Chapter 12

We left the dead bitch to Ted and ghouls to dispose of. I knew that a pack of ghouls would easily chew through her corpse in mere weeks, leaving no loose threads to follow. Cat was sick right there on the road when she realised what was going to happen to the girl's body but blimey, what was she really expecting? Me to don a clerical collar and lead a little prayer over her neatly dug and flower-covered grave? This way the girl would at least be of some service to my people. And like Cat had not personally sliced a knife – although maybe not fork - through her share of heads, entrails and body parts to bury and hide the vampires she had killed.

I was relieved and happy to have her in one piece and close by my side again, but now that the most immediate danger was over I was a bit worried about her well-being. As much experience Cat had fighting battles that could only end when one of the participants was laying dead on the ground, being shot at seemed to take a heavy toll on her. I glanced her secretly from the rear mirror, trying to get a good look at her after the days we had been apart. She was pale and looked sunken on the car seat as I drove her truck towards the cave. Her heart beat fast, restlessly. I offered her the last of the good whiskey I kept in my pocket flask, and it seemed to cheer her up a bit. It also made the poor Kitten smell a bit less of sharp vomit and anxiety. Regaining her posture and stretching her limbs, she gave me a straightforward, solemn look.

"No more cryptic shit, Bones. Who is Hennessey and what has he got to do with the gun-toting psychotic from my physics class?"

She had met her just now, in college? What could I tell her? I appreciated that she could no longer work on this not knowing what we were dealing with, but I needed to know how the dead girl was linked to Hennessey and his staff. Despite Cat's bitter remarks on me owing her the explanations as she was the one who had nearly been killed tonight, she started to tell me the whole story.

"She took physics with me," Cat said. "From the first day she'd wait for me after class. She started off with asking me lecture questions when she had missed class. And then she told about herself. Just funny, meaningless stories - like of guys she had dated. She seemed so friendly, and nice. Then she asked about me and I told her that I just transferred from community college and didn't know anybody here, came from a ...small town... The bitch was casing me! And I practically slapped a a big red bow on my ass!"

I drove the car further and requested her to tell more about tonight. The dark unlit forest road was winding and turning ahead of us. Yes, this Stephanie had been casing her. The girl had seen her as a suitable target, then lured her in with playing all friendly. I wished I could kill her once over, rip her throat open and stretch the tendons and bones of her fragile neck painfully between my teeth until they snapped. My fangs itched inside my gums. But the girl wasn't the real culprit here, just another lackey for the vampire behind it all. I could practically see Hennessey's filthy undead fingerprints all over this mess. The "landlord" she was trying to please could not be anyone else.

Cat finished her recollection of tonight and stretched herself again on the front seat. I wanted to touch her. But most of all, I wanted the bastard Hennessey and anyone his to stay away from her. Suddenly, a memory of a girl's body I had come across some nine years ago came back to me. I was investigating the mysterious kidnappings near the border of Mexico. She had been lying beside an empty, deserted highway at the outskirts of a city, naked and raped, her damp dark hair partially covering her face. What was left of her throat and her breasts had been a chewed, raw mess.

"How is this related to Hennessey?" she asked. "You said you could smell him and other vampires there. Do you think he somehow found out who I was? That he wanted to finish what he had started?"

"No" I replied. "You told she had been following you around for the whole week. If Hennessey would have found out who you were, believe me he wouldn't have waited. He would have come at you straight away. Snatched up you and anyone unlucky enough to be around you." I had wiped the girl's whole place down and took all the things Cat had touched with us in the garbage bag. I was sure of that.

"If not for last weekend - then why would Stephanie try to kidnap me for Hennessey? It doesn't make any sense." We arrived to the cave and as we went inside, I told her we could sort it out later while inspecting the items we brought with us from the apartment.

I sat on the sofa and started to go though the girl's laptop. It was brand new and top of the line. Looked like the landlord had gotten plenty of the goods he had requested, right. There was no encryption and it was easy to find what I was looking for. A file on the desktop contained all the names and descriptions of potential candidates to be Hennessey's future unwilling bed and breakfast service and top-selling merchandise. The girl had placed Cat as the number one on the list. Then I hit the real jackpot. On a short note named was only one sentence. Charlie, Club Flame, 42nd Street. Victoriously, I pointed it out to Cat, although I'd have to check if that was a real place at all.

