Page 32 of Zodiac Monsters

He was still holding me like I was something precious, cradling me with one arm, and using his other hand to turn my head towards him. He gripped my chin firmly, then he touched his lips softly against mine.

There was no urgency. No desperation or animalistic violence. It was the most gentle and delicate touch he’d ever shown me—that anyone had ever shown me. He nudged my lips apart with the slow slip of his tongue, and I let him enter my mouth without protest. I sank into the flavor as he slid the tip over my taste buds.

My own blood tangling with his flavor was unexpectedly sweet. The copper taste I was used to was tinged with a dessert-like richness. Without thinking, not wanting to lose his honeyed kiss, I chased his tongue with my own, and entered his mouth. When he dragged his teeth over the soft muscle, then sucked on my tongue to keep me, it dawned on me that I’d never been so bold as to kiss someone back like that. I’d always been on the receiving end, and it was always so rough and dominant, I never felt like I could.

Marcus pulled away with half lidded eyes, and I wasn’t ready for his absence. The rise and fall of his chest revealed short breaths, and I could hear his pounding pulse as intensely as I could feel my own.

His kiss wasn’t electricity and violence and fireworks this time. It was a summer rain after a heat wave, and I could have danced in that magical relief for the rest of my life.

“Sorry I… I got carried away.” He released my shoulder, giving me a few inches of space on the couch.

“I think I like it best when you get carried away.” I admitted, before drawing my lips into my mouth to savor the lingering sensation. “Is this really how I taste to you?”

“Like blood, sex, and chocolate? Yes.”He chuckled against me. “Blood that’s been processed through a vampire’s heart is a whole new experience, isn’t it?”

“It’s good.” I touched my fingers to my lips, recalling the sensation. “All of that was good. I like when you’re sweet but…” I paused, too embarrassed to voice the words.

“But you like it better when I’m not.” He smirked as he finished my sentence, and I immediately remembered that his ability to communicate through my mind wasn’t a one way street. Which meant he always knew everything I was thinking. I couldn’t lie or hide from him if I tried.

If that’s the case, I wish he’d kiss me again. I wish he’d do it a little harder this time. I wish he’d—

He interrupted my thoughts with his lips back on mine, forcing me beneath him on the couch. The weight of his body pressing me into the soft cushions had me bowing against the cushions in a need to meld closer to him.

Was this wrong?

I had a date with his brother on the next full moon, after all. This wasn’t fair to either of them. It also wasn’t fair that I was thinking of Adrian now instead of focusing on the present.

Adrian…

What the hell was I doing? I wasn’t like this. I wasn’t a girl who juggled multiple men, who pined after one while openly dating another.

But Adrian didn’t want me like that, so… so it was all okay, right? It’s not like he was a real option. If he was, would I want him instead? Would I be considering anyone else? I met my professor first, he was dominant and strong and loved math and science…

Ridiculous. He’s a teacher—one of my teachers. Unlike Adrian, Marcus was a realistic option.

Marcus was…

Now hovering over me, a hand at each side of my head on the armrest of the couch, and staring down at me from arm’s length.

His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat.

And I realized that he’d just heard every single word in my head.

He sat back on his haunches, and he covered the lower half of his face with his hand. He wouldn’t make eye contact anymore, but I could see the red in his cheeks. “You should take the guest room. Get some rest. I’ll take you home once you’re recovered.”

“I didn’t mean it like—”

“It should only take a few hours.” He interrupted me with a smile. “That’s really all it takes. I never let myself get too low on reserves, so I didn’t need a lot of blood.”

Marcus stood from the couch and offered me a hand.

Feeling like the worst person in the world, I accepted the gesture, and thanked him when he showed me to the guest room. He offered to cook me a meal or take me out, but I turned him down and laid down.

To be honest, while I hadn’t intended to admit any of that to him, it was probably for the best that he knew. I wasn’t a good liar on my best days, and considering their relationship and collective marks on my skin, this sort of drama was going to be an issue so long as I was entangled between them.

I thought back on the field trip, recalling what Linda and Evelyn had said.

“If I’m not his first choice, then he’s not even my last choice.” Linda had professed.

“You’re obviously that guy’s first and only choice. So if you want him, get him.”Evelyn had agreed.

I traced the mark on my lip then the mark on my neck. At some point, I needed to officially reject one of these marks, whatever that meant. I had wanted to ask Marcus about it again, but doing so now seemed like it would be too hard of a blow, especially when I didn’t know for sure which mark I was going to pick.

Was that even a real question?

I was going to reject Adrian’s, of course. Even if he did ask me out, having gotten this tangled with him was clearly a mistake. This shouldn’t be a debate at all.

It shouldn’t be.

Great job, Lila. Great fucking job.