Bite Shift

18

"Sorry," he started, as soon as he was over the bridge and entering the tree circle. "I didn't know if you wanted to be alone. But I saw you walking with Tamela and I had to come meet you. I am guessing you are new and I can remember being new and how freaked out I was."

I had no clue where he was from but I could listen to him talk all night. I had always loved the accents of a foreign-born man or woman. They made me daydream about the places I wanted to see some day.

The man came to the side of the bench and waited a few feet away. He wore a black t-shirt that fit his torso well and dark blue jeans. At least he was a little less dressed up than the rest of the crowd. In his hand was a red wine glass and, from the smell, it had warm blood. I knew I shouldn't accept a drink from a stranger but that scent was overwhelming. A sharp pain in my upper jaw sent my hand, instinctively, up to my mouth. The man laughed and took a step towards me. His free hand raised up in a gesture that said 'Don't be silly'.

"You don't have to hide your fangs. It's okay to be hungry. And, you'll get control over those soon. May I sit?"

I nodded but my hand stayed in front of my teeth. The man sat next to me and he extended the glass in my direction. I hesitated.

"You obviously want it. Please, take it. I can get more. I actually got it for you as, like, a peace offering. To show you I didn't mean harm, or something. Stupid when you say it out loud."

I dropped my hand and took the offered glass. As my hand brushed over his, I felt... well, I wasn't sure. Spark didn't fit the sensation. I couldn't think of a word that really did. I felt heat rising in my face and started to sip the blood. It was amazing. Suddenly, I felt famished. Will I always need to drink this much in one night? That's a lot. I have to ask Rhys. I finished off the offering in a few big gulps and wiped my lips with the back of my hand. Wow, Kate, sweatpants and you gulp down your food. Very sexy.

Thankfully, the man laughed. "You must be really new. I can still remember how hungry I was. Felt like I would never be full. That will change, too. Do you mind if I ask when you were turned? You don't have to answer."

I finally took a moment to really look at the guy next to me. His hair fell past his shoulders in soft waves and was dark, as dark as mine, but different. It looked almost blue in the Christmas lights. I'd seen a color like that on one of the box dyes at the store when I had started the "every 4 weeks process" of coloring my greying roots. It was called Midnight Black or Blue Black or something similar. The hair color name didn't matter. What I cared about, in that moment, was his eyes. When I was in college, I'd once gone shopping with some wealthy friends of mine. They had pulled me into a jewelry store and I'd been forced to look at things I'd never afford. While there, my eyes had landed on a ring. The square gem in the center, surrounded by small white diamonds, was the first, and only grey diamond, I had ever seen. The jeweler had boasted about the rarity of the grey diamond and I had slipped the ring on my finger, knowing I would have to give it back and walk away. I had wept later, in my dorm room, remembering the gem. Tonight, the eyes looking back at me were the exact color of that long, lost grey diamond. The pale white of his skin made those eyes even more remarkable. They seemed to dance in the light and I thought I might never be able to look away.

"It's too personal, right?"

"What?" I asked.

He laughed again and the sound danced down my spine. Something deep inside me started to stretch itself awake. It felt like a piece of me had been looking for this man my whole life and, now that he was there, it was coming out of its coma and reaching for him. I had an overwhelming desire to straddle his lap and feel that hair in my fingers. Shit, Rhys was right, I am going to get myself into some trouble if I can't start to control this.