by C. L. Quinn
“These are trained and skilled professionals, you ass. They know what they are doing and are doing it. Don’t you have another rope to piss up?” This she said in English, then turned away.
Gauche Americans! He knew she spoke perfect French, and refused to do this with him. Just to make him clench his teeth and freeze his cock in the down and locked position. What Americans called a “ball-buster.” He snorted a laugh as he thought how he wouldn’t let her anywhere near his balls.
He waved his hand in the air. “Allez, allez!” he called out as she disappeared around a corner. Best be rid of her, back in her home country before he decided to use her for vampire bait. He smiled and turned away. Dinner, perhaps…drinks with a lovely young student who had been drafted to their team only recently. She’d been “thrilled” to work with the famous Doctor Armel Joubert. Yes, no reason to deny himself the pleasures of the flesh just because the one he wanted was half a globe away. That would change soon enough.
Lauren slammed down a pack of surveillance equipment a little too hard. Shit! She really needed to be more careful. That weasel…that rodent. She didn’t trust him…hadn’t from the first second he put his slimy little hand on her. There was something…dark …creepy. She couldn’t put her finger on it exactly, but she knew it was there. And since then, she’d learned way too much about what he really was. This project had seemed important…she’d thought they were accomplishing something here. She hated the methods, although she tried to understood why they used them, but he…he smiled when they hurt the subject…she’d seen him do it. Lauren thought Armel Joubert was more monster than the vampire. It was a good thing she was leaving France tonight. She did not intend to come back. She was a research geneticist…would not remain complicit with Joubert’s work anymore. She was done.
It was a gorgeous sunset. Cherise sat wrapped up in a light fleece robe and nothing else, the cool night air pleasant and not cold, watching the cerulean blue in the sky submit to brilliant vermillion and then fade to black. She did not move. Maybe if she stayed right here with a hot cup of coffee heavily infused with sugar and vanilla, let the wind chimes and star-studded night sky remind her of how beautiful the world was, then it would all be alright again. There would be no vampire in desperate need of rescue that she was halfway bonded to. There’d be no tenacious need to have him inside her. There’d be no messages from home in France that she had to come back and live her birthright. Just simple beauty and an evening off. A few amusing television shows, cats and skunks to feed, and a box of chocolate chip ice cream waiting for her spoon.
Of course not. The vampire was preparing to leave, permanently, and she had to go stop him. She had to do the one thing she thought she would never do…ask a vampire to stay with her. But this one…this one would die without her. So, in that way, she was attending to her duties as a bridge between the races. An empath and seer, who now knew, without doubt, she would always do her duty. It wasn’t just that it was innate, her heart would not let her abandon someone in need. She’d journeyed halfway around this big world to find out that she could never journey far enough. Well, okay, then. David Patric…uh… Kav…needed her like no one else she’d ever known…and it seemed she needed him, too. It would be an interesting month.
A black cat crawled into her lap and she cradled it in. “Just a few moments, bête. Maman has to go save a vampire. You know, one with teeth like you.” She paused, and sighed. “And the most amazing derriere. No, no, ma petite chat, not as good as yours, of course. But magnifique aussi. I wish it were not so, but…oh, it is.” She realized her English was suffering more since he came to town, even though he had almost no accent himself and rarely used French words. He was undoing her hard won, peaceful life, one day at a time.
So. It was dark now and he would be up. It was time to go. She gently sat the cat on the ground and unfurled her legs, slowly making her way back to the cabin. Dressing quickly, snagging her loose curls into a clip, she drove out to the mansion.
The moon was beginning to wane now, still nearly full, still bright, and cast long complicated shadows on the lawn and house. No lights were on, that she could see, and when she knocked on the door, no one answered. She lowered her head and closed her eyes, concentrated. Yes, he was there. Basement, probably. When she tried the door, it wasn’t locked, so she went into the darkened interior. Enough moonlight slipped through the large windows and showed her a monochrome path to a door that obviously led down. It was open and she heard some rustling down there, so she quietly stepped to the point where she could see around the stairwell. A weak light illuminated him, his back to her as she came on down to the basement floor. He didn’t turn around and it was a good thing. He was naked, wet, his hair dripping. Must have just come from the shower. He knew she was there.
