Hiding Love’s Hunger
Check out our new book Hiding Love’s Hunger, book 4 of the Illicit Seattle series! See below for a free scene. We can’t wait to hear what you think!
Her hunger growled as she bustled around the kitchen. It was getting harder to control and Cassie knew she had to feed it soon. But it wasn’t in her heart to just feed off anyone, like the other Vampires. Like her roommates. She knew Linda was in her room feeding off that UW kid again. Their lovemaking was wild and loud.
Might be time to report her, Cassie thought. It was dangerous to let Humans get fed off too much. At the brothel, they had ways of dealing with it, but here in the suburbs, away from Greta’s constant eye, sometimes it went too far. And the real danger was when Humans fell in love with Vampires. That’s why love was so taboo in the Clan. If they are fed off too much, Humans eventually will go insane. And that was not something Greta was willing to tolerate. The Clan could not risk exposure.
As a relatively young sexual Vampire, Cassie needed to touch humans to really get all their beautiful energy, but there were too many dangers in that. She could hurt them accidentally and even kill them. And if she got romantic, they could break her heart again. It was wayyyy too dangerous for her and the Clan. But Linda didn’t have to worry, since she didn’t have a heart to break.
The kid came out of Linda’s room, eyes glowing wildly, clothes disheveled. He grabbed some candy from a dish and ate ravenously. Cassie nodded at him, and he looked at her with hollow eyes. He hardly saw her. His beautiful energy smelled so delicious. The smell of sex was intoxicating. Cassie’s hunger came out and she growled verbally.
Linda’s nasty laughter broke the spell. “Nate, you should get going.” She opened the penthouse door and spanked him. Nate scurried out, walking strangely. Linda shut the door and strolled slowly toward Cassie.
She casually grabbed a candy and ate it very close to Cassie’s face. Cassie knew Linda was showing off the feed and her satiety. Linda’s face was a beautiful, pink color, and her skin was luminous. Cassie’s heart was still pounding with need, and she knew her hunger was plain. But she stared Linda down with strength.
“Don’t let Greta see you like that,” Linda cackled as she headed towards the bedroom.
Oh God, she wanted more! She could run after Nate and make him give her some if she wanted, right in the open hallway of the condo, until he went insane. The Vampires at the brothel were experts at it. But she couldn’t be cruel. She could see how drained he was. And crazy-looking. About how Cassie looked probably.
She ran into the bathroom to check. Her skin was looking pale, tired, papery. Her ice-blue eyes looked hollow, sad, lonely. The backs of her hands looked wrinkled and old. She definitely looked like she was starving.
She glanced over at the clock and panicked. She would have to rush to be on time for her meeting with Greta. She would have to hide her hunger as best she could, with makeup and caffeine. Luckily she was really good at it. She grabbed the emergency-kit makeup bag, a Monster from the fridge, and dashed out the door.