Slave to The Sun- Exposed (Part Two)

“Make love to me, James.” She said, staring him directly in the eye, her voice morphing into a low rough thrum.

He took her face in his hands and kissed her sweet lips softly, and leaned his forehead against hers, staring intently into her strange brown/green eyes.

“Is that what you really want, princess?” He had to ask.

“Of course,” her lips parted on a breathless sigh, and her hands sought his chest, rubbing soothingly. She stared into the beautiful ocean-blue orbs that were his eyes. He was perfect, Ariana thought nervously, looking down at the floor. She didn’t want to think about her crappy past with men, she didn’t want to be hurt again. She wouldn’t be able to deal with that. She spared a thought for her ex, Paul, and wondered briefly what he must have felt like when he realised she was gone and wasn’t coming back. Would he search for her? Would he go crazy? Would he hurt her friends again?

She felt her gut clench as she realised she didn’t spare a thought for her friends. All she had thought about was getting the hell out of that town. The town that was so far away now; the town that knew nothing of vampires and witches and shape-shifters and supernatural nightclubs.

He lightly traced his fingertips slowly up and down her arms, sending light shivers down the small of her back. When she didn’t look up, he tucked his finger under her chin, his thumb tracing the tasty arc of her lower lip.

“Ariana,” he murmured sensually. Studying her face he thought he saw hurt in her expression, and he wanted to care for her, to make her fears vanish, to hurt anything that might hurt her.

Gradually, half-heartedly, she returned his gaze, and blushed, a sanguine, delicious cherry colour. He was becoming much attuned to that colour on her skin.

“What is it, my love?” he said.

“It’s just that – it’s just…” she blinked and hesitated, her heart rate picking up.

Get a grip, Ariana! She thought angrily, swallowing hard.

“It’s just… I haven’t – been,” she began.

His eyes narrowed and she thought she saw a flash of intuition flare through his eyes.

“You’re a virgin, aren’t you?” he stroked her face.

Her eyes widened and she suddenly giggled, looking like a young carefree spirit.

“No! No – I’m not a virgin, but,” the smile faded from her face. “I don’t want to sound like I’m feeling sorry for myself, because I don’t. But I do know… I mean, my last boyfriend, he wasn’t very…”

A new look came into his eyes, and she was surprised to identify a hint of anger, that was quickly replaced by tenderness. He resumed the stroking of her face.

“I won’t hurt you, Ariana,” he said, his voice turning soft, his face serious, and his eyes begging her to believe him. “I promise.”

Her wide eyes held his, and slowly, she nodded. And just like that, she believed him.

“Let’s go,” Ariana smiled up at him, a secret smile that was for his eyes to see only.

He flashed a brilliant, fangy smile back at her.

*

“Oh, my Goddess,” Ariana breathed, her eyes open wide like a child’s at the beautiful scene laid before her.

James knew this would be the place to take her. It was a place he was rather fond of, which he found about half a century beforehand, and whenever he visited Monroe he would come here first.

It was a sort of clearing, framed by weeping willows and mighty oaks, and they opened up to a wide patch of grass, and in front of it, a large, glassy lake. The moon was high in the sky, and it was reflected perfectly in the lake, a single ring of faint red light circled the moon, with the stars scattered around it in perfect juxtaposition.

Ariana kicked off her heels and walked to the edge of the lake, dipping her foot in and sending ripples of movement across the inky water. She was so nervous and so in awe of her surroundings that she giggled. She turned to smile at James, her smile fading when she realized he wasn’t there. She widened her eyes, the better to try and see through the dark. Was he playing a trick on her?

“James?” she heard herself whisper.

“Wanna join me for a swim, princess?” came a quiet, seductive voice from right behind her. Arianna gasped and whipped around, her heart beating double time, and fear seeping into her bloodstream.

He was right behind her, too close for ease, and her clothes touched his lightly as she turned. Ariana’s eyes glued to his perfect lips, and she gulped, then she looked back up into the startling cerulean tones of his eyes.

He stared her down as he started to unbutton his shirt. Her eyes quickly followed the movements of his hands and she smiled a wicked smile.

“Here, let me,” She smiled at him, skimming her tongue lightly over her parched lips. Her warm hands took the place of his cool ones, and he sighed as her fingers made contact with his skin.

Her skin broke out in gooseflesh as his sweet, cool breath fanned over neck and chest. The realization of what they were about to do hit home and she felt a fresh wave of hope and excitement flow through her body, and a tiny bit of fear. But she pushed that away from her mind now. The only things that existed on this world were her, and James, and the trees, and the grass, the lake and the moon.

She pushed his black shirt off his shoulders and she watched his body as the material slithered off his handsome torso, and fell to the ground with a soft whisper.

She traced the planes of his muscles with her fingertips softly. His skin was cold, only by a few degrees. It was a strange feeling, something bittersweet. She had felt out of place all of her life. And now, here she was, about to make love with a vampire; someone who’s dead, but somehow still very much alive.

Go figure, she thought grimly, I finally find someone perfect for me – and he’s dead.

She was human. This life shouldn’t be for her. Then why did it feel right? Why did it feel like home?

She looked up into his ocean eyes, trying to study what he was feeling; something she had learned from her mother.

She felt a pang of sorrow, thinking back.

“Take away the smile, take away the expression. Just look at the eyes. You will know by the eyes.” She remembered looking into her mother’s cool grey eyes, crinkled with admiration.

