CHAPTER 25: I BELIEVE YOU

When Calleigh realized where Vera was taking her, she groaned. She should have expected that, really: after all, they were driving in the man's Hummer. As Vera stopped the engine, the blonde did not move, silently communicating that she didn't have the slightest intention of exiting the car.

Vera sighed. –Please, Mistress, give him a chance. He's been hurt badly, he would benefit greatly from your presence. -, she pleaded with the older woman. She snorted.

-I doubt it. I'm not tall, don't have a model's physique and my hair is not curly, nor brown. Not to mention that I'm just a plain human. -, Calleigh said bitterly, resting her head on the headboard. She was frustrated, and agitated. Images of Horatio and Yelina's bodies intertwined intimately were still too fresh in her mind, and the fact that Vera seemed so selfless, willingly thinking about her Master before herself was irritating the blonde greatly. Why wasn't Vera angry with her, damn it? It had been her who had given Eric permission of abusing of the girl's body, and that made her a horrible person. Why, though? Why had she done it? So that Horatio would come home to her? Ah! She was just fooling herself: he wanted Yelina! She had felt the way his body had reacted to the female vampire's, she had experienced the desire, the lust… she had even felt the shaft which she obviously lacked harden in anticipation, Christ!

Calleigh, what you felt wasn't real. As a newborn, Yelina is extremely powerful, both physically and mentally. She projected her more urgent desires in my mind, trying to make them my own… I could do nothing, silver was restraining me… I was at her mercy…, Horatio's delicate thoughts filled her head. She shook it, not willing to listen to him.

Getting no response, Horatio thought it best to exit his house. He knew they were in his driveway. When Calleigh saw his silhouette, she gasped in surprise, for while he had changed his pants, he had remained with his chest bare, he could not tolerate even silk grazing his injured back. Desire flared through her veins at the sight. Never before had she seen such flawless skin, as candid as fresh snow, and the proportions of his body were those of the most beautiful Greek statue. Pale, still, he could pass for such a statue. But statues did not have eyes as profound as the deepest of seas, and no sculptor had ever reproduced the anguish which those blue orbs displayed in that moment.

Without realizing it, Calleigh found herself some mere steps away from the objects of her dreams, and like in her dreams, he closed the final gap between them. He held her petite body against his, enveloping his arms around her torso; in kind, the blonde's hands tangled themselves in his hair.

-Oh, Horatio, why did you have to put me through this?-, she sobbed on his chest, clinging to him like he was her anchor to sanity. –Why did you make me fall this hard for you? Why couldn't you let me be? Why, oh why, did you have to always be the perfect gentleman, sweet and charming and inviting? Why must you be so perfect?-, she lamented, unaware of the efforts it was taking the man she was so passionately speaking to, to bring her into his house. He still wasn't at the top, his back ached horribly, but if Calleigh was headed for a major breakdown, then he'd made sure she'd have at least some privacy.

Without her even realizing it, the redheaded vampire carried her inside, skillfully hiding his discomfort from the distressed blonde. He gently placed her on his couch, then sat himself, all the time her petite frame securely nestled against his hard chest. It was still warm thanks to the blood he had drank from Vera previously, and it was oh so comforting…

-I could have done it, you know? It would have been as easy as gazing into your lovely green eyes…-, he murmured once her tears had subsided. He tinted her head up, so that he could indeed look into her eyes, rendered red and puffy by her inner turmoil. Calleigh shivered under the intensity of his gaze, she felt suddenly bare in front of him.

-What… what do you mean?-, she managed to croak out, her voice raspy due to her hard crying. Horatio stroked her cheek with the back of his hand in a languid, sensual gesture, so much that the woman's eyes threatened to flutter close, and he didn't want that, he needed her to look at him, really look at him.

-I could have charmed you, put you under a spell… I have longed for you for so long, my dear, it's become second nature to me…-, he murmured huskily, nuzzling her neck. Startled by that revelation, and her core beginning to fill with his intense desire, the blonde found it increasingly difficult to speak. She gasped for air and gulped back tears several times before managing to communicate with him.

-Why didn't you do it, then? And how can I tell you haven't bewitched me?-, she asked, willing her voice to sound accusing. Horatio smiled, he was aware that deep down she did not believe him capable of doing something like that to her, and the fact that his possible deceiving came second in her concerns only served to reinforce that belief.

