Jude Stephens

by Touch of a VAmpire

A round table and two chairs sat at the far end of the room. I noticed a door and went to investigate. To my delight and relief I saw a small bathroom. There was just a toilet, sink and shower stall, but I was still very happy to have them.

  I decided to grab my pajamas and take a quick shower before climbing into bed. I got in and turned the water on. I turned the knob until the water was steaming. Even though the night was warm the hot water felt wonderful on my weary body. The bar of soap I grabbed looked homemade and when I lathered it up the scent of honeysuckle delighted my senses and I sighed with pleasure.

  “I like the sound of that.”

  I jumped and dropped the bar of soap. I opened the shower door just enough to peek my head out. Cheve was leaning against the bathroom door. I swallowed hard as my eyes traveled up from his bare feet, up the length of his jean clad legs to his hips wear the jeans rode so low that I could see his pelvic bones. His abs were rock hard and well defined. His tanned chest was smooth with two dark puckered nipples. My eyes kept traveling upwards to his dark stubbled jaw, to his slightly parted lips, and when I at last looked into his eyes my breath stopped. His dark eyes were blazing with heat. I felt a rush of fire spread through my body.

  “Awww, shit.” I heard Cheve say as he pushed himself away from the door, slid the shower door open and stepped in the stall with me.

  “What the hell do--” I began but was cut off when Cheve pulled me against him and lowered his mouth to mine. I automatically opened my mouth and wrapped my arms around him. He grabbed my ass and lifted me up so I had to wrap my legs around his torso. All the while he kept kissing me, his talented tongue probing. I began to feel the electrical currents race through my veins. I knew I was close to losing control but couldn’t stop.

  I tore my mouth from his and began kissing my way down his neck. I loosened my legs and slid down the length of his body and trailed kisses down his collar bone and still lower until I captured one of his dark nipples between my teeth. I tugged gently and then swept my tongue around to lave it good.

  My excitement was growing and I felt the liquid heat spill from between my legs. I kissed my way down his stomach. In a frenzy of lust I fell to my knees and fumbled with the opening of his jeans and with a cry of triumph I opened them, tugged them down, and… I stared stupidly for a long time trying to make my lust addled brain understand what I was seeing.

  Cheve clearly wasn’t excited.

  “This was your first lesson, Sensay.” He squatted down low next to me. “You cannot let the fire consume you.”

  He stood up and offered me his hand. I didn’t even look up; I was too consumed in self loathing. Cheve stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel and began drying himself off. “Do not berate yourself over a failed lesson. It takes time to master your body and senses.”

  I was having a hard time understanding his words. All I could think of is that it felt so good to kiss him, and I wanted much more from him. I began to cry. When had I turned into a loose woman?

  Cheve came over and knelt by me again. “Why are you crying? I told you it’s going to take time for you to master this.”

  I tried to pull myself together. “Why don’t you just leave? You’ve shown me just how big a whore I am. How much more do you want to humiliate me?”

  He grabbed me roughly by the arms “Whore? Do not ever call yourself that again! You are a Sensay. You have the spirit of the earth flowing though your veins.” He suddenly stopped and a shocked look came across his face. “You don’t understand any of this, do you?”

  He grabbed another towel, wrapped it around me, picked me up and carried me to the bed. He laid me down on the bed and covered me up. “I apologize. I thought you had a better understanding of what being a Sensay is, and how your training would proceed. God, you must think me a bastard.

  Orenda, first, let me tell you that you are not a whore. Your sexuality is pure and natural. Your response to me was pure and natural. You became aroused by looking at me in such an intimate surrounding, which is also a very natural thing. You didn’t make a move on me. I came to you and kissed you, and you responded because you are a healthy young woman. These things do not make you a whore. What I did will be a part of our Sensay training. I will teach you how to control these natural urges.”

  I had to interrupt him at this point, “Whoa. Are you telling me that you will be kissing me again?”

