bed of fangs - pt one (nsfw)
Vampire!Eddie Munson x fem!Reader Fantasy/Magic AU
masterlist
Synopsis: You and vampires don't exactly get along. You and one particular vampire don't get along. In fact, you spend most of your time actively avoiding him once he joins your circus crew. Until you're the only one who finds him covered in silver in his tent and you find it hard to walk away knowing he's hurt. But staying couldn't possibly complicate things, could it?
Warnings: fluff & nsfw content; blood, some descriptions of gore (silver burning skin), there's a plot (sorry), bickering as flirting, sexual tension, the world's slightest hint of haters to lovers vibes, biting kink, a vampire bite is an aphrodisiac, yearning with a slight dash of longing, touch-starved, blood sucking is so sexy, dirt talk, grinding, nipple play, mutual masturbation, and eddie c*ms on your stomach
Word Count: 10.8k
A/N: Happy Valentine's Day :)
It took a little while to happen. There, in his tent, jaw clenched hard, head back…blood smeared across his face. The loud music from the show continued behind you. The crowd cheered, and more than a few clowns in a variation of makeup would be running around the tent shortly, magic spritzing from the tips of their fingers. The crowd would be overjoyed.
His dark eyes flicked up to yours as you poked your head in. The thick flap of the tent was cold beneath your fingers. You could see your breath. Not his.
Some of the towns your act stopped in weren’t fond of all of those in the crew.
But he’d refused to cancel his act. Even with the open disdain, he just pulled up a cheeky, taunting smile and refused to back down.
They got him with silver before the show even began.
“A picture would last longer,” he spat. You swore you could still hear his skin sizzling from where a chain had been thrown around his wrist.
Still. It was still sizzling. The chain was still there.
He’d only shown up a year ago. Some town off the beaten path, getting coin with a show of his own. The technical owner of the circus–Pria–welcomed him in. A siren who used her talents elsewhere. She quite enjoyed the hypnotic charm vampires could muster. Never worked on her, unfortunately, so you couldn’t even blame his quick acceptance into your family on that.
“We told you to stay back tonight,” you muttered, stating the obvious.
His jaw ticked harder, skin still sizzling. He glowered under the dim lighting, those dark eyes still on you. He never used the persuasion on you, either. He tried, but an immense hatred was one of those things that wasn't easily overwritten. Not his fault–really, you tried not to make it personal. You lived amongst those who were employed solely because of their differences. But fangs were fangs.
How frustrating to run from them only for more to show up again, unavoidable, joined by a killer smile.
He wasn’t smiling now, though.
He hadn’t smiled at you in a while. Lots of cheap charisma thrown your way over his time with you. Lots of the same flirting he’d done with everyone. Mortal, immortal, human, non-human alike. Some entertained, some taunted, some teased. You just avoided him. Took six months for him to get the message fully. While each other’s company was never really sought out, he seemed to only tolerate you–just as you seemed to only tolerate him–upon being in the same room together.
This was one of the first times you were alone together in weeks.
“Yeah, well, I’m tired of running,” he muttered, shifting on his chair.
His legs were sprawled wide, and his hand rested atop his knee, trembling. Mutilated underneath the chain. Lord, it hurt to look at. He looked paler than normal, the red blood striking against his pale skin. His dark hair wasn’t helping, and it was a heap pulled back into a low ponytail.
He closed his eyes and seethed.
You took another step into his tent, and the flaps fell shut behind you.
Everyone else was busy. They had a show to finish. Nobody else was around to help.
Really, you should've been more put off than you were as you walked over the dirt ground. Was that blood his? It was hard to feel guilty had it belonged to his attackers. It was a stark reminder of the strength, the power, the pure bloodlust all like him held. It was a stark reminder of a lot of things.
Still, you approached him. You couldn’t leave him like that.
You stopped mid-kneel as his eyes cracked open, and he looked at you with scrutiny.
“What the f*ck are you–”
“Helping,” you shot back.
Slowly, without waiting for a reply, you sank to your knees. He smelled of blood, but you'd smelled worse in your travels. Far worse. You moved your hands up to the chain, and his entire body tensed as the tips of your fingers touched it. His skin sizzled louder as the metal barely moved. A curse fell from his lips as he ground his teeth. With his head back, he seethed. With his unbound hand, he wrapped his fingers around your wrist and squeezed.
For a moment, you thought he wanted you to stop. The pain was too much to handle, or perhaps he wanted quite literally anyone else to help him. But as you started to lift your hands, he grunted. Low and in his chest, the sound spread, and he kept your hand locked where it was. His hand squeezed tighter, and his chest moved harder. It was weird to think of vampires breathing with no air coming out of their lungs, but that anatomy lesson had been taught years ago. Now wasn't the time to get caught up in your own unfortunate curiosities.
Either he was pulling his punches, or he was far weaker than you realized; both made your heart thunder for separate reasons. You'd seen him punch a door off of its hinges. Watched him move a boulder the size of you like it was nothing. He held up one carriage alone when a wheel needed changing. He was either going out of his way not to harm you, or he was weaker due to injury. The silver surely had an effect, except when you finally peeled the silver off of the bloodied, marred skin, his grip was unchanging.
Even as you threw it as far back as you could get it, his entire body remained tense, and his grip stayed on your wrist.
Gradually, so very gradually, he relaxed. But he still held onto you.
“f*ck,” slipped past his lips, his head still thrown back. A groan came next, and when you looked down, he wasn’t healing. Not quickly. Not quickly enough.
Don’t.
Something ticked in your chest. Would he die if he didn’t get blood? That hadn’t been a lesson you’d learned. You knew how to kill a vampire. Knew how one fed. Knew what one expected of a human consort. You didn’t know this.
Problem was, he fed off of willing participants who lined up to pay him to let him do it. If he was desperate, he fed from animals. If there was no other option, a few others in the circus would slice and let him drink. They were all busy now, and going out to fetch someone else to lend a vein was…well. You peered down at the bloodied chain seared into his skin.
(Y/N), don’t.
He still held onto you, wincing. He was never shy with his emotions. He was never shy. But this was different. He was hurt. And of all people to cling to, he stuck with you. Deep down, he probably would’ve preferred to be alone than share your company. If the situations were reversed, you knew yourself to share than sentiment.
But as you watched his wound barely heal, so frustratingly, you felt a pinch in your chest.
Damn it.
