They can smell it, it smells like spilled blood to them, as usual… they say “Hunger is the best sauce” and that’s certainly true for Lestat (ew). 

Hit the jump for the scene from canon about this (and I think it was tastefully done, no pun intended) but I warn you, what has been read cannot be unread.

temptation that vampires do in such circumstances, to lick the blood from
her nethermouth between her legs, a way of feeding on her that
wouldn’t harm her.

Except under the circumstances it was a perfectly outrageous and
impossible thought.”

Later: “…

MUCH LATER: “

…and I lapped at the blood just inside her young pink vaginal
lips, just coming from the mouth of her womb, not pure blood, but
blood from her,… blood that brought no pain, no
sacrifice, only her gentle forbearance with me, with my unspeakable
act, my tongue going deep into her, drawing out the blood that was
yet to come, gently, gently,…

…taste and smell of blood, her sweet
blood, a place where blood flows free and no wound is made or ever
needs to be made, the entrance to her blood open to me in her
forgiveness.”  

Go to the book for more, I was trying to be really concise here. In the earlier part of the book when he smells it, he wants it bc blood is blood, but he can control himself and he knows it’s “a perfectly outrageous and impossible thought.”

Later, he had just gotten back from a traumatic adventure and he wanted the blood as a means of self-medication (comfort food!) as much as he needed the closeness to Dora herself. Vampires probably prefer wound blood. Maybe there are vampires who prefer it this way, though! It’s good that AR addressed the question ;]

I also have a tag with a few more posts about Dora the Nun and there’s fanart of this scene.