by Maya DeLeina
Steffan took in a big spoonful and let it rest on his tongue. He loved the taste of dark chocolate. He savored the lingering palate of the smoothness, the sweet finish of a decadent velvet sin.
“Oh my, this is excellent, Anya.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
Steffan took another spoonful and let the mousse slide down his throat. As he swallowed, he felt a pain in the pit of his stomach. His body started to race with fever. He glanced at his wristwatch.
Idiot.
It was 7:41 p.m. He had taken Consumption just as he made his way down the mountain to pick Anya up. That was at 1:40 p.m.
How did I lose track of time?
Steffan was in a full-blown panic. His mind was racing for things he could do or say to block Anya’s involvement in what was about to happen. He could enthrall her, forging the scene that took place. But enthralling to erase memory was dicey during a mate quest or claiming. It could hinder the strength of the bond she had to him. Worse still, he could completely sever the ties, never regaining the ability to connect with Anya again.
No. The price was too high. This was not an option.
Steffan quieted his anxiety and settled into the reality of the moment.
There was nothing else he could do. It was going to happen, and Anya was going to be witness to it. His body was going to erupt violently, trying to force the intake to process through his vampiric system. Of all the drastic transformations the human body design went through at turning, this was by far the most radical. Vampire digestive systems adapted to accommodate a liquid diet, ready to quickly deliver blood protein throughout the circulatory system. Without Consumption suspended in his body, there were no processes to manage any solids. Instead, his cells would go on the attack, treating the intake as an intruder. As the war inside raged, his body would burn with fever and convulse viciously.
The pain would be excruciating.
And with that, clue number two was just around the corner. If his earlier assessment in carelessly cutting his finger was his idea of losing control, then this was absolute hysteria.
“Anya, I need your help,” Steffan said calmly as he pushed the blanket off his shoulders that cocooned him to Anya.
Anya turned around. The alarm in her eyes told Steffan that she knew something was very wrong.
“Don’t panic. I’m burning up with a fever right now. I need something very cold, ice water or ice to put under my armpits and behind my neck to help bring down this fever…fast.”
“I…I…” Anya’s voice was panicked. “I have all of these instant ice packs!” She scrambled to retrieve six of the instant ice packs that she’d used to keep the mousse chilled. The flexible packs looked like little frozen pillows, resembling the pattern of the quilt. Anya took off her sweater shrug and balled it up.
“Let’s take this off.” Anya unbuttoned Steffan’s shirt and removed the material from his chest and shoulders. Heat radiated from his body. She placed her hand around his neck and then tested his temperature on his forehead with the back of her hand.
“Lie back, Steffan, you’re burning up!”
She placed her sweater behind his head as she gently guided him to lie down on the blanket. Anya hovered over his body as she formed the ice packs to fit in the crevices of his armpits, behind his neck and on his forehead.
Steffan watched Anya in admiration as she moved with swift care and attended to his needs.
“Steffan, do you feel better? What else can I do?” Anya searched his eyes.
“Better. I’m sorry if I scared you, Anya,” Steffan said with a ragged breath.
“You mean scared me again, right?” Anya responded in an obvious attempt to make light of the situation.
Steffan nodded. “Anya, I think I may scare you even more with what’s about to happen. No matter what you see or hear, just hold on to me and try to keep my body down, close to the ground. I promise it’ll be over with quickly.”
“Huh?”
Steffan’s body started to shake violently. He tried to remain quiet in an effort not to further frighten Anya, but the pain was excruciating and he let out a deep, agonized cry.
“Steffan!” Anya tried to hold him down by his shoulder to no avail. “Oh my god, please, what’s happening?”
Anya started to tear up.
“I don’t know what to do, Steffan! I’m scared.” Anya’s tears streamed down her face.
Suddenly, Steffan’s eyes rolled back in his head. His body continued to contract powerfully.
“Oh shit! Steffan, can you hear me?”
Steffan didn’t have the ability to communicate with Anya to reassure her that they were almost in the clear.
