Within moments of Eleanor falling asleep, Jack felt a sudden wave of intense exhaustion wash over him . He felt like someone had completely drained the life out of him .

Which, of course, someone had, apparently . Now that he was out of the moment of that happening, he felt completely freaked out . Some hot demon girl had literally just sucked his blood like a vampire, and he'd not only loved every second of it, but had happily agreed to let her do it again and again if she wanted to . What on earth was wrong with him?!

The mental images of Eleanor's bare, swaying b.r.e.a.s.t.s and grinding hips popped into his head . Well, I mean, those, at least, made his decision a little easier to justify . But he didn't have time to reflect on the situation . He pa.s.sed out from exhaustion only moments later .

The next morning, Jack awoke feeling oddly refreshed and energized . The sun was streaming through the sole window in the loft, and the room felt warm and cozy . He looked around to the other bedrolls to see they were all empty and made up . He crawled out of bed and put on his shoes, and walked out of the barn .

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Outside, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, although there was a decent breeze that felt nice in contrast to the strong suns.h.i.+ne . Rose was hanging out various garments to dry on a clothesline strung not far from the barn, and greeted him when he walked out . She pointedly glanced at his neck for a moment, before directing her attention to his face and giving him what looked like a knowing smile .

"Sleep well?" She asked, pinning up a pale yellow sundress .

"Yeah, slept great . Thank you . " He said .

"Don't mention it . " She said . She motioned with her head towards the house . "There's still some breakfast left, I'm sure . Feel free to help yourself to it . And if there's none left, I'm sure Eleanor would be happy to make you more . "

"Oh, alright . Cool . " He said . He walked on towards the house .

"Oh, and Jack?" Rose called out after him .

"Yes?"

"You might want to wash your neck before you go inside . " She said, tapping on her throat in the same place Eleanor had bitten him the night before .

Jack's face flushed . "Uh yeah, got it . " He said . He walked the hundred or so feet to the small stream next to the watermill and wet and wiped the spot on his neck until his hands kept coming back clean . He wasn't sure if he'd completely gotten all of the blood off, but it was the best he could do without a mirror .

In what he would describe as the house's front yard, Madeleine appeared to be chasing around a b.u.t.terfly, which happened to be just high enough or just fast enough to keep avoiding her grasp . When Jack greeted her, she stop what she was doing, froze in place, and just stood there, looking at him . He smiled and waved, but she didn't give any reply, so he just gave up and walked in . The girl was just d.a.m.n weird .

The house was even more stifling than he remembered yesterday, and he could barely keep his eyes open for more than a moment before they dried out . Simon wasn't in the house, though Eleanor was . She appeared to be scrubbing something in the wash basin on the opposite wall from the door . She turned, and when seeing him, lit up, and dropped the dish in the wash water . She ran over to him, and without a single word, made a couple gestures with her fingers, rushed over, and shoved him into the door, pressing her lips hard against his until his head began to swim .

Eleanor grinned wicked at him . "Good morning, sleepyhead! So, last night is our little secret, okay?" She said .

"Uh, yeah, whatever you say . " He said, barely able to think straight .

"Good boy! Now, go have a seat at the table . I'll grab you some food . " She turned and walked over to one of the shelves to the side of the wash basin and grabbed several food objects while Jack found a way to stumble himself to the table .

This was going to take a long time getting used to .