20. Xander

Icontinued to stroke Luke’s wavy blonde locks long after he’d fallen asleep. I loved everything about him and I wanted to enjoy his presence as long as I had him near me. Someday, Luke would be gone and I would remain, alone again and in need of another mate. But right now, Luke was curled up next to me, each soft puff of breath warming my arm pinned underneath his neck.

His neck – it was perfect, the delicate skin soft and supple to my touch. If I didn’t know better than to do it, I would have bent down and broken it just for another taste of blood.

But right now, Luke needed his sleep, and if a knew what was good for me, I would take advantage of this quiet moment and rest as well. I rubbed his thigh gently as he snuggled in closer to me, mumbling something in his sleep.

I wanted to do so much more to him than cuddle, but I’d made a promise during our first date, and I had no intention of breaking it. Luke was clear about desiring kisses and cuddles and nothing else while he was asleep, which I could respect. Anything more and I had to wake him up, which he’d told me he would be fine with, but I doubted a few minutes of slumber were enough to keep him from being cranky if I woke him up for more sex.

As the hours ticked by, I felt myself growing drowsy. Drinking blood could do that to me if I consumed enough. I let my eyelids close for a few seconds, perhaps minutes, till a bird outside the window brought me back to consciousness with its obnoxious chirps.

I looked down at Luke, who was still lying next to me, still fast asleep. I smiled, planting a soft kiss on his cheek. I had no idea how I’d gotten so lucky to have this man in my life. Perhaps it was a mistake, perhaps I would lose it all tomorrow, but for the time being, I was content to enjoy what I had.

I stroked the side of his face, running my finger along his jawline where stubble was beginning to grow. Luke was gorgeous, there was no denying that. When I submitted my application to The Librarian I noted that I was open to anyone as long as they had no objection to vampires. I would have settled for an ogre of a man, but I’d been quite lucky that the perfect match for me was someone as beautiful as Luke.

I was fairly certain he was physically attracted to my appearance as well, based solely on the way he looked at me. It was difficult to hide a lack of attraction, and even more difficult to hide attraction itself. It was betrayed in the eyes, and Luke’s eyes were captivated whenever they were on me

He moaned in his sleep, grinding against me. I gave him another tender kiss, this time on his forehead, and felt him shift in bed.

“What are you dreaming of, my dearest Luke?” I whispered, knowing full well he wouldn’t answer me.

I didn’t much care. As long as he was happy, I was happy, and based on the smile spread across his face at the moment, he was in a state of pure bliss.