Taken in the Night

by Tara Fox Hall

“Nothing yet,” I said, sultry and rough, “but maybe you can help me with that?”

  Danial blinked at me, and his mouth fell open.

  “I want you, Danial.” I unbuttoned his pants with a yank, undoing his belt, and throwing it to one side. I stroked him with my hand, feeling him stiffen. “That’s right, get it up.”

  “Stop it—”

  “Take me now, Vampire, or by God, I’ll find someone else who will,” I snarled.

  He bared his fangs and hissed, anger flooding his eyes to red. Then he was on me. Without preamble, he shoved me against the wall, yanked down his pants, and pushed inside, thrusting so hard it hurt. I lolled back my head against the wall as he hammered himself into me.

  I looked down at him through half lidded eyes, drinking in his lust. I wanted what was happening with everything I was. I was slippery with arousal. Yet strangely, the desire raging through me didn’t want release. What it wanted was his release.

  Abruptly, Danial came, crushing my body against his. As he finished, the desire faded, leaving me weak and shaky.

  “You didn’t seem to enjoy it,” Danial panted angrily. “Why not?”

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered, tears in my eyes. “I didn’t mean it, Danial—”

  “You meant it,” he groaned, pulling out of me. “Stay there. You’re bleeding.”

  He moved for the bathroom, pulling up his pants. Scared, I slid down the wall slowly to sit on the floor.

  Danial returned with a wet washcloth. He carefully helped me clean off the slight blood smears, then helped me to the bed.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, taking me in his arms. “The blood is minimal. You have a couple tears in your skin, from me being so rough. The baby is fine.”

  “I am so sorry,” I whispered. “I don’t know what came over me.”

  “Shh, Sar, it’s not your fault. This is likely a side effect of having my child.”

  “Being wanton?” I said, incredulous. “Wanting to be hurt?”

  “You didn’t want to be hurt, you wanted sex. I think my desire for blood is manifesting itself in you. Our baby is half vampire. It makes sense it would feel the same desire.”

  “How do you conclude my wanting sex has anything to do with the baby needing blood?”

  “It’s not logical, when you put it that way. I’m only saying you may have odd urges because of our child’s dual nature. Most pregnant women have them with human children. Your urges may be slightly more…aberrant.”

  “How do you know this?” I said softly. “Stephen never said anything—”

  “Terian mentioned because baby would be half vampire, some of its vampire nature might cause you to do odd things as it was developing. He also reminded me of the transformative power of demon blood. He said he didn’t know how either might manifest in you or if it would do so at all. We are all operating blind, Sar. No vampire has ever done this in my lifetime.”

  “I didn’t know that.” I hugged him tighter. “Terian told me dhamphirs were rare.”

  “They are. None currently exist,” Danial said gently. “Don’t be afraid. Whatever you need me to do, whatever you ask, I’ll do it, Sar. You’re okay. I’m here.”

  “I’m so afraid,” I said in a small voice.

  “I’ll take care of you. Don’t worry, darling,” Danial said softly. “I’m here.”

  We lay together for a long time in silence. Finally, I fell asleep.

  * * * *

  The next few months brought repeat performances. I’d be doing something normal, like working outside, reading, or showering and suddenly I’d be overcome with desire, what Danial and I began to call “The Lust.” The mood was all encompassing, complete and total, and until it passed, I was helplessly in its grip. Within days, it quickly became clear the surest way to break the Lust’s hold over me was through sex, primarily fierce sex. Often, sex involved bloodletting.

  My complete loss of control while under The Lust, coupled with its provocative sluttish behavior, mortified me. I had never been a prude, but my demands went beyond the familiar realm of loving sensuality to base carnality, almost sadism. Even worse was my constant worry if Danial wasn’t nearby, I’d try to find someone else to sate me. Worst of all was my fear The Lust wouldn’t end until the baby was born.

