by C. L. Quinn
He broke through it in seconds and pulled the door wide. Because the basement had so little light, and no windows, the dark interior of the small room remained quite dark, but he could see a man moving against a wall. A voice called out.
“Dinner already?” the man said. He sounded weak, was definitely human, and to Ahmose’s huge size, seemed small. This was the boyfriend of Tamesine that Eillia had sent him to rescue? He seemed unremarkable for such a powerful vampire as Tamesine.
“You are Marc?” Ahmose asked.
The human male stood, and Ahmose admitted he wasn’t significantly shorter than he was.
“I’m Marc,” the man answered. “Who are you? Claude send you?”
“No. Eillia. Or your girlfriend. Either way, you’re rescued.”
Ahmose moved into the darkened space and started to pull the chains from the wall.
“Wait!” Marc yelled and Ahmose stopped.
“What?” Ahmose asked, then noticed the neckband. “Ah, a bomb?” Marc nodded.
“Yeah, not a problem.” Using vampire speed, Ahmose ripped the bomb from Marc’s neck and flung it so quickly, it detonated in the air some distance away.
“That would have been ugly,” Ahmose commented. “Ready? I’ll carry you.”
Marc stepped back. “That’s okay, thanks, I’ll walk.”
Ahmose laughed. “Hardly.”
Before Marc realized what had happened, Ahmose had him in his arms, and was out of the building, across the street, and in front of another big black SUV. He set Marc down in front of the car, and Marc grabbed the roof to steady himself.
“What the fuck was that?”
“Haven’t you experienced air displacement before? It’s unsettling, the first few times. You wouldn’t have made it out otherwise. Get in. Where do you want me to take you?”
Marc opened the door and sat down, his mind still a little muddy. “Uh. Home, I guess.” He gave Ahmose the address and Ahmose drove out of the parking lot, staying on the back streets as he followed the GPS to Marc’s apartment.
Marc watched the huge man maneuver the big car through the streets of this city. Vampire, obviously. Uber male, handsome, oversized, efficient, powerful. How did Tam know this man?
“Um. Thank you. For the rescue, I mean.”
The big guy glanced at him. Marc looked closely at his face. Were his eyes glowing silver?
“Happy to help. Although I actually came to the U.S. to kill those who took you and members of my race recently.”
“Did you get them?”
Marc could tell the man was angry.
“No.”
Yeah, the big guy was really pissed.
“May I ask who I have to thank? How do you know Tam?”
“My name is Ahmose. Tamesine was a member of my clan over a thousand years ago in Africa before she disappeared. I do not know her well, but I hope that someday, she will return home.”
So, he wasn’t someone she’d had a relationship with. He didn’t know why that mattered so much to him, but it did. “Well, thanks for getting me out of there. I think I had a pretty limited lifespan if I’d stayed.”
“I agree. So you know Tamesine well?”
Marc hesitated. The relationship he had with her was so unusual, there was no good answer.
“I’d say we’re still tip-toeing around each other. I only found out about vampires the night before she was taken. So, I guess the right answer is no, not yet anyway. I guess.”
Ahmose nodded. “It’s difficult. You’ll be okay. Is this it?”
Marc glanced up. His apartment building rose outside of the car. “Yeah. I appreciate this, buddy. I hope you get those monsters.”
“I will.”
Marc offered his hand, and Ahmose tentatively shook with him.
“Goodbye,” Ahmose said, then continued. “Many humans have come over to our world and lived long happy lives. Perhaps you will fit well in her life.”
Marc nodded and turned to enter the building. He didn’t think so. He was barely sane himself, and with what had happened the past few days, he wasn’t even sure he wasn’t certifiably crackers.
He pushed open his apartment door, which was not locked, and looked around at the small room. The light was on, bright, and he was thankful. He went into the kitchen, and threw a frozen pizza into the oven, then stripped off his clothes, and stood in the shower for ten minutes with hot water coursing over his cool skin.
