Such was the risk and the burden of their lot. He would spare Grace this night, however, and he said now, “Come, Grace. He’s fine. He will awaken in the morning no more the worse for wear. He’s killing himself so quickly with crack that he probably won’t survive the month.” He handed her a cloth to wipe the red smears of human blood from her mouth and chin.
They walked slowly back to the main road. Traces of blood from their prey were effectively hidden against the black fabric of their clothing. Soon they found themselves back among the bright lights and hubbub of the French Quarter. Grace, now assured of the man’s recovery, had a queer light in her eyes. They were over-bright, as if with fever and she was talking very rapidly. Julian let her go on, remembering his own euphoria after his first real drink.
“The pain, Julian! My God! It’s gone. For the first time that I can remember, I’m not in pain! I feel so alive! So full of energy! I could lift a house! I could move a mountain! I could fly!” Running ahead of him, she turned back, twirling in her delight. Her laughter was like a cascade, tripping down a musical scale of pure glee. People passing smiled indulgently. Another drunk tourist making merry. There were hundreds like her every day of the week.
The sky was lightening, streaks of pink and gold spilling into the velvet indigo, sucking away the color. “Why aren’t I tired, Julian? It’s dawn and I feel as if I could run a race! Rule the world!”
Julian smiled, “It’s your first time. It’s not unlike your first sexual experience except that in your case, this was really a life-giving elixir. You’ve literally been starving yourself to death. You are like a desert flower, the kind that lie dormant for years before the torrential rains finally come and you bloom in all your splendid beauty. You are only just claiming your true heritage, my love. Who would want to sleep at a time like that!”
Grace nodded, thinking back to two days before, when he had left her at her door. Then she had slept, falling heavily onto her bed still fully clothed. She hadn’t been prepared for the utter fatigue that had dropped over her like a net once he’d left her. The sheer mental weight of the astounding revelations had left her weak and exhausted, so much so that she wasn’t yet able to savor the little bud of excitement, of potential, flowering within her.
Julian had been right to leave her alone and she had slept deeply, not noticing the hot sun rising steadily in the steamy heat or falling again into a golden, purple haze. When she had awoken at last, it was the old gnawing in her gut that interrupted dreamless sleep. Her mind roused more slowly, images of the handsome strange man mixing with the promise of blood. She, a vampire! Her parents, her real parents, must have been of the true kin, as he called them. The true kin, the sacred circle. She liked the ring of the words. She felt contented suddenly. Even though the mystery of her parentage was still a dark tangle, she was one of them. Grace, who had never fit in, was suddenly part of something, something sacred and infinite, a circle with no beginning and no end. For the first time, she felt she belonged somewhere.
Eventually she sat up and saw to her surprise that she must have slept the day away! Julian was waiting for her at his penthouse suite. How glamorous it all sounded. Would she call him today or wait a while longer? She got up slowly, stretching her long, thin limbs and shaking out her thick hair. Pulling off her old wrinkled things, she walked naked to her bathroom and started the shower, which quickly filled the little room with steam.
As she soaped her body, her hands cupped her breasts, gently pulling the little nipples erect as she thought of Julian. A hand slid down to her silky pussy and she sighed. No, she wouldn’t wait any longer. There was no point in pretending to either of them that anything was left to consider. She would call him just as soon as she was out of the shower. And that is precisely what she had done.
Now as the dawn crept over her sill, they sat together in her small living room, with Grace making laughing apologies about the state of her household. Books were piled on the coffee table in front of the low-slung modern couch and a stack of magazines was on the floor next to it. Bookshelves lined the walls, crammed with scholarly tomes mixed in among well-thumbed paperbacks. The place was clean but definitely cluttered.
“This is the home of someone who spends a lot of time alone,” Julian remarked. Grace flushed slightly but nodded. “Please, sit down. I’ll bring you something to drink.” She gestured toward the couch, and Julian sank down gracefully. Grace’s mouth felt dry, and she realized she was nervous, not certain what to expect now that they were at last alone in her apartment.
