Chapter 25: The man I once knew

Warning: This chapter contains erm... a sex scene. But it's nothing major. -shifty gaze-

Dim lights flickered in the dark chamber as the Count led her into the room. With a soft sigh, the dark haired beauty broke away from the kiss and gazed at her lord who was embracing her.

"Dearest…" the Count began softly when she raised a hand to caress his face. His eyes were closed when she does that and he nuzzled his mouth against her head, inhaling the sweet scent of her. Trailing kisses down her neck, she made a soft sound, leading him to push her against a wall, pinning her there.

She then slipped her slender arms around his neck as she closed her eyes as well, enjoying the chilling sensation of his lips. He gave a soft growl and nipped at her neck, drawing blood. The taste of her blood was enough to drive him into insanity… A soft gasp came from the beauty when she felt his arousal pressing against her through the mere thin materials that they wore.

"Vladislaus…" she breathed, knowing that he want her. His mouth came crashing down upon her own as he claimed her in a fiery kiss. Their tongue met and brushed against each other as he tasted her. She ran her tongue over his hidden fangs, feeling the unique sharp prick of his canines. "I want you," he rasped, almost in a demand, between kisses and pulled away. His dark gaze watched his lover's for a moment before he swept her off her feet, carrying her to his bed.

Placing her on the bed, he moved to straddle her and leaned in, kissing her once again. He would like to go rough on her… But having gone through this with Verona before, he knew how she likes to take things slow and gentle, unlike that eager child, Aleera. As for Marishka… she was a mix between the two. A pity she was gone.

Slipping his hands below her dress, he made to undress her. She did not resist, instead she began to unbutton his clothes. But his hand reached out for hers suddenly, stopping her. "Patience… dearest," he whispered, smiling rather slyly. After she was naked, he kissed her breasts each and nipped at them rather playfully, causing her to grab hold of his shoulders, wincing at sharp pain.

Slowly, he ran his hands down to her thighs and he heard a soft sigh from her. His amused gaze met hers as he parted her thighs. Seeing as how her chest rise and fall in an aroused animation of life, he could not help but to smirk before leaning in and taking a delicate swipe with his tongue. She squirmed and her lips parted in a longing moan.

"Patience...dearest…" he repeated once again, his voice reaching her ears soothingly as he licked his lips. How he enjoyed teasing… Almost tiredly, he reached out for his buttons and began to undress himself, mostly taking his own sweet time. "Vlad…" she pleaded, trying desperately to reach out for him, but he was out of reach.

Finishing with his top, he began to work on his trousers, his gaze transfixed upon his lover as he gave a smirk.

"Let me… my lord," Verona whispered to him as she leaned in to help him. He gladly obliged this time and her nimble fingers worked on unbuckling the belt before she pulled the zipper down. She tried to tug his trousers down, but the Count gave a growl and pinned her down in lustful greed. He was tired of waiting.

Wriggling from his pants, he kissed her deeply before moving in between her legs. His dark gaze then began to fall upon hers and she pulled him down at that moment, kissing him deeply and…he penetrated her. She let out a muffled moan and he, a growl. The Count then began to thrust deep into her as her hands moved to his back, scratching him lightly with her long nails.

Closing her eyes once again, Verona leaned up against the Count and arched her back as she raised her hips to meet his downward thrust. Another moan was emitted from her and she licked his shoulder, only to bit down hard with his continuous thrust. That particular action startled the Count and he hissed, giving a sudden forceful thrust which sent his lover crying out in pain and pleasure, but mostly pain.

Despite that, she leaned back up and licked his jaw before attempting to kiss him by the mouth and bite his lips, but the Count somehow knew what she was going to do and gave another sudden hard thrust before resuming to his constant thrusting. She gave a sharp gasp and watched him, her dark gaze dancing with mischievousness. She wouldn't give up that easily. Not yet.

With soft moans escaping her mouth every now and then, the Count leaned in; deciding to comfort her a little and she slipped her hands around his neck, kissing him. He kissed her back and locked the kiss as they moved along with rhythm. Little did he know that she was going to bite him, hard…. And when that happened, a wounded cry, similar to a beast in distress, resounded throughout the castle and the Count tried to withdraw himself from her, panicking. He could taste his blood in his mouth, flowing constantly like water.

"I'm sorry, my lord…" Verona whispered coyly, leaning up to kiss his lips which she had bitten so brutally. His only respond was a soft growl, but he kissed her and soon, they began tasting one another's mouth. She moaned into his mouth and he began to grunt as he pushed them closer to the warmth.