You pressed up straighter, still on your knees, feeling the pebbles on the ground push through your stockings. Those dark eyes cracked open as you locked your elbow and held your wrist in front of his mouth. All alarms shouted inside you that this was a horrible, no good, awful idea. Don’t. You’d seen what vampire bites could do to those who got addicted. You’d seen the bloodshed those fangs could cause. You felt the loss.
“What the f*ck are you doing?” he asked, voice weak and rough. He managed to look even paler.
“Eating will help, right?”
There was a pause that felt a little too long before he frowned.
“You can’t even tolerate me.”
You nodded down at your wrist. This was your out. You should've taken it–it probably meant that he'd be fine until someone else finished their act. They'd have a knife on them, or they'd have to forethought to get one. They also wouldn't be shackled to him by his own grip, which, as you knelt there, he had yet to free you from.
“It’s not…you,” you said softly. But now wasn’t the time to dive into how you’d ended up alongside Pria in the first place. You could do that after he didn’t look like he was about to keel over and die. “Just do it.” Very quickly, you added, “Softly. Please.”
Something made his eyes narrow, and he didn't move.
“Eddie,” you almost pleaded. Nobody in the circus would forgive you if you walked away after this. Pria would understand, but she wouldn’t forgive. “Just…”
You lifted your wrist higher and touched his lips. There was a moment, one shared with a long look. He had no blade on him, nor did you have one on you. There might've been one somewhere inside his tent, but neither of you made an effort to look around. But you knew the stakes. Your body listed them off in quick repetition as he flicked his eyes down to your wrist. An old fear flickered inside your chest as his lips parted. The white glint of his fangs made you put your other hand on his knee. You aimed for some part of the chair but found him beneath your touch instead. His eyes flicked up to yours the second you touched him.
He didn’t stop, though. Didn’t even hesitate.
But he held your gaze as the sharp pinch of his fangs hit your skin.
You ground your teeth together and dug your fingers into the thick flesh of his leg as the euphoric waves shot through your veins. Your breathing quickened as did your heart, and you found yourself falling toward him. First, on your own accord, then, through half-lidded eyes, you watched his wrist heal entirely. Then he was bringing you closer, holding your wrist with both hands, tongue gliding over your skin. He drank all that you gave.
Gently.
Gingerly.
Until the color he normally had in his face returned. Until his skin was no longer mutilated. Until you were a panting, dizzy, head-hanging mess. Where you clung to the only part that touched him beside your wrist, shaking, fighting the yearning that crawled so unapologetically through you. Things were awoken that you'd long shoved away, and the only person your body longed for then was the vampire letting go of your wrist.
Don’t your mind screamed. Over and over again as you looked up. Guided by his hand, a soft touch to your jaw, your eyes found his. That brightness was back in his, and even a spark. They were darker than normal. Yet louder. You hadn't even realized your mouth was parted until his thumb caressed the corner first, then your bottom lip.
Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.
You weren’t listening to your senses. You understood how so many got addicted to the feeling. How so many longed to spend night after night with them. Why they paid to be fed from. Why they paid him.
Watching him lick the blood from his lips should’ve been revolting. Should’ve been horrific. God, but you ached for them. Like you'd explode if you didn't get to feel them. They always curved into that god-awful, annoying, taunting, cheeky smile. What did they feel like when they kissed?
They were soft under your thumb. You blinked as you wiped the corner of his mouth, and you blinked once more as his fingers caressed your cheek. He murmured your name like a warning, but you could hardly comprehend it beyond the rumble that it brought into his chest. When had you lifted your hand to touch him? Cold, yet soft. Inviting.
His legs parted just a hair more as you leaned forward. Your hand skated higher along his thigh before it stopped, clawing into even more flesh as your sides grazed them. His knees twitched around you while the chair squeaked. Not much. He didn’t have to go far. You were basking in the spread of his chest against yours for the few moments before you were there.
Soft.
Still wet.
You nearly passed the threshold of restraint between your legs when your mouths touched. Every inch of you was on fire. Like the sleepless nights in the middle of summer, the heat clawing its way through even your thin nightgown. You were a moth to a flame that flickered high and bright and uncontrollable as his mouth parted, and you took the opportunity to taste. To feel.
Part of his hair fell from the band holding it back as your fingers laced through it.
Nothing–absolutely nothing–could quell the thirst you felt as you drank him up. It went deep in your belly and settled lower. Settled where something thick and hard pressed against you. Where you felt muscles clench that were woefully underused.
It happened all at once. Your hand went higher, aiming for his belt almost subconsciously. His hand fell to your throat, fingers hooking around it and twitching. The crowd outside cheered even louder than before, and the music closed out with an impossibly loud crescendo.
You remembered who you were with and what you were doing with them the instant the silence hit. As did Eddie, apparently.
The force of you pulling back mixed with his abrupt attempt to put a bit of distance between you ended with you on your ass, more than a few feet back. Another chair or perhaps a table went a few inches back behind you, and you dug your fingers into the soft ground. Eyes wide, breathing heavy, you stared at Eddie.
He looked just as surprised and even fuming as you.
Except, even worse, you’d been the one to kiss him. He merely kissed back.
“I didn’t…” But who was the explanation more for? Him or yourself?
Your chest pinched tighter, and you glanced down at where you still bled from your wrist. The two puncture wounds mocked you. Even worse, his chair creaked as he started to sit up or straighten or perhaps do nothing. You didn't look up to see. You didn't even wait. All you did was hear him say your name as you leaped to your feet and sprinted out of his tent.
Holy hell.
You collapsed against the vanity in your tent, all the way across camp. You ignored the circus, ignored the commotion, ignored everything except how you felt. How your heart pounded so incessantly, you wanted to scream. How your hands shook as you bandaged yourself, irritated with the warm weather that made hiding this impossible. How you didn’t need to sink down into the chair to know you yearned for so much more than a kiss.
It was the bite, you told yourself. You kept your thighs parted no matter how hard they tried to squeeze together.
It was from the f*cking bite.
You closed your eyes and took a steadying breath that didn’t seem to do much to help.
And yet you’d let him bite you in the first place.
You f*cking knew what would happen, and even still.
At least, come morning, nothing would be different. You'd still continue to avoid Eddie. You'd still only share spaces should you accidentally end up in them together. And you'd spared yourself the lecture from Pria and the potential loss of a frustratingly well-loved, money-making act.
Nothing was going to change.
Everything changed.