Still standing she answered, “It’s true. I’ve never had a lot of friends. Even my friend Regan—I mean, she’s good for a few laughs or diversion, but I’ve never been able to connect with anyone. Not in a meaningful way. I mean—” she flushed a little as she realized what she was about to admit but decided to plunge on, “—I’ve been with lots of guys but it never really meant anything, you know? It was almost like I was scratching an itch when really it was something so much deeper I was searching for. I’ve even had two serious relationships, but in the end it was only about the sex. Maybe in the beginning, too.” She grinned but then continued more seriously. “I like sex. Sometimes it’s almost like a distraction. I mean, from the pain.” She stopped, her eyes pleading for understanding.
Julian continued her thought for her. “The pain of longing. Because you have never, until tonight, been fulfilled. Never had the blood your body has craved. And so you used sex as a way to try and deflect that pain. To ease it for just that moment in time.”
“You do understand,” Grace breathed.
“Of course. I do the same thing. Though I have recourse, because I understood what I was, while you, my poor darling, have had to suffer alone without understanding. How brave you are!”
Grace looked embarrassed but pleased. She said, “I don’t feel brave. I mean, I always just felt strange. Lonely. People say I’m aloof, standoffish. I don’t mean to be.”
“Please,” Julian interrupted, “You needn’t explain to me. A vampire’s life is usually a lonely one. It was especially hard for you, not knowing the cause. Knowing you were different but not knowing why or how.”
“Stop,” Grace pleaded. “You’re going to make me cry again, and I don’t want to cry! I feel so happy! For the first time, Julian. Truly happy.” She sat next to him, though not close enough to touch. He leaned toward her, his strong thigh touching hers. Grace moved away abruptly, and said a little too brightly, “That drink! I promised you a drink. What would you like? A bit of white wine, perhaps? Or since it’s practically morning, some orange juice?”
Julian touched Grace’s arm and said, “Nothing, Grace. I don’t want a drink. Not of your wine or juice, at any rate. Relax. Sit here a moment next to me. You’ve had a long night, my dear.” Grace sat back, though her back was rigid, her thighs pressed together.
Julian touched her arm softly. She felt so fragile. He could break her if he wished. He could take her by force and plunder that sweet softness. Bite into perfect flesh as he fucked her. A double rape. Delicious and all encompassing. Of course, he could do that. But of course, he would not.
It had been so long since he’d found another of the true kin, and one with whom he felt such an instant and deep rapport. He could see that she was frightened. That she wanted to trust him but didn’t yet, not fully. So much had happened in so short a time. Like a schoolboy he had stayed in his rooms, willing the telephone to ring, resisting his own impulse to go back to her, to break the useless little locks on her door and take what was his.
But he knew patience, even if he didn’t like it. Let her sleep, what was another day, another week? He realized that he was refusing to even entertain the notion that she wouldn’t call. That she would refuse what he offered, deny what she was. No, he had felt her desire, her longing for connection on so many levels, even though she wasn’t yet ready to accept it. There was so much more to gain by giving her the time she needed to come to it on her own.
; And when that call had come—really only fourteen hours after he had first left her, how his silly heart had soared! He’d had to laugh at himself, recalling that fresh love made one stupid. How long had it been since he’d permitted himself the indignity of longing? Ah, but this wasn’t about permission and he knew it. She had wrapped herself around his heart the minute that door on Charles Street had been opened and he’d seen her face, shining with uncertain and desperate recognition.
He looked at her now, tenderly touching her hand. Had he been wise to give her that first taste of blood so soon? Yes, it was clear she was wasting away. An adult vampire who had never properly slaked her blood-thirst. He must feed her regularly now, and teach her to catch her own prey. In some ways, Grace was like a child. His foundling, just learning the mysteries of her birthright. But as he gazed now at the tempting curve of her high, round breast against the soft cotton of her T-shirt he admitted to himself that she was no child. She was a woman. A woman of his own kind.
