Twenty-One

"Now…" Ivan continued, his fingers sliding through Shay's hair, gathering a handful at the back, "Pull my foreskin back and lick my head, all around it." Shay rushed to do that. She hummed with delight as her tongue swirled around Ivan's cock, tasting a tiny drop of want. It was good, but Shay wanted more. She wanted all of it in her mouth. So she went for it, trying to take him deeper, but Ivan tightened his grip in her hair just enough to make her still. "Slower. Take your time to get used to it," he said, softly correcting her, "Don't rush or you'll just choke again. Take some of it, then retract a little… tease me through it, Hart.” Hm, that was good advice. It sounded really hot, too. Shay took as much of his dick as she could, indulging herself for a second… then retracted to swirl her tongue around the head again, with her eyes firmly on Ivan's. His approval was immediate, a low satisfied hum in his chest. "That's it, puppy,” Ivan whispered, "Much better." "Is t

Twenty-two

"Well, you could be my last treat too. First and last," Shay responded, smiling just a little bit in preparation, "Because I will be reaching Enlightenment this year." "That's not going to happen," Ivan rolled his eyes with a chuckle, "You will definitely take other lovers at some point, you're too much of a horny puppy not to. You're also not reaching Enlightenment yet, not if I'm here. And... if you want the advice of an old soul, you shouldn't even try, at least not for another twenty years or so. You should go back to your pack and enjoy a messy life for a bit before you go to Luxe City. That is where old souls go once there's nothing else to do. You still have a whole life ahead of you, Shay. Don't throw it away for perfection, you don't even need it yet." Shay's mind didn't even know where to focus. For a second, she felt indignant at being called a horny puppy, but then her face started feeling warm about it... and then Ivan's sincere advice tugged something inside her c

Twenty-three

Ivan had seen a lot of things in his life, more than Shay could ever imagine. He had lived through centuries of casual sex, mindless pleasure, fleeting attachments, and a lot of pretty faces that were only interesting for a night or two. Nothing ever stuck. Nobody stayed in his mind for too long. But watching Shay lying there… cheeks flushed, lips swollen, chest still rising sharply from overstimulation… something inside Ivan twisted sharply, almost painfully. She looked beautiful like this. Destroyed and soft and pliant, because of him. Nothing had ever tested his self-control quite like this girl. Not even when he was a newborn vamp, trying to stop himself from turning every single person he came across, willing or not, into his source. To be honest, Shay made him feel like that again. Like an impulsive, careless child. So, Ivan drank the boring blood from the packet slowly, trying to pretend he wasn't unraveling. Shay was too busy trying to breathe again to notice how hard

Twenty-four

Shay stayed on her bed for a long time after the door closed behind Belov. She didn't move for a while. She just sat there, legs slightly apart, hands hanging loosely at her sides, staring at the ceiling like it might offer her some kind of comfort. Her heart still hadn't settled from everything they did together, all the firsts that Shay willingly gave Ivan. The lingering cold ghost of his hands on her skin made it impossible to calm down. Her entire body felt like it had been rewired, nerves still buzzing where Ivan had been. On her chest, on her throat, on her lips... it had been so perfect. And now that it was over so abruptly, Shay couldn't find a way to deal with it. Ivan's last words were echoing inside her mind. They made sense, they were even sweet, but they were final. Ivan wanted her, and yet he would do his best to stay away. She almost wished Ivan didn't want her at all, if that meant Shay would get to try even more things, everything she still hadn't experien

Twenty-five

"I…" She swallowed, forcing herself to be courageous, whatever the response might be. "Something did happen last night. Ivan went to my bedroom. And I... let him in." Both of them snapped upright. Helene's eyes narrowed to slits. Adrian's jaw dropped. "What?!" Helene hissed, grabbing Shay's forearm like she could squeeze sense into her. "Shay, why would you do that?" "What the actual fuck?" Adrian whispered in shock, "Shay, what? Did he hurt you?" "No, of course not. He's... he's not that bad," Shay started, but her voice wavered, and she didn't know how to explain any of it. She had never planned to be this honest. Ever. "Oh, god, he brainwashed you," Adrian exclaimed in horror, lifting his hands to grab his hair in distress. Shay shook her head, still trying to come up with the right words, "Of course he did. He brainwashed you to make you his... blood slave or whatever they call it. What else could he possibly want?" "He didn't brainwash me, Adrian, I promise. Let me ta

Twenty-six

She expected to see the same instructors as yesterday, but the moment Shay and her disappointed friends walked into the courtyard, she saw something far worse. Her stomach dropped. "Told you," Adrian muttered, shaking his head and clasping her shoulder from behind, "I'm going to miss you. You saved my number, right? We're not that far away from each other... however, if you leave, I might actually have a chance to win this thing..." "Not really, I'm still better than you," Helene scoffed, then held onto Shay's arm, "I'm going to miss you too." "I'll miss you two as well. Very much," Shay admitted and sighed in absolute resignation, holding onto her friends as she stepped closer to the five vamps. Her four fellow novices... and Sera. She was there to give her the boot in the ass in front of everyone. Although, maybe she could argue her case? Shay's mother would definitely want her to. She would want her to fight them with facts. Sera never told her specifically that sex with a v