I put the laptop away and told Cat about the Bennington triangle, kidnappings and murders, my research on those, and the little I knew and suspected about Hennessey's involvement in this. She listened and I could see disgust build on her face as I continued. She sat next to me in her blood-smeared clothes, forgetting to maintain the two feet distance she seemed to normally prefer to keep to me when we were not engaged in combat practise.

"But if Hennessey did all that, he surely could not eat that much, even if he wanted to. What is he - some kind of undead Ted Bundy?"

"I doubt he is a traditional serial killer as he doesn't seem to keep his victims to himself. I rather think he has made an industry out of them." I saw Cat's expressions change when she was placing all the pieces together. The large number of victims, Stephanie delivering custom order college girls to a vampire master.

"You think he is running a take-out service? Selling these people away as easy meals? How has he been able to get away with that?"

"In the past he did a few mistakes, yes. But he has become smarter. The bugger only captures women that the society does not hold in particularly high regard. Vampire intervention further prevents them from being reported as missing by relatives." Cat looked horrified but I had to continue. "All the girls Winston told you about are dead, but even their families don't know about it. They have been greeneyed not to question their absence. Thats why I needed the information from a ghost who would know who is dead - for sure. More girls are being kidnapped that are ever reported... From colleges, bars, clubs and back alleys. The police does now know the whole picture and has enough to do on other crimes as it is. Hennessey is covering his tracks very well."

"How long have you been suspecting this? You told before you had been chasing Hennessey for eleven years? Have you known what he is doing this whole time?"

"No. It has been only two past years that I have been able to collect more specific information on his deeds. Took me a lot of work to understand what was happening to the girls in the first place and even more to squeeze out a name to whoever might be behind all this. As I said, he covers his tracks and he knows how to do it." I kept a small pause and continued. "I have since found out more by targeting those people in his line who had prices on their heads and questioning them before I killed them, like Sergio. Hennessey has been under the impression that I'm not on to him – that it is only business for me. But now he knows I'm out to get him, and so does everyone who is involved with him. He can't be doing all this alone. He must have friends in high places."

"So, even if you take out Hennessey, there is no guarantee that it would stop? His partners could just continue without him? Do you have any idea who they could be?"

"I have come a few times very close to finding out but ...things happened."

"Like what?"

"Like you, actually. At first, I could have sworn you were one of his, with all the killing of our targets before I could get any information out of them and all. I had been tracking Devon, the vampire you staked the first night we met, for six months. He was Hennessey's accountant, his innermost circle. I thought Hennessey knew I was closing in on him, and sent you to silence Devon before I got to him. And then you came after me, the very next night. Why did you think I kept asking you who do you work for? And today, with that girl..."

"I didn't mean to kill her!" Cat exclaimed.

I got up and went to kitchen. I took a washcloth from the cupboard below the sink and started to run the water so I would eventually get some hot one. Took a while in the cave as the pipes were long and cold. She needed to clean herself before returning home. I also needed to find her a clean shirt.

"Believe me, luv, I know that. You could not kill a human unless it was by an accident or they were doing dirty work for a vampire. And I knew from the look of the scene that you had wrestled Stephanie to get the gun off her hands. She must have put up a good fight as I could tell from her smell that she had been drinking vampire blood." Without that, I mused, Cat would have probably been able to rip her arms off. An ordinary human college girl had nothing on her and the fight would have been over in seconds. Doping her with blood to ensure she could easily overcome her victims was just another way for Hennessey to ensure the uninterrupted payment of ...rent.

"Why haven't you told all of this before?" Cat asked angrily from the living area. "You trained me to fight – but you kept me away from the real battle!"

How could I explain? I didn't want her anywhere near the horrors I knew would be waiting if she got acquainted with Hennessey and the likes of his. I resigned in telling the truth. "I did not want to get you involved. I didn't want you to endanger your life by killing vampires in the first place, but since that seems to be what you are determined to do, I made you better at it. Still, Hennessey and his people are a different thing. Your part in this story should have been over after Sergio, but your little physics friend seems to have ruined the plot." The water was finally hot and I took some in a small bowl.

