Those first drops of her blood into his mouth had been a jolt. Like dragging your tongue across the end of a live battery, even in an unconscious state it was enough to make your body react. There was no deny that her blood jump-started his brain, that it grabbed his attention with a fierce intensity. It was enough to have Callum’s eyes opening, even as tiny as the slits of his eyelids were, which had seemed to be impossible just moments earlier – clearly this little plan of Vivian’s was already making progress. If anything surprised Cal, well besides the fact that she was currently pouring her blood down his throat, it was how much he found that he craved it, how badly he suddenly wanted it. After only a minute or two of drinking from the vampiress’ wrist, he raised a hand to wrap it loosely around her arm, making sure that sustenance stayed in place while he drank his fill. A part of him couldn’t help but wonder if the experience was as pleasurable for Vivian as her drinking from his had been for him. Did vampires enjoy it as much as mortals did? It was hard to tell from the look on her face, but it almost seemed as if she did. The more he tasted of the crimson nourishment, the more he wanted it. He could hear that scolding tone of hers, not at all surprised to hear that she wasn’t pleased with how she’d found him earlier – something told Callum there’d be hell to pay for the choice he’d made earlier. For now, every second left him feeling stronger, left him feeling a bit more recovered. Something told him that he was going to make it through, that Vivian’s plan was working – his skin didn’t feel as feverish anymore, his heart wasn’t racing to get out of his chest. Beyond that, Callum could slowly feel that haze start to clear, could feel his thoughts come together…he could feel himself coming back to life…
Jaida wasn’t exactly sure what she’d find when she got there, how serious the trouble had been. Given what she knew of the brothers’ history, it wasn’t all that surprising that, given the chance, one of them had found a way to get his hands on a highly addictive substance. From the looks of things, Vivian had gotten to him just in time – she could tell by just how strong the scent of decay was in the air that he’d been close to dying. Clearly this really had been a serious situation. When Callum pulled through this, he’d better realize that he now owed Vivian his life in a completely different manner. If he didn’t, well, Jaida wouldn’t have a problem reminding him. She crossed the room to where the two were laid out across the bed, seating herself behind Vivian. It had been quite awhile since she’d seen a human feeding a vampire and Jaida couldn’t help but lean over, getting a bit of a closer look at the whole thing. It was almost as if she could see the effects right before her eyes – the way the flush seemed to be returning to Callum’s skin, how his breathing started to even out and his pulse slowed back to a normal rate. She could also tell that this little favor was taking a bit of a toll on Vivian. “Neither have I. Seeing as you wouldn’t ever let me have a taste of you back at Halcyon,” she teased with a coy little smile, “at least, not in that way.” She’d had plenty of tastes, otherwise. “If you give an addict a new drug…” He was clearly going to try it and obviously going to find himself in over his head. She watched as Vivian reached out, pulling her wrist from Callum’s mouth, prying his hand from her arm as she pushed him back against the bed. He reared up for a moment seeking more, but Jaida pressed a hand to his shoulder and pushed him back firmly, “Ah ah ah, you’ve had enough boy. Lay back and get some rest.” He might feel like a million bucks now, but his body still needed time to recover. “How about you, babe? Feeling a bit lighter on your feet?” She could only imagine how Vivian felt after all that.