Reluctant Partnerships Read Online Free Page B

complicated. You can bite her now.”
    Pascale looked up at Isabelle.
    “Go ahead,” Isabelle said with a friendly smile. “I’m a willing participant in this.”
    “You enjoy it?” Pascale asked, caught by the smile.
    “Very much,” Isabelle said. “It’s a good job, and I’ve grown to crave the feeling of a vampire’s fangs in my skin.”
    Bemused, Pascale lifted Isabelle’s arm to her lips, biting into the skin.
    “Harder,” Isabelle said. “Your fangs are sharp, but you have to push them deep enough to draw blood.”
    Pascale pressed harder, feeling the sudden give in the other woman’s skin as her fangs pierced deep. Blood flooded her mouth, surprising her. She almost choked as she tried to find the rhythm that would allow her to swallow.
    Next to her, Angelique kept a close eye on Isabelle. The woman was one of her longest-term employees. She would know when she reached a critical level and Pascale needed to stop. The vampire herself would learn to identify that moment in time, but not tonight, with the need of her turning burning through her. Angelique suspected it would take two or three feedings to satisfy her completely.
    When Isabelle nodded, Angelique tapped Pascale’s shoulder. “That’s enough,” she said.
    Pascale gripped Isabelle’s hand tighter.
    Angelique tapped a little harder. “Pascale, you need to let her go now.”
    Pascale ignored her.
    Grabbing Pascale’s hands, Angelique forced them away from Isabelle’s wrist. The moment her hand was free, Isabelle snatched it back.
    Pascale spun to face Angelique, her eyes wild. “I wasn’t done.”
    “No, but Isabelle is,” Angelique said mildly. Her superior age guaranteed she could restrain Pascale if she needed to, but usually her calm demeanor did the trick.
    “I’m still hungry!” Pascale shouted.
    “And Isabelle’s sending someone else in,” Angelique said, “but you have to get control of yourself. You said you didn’t want to do what he did to you, but if you don’t control the beast driving you to feed, you will do exactly that, intentionally or not.”
    “How?”
    “You probably can’t control yourself now,” Angelique said honestly. “You’re newly turned and the blood hunger is driving you hard. After you’ve sated yourself and rested, we will talk again and I’ll teach you some techniques.”
    They repeated the process twice more before Pascale let go of a donor’s wrist voluntarily. “There is a bedroom down the hall where you can rest today,” Angelique said. “You’ll be hungry again tonight, but we will talk some more before then.”
    “I don’t think I can rest,” Pascale said. “I’m on edge.”
    “That’s a side effect of feeding,” Angelique agreed. “With a willing partner, the fastest way to ease that restlessness is a round of hot, sweaty sex. Unfortunately, that isn’t on offer here. I don’t run a sex shop.”
    “So what am I supposed to do?”
    “There’s a vibrator in the drawer, still in its package,” Angelique said. “It’s yours if you want it.”
    “Why are you being so helpful?” Pascale demanded.
    “Because Sebastien asked me to, because every vampire should have guidance when they’re turned, because you remind me of a girl in the harem, because this is what I do,” Angelique replied. “Take your pick.”
    “Are you sure you won’t join me?” Pascale asked, the blood rushing through her system emboldening her.
    “You are temptation itself, but I have a lover,” Angelique said, “one whom I am not willing to give up. Before I can do anything, I would have to talk with him, and he will have already left for the day.”
    “A vampire?”
    “No, a wizard.”
    “Another wizard? I’d never met one in my life until tonight and now they’re everywhere!”
    “You’re a vampire now, a magical creature,” Angelique reminded her. “Wizards are about to be a large part of your life, at least until you’re ready to be on your own again, and perhaps even