Ezra and Kayla all but fell inside their now shared apartment, entangled with each other, having only broken their kiss long enough for her to unlock the door. He barely remembered getting out of the bar, that first kiss with her having opened the floodgates for both of them, it seemed.

They had spent the cab ride home making out in the backseat like teenagers, and Ezra was fairly sure he had given the cabbie the tip of a lifetime as he had just thrown bills at the man in his hurry to get out of the car.

Not that he cared about that, especially when he finally had his arms around her, and her soft lips against his.

Pressed up against each other, they stumbled their way inside, heading for the master bedroom. Kayla sighed softly as their tongues rubbed together, a slow and sensual dance. Their kiss seemed to deepen the closer they got to the bed, and Ezra was overcome with how badly he wanted to make her his.

This soft, gentle, warm woman he had been taken with since the moment he laid eyes on her was now kissing him like they were the last two people on earth, and Ezra couldn’t have been happier.

He hadn’t even realized how much he’d wanted to grab her close until he actually did it, and now, it was like she was a drug to him. And even though running into her ex at the bar had been an unpleasant experience, if only due to the fact it was clear how much seeing the man hurt Kayla, Ezra would have to remember to thank Seth.

Making sure that man knew exactly what he had lost when he let Kayla go, and letting him know he wasn’t the only one who had already moved on had prompted Ezra to take the leap. Ezra still couldn’t believe Kayla was even ever involved with such an obviously careless man, but he was grateful that running into Seth had led him and Kayla to where they were now.

Which was in her room, falling into bed together.

The mattress sank under their weight, with Kayla’s hands trailing down his shoulders and his arms wrapped around her waist, pulling their bodies together. Writhing around him, Kayla was as free and unrestrained as he’d ever seen her. But when Ezra’s mouth trailed down to her, she suddenly stilled.

“What’s wrong?” Ezra asked, pulling himself up to look into her eyes.

Cheeks flushed, lips swollen and hair in a wild tangle, Kayla looked sexier than ever as she looked hesitant to reply.

“You can tell me anything. We’re in no rush,” Ezra added, propping an elbow up and resting his head on his hand.

Their legs were still tangled together as they lay there on their sides, face to face. Ezra trailed a finger down her arm, waiting for her to speak.

“I was just wondering… Since you’re a vampire…” Kayla started, struggling to say what she wanted to say. “Is it going to be… different?”

It didn’t take long for Ezra to realize what she was asking.

“You want to know if I would bite you,” he stated, as Kayla chewed on her bottom lip.

“You were kissing my neck and I froze up a little, not knowing what to expect,” she admitted.

“Biting can be very sexual, or it can just be about feeding. I don’t need to bite every woman I have sex with, nor do I want to. Some say it adds an extra layer of trust or intimacy to the experience, but what matters most to me is that you’re comfortable,” Ezra replied, taking Kayla’s hand in his and lifting it to his mouth for a quick kiss.

“Does it hurt?” she asked.

“Not the way I do it,” he grinned, and she smiled at him.

“Ever the modest vampire,” she commented, before falling silent for a moment. “Can I see them?” she asked after a few seconds. “Your fangs, I mean,” she added, blushing.

That made Ezra raise a brow at her. Seeing how little time she had had to adjust to the existence of preternatural creatures, this was somewhat of a bold request. The last thing Ezra wanted was her to be scared of him, but on the other hand, he did want to share all of himself with her, as cheesy as that sounded.

Being a vampire was a big part of who he was, and he didn’t want to hide that aspect of his life from Kayla.

“Of course you can if you want to,” he replied. “But I remember you being uncomfortable with my vampiric speed…” he trailed off.

“I know,” she shook her head. “And I realize now, if I want to understand the life you live, I shouldn’t ask you to act like I’m any other human, someone you have to hide your gifts from. I want to see it all.”

Surprised she would call his abilities ‘gifts’, Ezra leaned in, caressing the side of her face as he brushed his lips against hers. She trembled, her eyes fluttering shut, and he couldn’t help but smile at seeing the effect he had on her.

“Alright, brace yourself,” he said after pulling away, and Kayla’s eyes immediately fixed on his face.

Since his hunger for her was so close to the surface, and the predatory side of him was fueled by any sort of primal craving, it wasn’t hard for him to let his fangs slide out. His body reacted for the briefest moments as his incisors elongated, a flash of primal yearning pulsating through his chest.

Lips peeling back, he ran his tongue over the two sharp points, as Kayla stared, mesmerized.

“Whoa…” she muttered to herself. “Those look… sharp,” she said, edging a little closer.

“They are,” Ezra agreed. “But it’s nothing dangerous. We’ve been safely feeding off humans for I don’t even know how long. Plus, there’s a powerful coagulant in our saliva that stops the bleeding as soon as we’re done.”

“That is… fascinating,” Kayla replied, wide-eyed as she started to reach out but snatched her hand back at the last moment.

“It’s alright,” Ezra chuckled. “You can touch them if you’d like.”

“I didn’t want to be presumptuous,” she apologized.

“None of me is off limits to you,” he said, and she smiled at that.

Ezra briefly wondered when exactly he had become so sappy, but he was distracted by the way Kayla scooted even closer to him, and carefully touched his teeth with her finger.

“So you really are a vampire,” she said. “I mean, not that I didn’t believe you before…”

“I know. Seeing it for yourself is something different,” Ezra said, pulling his fangs back in when Kayla was done studying them.

He was relieved to see that Kayla was more fascinated than anything else, and from how their bodies were still pressed together on the bed, she definitely wasn’t afraid of him. It seemed Kayla was full of surprises, as she threw a leg over his hips and brought her face close to his, her eyes glimmering in the dim light.

“Now… Ready to carry on where we left off?” she asked.