In Her Arms

by Gayle Keo

  “You can stay in the same room you were in last night,” Kyle said.

  “I think I’d feel better if I went to my own place.” Kyle’s shoulders slumped slightly at my comment, but he just nodded in response, helping me carry my bag to the door so I could drive home.

  “At least text me when you get home, okay?” Kyle said.

  I nodded and quickly backed out of his driveway and onto the street.

  *****

  The next morning, I still felt numb from the previous night’s confession. Vampires. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. Vampires were something of fantasy, not something to mess around with and date. Even with all the doubt swirling in my mind, I forced myself back into my car and over to Kyle’s again, pulling into his driveway unannounced around noon.

  He opened the door before I could even knock.

  “Sorry. I heard you pull in the drive,” he said sheepishly. “Come in.”

  “Do I have to say that to you? To let you into my house, I mean,” I asked immediately. Kyle looked taken aback by my sudden questioning, but answered anyway.

  “Yeah. Any vampires have to be invited inside private residences. If it’s a business, it’s different. Hotels aren’t the same.”

  Ellen stood in the living room doorway, smiling as she saw me walk in.

  “Hey,” she said quietly. I could tell they were being more cautious with their words and actions after how I acted the night before.

  “Can you blame me, though?” I asked, finishing my thoughts out loud. “You guys told me you were vampires, for fuck’s sake.” My voice felt like I was shouting, but it was just because of how quietly the others were speaking.

  “Whatever you need to do, we’re fine with it,” Kyle said. He rested a hand on my lower back and I stiffened for just a second. Part of me remembered he was still the Kyle I knew in college, but another part of me knew he was deadly. He let out a quiet sigh of disappointment when he felt my body go rigid, but led me to the sofa so they could explain everything to me.

  “Is there anything you want to know?” Ellen asked cautiously.

  I just shrugged. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to ask,” I replied.

  “What were your questions?” I asked Kyle.

  “Do you want me to ask them or answer them?” he laughed quietly.

  “Answer them.”

  “We drink wine to curb the cravings.” That comment made me shudder slightly. Cravings just sounded dirty. “It’s not like smoking or alcoholism. We can control our cravings. It’s more like chocolate. You know how sometimes you could just really use a chocolate bar?”

  I nodded, a small smile breaking past my lips. “It’s like that. We do need it to survive and we can drink blood more than once a day, but we only really need it once or twice a month.” He paused to think of what else I might want to know.

  “We can’t read your minds and we don’t sparkle in the sun,” Ellen continued for him, snapping my attention back to her. “We would burn in the sun but there are certain gems and stones that keep that from happening. That’s why Kyle and I always wear these rings.” She held her hand out to show me a light blue ring on her middle finger. “It acts like a sort of barrier. Like I said with most things, though, I have no idea how it worked. The woman who turned me just handed me this and left.”

  “Most of what we tell you is from personal experience,” Kyle added with a smile. Something about his smile comforted me, and I found myself grinning with him.

  “Oh!” Ellen exclaimed. “Don’t worry about your period. We need blood from the vein.”

  I laughed at her comment and turned to see Kyle grimace.

  “You know how Kyle said blood is like chocolate? That’s blood from here,” she said, touching my neck, “or here,” touching my wrist. “Blood from down here,” she continued, resting her hand at the very top of my thigh, “tastes more like raw broccoli.”

  “Oh my God,” I laughed, unable to contain myself any longer. “Don’t worry about that. I’m still on birth control so I only get it once a year.” She seemed surprised at my comment, but it really wasn’t a big deal. “I don’t want any bad dates accidentally knocking me up. Especially not at thirty-six.”

  There was a moment of comfortable silence between the three of us. I was letting the new information sink in, but now it started to feel more normal, if a thing like that can ever be said about vampirism.

  “Are you okay?” Kyle asked. “Because if you want more time, we want you to be comfortable.”

  I let out a loud sigh. “I think I’m okay for now. Let’s just go about things as usual and we’ll see how this all plays out, okay?”