“What are you doing here?” he asked, continuing what he was doing, hidden behind his large body.
“I…” Cherise shook her head. God, was she distracted. “Um…we need to talk.”
“We’ve said everything, “ he told her. And then turned around.
Yeah, he was as magnificent as she knew he would be. Perfect. Except for some severe scarring on his chest and legs that begged for explanation. Vampires healed from wounds like that. His chest was wide, and every inch of him muscled and beautifully defined. He’d been thin when he first came to her, but her blood had brought him back to health quickly. The mass quantities of calories had done the rest.
He was stunning. Cherise could only stare and let her mind wander, unbidden, to what it would feel like to have that body covering hers. She had no idea how long she stood there mesmerized when he spoke again, more forcefully.
“Mademoiselle, there is nothing to say. You are right. I’ve interfered in your life and that is not right. I’ll be gone tonight. So, thank you for everything. You may go home.”
“I cannot let you leave, Kav. You must get well again, and that cannot happen without my help. So, leaving is not an option.”
“Oh, it is, my little blood donor. Anyway, I’ll be fine. I’m sure I’ve been alive a long time, so I doubt I’ll die any time soon.”
Against her better judgment, Cherise stepped closer. Her temperature went up twenty degrees, but she had to make him understand.
“That isn’t true. I see your spirit, your soul. There is something you do not know. You are not just a vampire. You are a first.”
She watched him to see if that meant anything to him. It didn’t. He just stood there in all his natural glory and looked at her expectedly.
“You are…” Cherise looked away and sighed. “Could you put some clothes on? Pants, at least?”
“Why?”
She looked back at him, directly in the eyes. “Alright. I’ll take all of my clothes off, too, and we’ll see how long we can carry on a conversation then.”
Her eyes dropped to what had already been a partial erection and saw him harden further at the image of her naked right there right now. He huffed, palmed his impressive cock, and turned away. The loose fitting sweat pants he donned didn’t help much…they tented as a reminder he was fully ready for her.
“This needs to go upstairs. Please follow me,” she said tersely, but thought, before I rip those godawful pants off your magnificent body and mount you.
He was smiling as he followed her up the steep stairs. She had to know it was as torturous for him as it was for her. More so, because his mind and body were well aware that if he took her now, it would be for the first and last time. A single act of perfection he would have to live with forever. And he knew it would be worth it. Except that he remembered her saying she would be bound to him and that it would be very bad for her. He wouldn’t hurt her for the world. It was why he was leaving. He just wished she hadn’t shown up here. This made it harder for both of them.
God, she was even lovelier in moonlight. And she smelled good enough to eat. Which led him again to what he wanted to do to her, but couldn’t. He sat down on the sofa. He was sorry to see her
nervous. She went to the window.
“Tell me what you mean by I’m not just a vampire.”
She turned then, walked over and sat beside him. God, he smelled good. She shook some sense into her head, once again distracted by his presence.
“Kav. All vampires are made from other vampires. A virus, a vampire genome that completely rewrites human DNA to make someone vampire. Do you remember that?”
“I think I do. It’s very painful…the conversion from human to vampire.”
“It is. Well, that blood borne virus…it came originally from any one of only twelve known vampires who have been here for all of mankind’s history. Longer, actually. They are very powerful and very private. Almost no one knows that they exist and they keep it that way for a reason. You, Kav, are David Patric, one of those very rare, very powerful vampires. And your life force is what keeps you alive, holds your power and who you are. It is damaged…deeply. You cannot survive without it. One of your own kind may be able to help you, but there are none on this continent right now. The one who would have helped the most…she…died last year. So…vampire, I am your only hope.”