"Was safety the only reason you were keeping this from me, or is there more I don't know about?"

I continued to fill the bowl, somewhat glad that I was in the kitchen so I didn't have to look at her. We had had this talk coming for a long time, though. "I didn't want to give you yet another reason to hate vampires. Its not like you are not already predisposed to it. You really tend to judge people for what they are, rather than what they do. That is - if they don't have a pulse." Cat didn't answer. Her voice was quiet when she next spoke to me.

"You should know something, Bones... I lied to you when we made our deal. I planned to kill you the moment I got a chance."

I stifled a laugh. Glad to take it finally off her conscience. "I already knew that, luv."

I returned to the living room as Cat explained she wanted to help catch Hennessey. She thought of playing bait in the area Hennessey was collecting the girls, maybe leading us to further information on him and his partners. It was too risky and I would never allow it to happen. I pretended to agree just to make her shut up and forget about it for now. I pointed out her bloody shirt and gave her one of mine. I placed the water bowl and cloth next to her and started to consider different strategies to try and keep her out of this. A fat chance, as they say. She wouldn't stay out.

Cat took away her ruined blouse and started to vigorously clean the blood away from her skin, wearing nothing but her bra to cover her upper body. I couldn't take my eyes away from her. The days we had spent apart, not being able to touch her even using the pretense of practising combat, the fear after receiving her frantic phone call... And now she was here, safe and sound in my cave, with me. In her underwear. She looked at me, and I realised my eyes were casting a faint green glow on her face. I felt my fangs stretch and ache with desire, the familiar, nearly desperate urge to sink my teeth into her, rip her pants and knickers off and take her right now there on the sofa. She withdrew herself nervously, sliding further away on the seat. I remained still, staring at her. Venom slowly filled my mouth. I swallowed.

"Hey. Don't go all glowy at the blood." Cat apparently mistook the change in me as hunger, and she examined me closely with those grey, guarded eyes.

"Do you think the way I'm looking at you now has anything to do with blood?" I could feel the words stick in my throat that was absolutely congested with lust. I wanted the blood, yes - her blood - but I wanted her body more. I also wanted her to lose the stupid prejudice we just discussed and see what we could have together. I wanted her to see me.

Babbling random explanations, Cat assumed the usual nonchalant expression on her face but I could tell that her heartbeat had just increased by at least a dozen beats per minute. I moved slowly closer. Taking the blood-soiled washcloth and waterbowl from her hands, I put them away. Then I sat next to her. Close. Her scent was now a heavenly mixture of Stephanie's blood, fresh sweat, laundry detergent of her clothes – and the arousal of a young girl. Her heart beat even faster. My cock throbbed in answer as I slowly allowed the blood in my body to fully concentrate in my lower parts.

"I'll give you a hint of what else draws such a reaction — it isn't blood."

Cat inhaled quickly as if starting to say something. Then she looked away and kept her face casual as ever. "I highly doubt you're overcome with desire by simply seeing me in my bra. Like I would have anything you haven't seen before, considering last weekend and all."

I literally felt my centuries old nerves wind tighter and stretch like a bungee cord. There she was, again daring to explain all the trust and emotions building between us with pure physical everyday necessities. Finding ways to keep me far away, just a colleague. Team mate. Or worse, I could always be regarded as a captor. An evil demon captor. A thing who she could gladly ignore – or kill, she had just said that - and leave behind if it ever proved necessary. Like hell I would allow that to happen.

"Kitten, look at me."

Cat blinked. "I am."

"No, you are not." I lost my temper and moved close to her, staring at her with my eyes lighting the room with pure emerald green. "You look through me as if I'm not even there. You don't see a man when you look at me. You see a vampire. Last weekend I held you and kissed you. I saw your eyes light up with desire, and knew for once you were truly seeing me. Seeing me for all I was, not just a non-beating heart with a shell around it." I seethed with anger and glared at her. "I dare you to look at me that way again. Look at me like that now, with no excuse of chemicals to fall back on. I want you to do it. I want you."

