Read Online William by Claire Cray - Free Book Online

to make me a
vampire. I want you to do it now. I beg you to do it now."
    Merrick closed his eyes and pressed his
forehead to mine. His hands framed my face, then slowly moved down
to my neck.
    I watched his face as his fingers undid the
knot of my cravat. His eyes were lowered to the task, his soft lips
faintly pursed, and a thick lock of ebony hair had fallen over his
brow. When I reached up to brush it aside, his fingers paused at my
throat and he turned his head to sweep his lips against my wrist.
Then he hooked a loop of my untied cravat and pulled, slowly,
dragging the strip of linen from my collar, teasing the sensitive
skin of my throat.
    "How I missed you," I said without quite
meaning to, and tilted my head up to kiss the edge of his jaw. I
felt his soft sigh against my ear, and another loop of my cravat
sliding free.
    "My thirst for you has driven me to the brink
of madness."
    "I've dreamt of your bite."
    Merrick pressed his lips to the corner of my
mouth, and I kissed him tenderly. No matter what, my last moments
as a human would be well spent. I felt the last inch of my cravat
finally fall from my neck, felt him tuck it into my pocket. His
fingers slipped beneath my collar, turning it back to bare his
target. I could hear my own pulse pounding there like a drum; his
coppery gold eyes were fastened to it.
    So close. It was so close . I wound my
arms about his shoulders as he lowered his head, moaned as he
opened his mouth against my fluttering vein and pressed his teeth
into my skin. The first nip made me gasp. His glass-sharp teeth
broke the skin, but sank no further; he dragged his tongue over the
little wound, making me shiver and lean against him.
    Merrick groaned softly, a low and needful
sound that turned my knees to butter. Cradling my head with one
hand, he wound his other arm about my waist to hold me securely.
And then, once more, I felt the edge of his teeth.
    "Ah," I gasped as I felt them begin to
penetrate my skin. "Merrick!"
    There was venom in a vampire’s bite, and I
was already familiar with the strange and thrilling effects. But I
had never felt them so intensely. Merrick’s bite sent spears of
dark pleasure and delirium shooting through me, taking over my body
at once, possessing me to arch against him in wanton surrender.
    And then he drank.
    I could feel his lips working gently against
my skin, his arms holding me securely against him. I shifted
unconsciously every time he swallowed, moaning in bliss, languid as
a strand of willow leaves floating aloft in a steady breeze.
    Merrick drank and drank, easily supporting me
as I grew limp. My moans tapered off into whispers; I felt as if I
were drifting into a pleasant dream. I knew nothing but peaceful
surrender and Merrick's steady embrace. I could still feel him
against me, though my hands had slid from his shoulders and wilted,
somewhere, I did not know. Gradually my body grew detached from my
senses except for the point that was joined to his teeth, and even
that was taking on the soft haze of a memory.
    The darkness behind my eyelids was a curtain
of black velvet, tangible before me. I began to float backward from
it, back and back, and out through the top of my skull.
    And then I saw myself from above, as though I
were some specter floating over us in that dark entry hall. I saw
myself hanging in his arms, limp as a piece of silk, my upturned
face awash with contentment. My pale brown skin had grown pallid,
my lips colorless, so that my wood-colored hair appeared much
darker than usual.
    At first Merrick's face was hidden in my
neck, but then he unfastened his lips from my throat and let out a
long, shuddering breath. He planted a tender kiss upon my cheek.
Then, in one smooth motion, he swept my feet off of the floor and
carried me toward the stairwell at the back of the hallway.
    I floated behind us without a thought,
watching Merrick climb the stairs, watching my own legs and boots
dangling over his elbow. We entered another dark hallway,