Everafter Series 1 - Everafter by Nell Stark, Trinity Tam Page B

of my back through my shirt. “I believe you, love. If that’s what you want to do, then I know you will. But in the meantime, let me be your sustenance. I’m strong and healthy. I can give you this.”
    Guilt and desire warred in my brain. I wanted so badly to accept what she was offering. But should I? What if she came to resent me? What if I hurt her, or worse?
    I breathed in her scent again, allowing her presence to calm me. The fact was, I needed her. I couldn’t escape that. I’d already tried to make one choice for her today, and that hadn’t been right or fair. If she didn’t believe that the risk was too great, then I had to make my peace with her decision—for now, anyway—and do everything in my power to treat her as well as I could. While searching for the cure.
    “Okay,” I said softly. “I…I accept. I feel so selfish and so grateful, and—”
    She cut off my babbling by pulling my head down and pressing her lips to mine. If I was thirsty for her blood, then I was starving for this—the perfect softness of her mouth, the hot stroking of her tongue, the gentle scrape of her teeth. I lost myself in that kiss. The room and its other occupants melted away as we reaffirmed us.
    When I finally pulled back to breathe, I cupped Alexa’s face in my hands and smoothed my thumbs across her cheeks. “That hour without you was the worst in my life.”
    Her hands tightened on my hips and she pulled me closer. “Don’t you ever do that again,” she said, her voice ragged.
    I would have gone right back to kissing her if Kyle hadn’t spoken up. “Finally,” he hissed. When I glared at him, thinking that he was referring to us, I realized that his full attention was still on the wolf, which was blurring around the edges. Just like he had done in his human form.
    “Look,” I breathed, turning Alexa toward the window. Moments later, a very naked Darren appeared on his hands and knees. Almost immediately, a spasm racked his entire body and he vomited. I watched him cough and spit and gasp for breath, wondering how much agony he was in. I could only imagine what it felt like to endure that kind of transformation—the pain must be crippling. How he even survived it was a medical miracle beyond my wildest dreams. A moment later, the main door opened and that same arm thrust in a set of scrubs. Keeping his back to us, Darren lurched to his feet and reached for the clothes. When he had pulled on the pants, Helen let us back into the conference room.
    Darren glowered at me and Alexa, but his face smoothed when Helen rested a hand on his bulging right biceps. “I apologize,” he told her, his tone formal.
    “You were provoked,” she said, stroking him lightly. “Go and change, then meet us across the hall.”
    His eyes narrowed; I could tell he didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone with us one bit. But he obeyed the order. I gave the pool of vomit and rabbit remains that were scattered on the bloodstained floor a wide berth as we followed Helen out the door and into an identical conference room across the hall.
    “If you have decided to feed from her,” Helen said to me once we were all seated around the table, “it will be best to do so under supervision the first few times. It will be easy for you to get carried away and take too much.”
    “I want us to do it now,” said Alexa. “Show me.”
    “Kyle will help.” From her purse, Helen extracted a scalpel. It was sterile—I could tell from the packaging.
    I checked Alexa’s expression to see if she was having misgivings, but she only looked confused. “Can’t Val…” A flush crept into her cheeks, and she cleared her throat before continuing. “I mean, why not…bite?”
    A stab of arousal jolted through my body, leaving me throbbing. Alexa wanted me to bite her. Fucking hell. I reached for her hand under the table and squeezed hard, my mind’s eye overwhelmed by visions of me sinking my teeth into the buttery-smooth skin of her inner