  True to his word, Danial was always there to take it from me by sex and bloodshed. He had me on Elle’s bed, in the kitchen, on the dining room table, on the great room couch, on his desk in his office, outside on the lawn, and even on the stairs. It was always the same. We coupled in varying fashions. I drank in his desire for me and then came back to myself, often bruised and sometimes bleeding. The blood was always mine, usually from bites I asked for in the heat of passion.

  When I was again myself, Danial usually healed the bites either with a little blood or with gentle kisses. We both worried about me turning so he used blood to heal only the worst ones to the point I wasn’t in pain. Some of the bites were deep, in places where I regretted asking for them when The Lust had left me.

  By luck and a lot of planning, we were able to keep my condition from Elle. Helpfully, The Lust—save for the first occurrence—manifested itself only between dusk and dawn. Oddly, it came in intervals that while not regular did form a kind of pattern, so over time Danial and I could make reasonable guesses of when I’d likely be affected and when I’d probably be okay. Though not perfect, the analysis gave me a handle on an otherwise untenable situation.

  I saw my mother briefly a few times, trying to reconnect with her. I didn’t tell her I was pregnant, knowing how she still felt about Danial. Though Danial was nearby, waiting in the car, those visits went off without incident or embarrassment. Other than that, I stayed indoors, secluded, emerging only for nighttime walks with the dogs and Danial as often as possible.

  Suddenly one night, without warning, our carefully worked out analysis fell apart. I’d recovered from an episode with Danial in the early evening and, thinking myself safe, had gone with Cia to the werefox compound to see Aran Jr. In the midst of our visit, The Lust possessed me again. It was only by luck Danial was nearby when it happened, target practicing in the indoor range beneath us, and I headed in the direction of the faint shots. Needless to say, I missed the Hallows party the next week as a result. Unable to secure chemically-induced unconsciousness in my pregnant state, I stayed up for almost twenty-four hours before to ensure I would sleep the whole time Danial was gone. Happily, it worked. Yet when I awoke, I reached for him, The Lust again in control.

  After that, The Lust again fell into a kind of pattern for a few days, then abruptly stopped. I breathed a sigh of relief when a week had gone by with no recurrence.

  “I think it’s over,” I said confidently that night as we lay together in bed.

  “I agree,” Danial said with relief. “You’ve never gone even half this long without symptoms since it started.”

  “It scares me, though,” I murmured. “What other weirdness can I expect? I’ve still got at least five more months.”

  “We’ll solve it like we did this,” Danial assured me. “I’m not leaving town again until you deliver.” He kissed my forehead. “What are you going to do tomorrow? Elle has an outing planned, I believe.”

  “She’s visiting the local nature preserve with Bill and Janice. Her interest in tracking and wildlife is still going strong. I’m not going, of course.”

  “I concluded that. What are you going to do?”

  “I need to weed and cover the flower gardens one last time. There’s snow predicted by the weekend. The roses you had planted for me need to be pruned back for next spring. The job’s way overdue as it is.”

  “Fine, but don’t overdo it,” Danial cautioned. “You’re not as strong as you should be.”

  “I’m fine,” I said grumpily. “I’ve been gaining weight steadily.”

  “Not enough,” he amended. “Your morning sickness stopped you eating fruit—”

  “I’ll be fine if I can get a good night’s s
leep,” I said crankily, turning off the light.

  Danial hugged me gently and didn’t reply.

  * * * *

  The next morning started perfectly. I enjoyed working with the roses, singing to myself. The sky was blue, and the air was fragrant, if a little chilly.

  Suddenly, The Lust hit me like a physical force. I took a ragged breath, and then looked around me. No male was near. The nearest was Danial, inside sleeping.

  I got up, tossing aside my gardening gloves and my trowel, and headed inside. Slamming the front door, I stalked in, then grabbed the large mirror off the mudroom wall and smashed it on the floor. Stepping on shards, I headed toward the bedroom deliberately slowly, breaking every picture on the walls along the way. My one consuming thought was to wake Danial, to make him furious, to bring him to me, red-eyed and wrathful. To my disappointment, despite the crashes of shattering glass, he didn’t emerge before I reached his door.