Well, in a way. Much was the same as it typically was the morning after shows. Hangovers and excitement for the next show. Some packing as you'd leave town come the next sunrise. Shopping to grab extra goods and supplies. You were free to roam the town, the grounds, everywhere the sun hit without worry. Eddie slept during the day; so long as the sun was up, you were only plagued by last night's memory.
And all the curious looks and questions about what’d happened to your wrist.
You lied, point blank.
"Caught on that damn bent pole," you said, waving in the direction of one of the nearby tents. It wasn't uncommon for some of the metal to break and bend; most just knew to have the good sense to avoid even the risk of it. You'd been there long enough to know that. "I might've enjoyed more than a drink or two after last night's performance."
You said it with a teasing smile. One that sold the lie. One that covered up the hammering of your heart as you’d sprawled out in bed last night, untouched, unsatisfied, shivering yet too warm. You refused to handle it yourself. Outright. Even spoke it into the air.
I won’t. Said about twenty times.
Twenty frustrated times.
Until you finally fell asleep aching and empty.
The feelings remained even as the morning came. They lingered on strong even as morning turned to afternoon and afternoon turned to evening and evening turned into a performance of sparks shooting from the tips of your fingers as you danced around the stage. Torches were lit, sparks turned to fireworks and stars above the heads of the crowd, and a bolt of lightning shot from your palm came right back down to you. A dust of smoke and dirt swarmed you for a mere moment, then as you panted, the song ended, and you were in a new costume. A quick change you'd mastered ages ago, and you plastered on a wide smile as the crowd cheered.
With a bow, you trotted off the stage.
Normally, you’d head back to your tent to change then maybe watch the rest of the show. A figure in the hallway leading to one of the tent’s exits stopped you. Arms crossed, drawing a few angry glares from the audience, Eddie tilted his head against a supporting beam. His eyes fell on you as you approached him, felt everything inside you turn to mush, then pinch, then turn to mush again, and you forced yourself to walk past him. There was hesitation, obvious hesitation that you hoped only he noticed, and you tried your best to shove it down and avoid touching him as you passed.
If you touched him, you worried what else would ignite inside you that you were desperately trying to douse.
He followed you back.
“Can I help you with something, Eddie?” you asked almost meanly. There were others around you gathering for their part of the show as you gathered your things in your bag. Eddie stood a little too close, one hand resting on the back of the chair your bag sat on. His chest almost touched your back. His arm almost touched yours.
"Five minutes," was all he said, and you felt his hair tickle your cheek.
“Unfortunately, I have a strict schedule I have to adhere to,” you said back, still rearranging the things in your bag. You couldn’t bring yourself to look at him.
He lowered his voice to a whisper as a few others rushed out toward the stage area. They barely threw looks your way as their feet kicked up dirt in their wake.
"I need to say a proper thank you for last night," he murmured, and a shiver shot down your spine. Goosebumps crawled noticeably over your skin as the shiver spread out across you.
Oh, your knees almost buckled. Was this what it was like for everyone who let a vampire bite them? You understood the infatuation so many had with them now. You’d had friends talk about how exciting it could be to find yourself entangled with a vampire lover. Even knew a few who’d wanted to do exactly what others had done for Eddie.
It felt like you were on fire, even if there was no heat coming from his body. Standing so close, even what minimal clothing you wore felt like too much.
You zipped your bag shut and forced yourself to straighten. Looking his way was an awful mistake. He was right there. His mouth was right there. His mouth was a hard line that quickly curved up into a smile. A knowing smile. Not mocking. Not mean. But he knew. Either he just knew from experience, he could sense it, or some other vampiric thing about him let him know.
Your underwear was unmistakably damp as you shifted your weight ever so slightly.
You flicked your eyes up from his mouth and found his looking down at yours.
“You just did.” You jerked your back up and spun to walk around him. “Enjoy your night, Eddie.”
He didn’t follow you.
Two hours later, when you had the stage washed off of you, he showed up, though. You'd come back from bathing, and there he was, standing just as you'd been in his doorway last night. A small nightgown that covered more than your performance costume felt like too little clothing as he took a few steps into your tent.
You knew he wasn’t there to hurt you, but you still took a step back upon his entrance. His unannounced and unwelcomed and uninvited entrance.
“What are you doing here?” you asked, pretending like you had no idea why he might’ve stubbornly tracked you down.
“Why’d you help me last night?” He had narrowed eyes as he peered over at you. He didn’t look so much as angry more than he was frustrated. Confused. Well, so were you.
“You seemed incapable of taking the chain off.”
But that wasn’t what he was asking. You knew that. His pointed look confirmed it.
He took another step closer, a more fanciful one. Less tense. He watched you with raised brows, peering up at you through his lashes. Waited for you to do what you should've already done and told him to get out. Yet, as he stepped closer, you didn't. Your body reacted in a different way that had you first stepping toward your bed, then making a real obvious shift back toward your vanity.
Eddie noticed.
You spoke before he could.
“Everyone else was preoccupied, so…” You fiddled with the new bandage on your wrist. “Not like I know whether leaving you like that would kill you or not. I don’t know how that works.”
“I wouldn’t have died.” Eddie pursed his lips and looked around your tent like it was the first time he’d been in it. Was it? “But you spared me a hell of a lot of pain and hunger, so your grand sacrifice is welcomed.”
“Great.” You nodded. “Glad we had this talk.”
Eddie reached down and ran his fingers over your makeup brushes. The touch was lazy and gentle, and you couldn't help but think about how gentle he'd been last night. Even weakened and hungry, he could've just devoured you. He hadn't.
You jumped when he looked your way.
He looked like he wanted to ask why again. You swallowed hard, hoping he wouldn’t make you explain your unexplainable rationale. The more you thought about it, the less sure why you’d gone in yourself. Sure, everyone else was presumably occupied. But there could’ve been a few you’d gone and fetched yourself. Could’ve even gone and gotten him some willing human hidden amongst the hatred.
You held his gaze, unbreathing, as he stopped fiddling with your brushes. Held it until it burned as he reached over, and the tips of his fingers brushed your wrist. Cold. They hit just above where the bandage was, and even freezing cold, you burned.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No,” you answered with a strain in your voice.
Eddie looked like he was trying to decipher what the strain was for. A lie? You hoped he thought it was a lie. That was easier than the truth.
His mouth twitched at the corners, and a small smile made your stomach do a somersault. There was a knowing gleam in his eyes that you contemplated just punching out. Hitting him would be like punching a rock–you’d probably even come away with some cuts on your knuckles, too. Still, you considered it.
