by Susan Harris
“Stunning,” I whispered. He shuddered, slamming our mouths together. His tongue warred with mine, skillfully stroking me into a fever pitch. I writhed, feeling an ache below that I knew needed to be relieved. I almost screamed when I felt his hand between my legs. I was burning up, and I didn't know why or how to ease it. He rubbed me through my panties, and I felt some of the pressure there dissipate.
“Oh, God,” I moaned. I heard something rip, and then his fingers were rubbing my swollen flesh.
Panic flashed though me.
“W-wait.” He stilled immediately.
“What is wrong, little goddess?” I dropped my head to his shoulder, warmth flooding my cheeks.
“I've, I've never done this before.” I squeezed my eyes closed and hugged myself closer to him, hoping to disappear into his strength. Warm hands stroked up and down my back.
“It’s okay. We will go slow. I have waited an eternity for you. A few extra moments will not hurt me.”
I felt tears leak from my eyes onto his shirt, and I gave a little sob. I turned my face into his neck and breathed him in. I felt my trembling fade away.
“You're the one who’s been following me.”
“Yes. For many years.”
For some unknown reason, I smiled.
“Why?”
“I told you, little goddess. You are mine. Forever.” Strangely, peace stole over me. It felt as if a part of my life had finally clicked into place. I sighed.
“Will it hurt?”
“Only for the briefest of moments. Then you will feel nothing but pleasure.”
“For some reason I believe you.” The fear I'd felt earlier evaporated. “Why me, though?”
“You are my other half. Without you, I am not whole.” I caressed the back of his neck. “For many years, my thirst burned through me. Then I saw you. You were just a child. I knew I had to wait, always watching out for you, waiting for the day you would cease the hunger.” He kissed my hair, and I smiled into his throat.
“Okay.” It was as much an order as it was acquiescence. I looked into those eyes again, wondering how I could have ever thought Marcus was attractive. He slowly lowered his head, and I felt the fire in me begin to burn again. He stoked the flame until I was wanton with need. So many sensations skittered through me. I broke away again, and saw what I thought was pain flash across his face, but it was gone as soon as I'd had the thought.
“Just not in a dirty alley.”
He groaned. I had a moment of dizziness, and everything went black. Then colour and objects raced in, and I saw we were now in a bedroom.
“Oh.” I only had a moment to see my surroundings; a massive, four poster bed, cream carpet, and sparse furnishings, then I was tossed onto the bed, and Steele's body completely covered mine. The ties holding my bustier together were no match for his deft fingers. I thought I heard him mutter about too many laces, and then I was bare from the waist up. He gazed at me with wonderment, and then his mouth was on my breasts. I arched against him, and fisted the sheet in my hands. He kissed a path from one breast to another, burning a trail across my skin. He then started down my stomach.
He growled when he reached the top of my skirt. I thought he was going to rip it off me, but instead, he pushed it up to my hips. I looked down and saw a luscious heat in his eyes. He ripped my stockings and shoved them to my knees where they met the tops of my boots. He slid his hands up the insides of my thighs, and caressed his thumbs against me. I closed my eyes, but they flew open when I felt his breath against the most intimate part of me.
“Umm,” was all I could manage. I had curled my hands into fists.
“Hush. It will be okay.” He stared into my eyes until he saw I was comfortable once again. I lay my head against the pillow. He kissed each of my thighs, and then he kissed me. He slowly licked and sucked until I was writhing against the sheets. My breath came in short little gasps, and I had my hands in his hair holding him there. I felt the sudden invasion of his finger and groaned.
“Steele.”
His thumb circled my clit while his finger pumped inside of me. I felt the pressure build, and when he added a second finger, I burst into a million pieces, screaming his name.
“Oh wow,” I said breathlessly.
“Wow, indeed.” I felt cool air on my skin when he got up off the bed.
“W-what are you doing?” I asked wide-eyed. I never knew I could feel like that.
“Undressing. This will not work fully-clothed.” A small smile played over his lips. I watched him slowly undress. First he removed his shirt to reveal perfectly tanned skin over rigid muscle. His hands went to the button on his jeans, and I felt heat suffuse my cheeks. I looked away and heard him lower his zipper. It sounded too loud in the quiet room, and I squeezed my eyes shut.
“Now is not the time to be shy, little goddess. Look at me.” I heard the command in his voice and had to look at him. He stood beside the bed gloriously naked. I stared into his eyes and began a slow, nervous perusal of his body. I again let my eyes wander over the expanse of his chest and quickly looked down, where I saw his erection standing proudly against his stomach. I swallowed noisily and looked away. There was only so much I could handle at once.
I felt his weight beside me, and I rolled slightly against him. He stroked the hair away from my face.
“Demeter.” My name sounded exotic on his tongue. I turned to him. His blue eyes were blazing again. “Would you like me to help you with your boots?”
