by Suzy Shearer
“You look pretty good for an ancient ruin.” Charlotte grinned up at him. “Maybe there is something to this Hunter business after all.”
“Wicked woman! You’ll pay for that insult.”
Fortunately, Charlotte could hear the humour in his voice, for some reason she felt very safe lying there.
“You are truly safe, Cara, never will I allow anything or anyone to harm you.” And he bent his head to kiss her lips gently. Charlotte reached her arms as far as she could around him and he snuggled down to rest his head against her breasts. She looked at his beautiful hair and removed the thong holding it, running her fingers through its richness.
“Do all Hunters have long hair?” she wondered aloud.
“Most do, it is who we are. Those who know of Hunters recognise us by our long hair. There are a few who keep their hair short but they are rare and usually young who have only recently become Hunters.”
“It is beautiful, so soft and silky, I love feeling it in my hands.” Charlotte lifted a handful and brought it to her nose. It smelt of frangipani and sea air.
They lay together in quiet companionship. Charlotte thought to herself how wonderful it would be to spend the rest of her life with this man. It surprised how deep her feelings were for this stranger. It was as if all her resistance to him was gone. As if she has waited all her life for him and now she was safe within his arms.
“It is true, you cannot resist our love and it will develop very quickly. We were destined for each other at the moment of our births. It is because you are my One that these feelings now come to you.”
Frustratingly, she moaned, “Will you stop wandering in my mind!”
“Why do you not enter mine? You can, you just have not really tried since the first time.”
With a tentative little push, Charlotte closed her eyes and looked into his mind. What she found was amazing. First was love and relief that he had found her at last. She saw the eons of loneliness, how he had given up hope of ever finding his mate. There were worries that she would not accept who and what he was. There was a great fear that she would refuse to accept conversion but even if she did not convert, he would spend whatever time she had left loving her. Charlotte withdrew. When she felt the depth of feeling he held for her, it amazed her.
“I cannot hide from you, I cannot hide what you mean to me.”
Charlotte gave a little laugh. “What would have happened if I was happily married?”
“You were married.”
He made it a statement rather than a question.
“Yes, many years ago. I have a son, my husband left when our son was two. I haven’t seen or heard from him since he left, my son refuses to acknowledge him. I’m afraid we should never have married. I thought I could be happy with him but instead it felt wrong.”
“This is because he was not truly the man for you. You were destined for me, as I am for you. No one else could possibly satisfy you.”
“The only good from it was I have a wonderful son whom I love dearly.”
“That is where you were today, with the children of your son.”
“Yes, I was babysitting my two grandchildren for a while. My son and his family are taking a break for a couple of days and I was minding them while they got things organised. They have a building business and needed to arrange things while they are missing, even if it is only for two or three days.”
Charlotte felt a little sad. She missed her granddaughter and grandson, not to mention her daughter-in-law and son. “I am supposed to have dinner with them on Friday night before they leave Sunday morning.”
She was quiet for a moment.
“Matei, tell me honestly. What would happen if I were converted, what would happen with my family?”
“You would have the ability to appear as you now are to them but eventually you would have to pretend to die.”
Charlotte bit back a sob.
“Cara, it would be no different if you weren’t converted. Eventually all mortals die. The positive thing is you will still be able to watch over them from afar.”
“Yes, I guess so. It is just that I don’t really think about dying very often. I mean I know I will and I know every day I have is a blessing. It is just the knowledge that I will really be still alive and they’ll be grieving, thinking I had died.”
“It will be hard, but you will have me to share the pain. Also, realise that you can befriend their descendants as your own relations. You can still be in the children and great grandchildren’s lives. Through the generations as you wish. You will just have to disappear and reappear as a younger distant relation.”
“Wow, I never thought of that. Gee, not many people would be able to interact with their own great-great-grandchildren.” Charlotte laughed aloud and then snuggled closer, stifling a yawn.
“You are tired, Cara, I feel it.”
“It has been a crazy night!”
“May I watch over you as you sleep? May I chase away your bad dreams?”
Charlotte looked shyly at him. It had been a long time since she shared her bed with someone.
“I guess so.” In truth she didn’t want him to leave.
“Come lie in my arms and sleep,” he commanded.
Suddenly she found it difficult to keep her eyes open.
“You did it,” she mumbled. “You’re making me go to sleep. No.”
“Sleep, Cara.”
* * * *
Matei planted a kiss on her forehead as she slipped deep into the sleep he had compelled her to enter.
For hours he lay just watching her as she slept, marveling at how Mother Earth had found her for him. He could not take his eyes from her. Part of him could not believe that he had finally found her. So beautiful, so loving, and she was his. He knew she would already be halfway in love with him. Already he felt his heart fill with love. Already the ice had melted. Already he was in love with this wonderful woman.
All through the night, he watched her. At times he entered her mind and watched her dream, pleased that he featured in them. Slowly he could feel the dawn rising and knew that in a couple of hours, he must leave her. He must sleep the rest of his people but for now, before she woke, he could drink and fill his eyes on his beautiful mate.
