Love Bites
Jennifer stood at the high-top table nursing a beer, trying not to be bombarded by the thoughts of those around her. Bars were difficult for this reason. Usually being in a crowd gave her a headache. It was one thing, being on the job, she could focus her attention on what she was doing and tune out the rest. Being out in public and blowing off steam with the squad was quite another thing.
"Let's get some air."
She turned at the sound of Nick's voice in her ear. He must have seen the look on her face and known that she was starting to get peevish over the noise. He had known her a long time. He knew her habits and her quirks. He would notice in a way no one else would have.
And sure enough, she followed Nick outside while Matty and Duncan were oblivious to any of Jen's distress. But she couldn't really blame them. They didn't have the same kind of relationship with her that Nick did. They were the same sort of guy as Nick. No one was, though. Not for Jennifer.
As soon as they left the bustle of the bar, Jen took a deep cleansing breath. "Thanks," she said with a relieved sigh.
"More crowded than usual," he noted. "I expected you to leave after the first round, actually."
She looked up at that kind, handsome face of his. "I didn't want to miss out on the fun. But you should go back in with the guys if you want to."
"I don't want to."
His tone turned serious. His hazel green eyes shone in the dim light of the street. It cast a spell over Jen that she'd been trying to resist for years. "Nick…" she warned.
"Tell me, Jen," he implored. His voice was soft but insistent. "Whatever it is, just tell me."
Jennifer felt ice in her veins. She knew Nick well enough to know that he'd do this eventually. He was calm and collected and patient, but he was also direct. This thing between them had been going on too long. And it seemed he'd reached his breaking point.
"Please," he whispered.
She swallowed the fear in her throat. "Not here."
He gave a short nod. "I'll drive."
Jen followed him down the block to the parking garage at the station. They didn't speak. Not on the walk to the car or on the drive to Jennifer's house. Neither of them said a word until Nick parked the car and turned off the engine.
"Alright?" he asked softly.
She nodded. "Let's go in. This has been a long time coming. And it's going to take some time."
This time he was the one to follow her over the front path and up the porch steps to the front door of her little house. In spite of the anxious churning of her thoughts, knowing what she'd have to reveal to Nick, Jennifer smiled. She always smiled when she put the key in her front door. After living for so long with her parents and having to fight for her own life away from them and struggling to make her way and get her own place, it was always triumphant to know that this place was hers. And now she was going to welcome Nick into her house. And everything was going to change.
"I'll get us a couple more beers," she offered once they were inside the foyer.
Nick grabbed her wrist. The second she stopped moving, he let go of her. "We don't need any more distractions," he advised.
Maybe he was right. Maybe they should both be as sober as possible for this. They were both coming down off two weak beers already. More alcohol would just complicate things.
Jen nodded and led him into the living room. She sat on the sofa. He sat down beside her, close but not too close. Nick was like that. Respectful. And as was his quiet, patient way, he didn't say or do anything. He just waited for her to speak.
And so she tried to find a way to start. "I don't really know how to do this. My parents didn't have to go through this. Not like this, anyway." Jen clasped her hands together in her lap. She'd been looking down at them and fidgeting, and she didn't want to do that. Nick deserved better than that. She looked up at him and said, "I'm not…normal." It was a pathetic thing to say, but it was the truth. Actually, she wasn't even entirely certain she was human.
As with all things, particularly between the two of them, Nick was direct but gentle. "If you're not normal, then what are you?" Any other person, those words would have been mocking or teasing at the very least. But Nick was entirely sincere. That made it harder, actually.
"I'm a vampire."
She waited for him to laugh. To scoff in disbelief. She wouldn't have blamed him. It was an insane thing to say. Any person would think her absolutely mad. But it was the truth. She was a vampire. And she'd put off telling him for far too long already.
Nick just stared at her, so Jen tried to navigate the situation. Christ, it had been easier for Mum when she'd been out of her mind with hunger and bit Dad without realizing it. Took a lot of the guesswork out of things; Dad had no choice but to believe her. Maybe that would help with Nick, too. "I can explain. I can show you. What would be easier?"
"What do you mean, 'show me'?" he asked in a strained voice.
Jen turned herself where she sat so she faced him more directly. She opened her mouth and gave a puff of air to bring on her fangs.
"Jesus!" he exclaimed in shock.
