I woke feeling warm and supremely comfortable, something I was not particularly accustomed to. My body was still heavy with sleep, heavy enough to not question the soft mattress or the thick blankets, and I attempted to allow myself to slip back into whatever dreams I had been having. It would have been easy to accomplish, but while I could choose to ignore the unfamiliarity of my immediate surroundings, the calloused hand slipping over my hip was significantly harder to ignore.

I managed a snort but otherwise did not try to fight the hand nor the body that slid up behind me, effectively spooning me. Perhaps I would have struggled more if I was more awake; then again, memories from the night before were already attempting to surface in my mind. They were mostly just impressions of emotions, fear and pleasure, and so were easily pushed away. I had the sinking feeling that I would rather not deal with the images that assuredly went with these feelings until I was capable of forming full and cohesive thoughts.

The man behind me clearly had other ideas. Lips found their way onto my neck and even as I grunted in disagreement, I was tilting my head to allow better access to my skin. I was hardly even lucid enough to think properly, let alone deny myself the pleasure of having someone's lips plucking delicately at my flesh. They worked their way up the column of my neck all the way up to my ear, where a kiss was placed followed by a quick lap of his tongue which sent a shamefully delightful shiver down my spine.

Back down my neck the lips went; I hummed softly as a new warmth started to fill my core at the gentle ministrations. I couldn't help but relax into the feeling of that mouth and the hand on my hip.

Surely I should have known better- and under other circumstances where I was more capable of thought I felt that I would have know better- than to do any such thing around that mouth. Not a moment later, upon reaching my shoulder, did I feel the sudden pain of teeth sinking into my skin.

I could not have helped my startled cry and I whipped my head around to glare at the other man.

Zaroff merely glanced up at me, seemingly unfazed as he attempted to sooth the bite with more soft pecks of his lips. I frowned at him. "I thought I had earned the right to not be your prey."

He pulled away at that, propping himself up on an arm so as to stare down at me. "My dear Sanger, I can assure you that if I had the intentions of turning you into prey you would know it." He grinned down at me, in such a way that I could not help but be a bit wary of what it meant. "I know that if last night is anything to go by it would have been quite the hunt."

At that I huffed and tried to ignore the heat of a blush that was creeping up my face. I rolled my body beneath the covers so I could continue to watch Zaroff without straining my neck. His hand moved with me under the covers, slipping across my stomach to rest on my other hip. "I'm sure," I muttered as we studied each other. It was hard to imagine what Zaroff was thinking, made harder by the fact that sleep was still tugging at my mind.

After a long pause he gave me a sharp nod. "You have earned safety here, I assure you. You need not have any lingering doubts about that for the time being." He once again lapsed into silence to study my face. Evidently he found whatever he was looking for because he soon continued. "You have also earned yourself a place here, should the accommodations be agreeable."

I will admit that this startled me; I blinked in shock and my eyes widened in something very similar to, if not, fear. Opening my mouth to protest, I was cut off by a raised hand and a firm look from Zaroff. "I won't hear any of that right now, Sanger," he said, his voice as firm as his gaze. "Consider it, and consider it well."

Our eyes locked and eventually his gaze softened. I could feel the thumb pressing into my hip start to move, brushing back and forth against my skin. The silence was comfortable, though I almost would have preferred it not be. The implications of my own comfort to what had occurred between us, to his proximity to me even now, did not bode well for my future.

Or perhaps it did.

The thought alone nearly made me wince. Something in my gaze must have betrayed my uncertainty because in that moment Zaroff lowered his hand and smiled down at me. "Feel free to take your time," he all but purred, hand tightening on my hip. I shivered. "In the meantime, we need to go down for breakfast. I will have to let you borrow some clothes until yours can be washed."

I nodded and his smile widened into a grin, revealing the sharp teeth with which I had already had more encounters than I would prefer. "Right then-" he used his hand that was touching me to toss the covers away, exposing both of us to the chill of the room. I grunted and shivered violently and tried to grab the blankets but was stopped by a strong hand wrapping around my wrist. "I think a bath should be in order, then we shall eat, hm?"

My trembling body was pulled from the bed as Zaroff lead me across the room to another door, presumably the bathroom.

I had to admit, despite everything that seemed to be going wrong at the present moment, a warm bath sounded rather nice.

It's a personal goal to take all of the dumb short stories I had to read throughout my high school years and turn them into gay shit. This particular one is actually a sort of sequel to an unfinished work that depicts the "activities" of the night before this.

Also the narrator's name, Sanger, was gotten off of sparknotes, since I don't remember the narrator being named as far as first names go. Could totally be wrong because otherwise I'd have no idea where anyone would get "Sanger" from, but whatever. Hope you liked it, and if you have any thoughts, feelings, or concerns feel free to leave em in a review.