Longing for You

by Jenny Frame

  “After she tasted my blood, she recoiled and looked deeply into my eyes as if she was remembering something.”

  What could it all mean? What Amelia did know was that suddenly their lives had gotten even more complicated.

  * * *

  Alexis stood in the entrance hallway with the two-person team she had put together—Owen, one of Bhal’s warriors, and Trista, a turned vampire with a lot of experience.

  “Okay, stick close to Daisy. Byron has assured her that we will keep her safe, and I intend to keep that promise.”

  “Yes, Duca,” they both replied.

  “Now keep on your toes because Daisy has no fear and mistakenly thinks she can take on the world. Another thing is that she can’t be compelled. We don’t know why, but it helps us. It means that a Dred can’t lure her away. If you need backup, call immediately.”

  They both nodded and went to the drawing room doors to wait on Daisy.

  Just then the front door opened, and Katie came through it. Alexis had to physically stop herself from running to her. Katie had been out for a jog after lunch before she started her afternoon tasks. Alexis was comfortable enough with that because after the other night at the park, she’d put a guard on Katie with orders to keep off Katie’s radar.

  They hadn’t talked since their argument. Alexis hadn’t wanted to face the decision she had to make—love Katie completely and live with the fear of her mortality, or walk away.

  It was so hard to keep away from Katie. Alexis ached for her deep in her soul, and the ache was made worse by not feeding. She didn’t want to hurt Katie’s feelings by feeding on another, so she’d been surviving on bottled. One thing was for sure, if she fed on Katie, there would be no going back. She loved her too much.

  Katie had on a little pair of shorts and a tight bra top. Vampires were blessed with enhanced hearing, taste, and smell, and she was using all three while lusting after Katie. Sweat was dripping down Katie’s chest and into her cleavage, her breathing heavy from the exertion. Alexis imagined that this was what she would hear and taste if she made love to Katie again.

  Then she smelled blood, and panic filled her. She hurried over to Katie and saw she had a cut hand.

  “Katie? Are you all right?”

  “Oh, you’re talking to me, are you?” Katie said with her hands on her hips.

  “Yes, of course. What happened?” Alexis asked.

  Katie looked puzzled for a second and then looked down to her cut palm. “Oh, this? An aggressive thorny bush on my run. Nothing to worry about.”

  Katie dipped her finger onto the fresh looking wound. The tip of her finger was now bathed in red blood. Alexis couldn’t take her eyes from it. She was salivating both for blood and to touch Katie. Alexis didn’t know what she’d like to run her tongue over first, the blood or Katie’s breasts, kept tightly in that teasing crop top.

  Then Katie teased her even more by putting the tip of her finger, with the blood on it, into her mouth and sucking her finger seductively. Alexis was gone. In that moment Katie owned her, and if Katie had taken her hand, Alexis would have let her lead anywhere.

  But instead Katie popped the finger from her mouth and said, “I better get showered and back to work. See you later, Alex.”

  Alexis found herself standing alone. Hungry, ravenous, and no way to sate it.

  * * *

  Later that day, Byron called Alexis and Bhal for their usual evening meeting. After Daisy’s revelations, it was even more important.

  “Things have gotten ever more complicated,” Byron said. “Duca, is your information still that Victorija remains conspicuous by her absence?”

  There was a long pause. Alexis looked as if her mind was somewhere else. Byron looked at Bhal and Bhal raised her eyebrows.

  “Duca?” Byron said a little louder.

  Alexis jumped. “Sorry, Principe. You were saying?”

  “Is Victorija still keeping a low profile?”

  Alexis sat up straighter in her seat. “Yes, my informant in France says that she hasn’t been seen. Drasas, her Duca, has been taking care of clan matters.”

  “If she knows about Daisy,” Bhal said, “she will move heaven and earth to get her.”

  Byron sighed. “I know, and once she does, she will never let her go. The Grand Duchess wanted me to attempt to bring Victorija back into the fold, but that seems even more remote now that she is bonded by blood to Daisy. She will be going slowly insane. I know how that feels.”

