He smiled faintly and my heart started beating faster. “That is one of the names I have used over the years. You may call me Vlad if you wish. It is a name I have used many times.”
“You must have liked it. Was that your real name?”
“It might have been, but that was many lifetimes ago.”
I leaned over him and caressed his face as I tried to commit to memory every curve and line of the countenance I had waited so many years to see.
“Look at me,” I whispered.
“That would not be wise. I would prefer to have your permission for what would happen if I looked too long into your eyes.”
“That’s right, you can’t control yourself yet, can you? You said earlier I had haunted your visions. What did you mean?”
“I have dreamed of you.” He sighed and I felt warm hands caress my arms, but he hadn’t moved.
“I’ve dreamed of you too.” As I whispered this, his eyes opened.
Chapter Nine
The door closed loudly and I jumped. Luther came back in, soaked through from the rain.
“So, what are we going to do with him?”
Obviously, none of the things I had in mind were appropriate.
“I say we strip him naked and throw him in a cold shower, that’ll sober him up,” Luther suggested.
If seeing him fully dressed had me aching for more I knew I could never handle the sight of him naked. “At least leave his pants on. We do need to question him, but it seems wrong to take advantage of him.”
Luther laughed. “I wasn’t suggesting that we rape him, but now I know what’s on your mind. That reminds me, what the hell did he do to Kat back at the club?”
“I’m not sure, but it happened to me too.”
“You had an orgasm from touching him?”
“No,” I answered with a smirk, “but I was close.”
Vlad smiled ruefully and said, “Then perhaps I can look at you, you must have a similar ability, or you could not resist.”
I was terrified at the thought of having anything else in common with the vampire on my sofa. But we had both been dreaming about each other, there must be a reason.
“Well, where should we put him?” Luther asked.
Something told me that using Alfred’s bathroom for such purposes would not go over well once he returned. “Take him upstairs, to my bathroom.”
Luther carried him, more gently this time, and deposited him on my bed while he ran some water in the tub. Seeing the vampire’s dark hair spill onto my red silk sheets did things to me I could not describe. He was supposed to be there. I had been waiting for him. As I moved forward Luther called loudly, “Lilith! You’re not in there touching him are you?!”
“No.” But I was going to before he said something.
My dress wasn’t exactly the right choice of clothing for what we were about to do, so I walked through the bathroom to my closet to look for something else to wear.
“Where are you going?” Luther asked when I walked past him.
“To change. I don’t think an evening gown is appropriate for flinging strange men into a bathtub, do you?”
He laughed while I slipped into a pair of old jeans and a dark brown t-shirt. When I stepped out of the closet he asked, “So this guy really does it for you, huh?”
“I’m not sure what he does, but he does something. I can’t explain it, since I’m not really sure what happened.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Yes. It took me by surprise, but it was incredible. What really scared me was, I wanted more. I still do,” I said as I sat on the tub facing Luther. “I want to run in there right now, rip his clothes off and just touch him. Any part of him I can reach.”
“Shit. No wonder Kat hit the floor. I wonder if that’s something I could ever learn.”
I laughed and he said, “I’m serious, guy must get more ass than a toilet seat.”
A warm honeyed laughter floated to our ears and I noticed that even Luther shivered.
“I felt that,” he said, looking surprised.
“Maybe he goes both ways,” I teased. Luther looked shocked so when I got up I added, “Or maybe you do, and you just don’t know it.”
I walked back into the bedroom and found Dracula smiling up at me from where he sprawled against my crimson sheets.
“I had never heard that expression before,” he said, still laughing softly.
He seemed to drift off again and I was about to undress him when Luther came in and said, “Wait, I really don’t want to have to pick you up off the floor, so why don’t I do that?”
I watched as he removed the long cloak and tossed it across the bed. My heart hammered in my chest painfully as Luther slid the white shirt with its many ruffles from Dracula’s body. He looked even better without the shirt. He wasn’t overly muscular, but beautifully toned and undeniably masculine. Every part that should be curved was curved, and everywhere there needed to be a ridge, that’s what I found as my eyes roamed over him.
“I’ll be right back.” I walked to the closet in the hallway where I kept my painting supplies and slipped on a pair of rubber gloves. Before I could get back to the bedroom I heard a big splash and a deep voice screaming in a language I couldn’t understand. However, I didn’t need to speak the language to know Dracula was cursing Luther for all he was worth.
“That was cruel,” I said, trying not to laugh at the smirk on Luther’s face.
“So, what are we going to do with him?” he asked.
I looked at the vampire, wet and shivering in the frigid water and said, “I thought I’d put him in the dungeon.”
He looked at me then and for a moment I could tell he was shocked.
“I don’t intend to torture you,” I assured him with a smile.
“I knew this place was familiar. You live in Vincent Cole’s old house.”
“Yes. You knew him?”
“Yes,” he said between chattering teeth.
