They slid and rocked together, limbs working, bodies pressing and slapping against each other in a natural instinctive dance of the flesh. Great waves of delicious sensation swept through Teresa’s belly, her legs, her arms, her fingers and toes. Even her hair seemed to be tingling with delight and almost standing on end.
But she knew there was more, and even in the midst of such a cyclone of pleasure, she recognised again the greater and more life-changing lure. Embracing its ultimate call, she arched her neck and offered her throat, her fingers digging deep into Zack’s black curls to draw him to her.
He roared again, a huge sound resonant with joy and triumph, but also a fatalistic ‘no’ of horror and resistance. But it was too late, those basic instincts were in control.
The pain, when it came was immense. This was no little nip, and the drawing of a few mouthfuls of blood. This was the real thing.
Hard, unforgiving teeth plunged through her skin, probing for and then finding the rich pulsing vessels they sought. Hot blood began to flow, sweet and abundant. Teresa moaned again as her pleasure spiralled and became unrecognisable. Perhaps the pain was pleasure? Or the pleasure was pain? She couldn’t tell. She only knew the exquisite joy of feeding and being fed on by her love.
On and on it went, her sex rippling and clenching and contracting around Zack in time to the steady pulsing surge of blood from her throat. The sensations were sublime, and she was aware, somewhere in the centre of them, that Zack was ejaculating inside her, and yet he stayed hard, his cock unflagging, solid and cool.
She began to float, as if weightless, insubstantial. She was drifting on a sea of warm primitive feelings, cosseted and buoyed up by love, suspended in a drifting crimson cloud. The pleasure seemed to melt and change, become ever more languorous, drowsier and less substantial. There was no effort in the union now, just ease, and gliding, flowing sweetness …
From a great distance, she seemed to hear an agonised voice, crying, ‘No! Oh no!’ but it could have been merely her imagination.
Is this a dream? How strange it is. Am I awake or asleep?
Still drifting, Teresa became vaguely aware of motion, things happening around her and to her. It was disorientating, but she wasn’t scared. Zack was with her. Zack was taking care of her.
With very little help from her, he was helping her back into her clothes, while she just stared around, dimly registering her surroundings and even her own body. She could smell blood, rich and tantalising. Staring at her own fingers, she found traces of red on the tips and around the nails, and it being the most natural thing to do, while Zack was searching for her shoes, she popped each finger into her mouth, one by one, and licked off the life-giving fluid. It tasted just as appetising as it smelled.
And then she was being carried along, her arms around his strong neck, her face buried against his scented skin, against his unbuttoned collar.
‘I’m so tired,’ she murmured, nuzzling, ‘I could sleep for a month …’
‘It’s OK,’ her beloved whispered, ‘you’ll soon be back in bed.’
Teresa wanted to say how nice that sounded, but before she could frame the words, she was already fast asleep.
8
It seemed to Teresa that it was many, many weeks before she finally woke up from that dream.
She recalled the carrying to bed, the putting to bed, and then the next morning and conversations with Zack as the two of them packed up their belongings and then drove back to town.
How easy and tranquil it had seemed, chatting to her friend – her buddy – about this and that, and making plans, some vague, some definite, for the weeks and months to come. The only thing that bothered her was the return of her tinnitus now and again. She’d resolved to see a doctor sooner or later.
What an excellent idea it seemed to begin to look for a new flat of her own while Zack was away, visiting his old friends at the Priory of St Benedict in North Yorkshire on retreat. Yes, it really was time she stopped presuming on the generosity of this kind man. She had some savings – in fact her bank account was unexpectedly healthy – and it would be fun to decorate a place exactly to her own taste. And with her out of his hair, Zack could get on with his research and his writing, and they could always pop around and see each other when she was settled, couldn’t they?
She was sad to see Zack leave for Yorkshire, and she’d shed a few secret tears. But ever the thoughtful one, he’d arranged for his cleaning lady come housekeeper to put in a few extra hours in his absence, so Teresa would have some company around the place while she was looking for that flat.
Everything was planned, organised and trundling along smoothly. At least it seemed that way at first.
But then the changes began. Or perhaps it was just that she started to notice changes that had already occurred – and her memory began to sharpen.
And that wasn’t the only thing that got sharp.
She began to wake in the night from hot red dreams about Zack. Wild erotic flights that left her aroused and yearning and voraciously hungry. But when she opened the fridge, there was nothing in it she fancied.
One night, she dove into the freezer and found some icy packages of Zack’s iron shake – the ones he kept for emergency when fresh supplies were delayed for one reason or another. Inexplicably, her mouth began to water, and the shape of it felt strange and unfamiliar.
Defrosting the hard frozen red pillows, Teresa absently ran her tongue over the edges of her upper teeth – then squeaked out loud when she got the shock of her life.
Then suddenly she saw an image of his hand, fingers crooked, moving strangely.
But there was no need for a magician’s pass now. The delicious odour of blood brought everything back. Everything he’d blanked out in his misguided attempt to ‘save’ her.
She smiled.
In the small hours of the morning, Zack let himself into the still, dark house. His housekeeper never stayed overnight, so it should be empty – but the back of his neck prickled when he sensed a vague presence.