Verona clutched hold of his body when she felt his body stiffened against hers and cried out when his blood tainted seed seeped deep into her undead womb. Her cry intensified when he sank his fangs into her neck at that precise moment and a throaty groan was given out by him. Her blood was warm and sweet… He had never tasted anything like that before…

Soon, Verona rested her head on her lover's chest while the Count ran his fingers through her dark long hair. Their rut had ended and it brought a lingering pleasure to the Count, one he had never felt before. He could not explain what or why, but he would figure it out. Pulling his lover up against him, he kissed her and rolled her over, so that she was, once again beneath him.

Staring hard at the Count, Verona was unsure of what he wants. He was not usually like this. This was… something new and she was somewhat… frightened. "Are you afraid?" he soon questioned, seeming to know what she was thinking. His voice was gentle - soft, so unlike his own dark demeanor. Her eyes flicked between his, searching for the reason behind this. But she found nothing; there was nothing in his eyes. They were unreadable.

The Count smiled softly and gave a soft kiss on her lips. He was unsure of himself, unaware that he was acting out of his usual behavior. It seemed normal to him, but Verona looked somewhat afraid, unease. Did he do something wrong?

Her eyes closed as soon as his lips touched hers and only gazed at her lord when he says nothing. That was so unlike him. Perhaps…. he could feel once again? She did feel a pang of emotion from him when they consummate, but she often thought that only in the midst of that, could he then feel. Nevertheless, he had changed. She could sense it.

"You have…changed," she whispered, touching his face gingerly with her hand as if in disbelieve. Usually he would demand an answer when a question is asked. But he did not pursue it this time round…

"How have I changed?" he asked softly, his dark charming gaze fixed on her.

She merely gave a soft smile and reached out with her hand to gently caress the side of his face. He leaned in. "Pray tell, dearest…" he whispered. She smiled once again and let her hand slide down to his neck and then to his shoulder, feeling the lean muscle on those firm and broad shoulder of his. His frame was simply drop dead gorgeous…and his eyes, bewitching and charming. She couldn't have asked for more… and she did not regret having married him in her mortal life.

Verona let her finger traced down to his side as far as she could reached while being trapped beneath him and studied him for a moment, pondering on certain matters. Her eyes flickered from his chest to his eyes and slowly, she slipped both arms around his neck before leaning up against him. He smiled and lowered himself a little so that they were now tightly pressed against each other. She began to kiss his neck feverishly as if he had cast a spell of fever on her.

"You have changed…" she moaned, her body aching for more of him. It was the way he was behaving that led her to want him so badly. She had missed him…

The Count began to kiss her softly on the lips and her eyes looked deeply into his when she decided to give him the answer. The answer had startled him, never did he knew that Verona was bothered by his past actions, but she had said not a single words of complain. Neither did he know he had changed.

"You're back to the man I once knew and gave myself to…" she had whispered to him and he felt the pain he had not felt centuries ago – he could feel once again, the remorse and guilt…the passion and love for her. Unknowing, streaks of blood made their way down his cheek and he could only clutched hold of her dearly as he made real love to her. He knew time couldn't compensate the emptiness she had felt all this while…nor this.

But he was wrong; she wanted nothing more from him than his real love… All this while, he had been hiding his true self, the devil had nothing to do with it. He must have been afraid to reveal his feelings… Blinded by the obsession of domination and hatred, he must be afraid to reveal his weakness…

He, the man whom she loved, cried. The sight saddened her indeed, but somehow she knew he loved her and was pained to know that she was living in fear and discomfort all this while. After having consummate their true love for each other, the Count pulled his lover into an embrace and kissed her on the forehead.

"I'm sorry, all this while…I've been - "he began in a soft whisper, but he was silenced by a light touch of her hand on his cheek. She was wiping his tears away, but tears began to make their way down her own cheek. It pained her all the more to see her love cry.

"No…don't…" He made to wipe her tears away and kissed her on the forehead once more as he closed his eyes, trying to stop the tears from coming. But it was of no use, his heart ached and it burned even more so painfully when she whispered the three words he had long forgotten:

"I love you… Vladislaus."

A/n: Need a tissue, anyone? -waves the tissue- Nah. Nobody really need that, do they? Anyway… Chapter 25 is finished! Yes, finally! My erm… grammar isn't that great, so there is bound to be some mistakes here and there. But…please review! Reviews are highly appreciated! Any doubts about the story, please state so. I'll try to make matters clearer.

But for now questions like, 'is Ana a vampire?' won't be answered. Why? It will ruin my plot. I'm hoping to end the entire story asap so I could start a…erm, new story. A sequel?

Nope. Not telling.