I nodded, incapable of speech. I had never shared such a personal and erotic moment with anyone before. He moved down the bed and pulled my leg on his lap.
“Laces and buckles?” He smiled as he worked them undone. I watched as one boot thudded to the floor, soon followed by the other.
Next were the fishnets.
Slowly, he massaged his way up my legs until he reached my skirt. He straightened it out, found the zip, and it too joined the others on the floor. I was now lying bare before him. I had an urge to cover myself with my hands, but I kept them resolutely at my sides.
“I have never seen as lush a body as yours, little goddess.”
I smiled tentatively. “Jenny has…” he placed a finger to my lips and cut off my words.
“I will not hear of another while you lay naked in my bed.” He lay beside me and began stroking my breasts. I gave a little gasp. He settled his weight against me again, and I felt his heat steal into me. His erection was pressed into my hip, and I gave an involuntary roll of my hips.
“Not yet. I want to go slow with you.”
“I'm ready, Steele.” I finally found my voice. He nodded and shifted until the blunt head of him pushed at my entrance. I had a moment of panic, wondering how much it was going to hurt, and then he was finally inside me. He stilled almost like he had anticipated my reaction.
“I'm okay. Just go slow.” I realized I was digging my nails into his shoulders, and I went to release him, but he shook his head. He pushed in another inch, and I dug my nails in deeper. It was a strange sensation, him stretching and filling me. He began kissing my neck, and I relaxed slightly. He gave one hard push and I gasped at the sudden, stinging pain. I felt a tear roll down the side of my face.
Steele kissed it away.
“It won't hurt much longer, I promise, little goddess.” He kissed my lips as I nodded, and he began to slowly move. Pain was soon replaced by pleasure, and I opened my eyes to see his staring right back at me. I felt the pressure build again, and rolled my hips instinctively against him.
“That's it. Move with me.” The pressure deepened and so did his thrusts. Soon we were moving together, sweat coating our skin. My sensitive nipples rubbed over his chest, creating a delicious friction.
“Steele, I'm close.” I raked my fingers down his back which made him shudder delightfully against me. His paced increased, and I finally felt everything come together in an explosion of intense pleasure. I felt a sudden pain at my throat, and was again lost to the blinding, whit
e light where I felt like I'd reached the stars. Steele drank from me, and I felt ripples of pleasure roll throughout my body.
I started to panic when he didn't stop drinking. I began to feel light headed, and grey spots danced in front of my eyes.
“Steele, you need to stop.” My voice was weak, and I felt my heartbeat slow down. I tried to push him away, but I was too weak. He groaned against me, and I felt a sigh slip from my lips. Darkness began to cloud the edges of my vision, and my arms slipped from his shoulders. I heard my heartbeat slow dangerously, and again I whispered his name, until he finally looked up.
“I told you, you would be with me forever.”
He returned to my throat, and I finally heard my heartbeat stop. My last thought before I died was that I'd made a terrible mistake.
I floated in darkness for what seemed like an eternity, neither hot nor cold. I felt incredible happiness, though. A bright light engulfed me, and I shuddered back into consciousness. Steele stood facing a window that took up an entire wall. He was staring out at the New York nightscape. I tried my voice.
“Steele.”
He whipped around and strode to the bed, collapsing to his knees beside me and reached for my hand.
“Little goddess. You scared me. I thought you were never coming back.” His thumb rubbed soothing circles over my wrist.
“What did you do to me?” My voice was croaky and weak.
“I made you like me.”
“Like you?” Memories came flooding back.
“Yes, you are now vampire. You will be strong again, soon. Just relax for a moment.”
I closed my eyes, fighting sleep when the warmth flooded my body. My eyes snapped open, and I sat up. I looked down at myself; I was clothed in what must have been one of Steele's shirts. I looked up at him just as my mobile rang. I jumped up and scrambled around on the floor looking for it.
“Here you go.” Steele handed me my phone.
“Hello?”
“Demeter. Where the hell are you? I've been looking for you for hours.”
“I um, I left with that guy.”
There was silence on the other end.
Then a squeal.
“Oh. My. God. Why didn't you tell me? I am so proud of you!”
I looked at Steele, knowing he could probably hear every word.
“Okay.”
“So what's going on? I want all the deets!”
I knew if I didn't put an end to the conversation soon, I'd be on there all night.
“I'm going to stay.”
“Oh hell yes! My baby's growing up.”
“Turns out, I got to meet a real vampire after all.” I smiled at Steele. He grinned back.
“Love you. Bye.”
“What? Oh, yeah. Bye babe. Don't do anything I wouldn't do!”
I ended the call and strode over to Steele, wrapping my arms around his waist. I smiled up at him.
“You know you're stuck with me for eternity, right?” I said snuggling in close.