“You’re happy, momma!” She remembered saying, smiling widely up at her mother, showing her pearly white teeth.

Her mother started to laugh, picking her up and spinning her around.

“As long as I have you, my princess!” Her mother had said.

“Ariana?” James murmured.

She snapped out of her reverie. His blue eyes showed a concoction of emotions: concern, thought, hope, fear, and a burning intensity.

“I don’t want to spend another night alone,” her voice cracked, and her eyes filled with tears. She kept her eyes wide, willing the tears not to fall.

He took her in his arms and held her close, and she leaned her head into his shoulder, breathing in his delicious smell.

“James,” she whispered, and pressed her warm lips against his shoulder.

The hand that was soothingly rubbing her back crept toward the zipper of her dress, and then hesitated.

She knew he was waiting for her to be okay. She resumed kissing his body, and found his belt with her hand, unbuckling it and pulling the leather away from his body. She threw it behind her on the springy grass, and she yanked his buttons open as he slowly unzipped her dress. She took two steps back, holding his gaze, and pulling the straps of her dress away from her arms. She took a breath, and let the silky material slither onto the grass beneath her, as her breasts were exposed her nipples peaked, more out of arousal than the cool air swirling around her. His blue eyes left hers to wander over her body, and his tongue swept across his lips. His expression darkened when he looked back into her face, his eyes hooded with lust.

“Your turn,” she smiled evilly, the soft wind caressing her voluminous curls.

He smiled; his true smile that made her think of goodness, and passion. A smile that made her soften inside. A smile that made her even more aware that he was a man capable of very sexy things.

He pushed his trousers down to his ankles and kicked them away with his feet. The only thing left was his boxer shorts, and she was painfully aware that she still had her red lace panties on.

She felt his fingertips lightly stroking her right hip, and without warning, before she had time to even shiver her response, he had lifted her up into his arms. She quickly wrapped her arms around him, her heart beat erratically in her chest as her breathing sped up.

“What – are!” She began but he cut her off.

“Do you trust me?” He smiled.

She narrowed her eyes, and slowly, almost reluctantly, nodded.

He smiled his cocky smile, and very suddenly she had the sensation of falling sideways. One minute she could see his sexy smile, and the trees and the darkness behind him, next she saw only green and dark blue blurs behind his shoulders and then she was falling, falling into the night sky, and the moon was thrown into her vision. Before she had time to hit the water, she felt splashes below her and then she was caught in the cool iron grasp of Damon’s arms.

She caught her breath and screamed, gripping herself to him hard, wrapping her arms and legs around him like a barnacle.

“Oh my God!” she yelled. “Why did you do that you jackass!? You scared the holy hell out of me! You could have killed me!”

At least she wasn’t wet… much. He was though, his hair was wet and soppy and hung sexily on his head, and drops of water ran down his face and neck.

As he stared at her solemnly, with his big puppy eyes, she started laughing in his face. And for some reason she couldn’t stop. She felt so light, like the wind could just hit her and she’d float right away into another galaxy.

He started to laugh with her, and gently he lowered them into the cool water. Gradually, she un-wrapped her arms and legs and freed herself of him. She floated away from him, and he had this glint of determination in his eye, like he was about to chase her.

Well, we shall see about that! She said to herself. She cupped her hands against the water and heaved a great splash at him. As he crouched away from the water she laughed loudly and made her escape. She was a swimming champion since she was 8 years old and a junior in primary school, and she had always swum since then. But she knew this time she would be no match for him, he would soon catch up to her, and she was fast but not vampire fast.

She knew he was near as she felt a rush of water beneath her kicking legs. He broke the surface of the water in front of her and she pulled her body vertical before she could bang into him. He grabbed her and held her tight to his body as he shook his soppy wet hair in her face.

“Ewwwwww!” She squealed, giggling and trying to strain away from him. His grip got stronger and she got more excited when he started splashing the water to her body and face. She followed his lead and splashing him back a few times. They were both laughing now, under the full moon and struggling with each other. He kissed her body playfully and tickled her and she giggled and struggled in his arms as she got more and more turned on by their play. She leaned her lips down to his neck and nipped him playfully. She knew she’d done right when he hissed in her ear and looked her straight in the eye whilst his erection jerked against her groin. He pulled her tighter to him, and she was taut against his erection.

“Mmm,” he moaned, tightening his arms around her and kissing the corner of her lips gently.

She felt a bigger intensity now, glowing bright warm in her centre. She wrapped her arms around his neck and tightened her legs around his hips, bearing hard against his cock. She kissed him back, her soft silken lips hot and heavy on his.

With her breasts pushed against his chest and her soft cherry lips moving impatiently on his, he was in pure euphoric heaven. Her pulse was beating heavily in her neck and groin; he could almost feel the blood beating through her body… her warm human body. But in comparison to what was happening he barely spared a seconds thought about her blood. He wanted to watch those hazel eyes of hers, those special eyes which couldn’t decide if they were green or brown, as she came thinking of him, wanted to watch them as she came apart, all for him. He wanted her completely; her delectable blood was only a small part to how he felt about the rest of her.

