Chapter 17 : Bloodlust

Javier's POV I felt like I had just walked in on something. Mads and Theo were a few feet apart, but I noticed how Theo's body quivered. Theo's cheeks flushed and beautifully crimson. Her lips were swollen and wet. Pupils expanded and she blinked slowly. I even noticed the tremble in her knees. I could scent the way her blood throbbed through her veins, sweetening the air around her. Spun sugar that melted on my tongue. That craving for blood fired up within me again. It puzzled me how it only happened around Theo. I didn't feel the craving toward anyone else. After we got back from Sol's ship, I had to pop my supplements. A few months' supply dwindling to nothing. I popped them like candy, thinking it was enough. I could scent Theo's blood from across the ship, but it felt far more potent now. My jaw ached, longing to feel its power thrum through my body. The taste of her blood would be as rich as the nectar from between her legs. And I had my fill of it. Still craving more. It had been a full day, but I could still taste her lingering on my tongue like pure decadence. I fought to be jealous of how she looked at Mads when he left. Lust hooded her eyes through fluttering eyelashes. An unrequited sort of desire between them. It irritated me that Mads had clearly kissed her. Or maybe she was the one that kissed him. I rarely saw them together, but I'm sure if I had, I would have noticed the chemistry thickening the atmosphere around them. I didn't like the idea of Theo getting involved with a wolf. But the evidence was there. Apparent in how she restlessly rocked on her heels, and in the goosebumps present on her arms. I could even see how her nipples strained against the fabric of her loose black tank top. No wonder Ellie speculated. Regardless of who kissed who, Theo wasn't mine. I had no claim over her. She could kiss whoever she wanted to. It didn't matter what I thought about it. I tried to let it go. I really did. But she stared at Mads with such longing that it really pissed me off. I had no right to her, I knew that, but even the logical part of my brain was quiet against the other, more possessive side of me. The side that wanted to get down to my knees and prove to Theo that I was the better match. She turned away from me, munching on a sandwich. Long dark brown tresses cascaded down her shoulders, framing her lovely angular cheekbones. I couldn't even be angry, not with how cute she looked nibbling on her snack. "So, what I know right now is that at the very least the Lunar Ravagers have seen Sol," Theo said between bites. She seemed restless. Rocking on her heels like she was absolutely wired. "When's the meeting with them?" I asked. The sooner we found Sol, the better I'd feel. I just wanted to know she was safe. "That's harder to answer. They aren't the type of people you can organize a meeting with," Theo explained. I frowned, not liking her answer at all. Sol could be hurt. Trapped on a pirate vessel in the middle of space. She could be a prisoner for all I knew. Or dead. "Hey," Theo snapped me out of my thoughts. "Mads has some old connections. He's going to get a meeting with them." "Mads, huh?" I asked curtly. I didn't trust the wolf. Not at all. And now that Sol was possibly on a ship full of werewolves churned my stomach and pissed me off. From what I knew about them, they were sex-fueled fiends. Kidnapping women in hopes of creating a life bond with them. I'm sure they also passed their women around. Tension built in my shoulders. Theo crossed her arms. "Yeah. Mads. Get over it." She finished her sandwich with one more big bite. "I don't give a shit how you feel about it. What matters is that we're getting closer to figuring out what happened to Sol and bringing her home." "Unless she's dead," I shot back. My body felt tight with frustration. I could still feel my stomach dropping when I saw the dead pilot. An unoccupied ship. It almost felt like my niece was becoming a ghost. Right under my nose. Theo sighed deeply. "I won't believe she's dead unless we find a body," she said. It was a stark comment, but that was the nature of it. "And if she's dead, then we find out what happened to her and we get justice for it." "You say that like you have experience," I commented. "I do. Too much experience. Story for another day," she muttered, waving it off with a flick of her wrist. "Anyways, after we refuel, we'll head toward Aeolus. That's where the Ravagers hang out. Then I'll figure the rest out later. Until then, there's unfortunately nothing we can do." My shoulders slumped slightly. At least there was a plan. "Okay. I trust you." After Zeus 9, Theo proved to me I could trust her. Whether or not she could trust me was another story. Especially after we returned to the ship, I found myself with my face buried between her thighs. I still can't believe that happened. It wound me up so badly, I came in my pants like a sex-starved loser. But that wasn't the reason I ran off. It was because I was approximately two seconds from burying my teeth in her thick creamy thighs and indulging myself in her blood. All her noises. The way she moaned my name sent jolts of pure ecstasy down to my cock. It sounded like a fucking siren song. The image of her…legs wide open, face flushed with desire, and I would have stayed the night with her if I hadn't had to control my bloodlust. I would have had her over and over again. And she would have given back as much as she took. Think about Mads then. Think about him while seated on my cock. Think about him when I blew her fucking mind. I only wanted it to be my name on her lips. Damn it. Heat flushed my body, hardening my cock at the thought of her saying my name again. Touching me again. "I'm glad to hear it," Theo replied, tucking some hair behind her ear, sending a wave of her mouthwatering scent right into my nose. Fuck, she smelled good. I didn't even notice her not say that she trusted me back. I took a few steps toward her, throat burning, needing to be quenched. I was so fucking hungry. My abdomen tightened, and the scent of her sent lust pumping through me. My eyes locked onto hers, the rich brown nearly nowhere to be seen. Only a thin ring around her irises. I took another step forward, completely drawn in by her. The voice in the back of my head telling me to retreat, go back to my room, and down the rest of my bottle of supplements, seemed quieter and quieter under the sounds of Theo's rushing blood. I