A/N: Hello and welcome back!

I want to thank: HarlowEmeraude, Leyshla Gisel, Silver Eyed Slayer, TinkerbellxO, Bleucladchipmunk, TinaG646, Raff Cosmo McKinley, Dionne dance, IgnitingFireworks, kurounue13, Makrciana, Nucky Thompson, GloomDusk, XantheXV, Onitsu Blackfeather, ForeverACharmedOne, Jay D. Moore, 88dragon06,Jeaniverre, catnaps and greeneyesgirl123.

Disclaimer: I do not own Dark Shadows.

Chapter 21

The door collided loudly with the wall as Abigail pushed it open and the two people in the room turned to look at her.

Barnabas' eyes widened and he quickly gazed at Angelique who was pressed up against him, cornering him against the bookcase with her hand on his belt. Angelique's lips turned into a smirk as she gazed at Abigail and Barnabas acted quickly. With a powerful thrust of his hand he grasped the witch's arm and pushed her away. Her back collided with the wall across the room and she winced.

"Ow. Why is it every time she is around you man-handle me, Barnabas? That's not nice." Angelique said as she calmly straightened and dusted her skirt.

Barnabas glared at her but it was Abigail who spoke up.

"Then maybe you should stop being around?" she asked as she took a few steps closer and came to stand next to Barnabas.

Angelique's eyes flashed with anger and her eyes narrowed into slits when Barnabas' hand found Abigail's.

Her mouth twisted up in a smirk however, when Abigail pulled her hand away and glared at the vampire.

Barnabas' gaze turned wounded and then his eyes looked at Abigail's hair. They widened at the sight of her blonde locks and he almost smiled but then Angelique spoke up.

"Your little human pretends to be brave but look at how her eyes shimmer with fear as I approach. I don't understand you two. I simply want to help." Angelique almost purred and Barnabas looked away from Abigail to sneer at her.

"Liar. Get out of my house. Don't you think I know what you've done and why you've done it? I know you, you little treacherous demon!" he spat and Angelique blinked innocently up at him.

"What have I done?"

Abigail glared at her and stepped forward, "We know about the animals. We know that it was you who did something and they suddenly disappeared." Abigail's voice was calm but there was a sharp hue underneath it all.

Angelique took a deep breath and approached her. Barnabas stiffened and placed his arm between them, his forearm brushing against Abigail's upper stomach.

"Is that so? And why would I do such a thing, sweetheart?" the witch cocked her head to the side.

Barnabas growled low in his throat when Abigail pushed his hand away and stepped closer to Angelique.

"Because you want him to kill me." She replied and Barnabas' eyes widened both in alarm and appraisal at her bravado and clever mind.

Angelique's dark red lips formed a wide smile, "You're a clever little sparrow, aren't you? Because that's what you are; a disposable little bird that does not belong in his world. In our world."

Her words cut Abigail deep and she took a step back, her expression ashen as Angelique continued her verbal attack.

"How long do you think you can last with him thirsty, hmm? You have courage, I'll give you that but if I were you I'd never go anywhere near his teeth."

With that Angelique flicked her hair over her shoulder and smiled at them both, "Well, something to think about, hmm?" she grabbed her purse from the floor and slipped her hand inside. She produced a card and approached Barnabas who stepped in front of Abigail, shielding her with his body.

Angelique rolled her eyes before she slowly placed the card in his breast pocket, "Call me when you've had enough." She winked and pressed her fingers to her mouth before she touched his lips. He grasped her wrist in a death grip and pushed her hand away with a snarl.

The woman laughed and stepped back before she turned to look at Abigail, "Love the new hair." She winked and then sauntered out of the room, her heels clicking loudly against the floor.

Abigail watched her go before she hurried after her, Barnabas on her heel.

"Where are you going, Abby?" he asked her and Abigail pursed her lips as she turned and headed for the foyer.

"Ruth." She replied shortly and he didn't speak again.

When they entered the foyer Angelique's car was speeding down the driveway and Ruth was asleep on the couch with the remote in her hand.

Abigail exhaled with relief.

A moment later she felt Barnabas' hands on her shoulders and she felt his cool breath on her cheek. She tensed a bit, his touch sending a familiar tingle down her spine and all the way to her toes.

"You are very brave, my love." He murmured as he nuzzled her hair.

Abigail gently pulled away and took a few steps forward.

He frowned and followed her, his hand slightly outstretched, "Abby?"

"Well one of us has to be since you seem a bit reluctant to decline her very obvious advances." She told him quietly, mindful of the sleeping woman on the couch.

"I was about to decline when you burst through the door." He told her almost angrily and Abigail refused to turn and face him.

"It is the truth. You have to believe me." He murmured in a gentler tone as he slowly wrapped his hand around her hip and approached her again.

Abigail turned around and faced him. He smiled.

"What are we going to do?" she asked him with resignation and he frowned.

