"Evie! Stop!" Gavriel roared out desperately. The flaming thirst and his desperate struggle to fight against it made him dizzy. This little wife of his truly knew how to get under his skin and drive him insane! He knew he was close to letting the monster break loose. He had to grasp on to the wall to keep himself standing but his nails would not – no, could not – even sink into the stones anymore. He slowly sunk to the ground and leaned back tiredly against the wall. Gasping and fighting for air.

Then she was already before him, kneeling with her hands on his shoulders, and checking him over with genuine concern and utter worry on her delicate little face. He closed his eyes to regain some sanity, to keep fighting this monster which was now right beneath the surface.

To his utter surprise, she hugged him, burying her face into his sturdy chest and wrapped her hands around him. Her soothing warmth and the delicate fragrance of her skin wrapped around him like a cloud of soothing magic invading his senses – not aggressively but ever so gently. He could not figure out how he could still hear and feel her like this at this point. Neither could he reason out how he could even still think somewhat rationally.

"I can't stand it anymore, Gavriel. I don't want you to keep suffering like this anymore. Please, believe in yourself and believe also in me. I know you will not kill me. You can never ever do that to me." She kept repeating those words reassuringly, her warmth slowly but surely spreading all over him, her soothing voice making their way to the deepest recesses of his soul.

Feeling like it was now the right time, Evie pulled away and smiled tenderly at him, pleased at the thought that he was just sitting there quietly and obediently, finally giving in. Suddenly, her lips landed on his and his entire being froze. His bared, dangerous fangs sunk back and looking at his eyes, though they remained an intense blue, it somehow looked a little tamer.

She did not plan to kiss him so suddenly at that time, but before she knew it, she already found herself at it. Was it because this oh-so-strong and mighty man looked even more alluring when he was vulnerable now that she could not stop herself the moment she stared at his lips?

Feeling his lips against her again nearly made Evie tear up. She had been missing the feel of his lips on hers for the past three days badly, so very badly, that she currently felt as though she were drowning in utter relief and pleasure at the taste of his lips on hers once again. It was as though his lips were water and she was someone who had been dying of thirst for the longest time ever.

Gavriel's body remained motionless and still but deep within him, his heart quaked at the taste of her lips. Oh, this taste that could bring him to his knees! How he had missed her desperately too.

This treacherous heat that her kiss ignited within him began to spill over and spread everywhere. His heart was thudding wildly with both desire and fear. Did she truly not know that to the vampires, a kiss was also a kind of ritual and a wordless invitation permitting their partner to draw and feast on their blood? No, this cannot be… she knows nothing about these… she should not be aware of this…

Gavriel had the thought of wanting to jerk away before it was too late, but the floodgates of desire had already been opened. Two kinds of hungers came flooding in – sexual desire and the craving for her pure and untainted blood. And now that both these desires came at him all at once, the power it wielded over him was impossible to resist, more powerful than any other hunger he had experienced ever before. It shook him to his core – this all-consuming need and hunger that he is experiencing. In his mind, he knew it would be a challenge with Evie. However, the knowledge and reality truly cannot be compared to each other. He had underestimated how much his yearning for this little lady was – the sexual desire he had for her was real and unfortunately unfulfilled in their marriage bed.

"Only for now, at least." This was the thought that crossed his mind. However, when this overwhelming sexual desire met with the ravenous craving that came from wanting her unsullied and surprisingly fragrant blood, it truly was as if he were sucker-punched in the gut. Fighting it off is going to be perhaps the most difficult thing he would ever attempt in his life, which was not without its fair share of hardships.

Lifting both his hands with much difficulty, Gavriel held her head as if to push her away but instead, his shaky fingers sunk unreservedly into her thick and silky hair, conveniently establishing a foothold for him to bring her even closer to him. It was impossible to resist. Retreat was some far-off notion that currently is not even anywhere close to his mind. The desire was too much it felt even more powerful now than that monster which was within him.

He felt the dizzying heat at the brush of her tongue, and everything began to melt. His palm pressed against the back of her head as he found himself kissing her back with savage hunger.

His entire being burst into flames. He wanted her. Her body, her soul, her blood.

When their lips parted, Evie was gasping for air. But Gavriel did not give her much time to catch her breath before single-mindedly swooping down and capturing her lips in a searing kiss again. Before long, Evie felt his lips travelling downward.

The monster rejoiced, coaxing him to go on and satiate its hunger.

Evie's pulse became even louder, knowing that he was going to do it now. She was not afraid, but the nervousness was unnerving. She swallowed tensely but still she tilted her head back giving him free access to her neck.

His lips lingered on that one sweet spot and she knew he was going to bite her there. She stopped breathing, anticipating his bite. Would it feel painful? Her fingers curled and grasped onto his dark hair and as Gavriel inhaled sharply before he finally bit into her, Evie spoke.

"You just go ahead and drink until you've had enough. I will be alright, love."