“Luther is this really necessary? I think he’s fairly alert now.” I looked over and saw that Dracula’s nipples were taut and I couldn’t stifle a gasp of pleasure at this knowledge.
“I still wonder if I could learn that,” Luther mumbled at my reaction.
“Don’t get your hopes up, I think he’s a wizard.”
Dracula smiled at me appreciatively, but he didn’t otherwise respond. It was evident he had no intention of revealing his life’s story to either of us.
“So what he does is magic?” Luther asked.
“A form of it, yes. Whatever else it is will take time to understand. How is it that I didn’t react as strongly as Kat?” I directed the last toward Dracula.
He ran a hand through his wet hair and I felt my lips part in anticipation of his next move.
“Too many questions, my angel,” he purred as he smiled at me.
“My angel?” Luther looked questioningly at me.
“I overheard the lycans call you Death on more than one occasion,” he explained. “I thought that Death had avoided me these long years, but she has been in my dreams. I realized this when I caught a glimpse one night last year of the woman they called Death.”
“How long have you dreamed of me?” I asked this at the same time Luther said, “Vampires can dream?”
“I can dream, most of my unfortunate children cannot.”
“How long have you dreamed of me?” I repeated.
“You are not ready to know the answer to that question.”
“Fine, what about Vincent Cole, the man who built this house? How did you know him?”
“We worked together in the middle ages. He and I hunted together across most of Europe and Asia.”
“Was he a wizard?” I asked.
“No, he was an elf.”
“An elf?” Luther and I both said.
“Yes. Why, did you not hear how he was killed?”
“In a bar fight on Terra,” I replied.
“Yes, by a dwarf. They are notorious en
emies. I would have thought that gave it away.”
“Was he a friend of yours?”
“Yes,” he said sadly, “he was a friend of mine.”
There were too many things I wanted to know, many of which I had a feeling he knew something about. But, there was no point in asking every question in one night. Besides, he probably wouldn’t have told me. I had noticed by this time that although he was still very attractive, I didn’t want to jump in the tub with him. He must have been sobering up, and regaining control over his powers, whatever they were.
“How are you with silver?” I asked.
“It does nothing for my health, but it is not fatal to me.”
“Good.” I turned to Luther, “Will you get the air mattress from the closet in the spare bedroom?” He left and I turned back to Dracula. “I’m sorry to throw you in the dungeon, but it’s the only place where there won’t be sunlight. You are sensitive to sunlight, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” He seemed to hesitate before saying, “Thank you.”
“You can stay here as long as you need to,” I said.
“Why would you offer this to me?”
“So you can make up your mind. I’m not going to give you over to people you’ve spent such a long time avoiding without your consent. There must be a reason you’ve avoided them for so long?”
“There are many reasons,” he said. “Your lover, he will not object to this?”
“How did you know I had a lover?”
“I saw him when I touched you back at the club.” He smiled. “Apparently, I am not the only one with wizard ancestry.” He rose from the tub and I watched as the water cascaded over him. Every curve of the pale perfection of his body seemed to glisten in the soft light. My eyes had always been sensitive, and I was glad for the soft glow the frosted glass bulbs created over his skin.
“May I have a towel?” he asked.
I handed him a large black towel and walked back to the closet. I had purchased a black robe a few years back on a whim. It was much too large for me, but I loved it. I had thought that perhaps my boyfriend at the time, the now notorious Bradley, would look good in it. But the more I looked at him, I changed my mind. At that moment, I couldn’t think of anyone it would look better on than Dracula. I discarded the rubber gloves. Now that he had regained some control, they shouldn’t be necessary. I pulled the robe from where it hung in the back of my closet and admired it for a moment. It was made mostly of silk though the fabric was thick, with dark intricate embroidery. The inside of the robe was satiny smooth, and the deepest shade of blood red I’d ever seen. It was made to be worn open, so there was no belt.
If he was going to wear the robe open, he couldn’t do so without pants. I had always preferred to wear men’s pajamas. I liked the fact that they were big on me. I usually just rolled them down a few times around the waist so I wouldn’t trip and tightened the drawstrings. I pulled out a pair of black silk pajama pants and walked back into the bathroom.
He was standing on the rug, so he wouldn’t wet the wood floor. I watched for a moment while he dried his long dark hair with the towel. It would appear that the waves in his hair were closer to curls when wet. The dark pants he wore clung to his every curve and I was grateful to be standing behind him.
“You should get out of those wet pants,” I said as I held out the robe to him.
His smile was all I had imagined it would be over the years that I had tried desperately to picture his face.
“Thank you.” He took the robe and began to unzip his pants. “Are you going to watch?”
“The thought had occurred to me.” But I turned my back even as I said it.
“How did you know my size, or was it a guess?”
I heard the wet fabric sliding down his body and clenched my eyes tight against the images that tormented me.
“Apparently, I started shopping for you a few years ago.”
“Really?” I heard him sliding the silk pants up his long legs.
