Beating Hearts

by Lucretia Stanhope

  “Did you want to go inside before you get too chilled? I will grab more wood for the fire, and be in shortly.” He started to walk away, needing space. He could still feel the way her hand felt against his. Her skin felt so soft and so warm, and almost demanded he touch her again.

  Before going in, she watched him walk away. Their relationship ran either hot or cold, with no blending of the two. At times he almost seemed rapt with her presence, and at other times he talked about her need to leave or her death at his hands. There didn't seem to be the middle ground of indifference she liked to keep with her subjects.

  Of course she knew she was the same. Part of her saw nothing more than a monster, yet another part saw him as a person, even wanted to feel his touch as a man. Proximity, she reasoned. Even enemies would come together if they spent enough time alone talking. Maybe at the end of this, they would both learn how to be friends. It would be a big jump from repulsive monster and food item, but stranger things happened all the time. Thinking of him as a friend made her mind drift to what his role could have been. Would there be an acceptable role to have in enslaving people?

  She hadn't been settled long when he came in and added wood to the fire.

  “Did you want to carry on? We could always call it a night, there is no great rush,” she said as he stood watching her.

  He lowered into his chair. “Go on then. What else would you like to know?”

  She smiled a nervous smile. “If you don't mind, I want to pick up at the cave.”

  He sat casually, an elbow on his knee, leaned forward. “I don't recall too many details after I crawled in there. It was cold and dark, and I just knew that was what I needed. That, and time. I wouldn't find out until later what else I needed. I'm not sure how much time passed before I had the strength to sit up and look around. It took a long time to happen, but when it did, I went from useless and weak, to strong.

  “I was aware it was night because the cave was pitch dark. I could still see though. I assumed it was because my eyes were adjusted to the low light. I got up and walked outside, feeling better for the movement.

  “My mind flashed back to the attack and I felt for a wound. It was healed. I could feel a scar but no tenderness. As I made my way home, not bothering to look at any traps along the way, I noticed I could hear things better. I had always been tuned into what was going on around me, but things were sharper now.

  “At home, I changed and started a fire. Then I boiled water and washed the blood, my blood that had dried on me, off. When I had fresh clothes on, I was feeling better. I grabbed some jerky and started to chew. As the taste hit my mouth, I had an instant vomit response. I can't even tell you how many times I tried food and water before I realized it wasn't what my body needed.”

  He paused and looked at her.

  She seemed relaxed and he figured that might be a good place to stop. One ugly tale a night. “I think maybe we should call it a night. I will spare you my first kill until tomorrow, as that seems to be the direction we are going.”

  She looked at the clock on her computer, there were still several hours of darkness. “How ever you like. Did you need to go somewhere?”

  He gave a small chuckle, “Should I need to go out and hunt, I will not be announcing it.”

  “No, I didn't mean that. I assume you go shop or things of that nature.”

  “Do you have family? Do they realize what you are doing?”

  She furrowed her brows and studied his face. “I do not have family, and even if I did, I would still be following my passion.”

  “Did you always dream of making films?”

  “No,” she said and paused a moment before adding, “I thought we were done with questions for the night.”

  “We are done with my story for the night. I was just curious what sort of life leads a person to do what you do, and to take such risks.”

  She stood from her chair and walked around the desk to be nearer to the fire. “Look, I get it is risky. I get you are a killer. I also get you don't seem to like me much. So I don't expect you to understand what motivates me, any more than I expect you to be my friend. We somehow seem to have taken a track jump, but I need you to understand I am here to do a job, and I will be here to do a job until, and unless you ask me not to. You don't have to point out the risks, I am aware of them.”

  He didn't stand, didn't get agitated, just looked at her. “I never said I didn't like you. There is something about you I am drawn to, which is why I feel compelled to make sure you understand the real risk you are taking.”

  She stood, stunned silent a moment. “We both agreed to this with open eyes.”

  “Are they really open, Kate?” He stared at her while he stood.

  She started to say something, but found she could not.

  He walked closer in slow measured steps until he stood just inches from her face. “Did you consider this might happen? Does it seem like a reasonable risk now that you cannot even move to save yourself?”

  She wanted to answer, wanted to step back, but found she couldn't. All she could do was look at his deep, enchanting eyes.

  He stood close to her a moment longer, breathed in her scent, and absorbed her warmth. He hadn't intended to, but he wanted to, so he reached out and touched her again, this time running his fingers down her neck, feeling the pulsing warmth.

  She felt her heart start to race when his fingers touched her skin. Like before, it was cold, but not uncomfortably so. If she hadn't been frozen in his gaze, she would have reached out to touch him too.

  His right hand reached down and he played with the cross that hung at the end of her necklace. He could feel it was silver. It annoyed his skin, but it was no deterrent. It did show she at least tried to be prepared. He dropped the cross and ran his hand back up her neck and then he leaned in, broke eye contact, and inhaled the sweet smell of her skin.

  She felt herself breathe deeper, felt her racing heart slow down. After she took a few steps back she narrowed her eyes. “What the hell was that all about?”

