by S L Hartley
Nicholas stood and followed Page out the door of the warehouse. They’d nearly reached the car when the sound of heavy footsteps betrayed Van’s actions. Nicholas wheeled around, catching Donovan by the arm. He sidestepped to drag Van away from the car and the two women, and finally gave a great heave, every muscle in his body trembling under the strain. Van tumbled down the slope to the river, his body disappearing into the surging water with a splash.
Nicholas turned and embraced Page with all his might. She could feel his heart pounding – a different rhythm from her human heart, but a rhythm nonetheless.
“I love you,” he whispered fiercely, holding her as close as he could.
Page felt tears forming in her eyes, though whether they were from emotion or sheer exhaustion she couldn’t be certain.
“I love you too,” she replied as the siren of the ambulance began to approach. “I love you, Nicholas.”
****
Chapter 7
“You’re getting released today?” Page asked.
Janine’s hospital room was bright, sunny, and absolutely packed with flowers and colorful “GET WELL SOON” balloons. Janine was sitting up on the bed, heavily-bandaged leg propped stiffly in front of her.
“Yeah,” she said.
The week in the hospital had brought back the color in her cheeks and even a shine to her hair, but there was a haunted look in her eyes that the doctors hadn’t been able to heal even after patching up the lacerations on her cheek from the rough concrete floor of the warehouse. Her leg had required twenty-four stitches to repair and would always be scarred, just like Page’s torn-up hands.
Page, for her part, had regained the use of her fingers and only her palms were still bandaged. “Nicholas let me borrow his car,” she said, jingling the keys. “I can help you get all this stuff back to your apartment, and you’ll be back at the café in no time.”
Janine smiled wanly. “Maybe not.”
“What?” Page asked, genuinely startled. Janine had loved every part of working at the café, even dealing with customers who hadn’t yet had their morning coffee.
“I’m thinking maybe I should change some things up,” Janine said, smoothing the sheets under her hands. “I don’t think I’ll be going back to the café.”
Page sat heavily in the stiff armchair next to Janine’s bed. “Do you know where you’ll be looking for a new job?”
“Idaho.”
Page stared, wondering if Janine had slipped into some kind of delirium again. She’d been hysterical for two days after being admitted. Well, Page thought of it as hysteria, but the doctors had diagnosed it as a psychotic break. After all, she’d come in babbling about a man who grew fur and fangs when he abducted her and had screamed uncontrollably at sundown whenever a nurse forgot to draw the blinds against the waning moon.
Page wished that she’d been able to argue with the doctors, but what could she tell them? That Janine hadn’t gone briefly insane from trauma because werewolves really did exist? She’d just end up committed herself.
“My mom lives in Idaho,” Janine explained. “I’m going to move back home for a while.”
“Do you really feel that’s necessary?” Page asked. She half-expected what the answer would be but felt that she had to ask anyway. Janine was her friend, had been her best friend for years, after they’d gotten assigned to the same shifts at the café.
Janine nodded firmly. “Yeah. My parents are all excited about it.” She grimaced briefly, then laughed. It was almost a real laugh, too. “Already cleaned out my old bedroom.”
A nurse walked in then, clipboard in hand. “Looks like you’re good to go, Janine,” she said cheerfully. Page stood and picked up the crutches leaning against the wall.
Janine was able to navigate the corridors well enough, though Page ended up appropriating an unused gurney in order to carry all the flowers. Loading Janine into the freshly-washed Volkswagen was another challenge, but finally the two women were seated and strapped in. They drove in near-silence for the twenty minutes it took to reach Janine’s apartment building, the back seat filled up to the rear window with flowers and bobbing balloons.
It took three trips for Page to get all of the gifts into Janine’s small apartment, where they crowded the living room.
Janine laughed ruefully. “Almost not worth it, huh?”