  He chuckled. “I will be doing more than that to you, Sensay.”

  I bolted upright in the bed. “No way…you can’t…I mean you don’t even find me attractive.”

  He got a very serious look on his face. “It’s not that I don’t find you attractive, Orenda. It’s just that you are my job. I don’t look at you in that way.”

  I thought about that for a minute. “I’m not sure I understand this. Let me see. You are going to train me to harness my passion by somehow igniting my passion when you don’t feel anything for me at all? Am I correct?”

  He looked confused for a minute himself. “Yeah, sort of.”

  “Well, it’s not going to work, because now that I know that you don’t feel anything for me, I will not be drawn to you.” I smiled thinking that I had the upper hand in the matter.

  The smile left my face as Cheve got a glint in his eye and said, “You do not want to challenge me, Sensay.”

  I don’t know why, but I decided to push him. “As a matter of fact, I’m not sure why I even let you kiss me. You’re not my type at all.”

  “Oh, really? It seemed to me that you enjoyed the way my mouth possessed yours.” He leaned in close to me. I found myself looking at his soft mouth.

  “The way our tongues mated. Did you like the way I nibbled on your lips?” He was so close I could feel his sweet breath caressing me. His lips parted slightly and the tip of his tongue came out and ever so lightly he ran it over my lips.

  Shivers raced along my spine and every nerve in my body lit up with the electricity. I forced myself to hold very still and shut my mind off to the sweet sensation.

  Cheve pulled back a little, and when I looked at him I was surprised to see a genuine smile light his face. “You did very well, Sensay! Why do we not say that was our first lesson and forget about what happened in the shower? That was excellent for a first try. Of course I was not giving it much, but still, very good.”

  I just stared at him as he got up and walked to the door. “Get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow.”

  With that he was gone. Well what the hell? I really didn’t know what to make of any of this. First my grandmother turns out to be my mother, and then I find out I’m going to be “trained” in the fine art of passion by a handsome, finely chiseled male.

  “Argh!” I screamed into my pillow as I tried to get comfortable on the bed. I was tired, but was unable to find any peace as thoughts of the day’s happenings raced through my mind. When I left Roberto--it was still difficult for me to even think about him--I thought I would find some semblance of peace. Ha!

  I lifted my head as Bullet came over to the side of the bed. I looked into his calming eyes and felt the tension leave my body as I began to relax. Bullet padded back over to his place in front of the stove and lay back down. I was drifting into the sweet place where sleep claims you when a vision of a sexy blond vampire came into my mind.

  Chapter 9

  Something was tickling my nose. I tried brushing it away but it kept coming back. Without opening my eyes I asked

  “Bullet, is that you? Get out of my bed you big bad wolf.”

  I rolled over and put the pillow over my head. My eyes snapped open when I felt a feathery light touch sweep up my legs and over my naked backside.

  “What the hell?” I shouted as I rolled onto my side.

  Since it was still dark all I heard was male laughter. “Cheve, what the hell do you think you’re doing sneaking in here in the middle of the night? You better get out before I tell my...Onatah.”

  Again there was that irritating male laughter “Go ahead.
Onatah is the one who sent me in to wake you up. In this village only the lazy sleep past 5:30 am.”

  “You’re kidding me it’s 5:30?” I groaned.

  “Actually it’s 5:45. We let you sleep in since it’s your first day. Get up and get dressed, quickly. We are going to begin your training this morning.” He stood and walked out.

  My training? I wondered if that meant more of his passionate kisses? I was beginning to get nervous. Grabbing some decidedly unappealing clothes I ran into the bathroom to get dressed for what I was sure was going to be yet another harrowing day in my life.

  I walked out into the cool morning air glad I had worn sweat pants and a hooded sweatshirt and sneakers. Let’s see if Mr. Kama Sutra would want to proceed with my lessons with me looking like Rocky Balboa!