  “That was me showing you what risk you are taking.” The space she created allowed his mind to come back from her, back into the room and away from her skin.

  “Well thank you for sharing, but how about you get my consent next time? I wouldn't mind experiencing these things if you just let me know what we are doing.”

  “That was not for the sake of study or your film.”

  “That was because you wanted to, what? Wanted to make a point? Wanted to scare me?”

  “If I wanted to scare you, you would be scared. I wanted to touch you, and the point is, if I want to, I can.”

  She thought a moment, he was right. With that kind of ability, he could have done anything he wanted, including feed from her. But he did not. He didn't even take a small bite, and that spoke volumes to her.

  “Point taken.” She walked behind her desk to put more distance between them. “And Nick?”

  “Yes?” he asked, amazed she had gone straight back to her desk, straight back to work, and not straight out to her car.

  “I'm glad you were not compelled to…”

  He laughed deep. “Make no mistake, I am compelled to drink you dry.”

  “I imagine since you didn't, you are not as compelled, not as hunger-driven, as you might have thought.”

  “I need to go eat. You will be the end of my supply in short order.” He left the room to get something sustaining inside of him, before he did feel compelled to drain her.

  As he stood in the kitchen drinking, he realized she was right. As odd as it seemed, he had not been tempted to bite her, not even for a taste. That was a first, and probably a good first, considering how long they had left to play this little game of how long can the monster last before it kills.

  Chapter Three

  W hen Nick came back to the main room he found Kate gone, and the machines turned off. He could hear her upstairs moving around as she got ready for bed, and listened while she made her way to th
e bathroom.

  When she stepped out of her shoes, the ceramic tiles felt cold on her feet. She would have to pick up a heater next time she was in town getting food. She thought of how relaxing the tub would be, but then her mind drifted to the fact that those ceramic tubs on cast iron feet were a death sentence in horror movies. She shuddered at the thought, since she was currently living out a plot that could have easily been a horror movie.

  She turned the water to scalding, and walked back to get her bathroom bag. There wasn't much of any place to store things in the bathroom, so she folded a hand towel, and set her shampoo, conditioner, and body wash on the floor, in easy reach.

  While she waited for the tub to fill, she brushed her teeth and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Other than having tired eyes, it didn't reflect how awful she felt.

  She rinsed her mouth, and then slid into the hot tub. After she turned off the water, her mind drifted to Nick.

  He certainly hadn't been what she expected. She kept coming back to the fact that he was too similar to a man, not enough like a monster. She imagined that was how they had managed to stay in the shadows and blend with society for so long. Unless he deliberately smiled in a way to show fangs, or reached out to touch you with his cold hands, she didn't see any way to tell he was anything extraordinary.

  She closed her eyes, pushed out images of his perfect face, and allowed the heat to relax her muscles.

  Nick listened to Kate moving around upstairs, and tried not to imagine her naked in his bathroom, though he found that hard not to do. He had never taken a human lover, not since his change. He preferred to keep food and pleasure separate, and always took vampire lovers. They were much like him, cold and indifferent to what happened before or after, so long as the moment of love-making felt right. So why was he now standing there, thinking about the naked human in his tub? The warm, naked human, with fresh blood pulsing in her veins. The heat of the water sent her maddening aroma down the stairs, filling the house.

  He walked to the kitchen, grabbed a glass of cold blood, and drank it, again noticing it was cold and dead, filled with the chemical taste of anticoagulants. He could hear her heartbeat slow as she relaxed in the water. The image of her head resting on the back of the tub, hair wet, neck exposed, came easily to mind.

  Jesus, way to torture yourself.

  He finished his drink, and walked outside to look at some siding boards that needed mending.

  After her bath, Kate felt more relaxed, and tried to keep her mind active a bit longer. She hoped to twist her hours around fully so she could really observe his life and not sleep through it. The more she could mimic his hours, the less time she would need to stay there.

  She made her way downstairs, and didn't see Nick in the main room, or the kitchen.

  There was some rustling, and she assumed he already ventured outside to do the housework he mentioned needing to do. She walked out on the porch and looked around. She didn't see him, but the night was beautiful. Out there, without all the lights and aromas of the city, she could see the stars and moon with beautiful clarity, and smell the scents of flowers in the fields as if they were a bouquet in her hand.

  Nick sensed her outside and peered around the corner, watching as she stood looking at the sky. She wore long pajama bottoms and a long-sleeved button-up top, thankfully discrete. Her scent was still being carried on the wind though, as if it were chasing him.

  He wondered if he really was going to be able to smell her and listen to her heart beating for another day, much less weeks, without having a taste. He tried not to think about how long it had been since he had the live stuff, fresh from the source.

  He stood a long moment in silence, watching her, watching the way the moonlight reflected off her pale skin.

  She turned to see him stood there, and jumped back a little.

  He closed his eyes and tried to control his predatory urges as her heart beat faster.

  She looked at him with fear in her eyes. She knew what he was and what he was thinking.

  “I didn't mean to startle you,” he said, once the urge passed, and then walked toward the porch.

  She backed a little toward the door, trying to gather the steel nerves she usually had. “I'm just jumpy from a long week I think,” she offered as an excuse.