  “We can’t afford any olive branch to Victorija now, Principe.” Alexis slammed her hand down on the desk. “Forgive me, Principe.”

  Byron saw how red Alexis’s eyes were. She was hungry for blood. “Have you fed recently, Duca?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “I need every one of my people in readiness for whatever is coming our way. Our resources will be stretched. We have the Principessa’s parents’ funeral at the end of the week, Daisy needs to be protected, and Sera arrives back tomorrow.”

  Bhal said, “I’ll go myself and pick up Sera from the airport.”

  “I’d be grateful, Bhal. I need more people surrounding her, and make sure Wilder understands how important her job is, protecting the Principessa. I feel there’s a war brewing, but whether it’s with Victorija or someone else, I’m not sure.”

  * * *

  Alexis felt like a thousand fires were erupting under her skin. They had been lit by Katie this afternoon. When she left Byron’s office, she didn’t know how she could stomach any more bottled blood or not touch Katie.

  How could she think about living without her? But if she gave in to her lust for her blood, her body, her heart, then she would be setting herself up for more heartbreak in her long existence.

  She put her foot on the first step of the staircase and closed her eyes. Alexis tried to breathe calm into her soul.

  Just get up to your room and lock the door.

  She ran up the stairs but stopped on the top landing. Alexis looked to her left, towards the corridor that Katie’s room was on, and then right, in the direction of her room. It was physically painful trying to make herself go right.

  Alexis was fighting a greater foe than she had ever faced—her own self. Her grip weakened for a second, and then she sped off to the left and found herself in front of Katie’s door.

  You don’t have to do this. Don’t do it.

  Alexis could almost taste Katie. She put her hands and head on the door.

  If you do this, losing her will destroy you.

  * * *

  Katie was lying on her bed scrolling through her iPad. She was a little bit disappointed that her teasing of Alexis earlier hadn’t worked. She had planned it all. The other night after thinking about what Alexis had been through, losing Anna, she’d decided that she had to take charge of the situation.

  Alexis was stubborn, though, and so she made plans to tease the vampire out of her. Katie planned her run during the busiest part of the afternoon to hopefully catch Alexis going about her business in the house.

  Katie had seen Alexis’s eyes on her before when she went out running, so she wore her skimpiest outfit and, while out running, thought up the brilliant idea of drawing blood from her hand, with the help of a bramble bush.

  Katie looked down at her bandaged hand and remembered the reaction she had gotten from Alexis when they talked in the hallway. Alexis’s eyes were blood red, and her fangs had erupted. She looked as if she was about to give in to their passion right there and then.

  But then Katie had walked away, hoping that would nudge Alexis to come to her later. She’d waited and waited this evening, but nothing.

  Katie sighed. Maybe Alexis wasn’t as desperate as she was to make this work.

  Then she heard a soft thud on her bedroom door. Not a knock, a thud as if something was thrown against the door. She got up and tiptoed over.

  From underneath the door she could see the shadow of feet standing just outside. She put her hand on the doorknob, her
heart thudding in her chest, and opened the door quickly.

  Alexis was standing there, breathing hard, her eyes dark blood red.

  “Alex? Are you okay?”

  Alexis took a step inside the door and, without saying a word, simply put her hand on her chest. Their sign of love and honesty. Katie responded by returning the gesture. Alexis shut the door and said, “I can’t fight it any more, Katie. I don’t have the strength or courage to live without you or your love. I love you.”

  Tears came to Katie’s eyes. Those were the words she had been waiting to hear since they’d first gotten together. Alexis cupped her cheek and used her thumb to wipe a tear away then rested her forehead against Katie’s.

  “I’m sorry if I upset you,” Alexis said.

  “I should be sorry. I’m sorry for what I said and did the other night. I love you, Alex. We can make this work if you trust me,” Katie said. “When did you last feed?”

  “The other day. I didn’t want to feed on anyone else,” Alexis said.