I saw an astonished look on her young face, her lips slightly apart. Suddenly, I found it impossible to suppress a smile. I had really let it all out, hadn't I, no doubt about that.I was done with her keeping me at arm's length. But I also wanted her understand that however much I desired her, I would never force myself where I was not invited. She would have to ask me in. And admit that she loved me.

"I've wanted you from the moment we met, and if you think sitting next to me in your bra doesn't overwhelm me with desire, you're very wrong."

A long time passed as we simply sat there and looked at each other. Gradually, Cat let her eyes wander shyly on me, my face, my body. I could see the emotions on her face vary from astonishment to surprised, slightly perplexed and finally settle to understanding. I felt her body tense and her heart rate elevate as she was summoning courage. Her scent surrounded me and I felt my need for her body and blood return with burning, raging intensity. I held perfectly still and waited. Cat looked me into my eyes and swallowed.

"Kiss me."

I ached to throw Cat on the floor and sink my face into her crotch, biting and licking her until she screamed madly from unending waves of pleasure. I wanted to thrust my hard, swollen cock savagely into her and make her beg for more, or mercy. I yearned to show her every wicked, immoral trick I had learned in two centuries of pleasing ladies, young and old. And frankly yes, I badly wanted to bite her neck and feel her blood fill my mouth, give her all the pleasures my vampire venom could elicit in her body. Instead, I leaned over and very softly, gently, closed my lips over hers. I knew from experience her body could certainly take on everything I could throw at her in bed but at this point, her mind could not. I had to scare away the ghosts of her past disappointments first. Besides, of all the skillful things my hands could do she had only seen my fists. Approaching her head right before they sent her flying across the room or worse yet, knocked her unconscious.

When I thought of that, a virgin would be more easy to deal with than a semi-inexperienced, hurt, fidgety Kitten. I had obviously had countless virgins, both as a human when I was selling my services and later on as vampire too. I remembered one shy spinster, so happy when I gave her her first orgasms at the ripe old age of 34 that she cried, laughed and finally fainted on the bedroom floor. And a lord's daughter, sweet creature of fifteen whom I had made fall in love with me as a young vampire, dazzling her with my looks, sweet talk and my newly found glamour. All my skills as a lover had not helped and our act was utterly painful to her from the beginning to a somewhat hurried end. Ashamed, I had comforted her, fixed her hymen with my blood and greeneyed her to forget the pain and later, forget everything of me.

Then they were a few abused, scared women I had actually tried to help. Women very reclutant to show their pleasure in bed due to being brought up ashamed of their bodies and needs. A young vampire, Lucy from Spade's line that had been violently raped by a gang of ghouls during a raid and left so emotionally damaged that once she learned of my special talent, she came for me begging I would teach her to have sex again. And with Spade's permission, I had. Very gently. Cat had simply been hurt and left alone to deal with it. I knew Cat and how her mind worked. One good experience would be enough for her to find her confidence again. I would just have to convince her that I was the man for the job. Or to be more precise, that she could trust a vampire with her body and soul.

All these thoughts vanished from my mind as Cat slid closer to me on the seat and closed her arms around my neck. I sensed her need grow as I slowly ran my tongue along her lips. I could smell her arousal, like honey and burned sugar. Her heart was raging. I continued to kiss her and slowly explore and tease her mouth with my tongue, savouring the moment. She answered, first moving her tongue almost hesitantly, until she finally allowed it to wander all the way in my mouth, and I sucked it gently. Oh, Kitten.

Cat made a small helpless noise, and the sound made my fangs slide fully out and my cock become painfully hard. I kissed her desperately as she slowly undid the buttons of my shirt and ran her hand across my chest. Her hand felt like a red-hot iron on my skin, leaving an invisible burned mark of pleasure wherever it touched. I quickly pulled the shirt off. Her eager hands kept exploring my body as I took her tight in my arms and pressed our bodies together. I licked and sucked her neck and felt her blood pulse and flow in the delicate vessels just beneath the thin layer of her skin. Cat shivered, either in fear or of passion. I had to ask.

