Delia instantly understood the name for this sexual act. It was wild and wonderful and a pure delight. She squirmed and pushed against him, wishing they could do this forever. His demon pounded her into a state of total submission and expanding need. As their fervor grew, she became aware of tingling warmth entering her body from his hand that was now on her hip. Delia knew he’d just given her some of his own life-force essence.
She offered, “Take some of mine, too. I want to share essence with you just like you said.”
It was as though he pulled her inside him. She could sense his strength, his great age, and his need of her. If he wanted to take all of her life-force essence, she would give it gladly. His demonic intimacy had complete control of her.
“No more, sweet Delia, or I will harm you.”
The warm tingles and sense of being inside him stopped, but his thrusting and claim on her clit increased. He took her to a place of ecstasy that she didn’t want to leave. Herres growled, groaned, and shouted words in the vampyre language, while Delia writhed, moaned, and urged, “More, more, do more, Herres.”
Once again, they climaxed together, and then went on to experience a repeat of demon delight. Their energetic coupling, eventually exhausted her, yet he appeared to have endless stamina. She begged him to let her rest and he agreed on the condition they would resume their sexual pursuits in the morning. Delia drifted into sleep with Herres whispering the symbols’ names in her ear.
Chapter Ten
When she woke up and opened her eyes, Delia looked at a now familiar bedside lamp. Instantly, the previous night was clear in her mind. She and Herres had made passionate love, again, and now his forceful action of demon delight made her feel sore in body and mind. She closed her eyes, concentrated on sending angelic healing power to the affected area, and was soon rewarded with physical relief, yet no emotional comfort.
Delia turned her head and looked at the vampyre. He faced her and was sound asleep. One of his arms rested on her hip. She thought about all that he’d done to her and how they had shared their life-force essence. No one could ever come close to Herres in lovemaking. His passion and wildness must be a part of his vampyre nature and she’d loved every moment of it. Delia was certain he hadn’t used his power to make her respond so willingly. It had all come from her and now she began to feel ashamed. How could someone, who was part angel, be ecstatic about his sexual behavior? It was demonic and would be shunned by angels, as would she if her parents knew of her response to Herres. Thank goodness they lived in a city far away from her. They would never learn about her enjoyment of his mind-blowing sex.
Delia turned back, stared at the lamp and tried to convince herself that he had forced her to like what he did, but she knew he hadn’t. She was the one who could have, should have refused to participate in such demonic behavior, but she hadn’t. She’d adored every second of it. Tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her cheeks. It must never, ever happen again, and that thought caused even more sadness. Her feelings of guilt and unhappiness produced a fresh flow of tears.
The vampyre’s arm moved and he stroked her shoulder. She stayed still, not wanting him to see the tears on her cheeks.
He questioned, “Are you awake, sweet Delia? I want to make love to you again.” She didn’t answer and he leaned over to look at her face. On an intake of breath he expressed, “You’re crying. What’s wrong?” Herres turned her to face him, and asked, “Was my lovemaking too rough? Are you hurting? Demon delight isn’t gentle.”
Delia wiped her tears with a hand. “I’m okay. I’ve already given some healing to the soreness.”
He stroked her arm. “I look like a demon and behave like one, too. I’ll try to be less fierce next time.”
There wasn’t going to be a next time, but would he accept that? “I’m sorry, but we must never make love again. I feel so guilty because what you’ve done should disgust me, but it doesn’t. I loved it. I’m sure it would be fine between two vampyres, but I’m part angel and angels don’t behave that way. My parents would be horrified if they knew.”
With his lips drawn in, he stated, “The lovemaking of some fallen angels would put a vampyre’s sexual actions to shame, and what demons do is nothing compared to them. I didn’t realize your angel was so pious.”
“I don’t think she’s pious. It’s just that today and the absence of alcohol made me realize what we did yesterday morning and last night was wrong. I’m feeling ashamed and upset.”
“So it was the wine that made you enjoy what we did? Perhaps if I also hadn’t drunk any, I wouldn’t have corrupted you.”
She had insulted him again, and that caused her to feel even more upset. Tears brimmed in her eyes and rolled down her face. “I’m sorry, Herres. You’ve been kind to me, and I thank you with insults. I’ll get dressed and leave.”
He wiped her tears away with his thumbs and questioned, “Do you think I’ve corrupted you? I thought we were genuinely attracted to each other, but it would appear I was wrong. If you believe my demon has sullied your angel, you must hate me.”
“No, I don’t. I blame myself for what happened. I don’t think I’m corrupted; I should have been stronger and refused you. I need to go home and not see you again. Can you accept that?”
“If you really don’t want to see me anymore, I’ll have to accept it. It’s certainly not what I want, but seeing you cry is making me feel like I’ve harmed you. I thought what we did would give you happiness, yet it hasn’t. We’ll get up and see if you feel more cheerful in a while.”
Herres got out of bed, went to the wardrobe and took out a clean sweater, jeans, and underpants. “I’ll take a shower.” He opened a door that gave access to a bathroom.
