Okay... I REALLY enjoyed writing this chapter - hope you like reading it! Let me know what you think.

6. Deserted Island

(Karin POV)

'So if you were stuck on a deserted island and you could only take one book, one music album and one type of food, what would you choose?' I asked Don, as we strolled hand in hand along the boardwalk towards the popular riverside parklands.

It wasn't a very original line of questioning but it was the quickest way to find out a little more about the man who had suddenly entered my life with the power and force of a fiery comet smashing through the Earth's atmosphere.

The guardian didn't answer right away as he was focused on making a quick visual sweep of our vicinity – it was dark by now but the path along the river was busy and well lit, lined by the water on one side and a row of trees strung with fairy lights on the other. When Don was satisfied there were no threats in the area he looked down at me with a more relaxed expression.

'Okay… Well, the book is easy. Any of the original James Bond novels by Ian Flemming would do the trick.' I raised an eyebrow but he continued on, valiantly defending his choice. 'Sure, the stories aren't 'fine literature' by any means, but they've got the fights, the girls, the cars. Who could go past that?! Diamonds are Forever would be my pick of the bunch.'

'Somehow I'm not surprised a guardian would be into spy thrillers,' I smiled wryly. 'And the album?'

This time he answered almost immediately. 'No contest. The 1981 Greatest Hits album by Queen. The best B-side on any album release ever.'

'I'm not sure if picking a compilation is allowed, but I'll let you have it this time... Do you have a favourite track? I've always loved Bohemian Rhapsody.' Honestly, it was the only Queen song I could think of off the top of my head but I didn't want to sound completely ignorant.

Don's face contorted as if he was in pain. 'It's cruel to make me choose between them when they're all so good, but if you forced me I'd have to go with Flash – you know that song they made for the Flash Gordon movie in the 80's? I was so obsessed with that film when I was a little kid that I'd run around most afternoons saving the world in black trousers that were two sizes too small, a pair of gumboots and a red singlet with a lightning bolt logo I'd drawn on in marker pen. Mom even made me a special belt to go with the costume.'

Without warning, he let go of my hand and ran a few feet ahead, leaping up onto a cement bench seat that overlooked the river then turning back towards me and striking a superman pose. 'I was Flash – saviour of the universe, king of the impossible!' he declared dramatically, to the amusement of several passers-by.

Instead of simply stepping down from the seat, he jumped out and swung acrobatically from a nearby lamp-post, landing beside me as I caught up to him. I let out a shriek of surprise and delight as he lifted me off my feet.

'Need saving, honey?' Don asked with a playful waggle of his eyebrows, clutching me to his chest.

'Maybe, Flash.' I grinned up at him, and he gave me a swift peck on the lips before setting me back on my feet.

'Good, because rescuing damsels in distress is basically my M.O.,' he smirked, slipping his fingers through mine as we continued on towards parklands. 'Now there was one other thing you said I could take on this deserted island – what was it again?'

'Food,' I answered, slightly breathless as I recovered from the lingering effect of his touch that still tingled on my lips and shoulder blades.

Don looked at me as if the answer was obvious. 'But you already know my food weakness. I'd take crab fries, of course – a big truck-load of them – but only if they came with cheese sauce.'

I rolled my eyes in reply. Oh well. At least if I married him he wouldn't be too difficult to please when it came to cooking dinner. Wait on. Shit. Did I just think that? It must just be Sonya's wedding playing on my mind. Woah horsey. One step at a time.

My date must have caught my rattled expression because he tilted his head curiously, brushing a lock of my short, wavy hair behind my ear to check I was okay. 'I sometimes feel flustered thinking about crab fries too,' he smiled at me gently, and I cursed the fact he could read me so well.

Fortunately, any momentary awkwardness was forgotten as we joined the ever-growing crowd of revellers heading towards the Spruce Street Harbor Park, and my moroi senses were assaulted by the sights, sounds and smells that greeted us from the main area of the pop-up park. The whole place had a laid-back festival feel, with families and couples wandering around the friendly space chatting as they chowed down on all kinds of fair-side treats. There was a hammock garden, the trees strung with hundreds of dangling LED lights, and groups of friends and strangers cheered one another on as they played over-sized games of jenga and chess.

