Scent of a Vampire

by Jude Stephens

We were halfway across the meadow when I knew I had to ask, "Roberto, will you ever take blood from me?" I wanted him so badly to bite me.

  "Piccolina, nothing would pleasure me more than to take that step with you. But I think it's important that things get cleared up before we do."

  I stopped walking, "But you will drink from me won't you?"

  "I guess you must have really enjoyed it when Alexander bit you. Being a Sensay, it must have been really hard for you to not have sex with him." He said a little nastily. I got angry. "As a matter of fact, it was. But I did control myself. I don't want you to bite me because I want to get off. I just thought that it would make us have a bond like I have with Alex. That's all."

  I turned and walked away. Roberto caught up, "I'm sorry Olivia. I don't like that you and Alexander have a bond. And I want to bite you more than you can know. Every time we make love I picture it in my mind. Do you know how I picture it piccolina?"

  I looked at him and couldn't resist asking, "How?" Roberto took my head between his hands,

  "In our bedroom, with candles lighting the room, soft music playing in the background. With the scent of your excitement surrounding me, I will taste every inch of your body until you are quivering with a need only I can fulfill. Then I will poise myself above you and say the ritual words that will bond us for all time. I will take what you offer and offer you all that I have. And I will plunge into you with my cock and my fangs." Roberto was clearly excited at the erotic image as he captured my mouth with his and kissed me deeply. His hands went to my ass and he pulled me closer and started grinding his erection against me. He was moaning loudly. As my Sensay body reacted to his passion, my mind was literally spinning out of control with panic.

  Alex had said those words to me when he took my blood. I told Roberto that he didn't say anything. Why oh why did I do that? Shit. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I confess now or wait to talk to Alex?

  I am so not used to being in such dilemmas with men. My life is becoming more and more like Janel's. Janel! That's it. I can talk to her. She would know the best course of action in this type of situation. My mind slipped back to Roberto who had at some point slipped his hands under my shirt and bra and was circling my breasts in a sweet, sweet motion with the palms of his hands. I heard my own moans mingle with his and then I heard, "Oh come on amigos! The two of you are not going to do it again are you? At this rate we will never get to feed tonight, if it's even possible. Olivia's screams probably scared off all of the animals anyway."

  I pulled back from Roberto with no small amount of embarrassment, "Don't tell me they heard us making love before?"

  Roberto looked at me with amusement, "Well, I am sure that Juan and Cristoforo did. Your friend Janel probably did not if it's any comfort to you."

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  "Oh God, I am so mortified. How will I look them in the eye?"

  Roberto took my hand and we started walking, "You have nothing to be embarrassed about.

  Sex is a natural act. And I apologize for getting carried away before. The thought of our bonding made me lose control cara." I wanted to ask him what this bonding thing meant but I didn't want to arouse his suspicions if I asked too many questions about it. I decided to proceed but with caution.

  "What exactly is this bonding?" I tried to sound casual but I'm pretty sure I ended up sounding panicked. Roberto smiled, "Do not sound so worried piccolina, it is not like you are being chained together for all eternity. It is like a marriage ceremony but not quite like that either. It is unique. When two people create a bond it is for eternity though. How you choose to honor the bond is up to the individuals. Vampires will sometimes bond for different reasons. Most of the time it is to join two who love each other but I have seen vampires bond for political purposes or for truces in times of war. Regardless of the reasons it is sacred.

  And this is why when we do this; I want it to be special, with nothing standing in our way."

  He stopped walking and looked at me with a serious expression, "I have fallen in love with you Olivia. I never expected to have strong feelings for you, but here I am, almost five hundred years old and thinking I never knew what love was until you."

  The tears slipped from my eyes. I loved Roberto so much.

  "Roberto I love you, you are my universe. I never thought I would be able to trust a man again after Brian. But you have given me trust, love and understanding. I want to be bound to you for all eternity and even beyond." Roberto's eyes were full of emotion as he bent to kiss me.

  "You are making us sick now amigos. All of that love talk makes me want to stab myself in the brain." I couldn't help but laugh at that. Roberto cocked his head to the side and gave me quizzical look. "Did you just hear what Juan said?"

  "Yeah, I'm not deaf."

  Roberto raised an eyebrow at me. "No, I don't imagine you are because Juan did not shout. He spoke at a normal volume and he is at least a hundred yards away."

  "What? He must have shouted."

  "No he didn't. I suspect you are starting to experience your next ability. Maybe we should do some training tonight. It may become uncomfortable for you if you don't learn how to filter sounds."

  I was a little dumbfounded. How was I going to learn how to deal with a new sense when I hadn't mastered the other one yet?

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  We began walking again when Roberto said, "Let's not tell anyone about this new ability for awhile. The less people know about you the greater advantage you can have over an enemy."

  "But these people are our friends. Surely we can tell them."

  "I'd rather that you didn't, at least for now." I shrugged, "Okay, maybe it was a fluke anyway.

  That was the first time it happened."

  We walked back to the house and the first people we ran into were, who else but Juan and Cristoforo. I could feel my face redden.