“What?”
He glanced down at your wrist as he played with the edge of the bandage. You caught the faintest look at his fangs as his smile widened. He looked absolutely giddy.
“Vampire bites only do so much.” His eyes flicked to your mouth. “Just basking in the fact that you don’t hate me as much as I thought.”
Oh. Humiliation and anger burned brighter than anything else inside of you. Truly, you contemplated pulling out one of the silver pieces you had around your tent and getting it close enough to tease pain. Maybe to even hurt. The bastard grinned widely and sinfully as he leaned just a smidge more. Just a little closer. Close enough to suck the air out of your lungs.
“But, what I really wanna know,” he whispered, “is why the hell you tasted so damn good?”
You felt his fingers graze over your bandage, and everything shifted. Everything got warm and tense and gooey and wobbly. The tent became the size of you two as you stared down at his mouth. How you missed what you'd only had one taste of was an impossible question. How you managed to remain so warm when the answer to his question turned you to ice was another.
“Should I know?” you tried your best to lie. “I’ve never tasted my own blood before. I’ve never wanted to taste any.”
It was the closest insult you could come up with. It felt unfair to use, given it was what he needed to survive. Still, it slipped from your lips. Still, Eddie smiled. He didn't say anything as he searched your face. Was he looking for the answer in it? Was he trying to get you to divulge it without saying anything more?
"Oh, well," he finally said, shrugging. His eyes only closed for a second, and he stepped back. He ran his fingers over the edge of your desk as he walked away, stealing a look over his shoulder. "I'll figure it out eventually."
No, you won’t.
You ground your teeth as he sauntered away.
“And I’ll just pretend the kiss never happened?” He waved his hand between the two of you. “Right?”
“Get out,” you spat.
Eddie nodded, a smile teasing his lips. Not the normal smile he had for everyone else. Not the cheesy, cheeky, taunting one. A knowing one. A new one. One of mischief and sin. Of bad decisions. Ones that weighed on you like a thousand ropes.
He said nothing else as he left the tent.
You doused the back of your neck with cold water before, eventually, going to bed.
He wasn’t going to find out.
You stared up at the night sky. A new night. The next night. The next town was too far to get to without stopping for the night but close enough not to set up a full camp. Most just camped together to avoid too much set-up. Climbed into tents and either slept far apart or together. It became second nature to ignore the noises that came from the thin walls of the tents. Some vulgar, some arguing, some just snoring.
In all your years on the road, though, this was your least favorite part. Not the camping together. Being out in the wilderness. There were too many hostile beings waiting along the line of trees. Pria knew, and it’d been a long time since she’d tried to get you to go to sleep. Most knew, really. You took to your own tent when you were tired, and before then, you either were able to distract yourself with them or you’d do what a few others did.
Although you went at it alone.
There were others seeking refuge, so it wasn’t entirely weird that you wandered the perimeter of the camp. It was just weird that you were doing it without explaining why. Falcon–nicknamed because he could speak to birds, and he had a fondness for falcons–did it to look for said birds. Jax did it so they could keep an eye out for any werewolves they feared lurked in the dark, even though Link–half werewolf–said she’d protect them from any that tried to come their way. And Grew had a fear of soldiers.
Any soldiers.
He fought in a few battles he never went into detail about.
Nobody pushed him.
Granted, you went out there for two reasons. One you were fine with facing, the other not so much. You listened to the leaves crunch beneath your feet, camp far back behind you, eyeing the darkness ahead of you. The normal sounds of the woods meant things were in the clear. Good. Still, you listened.
You could burn a vampire to a crisp if you needed to. Lest they didn't give you the time. And it might've been years, but years were nothing for the undying. And why did you present yourself to them, alone, unarmed, with nothing but your magic? You always chose not to answer.
A twig broke a few feet behind you, but you didn’t jump.
“There’s nothing out there but some owls and deer,” a rather irritating voice said.
Eddie leaned against a thick trunk of a tree as he watched you. With a cheeky smile, he tapped his pierced ear.
“Unless that’s what you’re looking for.”
It was hard to be irritated when there was a strange sense of relief. Your shoulders softened just enough to remember who was standing right there. Why he was standing right there.
“What do you want?”
“What are you looking for?” he asked right back, no hesitation.
You sighed and just turned your back to him. He wasn’t going to leave this alone. Frustratingly, there was more beneath your skin that hadn’t left you alone either. But it was far more tolerable now. Like it was finally leaving your system. Probably was. It just…took its sweet time doing so.
“Werewolves,” you lied. “Helps Jax sleep at night.”
"Pretty sure Link and Jax aren't getting any sleep tonight," he answered with a coy smile. You ignored it. "Seriously, it's just f*cking wildlife out there. Whatever big bad mythical creature you're scared of isn't coming to get you tonight."
You listened to his feet crunch leaves and break more twigs. He leaned back against the tree you currently rested a hand on. The bark was sharp against your palm and fell off in small pieces as you skated your hand down the side. Eddie lolled his head over, lazily smiling, eyes glued to you. The moonlight snuck through the trees and made him look even more pale than normal.
The irony was not lost on you that the very creatures you were terrified of finding you was the same as the one beside you. Smiling at you. Watching you. Whom you’d kissed.
Not now.
“You know, if you tell me–”
“Vampires.”
You said it short. Matter of factly. Bluntly. Mean.
It was meant to come off as a dismissal for him. Apparently, you’d let just a little too much emotion crawl through the single word.
Eddie lifted his head but said nothing. Continued to say nothing as he looked at you. You felt his eyes skim over the side of your face as you kept your eyes glued on the dark forest. Just the same spot. You couldn't really get your legs to work for you. Couldn't move from the spot, no matter how hard you tried to get yourself to do so.
After a moment where you were finally starting to curse the silence, Eddie spoke again.
“There aren’t any vampires.”
He said it so softly that you were almost angry.
“There’s one,” you answered. You didn’t turn to look at him. A side-eye was enough.
He didn’t move.
“You let me bite you.”
You closed your eyes and let out a very, very slow, irritated sigh. Tipped your head back and pinched the bridge of your nose. Felt the tingle of his mouth against yours.
“I thought you were in some perilous condition,” you said to the sky. “And, again, it’s not you.” You stared up at the stars you could see through the tops of the trees. “I was helping you because you’re one of us.”