She felt her body desert the water and she felt the blur of soft warm summer air swirling around her before she felt the soft springy grass against her back. His lips left hers to kiss her cheek, her eyelids her forehead and the sensitive line of her jaw, and all the while she stroked his damp hair, her moans pushing him on. She hissed with pleasure when he pulled her dark nipple into his mouth, the sensations shooting straight to her centre. He paid her breasts a lot of attention, kissing the sensitive skin around the nipple, biting the sides softly and sometimes running his tongue over her flesh. His tongue trailed lightly down the dewy flesh at her waist, so lightly, that she shivered, and tried her best not to shake. He kissed across her stomach tenderly, lightly dipping his tongue into her navel; she inhaled deeply and bit her lip.

His fingers dug into her hips as he kissed her lower abdomen. Her fingers felt so good pushing through his hair. He exhaled deeply and his big hands grabbed the back of her knees, pushing them so that her feet splayed flat on the floor. He looked up at her from between her legs, with those burning blue eyes, and he gently hooked his fingers through the band of her red lace panties, and tugged. She returned his gaze, and lifted her hips to allow him to remove them. She felt the fabric being pulled down over her ass and felt it tickle the backs of her thighs. She lifted her feet and he flung them to the side, staring down at her glorious sex.

His face became dark, and he licked his lips absently and swallowed hard. He looked at her, studying her face, and he held her gaze as he bent down between her legs, and as he turned his head to the side and bit her thigh. She gasped at the sensation, and wetness gushed from between her legs, she felt just hot from him being that close to her. He smiled, an evil, sexy, sinful smile, and bit her flesh again, running over the sting with his tongue.

A low moan crawled out of her mouth. He kissed her inner thigh, sometimes rubbing his mouth over the flesh, moving down until his mouth was almost latched on to her pussy, before moving away again. He chuckled at her frustration. He repeated this on her other thigh, and she itched to just grab his face and push her center to his mouth. She moved her arms to her sides and clenched her fists tightly. He was kissing her, soft sucky kisses, inching closer and closer to her sex at a tantalizingly slow pace.

When she felt his breath so hot on her pussy she stopped breathing, waiting for it to come. Damon grinned to himself and moved ever so slightly, kissing her lower abdomen, and smiled brightly when she let out a frustrated moan. He bit her hip, harder than when he bit her thigh and her body twitched below him. And she let out a moan, sounding almost like she was about to cry, but he knew differently.

“James, please” she gasped, running her fingers through the thick hair on his head.

He looked up at her, grinning. “Please what.”

He leaned down closer to her pussy, waiting.

“Please,” she began. “Stop teasing me.”

“Tell me,” James smiled. “Tell me what you want.”

“James,” she begged, as he placed another teasing kiss on the delicate patch of skin where hip met thigh. He looked back up at her, waiting, licking his lips.

She lost it.

“James,” she spat, looking into his face fiercely. “I want to you lick my pussy. I want you to fuck me with your fingers, and your tongue, and I want you to suck my clit until I come. Then, I want you to fuck me. Please.”

That last please sent shivers though him, striking hard through his cock. She sounded so innocent, so needing. He smiled.

“Well all you had to do was ask, princess.” He grinned from between her legs, and ran his tongue up her pussy lips, hard, wet and wildly hot.

“Yes,” she hissed, and moaned as he sucked on her lips, biting softly, then licking her long and hard again. She grasped a handful of his hair and her breathing turned heavy.

She tasted so sweet and salty at the same time. Damon poked his tongue at her opening, and then licked up, her folds separating as his tongue pushed up at her clit. When his tongue pressed flat and hard against her clit she squealed loudly, and when he suckled on it she started to push her hips up to his face, to rub against him.

He grabbed her thighs hard and she whimpered in pain. He held her legs so that she could hardly move. His breath was shaky against her skin, and before she could ask what was wrong, he pushed his face hard between her thighs, suckling her clit and nuzzling his face into her pussy.

“Oh, my God!” She moaned loudly. “Yes, James! Yes, please, don’t stop!”

He responded by stabbing his tongue into her opening and wriggling it up to her g-spot, and gripping her thighs hard. She was caught between a glorious place, between irresistible pleasure and wild pain. He nuzzled his face against her clit as he fucked her with his tongue, and he moaned at the taste of her cum. She was moaning, over and over, the pulse of her blood beating hard in her clit. Her face and neck and legs were sweaty, but she didn’t stop her relentless humping into his face. She could feel her clit twanging. And her hips ground against his face.

“Yes,” she moaned breathlessly. “Ohh James, yes!”

His pulled his face away from between her legs and she felt true loss, but not for long. He took his two fingers between his index and his little finger, and plunged them deep into her hot silky channel, pressing his palm flat against her clit and hooking his fingers around inside of her, curving around her g-spot. She gasped aloud as he pumped his fingers fast inside of her hot velvet. She immediately began moaning and shaking. He kept his fingers inside of her, but moved up her body, aligning his body with hers. He muffled her moans with his mouth, his fangs catching on her bottom lip as she humped his strong hand.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back teasingly, her moans escaping her mouth as she kissed his lips lightly. She reached down between their bodies and grabbed his hand, pulling it out of her and bringing it up to her mouth. She sucked two of his fingers greedily in her mouth, cleaning his hand and he grinned down at her, leaning his lower body down between her legs.

She smiled his favourite secret smile all for him, and let go of his hand. She ran her hands through his hair and brought his face down to hers, wrapping her legs around him tightly. She trailed her tongue across his lips, and kissed him softly, a sweet, sensual kiss. He deepened the kiss, pressing his mouth against hers tightly and massaging her tongue with his. She broke the kiss to lick and nip at his neck. He seemed to like that as his cock jerked again at her hip.