  I would not go to him like some simpering wench with no power or pride. That son of a bitch was coming out here to me.

  I stalked to the far end of the great room, my desire heating up with the flames of anger. Grabbing the huge framed topographical map of Colorado in both hands, I began to pull it down off the wall. Breaking this would bring him out of his dreams, if I could just tear loose the screws...

  A noise came from behind me in the kitchen.

  I turned slowly, inclining my head and then glided toward it. Terian was there in front of the open fridge, his back to me. He was dressed in a loose shirt and some stained and dirty torn jeans. The scent of blood, pine, and earth was suddenly strong in my nose. The Lust loosened its control over me, peculiarly hesitant. I gripped the doorframe with one hand and leaned heavily against it as I shook my head slightly, trying to clear it.

  “Hi, Sar,” he said, not turning. “Want a sandwich?”

  “You have blood on you,” I whispered.

  “I’ve been practicing how to dive and roll while shooting,” he replied. “It’s harder than it looks, but no worries, I’m already healed.” He rubbed his thigh slightly, mud and specks of dried blood flaking off. “I’ve just got to find a spell to get rid of pine pitch.”

  Swiftly the three scents became overpowering. The Lust roared up within me, screaming to be fed.

  I grabbed Terian by the hips, pulling him back hard against me. “Fuck me.”

  He jumped and then turned in my arms. “Sar? What the hell—?”

  I kissed him, my tongue sliding fast between his parted lips.

  Terian kissed me back and grabbed me in his arms, heat radiating from his skin. He ran into the great room, getting hotter by the second. Bursting through Danial’s door, he dropped me on the bed in a tangle. Danial sat up with a start, blinking his eyes.

  “Help her,” Terian said, backing away. “It’s The Lust—”

  He turned and went for the door. Before he got a step, I grabbed him by his belt loops, yanking him backwards. His weight knocked us sprawling, pushing Danial out of bed and onto the floor.

  I crawled on top of Terian before he could stop me. “You want me, I can feel it,” I said, my lips parted, my eyes dark forest green. I moved my hips on his. “Don’t be shy now.”

  “No, Sar,” he gasped.

  “Yes,” I said, reaching for his belt.

  “No,” he yelled, the blackness seeping out of him, winding out to curl around me.

  I drank it in with an amorous sigh and smiled. “Yes,” I cried with glee, unbuckling his belt and reaching inside eagerly.

  “Stop!” he shouted.

  I suddenly couldn’t move my limbs. I tried with all my will, but managed only to twitch.

  Terian moved carefully from under me and retreated to the door, watching me with fear and distaste. I couldn’t go after him so I leered instead, letting my lust show itself on my face.

  Danial pulled me back against him on the bed. “Get out of here, Terian.”

  Terian slammed the door. Suddenly I could move again.

  “Let me go. I don’t want you, I want him,” I said, sneering.

  “You want to be fucked,” Danial said coarsely, pulling off my pants. “Cooperate.”

  I shoved Danial away and tried to get up. “Not by you, you bastard.”

  Danial grabbed me by the neck and threw me down on the bed, suddenly enraged. I struggled furiously, but he turned me over on my stomach roughly, tearing me as he thrust into me. I let out a yelp, then relaxed, the pain and motion of his body on mine stilling me.

  Danial did not relax his death grip, his panting loud in my ears. The sex was hard, rapid, and devoid of emotion, desire without love, care, or conscience. I drank it in, wallowing in it.

  Danial came, screaming utter release. I shifted beneath him, beginning to regain my will. The instant I moved he sank his fangs into my shoulder, bringing a scream from my throat. The pain was instantaneous. In that act, whatever had been fueling my urges finally let go of me, and I fainted.

  * * * *

  I woke up sometime later in Danial’s arms. He quickly tightened his arms around me.

  “Sar, are you back?”

  “Yes,” I said wearily. “Thanks for healing me. You must have, because nothing hurts.”

  “Of course, sweetheart. Now what happened?”

  I related being possessed by The Lust and finding Terian in the kitchen. “I’m sorry I broke your pictures.”