“Aw,” he teased. “I’m part of the family? Officially?”
He was mocking you, but you couldn’t bring yourself to mock back. You just let out a short breath and went back to looking out at the forest. You might’ve rolled your eyes. But he was so irritating. Somehow, he was irritating enough that you found solace in looking out into the unknown that stretched ahead of you in the shadows.
Eddie said nothing else as he pushed up from the tree. You didn’t even realize he’d done so until you heard his uncaringly loud steps away from you. Your brows pinched hard as you dared a look back at him.
Everyone else asked. Everyone else pushed. Everyone else looked for clues in every little thing you did. To them, as far as they knew, you were just the woman who randomly showed up looking to join their act one afternoon. You had a little stronger magic than some of the others in the show, but you'd picked this one specifically because there were those with flashier magics. Stronger, technically, than yours, so long as you didn't show yours off.
You were just a random person who needed the circus as badly as they needed each other.
You blinked at his back.
“Why’d you come out here?” you asked, voice almost quiet.
Eddie stopped and peered over his shoulder, cheeks sucked in for a second before he looked right on past you.
“To tell you it was just owls and deer out there.”
Your heart roared faster in your chest as he walked away. And despite how true his words sounded, part of you kept you lingering in that one spot a little longer. Just owls and deer.
You waited an hour before going back to camp.
It was impossible to sleep. There were those who didn't like to sleep when you stopped, but not for the purpose of safety. Some did keep watch for midnight thieves. You all weren’t that trusting of the world. But the rest of those up liked to drink away at their supply of liquor. Music played, magic spouted from fingers and mouths, and those awake drank and danced. The sounds covered up the others from nearby tents, but it kept you wide awake in your own.
You rolled over again and again.
Restless.
Unsatisfied.
A whole year. You stared at the side of your tent and frowned. A whole year, and not once had Eddie asked you anything about why you were there. It bothered you. More than it should, considering you were the one who pointedly avoided getting to know him. This was your doing–get over it.
Why does it matter?
The best question you could’ve asked yourself then.
One you tried not to provide an answer to, though, cause it was starting to drive you wild.
You sat up. It'd be morning soon, so what was the point of sleeping? You hadn't gotten any anyway. Might as well get up and make the most of it. Might as well do something other than think about Eddie. Maybe Jax…no, they’d be with Link. Falcon might be up. You could go pester him and have him show you all the birds in the forest. It was somehow always the same and always different with him. The birds carried the same stories told through different eyes. He made hearing them fun.
You slid out of your tent, caught the dark sky still above, and froze. The rather frustrating thing about the sky–it could look so eerily different and eerily the same. Tonight, then, it looked the same. It'd been the same a few other nights on the road with everyone, and it always hit the same. Somberly.
The same stars blinked back at you. The same wind hit your cheeks. The same empty sky that blurred into nothing night after night as you slept on the ground, knife to your chest, magic poised and ready.
The same dark forest crept off all around you.
It looked darker now. Like your old closet from when you were a child. Darker than dark could be at night. The impossible hiding inside the shadows. Creatures waiting to strike when you let yourself become vulnerable. The same chilling shiver made you squeeze your tent tighter, and you frowned at the trees trembling in the wind.
“Woah, look who can’t sleep!”
There were some noises that sounded akin to drunk giggling as you turned toward Jax. Awake, apparently. Link was on their arm, head on their shoulder, grinning at you. Eddie was on the other side of them, looking more sober than even you felt just watching Jax and Link stumble by.
"How can I when you two are stumbling about, Jax?" you asked playfully.
Jax and Link both laughed, and Link raised her drink to the sky. The amber-colored liquid sloshed around without care. She downed a solid chunk of it as she passed you.
"We're off to bed now, don't worry. Might want some earplugs, though," Link said with a wink.
“And you?” you found yourself asking Eddie as he slowed his feet.
“Sun’s not up yet,” he answered with a shrug. “Someone’s gotta make sure these drunks get where they’re supposed to go.”
He lingered for just a second before going after Jax and Link. And–damn it–for some reason, your eyes fell back on the forest. It was some internal paranoia or something, but the air felt wrong. Or maybe the moon? The sky? Yourself? Something was off. And you moved before you could really help yourself.
Eddie stopped the second you grabbed a fistful of the leather coat thrown over his shoulders. You didn't look at him, though. Not when you realized why you'd grabbed him.
Still, you asked him. Might as well.
“It’s still owls and deer out there?” you asked softly.
There was a pause as Eddie followed your eyes back, and wonderfully, the pause didn't last long. Not too long, not too short.
“Owls and deer and some mice,” he answered. Then, after a second, “You’ll be the first I go to if not.”
You looked at him then. Your brows twitched, almost knitting, until you saw the genuine expression on his face. Still casual, like he was just saying what he was going to wear come morning. Then, you looked at him a bit incredulously. Confused. Lost.
He didn’t start walking away until you let go of his arm.
Neither of you said anything as he left.
But you felt…weird. Really weird.
A lot of things felt weird after that.
Four days later, things were still weird. You were two shows into the circus, and you stood in the small area back by the stage, watching Eddie charm a woman who'd volunteered to face the undead, bloodthirsty man. It was just one part of his act, but when he was in a town where people rather enjoyed the euphoric tease of vampires, he was in his element. He always got a little manic with his performances. He loved showing off all the ridiculously gruesome things he could survive, too. Like he was still human and he’d simply been granted healing powers.
Four days later, and he still hadn’t brought up anything again. Not from that night. Not from when he'd found you at the line of the forest. And it felt weird. Still weird. Because he wasn't going out of his way to avoid you like you avoided him before. Which you were still trying to do, except you were there watching his performance.
Why?
You didn’t answer the question.
And he caught you watching, too. As he walked around the woman on stage, his eyes did a quick scan of all of his surroundings, and there you were. Watching him. You felt your cheeks heat, and they continued to heat when you couldn’t bring yourself to walk away. Why couldn’t you? Yet another answer you refused to provide yourself.
Your cheeks continued to burn even hotter when Eddie continued to look back your way the entire time.
Even as you swapped so you could go on.
He stayed and watched your entire performance.
“Why haven’t you asked me?” you said rather bluntly as you packed up your things. Eddie was still lingering, eyes out down the hall of the tent as the next act went on. They very quickly flicked back to you the moment you started speaking.
“Hm?” He co*cked a brow. “Are we being friendly now?”
You frowned. No. Maybe.