  They both nodded and our day went on like a usual weekend. They both had school in the morning, so I wasn’t sure if I’d be staying overnight – though I did pack another overnight bag just in case – but I knew I could stay and lounge with them all day.

  “Are you staying tonight?” I asked Ellen as the clock hit eight.

  “No, I should probably head home. I still have a few papers to grade before class tomorrow and I’ll need a full night’s sleep for my class,” she laughed.

  “You’re welcome to stay if you’d like,” Kyle added, so I knew Ellen leaving didn’t mean I had to as well.

  “Okay.” I looked up at him and smiled. I liked Ellen too, but I’d rather spend my first night with a vampire with Kyle since I knew him so well. Once he sort of ‘broke me in’, I’d be fine around Ellen every night.

  “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” Ellen smirked as she walked out the front door. “See you both later!”

  Kyle and I sat in silence for a minute, letting the show on television break the tension. Even after the news of him being a vampire, I still felt comfortable just sitting beside him. Spending the day with him and Ellen helped me grow more comfortable with the whole vampire thing, but I knew I’d still feel a little uneasy around Ellen. Knowing Kyle for as long as I did – and at the age I first met him – helped me relax.

  “Do you want me to make you any dinner?” he asked. “I don’t have to eat real food but I do have some to snack on.”

  “How does the food thing work?” I asked, following him into the kitchen. “If you don’t have to eat but you only need blood a couple times a month, how do you survive?”

  He shrugged and opened his fridge. “I wish I knew. Sometimes I do get genuinely hungry and food can curb cravings a little bit, but I don’t need it like I did as a human.”

  “That’s so weird,” I whispered. Kyle laughed quietly at my comment. “So do you have super hearing and super speed like in movies?” Ugh, I sounded like a teenage fangirl.

  “Yeah, actually. Well, super speed isn’t very ‘super’. It’s just faster than normal. I’m probably about as fast as Usain Bolt. The hearing, though. That’s pretty intense. Like right now, I can hear your heart beating clear as day. I have to focus on it to actually hear it, but it’s still there.”

  I felt my heart start to beat a little faster at his comment, but I couldn’t make it slow down at all. He quirked an eyebrow at me once he heard the rhythm speed up, but quickly turned back to making me some sort of taco dinner.

  I asked Kyle a few more questions while I ate my food. He sat and answered, occasionally grabbing little bits of cheese and lettuce that fell from the taco shell and eating them anyway.

  “Okay. This is hard for me to ask so bear with me if I change the subject a couple times,” I said with a light giggle. My heart started beating out of my chest and my mind was already racing at what I was going to ask. I hadn’t even fully comprehended everything they told me, so I surprised myself with the words that left my mouth. “Tonight…will you – oh, God, I hate using this phrase. It just bothers me a little bit, you know?”

  Kyle just smiled and nodded even though he had no idea what phrase I was talking about. Damn, he’s good at listening, I thought to myself. “Will you…drink from me?” I finally mustered the courage to ask.

  Kyle’
s eyes grew wide at my question. “I…I mean, are you sure? You don’t have to jump into it that quick. You can take some time to really get used to it.”

  I shrugged. “This is the only thing that’ll be different, right? I mean, you don’t burn in the sun or sleep in a coffin. So the only thing I’ll need to get used to is…your diet.” I cringed at my final word. It still didn’t feel right talking about people and blood like food, but I doubted it ever would.

  “That’s true,” Kyle nodded. “If you want to, that’s fine. It has been a couple weeks.”

  I swallowed hard at the next question I was going to ask. The worst part of all of this is asking questions, I thought. “How do you and Ellen usually ‘eat’?”

  “Ellen volunteers at a blood bank. Sometimes she snags a couple extra blood bags. They last a couple months so no one really notices.”

  “I thought you needed blood from the vein?”

  “We do, just not directly. We can drink from a bag the same way we would drink from a human.”

  With those heightened senses of his, I know he can hear my heart rate pick up a bit at his words.