  Cristoforo said, "Well hello little wild cat. Those were quite some growls you let loose in the woods." Roberto growled himself, "That will be enough Cris. I won't allow you to embarrass Olivia like that." Cristoforo stood up to Roberto and said in a menacing voice, "But its okay to embarrass yourself with the Sensay?

  God help you when the council finds out." With that, Cristoforo walked away.

  "What did he mean? What council?" I asked.

  "It is nothing to concern your self about piccolina. We will go feed now and I will meet you down by the dock in about an hour to start your training." Roberto said as he kissed my forehead.

  "Okay. But you are going to explain all of that to me tonight." I warned him.

  "I promise." He said as him and Juan walked away. I went off to find Janel. I didn't see her anywhere so I went upstairs to the bedroom we were sharing to find she wasn't there and neither were my things. I went down the hall to Roberto's room and found my things had been moved there. I was starting to feel like a yoyo.

  I took a shower and changed into something a little nicer for a change, since I assumed my training tonight was going to be more mental than physical. I put on a simple white gauze skirt and matching top. I wore a pair of comfortable sandals. It was still causal but at least made me feel more feminine than the jeans or the hooker outfits I had been wearing lately.

  I brushed my long unruly hair out and tied it of top of my head. I put on the necklace that Roberto gave me and dabbed on a little perfume behind my ear. I looked at myself in the mirror and laughed. It was like I was getting ready for a romantic date instead of training.

  I went downstairs and still no one was around. I looked out front and saw that Juan's car was gone. I was beginning to get worried about Janel. My hour was almost up so I headed down to the dock to meet Roberto.

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  Chapter 26

  When I got close, I heard soft music playing and when the dock came into view I stopped,
stunned at the scene before me. Roberto stood beside a candle lit table holding a bunch of wildflowers. He was dressed in tailored black trousers and a crisp white shirt with the top three buttons undone, giving me a glimpse of his smooth chest. His black hair was still damp and combed back.

  When I looked at him I swear I couldn't breathe. When he saw me, he smiled and his smile was as bright as the moonlight shining down through the few clouds. He started to walk towards me; God, even his walk was sexy. I was paralyzed on the steps leading down to the dock and I still couldn't breathe. When he reached me, he took my hand in his, "Cara..You look beautiful.

  Would you care to join me for dinner?"

  "Ummm, yeah, ummm, sure." I stammered. He led me down the last few steps and I was proud of the fact I only stumbled once. When we got to the table I saw there was champagne and the table was set as if we were at a five star restaurant.

  "I thought we were going to train?" I asked him.

  "We are my love, but first we must eat, no?" he set the flowers down and came over to pull out my chair. I sat and he went over to the champagne and filled first my glass and then his own.

  He held up his glass for a toast so I held mine up, "To Olivia, a vivacious, beautiful woman whom I hope will always be willing to share her life with me." We clinked our glasses together and he looked like he was waiting for me to say something. My mind was blank! I had nothing.

  He had appeared before me tonight as an amazing Roman god and I lost all of my senses.

  "Ummm, to Roberto, who..." I burst into tears.

  Roberto put his glass down and came over to kneel by my side. "Olivia, are you all right?" He asked with concern in his voice.

  Between my ugly sobbing I managed to say "You ... are.... so.... handsome.... sexy ... and you....

  look like ... a God ... and I lost my breath.... when I saw you...." Roberto hugged me hard and chuckled, "That was the most wonderful toast anyone has ever given me." He reached in his pocket and got out a handkerchief and wiped my tears away. He got up and sat down again.

  "Roberto, can I ask you something?"

  "Of course cara, you can ask me anything."

  "How is it that I am supposed to be this prophesized Sensay when I can't even be cool and collected when I am with you? I mean we are contemplating me becoming a sort of double agent to spy on the Guardians and I don't think I can do it. You just saw me fall apart in front of you, just because you are too handsome."

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  His eyebrows rose. "Too handsome?"

  "I'm serious Roberto. I don't think I am what everyone believes me to be."

  "First piccolina, you are a newborn to your powers. No one comes into their abilities right away.

  When I first got mine, I used to run into trees." He chuckled.

  "You did not." I said.

  "Yes I did. You know how we can run fast? Well, you need to learn how to control your movements when you're going that fast. I often found myself unconscious under a tree. But I learned to control my movement and use my sonar to navigate."

  "Will you show me how to control myself?" Roberto looked amused, "I will to a point. I will not teach you to control yourself in our bed my love." I sucked in a breath when he mentioned our bed. Having him say that meant we had a relationship; we were a couple. Before I could stop myself I went over to him and sat on his lap and kissed him.

  He wrapped his arms around me we kissed until we were both out of breath.

  Reluctantly, Roberto pulled back "As much as I would like to make love to you, you need to eat something and start your training."

  As we sat down to eat, I asked him how he had managed to do all of this.

  "Believe it or not Janel helped me plan it. She went to the store while we were out and set everything up."

  "Where is she anyway? I looked everywhere for her tonight."

  "She went out to dinner with Andy."

  "Andy?? Hmmm, interesting. I thought she was going after Mark."

