Chapter 128 | A Vampire for Milk and Orgasms

I took Aurora’s bag of snacks as she settled down on the grass opposite me, her short orange hair catching the afternoon sun.

"That sounds. Healthy," I said, referencing her earlier comment about Belle.

"We came to an understanding. She’s protective. I respect that. She knows I’m not trying to steal you or break up whatever arrangement you have with her and Naomi."

I raised an eyebrow. "What arrangement do you think we have?"

Aurora opened the bag of chips, selected one, and ate it slowly while staring directly at me. The way she held my gaze made my pulse quicken.

"The kind where you’re sleeping with both of them. Where they’re aware of each other. Where you’re somehow making it work despite being eighteen and having the relationship experience of a golden retriever."

I fought back a laugh. "That’s. Specific."

"Am I wrong?" she asked.

"No."

"Then we understand each other."

She reached for the chocolate cake next, opening the container with careful fingers. When she looked at the single slice, her expression changed to something almost reverent.

"You actually bought this."

"You asked for chocolate," I shrugged.

"This is 200 points."

"I’m aware."

"That’s two days of your. Whatever your thing is."

I kept my voice casual. "It’s two days I didn’t need today. You needed chocolate today."

She stared at me, her green eyes doing something complicated behind their usual amusement.

"You’re. Really something."

"Is that good or bad?"

"Haven’t decided yet."

When she took her first bite of cake, she closed her eyes and made a sound that belonged in an entirely different context. I shifted position uncomfortably, trying to focus on gate mechanics, monster spawn rates, anything except the noise she just made.

Her eyes opened, catching me staring.

"This is really good cake."

"It should be for 200 points."

"Want to try?"

"I’m good."

"I’m offering to share. That’s rare."

She held out a forkful, leaning forward. Her dress worked with gravity in ways that seemed to violate several laws of physics.

I leaned forward and took the bite. Rich chocolate exploded across my tongue, dark with some kind of cherry filling.

"Okay yeah that’s worth 200 points."

"Right?"

We traded the fork back and forth until we finished the cake. The sun dropped lower in the sky, painting everything orange and pink. The field turned golden in the fading light.

Aurora set the empty container aside and moved closer, sitting beside me instead of across. Our shoulders touched.

"Can I ask you something?" Her voice was softer now.

"Sure."

"What’s your actual ability? Not the support thing you tell everyone. The real one."

I studied her profile, the way sunset light caught her orange hair, the curve of her jaw, the small beauty mark above her lip.

"Why do you think I’m lying?"

"Because support abilities don’t make two girls obsessively loyal in under a week. And they definitely don’t make Blair Davenport lose sleep."

"Maybe I’m just. Good with people."

"You’re terrible with people. You’re blunt. You have zero social filter. You say exactly what you’re thinking."

I smiled. "Those sound like criticisms."

"They’re observations. And they’re why I like you."

She turned to face me properly, close enough that I could smell her perfume—something citrus and warm.

"So tell me. What’s the real ability?"

I considered lying, making something up, stringing her along. But Aurora had already figured out most of it, and lying to someone this smart would only mean getting caught later.

"It’s. Complicated."

"I’ve got time."

"You might not want to know."

"Let me decide that."

I took a breath. "I can enhance people’s abilities through. Physical contact. The more intimate the contact the stronger the enhancement. And I can copy abilities if certain conditions are met."

"What conditions?" she asked, her focus entirely on me now.

"Three orgasms in a single session."

She blinked once as she processed this. Then she laughed.

"That’s. That’s the most perverted ability I’ve ever heard of."

"I’m aware."

"And Naomi and Belle both. They both let you."

"They know what they’re getting. And what I’m getting."

"Which is?"

"They get temporary rank boosts. Twenty-four hours. Makes them stronger. Faster. Better at everything."

"And you get?"

"Their essence. Which extends my life. And copies their abilities at Copper rank."

"So you’re like. A vampire. But for milk and orgasms."

I couldn’t help but laugh. "That’s. Horrifyingly accurate actually."

She laughed too, a genuine sound that transformed her whole face.

"That’s amazing. That’s the most ridiculous power I’ve ever heard of and it’s amazing."

"Most people would be disgusted."

"Most people are boring. I’m not most people."

She stood up, brushing grass off her dress before holding out her hand to me.

"Come on. We’re going somewhere better."

"Where?"

"You’ll see. Trust me."

I took her hand and she pulled me up, leading me across the field toward the tree line.

"Aurora where are we going?"

"Somewhere private. Where we can actually talk without half the school watching."

We walked into the trees, finding a small clearing about fifty meters from the field—hidden from view but close enough to hear if someone shouted.

She turned to face me and stepped closer. "I want to make something clear before we go any further."

"Okay."

"I don’t share. Not normally. But I like you enough that I’m willing to try. With conditions."

"What conditions?" I asked, my heart beating faster.

"When you’re with me you’re only with me. You don’t think about Naomi or Belle or whoever else you’re collecting. Just me. For however long we’re together."

"I can do that."

"Second condition. I get to decide when and how we. Do whatever we’re going to do. I’m in control. Not you. Not your ability. Me."

"Fair."

"Third condition. You tell me if someone else becomes. More important. If I’m just a convenience or if you actually want me."

"I want you," I said without hesitation.

"You say that now."

"I’m saying it because it’s true. You’re. You’re not like anyone else here."

"How?"

"You’re honest about what you want. You don’t pretend to be something you’re not. And you’re terrifying in the best possible way."

She smiled and stepped closer until our bodies nearly touched.

"You’re really good at this."

"At what?"

"Making girls feel special. Is it genuine or is it just. Your thing? Part of the ability?"

I thought about Naomi’s smile when I braided her hair, Belle’s laugh when I said something stupid, and the way Hikaru blushed this morning.

"It’s genuine. The ability doesn’t make me want people. It just. Helps me keep them alive while I’m dying."

"That’s. Sad actually."

"It’s honest."

"I like honest."

She kissed me.