realized then and there…that I couldn't stop it. My control was frayed, the thin thread stretching further and further. Any second it would break and I'd be powerless to stop it. The bloodthirsty beast under the surface would have her. To make everything more painful for me, I noticed how her thighs pressed together through her sweatpants. "Javier…what're you doing?" Theo whispered as I stepped closer, inhaling more and more of her scent. The sound of her blood rushing was music. I wanted a taste of her. And if I didn't get it, I felt like I would crumble into nothing. I needed her taste to survive, as vital as oxygen. My fangs descended to rest on my upper lip, blackness threading my eyes. Through my veins. I could feel the bloodlust seize my soul. Moving me like a puppet. Theo visibly shuddered when I stroked a fingertip down the side of her neck where her pulse was pounding. Another bolt of desire speared through me. "The other night…" I murmured, catching her wide gaze. "Yeah?" she asked, not backing away from me as I moved in closer. "I'm sorry about running off like that." "As you should be," she quipped, the corner of her mouth tipped upwards. All of a sudden, I wasn't the one in control anymore. And I felt so much relief. My throat ached, nearly cutting into my lip with my teeth. "Is there any way I can make it up to you?" She reached across the small gap between us with a heavy sigh. "No. It can't happen again, Javier." The sound of my name made me feel feral. She was right, though, it couldn't happen again. But it wasn't me talking anymore. "Why not? Afraid I'll make you feel too good?" Her knees wobbled, and I could feel how badly she wanted me. Always teetering on the edge. Her gaze darted down to my mouth and she grumbled under her breath. "That's bold for you," she stated. And she was right. I was feeling bold. Eager to go after what I want. I could see how a vein in her throat pulsed. God, it made me thirsty. The scent of her skin wrapped around me, looping and yanking me in the opposite direction of my control. Step away, I told myself. Retreat. Get away before you can't stop yourself. But I couldn't fucking stop when she pulled her lower lip between her teeth, completely snapping the remainder of my control. I crashed my mouth against hers, feeling her plush lips against mine, moving against me with reckless abandon. She was a starved woman. Eager and on edge. I could feel how horny she was in the way she trembled as I brought her in closer. Mads couldn't even finish the job, apparently. His loss. Her lips molded against mine as she kissed me with ravenous craving. "Javier," she murmured against my lips. Setting my skin on fire as she ran her hands along my neck. She made my blood pump harder. Sending a foreign heat through my usually cooled skin. I tasted her mouth, eagerly giving in to her controlling kiss. As we kissed, I backed her up against the countertop, listening to her gasp and sigh. Fucking music. Suddenly, my teeth cut into her lower lip, filling my mouth with the richness of her blood. Like nothing else I had ever tasted before in my life. Bloodlust flared inside of me as I drew back from her. Theo looked at me wide-eyed, reaching up to touch her bloodied lip. I nearly growled in my chest, leaning back toward her and running my tongue across her lips, gathering the delicious taste of her in my mouth. My grip on her waist tightened. I couldn't let her go even if I wanted to. She whimpered, eyes flaring with warning as I dragged my tongue down her throat. "Javi—" I bit down, cutting her off with a sharp yelp. I felt Theo stiffen as her blood filled my mouth. Fuck, I was so hungry. I took thick gulps, pinning her harder against the countertop. Suddenly, her hips rolled against mine. Fuck. I moaned against her throat, euphoria flooding my veins as I ground right back. Theo threw her head back, a surprised moan of ecstasy falling from her lips as she churned her hips helplessly. One of my hands slipped down, trailing across her stiffened nipples down to the hem of her sweatpants. She cried out when I touched her, trying to get friction. I pressed my hand over her mouth to muffle her noises as I ran my fingers across her pussy, feeling just how fucking wet she was for me. I slowed my feeding, laving her throat with my tongue as I slid my fingers into her core. I moved them to the rhythm of my mouth licking her throat. "Oh…fuck," she huffed beneath my hand. I was so lost in her that I didn't even question it. I thrust my fingers back and forth, curling against the magical spot right inside of her. Her hips bucked, her body clenching hard around my fingers, making me wish it was my throbbing cock instead. Her clit was swollen, begging for my attention as I slid my palm against it, ruthlessly punishing her body. And she fucking loved it. It didn't matter who walked into this kitchen right now. I wasn't going to stop until I made her come. Until she whimpered my name. Just like she did the other night. Fuck, I was hard. I ground myself against her thigh to get some relief. I moved faster, harder, as her breathing got harder against my other palm. Her blood was only hotter and sweeter in my mouth as I got her closer and closer to her orgasm. "Don't stop. Don't stop," she panted, bucking her hips into my hand. "I'm going to…oh fuuuuuuck." She squealed, the waves of an orgasm rushing over her as her core pulsed around my fingers like it was my cock, trying to make me come inside of her. And I wanted to. I wanted to fill her with my come. See the filthy visual of it drip out of her swollen, cherry-red pussy. Leave her well-fucked, so sated she wouldn't be begging for more. With one final pulse of her hips, the walls inside of her fluttered as she came down from her orgasm. I withdrew my hand from her pants. Instinctually, I finished feeding, affectionately sliding my tongue over the puckered marks from my fangs. When I moved back, they were closed, like I had never bitten her, to begin with. Oh, fuck. I bit her. I fed from her. "I'm so sorry," I said, moving my hand down from her lips. I backed away from her, feeling incredibly guilty. Shit. I didn't want to hurt her. Theo looked at me, slumped against the counter. Blush-stained cheeks. Her eyes weren't angry, but they were glazed over with surprise. "Goodnight, Javier," she murmured with an exhausted sigh. "I guess I need some sleep after all." Then, I was alone in the kitchen, reeling from what just happened.