Julian licked his lips and shifted a little on the couch. He could feel his erection press its way against his leg, begging for attention. He put his arm around the girl, letting his hand drop so that his fingers grazed the hollow at her collarbone. Grace shivered a little and leaned sweetly against him.
“You smell so good!” she sighed. And then, as if remembering something, “Say, you were there, weren’t you? At the Vampire Coven Ball, a couple of weeks back! I smelled your scent, but I didn’t know what I was smelling. I only knew I wanted to find the source.”
“I was, indeed. And I sensed you as well. But when I went in search of you, you had disappeared.”
Grace sighed. “Oh, yes, that’s me. I rarely stay for anything. Party pooper extraordinaire,” she laughed ruefully.
“Well, you stayed long enough to get an invitation from that pompous, silly fellow, Robert. So whatever you did, fate intervened and here we are.”
“Yes, here we are.” She spoke lightly, though Julian felt her nervousness. Yet underneath it was her desire. He could feel that she was aroused by his scent, by his proximity, by his very being. And he found her beautiful. Even if she had not been a vampire, he admired her thick, lustrous red and gold hair, her fair silky skin, her clear blue-green eyes. She was tall and slender, too thin but he would help her heal, now that she had admitted to her true nature. Her skin was so pale, another mark of a vampire. Though vampires soaked themselves in human blood, it barely seemed to suffuse the skin, instead being absorbed as a life force within.
He leaned down, this time moving in to her until their lips met. He kissed her slowly, his tongue twirling against her soft lips, moving past them to her hot, wet, little mouth. He had wanted to go slowly, had meant to. Oh, but the entire evening and night of restraint! Of watching her take the blood but taking none himself, though his mouth had salivated while he watched, and his cock had pulsed with suppressed need. Of being so close to one of the true kin, one whom he could claim with a look if he wished. And yet, he had waited all these hours, because he knew she needed at least a little time to absorb so much.
Her whole life had been altered when he’d entered that old mansion on Charles Street. And surely his as well. Grabbing a handful of rich, thick hair, Julian bent Grace’s head back so he could kiss her more fully. She was trapped beneath him, her firm breasts mashing against his hard chest as he pulled her to him. He could feel her nipples harden and press against him, and his own cock snaked along his leg, painfully constrained in the soft denim of his pants.
“Jesus, I have to have you, Grace. I can’t wait another moment.”
Grace moaned and tried to protest, but her cries were lost in his kisses. “I know you’re afraid, my love. You have a right to be. But know you can trust me. I will not harm you. I will not give you more than you can receive, though it might feel that way at first. Trust me. I have chosen you.”
He stood, sweeping the young woman easily up into his arms. Her little sandals fell from her feet and he kicked them aside. His mouth found hers again, and they kissed passionately for another moment. Still carrying her, he walked back toward her little bedroom. He stood her next to her bed and commanded, “Take off those clothes. I must see you.”
Grace, her face flushed, her eyes bright with need, still hesitated. It was ironic, as she’d admitted freely to lying with many men before Julian, using them to ease her vampire longings. Yet, Julian knew, sensing it in her mind, that she was shy now precisely because this was not like all the other times. Tonight mattered. Tonight wasn’t just about sex as release or as a mask for other needs.
Tonight was about the potential for something new, something that mattered. Tonight was about love.
As Grace stood, wrapping her arms protectively around her thin torso, Julian smiled, the curve of his lips almost cruel. Dominant by nature, he was perversely aroused by her shyness. He would take what he wanted, whether or not she was willing to give it.
“I said strip, girl! Don’t just stand there like a virgin. You know you want it. You know I can see into your heart and your mind, and I know your true desires. You want me as you have never craved another person. This coyness is not necessary, my love. We know what we are and what we want.”
Grace blushed, but slowly began to obey, lifting the black shirt from her body, pulling it free over her head. Her breasts, high and proud, were barely covered by the little lace demi-bra she wore. Her ribs were etched just below the skin of her narrow torso. Her eyes on his, she unzipped her jeans and stepped out of them, kicking them aside. Again, she wrapped her arms about herself, looking very young and vulnerable before her potential lover.
