Phoebe nodded, unable to speak.
“Well, I’m ready when you are.” Sonia put her glass down and rolled up her sleeve. “The anticipation is worse than the doing of it. Or so I’m told. Once you latch on and get your first taste, it will be instinctive.”
“I’m not hungry.” Phoebe turned to go.
“That’s no way to treat your guest.” Miriam barred her way. She gave Phoebe a stern look.
Phoebe turned back to Sonia. She could smell the woman’s blood pulsing warmly through her veins, but it wasn’t the least bit appealing. Still, she would try. If she couldn’t manage it, she would try another time. She waited for Miriam to leave.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Miriam said. “You will not become one of those vampires who drinks alone, bolting down your food, ashamed to be seen. That’s how problems start.”
“You’re not going to—watch?” Phoebe was horrified.
“Not closely. There’s nothing much to see, is there? But I am going to stay here with Sonia until you’re finished having dinner,” Miriam said. “Feeding is a normal part of vampire life. Besides, you’ve never done this before. We don’t want there to be any accidents.”
Phoebe had managed to feed off Persephone without any mishaps, but there was no telling what might happen once she was exposed to the richer blood of a human.
“Fine.” Phoebe just wanted to get it over with.
As soon as she got near Sonia, however, her composure dissolved. First, the scent and sound of Sonia’s blood was distracting. Second, Phoebe could not imagine how the act could take place, logistically. Sonia was sitting on a tall stool. Phoebe would have to stoop to take the woman’s bared elbow into her mouth. Was Sonia supposed to stand? Or was Phoebe supposed to sit? Or was some other arrangement of limbs advantageous?
“Reclining is easiest,” Miriam said, following her unspoken train of thought, “but not always desirable, nor practical. Traditionally, the vampire knelt. It was considered a sign of respect, as well as gratitude, to the one who gave them nourishment.”
It wouldn’t be the first time Phoebe had knelt as a vampire. Something told her it wouldn’t be her last, either. Before her knees could hit the floor, however, Miriam had kicked a low, square stool out from underneath the counter. Fran?oise used it to reach items on high shelves. Apparently, that was not its only use in a vampire’s kitchen.
Once she had knelt down, Phoebe was at the ideal height to take blood from the soft skin inside Sonia’s elbow. Blue veins were close to the surface. Phoebe’s mouth watered.
Sonia rested one hand, palm up, on her knee. She picked up her champagne with the other.
“Did you hear the latest about Christophe?” Sonia asked Miriam.
The adults were going to continue their conversation while she ate. Feeling like a toddler on her low stool, Phoebe waited for some gesture of permission—an acknowledgment of what she was about to do.
It didn’t come.
“He’s taken up with Jette—again!” Sonia took a sip of her wine. “Can you imagine?”
“No!” Miriam sounded shocked. “But she sold his house while he was away on business. That’s not the kind of thing a vampire forgets—or forgives.”
Phoebe could hear Sonia’s maddening pulse and smell the tang of minerals in her blood. She could wait no longer.
“Thank you,” she whispered before closing her eyes.
She lowered her mouth and blindly bit down. Phoebe’s sharp teeth cut into Sonia’s skin, releasing the fluid of life into her mouth.
Phoebe moaned, the taste intensely pleasurable. This was nothing like sipping blood and wine from a glass. Feeding straight from the vein was intoxicating. She sucked as gently as she could, but the pull was insistent. Someone would surely stop her before she’d had too much.
“And his possessions, too,” Sonia said. “Perhaps Phoebe could help him reclaim some of what he’s lost. Baldwin told Daniel she is quite good.”
Normally the prospect of dealing in fine art would have had her complete attention, but Phoebe could think only of feeding.
“I’ll give Christophe a call. It would give Phoebe something to do until her ninety days are up,” Miriam said, as though Phoebe were not there.
“Poor thing. It’s a long time to wait. Daniel was shocked that you were being so traditional. It’s not like Marcus to take the old-fashioned route.” Sonia laughed.
Phoebe’s skin prickled and her hackles rose. What right did Sonia have to second-guess their plans?