Chapter 35

" S o, how long was I out?" I asked Simon after he'd cleaned the blood off my skin and given me a new shirt to wear.

"Just over twenty-four hours. It's about three in the morning right now," he replied.

I winced, settling further into the sheets like I could hide from my new reality. I could hear a couple a few floors down arguing and covered my ears with a groan. Everything was too loud . Even Simon's soft breathing next to me was too much. I wished he would hold his breath, but I would still be able to hear his heartbeat and there was no way he could stop that.

My bodily functions felt louder than ever too. I found myself holding my breath and trying not to swallow or blink too much because I felt particularly attuned to my body. Also, I couldn't figure out how to get my fangs to go away, so I laid on my back and tried to ignore the full feeling in my mouth. I kept nicking the tip of my tongue on one or both of them.

I was too embarrassed to ask Simon for help, so I settled for clinging to him. He lay beside me on his back, his breathing even and slow as he stared at the ceiling.

"I feel exhausted," I whispered. "But also energized. Is that possible?"

Simon hummed. "While you have gone through a monumental physical change, you are stronger and have more energy than ever. In a week or two, the fatigue will pass."

"Thank you," I murmured.

When silence fell over the room, I realized I could hear someone's TV a couple apartments over. Someone downstairs was snoring. A cat meowed. A dog barked. Someone munched on chips. I shivered and shook my head, trying not to listen to any of it.

"Can you talk to me?" I asked Simon. "About anything. I can't stand the noise."

Simon reached for the remote on the side table, turning on the TV in the room. I flinched at the extra light, but he lowered the brightness, and it was bearable. The volume was turned down too.

"Is that any better?" he asked, exhaustion leaking into his voice.

I could still hear all the noises outside, but they were less invasive if I focused on the TV. "A little," I admitted.

"Can you tell me some things about space?" Simon asked, settling into the pillows next to me. "Anything you'd like."

My lips spread into a smile and I tightened my grip around his torso.

Astronomy was one of the oldest scientific disciplines ever recorded.

The sunset on Mars was blue.

Jupiter has seventy-nine moons.

Neptune has only completed one trip around the sun since its discovery in 1846.

I talked quietly for a while, oblivious to the passing of time. I simply rambled and listened to the beat of Simon's heart.

When I paused, I realized his breathing had deepened. I glanced up at his sleeping face, sighing softly. I pulled the blanket up around our torsos and rested my head on his chest.

"Goodnight, Simon," I whispered into the dark.

When I woke in the morning, the daylight was bright but not as unbearable as the lamp light had been last night. I trailed my hand up my torso, touching my jaw and cheek. I brushed my fingers over my lips, then touched my nose and eyelids. I was still me; everything was where it should be.

Simon stirred next to me, but didn't open his eyes. I rolled toward him, noticing even more small details in his features. The almost imperceptible highlights in his hair. The shades of pink on his lips. I reached forward, humming in surprise when I touched his face.

His eyes fluttered open and met mine. I tensed, sure he would push me away, but he only offered me a tired smile. I dragged my fingers along the curve of his jaw, down to feel the pulse in his throat. He tilted his head up to allow me access. I felt entranced by his heartbeat, slower than any human but stronger. His chest was warm as I touched him there, running my finger along the curves of each of his abs, then down lower. My hand stopped at the fabric of his boxers when he tensed beneath my touch. I moved back up, mesmerized by the feel of him.

"Is it always like this?" I asked. "Intense?"

He nodded. "Yes, it is."

"Wow," I breathed as my hand cascaded over the little hairs on his arm.

Simon cleared his throat and sat up. "We should call your sister." I wrinkled my nose, remembering how loud she'd been last night. Simon chuckled and moved to get out of bed. "She's worried about you, Lucinda."

I caught his arm, drawing him back to me. "I don't want to call Addie. I want to keep touching you."

"I don't think that's appropriate right now," he rasped, clearing his throat for the second time.