  "Well she ended up with Andy." Roberto said. I remembered to ask him about what Cristoforo had meant about the council.

  Roberto seemed a little reluctant to talk about it but I reminded him he had promised to tell me.

  "The council he was referring to is a council of evolved beings. I sit on the council and am expected to follow the rules more so than anyone else."

  "And because of me you're not, I'm not a vampire." I said softly.

  "I don't care Olivia. I'm not giving you up. I will resign from the council. You are all that matters to me."

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  "I can't let you sacrifice everything for me."

  "But without you there is nothing. I don't care about the council." Roberto declared.

  I didn't know what to say. I was moved by his admission and also a little frightened. Roberto sometimes could be a very intense vampire. As a matter of fact, most of the vampires I've met have been rather intense creatures, all of them except Alex. I was hit with a wave of sadness. I missed Alex and his easy banter, and his quick smile. Roberto must have sensed my sadness.

  "Do not worry piccolina, it will work out. I won't let anyone come between us."

  I didn't correct his assumption. How was I going to explain I had been thinking of Alex and not of his dilemma?

  I decided to change the subject, "Are we going to begin training?"

  Roberto chuckled "My little Sensay is not very patient is she?"

  "No," I admitted. "I don't have a lot of patience. I'm sorry."

  "No need to apologize. But that is your first lesson. Patience."

  "Patience?"

  "Yes piccolina, close your eyes." I closed my eyes as he ordered. He continued. "I want you to concentrate of the sound of a bee buzzing." I heard a bee buzzing nearby and quickly opened my eyes and stood up, "Where is it?"

  Roberto answered with amusement, "The bee is not close to you and I won't let it hurt you. But you need to sit down and close your eyes."

  I looked around suspiciously, but sat back down and closed my eyes again. Once more he continued, "Do you hear the buzzing Olivia?"

  I concentrated on the sound again and heard the bee's buzzing. I nodded yes to Roberto.

  "Clear your mind of everything but the sound of the bee. Can you follow the bees' flight?"

  I concentrated on the bee and pictured in my mind the path the bee was on. It was circling a flowering bush looking for a spot that had the most nectar. It veered right and dipped low and landed on a flower. I could hear the bees' tongue lapping at the nectar.

  "Oh my God, Roberto! That was so cool. I could actually hear the bee eating."

  Roberto smiled at me, "You are very good at this. You are a natural I believe. It took me a long time to learn how to control volume. Let's try something else. Do you still hear the bee?"

  "Yeah." I replied.

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  "Well, now I want you to try and silence the noise from the bee. Use your mind to turn it off."

  Roberto urged. I concentrated once more on the bee. It had taken all of the nectar from the flower and was moving towards another one. I let my mind think about silence. It was difficult at first. I had to clear my mind and think of silence as a tangible thing. I imagined with my eyes closed that everything stopped and there was nothing but silence. Still with my eyes closed, I smiled at the total silence. I really could do this. This was amazing. I wished I would have had this ability when I was in school and had to listen to a boring lecture. I opened my eyes and saw Roberto smiling at me. And then he opened his mouth and started talking. Only I didn't hear anything. I jumped up suddenly and my chair overturned but it made no sound. Roberto swiftly came over to me and grabbed my arms. I think he was shouting but I didn't hear anything. I was in a full panic. Roberto grabbed my head between his hands. And then he kissed me. It surprisingly
was a soft kiss, followed by a nibble of my lips, and then he started sucking on my bottom lip. He slipped his tongue into my mouth and parried with my tongue and when he started to suck on my tongue I heard myself moan. At the sound I pulled away from Roberto, "I couldn't hear anything Roberto, nothing, it was like I went deaf. It was frightening." I shuddered. Roberto took my shaking hands in his, "I'm sorry piccolina, if I knew there was even a chance of you being at that kind of ability level I would have warned you about being careful of going too far. I have never heard of a novice who could do what you just did. You are powerful Olivia, more powerful than I would have guessed. I don't have a lot of experience with a Sensay's abilities, so maybe this is normal. I don't know. I'll admit I am out of my territory here. It may not be the wisest thing for me to be training you. Something could go wrong. I don't want to end up hurting you."

  "But I want you to train me. If you don't train me then who will?"

  "You need to train with your people." Roberto said kindly.

  "My people?? I don't know what you're talking about. I don't have any people. My people were my parents and they are dead." I was on the brink of having a hissy fit.

  "Cara, it will be okay. When I say your people, I mean your clan. Your tribe."

  "What are you talking about? I don't have a tribe. Or a clan."

  "Did your parents ever talk about your Native American ancestors?"

  I thought back to when I was little and we would travel every summer to the Adirondack Mountains my parents loved so much.

  I remember there were a few times my parents told me we were going to take an extra long holiday and visit some special people. We would have to go on a boat to get there, which I thought was great fun. I remember my parents saying we were going to an Island. I also remember having parties there, in my later years I always thought back on these times as the times that we hung out with my parents'

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  hippie friends because when I was older I recognized the parties more as rituals than a party.

  There would be chanting and some dancing but I couldn't remember much else. I figure they were worshiping Mother Earth or some sort of new age stuff like that.