As we continued through the forest I remembered the gnawing hunger in my gut. “Can’t we find something to eat?”

“Don’t worry, that’s what I’m looking for.” Stacy’s eyes constantly scanned the landscape ahead of us, looking at details I couldn’t see. Must be nice having night vision. Finally, we came to a large hole in the ground.

“This is the den of a tunnel sloth. The sun should be rising soon, so we can spend the night here after I kill it.”

Stacy swept me off my feet and deposited me at the bottom of the hole. “I’ll find the sloth, you stay here and make yourself comfy,” she said and ran off into one of the tunnel’s dark branches.

I found a nice spot to sit by the wall, and when Stacy came back she was licking blood off her fingers and dragging a beast twice her size behind her.

She leapt out of the tunnel and dropped back in with some firewood and build a campfire.

“Sorry about this,” I said. “I feel like you’re doing all this work for me. Is my blood really worth it?”

“It’s really no problem,” she said as she used a flint and steel to start the flame. “Tunnel sloths are small fry. Not even a challenge.”

After a while she handed me a charred haunch of meat as the fire died down and the sun began to rise outside.

I swallowed down some of the saliva in my mouth and took a bite of the meat. It was… very tough, and kind of gross. But it was the first thing I’d eaten since coming to this world, so I was grateful. I ate as much of it as I could and set the rest down by the smoldering fire. Stacy, who was watching me eat, scooched up next to me.

“So,” she said, fingers grazing my hand, “About that deal.”

“I take it you’re hungry too?”

She nodded, a faint glow in her eyes.

I slacked the cloak slightly and turned my head to the side. “Be gentle, remember?”

She leaned over me,brushing her lips against my neck. I felt her hot breath against my skin. I blushed as she placed a small kiss on my neck, followed by a lick.

“E-excuse me?” I moved to push her away.

“Shh,” she whispered, “Don’t worry, just trust me.”

She licked my neck again, and I felt the tips of her fangs brush against my skin. Strangely, I started to feel a little hot. My breathing deepened, and my body squirmed slightly. Was this… Turning me on? Her lips latched onto my neck, and finally I felt her fangs slowly sink in. It really didn’t hurt at all, in fact it felt pretty good. I felt an intense heat spreading from my neck to the rest of my body. Through labored breaths I wrapped my arms around Stacy’s body, pulling her closer. She’d already pulled out her fangs and was now sucking on my neck, as though giving me a hickey. After a while she released her lips, but continued licking the wound until the blood flow stopped.

“Stacy…” I panted. “What was that?”

She smiled, her face also flushed. “A gift from Ashmay. My saliva contains an aphrodisiac.”

“You told me it wouldn’t hurt, but why didn’t you mention that before?”

“I wanted to surprise you,” she giggled.

My face was red and I still felt hot. I didn’t know what to feel. I was embarrassed and turned on, but I also felt guilty. This was supposed to be my payment to Stacy. Why did it feel so good? How is it a payment if I enjoy it too? I buried my face in her shoulder as frustrated tears formed in my eyes.

“Hey, Bridget, what’s wrong?” she asked, placing hands on my back.

“Why are you so good to me?” I whimpered.

Her arms wrapped around me in a hug. “Because you deserve it. And you’re tasty, and cute.”

I shook my head. “No, I don’t. I deserve to suffer.”

Stacy let out a sigh. “Haven’t you suffered enough already?”

We stayed like that for a long time before I finally let go of her, feeling guilty for holding on to her for so long.

“Get some rest, sweetie. We’ll be leaving at dusk.”

I laid my head on the loose dirt, trying to get comfy. I wanted to cuddle with Stacy for warmth, but I didn’t want to impose any more than I already had. I caused her enough trouble already.