Thicker than Blood

9. Geordie

CHAPTER 9

Geordie

E lias watches me as I wrap the rubber strap around my arm just above my elbow. Blood engorges my veins, and when I venture a glance at the vampire, he’s nearly vibrating with something—hunger, desire, excitement? Whatever emotion he’s feeling, it’s palpable.

I lift the syringe from the table and draw the vaccine into it from the small jar with my experimental compound in it. My hands are slightly shaking, and I’m honestly not sure if it’s from my nerves or Elias’s interest in the process.

With a second syringe, I pierce my vein and draw blood, aware of the body heat Elias is emitting. I empty the blood into another jar, then add the vaccine to it, shaking it slightly to mix it, before refilling the syringe with the combined mixture. My research showed that mixing it first will have the desired effect. Or at least, that’s what I believe.

Blowing out a breath, I set my shoulders then stick the needle into my waiting vein. The liquid stings like hell, and I cringe and grit my teeth to avoid cursing.

“Does it hurt?”

I nod as my eyes water. “I can feel it spreading through me.”

He moves his hand to my thigh in a comforting gesture, which oddly does help calm my nerves somewhat.

“I didn’t expect—” I suck in a breath as my stomach cramps. “Fuck.” So much for not cursing.

“Do you feel bad? Like you need the antidote?”

“No.” I hope it subsides quickly, but that hope is dashed as my insides twist and seize. I’m close to falling apart from a mixture of pain and fear. Maybe I should rethink the antidote. What if I’m actually dying and don’t know it?

“You’ve gone pale,” Elias says, his face a mask of concern. “Are you sure?”

As a massive surge of pain grips me, I clutch his arm and dig my nails into his skin, squeezing my eyes closed. I’m about to ask for the antidote when it just stops, releasing me from its grip.

I exhale a shaky breath and bow my head. “It’s over.”

“Yes?”

I nod, clearing my throat and blinking rapidly. “Yes. Wow, that sucked.”

“It was difficult to watch. Do you need water?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to add anything to my body. Not even water.” Blowing out another breath, I drag a hand through my hair then focus on the vampire. “Try again, please.”

“So soon?”

“Yes. I need to know how quickly it works. If it works.”

“Very well. Focus on my eyes.”

Nodding, I shift toward him and gaze into his glowing blue eyes.

“Tell me about your favorite hobby or pastime.”

I search my brain but come up empty. “I don’t have hobbies.”

“Television show? Movie? Book?”

“I’ve been writing a book,” I admit, shocking myself. I’ve never told anyone, not even Enyo.

Elias smiles, humming happily. “About what?”

“Vampires.”

“Of course. In your book are we the monsters or the heroes?”

“It’s clinical.”

Elias chuckles. “Not the creative type?”

I shake my head, waiting for that amazing feeling of euphoria to hit me again, but it’s not coming. Does that mean the vaccine worked?

“What do you do for pleasure, Geordi? What turns you on?”

I scrunch my brows as I consider his question. “I’m not sure.”

“Incubi don’t. Blood orgies don’t.” He leans closer, sliding his hands up my and down my thighs. “But vampires do. Am I right?”

My body starts to warm and I find myself nodding. “Yes.”

“Why? What is it about us that intrigues you so?”

“You’re like us but not like us. You’re beautiful and perfect and sexy.” Words flow out of my mouth without my consent, which means the vaccine is definitely not working, but it feels different this time.

“Sexy, huh? So, you’ve imagined crawling into the arms of a vampire. Spending your nights wrapped in his sheets, offering your body and your blood. Haven’t you, curious mortal?”

I nod, licking my lips. “I want to know what it’s like.”

“What what’s like?”

“All of it,” I whisper. “I want to experience it all. Kissing, fucking, all of it.”

Elias’s eyes glow even brighter and my breath hitches as his fangs descend, the tips seemingly glinting with light.

“You’ve only read about it or heard secondhand accounts, yes?”

I nod, leaning closer. “Yes.”

“Because you won’t let yourself break the rules.” He cups my chin. “What if I promised you a haven where the rules don’t matter?”

A soft whimper escapes my lips. “Elias.”

“Yes. With me. Here. I would take you to my bed with absolute pleasure. I’ll give you anything your curious little heart desires.”

I sway towards him, completely enthralled.

“But you should know one thing.”

“Wh-what?”

“It won’t be easy to leave me. No one ever chooses to leave.”

Somewhere in the back of my mind I hear a warning bell, but the flood of compulsion is much stronger. “You don’t have a lover now?”

“I have lovers whenever I choose to, but I would banish them all for a taste of you.”

“Why?”

“You fascinate me.” He brushes his thumb across my cheek. “I want to research you as much as you want to research me. Though I’m only interested in unlocking the secrets to your pleasure.” His hand slides down my neck. “You have no idea how sweet your blood is.”

I lift my hand to make some point, but my brain is so foggy I lose the words before I can say them. I’ve never done drugs, but I imagine this is what it feels like, and why the hell wouldn’t you want to feel this good? Nothing bad matters right now. Nothing is scary, and I’m this close to begging Elias to take me to his bedroom. Or not. He could fuck me on this couch and I don’t think I’d object. I’m not sure I can.

And that’s why compulsion is scary. I’m aware of its effect on me but unable to resist it. I would agree to anything right now, and he knows it.