Page shrugged. “I didn’t mind.” She struggled with words for an awkward minute, trying to find a way to ask the questions boiling in the back of her mind. How much had Janine seen? Did she believe what the doctors said – that she’d started hallucinating due to severe shock? Or did she know what she’d seen?
“I’ll pick up some boxes from the grocery store after I return Nicholas’s car,” Page blurted out finally. “You helped me move. It’s only fair I do the same for you.”
Janine thanked her, leaving Page to return to the car alone.
By the time Page returned Nicholas’s car to the lot behind the house where he lived, her mind was in turmoil. He met her at the back door to the house, arms out for a hug, but his smile faded when he saw her troubled face.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, arms encircling her. His glasses had been lost at the warehouse and his new pair weren’t ready yet. To Page, it seemed almost as if part of his face was missing, leaving him looking wide-eyed and vulnerable.
“Janine’s moving,” Page said, swallowing a sob. Ridiculous to cry over this, but she’d been crying pretty frequently the last couple of days. Just stress, she reminded herself. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed. But losing her friend felt nearly unbearable.
Nicholas held her close, pressing his mouth to the top of her head. “I’m so sorry, Page,” he murmured into her hair. “I should have warned you I saw this coming.”
Page pulled away. “What do you mean?” she sniffed.
Nicholas gave her a sad, faraway smile. “For you, believing in vampires and werewolves isn’t that far-fetched – you’ve known about us for years. Since you were just a kid, really, right?”
Page nodded, comprehension slowly dawning. “For Janine, this is all new.”
“And it’s nigh-impossible for most people to take in as adults,” Nicholas went on. “We’re told all our lives that the monsters in the dark aren’t real. Then to become an adult and find out that the monsters aren’t only real, but hungry?” He cast his face downward. “The usual reaction is to run away, move somewhere new and try to forget anything out of the ordinary ever happened.”
“She’d rather believe she went crazy than have to question reality itself,” Page realized. “That’s why you were so afraid of telling me what you were at first, wasn’t it? You thought I’d run away.”
“I’m glad you didn’t,” Nicholas said, kissing her lightly on the forehead.
Page was quiet a moment. “Actually, do you mind if I keep using your car for a bit? I told Janine I’d get her some boxes and help her pack, and it’ll be easier if I don’t have to walk.”
“Of course,” Nicholas said. “Would you like me to go with you and help?”
Page hesitated. “I’d love to have your company, but I’m not so sure about Janine. If she’s trying to forget, watching you lift her couch or whatever with one hand won’t exactly be helpful.”
“I understand.” Nicholas squeezed her hand. “I’ll see you later on, then.”
Page didn’t return to her own neighborhood until long after sundown. Acquiring boxes for Janine’s move had been a simple matter, but actually packing up everything Janine owned took much longer. Unlike Page, Janine had a lot of things she wanted to keep, including an extensive collection of glass figurines which had to be individually wrapped in tissue and bubble wrap before being boxed.
Page did finally manage to ask what Janine remembered about that awful night. Janine had paused for a moment before speaking in a voice that sounded like she was reciting a memorized bit of prose instead of describing her own memory.
“I was walking home, and your ex-boyfr
iend who’d been stalking you attacked me. He knocked me out and dragged me away. I don’t remember much after that, except you pulling me out of the warehouse and getting me an ambulance.”
“You called the ambulance, actually,” Page reminded her. “I was. . . I was too upset to think clearly enough to do it.” A truth, and a small lie. A lie to help smooth over the worst of that night’s unbelievable events.
Janine smiled. “You know, Page, you could move with me. You’ve lived in this state all your life. Might do you good to get out for a bit.”
Page considered, more out of respect for Janine’s feelings than an actual need to mull over the option. “With Van disappeared,” she said slowly, “I think I can stick it out here a while longer. I really like my new job and apartment, too.”
Janine dropped the topic so quickly that Page felt that she’d not really expected Page to accept the offer. Still, it lessened the sting of Janine leaving somewhat, and the two friends parted with many promises of holiday visits and long phone calls.
