Fallen Angels by Natalie Kiest

bed, leading me to the center of the room, away from all the furniture. “You’re excited because you know what the desire does to you, and you haven’t had sex in forever.”
    “Ugh, don’t remind me Angie. Why are we standing over here anyway?” I huffed.
    “We stand so you can’t get overly comfy, if you know what I’m mean. Also please keep your hands and body to yourself.”
    “Duh, you’re my best friend. Nothing’s going to happen.”
    Angie released her demon, which I had never witnessed before, and I was so surprised that I gasped and stepped back. Her eyes turned blood red, but only the iris changed. Her fangs and claws were longer and thinner than Ravyn’s.
    “Come on, I won’t hurt you Kara.”
    Then I saw what looked liked a leopard’s tail flicking side to side. “Holy shit! Do you have a tail?” I stepped forward, trying to look for the source.
    “Yes, I do, but it’s not show and tell so drink up,” Angie said, making a small incision in her wrist.
    The conversation was over when I saw her crimson blood spill out onto her soft skin. My hands locked onto her arm. Bringing her wrist to my mouth, I licked the trail of blood and then seized the small incision between my lips.
    Within seconds Angie’s powerful blood was coursing through me, causing my desire to rage out of control. My body felt like it was being licked by hot buzzing flames of passion. I could barely stand as the sensation rocked me to the very core. I had to pull away from Angie’s amazing blood when my knees weakened; slowly, I sank to the floor. My heavy breathing and moans were the only sounds in the room while I lay on the cold wood floor. I felt like I had just taken the most fantastically wrong drug in the world.
    “Kara? Are you okay?”
    I looked up at Angie, who looked incredible. “You’re beautiful,” I purred.
    “Yep. All right momma, I’ll check on you in a little bit.”
    “No, I want to see you.”
    “Just stay put, I’ll be back.” Angie laughed while slipping out of the room.
    I don’t know how long I lay there, or when the effects of her insanely powerful blood wore off. I woke up on that damn floor, only to find Angie sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling. I was exhausted and when she helped me up, I recalled what had happened. Releasing her hands, mine flew to my mouth to stop the gasp, and I could feel the extreme heat rise to my cheeks. “I’m so sorry Angie!”
    “It’s fine. Come now, you need to rest.”
    “I’m so embarrassed! Please forgive me,” I begged.
    “There is nothing to forgive, Kara. It’s the blood,” she said, dismissing my apology.
    “I can’t do that again. I may as well go back to Devlin.” My own words made me cringe.
    “We can try to dilute it, so the effects will be limited. You are not going back to drinking his blood. Trust me, we will figure this out. Don’t forget I don’t want you like Devlin wants you. I can stop you from doing anything sexual, Devlin won’t.” Angie tucked me into bed, acting the part of a great best friend. “Get some sleep and stop worrying.”
     
    Thank god for Angie, because she found that if she mixed her blood with water the effects were lessened, and my baby was still satisfied. I was so relieved that she had found the perfect solution. Minimal effects from her blood, and I no longer needed Devlin’s; it was a win-win.
    However, Devlin didn’t feel my relief, and he still wanted me to drink his blood. I knew I didn’t need it, and I turned him down night after night. He had grown so used to cuddling with me while we slept that he continued to be over-cuddly. Without his blood to feed the attraction, my patience with cuddling and wandering hands quickly came to an end.
    Angie and Emma busied me with decorating my baby’s room, which had been my room before I moved myself into Ravyn’s. Everything had to go, except for the carpet.
    Abby and I picked earth colors for the base and accents, a stone grey, sage green,