My brain struggles to ask him to stop now, the logical part of me knowing this should end—and soon, before I’m compromised—but yeah, that’s not happening.

Elias lifts my wrist, rubbing it against his lips, taunting me with the knowledge that he could sink his teeth into me at any moment. He could drain me, turn me, or simply kill me. I should be terrified, but that’s the furthest from what I’m feeling right now. I want to draw closer.

“Do it,” I whisper. “Bite me.”

A sexy smile spreads across Elias’s lips. “I told you I prefer consent, and you have none to give at the moment.” He kisses my wrist. “But my gods, you are tempting. I could have my way with you, unravel your tightly wound control, and disregard your silly rules. I could keep you for eternity, discovering all the ways to make you come undone. I could make you forget anything exists but me and you.”

I nod. That sounds good to me.

“What does your heart want, Geordi? Right now, in this moment. Give in to it. Let yourself indulge.”

As if controlled by something beyond me, I crawl into Elias’s lap and press my lips to his without hesitation. He gasps softly before wrapping his arms around me and returning my kiss. The researcher in me tries to take over so I can remember all of this later, but the man obsessed with vampires is completely in charge and we’re kissing a vampire. Not just any vampire. Elias.

His mouth is cooler than it should be, like he’s eaten a popsicle, but the heat between us makes up for it as I shamelessly grind into him. I reach between us to unbutton my jeans, but I’m jolted by the sudden release of the compulsion.

I fly off his lap as the fog lifts so rapidly that it’s jarring and disorienting. One second I was lost in a haze of desire and freedom, and the next, slammed back into reality.

Elias looks concerned as he leans toward me. “What’s happening? Adverse effect?”

I scrub a hand over my face before I look at my watch. “Seven minutes.” I scoff. “This wasn’t the intended result.”

“Explain it to me, please?”

I stand and pace in a small circle to gather my thoughts and get my bearings again. “I think the vaccine worked, but only for a few seconds. I was obviously under your thrall.”

“Mm-hmm.”

“But then it was just gone. Not a slow fade or anything. It was like a light switch. Boom.”

“I see.”

“And I was aware the whole time but unable to resist it.”

“From my perspective it was different as well.”

“What do you mean?”

“Earlier, before the vaccine, I told you I felt a resistance in you that is unusual.”

“Yes.”

“This time, I sensed my compulsion was having a unique effect on you.”

“In what way?”

“Vampire compulsion works by stripping a mortal of any free will.”

“Right.”

“With you, it was more like unlocking a box you’ve kept tucked away, filled with all your truest desires and wishes. Instead of masking your free will, I gave you permission to seek what you want the most. I removed your inhibitions, I didn’t override your will.”

“You mean…” The truth in his words hits me hard and I sink into an armchair. “You weren’t making me want anything. I already wanted it.”

He nods, smiling softly. “Yes.”

Well fuck a duck and call me yellow.

“This disturbs you?”

“No. Why would it disturb me, Elias? No big deal finding out that the vaccine I created to prevent compulsion unlocks its power even more. I made myself more vulnerable, not less.”

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

“About your vampire fixation?”

Now I roll my eyes. “I research vampires for a living. I’m pretty aware, yeah.”

He chuckles. “That’s not what I meant and you know it.”

Right. He knows I want to have a sex with him. Super.

“You follow the rules because you’re a good person. You want to obey authority because you see benefit in it. You’ve never allowed yourself to follow your desires.”

Swallowing hard, I sit in stony silence. There’s a much deeper reason I won’t give in to my weird little kink.

“But I saw what’s inside your heart, and your heart wants to rebel. You want to know what it would be like to do whatever you want to. Am I right?”

“Is there any point in this conversation?”

“There’s a point in everything I say.” In a flash, he’s on his knees in front of me, spreading my legs to settle between them. “You can have that freedom here. With me.”

I gaze into his eyes, no longer glowing, but still just as intense. This is so dangerous I should get far, far away, but he’s my best shot at fixing this. “I have to get back to the lab and figure out what went wrong. Will you still help me?”

A smile teases his lips. “It would be a pleasure. You’re even lovelier under my thrall, and your kiss is sweet as honey.”

“You can’t let me go that far again. This is research only.”

“How am I to stop it?” His tone is filled with feigned innocence and amusement. “Besides, I have no motivation to prevent anything you wish to give me. As you previously noted, I suppose that’s one of the potential pitfalls in your research.”

I clear my throat, pushing his chest to put some space between us. “I’ll get back to you.”

Elias chuckles, rising smoothly to his feet. “I like you less when you’re fully in control, but to be clear, I still like you.”

I don’t know what to say, so I get to my feet and gather my things. Before I make it out the front door, Elias blocks my path, gazing down at me with an expression that makes my stomach flutter in a good way.

“You have my entire attention, Geordi, and you should know something about that.”

“What?”

“Once I’m enchanted, and I am, I can be rather… persistent.”

“Thanks for the warning.”

I push past him and outside where I inhale the cold air, getting my feet under me again. This opportunity is too good to pass up, so I’ll just have to find a way to keep the lines between us clearly marked. I’ve avoided breaking the rules this long, and I’m not about to become a plaything for Elias.

I’ll just state my boundaries clearly and directly, and I’m sure he’ll respect them.

Sure. And Dracula was a vegan.