Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three #1)(42)
Author: Kristen Ashley

He grinned, I caught it close up and my heart skipped.

But he was relentless. “Put the ingredients down.”

“Lucien!”

“You can make it for me tomorrow night.”

Oh. Right.

Tomorrow night would give me plenty of time. I could do that.

I wrote the ingredients down.

Edwina served up poached eggs on toast with crisp fried bacon. Lucien had three eggs. I had only two. I wanted to ask for another egg (or two), seeing as I was still on course to gain as much weight as possible to turn Lucien off my “beautiful body” but I felt I’d tried his patience enough for one morning.

He sat beside me and we ate while Edwina tidied the kitchen and I wrote stuff down on the grocery list. I omitted the flame thrower. When the laptop in the bedroom had broadband, something I discovered the day before it didn’t, I’d see if I could order one online.

Edwina whisked the plates out from under us when we were done, rinsed them, put them in the dishwasher and did a rub down of all the countertops while Lucien and I sipped at our final drops of coffee.

It was weird having a housekeeper.

It was even weirder living in a rambling mansion in the middle of nowhere.

In my ex-life I lived in a two bedroom condo in the city and although I didn’t do too badly career-wise, I didn’t have a housekeeper. I had been a Media Specialist, a field in which I’d never get a job again considering I gave them two whole days notice. Though I didn’t have to worry about that since Lucien would be taking care of me for the rest of my natural born life, something else that sucked.

My condo was excellently situated. I could walk anywhere to get anything I needed. Bars, takeaway pizza, movie theaters, grocery stores. My condo had enough room not to feel like I lived in a cave but not too much where it would take all weekend to clean or I could accumulate too much stuff which I had a habit of doing.

Luckily, although Edwina was a bit strange, I liked her and her living with me made the big house seem less monstrous.

Still, I missed my little place. I’d lived there for ten years. I’d made every inch of it mine.

I liked it.

On that thought, I heard the backdoor close heralding Edwina’s departure (further heralded by her calling out “good-bye”), and I came back to the room.

“Time for your lesson, pet.”

I looked at Lucien in time for him to take my hand. He pulled me off the stool and walked me to the comfy seating area. With me standing in front of him, he sat on the big, fluffy couch then grabbed my hips, pulling me off my feet. He fell to the side, twisted to his back with me on top, partially falling off his side, my back to the back of the couch.

Why we needed to be lying pressed together on the couch for my lesson, I didn’t know.

Obedient Leah also didn’t ask even though she wanted to.

I just looked at him expectantly like whatever wisdom he was about to share would soothe my savaged soul.

His eyes roamed my face.

Then he whispered, “You’re adorable.”

Not that again. I was trying to be annoying. It just wasn’t working.

“My lesson?” I prompted.

He smiled.

My heart skipped another beat.

His smile grew arrogant.

With effort I contained my frustrated growl.

He burst out laughing, his arms closed around me and he hugged me close.

“Are we going to hug or are you going to teach me vampire knowledge?” I asked, trying not to sound as annoyed as I was.

“We’re going to do both,” he replied, his arms loosening but not letting go.

Whatever.

I lifted my head again and looked at him. His eyes caught mine.

“Feeding,” he started and my ears perked up because I was interested in spite of myself. “Do you remember the other night when I kissed you and your mouth tingled?”

I nodded.

“That was the anesthesia,” he explained. “It releases when my body prepares to feed. If I’d kissed you harder, longer, more frequently, your mouth would have gone numb.”

I didn’t like the sound of that. He was a good kisser and if my mouth was numb I’d miss all the fun.

He kept talking. “Also, when my body prepares to feed, the healing properties in my saliva release. They permeate your skin when I prepare it for the wound and they infiltrate the wound while I’m feeding so it’s healing even as I feed.”

As with all things vampire, this made sense so I nodded again.

Lucien continued, “Those healing properties stay in your bloodstream. They help your blood regenerate. Even after your first bloodletting, they were working. No mortal could have lost that much blood without a transfusion but after a couple of days rest, you were back to normal. The longer I feed, the more healing agents are released into your bloodstream, the quicker you recover. In a week, I can feed once a day. In two, I can feed more than once a day. In three weeks, I can feed whenever I like.”

This also made sense.

However, I was stuck on the idea of him feeding whenever he liked.

“How much do you need to feed?” I asked.

“The same as anyone. Three times a day.”

I felt my eyes grow wide and my lips part. Through my shock, I also saw his gaze scan my face and for some reason his face gentled when he caught sight of my expression.

“Food, the food you eat, gives me nourishment,” he went on to explain. “Just as it does for you, and my body needs it, just as yours does. However, the nutrients in mortal’s food aren’t near enough to sustain my body’s energy, to keep it functioning. Therefore, I need something more.”

“But you’re feeding every other day,” I whispered.

“Yes.”

“Are you saying that, right now, you’re fasting for more than a day?”

“Yes.”

Oh my God!

I’d tried fasting when I was on some crazy diet years ago. I couldn’t last until dinner. I couldn’t imagine going for more than a day!

“Are you hungry?” I asked.

“Not as much as when I fasted for a week but yes, I am.”

I couldn’t believe this. “I don’t understand. Why would the rules do this to vampires when they change concubines?”

“The rules only state I can’t feed between the release of one and the initiation of another. Once you’re initiated, I’m free to attend Feasts.”

I felt my stomach twist at the idea of Lucien going to A Feast. Feeding on some random mortal. Touching her. Making her feel what he made me feel. Giving her what he gave me (before he took it away).