He felt helpless.
“Please, I’m falling in love with you. Don’t leave me, don’t leave me now!” she pleaded.
The pain slowly dissipated, and Steffan’s brutal body convulsions subsided. His eyes flew open in search of Anya. She was kneeling above him, tears streaming down her face as she gently ran her hand through his hair. Steffan sat up and embraced Anya.
With the rush of adrenaline gone, Anya collapsed in Steffan’s arms, crying uncontrollably. A mix of emotions ran through Steffan. He was torn between regret and elation. Regret for the fear and anxiety he had just put her through, but pure elation in the knowledge that she was falling in love with him. Through his attack, he’d heard everything she said.
Anya pulled back from his embrace and screamed at him. “What’s going on, Steffan? Tell me! Tell me now what’s wrong with you!”
“Shh, Anya. It’s okay. I’m okay. I am so sorry you had to see that.” Steffan held Anya closely as he tried to calm her.
“Steffan, you have me. From the moment I saw you, I was yours. But now I’m seeing that you’re ill and you won’t tell me what’s going on. Obviously, it’s bad if you can’t tell me. Look, I can’t go through another heartbreak. I’ve been through too much. I’m sorry, I just can’t.” Anya cried as she spilled out her heart to Steffan.
His heart broke into a million pieces. His mind told him what he needed to do.
Tell her. This cannot wait.
“I wish I could take everything that just happened back, I should’ve been more careful. You shouldn’t have seen that. But I’m truly fine, Anya…per se.” Steffan held her tightly as he slowly laid her down on the blanket and reached for the quilt to cover their bodies. He pulled her close to his chest. Her head rested on his bicep. He gently lifted Anya’s knee to straddle his hips and inched himself closer to her. He needed to feel her body pressed against his.
He needed to be consumed by her and erase the years of pain, for both of them.
“No, I’m a strong woman. I’ve been through a lot in my life to know that I’m resilient and can handle just about anything that is thrown my way,” Anya recited mantra-like. “Whatever it is, even if you’re not meant to be here for long, you’ll have me by your side. You will not be alone. Just be straight with me. Give me at least that.”
Tears flooded Steffan’s eyes. Not since Arianell’s death had he cried in his vampire existence. “Anya,” he said in pure veneration.
Steffan sank into her lips. His mouth engulfed Anya’s in a deep, ravenous kiss as she responded without consideration or uncertainty. His hand glided along Anya’s body under the covers. Slowly, he reached under her skirt and traced the smooth skin of her thighs up to her hips. He let his hand caress down to her buttocks, her thong, allowing unrestricted access to her flesh.
“Touch me, Steffan,” Anya said as she took Steffan’s hand and placed it on her breast.
Steffan responded, slowly cupping and massaging her in his hand. He dipped his tongue into Anya’s mouth.
Anya groaned in desire and set his body on fire.
He moved Anya’s knee off of his hips and slowly pulled his arm from under her head. Reaching for the balled-up sweater, he gently lay her head down.
Steffan lifted to his knees, repositioning himself between her legs. Anya opened her
legs wide in acceptance. He shifted the quilt behind him and pulled it around his waist.
Wanting an unhindered view of Anya lying beneath him, Steffan reached for the buttons of her shirt and slowly undid each one. Button by button, Steffan’s heart beat deeper and faster.
Steffan delicately laid Anya’s shirt open, exposing her plunging, white satin bra, and quickly noted the front clasps of the garment. He smiled as his fingers traced down her cleavage. In one crafty move, the clasp was undone. He searched Anya’s eyes for acceptance as he slowly exposed each breast.
With a grunt of need, Steffan stood up and undid the button of his khakis, never releasing from Anya’s gaze. He stepped out of the pants and lay back down, covering Anya’s body with his.
He lowered his mouth to her breast.
Anya’s sweet flesh ravaged his senses and he fought for control. He never tasted anything quite as exquisite. Encircling her nipple with the wet smoothness of his tongue, he lingered, changed pattern, pace, and direction, making Anya moan in delight. And when he caught her nipple between his teeth, Anya gasped.