“I can’t think of any other way to explain it. I bought that robe even though no one was around to wear it. Now that I look at you, I can’t imagine seeing anyone else in it.”
I heard a rustling of fabric, and felt his hands on my shoulders. He pressed his face to mine as he whispered, “You did not answer my question about your lover. How will he react to having me stay with you?”
“He won’t be happy about it. Other than that, I’m almost afraid to hear what Alfred will say.”
“I thought his name was Marco? At least that is what they called him tonight.”
My pulse quickened and I wondered exactly what it was Dracula saw when he touched me earlier.
Finally I said, “Marco is not my lover.”
“And yet you were at the club with him, and he admits to having feelings for you.” He paused. “What does your Alfred say to this?”
“He doesn’t know.” As I said this I felt a pang of guilt.
“Really? Is he not here then?”
“No. He’s back on Terra until Sunday.”
“You weave a tangled web, my angel,” he said.
“Don’t remind me,” I snapped.
“I was not judging, merely observing. Perhaps there is a solution you have not yet considered.”
“I’m not going to discuss this with you.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s complicated and I barely know you.”
As I said this I turned to face him and instantly realized my mistake. He somehow never broke his contact with my shoulders and I now stood almost completely in his embrace. Strands of wet hair clung to his neck while one dark curl spilled onto his forehead and over his face. When I saw how good he looked in the robe, I knew I must have bought it for him. I couldn’t imagine anyone looking better. His emerald eyes no longer held magic when I gazed into them, but there was a fire within that never completely died.
“You and I are not entirely strangers,” he said softly. “I have known you in my dreams for some time. I cannot explain why this has happened to us both, but it has.”
“I don’t think you’re here to solve my problems,” I said, and my voice was barely above a whisper.
“Perhaps not, but it has been a long time since I have met an empath.”
“That was my fault, I should have been blocking. I’ve accidentally read other people’s minds before, but I’ve never had anyone read mine.”
I had the ability to feel other people’s emotions through my touch, and from these feelings, I could see images.
“That is because I too was not blocking, and I have some empathic ability as well.”
“The vision I saw was not a memory from your perspective.” I still recalled vividly the images of him which had flooded my mind.
“No,” he replied with a knowing smile. “What you experienced was a vision of what you would like to do to me.”
I could feel myself blushing.
“Do not be embarrassed. Your vision was the closet I have come to making love in centuries.”
By what he said, I knew he wasn’t referring to the sex act itself. I also understood what he had said to me in the car. Dracula wanted to die because no one loved him.
“It must be difficult, watching everyone you love die.”
What I said must have hit a nerve because I could feel him withdraw even though his hands remained on my shoulders.
“There is always something worth living for,” I whispered.
His smile was both sad and condescending as he replied, “Hope is part of the naivety of youth.”
“And age should bring wisdom,” I retorted. “How dare you presume to judge me? You have no idea what I’ve been through.”
“Then tell me, and I will know.”
I opened his robe further and pressed my hands against his chest. His skin was cool to the touch and I tried not to think about how good it would feel to warm him. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” I said as I plunged forward into the stream of my m
emories. I started with Peter. I had loved Peter more than life itself. Losing his love nearly killed me. Through me Dracula felt what it was like to have the first man I ever loved call me a monster. He felt my fears, my pain, my disappointment when I found out Bradley was married and the last three and a half years of my life had been a lie. Losing Bradley did kill me. Though I walked away from the experience, I was never the same. He felt my uncertainty toward Alfred, but he also knew that I had loved him for years. Marco appeared in my mind and my heart ached with longing. I let him feel all of the reasons I wanted to be with Marco, and all of the reasons I couldn’t let that happen.
To my surprise, I could go no further. I just couldn’t take any more. I reached around him inside the robe and felt his arms close tightly around me as I began to cry.
“I am sorry,” Dracula whispered as he stroked my hair. “You are not naive.”
“What am I then, crazy?” I sniffed.
“You are wiser than I was at your age.”
“Why, what did you do at my age?”
“I volunteered for the experiment that turned me into the monster you see today.”
Chapter Ten
Before I could ask him to elaborate on this confession, Luther came back in. He gave me a rather wicked smirk and I realized I was still tightly wrapped in Dracula’s embrace.
“Did I interrupt something, or can I watch?” He winked.
I pulled back from the vampire, reluctant to withdraw from his touch. There was a solace in his arms I had not expected to find. Who would have thought that being embraced by Dracula was more relaxing than any amount of meditation? Having him hold me was almost like that wonderfully relaxed feeling you get right after sex. Part of me was upset at Luther’s interruption. But another part reminded me that this could be why the vampire was so dangerous. After all, I’m sure the apple looked very appetizing to Eve.
Luther carried the air mattress down the long narrow passageway to the dungeon, and stopped at the door.
“It hurts just to look at that thing,” he said as he shined a flashlight on the solid silver door. “I’ll wait back in the kitchen if it’s all right with you?”
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