In fact, Damien had started to get used to the idea of sucking other people’s life force to replenish his own. It always turned him on. Afterward, he would return to Nathan, and they would end up behaving like savage beasts, devouring each other’s bodies in a night of passionate sex.
That kind of night hadn’t happened in over a month, and Damien was starting to wonder and question Nathan’s every move. What was even more disturbing, the lust generated with each feeding had evolved into something beyond a desire for sex: a craving for the life attached to his meal.
As he walked the abandoned street, his mind trailed to Nathan. Tonight, all the conflicting emotions he’d buried about their relationship over the last few weeks had finally come to the forefront. Why wasn’t Nathan there with him like he used to be in the beginning? Especially now. Where was he, and why had he left the apartment in such a hurry tonight?
Scanning the nearby park, Damien spotted a middle-aged man dressed in a business suit, walking along one of the tree-lined paths and talking on his cell phone. Hunger stirred inside his gut. But he had to wonder...would this human, this feeding, be the one when his control would finally snap? Would he lose the battle and not stop after his initial hunger had been satisfied? Would he cave to the incessant call of the beast inside his head that demanded for him to take it all?
He stalked the preoccupied man, watching while hidden by the dense growth of the bushes. His gaze darted up and down, sizing up the male, testing the endurance of his own will power. It became an erotic dance; only in this case, his partner was unsuspecting.
Seconds ticked by, turning into minutes until Damien finally decided to make his move. He slid in front of his victim, reached out, and grabbed hold of his shoulders. Damien stared deep into his eyes, mesmerizing the victim before tilting his head and diving at his neck.
And froze.
Fuck. He couldn’t do it. What if he couldn’t stop this time? Damien sucked in a deep breath, pulled back, closing his eyes and pushing back the hunger. He could wait. He’d already fed right after rising, and the sun would soon be breaching the horizon. Maybe once a day would be enough? His gut clenched at the thought, but dammit, he couldn’t bring himself to fight the wicked compulsion again tonight. Something inside warned him that he might not win.
Damien reached deep within the man’s mind and implanted the need to sleep. The male slumped into his arms, and Damien arranged his body on the bench, making it look as though he’d decided it was time for a nap. With his fists clenched, physically holding onto his control, Damien strode down the shadowy path. A revolving door of urges cycled in his mind. What would it have been like to have kept drinking, to have drained every last drop like a cactus sucking the desert dry after the rain? His hands began to tingle as the whirlwind of emotions swept over him. A need to scream filled his throat, but he choked it back. He was such a fucking mess. Only a thin thread held his version of a life together. His relationship with Nathan was spiraling out of control, and he was damn close to becoming a ravenous serial killer.
Dammit, Nathan. Where are you tonight?
