Marked by Blood: Book 2 of The Marked Series by Ford, Rinna (top novels of all time txt) 📕

open to find him crouched down in front of me, concern crossing his face.

“Are you ready to get started?” I asked, putting a wide smile on my face. It was obviously forced, but I didn’t know what else to do.

“Is everything okay, little one?” he asked, ignoring my question.

I nodded my head quickly. “It will be.” He looked skeptical, but stood up and held his hand out for mine.

He led me into the kitchen where he picked up another glass of blood, handing it to me. I drank it all by the time we walked to the gym we were in the day before and set the glass down on the floor near the door.

“I need you to teach me to feed naturally,” I blurted out.

He had made it a third of the way across the mats, stopping mid-step when he heard me. He pivoted in his spot and a look of nervousness and anguish crossed his face.

“Why now?” he asked. “I thought we talked about this, about why it isn’t a good idea.”

I lowered my eyes and leaned against the far wall.

“I know, and I’m sorry for asking now, but…”

I couldn’t get the words out.

“What happened?” Matias was suddenly right in front of me and his hand caressed my cheek, lifting it up so I was looking into his gray eyes. He seemed to be searching for the answers there, but only finding despair.

“I, I almost fed from Xander last night.” I moved out of Matias’ touch and walked a few steps away.

He sighed and lowered his head. “You were having sex and your vampire took over, didn’t she?”

“I can’t hurt him, Matias. I need to know how to feed so I won’t.”

I gulped, trying to ask him for what I needed without actually asking for it. He looked deep into my eyes again and after a few seconds, he nodded, agreeing. I mentally sighed in relief and Soleil gave me the evil eye. She was on my side on for almost everything, but the thought of betraying Xander was crossing the line for her.

But he gave me his permission, didn’t he? I asked her.

Are you trying to make me believe that or yourself? she seemed to ask me in return.

“Come on,” Matias said softly and took a hold of my hand, leading me back toward the door we just walked through. “Let’s go somewhere a little more private for this. I don’t want someone walking in on what we’re about to do.”

Oh boy.

I nervously followed behind him, not knowing where we were going, but I had a good idea. That was until we stopped by the kitchen and grabbed another glassful of blood. He handed it to me wordlessly before leading me somewhere else. Like the glass before, this one was gone by the time we reached the threshold of a bedroom on the third floor.

Realizing we were in Matias’ room, my anxiety picked up even more. He closed the door behind us while I set the empty glass down on the dresser and looked around. It was laid out a lot like my bedroom, although the color scheme was different. Mine was in blues and purples while his was in blacks and grays. It suited him even though I knew he didn’t pick any of it out.

When I finished looking around, my eyes stopped on Matias. He was still standing by the door, his hunter eyes fixed on me. We stood, eyes locked on one another until he lowered his hands to his sides and slowly began walking toward me.

“If we do this, I want you to know exactly what you’re doing and what won’t happen.” I didn’t like the way that sounded, but I stayed quiet so he could continue. “Like I said yesterday, feeding is all about intent for the person you’re feeding from. If you’re drinking from them in anger, he or she will feel pain. If you’re happy or feeling pleasure, they will feel it too. Feeding can be used as a weapon, probably the most effective one a vampire has, so make sure of your intent before you follow through.”

I gulped and nodded my head, understanding. Good to know Xan would have felt nothing but pleasure last night if I had drained him dry instead of pain, since we were in the middle of doing each other, I sarcastically thought. It was all so fucked up.

Matias’ eye twitched as if he knew what I was thinking and I shifted from one foot to the other nervously.

“Now close your eyes,” he then told me. I did what he asked without question, trusting him explicitly. He moved closer to me so we were essentially chest to chest and my heartbeat sped up. He snickered, knowing what effect he had on me. “I know it might be hard, but I need you to listen for my heartbeat and let me know when you find it.”

Little did I know before I became a vampire, these supernaturals had heartbeats and were alive like anyone else. Yes, they had to die in order to become a vampire, but the virus the person is infected with brings them back to life and rejuvenates them for all of eternity, unless his or her body is beyond repair from outside forces. They are alive forever, which is a completely different concept from the movies. So when he told me to find his heartbeat, I didn’t question that either.

I turned one ear toward him, still not able to hear it so I leaned closer. We were a hair’s breadth away from one another when I could make out the thump, thump, thump beneath his chest. The more I listened, the louder and more pronounced it became. I smiled.

“I hear it,” I told him.

“When you feed, listen for the heartbeat. Feel it in your body and in the blood you consume. It will let you know when you’ve had enough or if you’ve taken too much. The idea of an everyday feeding