Chapter Seven
“Good morning, my heart.”
For a moment, Charlotte wondered what was happening then she remembered the events of the night before, but foremost in her mind was the fact that he had forced her to sleep. She jumped to her feet, furiously grabbing the quilt to cover her nakedness.
“Never! And I mean never! Never force me to do something again. Do you understand?”
Charlotte was irate, her voice low but filled with fury.
“Cara, please.”
“No, none of this Cara business, I mean it, Matei. If there is a chance that we will stay together…” Matei went to interrupt her but she held up her hand, “If we are going to stay together, I have to know whatever I do is of my own volition. I don’t want to wonder whether you are directing my thoughts. You do that one more time and I don’t care if I ruin the rest of my life, I will walk away from you and not look back.”
She glared at him. “Get it Hotshot?”
* * * *
Matei had the good grace to look chastened. He nodded his head, not risking speaking. Charlotte’s eyes were flashing, her whole body was filled with anger, such charged emotion and he was excited by it. In his mind, she was wonderful, standing up to him as if he were a mere child instead of a powerful immortal. She had no idea the power he had at his fingertips and even if she did, he thought she would still berate him.
He held out one hand, waiting for her to take it. He would not bend to her or take her hand, he needed to know that she would come to him.
No words were spoken as he waited. She searched his face and then he felt her enter his mind. She could see how he felt. He was sorry that he had caused her distress, sorry that he had forced his will on her, but utmost was the fact t
hat she excited him and he was aroused by her.
He watched as she released her anger. He sat patiently, hand outstretched, for her to make that first move. She spoke quietly, trying to make him realise just how serious she was.
* * * *
“Understand, Matei, I need this. I need to know everything I do is because I choose to. I’m sure you would prefer that what I do is because I want to also. Promise me you’ll never compel me to do something.”
“Charlotte, I cannot promise that”—she drew a ragged gasp—“but what I will promise you is I will not compel you to do anything unless your safety is at risk.”
Looking into his eyes, she realised that was a great compromise for him. Thinking it through, she understood his caveat.
“Okay, I think I can live with that but later we may have to define what a safety risk is.” She reached out and took his hand.
As he pulled her to his chest and kissed her deeply, the quilt fell by the wayside.
Several minutes later Charlotte sleepily murmured into his chest, “What time is it?”
“It has just struck the hour of seven. I must leave you before the sun rises much further. I need to sleep.”
“Oh. Okay, I understand.”
“Charlotte, we need to speak more. I need to answer all the questions that are in your mind, Cara, but it will have to be tonight.”
Charlotte looked at him. She was feeling overwhelmed by the feelings he generated in her and thought some time without him would give her a chance to think things through.
Reluctantly she sat up as he moved from her side. He kissed her gently then stood alongside the bed.
“Do not be afraid, we have the ability to disappear at will. May I return tonight?”
“Yes.”
“Until then, Iubită.”
With those words, Matei disappeared. Charlotte’s eyes were wide with wonder. Now that was a neat trick, she thought.
Charlotte lay back on the pillows after pulling the forgotten quilt over her. She ran her fingers over her lips where Matei had kissed her. Lying there, she tried to rationalise all that had happened but found it impossible.
Harley jumped up on the bed alongside her and she unconsciously began rubbing his head. Within ten minutes, both she and Harley had fallen asleep again.
Charlotte slept until nine thirty then showered and dressed. She wandered out to the kitchen, still in a confused state of mind. Making a coffee, she took it outside to sit on the back veranda and shuffle through the millions of thoughts that seemed to be rolling around her head.
First and foremost were her deep feelings for Matei. She guessed it was as he said, they were destined for each other and neither could resist the forces that had drawn them together.
Never before had she felt such a physical attraction for a man. It was as if with every touch, every look, every time he spoke her desire increased. Even now, when he was no longer with her, she only had to close her eyes and then could almost feel his hands running up and down her body, his lips on hers. Instinctively she knew that this desire would only increase the longer she was with him.
Which brought her to another big question—conversion!
If all Matei had told her was true, and let’s face it, growing fangs and disappearing in thin air gave his words credence, then she would have to seriously consider whether to convert or not.
Charlotte could not get over the blood thing!
She could understand not being in the sun, understand that hunting for vampires was a genuine occupation, hell she could even understand the almost instant falling in love but—and it was a big but—sucking blood! A shiver ran through her body as she thought of it.
Matei had told her it was an erotic experience but how on earth could sinking your teeth into someone and sucking their blood be something that turned you on and got you really aroused?
“Damn it, Harley! This is all too weird, too crazy and yet it seems like every single word of it’s true!”
Harley looked up at his mistress as if to say “Relax, it is all good.” Charlotte laughed at the expression on his face and ruffled his ears.