  “Terian has already gathered them and the glass has been cleaned up. I’m more concerned about you.”

  I began to cry, gripping him tightly and sobbing. He hugged me back, whispering soothing words.

  “No one blames you for what happened. Don’t cry. This can’t last forever.”

  “I feel like I’m losing my mind,” I whispered, drying my tears on my sleeve. “I can’t take much more of this.”

  “You’ll sleep days with me and be up at night,” Danial said tiredly. “I’ll stay near you at all times and you’ll go back to being confined to the house when I’m not with you. We should probably have done this from the beginning—”

  “What about Elle?” I said, panicked. “Someone has to get her up and make breakfast—”

  “Cia can do that—”

  “Until when?” I said hysterically. “I’m not due for another six months.”

  “I can’t have you assaulting the bodyguards either,” Danial said loudly.

  I cringed at his words. “I’ll stay in the house,” I whispered, ashamed.

  “Do not be ashamed,” he said firmly. “I’m not judging you, and you must not judge yourself. No one here thinks badly of you.” He kissed my cheek. “Let’s try my suggestion, okay?”

  I nodded, burrowing into his chest.

  * * * *

  For the next few weeks, I did as Danial asked, but The Lust did not reappear once. Two weeks from the last occurrence of The Lust, a new symptom emerged; hot flashes. Soon that built into a general feeling of overheating so much I sweated almost constantly, despite the steadily cooling weather.

  Stephen had no answer. “I’m sorry, but the baby you’re having is outside my realm of expertise. I don’t know of a single dhamphir outside of novels and myth. I can’t help you.”

  “What should I do, Stephen? I’m dehydrating from all the sweat, no matter if its sixty degrees or forty.”

  “If you’re hot, use ice to cool yourself. That’s all you can do,” he said. “Just watch your temperature doesn’t fall too rapidly.”

  “I’ll watch over her,” Danial assured him. “Thank you, doctor.”

  Ice became my close friend for the next few months. The heating problem increased to the point where I’d sit in cold bath water laced with ice, sweating. Surprisingly, that not only helped with the heat, it also helped my aching back, a result of my advancing pregnancy

  One night as I was cooling myself, Danial came in and sat by my side, his face expressionless. From experience, that meant something was wrong.

  “Danial, what is it?” I said, c
lasping his hand and luxuriating in its coolness.

  “Samuel called a little while ago. He said he has evidence Theo escaped from the sadist who bought him.”

  Chills not from the cold water surrounding me ran up my spine. “What proof?”

  “An American cougar was on board a ship that arrived in Alexandria, Egypt. It was bound for a sheik’s palace somewhere in Ishafan, Iran.”

  Hope rose in my heart. “Did Samuel find Theo?”

  “Samuel sent some of his people to check out the situation. They paid off a guard for information, trying to find the best way to attempt a rescue. To their surprise, they discovered the cougar never made it to the sheik’s palace. It escaped.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “I’m happy for that, but there is no proof it was Theo, or even male. It could have been a female for all we know.”

  “I know, after Nineva I’m afraid to hope either—”

  “It’s not Theo. He’s dead, Danial.” I turned to face him. “We’ve been here before. Each time, we hear some more clues about what might have happened and get our hopes up. What do we have to show for it? Ghosts and rumors.”

  “I agree. The last sighting we have we’re certain of was Nineva’s. Theo would never stay away this long, but I didn’t think it fair to keep the information from you.”

  I stood up with effort as Danial helped me from the tub. I looked into his eyes, asking him to understand. “Danial, I can’t keep hoping anymore. Every time we get more information that turns out to be nothing, I’m torn apart all over again.”

  “I know, Sweetheart.” He wrapped me in a large towel and hugged me gently. “I’d ordered a headstone almost a year ago and had it inscribed, before we found out the body wasn’t Theo’s. The empty grave was filled in, after we exhumed Will’s body. I’d like to hold a service next week, if you’re willing. We never held a proper funeral. I would like to now.”

  “Yes,” I said, nodding. “It’s time to say goodbye.”