𝑺𝑶𝑳𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑪𝑬 [𝑯𝑨𝑹𝑹𝒀 𝑷𝑶𝑻𝑻𝑬𝑹/𝑻𝑾𝑰𝑳𝑰𝑮𝑯𝑻]

𝑊𝐻𝐸𝑅𝐸𝑉𝐸𝑅 𝑌𝑂𝑈 𝑆𝑇𝑅𝐴𝑌, 𝐼 𝐹𝑂𝐿𝐿𝑂𝑊

"Excuse me what?" Gwen asked, her face coming to a frown as she looked as though she thought Edward was joking.

"Now, I know this might be a strange request. I spoke to my father about it, he believes we might be able to suck the venom out."

"Aren't you a vampire? Don't you like...Don't you drink blood?" Gwen asked, as her hand reached over to cover her neck.

Edward smiled patiently, knowing this was a huge request to ask. "You provided me with dragon blood a few months ago. I've been drinking it quite diligently. I don't crave human blood, it helps with the craving."

Gwen laughed as though she believed it to be a joke and then stopped as Edward did not laugh along with her, "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well," Gwen answered, as she lowered her blouse to reveal her neck. "Okay then, have a go at it."

"Okay? Just like that?" Edward asked in surprise, expecting revulsion from her.

"I trust you, a little too much I think. But I trust you. And well, I guess you wouldn't be asking me this if you couldn't do it."

Edward bit his tongue, feeling nervous at how willing she was to expose her neck to him. She was right to be concerned, he was exactly the wrong person to save her. Absolutely and literally the worst person in the entire universe...But he had to do it.

"Well?" Gwen demanded, a flicker of second guessing flashed through her eyes as he was sure she caught his hesitation. "Are we doing this or not?"

"Im going to lower your shirt, okay?" Edward muttered quietly, reaching to lower her blouse even more. "I'm going to try to bite into it and take it out of you. But I believe...I believe it might be some magic spell to keep it in there. But I hope my teeth will break that magic."

Gwen leaned her head back as Edward's fingertips touched her skin. Her body was so close to him that its warmth became more pronounced, more present than the sun's. As her raven-hair fell behind her, the light gilded her throat, the play of shadows emphasizing the coursing of her blood through the artery just behind the corner of her jaw.

His body reacted instinctively—venom welling, muscles coiling, thoughts scattering.

Edward froze.

How quickly it surfaced! He stopped breathing and looked away from her. He focused on her scent, on the sound of the blood gushing through the chambers of her heart. Only his lungs were allowed motion. Every other part of him he imprisoned into rigid immobility.

Gwen's heart, he reminded himself as his involuntary systems reacted to the stimuli. Gwen's life.

With the dragon blood, it was easier to be near her...But how long had it been since his last refresher? How could he be so irresponsible? So stupid!

He was always so careful to not think about her blood—but the fluid, the movement, the pulse, the hot liquidity of it—these were things he could not dwell on. But now he let it fill his mind, invade his system, attack his controls... The gushing and throbbing of it, the pounding and sloshing. The surge through the biggest arteries, the ripple through the smallest vein.

The heat of it, heat that washed in waves across his exposed skin despite the distance between them.

The taste of it burning on his tongue and aching in his throat.

He held himself captive, and observed.

A small part of his brain was able to stay detached, to think through the onslaught. With that small bit of rationality, he examined my every reaction minutely. He calculated the amount of strength needed to curb each response, and weighed the strength he possessed against that tally.