  Katie was blown away by Alexis’s devotion. She stepped back, pulled off her nightie, and dropped it on the floor. She watched Alexis’s eyes turn an even darker red and her tongue snake around her teeth, but yet she didn’t move.

  “Alexis? I consent, and I’m yours.”

  At the sound of those words, Alexis shot over to her. Still, she didn’t dive in. Alexis trailed her fingers from Katie’s cheek, down her chest, and circled her nipples.

  Katie moaned and pushed one of Alexis’s hands onto her breast, but Alexis pulled it away and turned Katie around, so she was facing away from her.

  “No, I want to feed from you the way I wish I could have, the way I wanted to the first time around.”

  A ripple of pleasure ran through her at the memory. “Yes, Alex, just like that.”

  Alexis ran her lips over the area she was going to bite and Katie shivered. “Do you consent?”

  Katie looked over her shoulder. “I always consent to you.”

  Alexis immediately sank her teeth into Katie’s neck. Katie gasped but then let her body relax. Katie took Alexis’s hands from her waist and moved them to her breasts.

  Alexis squeezed them, and Katie felt the jolt of electricity shoot down to her clit. She wanted to come with Alexis’s teeth in her.

  “Alex, show me what you would have done our first time, if you could have,” Katie said.

  Alexis moved one hand from Katie’s breast and pushed past her underwear. She pushed into Katie’s wetness and moaned against her neck. Katie pushed back against Alexis’s groin, and she thrust her hips back.

  She could hear how overcome Alexis was becoming and reached her hands back into Alexis’s hair as she had done the first time they had done this. Only that time, Alexis had run.

  Alexis needed to come, needed to make Katie come. All the fears, the confusion, the love she had for Katie had to find an outlet. She quickly looked around the room and saw the chest of drawers.

  She walked Katie over to it and heard Katie moan, “Yes.”

  Alexis stopped her feeding and pushed Katie over the chest of drawers. She needed to thrust, needed to come so desperately, that her hand shook as she pulled down Katie’s underwear then unbuckled her combat trousers and dispensed with her own jockey shorts.

  She opened herself up and pushed her clit against Katie’s buttock, then slipped two fingers into Katie easily. Katie gasped and then moved her hips with Alexis.

  “Is this what you wanted to do to me the first time?” Katie asked in a breathy voice.

  “Oh yes, I wanted to fuck you.”

  Alexis felt the burning pressure build up inside her sex as she thrust into Katie. Her eyes drifted to the fresh bloody bite mark on Katie’s neck. Her mark. It turned Alexis on even more. She thrust faster as her need demanded and heard Katie beg, “Faster, Alex. I’m so close.”

  “Fuck.” Alexis did as requested and put her other hand on the back of Katie’s neck, holding her in exactly the right place.

  She felt Katie’s walls start to clench her fingers, and then Alexis was gone. Her hips pounded against Katie’s buttock as her torrent of an orgasm rushed out of her, feeling like it was rushing into Katie.

  “Fuck, fuck,” Alexis cried, and then all the energy left her legs and she leaned over Katie. Katie’s orgasm had passed, but she still felt the fluttering of her walls on her fingers.

  “I love you,” Katie said.

  Alexis got her breath back and pulled Katie up and into her arms. She hugged her tightly. “I love you, Katie, and I always will.”

  * * *

  Katie lay with her head on Alexis’s chest and her leg wrapped around her. They had been lying in quiet contemplation for a while now. Alexis was calm now that she had fed on her. Katie was so happy to have her lover back and trusting her. She had to find a way to bring up the question of transition without upsetting Alexis.

  “Alex?”

  “Mmm?”

  “I’ve been thinking about something since we argued in your room.” Katie pushed herself up on her elbow. “I just want you to know I understand how hard it is for you to be in a relationship like this, with a human.”

  Alexis sighed. “I tried to stay away from you, but it was too late for my heart.”

  “I know it upsets you, but I do think we should talk about me transitioning.”

  Alexis sighed again. “Katie, let’s not ruin the moment.”