After drying off, slipping on a warm sweatshirt and jogging pants, he killed the pizza, lowered the light, and dropped into bed. Confused, spooked, and exhausted, he fell into a deep sleep. Gratefully, it was dreamless.
Eillia had called Tamesine to let her know that Marc was home and he was okay. She nearly cried in relief.
Knowing Marc was safe, Tamesine detoured to the SRS warehouse, compelled several of Claude’s aides, and eventually discovered where Claude had been holding Cedric’s family. After she took them home, she accepted a grateful hug from Cedric, then wiped their memories.
Frank was safe and back to work, and now Marc was home. They’d faced terrible ordeals at the hands of her enemy, but, please God, let it be over.
Frank’s memories had been purged as they had to be. He didn’t need to remember anything about her world or what he’d suffered.
Marc…was a different matter.
There was the spiritual connection between them, and that still needed to be explored. But she had to admit it was much more than that.
Was it fair to him, though? He had a life, and she might be able to help him heal from tortured memories of war. He would be able to return to the life he should have had in Wisconsin with his family and a sweet human girl that would bring him children. He would grow old with that dedicated wife at his side, a life well-loved and well-lived.
As it was meant to be.
She should let him have that life.
Compulsion would make it possible to give that to him. Once they journeyed together to discover what they were meant to know, she would give him the sweet ignorance he would need to build his normal human life.
Tonight, though, she needed to go to him, to feel him, to know he was okay and that her interference in his life had not harmed him irreparably. Something in the back of her mind told her that her own need was just as great as his, but she didn’t want to admit it. All she knew was that she was going to his apartment and nothing else mattered at all right now.
The taxi pulled up outside of the apartment building, and after thanking the driver and making him believe he was paid, she hesitated.
Seconds later, she entered his apartment. A single light burned in the living area, the door to his bedroom open to let it in.
Her eyes adjusted quickly to the darker room as she stood over the bed and just watched him. Marc, naked except for a sheet partially pulled up, on his side, his hair still damp from a recent shower. He smelled delicious, and she had to force her fangs to stay in place.
She wanted him, desperately. The twitching between her legs was almost painful now, but that wasn’t why she was here. Not tonight, anyway.
Tamesine let her dress fall onto the floor, slipped off her boots, and crawled in beside him.
He moaned and rolled back against her. He roused, and his eyes opened briefly.
“Tam?” he asked, his voice cracking.
“Shhh. Yeah, it’s me. I’m here, just sleep, and we’ll talk after you’re rested.”
Marc drew a deep breath and rolled into her as he pulled her close.
“Thank God. I needed you.”
“Sleep, now. I’ll be here when you waken.”
Tamesine relaxed into the rough cotton sheets which felt like the finest silk in the world. This just felt so right. His cock pushed forward and nestled against her thigh, and she thought that that was the only place it should ever be other than inside of her. They fell asleep like that and neither woke until the following evening.
The smell of coffee, bacon, and eggs woke Tamesin
e as her body adjusted to the end of day. Rolling onto her side, she spread out in her bed, and her leg slid off the edge. She shot upright as she remembered where she was.
This was not her enormous bed with tulle curtains and satin sheets. She wasn’t at home in her room in France. This was Marc’s Spartan bedroom in L.A. and she was naked in his bed. It was apparent he had already risen, so she crawled to the foot of the bed, grabbed a white dress shirt off of a chair and slipped it on. Slowly, she walked towards the heavenly smells. She just wanted to see him, and know that he was okay.
Marc danced a fork over the last six pieces of two pounds of bacon that he was frying. He looked over the counter which displayed every dish he owned, filled with bacon, eggs, and toast. He knew vampires ate a lot when they woke and he wanted to feed her.
Shaking his head, he thought about how it felt when he woke tonight and felt her against him. He couldn’t believe she was back and he’d held her in his arms. He’d leaned over her and watched her sleep for several long minutes before he slid from his bed and pulled on some jeans, grabbed a tee shirt and went out into the living room.
