By Suzanne Carré
So far in this series on The Bite, I’ve talked about the bite in simple terms of using the fangs on the neck and relying on sex to both increase the pleasure and modify vampire behavior. But what about using those sharp, erotically sensitive fangs on other parts of the body—oooohhh, and for a moment there, I was worried you didn’t care. Better still, what happens when a vampire bites and doesn’t exchange the blood with any sex? Well, this is where I have to tell you about naughty vampires being naughty—very naughty indeed.
Lust for blood
Vampires call the taking or wanting of blood from any part of the body except the neck as lust for blood. Lusting for blood is generally seen by vampires as deviant behavior when they see no advantage to taking blood from a body part other than the neck. When coupled sexually, the neck is so conveniently placed to kiss, tantalize with the tongue, and bite. For this reason, if vampires partake in lusting for blood, they do this with a lover who understands their needs and accepts the emotional consequences.
The lusting for blood can take two forms:
- drinking blood while engaged in modified sex,
- taking of blood without sexual intercourse but with mutual sensual gratification.
Firstly, the vampires define sex variously, according to the use the particular sexual activity has, and the benefits of sex they gain when participating. Sex involved with biting the neck they call proper sex. In my novel Vampire Sexual Secrets, Marie calls the vampire proper sex the “lovelock” because of its peculiar traits. Engaging in any other sexual position to access other body parts for the purpose of drinking blood is a form of lusting for blood. When Vincent cheats on Marie and returns to his ex-wife for a brief liaison, he confesses they “lusted like beasts” in reference to their deviance from proper sex and biting each other in places other than the neck.
Other ways to indulge in a lust for blood include the licking of skin dripping with blood from a wound inflicted by scratching with the fangs or another sharp implement. Also in group sex where one couple invites another to bite their flanks or limbs is likewise a lusting for blood. As long as the activity involves mutual sexual pleasure, no matter the form of the sex, it is still a lust for blood. But there are so many circumstances where the sex fails to satisfy and the drinking of blood now becomes blood lust.
Blood lust
The vampires consider the taking of blood without the exchange of sex as blood lust and classify it as a form of exploitation. Like other crimes of passion, the vampires regulate its practice with their vampire law. Between vampires blood lust is disdained but when inflicted upon a human, the act of blood lust reduces the donor to a victim of the vampire.
The eroticism of the bite forms so impulsive a need to resolve the feed with sex, the incentive rewards if sought and punishes the greedy vampire if they deny the sex. If a vampire “steals” blood from another, the lack of sex causes the perpetrator immediate pain to discourage any future practice of blood lust. In the Vampire Sexual Secrets, Vincent tries to persuade Marie of his need for sex during feeding by demonstrating the consequences of blood lust. When the act of feeding without sex causes disabling pain, Marie is sorry for punishing Vincent because of his body. This incident becomes the first of many where she learns how much vampires need sex.
Now we know how to bite, the question is—what happens to the recipient of the bite when the vampire persists and converts them to vampires? Next time, I’ll talk about conversion and the process of vampire marriage.