"Let's talk elsewhere." He said quietly as he took her hand and pulled her towards the stairs. She went willingly and stared at the back of his head as he walked ahead of her, his shoulders tense. His grip on her hand was tight and spoke of insecurity and she wondered if her implications had actually hurt them. Suddenly she felt guilty. Perhaps he too was afraid. If that woman could turn people into creatures of the shadows and if she could indeed escape death then perhaps everybody ought to fear her.

He opened the door to his own room and Abigail was surprised. They rarely ever went there. She had never been in his room while the sun was still high in the sky.

"Your room?" she cleared her throat as he released her hand and shut his door softly.

"Yes." He replied as he moved around her. He came to stand right in front of her, his hands by his sides.

"I like that it is darker than mine." She said as she gazed around the semi dark room. The curtains were closed and only a sliver of light was making its way through them.

"Yes…You changed your hair." He commented as he stepped forward and reached out to touch a curly lock. He hesitated and she sighed before she grasped his hand and placed it firmly on her hair.

"I am not mad, Barnabas. In fact I wanted to apologize for barging in there."

The fingers in her hair moved as he combed though her locks, his mouth twitching, "I liked that you barged in. I like the color." He said as he cocked his head to the side and regarded her with unguarded and plain fondness.

"You do? I think I look like a Barbie." She chuckled and he frowned.

"I do not know what a Barbie is but I think you look like an angel." He told her and she laughed.

"It's a doll. A Barbie is a doll." She explained and he frowned deeply.

"Then why is it wrong to look like one?" he asked with genuine perplexity and she shrugged.

"Well, she is just so…" at his dazed look she sighed, "Never mind. I am happy you like it though." She smiled and he returned it.

"When the light falls on it, it looks like gold." He murmured and she took a deep breath.

"Stop talking like that." She told him, "I am nothing extraordinary, Barnabas. She is right. You won't be able to last if this goes on. And I am indeed disposable." She told him as she took his hand from her hair and held it in her own.

"Disposable?" he murmured, "You're anything but disposable, my love. You…" he trailed off and she narrowed her eyes.

"I am a problem at the moment."

"No. You are everything." He shook his head fiercely.

"I am a temptation, am I not?" she asked him and he gulped.

"Yes. But not in the way you think." He said throatily as he stepped closer to her.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't you know what I mean?" he leaned forward, his lips a breath away from hers.

"She is right, you know." Abigail said as she quickly pecked his lips and pulled back. He groaned.

"About what?" he asked her as he followed her backward footsteps.

"That I cannot give you want you want. That is why you always stop me from touching you, isn't it? You're afraid I'll break or something." She said and she gasped when her back hit the hard wood of his grand door.

"Yes, I am afraid of hurting you. I couldn't bear it. When I had to cause you pain…The day I drank from you, it was the worst day of my life." His expression was dark and troubled as he looked at her wrist.

"Not for me because I helped you. Please don't think it like that."

"I can't let it happen again." He shook his head as he stepped back.

"I'd do it again if I had to." She told him firmly, her eyes set with determination.

"Abby, it's degrading. Like I am keeping you near so that I can use your blood like you're some kind of…" he trailed off as he turned away from her and ran a hand through his dark hair, "Like some kind of pet." He finished.

"It's not degrading. People give their blood to save others all the time. Why is this any different?" she objected heatedly.

"Why are you saying these things?" he turned to her and looked at her sharply, "You were never meant to be my food source! This is all a new kind of hell! And because of that woman! She always made me weak. In every meaning of the word! And now she wants me to hurt you! You! Won't this ever end? I have paid my rightful price! All these years I've been alone and now that you…" he trailed off before he sat down in his bed and covered his head with his hands.

"It wasn't supposed to be like this." He murmured and Abigail sucked in a quick breath before she went over to him. She sat down next to him and pulled his hands away from his head before she cupped his cheeks. His eyes locked with hers and she smiled.

"I am not afraid of you. I'll do anything I have to and we'll prove her wrong. It will get tiring for her at some point and she'll give up." She told him as she stroked her fingers down his porcelain cheek.

"She never gives up."

"We'll do the same. I trust you." She murmured as she brushed her fingers over his lips. He swallowed hard and parted them under her touch.

"You do?" he asked her, his voice laced in disbelief.

"You are the only one I have ever trusted." She told him and he leaned his forehead against hers, his breathing quickening at her close proximity, "Just don't make me regret it." She whispered and he tilted his head, his lips trying to find hers.

"Never." He mumbled before he covered her lips with his.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he coiled his around her waist, pulling her to him. He slid a hand down to her leg and grasped her thigh, using it as leverage to pull her to his lap. As she slowly sat down, he groaned and bucked under her, his hands grasping both of her knees tightly as he slipped his velvet tongue into her mouth.