“That was the idea.” He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tight. “Eternity. I like the sound of that.”
Betula’s Angst
Stephanie Greenhalgh
Betula’s Angst
Stephanie Greenhalgh
And here I thought he was dead. It never occurred to me to even check. I’d never had to check before. I had always been able to tell by the way the heartbeat became more and more faint until it just stopped. I’ve been a vampire for 173 years and NEVER mistakenly left anyone alive. How could I be wrong now? Why didn’t he die? And more importantly, what was he planning to do tonight since he wasn’t dead? She wondered.
Betula contemplated all these questions as she stared off in the distance and watched him walk into the liquor store. None of this made any sense. She knew from personal experience that this dirt bag was going to drink himself into oblivion, snort too much crystal, and would probably go beat or rape another woman. She prided herself on killing only the most inhumane humans she could find. It was her mission, the only thing that kept her putting one foot in front of the other every night when she rose.
Once Betula was turned, she donned bright red hair, facial piercings and wore only black. However, before she was turned, she had devoted her soul to God. She was a lady of the cloth. She had lived in a convent. She had prayed several times a day.
One night, she had been out picking berries for a homemade blackberry cobbler for her sisters. She hadn’t intended to stay out that late, but the blackberries were scrumptious, and she had just needed a few more. That’s when he appeared. The tall, dark mesmerizing man held out his hand, and she went to him willingly; she couldn’t help herself. Within moments, he had sucked the life right out of her and left her for dead, laying next the blackberry bushes. As she lay there dying, she reflected on the importance of her life. She found peace and readily waited for God to take her soul.
Seconds before her heart beat for the very last time, a woman appeared. She was a small, petite blond woman with sparkling blue eyes. She looked to be about 15 years old, only a few years younger than Betula. She took Betula into her arms with great strength, whispered calming thoughts into her ear and brought a foul red liquid to Betula’s mouth. Out of sheer desperation and will to live, Betula drank the thick, repulsive liquid, and she immediately began to feel her strength return. The childlike creature cried with wonderment.
“You must rest now, darling one. You will feel much better after you awake,” the blond said, as she cradled Betula’s head in her arms and caressed her forehead. That was the moment Betula had become what she is today. She now sucks the life out of people.
The irony was not lost on her that her human soul was forever damned now that she was a nightwalker. She just couldn’t control the bloodlust. The hunger raged inside of her; she couldn’t deny it or block it out. She had no choice but to feed it, and the only way to feed it was to take a human life. She discovered a long time ago, if she didn’t give into the hunger, it made her crazy, and she lost control. When this happened, she would kill random humans, sometimes the sweet and innocent.
As she began taking human life she experienced a conundrum of sorts. Pure souls or innocents tasted sweet and succulent, but the blood of the damned souls tasted putrid and foul. Every night, she quite literally had to suck the life force out of the delicate human species, least she submit to the intense burning inside her. So she declared herself a killer well over a century ago, vowing to only kill the depraved and wicked and accept they’re less than desirable flavor as punishment for what she was.
Abigail, the young, blond woman that had “saved” her, taught her the ways of the vampire world; she taught Betula how to stalk her prey, how to fight and how to kill. She also taught Betula how to mask a murder, to make it look natural or like an accident. Abigail taught her how to find the damned souls, so Betula could begin to redeem her own. Abigail taught Betula everything she knew and then disappeared. Betula awoke one evening 150 years ago and found herself alone. She’s been alone ever since, even though she had searched high and low for her maker, her friend, her companion.
Betula effectively stalked her prey. She would watch them commit arbitrary and corrupt acts of evil. She had one rule: she only killed the murderers, rapists, and drug dealers of the world. She only killed bad guys, or at least, that’s how she rationalized the death she brought about nightly. The blood of the bad tasted terrible, but it satisfied the craving or hunger that tormented her nightly. As long as she fed on one damned soul a night, she could fight the hunger. However, if she missed a night, she feared she’d lose control and indulge in the sweet scent of the wholesome.
This latest sleaze that she thought she killed last night was the run of the mill scumbag. He sold drugs to children, sold women to men, and used women as his own person fornicating punching bag. Truly, she was surprised he hadn’t been killed a long time ago by a human or thrown in jail. The fact that she eliminated people like that helped her sleep at day
break.
Right now, the harder Betula thought about everything she thought she knew, the more her head throbbed. She blinked her eyes and tried desperately to wrap her brain around what was going on, but she just couldn’t focus. The world around her began to spin and her knees gave out. She found herself lying on the ground behind the dumpster next to the liquor store. She sensed the man she killed last night. He was close, but he wasn’t human anymore. He was like her now. She tried to get up, but she couldn’t raise her arm, she couldn’t raise her head, she was falling. She became dizzy, her vision became blurry, and her eyes began to close.
