This is for all of you who have continued to read despite the long gaps between updates. Thank you for remaining loyal to this story, I hope you know that no read or review goes unappreciated.

P.S. I have written up to Chapter 32 and hope to keep the updates coming frequently. I have a lot of good ideas for this story.

Virally Yours

Ethan laid Audra's body gently atop her bed, her now loosened curls splaying across the comforter. He examined the strands of color and how each seemed to impossibly glow a different hue. He pushed a piece from her tranquil face, mesmerized by how soft and silky it was in texture.

He sat down beside her, careful not to wake her from the movement. He wished he could get her out of that gown and into something more comfortable, but that was territory he wouldn't dare go near. Not only because it was improper and indecent, but he doubted he would be able to control himself if another square inch of her creamy, ivory skin was exposed.

She was infuriating but intoxicating. She could get him so flustered that he could barely stand to talk to her, yet when he wasn't at her side he was constantly on edge. It was like she called to him, like nothing in his life ever had before. Not even Vivienne, and there was a time that he actually considered marrying her.

It wasn't just her blood that allured him. Sure, it was so sweet and fragrant that it literally made his mouth water, but he could learn to live with that, as long as he didn't get too close. He was intrigued by her habits, her quirks. He lived to see her cheeks flush pink, in embarrassment or chagrin, or even in anger. Her eyes, so endlessly blue, pierced his soul, if there even was one. Even now as her eyes remained closed he marveled at their beauty, how striking they were, rimmed with her thick, dark lashes. Every human aspect of her was perfect, something he had never seen in a mortal.

He watched her chest rise and fall slowly as she breathed in deeply. He knew this heartbeat well, as he heard it almost every night as he sat in his room listening to her sleep. It was a sound that was hard to escape, so soft and gentle.

When he'd found her in the alley, or rather, when she'd found him, he hadn't planned on bringing her home with him. In fact, he'd planned on feeding from her as well as the blonde. He would look at the address on her driver's license and drop her off at home, leaving her to wake up the following morning with no recollection of the attack. But when he'd pinned her against the wall, he saw her defiance and her determination to live. He heard her heart beating at a record breaking pace and immediately upon inhaling her scent he felt his throat dry and his mouth longed to taste her. For a split second he had almost allowed himself to do it; he'd almost bitten her, and he knew that once he had a taste he wouldn't be able to stop. He'd never had to muster up enough self-control before that moment in time in order to pull away from her. He knew he could never bite her, or taste her blood, or he would certainly kill her.

Yet it pained him to have to keep such a distance from his siren. During his time at Ophelia's it was almost unbearable to miss her scent, her absence. But he was dangerous, too dangerous to be around someone so easily broken, as evidenced by her wrist and the numerous bruises he'd unknowingly inflicted upon her. He grimaced as he looked down at her sleeping form, gulping back the sickening taste of self-hatred at just the thought that he had physically harmed her.

He let his fingers dance along the length of her arm idly as he continued to wonder how someone so different than himself could possibly enthrall him so completely. He was used to having that effect on women for decades, yet now that the roll was reversed, he was utterly confused.

His cool touch on her skin must have woken her because she suddenly stirred and opened her eyes, immediately finding his and looking at him quizzically. "We're home?" She asked quietly, her voice timid from sleep.

Ethan nodded. "You fell asleep in the car," he explained. "Do you want to change out of your dress?"

She looked down at herself, remembering the birthday party, and nodded. "Can you get my pajamas?" She pleaded, and it was so obvious how desperate she was to get back to sleep. Ethan went to her closet and returned in a few seconds holding a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. "Thanks," she smiled, taking the clothes from him. Her warm hands brushed his and he longed to hold them in his own.

Ethan stood and turned away, granting her privacy. He heard her shuffling as she struggled to get the gown off and grunted a few times in effort. After a moment she said, "I'm done," and he spun back around.

He took the gown, now lying in a puddle of blue fabric on the floor, and hung it in the closet. He returned to her side and when she moved over to the opposite side of the bed, he looked at her curiously.

"Will you stay?" She asked, her voice strong and unwavering but her eyes pleading. Ethan knew she must still be afraid of the stalker and nodded. He lay down beside her, though on top of the blankets, and turned his head to look at her. She had her eyes closed again but he could tell by her heart beat that she hadn't succumbed to sleep yet.

"Audra," he whispered, afraid to break the fragile silence.

"Hmm?" She hummed, the small noise coming from where her face was against the pillow.

"You know I would never let anything happen to you."

She attempted to nod, though she was already fading into sleep. "I know."

Ethan stared up at the ceiling, listening carefully to the sounds outside. The winter wind rushed around the mansion and the sound of snowflakes hitting the trees echoed to his ears. Audra's enticing heart beat was slowing and he could feel her warmth spreading through the bed.

Just as he had a thought to leave her to sleep, her lips parted and she called his name, "Ethan."

He knew she hadn't meant to say it, but it still made his insides squeeze. His name sounded entirely different coming from her mouth, as if it was something sacred no one had ever said before. Jolts of electricity coursed through his body at the thought that she was dreaming of him, and if he hadn't been so trained in self-control, he might have snuck beneath the covers and scooped her up in his arms.

Yet Ethan stood from the bed, glancing back at Audra resting peacefully, and slipped from the room without her ever noticing. His thoughts were dangerous; nothing could become of them. She would never accept him. And if, by some miracle, she did? What would happen when she got older? Ethan doubted she would want to be changed. Vampires were everything she hated. What would be the point of letting himself get involved with her if he knew he had to leave her someday?

She deserved to be given a chance at a normal life. He would continue his selfish habits and keep her at the mansion for a little while longer, but he knew she would need to leave eventually. She wouldn't be a liability; she wouldn't want to tell anyone she'd lived with a vampire or she'd be sent to an institution.

Despite how painful it was to imagine her with a human man, getting married and raising his children, he knew this was her future.

Ethan sat at the kitchen table, staring blindly out through the window, seeing nothing.

He could stay close to her and watch out for her, watch out for her family. Whatever he could do to ensure her safety: this was to be his future.