Was she back for him? God, he hoped so. His head was so full of her that he couldn’t think of anything else. His body, well, it had different ideas, as he’d had to deal with what he figured was not his only erection while sleeping next to her.
After hurrying to the corner market, he’d decided to make her a vampire-sized breakfast and he was almost done. Then, he was going to wake her and find out where he stood.
The final pieces of bacon sizzled and popped, and seemed to be cooked, so he scooped them out, swearing once when some of the hot bacon grease snapped from the skillet onto his wrist.
He looked up just as he was getting ready to hold his wrist under some cold water, and froze.
Tamesine was standing at the threshold between his living room and the kitchen, wearing his white shirt and nothing else. Her hair was seriously tousled, her big blue eyes peeking from under long glowing strands, and he thought she was the sexiest sight he’d ever seen in his life.
“Morning, Marc,” Tamesine said breathlessly.
He just stood there for several long moments, with no verbal response, sure that he looked like an idiot.
Moments later, he surged towards her and took her face in his hands, his lips found hers, and they kissed gently just before Tamesine grabbed him and pulled him close. They wrapped around each other desperately, as if they couldn’t breathe apart.
Their tongues slid across each other, a sensual, sexual battle that both of them won, and neither did. Eventually, they had to breathe, and he set her feet back on the floor, but he did not let her go.
“Welcome back, my little vampire,” he said, his eyes serious.
The sweet greeting calmed her concern that he still couldn’t accept who she was. Then she reminded herself that he’d seen far more than her lame tricks that night, he’d traveled with her friends and been abducted and chained by Lamont. Of course he would believe.
She didn’t know how to begin the conversation again. Her eyes moved across the many plates and saucers with food piled up on each.
“Is this for me?”
He grinned. “Yeah, I can’t do much for you, but I can make a mean breakfast.”
Tamesine grabbed Marc and pulled him close again as she slid her hand over his crotch, her fingers moving over his enclosed cock.
“I’m going to eat that fabulous breakfast you’ve made for me, but I want you to understand that you’re wrong when you say you can’t do much for me. I like bacon, but I prefer sausage.”
Marc couldn’t breathe.
He watched Tamesine eat with gusto and delight and found he really loved watching her eat. Her smile…God, it lit up the room.
“Marc, there’s enough for a small army. Aren’t you going to have anything?”
He’d been so focused on watching her, he hadn’t even thought about it. Snatching a slice of bacon from the plate in front of her, he bit into it. Ahhh, heaven.
“I haven’t really had any bacon in years. I’d forgotten how good it is.”
“Thank you. We’ve both been through a lot these past few days. I mean, you’ve cooked for me! Is there something I could do for you?”
He sat back and just looked at her. She was as perfect in real life as she was in the dream world, her hair, skin, body, all flawless. He’d already figured out that physical beauty was an absolute in her vampire world.
But it was the gentle, vulnerable woman inside that seemed to draw him to her so strongly that in spite of the crazy madness and danger apparently inherent in her life, he couldn’t walk away from her.
Last night, while he ate the frozen pizza, he hadn’t been able to shut off his mind. At one point, he’d decided, he already had enough manic shit in his life, he didn’t need anymore, so when, if, she came back, he planned to kindly tell her that he needed her to leave him alone. He’d get back to work at The Iron Butterfly, or maybe return home to Waukesha and try again to pick up his interrupted life. The decision made, he’d finally fallen into bed.
Then, somewhere in the night, he’d awakened to find her crawling into bed beside of him, and he knew one thing at that moment that was indisputable…it felt right. She belonged there.
Now, sitting across from her, he knew she was fucked up, and he knew he was, too. It didn’t matter. The vampire shit didn’t matter. Tamesine, in his life, at his side, buried inside of her, that’s what mattered.
He slid his hand over hers, twining each of his fingers through hers.