She brought her lips to his ear and nibbled on his lobe, and he shivered.

“James,” she whispered, in her most innocent, sweet voice. “Do it now, I want you to fuck me now.”

He looked at her face, into her eyes, and shifted his weight so that his cock was pressed against her opening. He would not fuck her now, he would make love to her.

In some part of her mind, Ariana wondered if she could take him. She had only slept with two other guys after all and they weren’t at all up to his standard. No matter her great sex life with Paul, James was a lot more generous. But she wanted him.

He didn’t give her a second’s thought. Staring deep into her eyes he exhaled shakily, and then thrust his entire glorious member up into her hot wet velvet grip. She gasped in pleasure as he thrust into her, and then bit her lip as a sharp pain hit her as he stretched her a few inches. He sheathed his steel inside her to the hilt, groaning at how tight she was, at how hard she gripped him, pulling him in deeper.

She whimpered, and his eyes flashed to her face, which was contorted with pain as he stretched her.

“Ariana?” he felt instantly alert. “Ariana what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Oh James,” She breathed. “James, it… it hurts, so- so good.”

He held still above her, and he shook with the effort it was taking him to hold back.

She dug her hands into his muscular ass, trying to pull him in deeper and moaning.

“James, come on, it feels so good.” She whimpered on those last two words.

He kissed her deeply and started to thrust into her slowly, not wanting to hurt her. But she could feel it- she could feel his restraint. She didn’t realise when, but at some point during this night she had accepted that she was something different, even if she didn’t know what she was. She could feel his fire too, as if it were her own. It was.

“James,” She said strongly. “I don’t want you to hold back. It doesn’t hurt me. Please just come with me.”

It was the right thing to say. He braced his arms on either side of her and held on to her shoulders with his hands. He leaned his forehead against hers and whispered a quiet ‘yes’. She kept her hand against his neck as he kissed her tenderly. And then, smooth as liquid, he stared moving inside of her. Her hands pushed through his hair and she kissed him heedlessly, moaning hard into his mouth. She could feel his skin, his chest, moving above hers. She was more aware of this than anything else in her entire life. It was him, and her, the air, the trees, the lake and the life around them, the magic.

She could feel the small circle of heat in her core expanding, glowing with warmth, burgeoning with each kiss, each breath, growing each time he thrust, hot and hard into her. This was pure paradise, and enchanting on the senses.

She could see the stars, the moon, the laughing trees; she could see him, his beauty, the passion in those fiery blue eyes. She could hear the moans escaping her, the soft breaths and his deep gasps and rough growls, and she could hear the wind breaking through the trees, she could hear she wet sucking sounds her pussy was making as it took his cock. She could hear their bodies smacking together with the force of their lovemaking, and his deep heavy panting. She could taste his lips, his tongue as they kissed. She could feel the sweat on his back, and on the backs of her knees and her neck and face. She could feel exquisite pleasure; she could feel his velvet steel sheathed inside of her hot box, fucking her, getting harder and faster as her moans pushed him on. She could smell hot sweat and sex wafting around them; she could smell sex clinging to his mouth.

He let out a raw, uninhibited growl and he fucked her harder faster, grinding into her hot sticky channel, which drove her on her heels to the limit. He couldn’t help it, her blood was pounding, the sound filling his head. He kissed her neck, licking up the flesh and nibbling on it and sucking.

“Do it, baby,” She moaned loudly. “I want you too.”

With that he moaned, deep and low, and bit hard into her neck, then he simply let the blood trickle out of her neck and he sucked it up greedily. She whimpered and moaned, grabbing his ass and pulling him deeper inside of her. He picked up the tempo, screwing her viciously, fucking her like it was the last thing he would do in his lifetime. She screamed and came all over his cock when he bit her. He was close, and he had taken a lot of blood from her over the past two weeks. He wouldn’t take any more.

She was almost completely sated; she would be completely when he was satisfied. She smiled to herself, feeling more at home than she had ever, with her vampire. Arianna kissed his neck tenderly, as he thrust inside her. He was still nuzzled into her neck when he felt her bite him softly. He hissed and groaned, grabbing a fistful of her silky hair in his hand.

“God, I love it when you do that,” he hissed into her ear with bated breath. “Bite me.”

Did she hear that right?

“Bite me,” He half demanded and half-begged. “Bite my neck until you draw blood.”

She bit into his neck, softly at first, and gently sucked his flesh. He moaned, fucking into her pussy, making slapping sounds against her flesh. She hesitated for a moment, then bit hard into his neck, and kept biting, until she tasted something hot and coppery. Blood.

“Fuck- YES!” he relished in the feel of her mouth suckling on his blood. And he could finally feel her. She was feeling content. He could feel her wonder at his blood; it tasted hot and coppery, like she knew. But she could taste power too, and strength, warm strength.

James gave one final thrust into Ariana’s body and then he came inside of her, jets of hot globby cum shooting deep inside her beautiful body.

“Yes, yes, yes” James gasped. He had never felt pleasure such like this in all of his centuries. He stayed enveloped inside her until all the come escaped his twitching cock. He became aware after he pulled out of her that she was still licking and biting his neck hungrily. He let her continue, the more she drank from him, the more their bond would be secured. Finally, after a couple of minutes, she stopped drinking, and laid her head back against the ground.