“Drop your arms. I want to see your beauty.” His dark eyes locked on hers, and the spell he could cast so easily on human women worked on Grace as well. Slowly she dropped her slender arms to her sides. He could see the pulse of her pounding heart throbbing gently at her throat. He bit his own lower lip to keep from seizing her then and there. While he wanted her desperately, he didn’t want to rape her. He wanted her to want it as much as he did.
Quickly, he stripped off his own T-shirt, tossing it aside. He kicked off his sneakers as he stared at her with burning eyes. At the same time, he unbuttoned his jeans, the bulge of his cock clearly evident beneath. He saw her little pink tongue darting quickly over her lips. Her nipples were pale pink and distended against the silky fabric of her brassiere. As shy as she might be tonight, her desire for him was clear.
Her waist was long and narrow but the hips flared out in a womanly way. Her pelvic bones created a little hollow between themselves across which stretched her little lace panties. Julian moved close so that their bodies were almost touching. He slipped a strong hand into that little hollow, cupping her dark-auburn pubic curls. His fingers slipped between her legs, feeling the delicate labia of her sex. Grace gasped and stepped back, but Julian wrapped his other arm around her, forcing her to remain in front of him.
“You need this, Grace. You were born for me.” His voice was deep and soft as his fingers probed her hot pussy, pulling the moisture from her. Ah, she was wet but so tight! Like a little virgin, though she had said she’d been with many men before him.
In this era where virginity was no longer valued, there was still something to be said for it. For the delicious terror mixed with lust in a young girl’s eyes when you first pressed the head of your hard cock against her tight, little entrance. For the impossibly tight grip of muscles just learning their use, made tighter still by inexperience and fear. Julian thrust a finger into Grace’s cunt, and watched with pleasure and delight, as that same fear and arousal made itself plain on her face. And yet, she didn’t pull back, even when he loosened his grip on her shoulder.
The girl was a virgin in spirit! That much was clear. Julian’s penis was thrust up against his belly, fully erect. The smell of Grace’s desire wafted sweetly up to him, making him groan with lust.
Quickly he released his member from its denim and silk prison, pulling the underwear down
along with the pants, which he kicked aside, already forgotten as he focused on the beautiful, trembling woman before him.
“Grace, are you ready to submit to me?” Slowly she nodded, her eyes wide, the clear marine blue of an ocean. “Yes, I can see you are.” His eyes held hers as he silently entered her mind, giving her a direct order. She proceeded to obey, unhooking the clasps that held her breasts encased in lace. Still keeping her eyes on his, she bent slightly, drawing her panties down her lean thighs, past her slender ankles as she stepped lightly out of them.
She stood, no longer blushing but proud and straight as he approached her. She was firmly in his trance, but it was not only his doing. She wanted to be there, and now she leaned into him, wrapping her arms around him as he pressed his iron rod against her belly.
And even though she did want him, still her body was trembling. Slowly he lowered her to the bed, his hands gently pressing her shoulders until she lay on her back, her legs still over the edge of the bed, bare feet almost touching the floor. He knelt between her legs, pushing them apart with his body. For a moment, Grace resisted him, trying to close her thighs but he was too strong for her.
Then his tongue found the sweet folds below her dark-auburn triangle and she shuddered. His large hands were on either thigh, holding her open as he sent jolts of shivery pleasure coursing through her body. She tasted of heaven and he longed to pierce the flesh with his perfect teeth. He knew she wasn’t ready for that. Yet, the need was pulsing in his veins, making him moan with it as she, too, moaned in her pleasure.
He had only planned to make human love to her. She wasn’t ready to share the sacred blood of the true kin. She needed to get stronger first. But as Grace began to buck and surge against his mouth, Julian felt the pulse of his desire pounding in his brain. Lovely girl, so sexy as she orgasmed with shuddery sighs against him.
Sacred Circle Page 10