  Cheve was talking with another man, but when he saw me he nodded to the man and walked over to me. He looked at my attire and I felt no small amount of satisfaction. My bubble was burst when he said, “Good…that is perfect for our run before breakfast.”

  “Run?” I asked stupidly. “What did you say about a run?”

  “We’re going for a run before breakfast.” He repeated slowly as if I were addled.

  “I heard you. I just thought that my training was going to be more like last….” I trailed off embarrassed.

  He leaned in close so that he was mere inches from my face. “Are you missing my kisses, Orenda? If you’d rather we go back to your bed, I can certainly oblige.”

  “NO! That’s not what I meant and you know it. I didn’t know there would be any other training that’s all.”

  “We have many types of training that we will be covering including strength and endurance in both mental and physical forms. By the time we are finished you will be a Sensay to be reckoned with.” He actually spoke those last words with a bit of awe.

  I rolled my eyes but said, “Which direction are we

  heading in?”

  Three hours later I was begging the Gods to kill me. My lungs burned, my legs ached and I was drenched in sweat.

  “I can’t do this anymore. Can I rest?” I panted while letting my body collapse to the ground.

  “We are almost back at the village, but I guess we can stop for a few minutes.” Cheve sat down next to me and offered me a bottle of water from his backpack.

  I took a long swallow of water. “Will we be doing this every morning?”

  “Yes. We will be doing a 5 mile run before breakfast. Then we will have 2 hours of self defense training, followed by some strength training, and after lunch we will have your mental training. We will work a few hours on controlling your reactions and a few on fine tuning your abilities. Then after dinner you will do some metaphysical training with Onatah followed by and hour of astral projection with me.”

  I stared at him. He had surely lost his mind and I told him so. “You’re nuts. How can I possibly do all of that in one day? I’m exhausted already.”

  “That is the point of training, Orenda. You will become stronger everyday. Today’s run took us three hours. In a month we will be able to cut that in half. In two months you will be able to do it in an hour.”

  I groaned. Two months of this training? I surely wouldn’t survive. I was never one to exercise much. I joined a gym, but like half the people in the world, I went only a few times. I went only at the beginning of the New Year when I would make a resolution to get in better shape. The only thing I had going for me was that I tended to eat right and there were days at the hospital that I used to work my butt off.

  “Time to get moving,” Cheve said as he stood and offered me his hand. I ignored his hand and pushed myself up.

  Cheve sighed but didn’t say anything. He turned and began jogging once more. I may be stuck with him as my trainer but that didn’t mean we had to be friends. I still think he’s kind of rough around the edges.

  We got back to the village 15 minutes later and Cheve said, “Go take a quick shower and meet me back here. We’ll go have breakfast with Onatah.” With that command he strode away.

  “Yes sir, right away sir.” I mumbled.

  Mark took that moment to stride around the corner. “Did you up and enlist this morning? Because if you have then I’ve got to tell you that I hope it wasn’t in the Navy. Not with your lack of swimming ability.”

  I stared at him with my mouth open. “Did you just make a joke Mark?”

  A small smile tugged at his mouth before he got all serious again. “Cheve and I talked this morning. He is a decent sort, Olivia. He asked me to help with your self defense training. He only wants to train you so you can survive the threat that being a Sensay carries.”

  We both were silent for a moment, thinking about the arrow that narrowly missed me only the day before.

  “Your right, Mark. I will be more receptive. It’s just that Cheve annoys me for some reason. But then again, all the men I’ve recently met are assholes.” I quickly added, “Present company excluded.”

  Mark nodded at me. He was back to his usual non talkative self. When he left I went in to shower and change before Cheve took it upon him self to come get me. When I was finished dressing in jeans and a t-shirt, I made my way to Onatah’s longhouse. Cheve was already there but stood when I entered.

  “Good morning,” I greeted Onatah. I ignored Cheve.

  “Good morning, Orenda. Did you sleep well?”

  “Yes, up until Cheve woke me up at an ungodly hour.”

