“And what am I?”

“Mostly human, but more Vampire than Lycan.”

“You could taste all that with just a little blood?”

“Yes.”

“How do Lycans, Vampires, and humans taste?”

“You really want to know?”

“I’m trying to be rational. Work with me or watch me flip out.”

He chuckled. “It’s impossible to explain. Can you tell the difference between chicken, pork, and beef? I can tell the difference between species.”

“That disturbs me on so many levels.”

“I’m sorry.” He rubbed her hips with his hands. “You still need blood.”

“Maybe my body will recover if I just rest. It happens sometimes. I’ve had to go without my shots for a few days when I didn’t have time to go see my doctor.”

“Who is this doctor? You said he knew your mother?”

“He was an old friend of hers and she only trusted him. My mom was really protective of us. She didn’t want her daughters to be treated by some careless doctor who might mess up. She read the news a lot and would point out malpractice lawsuits as reasons why we needed to go to Dr. Brent for everything, so he’s always taken care of me. He kept seeing me even though I couldn’t afford to pay him after our parents died, for the visits to refill my prescriptions. Bat and I would drive to see him once a month until we moved back to California after she got her law degree. He said we were like family to him.”

“Your mother knew of your Vampire needs, and this doctor knows what you really are too. That’s why you can’t get your prescriptions filled by a pharmacy. Your doctor gets it from the Vampires. It’s not iron you’ve been dosed with. I tasted what I suspect is blood, mixed with a little bit of a sedative, plus a light chemical…something that probably keeps it from clotting.”

It put a new spin on things. “Are you sure? You just said you know the taste of blood, but you don’t seem sure.”

“It’s almost like a synthetic of blood, or maybe mixed. It was odd but had the same metallic taste. The sedative was probably added to prevent you from feeling a blood high. You would have felt that otherwise.”

“A blood high?”

“It can range from feeling aroused to experiencing a sense of being intoxicated. Dr. Brent isn’t human. I’d bet on that. He either makes up your shots himself or, as I said, he gets it from Vampires.”

“You expect me to believe Dr. Brent steals blood from different people to put in my shots?” She scoffed. “No. He’s a nice man.”

“He could have taken the blood from other patients he has, or some Vampires own blood banks. They pay money to those who donate.”

“Why? Can’t they just grab someone and take it?”

“They can but some Vampires have been known to inject blood when they travel or need to go into hiding. I’m not sure what they add to it so it doesn’t coagulate but we’ve been aware of the practice for some years.”

“But Dr. Brent seems so normal.”

“Most of the non-humans do in the cities. They’ve had to learn to hide what they are. I’m guessing your doctor is a sympathetic Lycan or Vampire who helped your mother out when she had children.”

“You mean a VampLycan.”

“No. It’s extremely rare for one of us to move to a city. Your mother is the only exception I’ve ever heard of. You’ve seen one of us changed. There’s no way anyone could mistake us for a wolf or a coyote in a park if they ever caught sight of us shifted. Lycans live in wooded areas if possible, or near big parks so they can shift and run from time to time. They need to shift or, as I said, they can get sick after a while. Vampires prefer big cities. Tons of feeding options, it’s easy to blend in, and they are a lot more social with humans than Lycans are. Your doctor has to live in the city if he’s been treating you all of your life. VampLycans can visit cities, even stay there for a few months if they have business to attend to, but never more than that.”

“I’ve seen Dr. Brent during the day.” She paused. “But none of the rooms have windows. I never realized that until now. His offices are set up in a basement of a large building.” She wondered suddenly if the man she’d always known could really be a Vampire or a werewolf. “Is it true that Vampires sleep during the day? I’ve been to his office plenty of times during daylight hours.”

“He’s probably a sympathetic Lycan. Old Vampires can move around whenever they want but younger ones lapse into comas when the sun rises, until it sets.”

“Do you transform every full moon?”

He snorted. “That’s bullshit movie stuff. I admit it calls to us but we don’t have to shift. It’s more a case of better hunting, since most animals tend to let their guard down when the lighting is better.” He took a deep breath. “You need blood, Dusti. Face it. We lost your shots. I’m going to have to bleed so you get better.”

“Tag, huh? You’re it?” She winced. “I don’t think I can do it. Even if I were willing—and I’m so glad I’m blind with how dark it is because I’d faint at seeing blood—that’s just so gross.”

“I’ll distract you.”

“I don’t think—”

His lips closed over hers. The kiss stunned her but when his tongue invaded her mouth, it quickly snapped her out of it. She kissed him back. Just the taste of him, the feel of his tongue exploring hers, sent desire shooting throughout her body. Her hands clutched at his shoulders, pulled him closer, and he unwound his arms from behind her. He reached between them.

She heard his zipper moving, knew when he lifted them both that he’d tugged down his jeans enough to free his cock, but she wanted him to. Her hand slid lower over his chest to explore his tight abs until her fingers curled around hot, aroused flesh. His cock felt thick, velvety, but also reminded her of steel from how hard it was.

He growled into their kiss, tearing his mouth away from hers. Dusti protested.

“Don’t stop.”

“Lean back for me. Arch your hips so I can reach you.” His voice came out harsh, deep, and sexy as hell.

She released his cock to lean away from him a bit. Her hands reached back to curve around the tops of his thighs just below the knee to brace her body. She raised her hips a little off his lap until a few inches of space separated them. He delved his hand between her parted thighs, found her clit and massaged it. He used his other hand to shove the material of the shirt she wore out of his way. His calloused palm surfed up her stomach until he teased her nipple with his fingers.