias seems to consider the question. “I don’t think so, but I’ll look into it just in case. He’s newly turned and has trouble with his impulses from time to time. Fortunately, the wounds to the mortal were superficial and therefore easily fixed.” He gestures towards the stairs. “Shall we?”

“Yeah.” I glance over my shoulder again just in time to see two large men dragging the wounded vampire out of the room with Benicio dutifully following.

Back upstairs, I inhale, aware of how different the air was below. Up here, it’s normal, but down there it smelled like sex and lust and all the things I didn’t know had a scent before.

“Do we need a special space or is the sitting room alright?” Elias asks.

“Anywhere is fine.”

“Good.”

I follow Elias back to the room we were in before, and once I feel my balance restored, I dig through my bag for the vaccine. My hands shake as I lift the bottle and syringe. I have faith in my formula, but it hasn’t been tested—it can’t be. My samples using human blood were encouraging though, isolating and surrounding a specific enzyme that’s potentially responsible for the compulsion vulnerability. I know this will work. I just have to be brave enough to prove it.

I pull out the second bottle—the antidote, should something go wrong. I’ll have to rely on Elias to administer it if I can’t.

I place both bottles on the coffee table. “The red bottle is the vaccine and the yellow one is the antidote you’ll have to give me to drink if something goes wrong.”

“Like?”

I shrug. “Allergic reaction, seizures, organ shutdown. Anything.”

His brow creases. “Okay.”

I grab my notebook and flip to the pages where I’ve done my research. “Here’s how we’ll do it. Step one: You’ll use your compulsion on me so we can get a baseline.”

Elias’s face lights up. “And then?”

“Vaccine. After a few minutes, if I’m not dying or anything, you’ll try it again. We’ll keep doing it in different time increments to see how long the vaccine lasts.”

“Sounds fair.”

“Once we find the time limit, I’ll be able to finish my proposal and present it to the board. Of course, if it doesn’t work at all, I’ll be back to the drawing board.”

“How did you create this?”

“It’s all about the blood. I’ve been studying the differences between vampires and mortals for years, down to the most minute discrepancy. I think I have this figured out, but I won’t know until I can test it.”

“I’m ready when you are.”

Nodding, I twist my neck from side to side. “I’m ready.”

His expression softens even as his eyes glow and his fangs drop. “Just keep looking into my eyes, pretty mortal.”

“Pretty?”

“You are. Very.”

I’d scoff, but I don’t want to ruin my concentration, so I push the compliment away and hold his gaze. I’ve read accounts of what compulsion feels like but I’ve always wondered if they were exaggerated. Hopefully, I’m about to find out.

“Tell me about something that makes you happy,” Elias says, his voice taking on an even deeper tone. “Something not work related.”

It seems to take a second for his request to sink in and another for me to answer. “Cake.” It’s like time has slowed down.

“Cake?” He smiles, revealing more of his fangs. Very sharp fangs. “Tell me more.”

“I like the texture of it. Soft and moist.”

“Yesss.” His eyes flash. “What else?”

“It’s the best when it has cream in the center. Layered cake is my favorite.”

“Mm-hmm. What flavor?”

My stomach flutters the more I gaze into his eyes. “Red velvet with Bavarian cream filling and cream cheese frosting.”

“Sounds divine.”

I nod, aware of every ounce of tension leaving my body.

“There it is. Our connection grows. Follow your urges and whims, Geordi. You’re safe with me.”

Nodding, I reach out and touch the tip of one of his fangs with my index finger. It’s as sharp as a knife, puncturing my skin and producing a droplet of blood. Elias drops his smile, gripping my hand and squeezing my finger. We both watch my blood drip down my finger before Elias laps it up.

“Offer me your neck, mortal.”

A slight tugging in my chest tightens as my brain struggles to resist the command. “N-n-no.”

Elias focuses his gaze on me, his eyes pulsing like a strobe light. The air around me becomes thick and hazy, like a fog blowing in from nowhere. I sway, quickly losing my free will, but it feels fucking amazing.

“Offer me your neck, Geordi.”

I feel myself losing my grasp, and I’m helpless to prevent it as I tug my shirt collar down, exposing my neck to Elias. He leans in, rubbing his nose against my skin and inhaling.

Is he going to bite me? If he chooses to, there’s not a damn thing I can do about it. It’s almost like an out-of-body experience, where I can see it happening but I’m powerless to stop it.

Instead of sharp teeth, Elias drags his tongue up my neck before nuzzling me. A vibrant wave of heat spreads through me as his teeth graze my earlobe, making my cock swell instantly. Wowwwww.

Elias pulls back, cupping my chin with his hand. He blinks several times, and as he does, the fog around me clears and I feel more grounded and settled in my body again.

“How was that?”

“You…” I shake my head as a shiver rolls over me. “You didn’t feed.”

“No. I prefer consent. Besides, I wanted you to feel that you can trust me for your experiment.” He leans in as if he’s going to kiss me but stops short. “Though I did take a tiny, harmless taste of your flesh. You have a very tempting neck.”

Another shiver rolls down my back. “Thank you, I guess. It was odd. I felt disconnected.”

He nods. “But you must have something in you that keeps you slightly guarded. Most mortals turn into mindless zombies, completely controlled by the vampire in charge. You kept some of yourself intact. I felt the resistance.”

Interesting. I grab my notebook and scrawl a comment in the margin. I’ll have to research that more later.

“Are you ready for step two?” Elias asks.

“I am. Just be sure to save me if something goes wrong and I can’t save myself. Yellow bottle. Pour it down my throat.”

“You got it.”

I can’t believe I’m trusting Elias with my life without any witnesses or friends to help me. I should’ve invited Enyo.

“Have no fear, Geordi. I have no ill will or intentions toward you.”

“How did you know what I was thinking?”

“I’ve had your blood on my tongue. The connection will linger for a few hours before it fades.”

“No one’s ever told me that before.” I scrawl that nugget in my notes too.

“We must be able to keep some of our secrets, no?”

I scowl but nod. “Yeah, okay.” Glancing at the syringe, I exhale slowly. “Let’s do this.”