He stared at her. He was even more powerful than most vampires? It seemed ridiculous. He could barely keep himself together at times. No way he was some mythic super powerful original vampire. Although he was sure she was mistaken, he would have loved to have been that for her. He could come to her clean and healthy…worthy.
He just smiled. It wouldn’t matter anyway. He would be leaving.
Cherise shook her head.
“You don’t believe me. Here, I will show you.” She knelt before him, her eyes soft, pale blues locked on deep browns. She brought her hand to his chest, held it still near his heart, and closed her eyes. He sat for a moment wondering what she was doing when he felt her…inside…his mind, his soul…reaching for…what? Then he felt dizzy, the world spun, his vision blurred…he reached for her and held her in case she felt the same. He supported her, he supported himself with her…and then the world righted again. His hands were still tight on her slim body, wrapped around her waist like a life preserver. As his vision and balance returned, he realized she was holding him too. She sighed.
“That was even more intense that I expected.” She drew a deep breath. “Okay…”
“What was that?” He asked.
“I had to access this for you,” she answered, and touched his chest again. A medallion on a delicately crafted chain suddenly appeared around his neck, glowing slightly. Kav pushed back against the sofa.
“What the fuck…?”
Cherise got off her knees and came onto the sofa beside him, her hands splayed against his chest.
“It’s okay, it’s a part of you. It’s always there. Kav, this is called a spirit amulet. All of the firsts have it. It is merged with you, a part of you for all of your life. Your power is amplified…is channeled with it…through it. You are completely disconnected. It is why you have been alone in all this…your exceptional abilities have been inaccessible. Now, we will work on bringing them back. Now, we will make you well. And God help those who hurt you. Once you have your strength back, you will know who they are, what they did, and you will know how to find them.”
“But you said it would hurt you to help me.”
“It will not be easy. It will be painful for you…you will have to relive much of the bad things. I will have to journey with you. It will be painful for me only in that I will have to see and feel what you went through…” She paused before she said the next, “But…I care about you, and it will be painful for me to see you hurt. My actual pain…that would only come if I allowed us to bond. I cannot do that, but I think you understand.”
He understood. She said she “cared” for him, like she might a child or a puppy. Not with the scorching need he felt for her. No. He couldn’t open himself up to her like that. She would see, would know, how much he needed her. He had a drop of pride left…and couldn’t bear her to look at him with pity of his unrequited love. He didn’t remember a lot of things, but he remembered how much it hurt to love and not be loved in return. He couldn’t bear it from her.
With a curt nod of his head, he agreed he would stay and work with her. But he’d be gone, just as he planned, before the night ended.
She’d done something to him. He could feel it. Something moved through his body as if it were alive…it spoke to him in a voice older than time itself…ancient, rich, powerful…and he knew now…
She was right. He was something different. Suddenly, an intense tiredness struck him. His eyes rolled back and he couldn’t help but let his eyelids drop. They stayed there. When he was finally able to open them some time later, he didn’t know how much, she was there, on the floor again, his hands in hers, her eyes searching his face.
“David…” She said softly, pronouncing it Dah-veed. He tried to look at her, but his eyes fought him.
“I…I can’t keep my eyes open. What’s wrong with me…”
“You are reconnecting to your spirit, your power. It will be a little like a vampire conversion. You will sleep the rest of the night, I think.”
No, no, he wanted to be gone… Away…far…away… He lost consciousness.
Kav woke abruptly. He sat up quickly, a dim light in the corner let him know he was in his own bed in the mansion’s basement. A light sheet was pulled halfway up, but he’d thrown it off sometime while he slept. When he glanced around he noticed a figure in the bed beside him, curled up small, sleeping soundly. Cherise. He rolled over and stared at her. A dream, having her beside him in sleep. She was fully clothed, that hadn’t been part of the dream…but close enough. His eyes seemed even sharper in the dim light than before. He noticed every nuance of her appearance, her sounds, her movements. She was perfect. Well, to him. For him. If he hadn’t gone through whatever he needed to heal from, if he had been whole, he would have taken her and never let her talk herself out of it. She would be his.