Page was exhausted from packing by the time she saw Nicholas to return his car to him for the second time that day, and her back was sore from bending over boxes all afternoon.
“I made you dinner!” The first words out of Nicholas’s mouth when he saw her again, and Page stared at him uncomprehendingly for several seconds. “Really! I cooked and everything.”
The meal turned out to be spaghetti with marinara sauce and shredded parmesan, a simple meal Page had made many times for herself when groceries were low. Nicholas was immensely proud of the effort, though, as well as the fact that his apartment smelled like food – real food! – instead of blood or antiseptic.
He hovered anxiously over Page as she took the first bites, frequently asking if it tasted okay. It did, and conscious of Nicholas’s eyes on her, Page ate as many plates as she could hold.
He must have made at least a pound of pasta, Page thought as she begged off yet another helping. “I’m stuffed! I swear!” She helped Nicholas clean up, putting the remainder of the spaghetti in the fridge, the pot looking hilariously incongruous next to the stacks of blood bags.
The dishes washed and set out to dry, Page turned to Nicholas. She was amazed at all the strange turns her life had taken recently – a new job, a new home, a new love. He was everything she could have ever wanted in a man.
“Now that you’ve fed me,” Page said, “perhaps it’s time I feed you.”
Nicholas hesitated. “Are you sure?” he asked.
Page nodded. “I want you to bite my neck,” she stated, tugging down the collar of her shirt.
Nicholas began heading toward the bedroom. “Where are you going?” Page asked.
Nicholas looked back at her quizzically. “Drinking directly from someone’s veins is a rather intimate act, don’t you think?” Page shrugged uncertainly. “I can promise that you’ll enjoy it.”
That Page had not expected. She followed him eagerly into the bedroom, and Nicholas immediately began kissing her, pushing her backwards onto the bed and straddling her. His lips felt like burning ice on her skin, and she felt she might melt each time his hands brushed her skin. He unbuttoned her blouse agonizingly slowly, gently slapping her hands away when she tried to assist him.
After far too long, he slid her blouse off over her shoulders and unhooked her bra. He masPaged one of her breasts and bent his head to caress the other with his tongue. His touch was electric, and Page sighed.
At that, he became rougher, pushing her down until she lay flat on her back underneath him. His weight bore down on her, and she felt the lightest scrape of teeth on her nipple. She gasped, the sensation sending tiny thrills of pleasure through her.
“You like that?” Nicholas asked, lifting his head.
“Y-yes,” Page stammered as he grazed her flesh with the tips of his teeth again. He straightened up, pulling his shirt over his head, arching his back so she could admire his sculpted abdomen all the better. She trailed her fingers over his skin, and soon he was upon her again, his mouth kissing and sucking its way back to her neck.
He teased her for some minutes, licking and nibbling at her sensitive skin until she gasped. “Ask for it,” he ordered. “Beg like I had to.”
Words weren’t difficult. The light touch of Nicholas’s teeth on her breast had awakened an unfamiliar desire in Page. She wanted to feel his fangs penetrate her skin, wanted to hear him sucking on her life’s blood. “Please,” she gasped. “Please bite me, Nicholas.”
A fleeting instant of pain, then a sensation of euphoria. Page almost felt as though she could float off the bed. She could feel Nicholas’s wet mouth on her neck, was dimly aware of his hand creeping down past her hips, working under the waistband of her pants.
His fingers entered her suddenly, thrusting deeply into her already-wet pussy. Nicholas continued sucking on her neck while rhythmically working his fingers inside her. He pulled back from her neck all too soon, gently licking the wound before kissing her mouth.
He tasted of sharp, new blood, his tongue flicking eagerly against hers even as he continued pleasuring her with his hand.
“You know,” he said, lifting his head away slightly. “Blood isn’t the only fluid I can drink.” He grinned wickedly, droplets of blood still clinging to his fangs. “May I?”
“Please.”