  Onatah laughed. “You will get used to that, Orenda, and you will get used to the rigorous schedule we set for you. I know its difficult now but you will see the benefits soon.”

  I sighed. I really didn’t want to be difficult. I know everything they were doing was for my own good. “I truly understand, Onatah, and I apologize if it sounded like I was complaining.”

  Onatah smiled at me and Cheve just made a rude noise. That man was an ass. I decided I would work hard and show him that I could do this. With no complaining!

  After breakfast we met Mark and began my self defense training. It was more advanced than the previous training Mark and Andy gave me. Not only did we practice martial arts but I was given self defense manuals to study. They looked to be military but I didn’t question how they were acquired.

  Then my strength training began. This consisted mostly of upper body workouts. I thought he would have me lifting weights, but instead I found myself moving large rocks.

  I was actually happy to do this instead as I learned that this area was going to be cultivated to grow some crops next spring. After a few hours of the grueling work, Cheve came over to tell me it was lunch time. I thought we would be heading back to the village, but Cheve produced a sack lunch for the both of us. We ate in silence. When we were done Cheve stood and said “Let’s go walk by the water.”

  “Okay, maybe I can wash a bit of this grime off of me.”

  Cheve looked at me and said, “You are a bit dirty. I apologize. I should have allowed you to wash up a bit before we ate.”

  I accepted his apology with a nod since I felt awkward.

  We walked to the edge of the river and I knelt down, scooped up the cool water and splashed it on my face. It felt like heaven and I let out a long sigh.

  “That is the perfect place to start with your next set of lessons.” Cheve said as he knelt beside me.

  “Excuse me?”

  “With your delight in the touch of the cool water. I want you to do it again, though this time; picture each and every cell in your body as the water touches it. As you picture the cells, picture those cells reacting differently. Not being pleasured by the cool water. Picture those cells being burned by the water.”

  I looked at him with skepticism but decided to follow his instruction. I closed my eyes and instinctively began a slow in and out pattern of deep breaths. I went inside myself and saw cells moving along my blood stream alive and vital. I followed the cells that were moving towards my face. There they caused my face to flush with signs of good health. I
reached into the cool water, still concentrating on the millions of cells traveling through my body. As I brought my cupped hands full of the cool water slowly to my face, I began to feel the heat from the water and could actually feel the steam rising from it. I knew that if I splashed the water on my face it would scald me. I let out a small yelp and dumped the water out of my hands.

  “Why did you do that? It was going to scald me!”

  “No, it wasn’t. The water is cool. I knew you would stop before you actually let it go too far.”

  I was shaking a little bit “What would have happened if I didn’t stop?”

  He looked me in the eye, “You would have felt the pain of being burned.” I was beginning to get angry at him. He quickly added, “Think about what you just did Orenda, the awesome power of it.”

  My anger subsided somewhat when his words sank in. I had actually changed my thought patterns. I hade made the cold water into scalding water.

  “Ooh, cool”

  Cheve laughed “Yeah, cool indeed. And that is just the beginning of your abilities. You will learn to make pain turn into pleasure and pleasure turn into bliss. It is all in your control”

  We worked for a while longer on fine tuning my thought patterns and then we began to work on controlling some of my other abilities. Sight is pretty easy to control. Cheve showed me some techniques to use when focusing in on an object that is far away, so I wouldn’t get a headache. That was the worst side effect from having vision that could see seven times sharper than that of a normal human being.

  After practicing for a half hour, Cheve walked about 50 yards and held up a piece of paper and yelled for me to read it. I closed my eyes and slowly opened them to let my focus adjust and started to read loud enough for him to hear. “Cheve is the sexiest man I’ve ever met. Oh! You’re an ass!” I yelled back at him. I could hear his laughter loud and clear. The man was infuriating at times; however, when he jogged back towards me, I couldn’t help but give him a small smile when I saw the boyish grin on his face.

  “Okay, I will give you that one Cheve, but I won’t fall for that again.”