But he couldn’t come to her as anything but a broken, incomplete man. He wouldn’t be good for her. And that was the end of it. Not able to stop himself, he ran his fingers along her cheek. She moaned sensuously and rolled toward him, then stretched a leg out and threw it over his bare one. Contact, skin to skin…it was an instant reaction. He could feel his body stiffen, especially a certain part, and lay unmoving while he decided whether to take the high road or the low one. It took a few warring moments, but he reminded himself…he was leaving. He couldn’t start anything with her at all. She didn’t deserved to be left behind in the wreck of all this. But… He leaned in and left a soft kiss on her forehead…she moaned again and smiled in her sleep. He hoped someone truly wonderful would be there for her someday. That, she deserved.
Rolling with ease, Kav slipped from the bed. Damn, he felt good. Whatever she’d done for him had been incredible. All the fogginess, the aches, the stiffness, was gone. He expected…he knew, he would improve each day. His memory was still absent on any details from his past except for brief glimpses that were often gone almost as soon as he saw them. It would have to be enough. He stood and pulled on his jeans, which seemed tighter overnight. One glance in the mirror clued him in there…he was much larger than he was yesterday, all over…chest, arms, legs, neck. Even for a vampire, he realized he was big. A seriously huge motherfucker. He slipped the jeans down a little more. Rolled his eyes. Yep, bigger all over. Nice.
Well, it wouldn’t help to pack much of what he already had in clothes. They no longer fit. So he looked at his little pack and grinned. One of the most powerful beings on the planet and he owned exactly a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a small variety of purloined clothing items that no longer fit. Nothing to worry about now. He slipped the toothbrush in his pocket and started out of the house. He’d cleared the mansion, made it to the road, was preparing to shift to vampire speed, when he heard her voice.
“Well. You sleep with a girl and you leave without even a note? Shame on you, vampire.” She was standing on the huge wr
ap-around porch, her arms crossed.
They stared at each other across the distance.
“You looked so perfect. I wouldn’t have disturbed you.”
“You disturb me anyway.”
“You would have known I was gone. You would have known why.”
“Let’s pretend I’d have let you go. Where were you heading?”
“No idea. Doesn’t matter. Anywhere not here.”
“You don’t believe you need me?”
“Oh, I know I need you. I know I can’t have you.”
“Not that way. I’m sorry. But you have to let me take you back and bring you home. David…”
“No. Kav, please. I am not that man anymore, the one you call David Patric.”
Cherise nodded. “That is true enough. Okay. Kav. You must stay.”
He vampire-speeded over to her so quickly she did not see him move. She used to be accustomed to that, but now…it left her breathless. Or was it that he pulled her into his arms?
“If I stay, this is what will happen.” He held her so close she was sure they would bond right there. His penis pressed against her, seeking entry that she could not allow. Could she? He didn’t let her complete a thought. His tongue slipped between her lips and played aggressively, making love to almost as effectively as if he’d dropped his pants, and hers, and let his seeking manhood have what it wanted. She held on and battled furiously with him, kissing him back so intensely, they both fell backward onto the hard wood. It didn’t stop them, he just gathered her tighter and slid his hands beneath her shirt. Ahhh…no bra, just beautiful round globes that begged for his tongue and teeth. He didn’t remember his previous sexual encounters, but he knew he was good at this. If this continued, there would be no stopping either of them. Unbidden, her voice from a recent memory interrupted…I will bond with you and it will be bad…
Kav pushed her back and stood up, pulling her with him. They were both breathing hard and barely dressed. Her shirt slid back down and he was grateful. Taking her face in his hands, he looked into her crystalline eyes. He knew they could see into his soul if he let them.