Nicholas trailed his mouth over her body, teasing her with his tongue and teeth over her hips and stomach before gently tugging her pants and underwear down to her ankles and over her bare feet. He lay before her and gently spread her thighs with his hands. Locking eyes with her, he gently traced his tongue over the inside of her leg, kissing the join between her leg and her crotch until she squirmed and gasped with anticipation.
When he finally slid his tongue inside her, it was nearly too much. Her hips bucked up toward his face as he lapped at her sex, stretching his tongue to stroke the innermost parts of her before withdrawing to toy with her clit. Still mouthing that sensitive nub of flesh, he brought his fingers into her again, curling them inside her ever-so-slightly with each small thrust.
Page came, quivering underneath his tongue and letting out a long moan. Nicholas pulled back, unbuttoning his trousers and sliding them off. His fully erect cock seemed larger than Page remembered. He lifted her hand to it, guiding her palm down its full length. She squeezed slightly and began pumping as he reached over them to the bedside table to retrieve a condom.
He didn’t unwrap it immediately, though. Instead, he crawled forward until his knees pressed against the bed just to each side of Page’s head.
“Will you?” he asked. “I’d love to feel your mouth on me again.”
Page gently mouthed each of his testicles before moving to the shaft, her lips gliding over the swollen head. He rocked his hips slowly, guiding himself deeper into her mouth. Page sucked, swirling her tongue over his shaft as he pulled back out.
“Thank you,” he said. He moved a little lower until his cock lay between her breasts. Page pushed them closer together with her hands, feeling his hardness against her soft flesh. He slid his member back and forth a few times, apparently relishing the sensation, before finally straightening up fully and sliding the condom onto his still-damp member. He crawled back down, lying over Page. He kissed her deeply on the mouth as she guided him inside her, wrapping her legs around his waist.
“I love you,” he said breathlessly, thrusting deeply into her. Page felt him move inside her and just barely managed to bite back a scream.
“I love you,” she repeated, kissing him again.
Nicholas gradually increased the speed of his thrusts until the sound of flesh slapping against flesh filled the room. Page gripped the bedclothes underneath her as she rocked her hips in rhythm with Nicholas’s. Slowly, she bent her knees, drawing them toward her chest. She was rewarded with a sudden widening of Nicholas’s eyes followed by an inarticulate moan as his thrusts reached deeper than ever before. Page brought her hand down, alternating between squeezin
g his member as he withdrew from her and rubbing her clitoris. She came again quickly, shuddering against her partner.
Rather than finishing as Page had expected, Nicholas withdrew, cock still rock-hard. “Could you turn over?” he asked. “I’d like to take you from behind.”
Page obliged, rolling onto her stomach and propping her round ass up in the air. Nicholas took hold of her hips with one hand and guided himself into her with the other. “God, you’re tight,” he remarked.
He thrust savagely into her, driving Page forward with each movement. Her groans quickly escalated into indecorous screams of pleasure. She covered her mouth with a pillow to try to muffle the noise but couldn’t keep from moaning ecstatically as his fingernails dug into her back.
When she felt she couldn’t take it for another moment, Nicholas finally released, jerking against her as he came. He bent and tenderly kissed the back of her neck before pulling himself out of her, carefully removing the condom and tossing it into the bin before flopping down beside her.
He seemed peaceful, but Page wasn’t fully satiated yet. She sprang upright, pinning Nicholas’s arms to his sides with her legs, lowering herself until she straddled his face. He grinned and obligingly licked her glistening sex. She pushed down onto his mouth, grinding against his lips as he kissed and sucked at her most sensitive parts. Her hips rocked faster and faster until she needed to grip the headboard to keep her balance. She moaned her lover’s name as pleasure mounted in small fits and seizes in her body. She trembled all over, tension building and tightening within her.
Her final release was slow in coming and left her panting, shaking as waves of pleasure broke through her. She fell back beside her lover, kissing a face slick with her own fluids.