"You're right." You gave him a sarcastic smile. "I have a bathhouse to find."
"It's not my business," he said as you passed him. You paused, finding him looking back out into the tent. "The vampire sh*t? None of my business." He lolled his head back over and had a casual smile that was starting to wear you down in unexpected ways. "Besides, you haven't told anyone else; why the hell would you tell me?"
Why would you?
If you told him, you had to tell him other things.
Other things he definitely couldn’t know.
“It’s just…usually, people ask.” You tilted your head. “You’ve never asked.”
"Awe." He reached up and gave you a somewhat condescending tap on the cheek. His hand lingered for a few seconds longer than one would normally, though, and for a brief second, you knew he realized it, too. The cold of his hand was way more welcomed than you liked as he pressed the whole of his hand to your cheek. "Are you mad that I'm not fanning your 'I'm a mystery' ego?"
You swatted his hand away and turned. For some god-forsaken reason, he followed. Maybe it was before you turned to say more.
“Weren’t you the one who asked me why I–”
You stopped yourself short. Not short enough. Eddie looked back at you with a sinister grin, bright eyes, and raised brows. He waited for you to say it. You didn’t. You were not going to tempt him with even going down that route.
You would just be tempting fate at that point.
“Why you what?” he prompted.
"Nothing," you said quickly. "I was just surprised. That's all."
“Do you want me to ask you?”
Why was he following you? You peered back at him as you maneuvered your way toward your tent. Even through it all, he followed. Even through the front entrance, he followed. He leaned against a supporting pillar, arms crossed, a cheeky smile reflected in your mirror as you tossed your bag down.
“No.” You spun. “Why did you follow me?”
“I wanted to know what you were going to say.” He kept his cheeky smile. “What did I ask you? I can’t recall.”
You started to unpack all the makeup brushes from your bag. A little frustratedly. A little annoyed. Lord. The audacity of the man. Pria could waltz into your tent. Jax and Link and Falcon, too. A few others, sure. But Eddie? And to simply stand there and make himself so comfortable?
You reached for your small makeup bag inside the larger one, and you must’ve mishandled the way you returned all the items to the bag. There wasn’t much, but when put away wrong, apparently, the small scissors you had in it poked up. Sharp side up.
A small puncture wound brought a fairly decent bit of blood to your palm as you jerked it up.
Now, in a year, there’d been a few accidents on set. Some far more bloody than this. You knew there was absolutely zero chance of you being harmed because Eddie and blood were in the same room together. That wasn’t why you looked at him. It was because he was looking at you almost angrily.
Then, there was a little edge to your voice.
“Eddie?”
“I haven’t eaten much lately,” was all he said. He dragged his eyes up from where you had nothing to press against your palm, and the small drop of blood became bigger. He gave you a teasing grin. “Are you taunting me now?”
He pursed his lips and looked up at the ceiling.
“sh*t. It’s been a while since I was a human. It’s like taunting a person with a slice of cake they’ll never get.”
Your brows pinched. Somehow, his previous sentiment took precedence over the entire situation. You replayed the night as he waited for your answer. There'd been about five people outside of his tent earlier. All with money. All wanting the vampire experience. Some wanting more than just a bite. There were more than a few reasons why you kept your tent on the other side of camp from Eddie’s. And it wasn’t just to keep your own distance. Those people moaned louder than Link, and she howled.
“Five people isn’t eating much?”
Eddie blinked at you, clearly connecting the dots. Then his smile shifted. A laugh joined it. His eyes flicked back down to your palm.
“Hard to follow that up. Everything else tastes…bland.”
Panic flickered in your chest. Eddie’s mouth twitched again. Could he sense it? Could he tell your nerves were shooting through you like fireworks launched from an accidentally dropped match?
You swallowed hard.
Lately.
“When was the last time you really…ate?”
Don’t care. Do not care about it. That was the better sentiment. You hadn’t given two sh*ts before now, suddenly finding concern in it shouldn’t have been possible. It shouldn’t have even been on your radar. Yet, you were looking at his mouth again. And not because of his fangs.
“When you were in my tent.”
Your chest expanded with a very, very slow breath. Don’t. You screamed at yourself again. It was infuriating to know his charm didn’t work on you, so you couldn’t even pretend to blame him. And it’d been days since he’d bitten you, so that influence was out of the question, too. So why the hell did you feel so bad about it?
You had a bath you needed to get to.
You couldn’t wait around giving Eddie the time of day for this nonsense. He’d find someone to feed off of tonight. Done and done. He’d be fine. Besides, it wouldn’t kill him. If he said the other night wouldn’t have killed him, then he’ll be fine.
He’ll be fine.
“What’s the longest you’ve gone without eating?” you found yourself asking.
“Longer than this,” he answered almost aloofly. “Didn’t feel like this, though.”
Something sparked in your chest before you could stop it. His eyes still hadn’t left your hand.
“What does this feel like?”
“Agony,” he muttered.
Your eyes locked, and then he was turning. Like you weren’t supposed to have known that. Like he’d said the wrong thing, and he was gone when you looked outside your tent. Your heart hammered and thundered as you blinked out into the collection of tents around you.
Even worse?
You were thankful he left. You were on the verge of offering your wrist up again.
Eddie didn’t perform the next night. He just said he hadn’t wanted to, according to Jax, but he also didn’t perform the next night, either. Eddie, lest you were in an anti-vampire town, wasn’t one to sit out any chance at making a crowd ooh and ahh. He was also a particularly big fan of having money in his pocket.
A little curiously–and with some guilt you tried not to feel–you tracked him down. For your own sanity, just to make sure Pria hadn't lost one of her new favorite acts to some hunters or something. Or some other angry vampires, which did actually give you pause when you didn't find him in his tent. Falcon pointed toward the edge of town, though, when you stepped out. He gave you a curious look, given the obvious, but you ignored him as you started the trek.
At least since Falcon knew where Eddie was, odds were he’d gone there of his own accord, which was good. You were only slightly on edge as you followed the path in the general direction Falcon had pointed in. Down a cobblestone road, over through a dirt-worn path, and over to the dark line of trees. Far from town. Far from the circus. Too far for your liking, but you were there already. You kept your ears open, though.
Just in case.
It took twenty minutes to find Eddie. Twenty stressful minutes as you kept attention further out in the woods. Attention that kept getting caught on random noises you tried to explain away. Random noises that you tried to let yourself lean on some trust you reached toward Eddie with. Why? Nope, weren’t going to answer. It was just his super hearing ability. It wasn’t him.