“How do you feel?” He murmured, stroking her arm gently.

She couldn’t quite describe it. She felt like her former self was a shadow compared to how she was now. She felt stronger, all of her senses felt… improved. She could even feel the tenor of her extra sense. A magic she had never been able to identify all her life, until she had come to this town and discovered herself. It was there she could feel it, a warm flame, flickering. She felt like she somehow knew herself better. Not only that, she could see better, she could hear better, and her body felt… improved. She was stronger, after a few gulps of that sweet blood. She felt healthy from the inside out.

“I feel… Powerful.” Was that the right way to say it? It seemed a weak word.

She looked at his blue eyes. Wow. She had always been able to see the slight paleness of him. The way he seemed to glow, but now that she looked at him, it was as if someone had turned a light on under his skin.

“Wow…” She breathed. “Your eyes have a little green in them!”

She noticed that sometimes his eyes looked blue as the Hawaii shore, and sometimes they looked clear, and glassy. And now she detected a slight pale green tone in them. Strange.

He chuckled at her awe, and captured a curl of her hair between his fingers, trailing it over her lips and cheeks, all the while staring at her like she was something out of this world. It was a look she had never seen before: admiration, respect and awe.

“And,” she began. “I feel… so good. You felt so amazing. Thank you. I have never, ever felt anything so…”

She sighed, content, and smiled up at him.

He leaned down and gave her a slow long kiss.

“No, thank you,” he smiled. “Ariana…”

Something stirred in her memory. It was time to find out. She sat up and grabbed his hands. She took a deep breath.

“James, that first night that we met,” she began, wondering if she were ruining this perfect moment. “How- how did you know my name?”

He smiled.

“I promise I will tell you everything.” He stood up and brought her with him.

“But first, let’s get out of here.” He smiled again.

“Where?” She was instantly interested. It felt good to stand up. She flexed her fingers, and it felt so good that she stretched her arms fully, and then soon was stretching her entire body. It was a glorious feeling, her muscles moving under her flesh. She could feel the glorious sensation in her pussy as she stretched, the sensation you can only get by being fucked raw and good.

“Mmmm,” she moaned, stretching up to her tiptoes.

James was rendered speechless by her glorious being. He admired how good she looked right now, stretching that sexy slinky body.

Ariana inhaled deeply, smelling the scents around her, the gentle heat of the summer air, the smell of the fresh grass, the woodsy scent of the protective forest. Not even an hour before she had been in the water with James, but now she yearned to feel it through her fingers. She knew somehow that it would feel new.

She padded over to the lake, and she revelled in the feeling of the springy grass on her bare feet. She knelt at the very edge, and stretched out her fingers. She sighed as her hand broke through the surface of the lake. It was cool and soothing. She swirled her hand in the downy water, and was quite mesmerized. The ripples of movement were amazingly intricate, one ripple moving into the other, morphing. She could almost feel her skin steadily absorbing the tiny molecules of water. It was intriguing. She watched the ripples of movement as they travelled far out to the core of the lake. She must have watched for fifteen minutes before she snapped out of her reverie.

She took a deep breath and found James with her eyes. She stood back up and walked over to him, completely comfortable. She felt right being naked. They were surrounded with beauty and grace, with trees and woods that had been here for thousands of years. It was right to be naked as the day they were born.

She slowly circled his neck with her arms and stood up on tiptoe to kiss him slowly, deeply. He ran his hands though her hair, and it felt so good.

“Is it always like this?” She asked when the kiss dwindled. “Is this what it feels like to be a vampire? Am I a vampire?”

“No, you’re not a vampire,” he smiled. “And I guess it’s kind of like a preview of being a vampire. You’ll notice your senses are heightened. When a human turns vampire, it becomes even more intense if you’ll believe it. Vampires can hear for miles, can smell blood miles away, can see for… miles. We can run really fast, we can Influence people and bend them to our will. We can make them forget things, and make them do what we want.

“Sometimes we have extra things too, extra powers, if you will. There are some vampires who can fly, some who can change form. There is a theory that every person has something that they bring over with them into the afterlife. I myself have the ability to sense things in other people. I noticed when I met you that there was something… different about you. I knew that you were special.

“I also have another gift. In my human years I worked in an apothecary, and I was known for my herbal mixtures, I was also known for my kind of therapy. I had customers who would come to me in their time of need; I would make them an elixir of mixtures, and then I would put them in a state of relaxation. I think in the modern world today it is called something like hypnotherapy. I was able to calm them and ease their troubles, I was able to put certain images in their head if I asked them to think about it.

“Which is why, as a vampire, I am able to control the mind better when the human is in a state of relaxation. I can make them see things, they think they are dreaming. Most vampires, they can Influence humans in their sleep any way. But they can only put thoughts into their head, like a sentence to try and bend them to their will, and more often than not the human usually keeps his or her own will. But if I work through dreams, it is easier for me to Influence the human.”

Ariana swallowed hard, thinking about the dream she had about James, and how she woke up to him by her bedside.

“Do you have to be invited in to a human’s home?” She asked tentatively.

He took a second to answer. “Yes.”

“So that… that dream that I had,” she tried to word it right. “That- that was you? There was a door in my dream, I opened it and you were there, was that me inviting you in?”

Wow, she’s fast, James thought apprieciatively.