Teresa!
She shouldn’t be here. He’d deliberately stayed out of contact for the six weeks he’d been away, hoping it would be easier for both of them that way. It was difficult trying to blur the mind of someone as sharply intelligent as his beloved, and if they were separated, the dangerous memories would fade to nothingness.
But she was here. He could tell, but even if he hadn’t been a vampire he would have been able to detect her. That was what a never-dying love could do for you.
Jumbled feelings roiled in his heart.
He felt pure joy that Teresa had stayed in his house – and red anger with her for resisting his influence and putting herself in danger.
Racing up the stairs, he felt almost alive. He could swear his heart was pounding in anticipation, and the blood was surging through his veins. It was an illusion, but despite his confusion, it was exhilarating.
The door to Teresa’s room almost broke on its hinges, but the emptiness of her room made him want to howl. Had he been wrong? Was it just the memory of her presence he’d been sensing?
He smelt the air.
The essence of her was strong in the room. Maybe that was it? Her glorious perfume and the lingering sensual odour of her body made him catch the breath he no longer needed. He felt both unmanned and also wildly, insanely aroused at the same time.
Stomping away down the corridor, he sought his own room, still absorbing the scents of Teresa as he went.
In his own bedroom the lights were out, but he could still clearly see that there was a hump beneath his quilt, and tousled teak-brown hair poking out onto his pillow. In the blink of an eye, he was ripping back the covers.
Teresa peered up at him, rubbing her face sleepily. He knew it was feigned – he could sense her sharp mind rising to meet his.
‘What the hell are you doing here?’
‘I thought you’d be pleased to see me, Zack.’
Her delicate nightgown slipped from her sho
ulder as she sat up, baring her neck and shoulders, now perfectly smooth and unblemished again. Zack suppressed a groan as his cock went rigid and his fangs instantly lengthened.
He shook his head, more confused than ever.
He wanted her. He felt pure joy because she was still here and in his bed – but the danger, the danger. Last time, they’d gone so close to the edge that he’d feared they’d crossed the line.
‘I am … but I thought we’d agreed that you were getting a place of your own?’ The words came out muffled. He had his knuckle pressed to his face, hoping to mask the state of his canines. There was still a chance to get out of this gracefully, without hurting her. There was still a chance to set her free, so she could live and not be cursed by the condition that defined him.
Teresa laughed – a pure twinkle of sound.
‘You don’t have to hide. I know what you are. I woke up from the spell you put on me.’
Zack dropped his hand from his mouth and glared at her.
‘All the more reason for you not to be here. You know how dangerous I am to you.’
‘I don’t care.’
Her head came up, her chin lifting. She looked different somehow, he realised, more beautiful than ever if that were possible. Her skin was pale and creamy and her lips were rosy. There was a gleam in her eyes, dark and knowledgeable.
‘Well, you should! You can’t stay around me. You’re not safe.’ His fingers tingled with the need to touch her, especially when she came up on her knees in the bed, reaching for him, her face sultry and challenging. Unable to stop himself, he grabbed her by the shoulders, gently shaking her. ‘You have to leave, Teresa. Please, for my sake! I couldn’t bear it if I harmed you … if I changed you.’
‘Too late, my love.’
The words were quiet, but they seemed to land in the centre of the room like a great stone.
‘No!’
Zack’s words weren’t quiet. His great shout seemed to bounce off the furniture.
Teresa was smiling at him, the beautiful colour of her eyes ringed with crimson. Her neat white teeth were made uneven by delicately pointed canines.
‘But you didn’t feed from me.’
He cradled her jaw, running his thumb lightly over the points of her fangs. They were rudimentary, only slightly pointed, not true vampire teeth.
Yet.
‘I tasted a little of your blood on my fingertips. From where I scratched your back.’
Zack quickly wracked his memory, sifting through all the lore he’d studied when he’d first been changed himself. If she’d only taken a few drops, she could still revert. She could still be normal and live a human life. If she got away from him now, and took no more blood.
‘Please, Teresa, you’ve got to go. If you stay around me the compulsion will only grow … and I won’t be able to resist you.’
‘Whose compulsion? Mine or yours?’
‘Does it matter? Please, my love, just go!’
But her eyes were clear, despite the crimson. He sensed her intelligence. Her will. Her full knowledge of what lay ahead. And her desire for it.
Most of all, he read love in her expression.
‘I can’t go, Zack.’ Her arms slid around him. ‘I love you. I need to be with you.’
A sudden last urge to free her welled up.
‘What if I don’t love you?’ he demanded, trying without success to shake her off him. But she was already far stronger than she’d been before, and she laughed softly, pressing her face, and her body, against him.
‘You might be a vampire, Zack, but you’re a poor liar.’ She pulled open his shirt, kissing his skin. ‘And I’ve already got … well … powers.’
She kissed him again, her tongue stroking against his collar bone.
‘It’s no use telling me you don’t love me because I know you do!’
Oh, but you feel so good!