The redhead thought it best not to answer with words, but to let her read him. He gazed deeply into her eyes, never blinking, never faltering, and gave her the power to explore his soul.

When it became too much to sustain, Calleigh closed her eyes, a lonely tear escaping them, then flung herself to him, hugging him tight to her chest.

-Oh, Horatio, I thought I had lost you…-, she whispered in his ear, and the vampire had a flash of both his dead, tortured body and of his satiated, glistening limbs tangled with Yelina's. Never!, he assured the petite blonde in his arms, gently pushing her to a lying position; he followed suit, lowering his torso until he was hovering over her. Seeing no fear in her eyes, he lowered his head further, making contact with her lips.

Pining her curvaceous body under his lean frame, one hand gripping the arm of the couch and the other placed near Calleigh's neck, he tasted her salty mouth. He nibbled at her lower lip, traced its contour with his tongue, then, as she still refused to part her lips for him, he started his sweet assault on her neck. The skin there was impossibly soft, and he delighted in sucking and biting until he elicited small gasps of pleasure from his partner; he then exploited her sensual distress to gain entrance to her hot mouth, his tongue daring and searching and exploring at such a rushed pace that it left Calleigh utterly breathless. He was indeed stealing her breath away…

Lost in her sensations, and encouraged by his, the blonde started to respond with equal ardor to his tantalizing ministrations. She laced her legs around his hips, bringing their pelvis into contact. The feeling of his hard manhood, its length, they were too much to bear, he needed release and therefore, so did she. Horatio lovingly cradled her head in his hand, supporting it over the soft cushions of the couch, bringing her closer to him. She sighed into his mouth after a particularly slow and thorough stroke of his tongue, and he felt her soft breasts press tighter against his bare chest. The sensation nearly drove him crazy with need.

He had found that spot… oh, who was she kiddin'? He'd found THE spot, low on her collarbone, and he was working on that with the grace of a skillful master. The mixture of tickle and indescribable pleasure needing release had Calleigh's breath become labored, her whole body squirming under Horatio's, so that he too found himself breathing hard against his lover's sensitive neck, fueling her desire for him. She threw her arms around his back, fully intending on scratching it with her fingernails as payback.

Horatio groaned, suddenly detaching his mouth from the blonde's skin. Too worried to moan in protest, but barely concealing a sigh of pleasure when she felt his body arch more against hers, Calleigh helped the vampire come to a sitting position, putting a warm hand to his cheek for comfort.

-Are you okay? Did I hurt you?-, she asked softly, immediately picking on the absurdity of her words: she, a human, hurting him, a man and vampire? Well, it seemed so.

-My back…-, the redhead replied stiffly, wincing as he moved with her. –They used silver on me, the wounds will cauterize at a slow pace. -, he explained. Mentally slapping herself for her carelessness and her disregard of his health, Calleigh made Horatio turn so that she could take a look at his back.

-It's not pretty. -, he warned her, but she didn't care, she needed to see that for herself. She gently spun him around, drawing from strengths she did not know she possessed, and gasped in horror. The once perfect porcelain skin of his back was marred by ugly gashes and scars which already looked a week old; Calleigh felt like collapsing against his strong torso, but knowing she'd hurt him if she did that, she restrained herself. Continuing her examination, she focused on tiny teeth marks just above the hem of his trousers; unconsciously, possessive rage flared through her, making her eyes glow in anger.

-Please believe me when I say they've been the most painful injuries…-, Horatio's quiet voice snapped her back to reality. –She tried putting me under a glamour, that's where all those images came from… but I didn't want her, even if my body was betraying me, and that made her furious…-, he recalled painfully.

Calleigh closed her eyes, she could physically taste his remorse on her tongue. He would have liked to remain unstained, pure, so that she could be the first one to leave marks on his perfect skin… the thought made her tremble with pleasure.

-Calleigh?-, Horatio whispered, concerned when he felt her shake beside him. When his hand reached her neck, the blonde closed her eyes in pleasure. She was not sure she could take that anymore.

-I believe you…-, she told him, her eyes still closed, before leaning forward and placing her lips upon his.

***CONTINUES***

Sorry for the delay, had a nasty test on my hands… here we go, though!

Read and review, guys, you make me SO happy! Thank you all in advance!