  “It’s been years since either of us has drunk from a human. We’ve been on bags for at least twenty, maybe thirty years.” Longer than I had known him. Something about that was comforting to me.

  “That’s enough vampire talk for now,” I decided. “Let’s just go back to having a normal night of watching movies and talking and stuff, and we’ll see how things go later, okay?”

  Kyle nodded and followed me back into the living room, picking up where we left off with one of his favorite Disney movies.

  *****

  As ten o’clock rolled around, Kyle stretched and relaxed back on the couch. “I should probably go to bed soon. I have to be up at six thirty,” he yawned. “You have to be up early too. Doesn’t the store open at nine?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll just wake up when you do. It takes me a little longer to get ready anyway.”

  “You’re welcome to stay here on your own until you need to go. I obviously trust you with quite a bit. My house and belongings aren’t nearly as important as, you know, my life,” he laughed.

  “And because of that, I trust you,” I smiled. “I will be honest, though. I don’t think I would feel the same about Ellen. I mean, just if she and I were in this situation instead. I’d just rather spend the night with you first.”

  I hadn’t kissed Kyle yet, so my heart started to speed up as he moved in closer. Just before his lips could touch mine, he paused and smiled at me. “I can hear your heart going crazy right now.” I rolled my eyes at the confidence I unintentionally gave him and closed the space between us.

  His kiss was more demanding than Ellen, but it felt more intense, more passionate. I’d imagine our history has something to do with it, but my mind was on far more than the past. Kyle’s tongue brushed against my lips and allowed him into my mouth, wrestling his tongue for dominance in the kiss. Needless to say, I was more than willing to let him take control. I let my hands slide up his arms to wrap them around his neck, slinging a leg over him to straddle his waist. He leaned back against the couch and rested his hands low on my back, just above my butt.

  I started grinding my hips on his, and the low groan that rumbled through his chest let me know he liked it. I smirked against his lips, moving my hips harder and rougher as I felt him harden with each movement.

  “Vampires still like sex, huh?” I smirked breathlessly.

  “Yeah,” he laughed. “We can’t have kids but it’s still a good time.”

  I pulled back from his lips and stared at him for a second, my arms still resting behind his neck. “Can vampires get…diseases?” I asked hesitantly.

  He looked at me with confusion. “No?”

  I smirked at him and rolled my hips against his once more. “So what you’re saying is you can’t get any diseases and you can’t get anyone pregnant…” I trailed off. The smirk from my lips slowly moved to his when he realized what I was implying.

  “Shall we go upstairs?” he said. I didn’t even need to verbally respond. He picked me up effortlessly and moved upstairs with astounding speed. I hadn’t seen his bedroom yet, but I didn’t get a very good look anyway. He dropped me onto the plush bed and held himself above me, quickly pressing his lips back to mine. This time, one hand rested on my hips and one trailed under my shirt to brush against my breast. I quietly moaned at the feeling of his touch on me and bucked my hips up so he knew what I was wanting.

  He gently bit my bottom lip, not enough to break skin just yet, and pushed his hand higher until my shirt came off my shoulders. Without a second to waste, he reached behind my back and unclasped my bra to join my shirt on the floor. More time of touching, kissing, and everything in between meant in less than five minutes, we were both completely bare on top of each other.

  “I can’t say I’ve never thought of this before,” I smiled up at him.

  “I can’t either,” he smirked in response.

  His lips were on my neck, leaving hickeys and keeping his teeth covered from breaking skin – at least, for now. His hand trailed down my torso, brushing against my breasts again and down my stomach before stopping at my heat. I moaned quietly and pushed my hips towards his hand to let him know I wanted more.

  He lightly chuckled against my neck, grazing his teeth over my skin before looking me in the eyes. One finger rubbed against my clit, making me squirm beneath him. It didn’t take much for him as he positioned himself at my entrance and pushed inside. Every inch of him gradually filled me until he was as deep as he could go. Both of us moaned out at the feeling before he started moving, slowly at first. As his pace picked up, so did my heart beats. My breathing picked up and before I knew it, his lips were on my neck again.