Abigail gasped and held him tighter as she twined her fingers into his short hair, securing him against her mouth. Their teeth gnashed together and she giggled while he growled. He surged forward more eagerly and a moment later she tasted the metallic taste of blood on her tongue.

Barnabas immediately pulled away and Abigail saw a smudge of blood on his lower lip.

"I am so sorry, my dear." He whispered as he slipped a hand into his pocket and produced a linen handkerchief.

"It's okay." She told him as she saw panic rising into his dark irises.

"I was reckless." He murmured as he dapped at her lip gently, wiping away all traces of blood.

"I like you reckless." She told him as she used her thumb to wipe at his lower lip. He quirked an eyebrow in confusion and when he saw the red liquid on her finger he quickly wiped it away too.

Seeing the look in her eyes he smiled, "I will taste it only when it is absolutely necessary and vital." He told her before he leaned forward and pressed a kiss onto her throat. He inhaled deeply and he rested against her for a moment before he pulled back.

"You better go. I need to go out anyway." He said reluctantly and she nodded before she moved off of him. His hands lingered on her hips a bit and she looked down to find him biting his lip. When he felt her gaze on him, he looked up and grinned widely.

"Sorry." He said as he let her go even if he didn't look like he was sorry at all.

She chuckled before she plucked his handkerchief from his hand and slipped it in her pocket.

"See you at dinner." She told him before she turned around and walked out of the room, leaving him alone.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

Two days later…

Abigail shut the door of the manor softly and tiptoed towards the library. In her hand she held a bag of groceries and she had a DVD case under her armpit.

She walked straight for the library door and knocked on it.

"Barnabas?" she asked quietly before she pushed the door open.

As she walked in, she found him sitting behind his desk, staring intently at something he held in his hand.

"Barnabas?" she repeated a bit more loudly and his head snapped up towards her.

His eyes widened when he saw her and he blinked rapidly, "Abby?"

She placed the bag on the small coffee table and held up the DVD, "I thought I could distract you with a movie…and a bottle of wine. I got red." She smiled as she pulled out a wine bottle and waved it at him.

His reddening eyes softened and he smiled before he nodded, "Of course. Although you have to sit a bit away from me." He told her but Abigail was already heading towards him.

As she came to stand next to him she noticed what he had been staring at; Angelique's card.

With a frown, she grabbed it out of his hand and ripped it into pieces.

"Abby!"

"That is not an option." She announced and his eyes flashed with anger.

"It is when I am this thirsty." He told her though gritted teeth.

"If you do this, she wins. I told you what you can do." She said and his eyes went to the elegant arch of her neck for a moment before he shook his head.

"No."

"It is the only option."

"No. I am not doing that again." He anxiously shook his head form side to side while his hands grabbed the armrests in a death grip.

"Barnabas, if you don't do it now it will get worse and then you won't be able to control yourself around me. Or Ruth." She added and he closed his eyes tightly.

"I know."

"Then what's stopping you?"

"My feelings for you." He replied and without speaking she took hold of his hand.

Her fingers wrapped around one of his and she rolled up her sleeve before she poised his finger over her wrist.

He tugged at her hand, "No. Stop." He whispered as she made a small scratch on her skin with his sharp nail, "Abby, stop." His breathing was labored and his nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply the scent of her blood.

"Go on." She murmured shakily and she saw him swallowing hard as he gazed at her bleeding wrist.

His eyes glazed over with bloodlust and affection when she brought her hand closer and he seized her wrist in a tight grip before he tugged her onto his lap. She fell into the crook of his arm and he looked at her face for a moment before he brought her hand closer and wrapped his lips around the scratch.

Abigail hissed as he applied suction and she covered his hand with hers as he drank; ready to pull it away if it got too far.

His hand coiled itself around her waist as he fed and with every sip of blood his throat vibrated with a low grumble.

They were both so focused on what he was doing that they didn't hear footsteps approaching the library.

"Jesus! Mr. Collins, what in heavens are you doing?" Ruth's voice was loud and shocked and it echoed in the room around them.

Barnabas' eyes snapped open and he immediately released Abigail with a last suck. He covered her bleeding wrist with his hand and pulled her head under his chin, tucking her under his jaw tightly.

"Ruth, it's not-…"

"Were you trying to kill the poor girl?" Ruth asked as she walked further inside, her hands on her hips.

"No!" Barnabas said loudly and Abigail straightened in his lap.

"Ruth, calm down. It's not what you think. He wasn't trying to hurt me." She said shakily, still feeling the adrenaline coursing through her veins.

"Really?"

"Yes. I let him do it." Abigail replied and she felt Barnabas' grip tightening around her waist.

Ruth gaped at them and could do nothing more but stare at them in shock.

End of chapter 21

Author's note: Thank you for reading! Liked it? Hated it? Please review and let me know!

For those who are interested, I will be posting the first chapter of My Lord on Wednesday. :D

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Xxx Lina :)