Jumping to her feet, she carried the empty coffee cup back inside then walked into her studio. Tomorrow she was delivering a commission and needed to pack for the car trip. More often than not, the clients picked up their orders or had them couriered but this client had insisted she deliver it personally. As he had added a considerable bonus, Charlotte was only too happy to oblige.
The last of the morning was spent wrapping the artwork and then hungry, Charlotte made herself a salad sandwich. But all the time, no matter how hard she tried to ignore it, was the fact that she was missing Matei desperately. She tried to push him from her mind, but he just would not leave.
She kept seeing those green eyes, the little quirk he did with his eyebrow, his gorgeous smile that lit up his face. He was a major distraction that she was determined to pretend did not exist but could not.
After her lunch she returned to a new commission that she had sketched out last week. The next few hours were spent refining the sketch, adding lines and taking lines away until, after four hours of fiddling, she was finally happy with the result. She wondered idly what Matei would think of it then got angry with herself for thinking of him again.
Charlotte took a photo with her digital camera and uploaded it to the laptop. She had found that looking at a sketch on the laptop often showed mistakes that she did not see when she looked at the actual canvas. Once more, the trick worked as she noticed one eye was angled slightly wrong in relation to the other. After making the adjustment, she could finally relax and leave the work, ready for the first wash of paint later in the week.
Pleased with her day’s work, Charlotte walked back into the kitchen/family room and threw herself on one of the comfy couches in there. Glancing up at the clock, she saw it was after six.
All at once, she began to get nervous.
Matei had said he would return tonight. Instinctively she knew he was already awake. The sun had almost finished its downward journey into night.
She wondered what time he would arrive?
Would he knock on her door or would he appear inside the house?
She could hear her heart pounding in anticipation. Holding her hands in front of her, she was not surprised to see them shake. In her stomach, dozens of butterflies were holding court and trying to escape. She actually felt like a lovesick teenager who was desperate for a glimpse of their beloved.
Food! What about food?
Should she eat or wait?
In the end, Charlotte realised that no way would she be able to keep food down. She had eaten an apple and a muesli bar through the afternoon and was not that hungry but the thought of food mixing with the butterflies made her stomach churn.
Curling up on the couch, she tried to relax but after five minutes jumped to her feet and started prowling back and forth. Harley was watching as if she had gone slightly crazy as she threw herself onto the couch again and grabbed a novel on the side table.
After sitting staring at the same page for almost an hour, Charlotte threw it back on the table and began pacing again. She actually was starting to feel sick. Part of her was longing to see Matei, to touch him, to make love to him, and part of her dreaded these immense feelings.
She kept watching the clock, watching the minutes tick past. It was almost eight thirty, and she had an unexpected fear that it had all been a dream and she was now awake. Her heart plummeted. To never see him, to never touch him, to never love him!
But suddenly he was in front of her!
She took a sudden step backward and would have fallen had he not reached out and pulled her into his arms.
All the sick feelings, the nerves, the butterflies—all took flight with that touch. The feeling of belonging when she felt the tender warmth of his strong arms suffused her body and she melted against him.
“Oh, Iubită, my Iubită, I have missed you.” His voiced cracked with e
motion as he continued, “I woke early and all I wished was to rush to your side but feared you would reject me. I have spent hours lost in fear.”
Charlotte could feel his breath warming her ear as he whispered to her. She turned her head and looked into his eyes. She sank into the green pools as they gazed at her full of love, desire, and apprehension that she may still send him away.
Matei bent his head to capture her mouth with his. This was what she had craved for all her life, this!
What started as a tender kiss soon blazed into a wild conflagration as they both fought for more. His tongue was wrestling with hers, his hands were holding tight while hers were running up and down his back, pulling at his head, running through his hair.
He lifted her into his arms and carried her over to the nearest couch, almost dropping her onto it before kneeling in front of her.
Charlotte was tearing at his clothes as frantically as he was grabbing hers, all the while they were trying to keep kissing each other. In frustration, Charlotte tore her lips from his and ripped off her top while Matei stood and removed all his clothes.
As his cock was at the perfect level, Charlotte quickly wrapped her hand around it and almost dived onto it with her mouth. She groaned in delight as she tasted the bead of liquid that dripped from its head, her tongue licking up and down the shaft and into the eye. Matei was trying to pull her off.
“Cara, I want to make love to you, please stop or I will come!” he pleaded.
She relinquished her hold on his cock and, pouting, looked up at him. He knelt down again and swiftly removed her jeans and panties, then threw her leg over his shoulder and pushed his head into her pussy.
Now it was Charlotte’s turn to plead as he began to suck and lick her clit until it was a hard nub.
“No, Matei, no! Fuck me, I need your cock inside me!”
However, he was stronger and continued his merciless assault on her clit and pussy. With one hand he pushed two fingers deep into her hot, wet slit and moved them in and out while his mouth sucked, drawing her clit between his teeth. Charlotte could feel herself tense as the threatened orgasm began to build.