  “Please,” I begged breathlessly. “Kyle, please.”

  The graze of his fangs on my skin sent a shiver down my spine. His hips started slapping against mine, pulling my attention from my neck as he sank his fangs into my neck. The sharp sting only lasted a second and in the blink of an eye, my body was going through a completely different sense of adrenaline. I was used to the feeling of men inside of me, but the rush of blood being pulled from my veins was new. I felt dizzy at the overwhelming euphoria consuming my body. Kyle’s hips faltered against mine and I knew both of us were close. With one hand holding my neck, the other moved down my body and massaged quick circles on my clit. In just a second, my body started twitching and shaking with my orgasm, quickly chased by Kyle’s own. He pulled off my neck with a sucking sound, running his tongue over the little holes on my neck.

  “That…was amazing,” I giggled.

  “I’ll be honest,” he said, pulling out and falling onto the bed beside me, “I’ve never drank and had sex at the same time.”

  “What’s the verdict?” I asked.

  He turned his head to look at me and smirked. “Same as yours: amazing.”

  I sighed in contentment as my body was overcome with fatigue. “Should I wear a scarf tomorrow?” My words were coming out sort of slurred, from both how tired I felt and how lightheaded I was from the blood loss.

  “No. They should be healed by morning. It’ll just be a light pink mark, like you scratched your neck.”

  “Okay,” I murmured, curling into myself and letting myself fall asleep, Kyle’s arms quickly consuming my small frame.

  *****

  During the week, Kyle, Ellen and I didn’t meet up. It was a little difficult to do with two members of the relationship having to wake up early every morning for classes. I texted both of them throughout the week though, both privately and in our group chat, and had a couple inappropriate photos sent with Ellen. Kyle and I hadn’t told her about what happened between us that first night, but since Kyle and I were technically in a relationship, we didn’t feel it was necessary.

  All of our weekend escapades happened at Kyle’s place. None of us spoke the unintended rule, but we all knew if we were going to spend a w
eekend together, it would happen at Kyle’s. For Ellen and me, it was a little awkward. The three of us hadn’t done anything together. Ellen and I would sometimes sneak off to her designated room, or she’d be stuck in her room while I spent time with Kyle.

  One of our weekends, I decided to see if the other two would be down to try something I’d been thinking of since they first asked me about the relationship.

  None of our dates ever involved going out to eat, mostly because Kyle and Ellen never really needed anything on the menu, just someone sitting at the table with them. When they chose to take me to a movie and a simple walk through town, I felt my confidence in the question slowly start to fade as the night wore on. Granted, I was a little intoxicated when I initially had the idea, I figured I’d be able to maintain enough confidence to ask them. I mean, they both liked me, right? The only one who might not have the best time would be Ellen because she doesn’t feel anything sexual towards Kyle, but she was sweet enough to push that aside…right?

  When we finally got back to Kyle’s place, I was almost completely spent on whether or not I wanted to ask, but if I didn’t, I knew I’d just regret it later. All of us immediately headed upstairs, so I grabbed Ellen’s hand and pulled her into Kyle’s room with us.

  They both looked at me a little confused, probably just because we had never done anything, all three of us.

  “Hey Ellen,” I said sweetly, giving her the most over-the-top smile I could manage. “Will you do me a huge favor?”

  “Oh, God,” she mumbled, followed by a small laugh.

  “I know Kyle and I don’t have a problem with this because, well, he thinks we’re both hot and I think you’re both hot, but if you’ll ignore Kyle,” I was interrupted by Kyle shouting a short, ‘Hey!’, “can all three of us have a night together?”

  She pursed her lips as she thought about my question, but it wasn’t that hard of a decision. In an effort to get my way, I batted my eyes at her and added, “You can both drink from me the entire time. Well, not the entire time because I’d die, but any time this is going on, you both get full access.”