Chapter 332: Confident
The solution was found in the form of a sampling syringe, only instead of leading to a glass jar, the tube would end up between Arabella’s lips.
"Will it be painful for you to keep it plunged in your arm for a prolonged lapse of time?"
"It has the merit of piercing my skin, but I barely feel syringes at all. It was this way even when I was a child,"
That, somewhat, quelled her worries, allowing her to take the deep breath her lungs so needed.
"The real question is, are you truly ready for this?" he looked her straight in the eyes while asking.
In response, the young woman did not blink and nodded slowly.
"Let us do a test run then, shall we?" Silas picked the syringe and delicately pushed it up his arm, where his most visible vein lay.
Crimson liquid quickly trickled through the tube, hasting towards the other end of it.
Arabella stared at it intently; the plastic pipe tightly grasped between her fingers.
The sight of her so rigid, both in her figure and features, led Silas to believe she wasn’t as ready as she thought. That she was giving up and backing out.
However, right as words of comfort reached his lips, right as his blood was about to come out through the other side, the young woman practically shoved it in her mouth.
The very next second After the fluid finally touched her, her expression entirely shifted from stiff to what Silas could describe as relaxed.
She seemed to mellow in her seat, releasing all the pent strain from her chest in one, long exhale of relief.
Her eyes remained shut as Arabella took in more and more, swallowing without clear objections from her throat.
It wasn’t until she stopped that her eyes popped open again, full of life. Full of glistening light.
Heart drumming her heaving chest, she looked up at him with a faint grin that said so many things at once... In many different ways than one.
"How... How are you feeling?" he had to take a moment in order to align the words.
"I feel alive!" she nodded, looking at the thumb she used to block the opening of the tube, "Blood doesn’t taste nearly as bad as I remember it,"
"What does it taste like now?" Silas crouched down to be at her eye level.
"It still has a strong metallic hint, but... there is a sweet after taste that I don’t recall ever experiencing...,"
The distant look that crept through her eyes prompted him to brush her cheek with his hand before cupping it, thus capturing her attention.
"What does it taste like to you?" she asked with rounder eyes.
"I am not sure how to or where to even start," he inhaled deeply, "It’s a combination of so many hints and different people come with different flavors, but if I had to describe yours," his hand remained on her cheek, gently stroking it, "I’d say it has the perfect combination of sweet and spicy for my tongue and then when it reaches the back of my mouth, that is when the magic happens. I don’t know if a human experiences the same feeling when ingesting a meal they really relish. It sends me to an entirely new realm. One where pleasure and serenity cradle me,"
"I am not sure," her free hand rose and reached for his face as well. Her index finger landed right on the bridge of his nose and trekked downward, "All I know is that I experience pleasure and serenity when you do feed on me," she paused before quickly adding, "Well, right up until I fall asleep from exhaustion that is," she chuckled.
"Alright then, how do we proceed?" he smiled.
Her head tilted a tad as she pursed her lips and tugged them to the side, earning her a pensive look, "At first, I was thinking we could drink from each other simultaneously, but now I think about what happened with Katherine,"
"Elaborate," his eyebrows furrowed but lightly.
"I’d taken one sip of your blood, and it was enough to bring me back to life so... I believe that having your blood in my system might cure the paralysis as it happens and keep me awake during the act,"
A moment of silence followed during which Silas took care of the used tube and syringe. His expression wasn’t necessarily firm but not as warm as it seemed a few minutes prior.
More light was shed on his thoughts when he finally voiced his concerns, "This is quite the risk to take," he turned back towards her after disposing of the aforementioned tools, "If my blood keeps you awake then it might mean it will be too late when you pass out just like what happened with Katherine,"
"I will let you know when to stop," she peered at him with hopeful eyes.
"Will you be able to do that in time?"
"I am confident I can," she nodded profusely.
Eventually, Silas relented, watching her pick a nightgown up and head for the bathroom. Since he would remain awake even after every soul under their roof would go to sleep, he opted to take his bath once Arabella would be deep in her slumber.
When the young woman came back out, her feet halted in place. She had to ensure that her eyes weren’t tricking her.
The sight of a shirtless Silas wasn’t new, but it was still one Arabella wasn’t yet fully accustomed to.
"I like it when you look at me like that," he’d smoothened his voice to the best of his ability, allowing its depth to rumble through her chest, down to her stomach and then further down.
His words rattled her in the best of ways. So much so that she needed to take a breath in order to collect her thoughts while gently rubbing her thighs together.
That action did not go unnoticed by the vampire as his diamonds stuck to her lower half, taking slow, careful steps towards the woman and eying her as if gauging the right moment to pounce.