Delia sat up and tried to think of something that would help her feel less miserable. She was unable to forget her feelings of guilt, but she didn’t want him to be angry or to blame himself. The sooner she was gone, the better. She hopped out of bed and got dressed. By the time she put on her shoes, Herres came out the bathroom, toweling his hair.
“Don’t you want to take a shower? There are clean towels in the bathroom.”
“No thank you. I want to go home.”
“Very well, I’ll tell Steven to bring the sedan to the front entrance and Mrs. Perty to bring your coat.” He walked out of the bedroom and Delia followed him. She waited at the bottom of the staircase while Herres went looking for his servants. Mrs. Perty brought her coat; Delia put it on and continued to wait.
After a few minutes, both the vampyre and driver came into the entrance hallway. Steven walked out through the front doors and Herres came over to her.
“It will only take him a few minutes to be ready for you.”
She nodded and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to sense how he felt. It was impossible. He seemed to have put up a barrier that closed him off completely from her.
“I hope you’re not feeling insulted by what I said? Last night, you behaved true to your nature and this morning, I’ve behaved true to mine. We shouldn’t be together because our natures are so opposite. I’ll always be grateful for the fact you rescued me from those vampires and I’ll never forget you.”
He put his arms around her and said, “I’ll never forget the little Delia who brightened my life even as I’ve dimmed hers. If you should ever change your mind and want to be corrupted some more, you know where I live.”
Was that meant to be a joke or an unkind comment? Uncertain, Delia pulled away from him and walked to the open entrance. She stood waiting for a couple of minutes, and then Steven was there with the sedan. He got out, opened a door for her and she sat down inside the vehicle.
On the journey home, Delia tried to keep her mind blank because she didn’t want to cry in front of Steven. When they glided up to the walkway’s curb in front of her apartment building, she noticed the gold band on her wrist. It would be a painful reminder of Herres and what they’d shared. Without further thought, Delia took off the bracelet. When Steven o
pened the sedan’s door for her, she placed the beautiful piece of jewelry in his hand.
“Thank you for bringing me home and please give this bracelet to Herres. I’m sure he’ll understand why I’m returning it.”
Steven took the gold band, got back into the sedan and glided away. Delia went into her apartment, entered her bedroom and lay on top of the comforter. She wanted this day to end without any more tears, so she closed her eyes and waited for sleep to bring respite from her sorrow.
* * * *
Herres fought the need to go after Delia and beg her to stay. It would achieve nothing; she wanted to be far away from him. Had his demon face reminded her that their intimacy was contrary to what her inner angel expected? Or was her curiosity about how a vampyre made love now satisfied? These feelings of uncertainty were new to him, he’d never wondered about how a woman felt after he’d had sex with her. She didn’t remember him or what happened because he’d always applied his vampyre power to make her forget. Yet he’d treated Delia differently, and for a short while he regretted that decision. He should have forced her to want sex with him, and then wiped her mind clean of the memory before she went back to the bookstore. When Steven gave him the gold bracelet, Herres was certain their recent relationship was over.
The regret lasted until the middle of the day. By then he’d reluctantly admitted he could never treat Delia the same as the others he’d used. She was the one he’d waited for all of his life. He always knew something was absent from it and when he saw her step out of the restaurant, he’d realized she was it. Now, he was supposed to forget her and continue living without her sweet presence. That seemed an impossible task, but he also couldn’t bear to watch her cry, so he would have to accept her decision to leave.
He needed a distraction and one suddenly occurred to him. He went outside, looking for the new gardener, Craig, who happened to be Steven’s nephew. Herres had presumed he would be trustworthy. The vampyre planned to use his power to establish whether he was mistaken. It would be easy to learn if the gardener had told Jadic about Delia.
Herres found Craig in a kneeling position, removing algae from the side of one of the ponds. He tapped the gardener on the back. Craig turned around and stood up.
“Yes, Master Herres, can I help you?”
Herres used his demon stare, took control of Craig’s mind and compelled him to tell the truth. “Do you know a vampyre named Jadic?”
The gardener gave a shy smile. “Yes, I met him at Tiller’s. He’s such a handsome vampyre. I couldn’t believe he was interested in me, but he is, and I’m the one he wants right now.”
Herres knew Tiller’s was a gay bar. Some vampyres enjoyed having sex with both genders, and apparently, Jadic was one of them. This behavior wasn’t disapproved by the Council or by Herres, but it wasn’t his personal choice. Only females gave him satisfaction.
“Did you tell Jadic that Miss Hariel has been to my home a couple of times?”
“I did. Jadic asked me some questions about you when I told him I do gardening in your grounds. Yesterday, he seemed to be concerned about whether you are happy and if there was someone important to you in your life. That’s when I told him about Miss Hariel because my uncle had mentioned he thought you liked her, even though she is part angel. You’re fortunate to have such a good friend as Jadic, Master Herres.”
The young vampyre had certainly forced his power on Craig, even to the extent of posing as a good friend of Herres. It was time to give Craig a different vampyre instructor.