“Yes,” he hesitated. “In your dream when you opened the door that was you unlocking the window and then climbing back into bed. Then you invited me in.”

“How many other times have you controlled my mind?” her voice was becoming shaky. “Is there anything you’ve done or made me do that you’ve then made me forget?”

“No, that was the only time I swear,” he held his arms out as if to cradle her, but he stopped after a split second. “Well, there was that time in the car park. I was only half Influencing you, because I wanted, I needed to have you. All I knew was that I wanted you. But… you broke my will. That was when I knew for sure you were different. No normal human would have been able to do that. But you were calm and weak when you were asleep so it was easier for me to get inside your head. But, I promise Ariana, I will never try to control you again.”

She wanted to feel angry, she should. But she knew that he felt strongly for her, and he was being true in what he said, she could tell that much.

“You said you can sense things about people,” she took a breath. “What am I? What is this inside of me? Because I can feel it now, James. But what is it? What am I?”

“I’m not entirely sure.” James said truthfully. She nodded, expecting as much.

“I have a lot more questions.” She smiled.

“I know, but first let’s get out of here,” he said again, grinning.

“Okay,” she nodded looking around for her panties, dress and her shoes.

She found her panties first, sprawled on the grass a little way away, at the base of a tree trunk. She smiled and bit her lip, bending slowly to pick them up and stepping into them, tugging them in place. She turned around and James handed over her red pumps. She noticed that in the time she took to put on her panties, he had gotten fully dressed. She placed her heels on the grass and stepped into them, feeling incredibly sexy. He stared at her, admiring her legs, her stomach, her perfect breasts with rough nipples that were taut, her hair, dried in to sexy waves and that flush in those cheekbones. He wanted to eat her right up.

He handed over her dress next, and he helped her step into it, pulling it up over her hips and stomach. She was about to pull the straps up her arms when he stopped her. She looked up at him with a question in her eyes. He moved to stand behind her, making sure to keep her dress around her waist area, leaving her ample breasts exposed.

He took his hand and brushed her hair away from her face and neck, letting it fall to the middle of her back. He wrapped his arms around her waist tightly and she leaned her head against his chest. He leaned his head down and kissed her neck, nipping at the skin lightly. His right hand left her waist to pinch her left nipple and roll her breast around on his hand. His other hand pulled her tighter against his body. She moaned quietly and pushed her ass back against his hard cock. He gasped and seemed to snap out of his dazedness. He stopped kissing her neck and massaging her breast. He kissed her quick on the cheek.

“We’d better go quickly,” he said, looking at her solemnly.

Ariana smiled a knowing smile and hooked her arms through the straps of her dress and pulled it in to place. He zipped her up slowly, and she could feel his hot breath on her back.

“Where are we going,” she smiled brightly at him when he had zipped her dress.

He grinned a lopsided smile and took her up into his arms.

“My place.”

*

“You live here?!” she said incredulously.

She was staring up at a huge grand mansion that was situated in the middle of the woods. It was beautiful- made entirely of red brick, and at least three storeys high. The windows were very old fashioned – sash windows. He had run with her here, carrying her of course, so she thought that he must live in the nicest part of town. There was a large front porch and – of course – oak front doors. Ariana resisted the impulse to roll her eyes heavenward. There was also a high fashioned iron fence that circled the mansion and the grounds that must also be his. Typical.

She also had that familiar feeling of magic swirling around in her veins – like a crackling of electric. He must have wards around his home similar to those that protect Adder’s Tongue.

“I’ve owned it for a couple of centuries now,” he smirked. “I come back every so often to renovate, and I have people keep it in shape for me when I’m gone.”

Centuries , she thought in bewilderment. She narrowed her eyes at him.

“How old are you?” she asked curiously.

“All in time, sugarplum.” He tapped her nose with the tip of his index finger. She again resisted an impulse to poke her tongue out at him like a child.

He took her up into his arms again and much too fast they were at the oak front doors.

Inside was nothing like she expected, but then it should have been obvious. She had expected the inside to be extremely modern and up-to-date. Since vamps obviously lived for a long time they must have everything new from the moment it makes presence. She was wrong. Inside was just as grand as the outside. In fact, it seemed all too familiar. When he set her on her feet she turned to look at the oak front door, frowning. She looked back at the grand entrance hall, the floors marble and the high elaborate ceiling inset with colourful stones. She wondered idly if this strong sense of déjà vu was anything to do with her strange, unknown powers. For some reason she thought of dancing.

“Dancing…” she murmured and turned to look at James, who was grinning. “Of course, the dream you gave me…”

His smile became more pronounced. She moved on, walking into the middle of the large room, knowing all too well he would follow her just like her dream. She noticed a door to the far right of the room, a set of double doors straight ahead of her, and also another door to the far left of the room.

“What’s through there?” She asked, pointing to the far right.

“Through that door is the kitchen,” he whispered in her ear, right behind her as she knew he’d be.

“Why do you need a kitchen for?” She asked, mystified. “Don’t you just have to drink blood?”

“Just precaution,” she could hear the smile in his voice.

She nodded to herself, then turned to the double doors straight ahead of her. “And what’s through those doors?”

“Staircase to the second floor,” he said.

“And through that one?” she asked finally, pointing to the last door.

She felt his lips on her hair.

“The dungeons,” he whispered dramatically and spookily. Then he suddenly grabbed her from behind and nuzzled into her neck. She couldn’t help it and burst into a fit of giggles.