“Steffan,” Anya said in an erotic delight. She trembled slightly in his hands.
Steffan sucked more of her into his mouth and moved to ravish her other breast. Anya opened her legs wider and tilted her pelvis to brush against his hardened shaft. Steffan responded in a slow pumping motion into her hot center. He explored each breast with his mouth before starting his descent down her body.
Anya’s body was now trembling.
“Anya, my love. Are you scared? Do you want me to stop?”
“No. I’m not scared. I just can’t control my body, Steffan, I don’t know why. Please. Don’t stop. I know you wanted to wait, but I want you to make love to me. I need this. I need you inside me.”
“Oh, I can’t stop, my darling. I want you to see me love you. I want you to feel me inside you,” Steffan responded breathlessly as he continued his exploration of her body. He pulled her skirt down her body and snaked it around her feet, freeing her of the garment. He balanced on his elbows as he positioned his head between Anya’s legs. He traced the outline of her thong and gently curled his finger under the material, running his knuckle along her moistened heat.
“You are so wet. I want to taste you.”
Anya gasped for breath. “Taste what you’re doing to me.”
Steffan moved the material to the side and exposed Anya’s most intimate flesh for his eyes. He ran his tongue up and down her plump folds and slowly sunk his tongue inside her. Anya moaned in deep pleasure. She dripped with sweet juices just for Steffan as he explored her freely.
Steffan reached for her thong and gently removed it from her hips and down her legs, allowing free access to her most private area. Steffan buried his tongue back into Anya with a deep-seated need. He planted kisses all around her folds and then centered his attention on her clit as he focused on Anya’s eyes.
Anya cried out in ecstasy then bit down on her forearm to stifle her cries. He continued to ravish her very center as he plunged his fingers into her, changing the rhythm of his exploration. Steffan retracted his fingers and slowly stood up. He dipped his glistening fingers deep into his mouth, running his tongue up and down, licking up the traces of Anya.
Steffan stood tall over Anya, His chest heaved and his breath quickened. Slowly, his hands moved, making their way to the waistband of his briefs.
Anya’s eyes focused on him with an unwavering intensity. The look of raw desire in a woman’s eyes was nothing new for Steffan. But something more than lust-filled emotion sparked in Anya. It lured Steffan deeper into her spellbinding gaze. There, in Anya’s eyes, Steffan saw his own reflection.
Anya was his destiny.
Unsure or not, Anya was going to know he was a vampire and he was going to start the ritual. Now.
Inching down his briefs, Steffan slowly revealed his thick cock to Anya. He stepped out of the briefs and ran his hand up and down his shaft.
“Oh my god,” Anya said breathlessly as she measured up Steffan.
Steffan lowered back to Anya and positioned himself at her opening. He sat back on his heels and ran the head of his cock up and down her wet pussy. Anya quivered uncontrollably. She arched her back, jutting her breasts in the air and pushed against Steffan.
She was ripe. She was ready.
Steffan grabbed the quilt and draped it over his shoulders. As he settled back in place over Anya, he looked deep into her eyes, his strong arms stabilizing his body.
“Anya, you must listen to me.”
“Yes, Steffan?”
“I’m sorry to have scared you this evening. I wanted to reveal things slowly to you, but I need you to know everything now, before we become one.”
“Whatever it is, I’m yours.”
“I’ve waited my entire existence for you. Something inside made me yours long before we even met. I discovered our fate through touch. It told me everything you’re made of is a match to me—with what I am. It’s what set the wheels in motion, why we dreamt of each other before meeting, why we feel so drawn to one another.”
“What are trying to say? What do you mean, what you are?” Anya whispered.
“Everything you witnessed tonight is just a part of my existence.”
Tell her! Tell her now! Steffan bellowed in his mind as he looked deep into her eyes.
“Anya, I am…immortal.”
Steffan searched her eyes intently for a reaction.