'So I have actually been here in the daytime before,' I explained to Don as I pulled him through the streams of merry-makers towards the food vendor's stalls. 'And I know exactly where should go to eat.' It was part of the reason I chose Penn's Landing in the first place – a stroke of genius, really.

It was the dinner-rush by the time we reached the huge red shipping container that housed the pop-up Chicky's and Pete's outlet, but my dhampir companion beamed happily as we joined the long queue. 'I honestly think I love you, Karin Torma,' he announced, shaking his head in worshipful disbelief as he breathed in the salty aroma of crab fries.

'I always aim to please,' I winked up at him, secretly delighted that my dinner surprise had hit the spot.

We walked around the park as we ate our chips, sitting down at one point to watch a live band that was providing entertainment at the main stage, and generally enjoying one-another's company. Don found a beer garden that specialised in some of Philly's finest locally brewed beverages, and later on I insisted on getting a waffle and ice-cream sandwich from The Franklin Fountain.

Sitting down with our backs to the park and looking out over the river I chomped into my dessert, letting out a sigh of pleasure as the rich, gooey flavours tantalised my taste-buds. I did my best to ignore Don, who was watching on longingly, but seeing as he'd already eaten most of my dinner (in addition to a massive pulled-pork burger and at least six donuts) I figured this was one treat I didn't have to share. I'd just come to the last bite and thought I was safe when the greedy dhampir snatched at my free hand, bringing it to his mouth and proceeding to lick the sticky melted ice-cream off each of my fingers.

I laughed and tried to prise my hand away but he was very insistent, relishing his power over me just as much as he was enjoying the flavour of the ice-cream. But by the time he moved on to my other hand, what started out as a childish game of possession rapidly gave way to something else. His grip became softer, and his tongue lingered as it slid up each finger. When he reached the final smear of cream he took my little finger in his mouth and held my gaze as he lazily swirled his tongue around the fingertip.

'Want to find a hammock?' he asked when he was done.

All I could do was nod.

(Don POV)

'So, what would you take on the island,' I asked her, running my fingers softly along her arm as we lay side by side on the hammock, her head resting on my shoulder as we gazed up at the long strings of lights that swayed softly from the trees above us.

'Huh?' she asked, sleepily, her hand straying under my jacket to stroke my chest.

'Stranded… deserted island… what would you take?' I asked, interested to know but not really minding if she didn't answer.

'Hmm... if I'm allowed to take a book series I'd pick Lord of the Rings – I'm not really into the Frodo/Sam bromance, but at least by the time I finished reading it someone would have come to rescue me for sure!' she chuckled to herself, '…or otherwise I think a blank journal would be the best way to pass the time.'

'Very creative. And the album?'

She thought for a minute before answering. 'Emergency on Planet Earth by Jamiroquai – that way if nobody came to save me I'd still die with a smile on my face.'

I laughed. 'That is an especially funky album. And how about the food?'

She twisted around, fixing me with a bemused expression. 'Seriously? You can't figure that one out by yourself?'

I had nothing. 'Karin, I've barely seen you eat since I met you. I'm going to need a hint, here.'

'Well… I'm moroi…' she prompted.

Oh yeah. Blood. How could I forget? 'Okay. So how would you prefer to take your blood? Freezer packs or a live donor?'

'I suppose you could be my donor, if you're offering?' the moroi suggested cheekily.

Fuck yes, my mind screamed, and at the same time, no, no, no! I shifted uncomfortably in the hammock and studied her profile. 'Have you ever...? With a dhampir, I mean…?'

She flinched at the question and I realised I'd crossed a boundary. 'Sorry,' I apologised immediately. 'I know it's a personal thing to ask. You don't have to answer that.'

The moroi adjusted her position to look up at me. 'It's okay, Don. I don't mind talking about it. You just took me by surprise, that's all. I don't know if it's what you want to hear, but yeah… I've done it.

I don't know why it should matter to me, but my heart started racing at the thought of Karin sinking her fangs into another man. A dhampir like me.

'It was a long time ago – when I was a student at St. Vladimir's Academy,' she explained quietly. 'A few of the seniors were saying how great dhampir blood tasted, and I wanted to see if they were right. There was this young novice who used to follow me around like a puppy so when he asked me out I said yes, but only if he'd let me taste his blood. He wasn't too sure about it but he really wanted that date so he agreed.'