"I want you so much. Tell me you want me. Say yes."

I raised my head and looked into her eyes as she halted and tensed. The scent of arousal was suddenly mixed with that of anxiety.

"Bones… I didn't like it before. I think… something's wrong with me."

My poor, brave little Kitten. I hoped she could see the unsaid words in my eyes as I held her and slowly ran my hands over her back thinking what to say. Tonight would likely not hurt too much. Tonight we would do only things she wanted. I would be with her all the way and I would still be here tomorrow. I promised myself I would find the man who butchered her self esteem this way, and rip out his large intestine through his throat.

"Nothing's wrong with you, and if you change your mind - or say stop, I'll stop. You can trust me, Kitten. Say yes." With desperate need I kissed her again, trying to hold back my strength, urgently exploring her mouth with mine, pressing her unbelievably strong, lean body tight against mine.

"Yes..."

I ripped Cat into my arms and carried her into the bedroom, placing her on the bed. I undid her bra and gently sucked and stroked her nipples. Her breasts were beautiful to look at, and her scent and the smell of hot blood flowing in her body nearly drove me mad. I sucked harder, and Cat pressed my head against her chest, arching her back to get closer to me. I removed her jeans and knickers too, only pausing briefly to run my hand slowly over her knickers and feel the moist soft flesh beneath the fabric.

"You're so beautiful, Kitten. Exquisite." I let my mouth taste and tease the silky smooth skin of her breasts and the buds of her small hard nipples, thus distracting her while I placed my hand between her thighs. Cat let out small cries of pleasure and writhed beneath my body as I rubbed and circled her clitoris with deliberate moves. I gently eased one finger inside her. She was tight and moist and her folds felt like finest velvet. Her body clenched in protest when I stopped and used my knees to slowly pry her legs apart.

I dragged my mouth down her body and indeed managed to get past navel on my way south when she realised my intentions and blushing sweetly, gasped the objection I was actually waiting for to hear.

"Bones, wait... Stop."

I paused and focused my thoughts on what she had to say. I kept my mouth pressed against the smooth snow white skin of her belly. My fangs ached of need to sink them into a vein. My cock twitched, having a mind of its own.

"Stop?"

She blushed violently. "Er, not stop all of it, just…um, I don't think that's appropriate—"

I raised my eyes to examine her expression. I knew she would need some help to overcome the shyness and reservations built into her during years of feeling outcast, not good enough, you tell me what. So I simply made the decision for her. And frankly, I wanted her so much I felt my balls would burst otherwise.

"I do think."

I lowered my mouth and licked her slowly between her thighs. As my long experience told me would happen, her objections were instantly gone and I continued to tongue her flesh, gently probe inside her with my fingers, explore her velvety folds and suck her clitoris while she thrashed, screamed, grabbed my hair with her hands and bucked her hips. When she came, I throbbed and burned with mindless lust and was no longer capable of thinking, anything. I whispered her uncoherent words on how beautiful she looked as I slid upwards and moved to position myself between her legs.

Cat's whole body went suddenly tense, rigid with fear. With all the inhuman self control I could muster, I forced myself to stop. I held still and kissed her again, deep. My face was covered in her juices and scent and I knew she could taste herself in my mouth. She responded to my kiss as I held her tight in my arms, waiting for her to calm down. I wanted her to trust me unconditionally before I went any further. Only that way she could open herself to me and show me her most intimate feelings and fears. Then I would be able to guide her through the little hesitations, embarrasments of losing control, even some pain that might wait ahead, everything I knew was part of making love for a human. Perhaps it was not time yet.

"Don't be afraid. We don't have to go further yet. You tell me when, or not at all. Tell me when. Tell me."

I could hear her heart pounding furiously, nervously, but she answered bravely. "Now."

In the past seven weeks of training I had brutally beaten her unconscious countless times. I had broken her bones, stretched her ligaments until they popped and seen with my own eyes that her halfbreed body was all steel and unyielding muscle. Now I entered her slowly, a fraction of an inch at a time as not to break her. She was velvety and tight - and she trembled and gasped as I pushed in, further and further, all the while looking at her face to see if there was any trace of fear, pain or apprehension. I wanted to be there for her if there was. I pushed myself all the way in, and she buried her face in my neck. The pleasure of finally being inside her, holding her body, feeling her tight grip around my cock, tasting her, inhaling her scent, was almost unbearable.