"Simon," I whined, clinging to his wrist. "Please."

"You should know that whatever you felt as a human, you will now feel much more intensely," he said.

"Okay," I said dismissively, reaching for his torso.

I didn't want a lecture on the ins and outs of vampirism; I wanted to keep touching him. I wanted to know how his skin felt against mine, how his tongue felt in my mouth, how he'd feel inside me.

Simon fell back against the pillows. "Relentless woman."

"Nice to know that hasn't changed." I grinned.

Simon's mouth against mine was a million times more intense than before. It was like I could feel every cell inside us connecting. I realized he tasted like blood. I'd never noticed that before, and even now, it was subtle, but as I brushed my tongue against his, I could taste it. It was heavenly.

"You'll tell me if this is too much, right?" Simon asked quietly, kissing my cheek once, twice, three times—lower each time. His tongue flicked along my jaw, and I trembled. "Answer me, or I'll stop."

"Yes," I breathed. "I will tell you."

"Good girl."

Simon slid down my body, settling between my legs. I relaxed into the pillows as he kissed my throat and my collarbone. He slid his hands beneath the cotton shirt I wore, nudging it up to rest beneath my armpits. His tongue tickled my skin each time a millisecond before his lips did. I bent my knees, dragging my thighs up and down his hips to see what it felt like to wrap my legs around his waist.

Sparks flew through my whole body when Simon pulled off the shirt I wore. He lowered himself back down to me, his bare torso connecting with mine.

"My god," I gasped.

"I know, my darling," he murmured, swirling his tongue around one of my nipples. "I'm gonna fuck you nice and slow. Would you like that?"

"Yes."

Simon stood and undressed, hooking his fingers beneath the band of my panties and pulling them off. I stretched out on the bed, bare beneath him. Simon's eyes darkened, black veins rippling over his face. He returned to me, lowering his mouth to kiss down the inside of my thighs.

The moment his tongue found my core was explosive; I thought I would come from the first instant his tongue touched my skin. Instead of consuming me like he usually did, Simon licked slowly—savoring every taste. His eyes flicked up to meet mine as I gasped and clutched the sheets on either side of me.

It was too much and not enough. I needed him to stop, but I also wanted to beg him to keep going.

It was like every cell in my body had been ignited and burned only for him.

Simon coaxed me into the most intense orgasm of my life using gentle flicks of his tongue. I sobbed, covering my face as my back arched off the bed. When I could breathe again, he crawled up my body and spread my legs further.

"That's it, darling, open up for my cock," he growled.

He reached between us, pushing two fingers into me and spreading me wide. I whimpered at his touch, my mouth falling open as he replaced his fingers with his length. Simon rolled his hips forward, filling me.

"Simon," I cried, clinging to him.

He moaned, rolling his hips into mine over and over again. He was everything I needed. Everything I wanted.

Everything.

Simon looped his arms under my knees, lifting my hips off the mattress to drive into me deeper. His thrusts were slow and deep; each one of them filled me completely and then left me empty and longing.

"Would you like to come again, Lucinda?"

"Please." I nodded eagerly. I would have given him anything to feel like that again.

Simon hummed his approval, dipping his fingers between my thighs to find my clit. I yelped at the added sensation. He kept his touch as slow and delicate as his thrusts, making sure I felt every move he made. The fire within me built hotter and faster than I was prepared for, and I fell over the edge before I realized I was standing on it.

I came around Simon, clenching my thighs around his waist. He pressed his hips against mine, grinding against me to coax me through my high. I felt his climax shatter him, and he clung to me, lowering his mouth to mine to cover his moans.

"Are you alright?" he asked when we collapsed into each other.

"I'm wonderful," I said dreamily. "Is that what it's going to feel like forever?"

Simon chuckled. "Vampires can be bad at sex too," he said, slipping away to lay next to me.

"Not you," I countered.

He watched me quietly, then smiled. "No, not me."