Free Forbidden Days (The Firsts) by C.L. Quinn

first gag from Bernie seemed thunderous.  She started pushing Bas away, but his greatly superior strength wasn’t even affected.  He held onto her and continued to feed her, in spite of her now being fully awake and gagging on every swallow.  Park felt horrible watching her struggle and try desperately to scream or get away from him.   And she felt worried about Bas’s blood loss.   Minutes later, he pulled back, stumbled a little as he got up, shakily, and stood for a moment staring down at Bernie, who was finally free to breath and cough.  Unsteady, he backed away, watching Bernie open her eyes and glare at him.  But her line of sight shifted when she saw Park behind him.
    Bernie panted and tried to speak.
    “Don’t…” Bas started to say, but then realized he, too, was too weak to do so and turned toward Park.  She came forward and put her arm around him, led him to the other side of the room where she had laid some blankets too.
    “She…took…a…lot…” he gasped out.  Park planted herself in front of him and pulled her hair back.  She’d already removed her shirt, the pink lacy bra her only concession to modesty.  Then she presented her throat.  He latched on.  Harder than he meant to, but he knew the sting would be brief.  As soon as he began to draw, his strength began immediately to return.  He had no idea what it was, but her blood was different…stronger?  If that was possible, but whatever it was, it took him beyond his normal self.   He knew without a doubt that he would be faster, stronger, better, than ever before.  Because whatever she was, she was liquid fuel to a vampire.  God help them all if Shanks and his sire ever found out.  He was able to pull back much sooner, take less, than he expected.  He closed the wounds and rolled her into him.
    “Thank you.  I’m going to give her a little more and then we’ll head out of here.  Your blood is extraordinary.  Beyond anything I’ve ever tasted, Park.  I feel an intense power that you don’t get from a normal feeding.”
    Park didn’t know what to say to that, so she just said, “You’re welcome.”  But her smile was wide and her eyes shining.  She liked that he liked her blood.  It struck her that nothing else she could say tonight would top that.
    As Bas approached Bernie, she shoved herself backward.   He tried to reassure her.
    “We’re trying to help you.  A very bad man tried to kill you and we are just trying to keep you alive.   Do you understand that?  I’m Bas and I’m…”
    “Vampire!” she spat out.  “So was he.  Get away from me.”  Her eyes shifted to Park.  “She’s in on it.  I should have known.  Super…”  Another coughing spell,  “…metabolism.”
    Park couldn’t  help herself.  She laughed.  And started forward, but a harsh look from Bas stopped her.   So, she spoke to her from where she was, safely distant.
    “Bernie.  You’re wonderful.  Here you are, just back from the edge of death, and you’re joking.”
    “Not…” cough, cough, cough, “…joking.”
    “Sweetie,” Park said somberly, using Bernie’s term, “It’s okay.  I promise.  You have to trust us.  Bas, touch her that way you do that will calm her.”
    “Won’t work on her.  She’s too infused with my blood.  She needs more blood to carry her through the next few hours while we travel.”  He headed closer and Bernie shrunk back.
    “NO!  No more, please.  I trust you, I trust you, so you don’t have to…”
    He grabbed her and pulled her head back down, and used his own teeth to tear his arm back open.   It was the first time Park had seen his fangs.  She was mesmerized.  The second feeding was much more brutal now that Bernie was awake and fighting.  Bas had to be extremely forceful, and Park thought it should disturb her.  It didn’t.  And she wondered how much she herself had changed in just two days.
    Bernie struggled intensely, her strength obviously