'What was it like?' I whispered, fascinated and horrified at the same time.

'It was fucking amazing,' she swore softly, 'but afterwards I felt terrible. He kept coming up to me and asking if I'd bite him again, but I knew it was wrong and couldn't bring myself to do it after that first time. He ended up hooking up with a few other moroi girls to get his high – he lost interest in his novice training and eventually flunked out of The Academy altogether. I know it wasn't just me to blame, but I felt like I'd… ruined him, and I don't think I'll ever forgive myself for that.'

There was a long silence as I processed what I'd just heard. 'And what about you,' Karin's voice cut through my raging thoughts. 'Have you…?'

Okay, Kardos. Trust only works if it goes both ways. Time to get it out in the open. 'Yeah. Sort of.' This was so hard to talk about I actually had to take a few controlled breaths before I could speak.

Karin's brow wrinkled in concern. 'You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…'

'No. I want to,' I wrapped my arm a little tighter around her, taking comfort in her warmth. 'It was nearly eight years ago. I was on a mission with a team of guardians – scoping out a warehouse in Pittsburgh where the Alchemists had reportedly sighted a pair of strigoi. There were eight of us on the mission, and I was the team leader so I went in first. Only our intel was bad – we thought we were going in after two strigoi but there were five in there.'

Karin clutched at my shirt, realising the severity of those odds.

'I managed to yell a warning to the others as just as they entered the building, but a female strigoi dragged me away from the main group. I fought until my strength gave out and assumed I was dead for sure but the creature seemed to take a morbid interest in me. I think she intended me to be her personal feedbag until she could come back and turn me, and from the second she bit me I was completely helpless – unable to defend myself, unable to even care what was happening to me or to my friends out in the warehouse. I was floating on a cloud and I didn't want to come down.'

'How did you get away?' Karin asked faintly.

'I guess I would have died eventually, only one of the guys on my team realised I was missing and made the decision to leave the others to come and get me. He couldn't take down the strigoi by himself, but he placed himself between her and my prone body, and defended me until the other guardians were free to come and finish the job.'

'Oh my God, Don. I had no idea,' the moroi shook her head in shock and disbelief. 'I've heard of people who've survived a strigoi bite and it really fucked with their heads. Depression, PTSD, self-harm, some even end up becoming blood whores to try to reach that high again. How the hell did you recover from that?'

'Well, I've always been a pretty headstrong person and I suppose I just refused to let someone else determine my future for me. Sometimes things aren't quite so easy, but I can normally find a way to laugh my problems off, and I'm lucky to have some really supportive people around me too. My best friend – the one who's getting married soon – was actually the guy who saved me, so I can't make out like I'm some superhero or anything. I just had something more to live for, I suppose.'

Karin's expression flickered from empathy to admiration, but finally settled on regret. 'You know, I'd never…' she trailed off, looking at my neck. '…I'd never actually bite you, Don. I feel so bad about earlier – in the chair at the theatre. I should never have joked about something like that.'

'It's okay, honey,' I assured her, running my fingers through her hair. 'I'm honestly okay now. If it was anybody else I probably would have punched them in the face, but with you… it was a complete turn-on, believe me. If you just stick to teasing I think I can handle it.'

She thought for a minute then shifted over me on the hammock, leaning in slowly to kiss my throat before whispering in my ear. 'I seriously doubt you can handle me, Flash.'

Author's Note:

Woo hoo - feel like I'm finally on form at last. I had one of those great days where the words just flowed & I somehow went from 0 words to a full chapter in the space of a few hours.

I knew Don & Karin were going to the riverside parklands but had NO idea Don was going to reveal that little bombshell until it came out on the page. Now I understand a bit more about Don's motivations in my previous story - how was able to empathise with Mikhail over Sonya's situation, why he reacted so badly when he saw Sonya at Mikhail's apartment after she'd been restored, and even why he acts like a bit of a jerk sometimes.

I think I subconsciously wanted to draw a parallel between Don & Eddie too - to show how different people survive trauma in their own way.

And the Flash Gordon bit was really fun to write too!

Promise lemons in next chapter!