  “I’m not, and don’t get upset. I just want to talk about it in a calm and adult way,” Katie said.

  “If you must.”

  Katie had gotten past the first hurdle. “Okay, well, you thought I didn’t take the change seriously enough, and I probably didn’t. I’m sorry for hurting your wrist, by the way.” Katie lifted Alexis’s hand and kissed the now healed wrist.

  “Don’t worry about it,” Alexis said.

  “What if I thought it through and showed you I was serious about this?”

  Alexis took her hand. “I know your heart is in the right place, but if this is something you want to do, I’d need to be sure. Otherwise I’d always feel selfish for allowing you to do it.”

  “Okay, fine, but I want you to promise we’ll talk about this in a few months’ time. I’m going to prove to you I’m serious. I love you, and I don’t want us both to be in such pain leaving each other. Promise we’ll talk about it in a few months’ time?” Katie said.

  “Six months. I promise, if you think about what you’d be losing very carefully,” Alexis said.

  “Okay, deal,” Katie said quickly.

  That was as good a deal as she was going to get. She rolled on top of Alexis and grinned. “Now I’m going to show you how much I want to spend forever with you.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Byron wrapped her arm around Amelia’s waist as they were gathered around her parents’ grave. She saw the other attendees from the church look at her in disdain. It had been quite an experience for the church members to have Byron, dressed in a man’s suit, and Jaunty and Simon in their church. She could only imagine what they would think if they knew she was not only gender nonconforming but a vampire.

  At the service the pastor had given the assembled mourners a lecture about hell and had looked at their small group and shouted, “Where will you be when the Lord comes? Where will you be? You’ll be in hell if you don’t change your ways!”

  It was not the kind of church service she was expecting. The church was an old community centre outside the village where Amelia’s parents lived. Amelia explained that the locals went to the more traditional—more normal—Church of England church in the village. But this small congregation was quite different. The church members were not local—they travelled here from all over. And Byron realized how oppressive this extreme church would have been for Amelia growing up.

  Amelia stepped forward, took some earth from the pastor, and threw it down into the grave. As she did, she said, “Thank you for protecting me.”

  The graveside serv
ice was now at an end, and everyone started to file back to their cars. Byron tried to take her hand, but Amelia said, “I’ll just go and thank the pastor. I’ll see you in the car.”

  “If you’re sure,” Byron said.

  Byron went back to the car and settled inside. Five minutes later a stony-faced Amelia joined her.

  “Is everything all right? If he’s upset you—” Byron asked.

  “Let’s just go.”

  Byron nodded to Alexis in the front, and she told the driver to drive. She took Amelia’s hand. “What did he say?”

  Amelia sighed. “Oh, just that I’m going to hell to burn forever, and how ashamed my parents were of me.”

  Anger simmered inside Byron. If she had been there, she would have scared the living daylights out of him for upsetting her wife.

  “Nonsense. He doesn’t know that your mum and dad showed love to you the only way they knew how, by protecting you. Don’t even listen to that fire and brimstone stuff.”

  “I know. It’s still hard to be reminded that my childhood was spent listening to this.” Amelia got out her phone and started texting.

  “Who are you texting?”

  “Magda, to see if she can give me a lesson when we arrive back in London,” Amelia said.

  “You can’t go right after your parents’ funeral. I know you’re sad, frustrated, and angry. But I thought we could have supper and go to bed early. You said you felt queasy earlier—you need a rest.”

  “Byron, I want to be distracted. Learning how to control my powers will do that. Please?”

  She wasn’t so sure it was the best idea, but if that was what Amelia wanted… “Okay, if Magda can see you, we’ll drop you there, and I’ll do some paperwork.” Byron said to Alexis, “We’re taking the Principessa to The Portal bookshop.”

  “Yes, Principe.”

  Byron watched Amelia rub her stomach and screw up her face. “Why don’t we stop and get a sandwich first. That should settle your stomach.”

  Amelia nodded. “Okay.”