“Yeah, there is. But not now. Not yet. When we’re ready, I want to taste every inch of you. I want to hear you scream for me. I want to see how a vampire makes love.”
Tears welled in Tamesine’s eyes. He was telling her it was okay, and that he wanted to be with her.
“Um, what’s wrong with now?” she asked.
“You’re recovering from dying. Man, that sounds nuts. But I can wait until...”
His head swirled, the air around him shifted, his vision went fuzzy, and when he opened his eyes seconds later, he was lying on his back on his bed, naked, and Tamesine was sitting on top of him, naked, holding a cup of coffee.
She took a long sip and then looked down at him, a twinkle in her eye. “I’m ready for dessert. You said you wanted to see how a vampire makes love. This is how.”
The coffee cup sailed across the room as she threw it away, and leaned into him, her pebbled nipples touching his chest as she nipped carefully at his lips.
“Completely, Marc, no holds barred, fast and furious, slow and thoroughly, gentle and rough. Sex is as important to us as food, as blood, and when it’s with the right person, the sky lights up and the earth sighs. So now, please, and vampire-style, please. Every part of me wants every part of you.”
Before she even finished, he was moving against her, his legs rolling back and forth as he lifted into her. His fully engaged cock rode against Tamesine’s buttocks as she lifted her body to seek it. Laughing, she avoided his entry, and since she was much stronger, physically, he was left unrewarded.
Marc grabbed her thighs and spun her until she was underneath him. He held her down by sliding his body against hers. Her nipples grazing his chest made him need to taste them, so he slid back down and pulled one into his mouth, held it gently in his teeth, while his tongue moved back and forth across the tip. At the same moment, his cock rested between her legs, and she caught it between her knees and squeezed. He nearly shot off of the bed.
“What you are doing is exquisite, but I need to feel you come inside of me, Marc. Now.” Tamesine whispered into his ear and pulled him higher.
Marc lifted up and fitted himself to the moist slit between Tam’s legs and thrust, fast, as she’d asked. The next moment he was back on the bed, Tamesine riding him, slowly, her arms curled above her head, her full breasts swaying with her gentle motion.
“Sorry, love, vampire-style means I get to play with you,” she sa
id, her eyes closed, her lips parted in a soft smile. And play, she did.
Tamesine took her time, a slow steady ride, up and down, friction building heat, heat building intense arousal, while Marc just held onto her thighs and let her do her thing. No complaints! He almost climaxed, several times, before she changed her movement to allow his body more time until he finally exploded in an orgasm so powerful, he really did see the stars. But his eyes went to Tam’s body as her orgasm followed his, and he watched her body, magnificent, as she stiffened and let spasms of ecstasy lift her off of him to drop back moments after. They both fell onto the sheets, exhausted and completely satiated.
Marc pulled her back to him, and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“Sleep now, and we’ll talk later.”
Tamesine nodded and burrowed closer to him.
They both fell into a deep sleep immediately.
Marc looked around. He was back, in the dreamscape, Tam beside him. This time, they were both dressed, and for the first time, the sky was blue and the air was calm. A sun sat on the horizon, either rising or setting.
“What are we doing here, Tam?” he asked.
“It’s time. One of us must make our journey now. The connection must complete and resolution must be sought. I believe it is your time, my love, to walk your path again. Not alone, though, I will be there every step of the way.”
He turned quickly. “I don’t want to do it now. I don’t need to. Like you said, I’ve lived through my own past, I don’t need to revisit it. I can’t. There’s no fixing anything, nothing to reconcile, nothing to discover. Just ugliness, and death, pain that should never have happened. I can’t go back there.”
“Oh, sweetie, you must. The only way to let the past go is to acknowledge it, and you haven’t. Or can’t. I am here to help you see the truth. You must remember who you were, who you are, and know who you are meant to be. It is a spirit journey, and it is the only way for you to find your way to your destiny.”