“Quit! Seriously, what’s down there?” she smiled, turning her face up to him.

“Storage,” he said simply. “It leads underground, but I’ve stored everything I’ve ever owned or had reason to keep down there, in all my centuries of life. My treasures.”

“Wow,” she breathed, staring at the door.

“We can go and look if you want,” he said, hesitating. It would mean that he would have to reveal the whole truth to her.

“Really?” she smiled, and he nodded. “Let’s go!”

She broke free of his arms and turned and ran to the door, when she got there he was there holding the door open for her and smirking. She stopped when she got through the doorway. It was cold here, the walls and stairs made of stone, and it was dark. James appeared with a flashlight. She grabbed his free hand.

“It’s quite a way down,” He smiled down at their twined hands.

“Well I have you to protect me,” She smiled.

They set off, walking silently down the stone steps.

*

“How much longer have we got to go?” Ariana shivered involuntarily, cursing internally at her wearing a short dress.

“Just until we get to the end of this hallway, can you see the door up ahead?” he whispered.

She shook her head. “No.”

“Guess my vision is still better than yours,” he grinned. Ariana rolled her eyes.

After a couple more minutes she could see something up ahead in the dim glow of the light – a door. She picked up the speed of her walking and he matched her stride. As they got closer she noticed something shining in the reflection of the light – a key that was hung on a hook on the wall. Her stomach curled with animation.

They had reached the door now, and she looked up at him.

“Go ahead,” he said quietly, nodding at the key that was hung on the wall.

She slipped the key off the hook with an eager hand. It was pretty, old and rusty, but it was elaborately shaped. She thrust it into the lock and turned, greeted with the noise of clacking as the door unlocked. She dislocated the key and gave it to James to hold. Then with hand on door, she pushed. It made a horrible groaning sound, of course, and the smell that greeted her was musky and old. She couldn’t see a thing in the darkness and she felt James go in ahead of her. He passed her the torch and she could see his face slightly, motioning her to wait.

A few minutes passed and she heard some banging. Then, quite suddenly, flickering light flooded the entire room, as if someone had lit a fire. James came back into her view, blocking the glorious sight she had seen before her. He was holding a torch bracket that was lit at the end. He stepped aside as she walked in, mesmerized.

It was a small room she was in, and she vaguely noticed an archway up ahead that no doubt concealed more secrets, but at this moment, her mind was completely focused on the magnificence in front of her.

Jewels, there were piles upon piles of jewels in this room. All kinds you could ever find. Diamonds, lapis, emeralds, rubies, turquoise, opals, moonstones, amethyst, every gemstone you could ask for. They each had their own pile, and they seemed to crowd the entire room. In the corner of the room was a desk, with more jewels on, and fine looking antique jewellery.

She turned to him with a question on her face.

“I was a jeweller for quite some time. It was a hobby that I got too into,” he smiled. “Hey I have nothing but time.”

She was smiling, with a somewhat exasperated look on her face.

“It’s so – colourful – in here,” she breathed. The gemstones were completely natural too, she could tell. Like all living things, gemstones come from rocks, which come from the earth. Ariana thought of them as the earth’s batteries, and she could feel the quiet humming power they gave off. “It’s beautiful.”

“I actually have a small room back at the house, where I still make jewellery,” James said tenderly.

“In fact,” he continued, dipping a hand into a hidden pocket in his jacket and pulling out a box. “I made this for you.”

It was a white box tied with a red ribbon. She stopped breathing, and took the box with trembling hands, whilst a million thoughts ran through her head at once.

Was this some kind of proposal? Maybe it’s some kind of vampire thing… or maybe he’s just giving it to me as a non-serious thing…

She gently took both ends of the bow and tugged with shaky hands. She barely even noticed the red fabric slither away to the ground because he chose that moment to pry the lid of the box.

Nestled inside more red fabric, was the most beautiful pendant she had ever laid eyes on; an amulet, which was almost shaped like a cross, except that there was a loop on the top; I had a vision in my head that it could belong to a warrior Priestess, a protective talisman laid upon her chest, which will strength and aid her for the war to come. It was an Egyptian ankh, which she recognized from the book of Egyptian legends which she would always read, enamored by their stories. Small circular opals were embedded into the ankh, and it was hung on a snake style silver chain.

“Wow,” Ariana breathed shakily, and looked up into his face. “It’s so beautiful.”

She dipped her fingers into the box and touched the necklace, with the intention to pull it out of the box and put it on, but as soon as her fingers made contact with the alloy, she felt an electric shock zap through her fingers and shiver down her arm, slithering through her to fill her whole body. It made her spirit soar and she exhaled an astonished gasp.

“Magic!” she whispered, awestruck. “There’s a spell on this!”

She smiled and looked up at him enquiringly. He was grinning widely as he nodded.

“A protection spell, for you, my amore.” He whispered softly and took the amulet from the box. She grinned and turned her back to him, catching her hair in her hands and lifting it away from her neck. His hands appeared briefly in her vision before they disappeared and she felt the cool silver of the jewelry fall against her skin. He secured the chain and she felt a hot shivering pleasure dance under her skin, it was a dance filled with warmth, passion and security. She felt him kissing the nape of her neck softly, and she shivered again, a different kind of warmth dancing through her body. The beautiful ankh settled right between her breasts.

She turned to greet him, and leaned up to kiss him.