“Wow,” he cooed, head back against a tree as he sat at the base. “Of all people to come looking for me…”
He lolled his head over. He looked tired. Didn’t know vampires could get tired.
“You’ve missed two shows.”
“Pria send you to come break some bones?”
You sucked in your cheeks and glanced out at the forest again. Another noise made you twitch, your magic on the tips of your fingers. Fire. Fire was always a good option.
“It’s just deer,” Eddie murmured, cracking his neck.
“Have you fed?” you asked dryly. There was no point in beating around the bush.
Eddie had a brow co*cked as he glanced up at you.
You already knew his answer. He didn’t need to say it.
“I was going to catch some poor animal.”
“Was?” you asked, taking a step closer.
It felt like a draw. Magnetic. Was this how sailors felt when Pria beckoned them? Was this how others felt when Eddie and other vampires charmed them? It was like a thread had made its way through your nerves and brought you forward, an imaginary mime standing beside Eddie, tugging on the thread. Closer and closer until you were within arm’s reach.
“Heard you coming earlier and lost my appetite.” He glanced out at the forest. “For that.”
You sucked in your cheeks and shook your head. Damn it. It was frustrating knowing that it wasn’t just some misguided pity that you were doing this. That, you could’ve lived with. But this went deeper. Deeper inside you. Deeper inside your gut. Lower.
“I’ll make a deal with you.”
Cause you knew. You thought it was just a ploy back then. A taunt. But Eddie had no reason to play the game this hard.
He glanced up at you, curious.
“I’ll let you feed from me if you keep an ear out for anything other than owls and deer and general wildlife. At all times.”
Eddie sat up a little straighter. You kept your eyes out in the forest.
“And nobody else finds out.”
He turned to face you a little more. “Really?”
“Reluctantly.” You nodded. “Yes.”
You reached into your pocket and handed him a small knife. You weren’t dumb enough to let him bite you again. No matter how badly your body burned at the thought.
He stared at the knife for a moment. Long enough for the silence to fall loudly. His fingers were cold as he plucked it from your fingers, and you found your breaths coming faster and faster as he flicked the blade open. He gave you a pointed look, and you frowned.
“What?”
He barely flinched as he tapped the blade against his skin, and it sizzled for the briefest second.
“Don’t make me taint your blood with that.”
sh*t. The knife hadn’t even been advertised as containing any silver. Meant you got it at a damn good discount, but it’d been the only one you’d brought with you. It was a long walk back to camp. Any length of time would be worth it, except there was the twinge of guilt when you watched him close the knife against the ground.
f*ck it.
You knelt down and held out your wrist.
“Are you sure?” he asked. Again, genuine. With some concern in there, too.
It made your stomach flip in ways you didn’t like.
"So long as you agree to our deal." You swallowed hard and stole a side-eye at the forest. "It'll help me sleep better at night, knowing it's just wildlife out here."
“sh*t, yeah, deal.” Eddie nodded. But he didn’t take your wrist. “But I’m gonna need somewhere less conspicuous if you don’t want anyone to know.”
You blinked at him, then at your wrist. Right. Two puncture wounds and a continual bandage on your wrist would be suspicious. Except the costumes you wore for shows weren’t…modest. They covered about a total of two places. Your chest and a small rectangular section of your lower half.
Although, you did have a costume that had a turtleneck-like halter top to it. You could wear that one for the next few performances. Except that only really gave Eddie one spot to bite on. Still. It was the best option. And neither of you said anything as you shook your head and pulled your top over your head, leaving you in just your beige bra. Eddie tipped his chin back and didn’t bother pretending he wasn’t looking at your chest.
“Here.” You tapped your collarbone. “Around here. I have a costume that’ll cover.”
Eddie's eyes flicked over you for a second, and then what you should've guessed would happen happened. You clenched your jaw hard as he reached out and tugged you toward him. By all means, you should've been recoiling. You should've been disgusted and horrified. You should've been shivering under his frozen touch. And yet, as you straddled his lap, keeping your weight on his knees, you felt your pulse race. Eddie could hear it. Eddie could probably feel it in his bones.
His eyes were dark as his hands skimmed pointlessly over your waist until they met your hips. You put your hands on his shoulders as he pulled you closer–close enough that nearly all of your front touched him. You burned and ached frustratingly as he reached up, two fingers hooking around the strap of your bra. All he did was guide it down your shoulder, and you shivered. His mouth twitched into a bigger smile as he leaned forward.
One hand came up and found the bottom of your chin, tipping your head back just as you felt his lips touch your skin. The cold was welcomed. You almost swore steam erupted between the two of you as he drew his tongue over the sensitive spot. Your nails pressed through his black shirt a little harder.
He hadn’t even bitten you yet.
“Don’t take too much,” you muttered breathlessly.
“I won’t.” His thumb swiped over the spot. “You think I don’t realize the kinda trust you’re giving me with this?”
You swallowed hard.
You didn’t answer him.
You did gasp when his fangs pierced your skin. You did involuntarily moan at the sudden euphoria throwing itself through you. His fingers took a tighter grip on your chin for just a moment as his tongue lapped at the puncture wound. Every touch felt a thousand times stronger. Felt every desperate drag of his tongue as he devoured you.
His hand skated down just as a guttural moan vibrated in his chest. Gently, his hand splayed over your throat. He didn't squeeze, just held. Kept your head back as his other arm wrapped around you and held you closer. Another moan. A groan, too. He was panting again, but you couldn't feel his breath. Just felt your back arch into the new position, and his tongue take what you gave him.
And go higher.
He pressed his mouth against your neck, and you froze for a moment, thinking he'd bite. He didn't. He kissed. He kissed, and–holy hell–you melted. Your hands went into his hair as he kissed across your burning skin, over your jugular, down back to where your wound still bled.
f*ck snuck from his lips in a growl that ignited something that was already sopping wet. Your underwear was ruined the second he looked at you when you found him, a realization you weren’t fond of having then and there. One that had your cl*t aching for the contact you’d deprived it for the last few days. Since he’d first fed from you.
He cursed again, and your hips rolled. Involuntarily. For your own sanity.
You felt his co*ck straining hard in his pants. A rush of adrenaline and desire coursed through you.
Twigs and leaves were against your back in the next second.
