"Life in Sedona"

By EsmeAmelia

Chapter 4: A Bite for a Bite

Te'ijal and Galahad were sitting on the sofa in front of the fire, listening to the wind rapping against their walls on yet another chilly Sedona evening. At least, it felt chilly to a pair of former vampires who had gone centuries without feeling temperature – they were both wrapped up in blankets, which Te'ijal found incredibly embarrassing.

She looked over at Galahad, whose beautiful neck seemed to glow in the firelight. Even though he was human now, the two marks where her fangs had pierced him were still visible. His refusal to feed had kept those marks from healing – now he would probably have them for the rest of his human life.

She wondered if he knew they were still there.

Her bare feet felt like two pieces of ice even though they were close to the fire. She was tempted to put them on the sofa cushion and under the blanket, but that idea made her feel claustrophobic. To press her entire body together for the sake of something as pitiful as warmth – it was insane.

But then again, her entire life had become insane lately.

She looked again at her husband's neck, remembering how delicious his blood had been when she bit him. Back when she had that ability, that one simple ability to change people, to bond someone to her for eternity. The more she stared at his neck, the more she wished that she still had that ability.

"Galahad?" she said suddenly.

"What?" her husband said in a content manner.

Te'ijal brushed her teeth over her lip. "Do you think we still have any vampire left in us?"

Galahad looked at her with his mouth twisted, communicating that he couldn't believe that she was actually saying this. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, suppose I have a little vampire essence left in me?" She stared into his eyes. "Perhaps enough to turn someone back into a vampire?"

For a moment there was horror in Galahad's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by relaxation. "And what would you do if that was true?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Why, change you back, of course," Te'ijal said matter-of-factly.

"And why would you want to do that?" Galahad asked. "That wouldn't make you change back."

Te'ijal sighed. "But then you could change me back." She leaned in close to him, positioning her lips just inches above his neck. "What do you say?" she whispered seductively. "I bite you and then you bite me. Let's just see what happens."

Galahad swallowed a snicker – he clearly didn't believe anything would happen if she bit him. "All right, wife," he said. "If it makes you feel better, go ahead."

Without hesitance, Te'ijal sank her teeth into Galahad's neck, for a moment thinking yes, this would work, they would both be whole again . . . but then she realized that her teeth couldn't pierce his skin. And to make it worse, Galahad was laughing.

"What's so funny?" she growled.

"Nothing," Galahad said, though he was still grinning. "It just tickled, that's all."

"Tickled?" Te'ijal exclaimed. She immediately thrust herself at his neck and bit down as hard as she could

"Ow, ow, all right, that hurt," said Galahad, reaching up to clutch his neck, pushing his wife's teeth away and showing her that she had again failed to draw even the tiniest drop of blood.

"Well, did it work?" Te'ijal asked softly, even though she already knew the answer to that question.

Galahad grinned again. "Nope, I'm afraid not." He reached over and gently stroked her neck. "Well, do you still want me to try it out on you?"

"A deal is a deal," Te'ijal replied, her illogical side desperately hoping that maybe Galahad still had the power to turn someone even though she knew that since he had never fed on human blood, he never had that power in the first place.

Galahad's bite was far gentler than hers – it was more like he was massaging her skin with his teeth. She felt no pain at all – and no tickling either, just the warmth of his mouth. After he "bit" her a couple of times, his motions gradually became long, hungry kisses moving up and down her neck.

Te'ijal groaned. "Galahad . . . stop."

"Why?" Galahad whispered, his fingers gently pinching the collar of her dress, which instantly made her think about undoing his shirt, no matter how much she wanted to resist her new human instincts.

Before she knew what was happening, she kicked the blanket off of her and Galahad dove over her body. In another moment, she was indeed undoing his shirt and kissing his bare shoulders, unable to listen to her better judgement. She had been trying to convince Galahad that she disliked this particular aspect of human nature, but she knew he wouldn't believe her for a second – he knew she was lying. And yes, she knew she was lying too. Soon it would probably be useless to pretend at all.

As she pulled her husband closer to her and began running her lips over his neck, kissing those two beautiful marks, she thought that she would have to tell Mel about this night in her next letter.

Well, she might leave out certain details.