“Thank you,” she murmured against his lips.

He grinned and returned the kiss with zeal.

“Come on, through the next door.” He patted her on the bum and grinned widely.

“What’s through this door then?” She wondered aloud.

He halted to a stop and faced her, looking at her with a serious expression on his face.

“The rest of my treasures. I’ll admit, there are few and they are mostly small, but they’re the only things I’ve had reason to keep,” He smiled tenderly, and took her hand in his, and together they walked through the last door.

*

The next room was colder, and smaller. And also, she sighed, dark.

“One moment,” he whispered in her ear, stirring a delicate shudder down her back at his closeness.

She heard him take a few steps and then what sounded like a scratching sound and then a small flicker of light entered the small space. He had lit a match and was now going around the room, lighting gas lamps.

As more light pooled into the room she found herself able to walk and observe. There wasn’t much. There was a grand cherry wood table against one of the walls with a few objects on that she couldn’t yet identify, and there was also what looked like a painting, half hidden by a while sheet covering it.

As more light collected in the room she found herself moving robotically toward the painting, a feeling of premonition creeping through her veins. She listened to it and stopped in her tracks. It was a sense of foreboding, yes. She had a feeling that she might soon be surprised. She looked back up at the painting, and saw her pale hand lift up to push the white sheet away from the painting.

Instantly two things registered in her mind, important things; first was the startling familiarity of the woman’s eyes in the painting, a strange concoction of green and brown. Second, was the name inscribed on the painting’s frame: McNair.

Ariana felt her eyes bulge and her mouth fall open. McNair; her mother’s maiden name, her grandmother’s surname, her surname. She sucked in a deep shuddering breath and gulped. The woman in the painting, she looked exactly like her grandmother when she was young. Those eyes, so much like her own. She studied the picture closely, Ariana noted that she had the same colour hair as the woman in the picture, the same pair of lips quirked up in a secret smile. The date on the picture read: May, 1802. She noticed that the woman in the painting was holding something to her chest. A necklace, a silver necklace, in a strange cross shape with a loop; it was an ankh amulet. Perhaps the same amulet that laid upon Ariana’s chest.

She wasn’t even aware of James in the room until he whispered into her ear.

“Isobel McNair,” he whispered gently. “Your great-great-great-great-grandmother.”

Ariana looked up at him with startled eyes. “You knew her?” she found herself whispering back.

He gave a wry grin that somehow showed sadness in his eyes and stroked her hair. “She was the most extraordinary person I had ever met, and she was my best friend.”

Ariana felt herself frown as James took a deep breath.

“I had been a vampire, for a long while,” he began. “I had literally no emotions whatsoever. There was no one I loved, I had no friends and I was alone. Then, one night, in the springtime of 1802, I was out hunting. I… came across prey. It was the most mouth-watering smell. I had never smelt anything like it in all my centuries of blood and gore and monstrosity. I would have ripped out her jugular without giving it a second’s thought-” his face suddenly became masked in darkness “- but… Just as I was about to – you know – eat her, she just kind of… zapped me.”

He was grinning widely now, a big goofy grin full of happiness. Ariana looked at him with an incredulous look on her face.

“Yeah. She zapped the crap outta me,” He chuckled softly at the memory, his eyes bright. “And… She told me that she was a witch. That’s when I did the gentlemanly thing, and I walked her home. It was dark, and witch or no witch she shouldn’t have been alone. I was completely taken with her.”

“What happened?” She asked in a raspy voice.

“I fell in love with her.” He whispered softly, staring ahead as his expression hardened in pain.

Ariana felt her own face harden, and she felt something stirring in her gut. Her chest tightened in pain and she turned away from him. “And you still do,” She stated knowingly. She felt him shift closer to her as soon as the words left her mouth.

“Um… I left my car back at Adder’s Tongue.” She whispered softly. “I know it’s nearly dawn, but could you take me back please?”

She felt his hand stroking her arm.

“Sure,” he whispered in her ear before planting a soft sweet kiss on her neck.

Normally she would have responded. But she felt a cold hardness deep in her stomach. She had just found out that her vampire almost-boyfriend was still in love with her dead great-great-great-great-grandmother. Who was also a witch.

“Thanks,” she said clearly and took one of the gas lamps in her hand and walked away from him, out of that door and back into the tunnel leading back up to the house. She didn’t hear him follow her, but she knew he wasn’t far behind.

*

“Thanks for dropping me off,” Ariana smiled at James politely, barely glancing at him, and unbuckled her seatbelt swiftly, stepping out of the car and throwing a ‘see-you’ over her shoulder before shutting it and walking briskly away, fishing in her clutch bag for her car keys as she went. Just before she reached her car however, James stopped her by appearing out of thin air.

“James, what are you do –” She started but he interrupted her.

“You’re angry with me.” He stated abruptly. Not quite a question but she felt he wanted an answer. She squared her shoulders, narrowed her eyes, and nodded once. She watched as his face grimaced in pain.

“Why?” he asked quietly as he moved closer to her and grabbed her hand in his.

“Why?! You’re really asking me why?” She retorted, angry. “Fine, I’ll fucking tell you why! Because you’re still in love with my dead great-whatever-grandma! And it feels to me like I’m the replacement.”

She yanked her hand away from his and walked past him to her car, opening it, shutting the door, gunning the engine, and zooming off. She saw nor hide nor hair of him in her rear-view.