"All right, luv?" Our eyes met, and I knew everything was all right. Cat nodded and closed her eyes. I started to move, eager to bring her more pleasure. I kept my thrusts gentle, in control and watched her closely to see that she was keeping up. She was, and soon she was drenched in sweat. She cried for more and clawed my hips. I gripped her tight and increased my pace. A deep kiss wounded her lip on my fang and I could taste her blood in my mouth. It was delicious and the smell and taste of it sent waves of lust and pleasure down my body. I sucked the blood off her lip. I was desperate to bite her neck and feed from her but knew it would be too much to ask at this point. She was afraid of it.

"No more…of that," she said, a worried look in her eyes, gasping for breath.

"It's enough. Now you're inside me also."

Sensing she was close to orgasm, I finally let myself go and fucked her fast, mercilessly, knowing her half-vampire body would not bruise nor break. Her legs tangled in mine as her body coiled around me in relentless attacks of extasy and she screamed and screamed until I covered her mouth with another deep kiss. My orgasm made me grasp the sides of her face with mindless force. I stared at her eyes, held her and watched her when she came. As I spilled my fluids inside her, I drove my cock so deep into her that for a moment I was afraid I had hurt her.

We lay side by side on the bed. I held her and kissed her over and over again. I almost didn't believe this to be true. Cat in my bed, Cat screaming my name, Cat giving herself to me in intimate pleasures I had wanted to show her for so long. I waited for her to catch her breath.

"And to think you believed something was wrong with you."

"Something is wrong with me, I can't move," Cat replied. She looked young and sweet and truly exhausted, almost vulnerable. I loved her.

Cat looked down on herself and then to me, confused. "Am I bleeding?"

I knew she wasn't. She meant the pink semen that stained her thighs. "No, luv. That's from me."

She tried to raise from the bed to go and wash herself but I wasn't going to let her off so easy. I caught her in time to keep her in bed, held her still and once again, attacked her lovely breasts with my mouth.

"You have no idea how many times I've fantasized about you like this. During our training, our fights, the nights I've seen you dressed up and pawed at by other men… And all the while seeing you look at me with fear whenever I touched you." I took a look at her nipples.

"Dark red, both of them. Just like I promised. See? I am a man of my word."

Cat looked confused, but then she apparently remembered our hilarious dirty talk training day and blushed so dark red that I had to laugh. I wanted to taste her again so I kissed her stomach and slid my mouth further down.

"You didn't actually mean all of those things, did you?"

"Oh, Kitten, I meant every word."

Afterwards, we slept for a few hours. When I woke up, she was comfortably cocooned inside the blanket while I was left totally without any cover. My arms were still wrapped around her. I had no idea how she was able to steal all the bloody covers that way.

I silently got up from the bed and went to the living area, thinking about Hennessey and different possibilities to get to him. The contact in the dead bitch's computer was a good lead but I'd have to check it out. A quick google search with my laptop revealed that at least the place was real - Nightclub Flame. 42nd street. It was in Charlotte. We could take a plane and be there in just a few hours. The sooner the better. Hennessey was on alert.

It was already past noon. I returned to bedroom and took Cat in my arms, placing soft, sweet kisses all over her neck and hair. Her scent was sleepy and full of musk, salt and sweat from last night. I was ready to take her again right there. Cat woke up slowly, stretching, but she stiffened as she felt my arms around her. Opening her eyes, she looked around nervously. This couldn't be happening. She acted like we were teenagers caught making out on the doorstep after a movie date.

"Morning after regrets? I feared you might wake up flogging yourself."

She jumped up from the bed, hastily pulled on some clothes and and started rummaging through the items on the bedroom table and nightstand. I sat up on the bed.

"You can't just storm out and pretend this never happened."

"Not now," she said, grapped her car keys and ran towards the cave entrance.

"Kitten," I yelled at her, but she was already gone.