  “I imagine so. It isn't every week one drives to an old farmhouse, isolated in the fields, alone with a killer.”

  She blushed. “I didn't mean the last few days. I had a long week before I arrived.”

  “I don't take offense. It would be a correct assessment.” He moved past her and sat on the swing hung to her left.

  At the close range, her heartbeat was deafening and he felt her warm the air next to him.

  His mind drifted to how easily he could look in her eyes, entrance her again and take a taste, a small taste.

  He closed his eyes and pushed away the thought. That was not going to happen.

  She noticed he was struggling with something, it looked like he might want to say something at the very least. “Why am I here? You seem unhappy to have me, yet you did volunteer.”

  “I did not volunteer. I was asked. It was brave of you to ask and I was curious too. Now that you are here, I am not sure this is a good arrangement. Frankly, I don't see the point.”

  “Don't you want your story told?” She turned to him, her warm breath hit his cold skin.

  “No, I don't see any purpose in that. I will humor you because I said I would, but I think you should keep yourself at a distance.” He stood, walking into the yard.

  She watched him walk away, while she thought about what he said.

  He was dangerous, a killer, she knew that. Of course she was reasonably wary of that, but more than any wariness, she wanted answers. She felt like people deserved answers, and he had been the only vampire willing to give her those answers. Dangerous or not, she felt he was an ally of sorts in her quest for facts.

  She sat outside and thought a bit longer, before she went inside and upstairs, where she closed and locked her door before she drifted off to sleep.

  S ensing someone in the room, her eyes fluttered opened and she saw Nick standing beside the fireplace, watching her sleep.

  The shadows created from the fire danced across his naked skin.

  She took in every inch of his beautiful muscled body. She wasn't afraid. She sensed why he was there, what he wanted, and she wanted it too.

  He started toward the bed and she watched the way his body moved. There was nothing about him she didn't like to watch. His legs, his chest, and his perfect face all fought for the attention of her eager eyes.

  When he made it to the bed, he pulled down the sheets and slid in beside her. She was only wearing a thin night gown and she could feel his cool skin against her. It sent shivers of pleasure across her skin.

  She wanted to be closer, feel more of him, so she scooted nearer and allowed her hands to trace the lines of his muscles.

  As she touched him, he closed his eyes, letting out a soft growl.

  She rolled on her side to see him better and reach his chest as she explored his body with her hands. She watched as he lay there with his eyes closed, his face told her that he enjoyed her touch as much as she enjoyed touching him.

  Her fingers trailed down from his chest to his stomach and waist, feeling every curve, enjoying the cool skin under her hands. The more she touched him, the more it made her own body react. There was perfection under her fingers. She felt herself ache with a need for him.

  When she reached lower, she felt that he was as ready for her as she was for him.

  His eyes opened and he turned to her, pressing his lips against hers.

  She parted her lips, allowing their tongues to probe each other. She felt tingles of pleasure race throughout her body. She wanted to feel more, more of his kiss, more of his touch.

  He rolled closer to her as they kissed, gently pushing her onto her back as he moved over her.

  She opened herself t
o him, not offering any resistance.

  Her hands wrapped around his waist, pulling him slightly closer as her body silently asked him to take her.

  She could feel him pressing against her, and feel her own hips pushing closer to his. They never broke the kiss as she felt him slide into her, filling her need to be closer to him as he filled her body with himself. She let out a slight moan when he broke the kiss and started kissing her neck.

  His hands were under her, grasping her hips, pulling her into him, and she wrapped her legs around his, pushing up into him. It was a perfect fit and they moved together with a natural rhythm.

  She could feel kisses on her shoulder, her mind became lost to the pleasure she was feeling as he thrust deep inside of her.

  As he trailed kisses back up to her mouth, she felt her own pleasure mount, and writhed under him, looking for relief from the building need he was creating in her. Her legs wrapped around his waist as her hands pulled him into a deep kiss, and pleasure exploded, flooding over her whole body.

  Chapter Four

  K ate woke to sunshine filling the room. The sensations from Nick’s touch in her dream lingered and she blushed at the memory. She gave herself a minute to lay there and enjoy the way her body felt, before she reached over and grabbed her watch off the night table.

  It was afternoon, which wasn't too bad since she wanted to start keeping later hours. After getting dressed, she went downstairs to start making coffee and scrambled eggs.

  Once she ate, she headed toward town. She wanted to get some more groceries and have a look around at what small town Kansas looked like. The first thing she noticed when she hit city limits was that there was still no traffic, even during the day. It was a nice change. There were even front row parking places at the grocery store.

  As she shopped, she enjoyed feeling like she had the whole store to herself. No one crowded her, or reached over her as she looked at the produce. She didn't feel rushed in the slightest, and found that it was actually relaxing to shop.

  She thought about Nick, and wondered if there was anything she could pick up for him. Did he need anything, other than that nasty fridge full of blood? She wanted to bring him something as a thank you for his hospitality. She rounded the last aisle without finding anything that screamed vampire, and not knowing anything about him as a person, if he could be called a person, she didn't know what to grab.