Teresa smiled against Zack’s cool skin as she waited for him to admit what she knew was true. He didn’t speak, but his arms closed around her. The sense of being enclosed, and of being cherished made her feel like swooning. It was an old-fashioned word, one she’d never have used before she met him, but it was the only one that fitted.
‘I do love you.’ His voice was low and clear, but she could tell that the confession cost him. ‘I love you … and I want to be with you forever.’ His arms tightened, and he tilted his head back, as if looking to heaven for knowledge.
‘So what’s the problem, Zack?’ She rubbed her face against his cold-as-marble skin, loving its smooth silky texture, loving the fact that it would never go slack, or sag, or grow sallow with age. Loving the simple joy of the contact.
His hand settled over her hair, gently stroking.
‘But forever means just that, my love. Forever. And ever.’ A deep shudder passed through him. ‘And if you choose it, you’ll never walk in the sunshine again. And in a few years, your friends, your family … well, even if they wonder why they never see you much in the daytime again, they’ll certainly start to notice that you’re not ageing.’
He put her from him, looking into her eyes. Teresa saw that his eyes were reddened, and with her already-sharpened senses, she could taste his desire. Despite the stress of the moment, he couldn’t stop himself wanting her.
‘You are my friend, Zack. I love you and I want you, but you’re my buddy too. You always will be.’ She reached out, took his face in hers, made him look at her. ‘My parents are dead … my sister and I aren’t close. And I’ll deal with everything else when the time comes.’
‘Are you sure?’ His eyes were crimson now, burning – happy.
‘Completely! Now come on, finish the job. I want to be like you, not just half and half.’
‘With pleasure … with pleasure, my love,’ murmured Zack, his voice gruff with emotion as his arm swept around her again and with his free hand he cradled her face.
Tenderly, he kissed her, his soft lips sweeping over her mouth, then her jaw and on down her neck to the tenderest, most vulnerable spot. She felt his tongue caressing her skin, over the vein, as if soothing the place in readiness.
And then – ah, the pain of the bite! Sharp, blade-like fangs plunged in and immediately the blood began to flow and with it the pleasure. He was supporting her in his arms, his hold on her almost chaste, but it felt to her as if he were caressing and stimulating every nerve-end in her body, most of all her sex.
The sensation was sweet, mind-bending and exquisite, like tumbling and soaring at the same time. She felt both weak and strong, and the very quick of her body was shimmering and rippling with an intense sublime glow. As he drew on her powerfully, she spiralled to a peak, crying out and coming.
As she floated, still in that impossible state of ecstasy, he lifted his mouth from her neck and kissed her on the lips. She tasted her own blood like a sacrament – and hunger surged in her to drink from a different source.
Still supporting her, Zack leaned back, ripped open his shirt and, in the classic romantic vampire’s gesture, he drew a nail across his chest, over his heart.
Dark-red blood oozed from the little wound, the ultimate temptation.
And the final step.
After this there would be no going back, no further chance to retain her humanity.
But as she looked up into her lover’s red eyes, she embraced her choice.
Inclining forwards, she began to drink – and to change as Zack cried out in his own ecstasy.
Afterwards, they made long, slow, simple human love. Sliding and rocking against each other they kissed gently and stroked each other in leisurely exploration. There was no biting or exchange of blood, just pure sensual pleasure, sublimely heightened by supernatural senses.
Eventually, Zack lifted himself free of her, lay back against the pillows, and pulled her to him again. Teresa smiled. He no longer felt cold to her. Their body temperatures had equalized.
‘So we don’t bite each other any more then?’ she observed, touching her fin
gertip to his chest where the little cut that she’d fed on was already as good as healed. ‘Presumably I can’t feed on you and you can’t feed on me.’
‘Oh we can, but only for mutual pleasure.’ Zack’s fingers slid down her back teasingly, and to her delight, Teresa felt lust begin to stir again. Before tonight, she would have been too exhausted to go again so soon after such a prolonged dance of love. But now she had strength and energy to spare and she could feel that Zack was ready again just as soon as she was.
‘Ooh, I like the sound of that.’ Her sex rippled spontaneously at the thought of Zack at her neck again.
‘But for nutrition purposes, I’m afraid we’re confined to animal blood from now on. Not quite as tasty, but still perfectly acceptable.’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve tried it. It’s not bad.’ She kissed his chest.
‘I’m glad of that,’ observed Zack wryly, his voice teasing, then immediately, she sensed him become more serious. She no longer had to look at his face to perceive his emotions, she simply knew them. ‘It’s a huge transition, my love. Your life has changed utterly now. Everything’s different.’ He paused, his strong arms tightening around her. ‘But I’m here – I’ll always be here. And I’ll do everything I can to make things easier for you.’
And he would. She knew that. She had no doubts.
There was an adventure ahead, a different life and an unimaginably long one.
But as they began to make love again, her still heart glowed with perfect happiness.
Zack was her best friend as well as her lover – and everything was possible with him at her side.
Forever.
Also by Portia Da Costa:
In Too Deep
I just want a taste of you. Or a touch. My fantasies about you plague my every waking hour. My only comfort is imagining that similar fantasies might obsess you too.
The Red Collection Page 40