“Listen carefully to me, Craig. Jadic is not my friend, he is my enemy. He is trying to discredit me within the vampyre community and has lied to you. From this point on, forget he exists. If you should see him, don’t acknowledge him in any manner. Ignore him when he approaches you; have no conversation with him. If he truly values you, he would not give you lies, such as pretending to like you.” Then, as an added afterthought, Herres stated, “Remember that when a vampyre acts as your friend, or lover, his true motive is to take all of your life-force essence, and then turn you into a vampire. I would not want to see that happen to you and it is not what you desire. Now, do you understand what I’ve told you?”
“Yes, Master Herres. I shall not forget how Jadic lied to me and that he wants to turn me into a vampire.”
“Good, Craig, you’re serving me well. Go back to what you were doing.” Herres walked to the house while the gardener continued cleaning the pond. Silently, the vampyre observed, Let us see how you like what I’ve done, Jadic. You should know better than to mess with an old vampyre whose power is much stronger than yours.
* * * *
Delia stayed in her bedroom until the afternoon. At one point, Callie knocked on her door and asked if she was feeling okay. She said she had a headache and wanted to rest. That lie appeared to satisfy her friend and Delia was left alone with her sad thoughts. She was sure ending her association with Herres was correct, but the thought of not being in his company was difficult to imagine. He’d brightened her life with his vampyre charm and compliments. She’d been without any form of male attention for a couple of years and he was far more interesting than any of the men she knew. His face wasn’t handsome, yet it had become one that meant a great deal to her. She was fascinated by his demon eyes that seemed to see right into her soul when he looked at her.
At three chimes, Delia decided she needed a break from the churning thoughts about Herres. She went into the living room and found Callie putting on her coat.
“Are you going out?”
“Yes, I’m going to buy some new shoes. How’s your headache? If it’s better, do you want to come with me? I’ll wait while you get ready.” Callie sat down on the couch.
“It’s starting to go away, but I don’t feel like going out. Maybe I’m getting sick.”
“I hope you’re not. To stay indoors is probably the right thing to do. Your eyes look a little red. Is that from crying?”
“No, I’ve rubbed them because they feel irritated.” Where were these lies coming from? Delia just couldn’t share her sadness with Callie.
“Okay, but before I go, what’s going on with you and the vampyre? Did you stay at his place after the bookstore closed? I heard you come home this morning because I hadn’t yet fallen asleep.”
Trying to sound enthusiastic, Delia replied, “Yes, he picked me up at closing time and took me to his home in a fabulous, bright red sports car. You would love it.”
“Ooh, he must be super rich. Perhaps he’ll buy you some expensive gifts?”
“No, that won’t happen. We’ve decided not to see each other anymore. My angel and his demon don’t get along. It’s been fun, but we aren’t a good combination.” At least part of that statement was true from her perspective.
“That means we can go out and have a meal together tonight, but only if you feel up to it.”
Several weeks ago, Callie had persuaded her manager, to allow her night off to be on the same day the bookstore was closed. This meant they could go out together on those nights for a drink or a meal.
“I’ll see how I am when you come back from shopping.”
Callie gave her a hug and went out of the apartment. Delia sat on the couch and tried not to think about Herres.
Chapter Eleven
During the next few days, Herres spent time trying to come to terms with Delia’s decision. He stayed at home more frequently than usual, being afraid he might bump into her somewhere. The bookstore was off-limits and he only went into a bar when his need of life-force essence affected him. This time, an older woman was his target, because he didn’t want a younger one to remind him of Delia. Once he’d taken sufficient essence, he wiped her mind free from a memory of him and his action. Then, he went home, went to bed, and in his thoughts relived the wild sex he and Delia had shared. Would he ever be able to forget her? Unlike humans, she wouldn’t grow old, and centuries from now she would look as beautiful as she did when she left him. He would have to move to anothe
r part of Kurbridor in order to ensure they would never accidentally meet somewhere. Yet a part of him wanted to stay close to her.
A week went by, and not knowing whether she felt more cheerful drove him crazy. He figured her roommate would know how she was, and if he could find her, she would be able to tell him. Delia said she worked in a club, so if it wasn’t in another part of the city, he should easily locate her. The third establishment he entered was the Kobard Club and he soon saw the female lycan carrying a tray filled with drinks. Herres waited until she’d served the drinks to a table of lycan males and was on her way to the kitchen. He stood in front of her and informed, “I must talk to you about Delia.”
“I’m not allowed to stand and talk. You’ll have to sit at one of my tables and order something. That one is empty.” She pointed to a nearby table.
Herres went to it, sat down, and waited for the lycan.
After serving a couple of other tables, she approached and asked, “What do you want to drink? You’re that vampyre Delia used to see. I think she said you drank beer when you took her to a bar.”
“Beer will be fine. Can you stay for a moment while I ask you about her?”
“Only if you look as though you haven’t yet decided what to have. Anyway, why do you want to ask me about her? You both decided not to see each other again, so why this new interest in her?”
“Where did you get such an idea? Delia made that decision, I didn’t.”
“Well, that’s what she told me. I’ll be back in a minute with your beer.” The lycan went over to the bar to place his order.
Delia hadn’t told her roommate the truth. Why? Nothing could be further from that untruth. He would never want to end the relationship.
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