Lord. It was hunger for him. You knew it was. Desire, adrenaline, and pure hunger. Because of you, too. And you couldn’t reign in the things that notion did for you. Maybe if he hadn’t bitten you, you’d be a bit more rational about it. But all rationale was gone when you crave him like how you imagined he craved your blood.
Your legs spread for him as he sank down, taking more. The world was still right side up, and you weren't dizzy in the wrong kind of way. So, as much as he was devouring you, he wasn't taking too much blood. And still, he cradled your head. He didn't squeeze too hard or try to suck too hard.
“You’re f*cking intoxicating,” he murmured against your chest.
Oh. Any other vampire, you would’ve torched them. From him…you felt light and floaty.
You clamped your eyes shut and hugged him closer. Your hips lifted to meet his.
He moaned again. Louder. He started to grind back, and it was like you’d finally been allowed to cease that ache between your legs. Holy hell. You clawed at his shirt, nearly taking it off. You snagged at his pants in the process.
"Not like this," he grumbled, and just as that euphoric feeling started to heighten, one of his hands took both of your wrists. Damn, vampire strength; you didn't even think about your magic as he pinned them above your head. "I'll f*ck you wherever, whenever, just not like this." His mouth hovered over yours, and there was a crooked grin attached to it. "Don't wanna give you any more of an excuse to hate me."
His hand skated down your wrists, to your surprise, and rested gently on your forearms as he lapped at your chest again. Lord. So, he still had his wits about him. Enough to be kind? You were writhing beneath him, panting, sighing, and you were certain your nipples were hard peaks through the thin fabric of your bra. If he wanted to ignore how your legs wrapped around him, fine, but he couldn’t pretend you didn’t want him. Even if you were coming to terms with that realization yourself.
One you still tried to ignore as you ached so desperately to be filled.
Even still, you felt his co*ck drag against you again as you both moved, and you weren’t the only one who moaned. Eddie cursed again and damn near whined as you arched your back. Pressing yourself into him at that exact time pressed his fangs back into you. It hurt for a moment as they threatened to snag on your skin, but then it was back to that unavoidably ecstasy.
“Oh my god.”
You gasped, clawing at the twigs and leaves. Eddie growled against your chest, and you felt your bra sink a little lower before either of you could help it. Really, it didn't matter much. His hand was already skimming the underside as he clung to you. What difference did it make whether a small bit of fabric was there or not? It got tugged down between your writhing and his grinding, and suddenly, the friction of his shirt hit the exposed nipple.
Oh.
Just barely exposed, and it was enough.
Oh. Oh! You pressed your hips up and were met with his stomach. The ache got better and worse at the exact same time. Then better. So, so much better. And it hit you unfairly. On the cold ground, beneath Eddie, his mouth dipping down and stealing one little lick at your hard nipple, fingers pulling your bra back to fully expose it. He looked like he was aiming to pull the cup up, but he stopped short. Drew his tongue over it again, eyes glued to how you reacted to every touch.
He didn't even use his vampiric speed; he just moved fast enough that your mind whirled as he put one of your hands between you. His look was of fire and animalistic desire as he seemed to impatiently watch you. You blinked at him, panting, sweaty, a clear mess. You were wet through your pants, and he gave you just enough room for your hand to fall there.
I won’t f*ck you, but those are your fingers.
That’s what his gaze said.
You could do it now or when you got back to your tent later. You rationalized it away to here, where nobody would hear you trying to keep quiet as you lay alone in your tent. Left to use your fingers while everyone else who yearned for someone in their bed had them.
You untied your pants and, nervously, holding eye contact, slid your hand into them.
Eddie dove down to feed as your fingers grazed your cl*t.
“Slower,” he moaned against you. One of his hands made quick work of his pants, and your eyes fluttered shut as you felt a collection of his opened pants, the string that held them up, and the occasional drag of his knuckles and even his hard co*ck hit your leg. Pants kept a frustrating barrier, but you still felt it all. And you pretended it was him slipping lower and teasing your entrance, not your fingers.
What are you doing?
A question that was so quickly shut up as you rubbed your cl*t.
You’re going to hate yourself after.
A statement washed away as Eddie started to moan. It was like he couldn’t get enough. Between the taste of you and this unexpected need for you. Maybe it was just a feeding thing–you tasted so good, it sent off whatever carnal urges that made his co*ck hard. Maybe it had nothing to do with you at all.
The thought probably should’ve made you feel something like disappointment, but as you ran slow circles over your cl*t, it was hard to think about anything else. It felt good–so f*cking good. Like a release that had been kept from you for ages had finally been presented to you on a silver–fake silver–platter.
You were wet and wanting and burning under your touch. Your cl*t ached under your gliding fingers, and Eddie’s quickening movements made you get hotter. More desperate. The twigs and grass and leaves and underbrush all moved beneath you as your back arched. He continued to lap at your chest, groaning and growling and moaning as if he was f*cking you senseless.
“f*ck," slipped from his lips, dark and rough.
Like a plea and a warning and command.
You plunged two fingers into you and reached down, not caring how desperate you looked then, as your other hand found your cl*t. You needed something inside of you to satiate that need. And the second you got it? You pressed your head back, tears pricking your eyes, and came. Oh, you gushed. You squeezed around your fingers and lifted your legs. You tried to close them, but Eddie’s body kept them apart. Writhing and uncaring how yearning your moans sounded, you rode out your climax, hard and lingering.
You panted and trembled, seeing stars as your eyes opened.
Eddie’s hand went faster as he hugged you closer. His tongue even felt warm as he devoured what was left of you. He trembled just as you did. He moaned just as loud as you had. He crashed a hard kiss to your lips just before you felt him spill onto your stomach, hard. Unforgivingly. And all with a guttural groan against your lips.
Lord have mercy.
He kept kissing. A slow, heated, mouth-parting kiss. One that stole another moan from you. One that stole a sigh. If there was blood on his lips, his tongue, you didn’t taste it. No matter how his tongue dove into your mouth, it was just him. All him.
You wrapped your legs around him, blinks getting heavy.
Now, the blood loss was starting to hit you.
And then Eddie froze.
The world was turned on its axis way before he lifted his head, brows furrowed, and whispered next to your ear. Four words had never sobered you up faster while dragging you down beyond the freezing, currently leaning his weight against you.
Panic shot through you before Eddie even lifted his gaze up to the forest beyond you.
With the quietest voice you'd ever heard from his boisterous mouth, he tore the moment away from both of you.
“You need to run.”