Please don’t scream. Please don’t be afraid of me.
“Vampire,” Anya stated as a matter of fact.
“Yes.” Steffan couldn’t believe that word had already made an appearance.
“And my dreams of you, this all happened because we’re fated to one another?” Anya asked.
Steffan stammered in response, “H–How did you know?”
“I read vampire books. I know.”
“Most of that is garbage.”
“But I’m right, aren’t I? We are fated mates?”
“Yes,” whispered Steffan.
“Then some of my readings do ring true.”
“It would appear so.”
“This is why I dreamt of you, why I had a physical connection to you before we even met.”
“Yes,” Steffan said.
“Is this why I’m completely in love with you and you don’t feel like a stranger to me?”
“Yes. All of it goes the same for me. You are not a stranger to me. You have all of my love and my heart. You are my mate. I searched for you since 1917. You asked me how I know when it’s love. This is why.”
Anya reached for Steffan’s face and brought his lips to hers.
Tongues entwined and delving deep into one another, they kissed with great intensity and passion. The kiss was unlike any Steffan had experienced before. To say it had emotion was trite. He felt the kiss deep in his core, transporting his senses, engulfing him in a dreamlike state.
The world faded away.
It was if they’d slipped through a chasm, freeing them. No loneliness. No hurt. They reeled in endless space, the sound of their open hearts telling of their simple and undeniable love.
The kiss branded them.
And with that, their sudden love was wild.
Releasing from her mouth, Steffan pushed against Anya and positioned himself at the crest of her opening, gazing deep into her eyes.
“You accept what I am and who I am, knowing what will become of you?”
“Yes.”
“Why aren’t you afraid, Anya? I imagined this being a lot harder to explain.”
“Steffan, I am afraid. Terrified, really. I never believed there were actual vampires out in the world, but I always fantasized about them.”
“You fantasized about being a vampire?”
“I fantasized about immortality. The idea of living forever is something I think about constantly. All I have known is the finality of death. I lost everyone I truly loved in this life. Immortality—if somehow it w
as real, they would still be with me today. But they’re not. I’m so lonely, Steffan. I am all alone. I feel lost. And then here you are. You come along, like something I was meant to find, and I feel whole again. I can’t begin to explain this hold you have on me.”
“Anya, do you believe in the afterlife.”
“I–I.” Anya struggled with her words. “No. Heaven or hell, I don’t believe in it. I know it’s not a popular belief, but this is how I feel. I believe that there is just blackness, like the flame extinguished and no one, nothing can rekindle it.”
“If darkness is all you think about, you must fear death. Being immortal, does this free you from your fear?”
“Yes.”
“And when you said you were terrified, is this what you meant? Terrified of death?” Steffan questioned.
“I really meant that I am terrified of becoming like you. I don’t know what to expect. I mean, I don’t really know if I am even in the right state of mind right now. Vampires? Immortality? You have my mind in a fog. But all I left in me is faith in fate. You feel like my fate.”
In that moment, he realized he was looking into the eyes of a mind made up. Conviction, acceptance, resolve—they all converged, taking up permanent residence in her very soul, just for Steffan.
“Anya, I want to make love to you, claim you.”
“Make love to me, Steffan. Claim me, I’m yours.”
Steffan’s breath was deep and heavy as he prepared for the moment.
“Don’t take your eyes off of me.” Steffan slid himself through Anya’s moistened folds, slowly filling her. He stretched her wide as she wrapped around his cock like a glove.
“Steffan, oh my god!” Anya screamed with a hint of discomfort in her voice. “It hurts, I don’t know if I can do this!”
“Relax. Let your body form around me. I’ll go as slow as you want or as hard as you want. You tell me what you need. I want you to only feel pleasure,” Steffan whispered and slowed his entry.
He was absolutely careful with Anya. His innate instinct wanted him to take her wildly, but he reminded himself that she was still human, still frail. She could shatter in pieces underneath him with one move. Once the claiming was executed and Anya was transformed, they could be together in a primal, untamed escapade.
