The sharp pain lasted only a second, and then ecstasy spread away from my neck. His heart beat heavily, and I felt it thudding in my own chest, above my heart. The double beat felt more amazing than anything I had ever experienced.

I could taste him in my mouth, the tangy, honey taste of his blood, even though I had never really tasted it. I could feel the way his blood coursed through his veins, the way it coursed through mine, like hot, liquid silk.

More than anything, though, I could feel how much he loved me. It was pure and raw, and it felt like it was coming from inside and spreading out all over me. It felt deeper than anything I had ever felt before. I didn’t think I was even capable of emotions that intense.

Somewhere, in the back of my mind, I felt embarrassed because I knew that he could feel how much I loved him, and it didn’t seem to compare with the way he felt about me.

The intensity of everything started fading, getting hazy around the edges. It all felt spectacular, but I felt more like I was dreaming and less like this was actually happening. I was losing consciousness, and I thought about telling Jack, but it felt far too amazing to stop.

- 21 -

A jolt ripped through me, and I gasped for air. My body suddenly felt cold and alone. Jack stopped biting me, and although he lay directly on top of me, the separation of his blood from mine, his heart from mine, was shocking.

“Oh my god.” Jack struggled to catch his breath. His face was buried in my hair, and I felt his body shuddering and heaving. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I murmured dazedly. “Are you kidding? That was… amazing.”

“I can’t believe I just did that…” He shook his head and rolled over onto his back.

“No, Jack, that was…” I didn’t even have the words for what it was. Using all my strength, I rolled over and buried my head in his chest. Hesitantly, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him.

“That was bad. Right now, it feels really, really worth it, but that was definitely bad,” he whispered hoarsely. For the first time, his heart beat loudly and quickly. Not as fast or as loud as mine, but something much closer to human.

“No. No. I just hate that it’s over. I’ve never felt like that before.”

“Neither have I,” he said. “What are we gonna do?”

“I’m going to fall asleep…” I felt weaker than I ever had before in my life. “And you’re gonna stay with me. Being this close to you still feels too far away. I don’t think I could handle it if you were any farther.”

He moved and I felt the blanket on top of me. He had covered me up, and he rolled over so he lay on his side, facing me. I buried my face in his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me. It was like being in a cocoon, and I drifted off to sleep.

The afterglow was more of an aftermath.

I was blissfully unconscious, more so than I had ever been before, and Jack got out of bed before I even stirred. The bed was empty underneath my arm, and when I nuzzled closer to him, all I found was the softness of the pillow.

Heavy exhaustion hung on me, like I slept underneath a wet blanket, but I could faintly hear movement in the room and I just wanted Jack in bed with me.

The light was still on, so I blinked until my eyes started to adjust. I tried to lift my head, but that required far too much strength. Using all my effort, I managed to roll onto my back.

Jack paced, but when he saw me waking up, he stood at the end of the bed and just watched me. His arms were folded over his chest, and his eyes looked moist.

“This is why Peter tried to send you away,” he whispered to himself and swallowed hard.

“What?” My voice barely came out, and it took everything I had to muster that. “Jack? What are you doing? Come back to bed…” I patted the empty spot next to me, hoping to entice him back in.

“I can’t get back in bed with you!” Jack insisted fiercely. “I shouldn’t even be in the same room with you. I obviously can’t be around you anymore.”

“No, Jack.” Fear energized me a bit more, and I struggled to sit up. My mind was covered in a thick fog, and I still felt the way his heart beat with mine. “Jack, just please. Can’t we sleep? And we’ll talk about this later. But you can’t… just… not be around me.”

“We need to talk to Ezra. I think I may have just killed you.”

“I’m clearly not dead, Jack,” I shook my head, not understanding what he meant.

“Maybe there’s still time. Maybe we can do something.” He wasn’t looking at me anymore. His mind was working overtime, trying to think of some way out of this. “You’ve got to get up. We have to go now.”

“But I am so tired!” I whined and fell backwards on the bed. I didn’t have the strength to argue anymore. He was saying things that were potentially very serious, but my eyes were already closing.

“Alice!” Jack shouted, and it startled me enough where my eyes opened up again. “You have to get up!”

“No!” I rolled over and buried my face in the pillow. “You have to come back to bed! That’s what we’ll do. Compromise.”

“That’s not a compromise at all,” he sighed. The bed shifted as he sat down next to me, and hesitantly, he touched my back. “Alice. Come on. You have to do this. We have to talk to him. Maybe there’s something he can do. Your neck hasn’t completely healed yet.”

“I don’t care! I am so tired, Jack! I’ve never been this tired in my entire life!” I was shouting, or at least trying to, but if Jack hadn’t had better hearing, he wouldn’t have been able to hear me.