"I'm not making this up. I wish I were. I wish it weren't true. But I was born this way, and it's who I am. And you deserve to know. For…well, for a lot of reasons."
Nick was obviously reeling, barely listening to her excuses. "You're a vampire? You…are you dead? O-or soulless? But we go out in the daylight all the time. We eat and drink together. Christ, Jennifer, we lived together for a year undercover!"
"I know," she answered patiently. "I'm not dead or soulless. I can go out into the sunlight, I can walk into a church, I can see my reflection in the mirror, I can eat garlic. All that's a myth. But I have fangs and I have to consume blood to survive, and I have to absorb moonlight to maintain my powers."
"Powers?"
Oh sure, that was the part he focused on. Though that was a bit more cryptic; the blood consumption was pretty self-explanatory. "My…species, I guess…evolved over time to give us powers to survive. We can read minds. That's why I get headaches when we're in crowded places. There's too many thoughts bombarding me. And we can control humans and wipe their memories. That's so we can feed without getting caught or hurting anyone. And then other vampires have other powers. My family are shapeshifters. We can change our appearance at will."
"What?" Nick breathed in disbelief.
Jen pointed to her hair so he'd watch as she changed it from her bright blonde short shag haircut into perfect chestnut pin curls, the kind her mother had when Jen was little. And then she changed it back. His eyes were wide, but she tried not to get too nervous. "My dad once asked my mum to turn herself into a bat because he thought it was funny. When Mum taught me how to do it, I started with a bunny rabbit."
"How is this possible?"
"I don't know. Like I said, I was born this way. My mother was turned, and she turned my dad, and then they had me. But there's a whole society of vampires who live side by side with humans without problem. I'm still me, Nick." Her voice went quiet at the end. She had done well, so far, keeping herself calm and rational and straightforward, but she was terrified that this would all be too much for him, that he'd get upset and walk out. She desperately didn't want to have to call Uncle Frank to wipe Nick's mind. And just as desperately, she didn't want to have to disappear from this life she'd created for herself as Detective Jennifer Mapplethorpe.
Nick searched her face, and she could only hope he found what he was looking for. "How could I not know? Did you control my mind all that time we were the Claybournes?"
She shook her head. "I couldn't."
"But I thought you said…"
"I can read and control any human except for you," she admitted. The last piece of the very messy puzzle. The last bombshell to drop on him.
"Why?"
"Because you're my soulmate. And not in the fairytale sort of way, I mean. It's a thing in vampire society. It's rare. Its where a vampire's soul finds its match in another. The one person you can't read or control, the one person who completes you. My parents are soulmates, so that's how I know. A lot of vampires never find their soulmate. I never expected to. Until I got the undercover assignment with SAS and I met you. And everything we've had, Nick, it's all been real. I've hidden my feeding and my powers from you, but I never hid myself."
He went quiet again, staring at her. "So…" he began, barely audible, almost reverently. "The way I feel about you, that's…that's because we're soulmates?"
"I think so," she answered. Her stomach was in knots as the air grew thick between them. They were on the precipice, and she could feel it. She knew he could feel it, too.
A small smile appeared on his handsome features. "Well, that's good, I guess. Because I've loved you since the first day we met. I missed you every day we were apart. And keeping my distance from you on Homicide has been a nightmare."
"I love you, Nick," she told him in return. It had been true for a long time. But this was the first time either of them had said it. And now it was there, out in the open.
His hand reached up to caress her cheek and tilt her face towards his. Slowly, he leaned in. Jennifer didn't stop him. Their lips met with the same spark of passion that she'd always felt when he kissed her. Spending a year undercover as husband and wife meant that they'd kissed many times. But this was the first time Jen had allowed this to happen not as Wesley and Trish Claybourne but as only Nick Buchanan and Jennifer Mapplethorpe. There was no pretending here, no rationalization that they were only keeping their cover. And now Nick knew the truth about Jennifer. He knew she was a vampire and he knew that she loved him. And he loved her, too. This was their first kiss amidst all that truth.
Jen opened her mouth to him and moaned as his tongue slipped across hers. She put her hand at the back of his neck, anchoring him to her. She could hardly breath and she didn't want to. She didn't want to move from this spot or ever stop kissing him.
But far too soon, Nick broke their kiss. He rested his forehead against hers. They were both panting for air. "Soulmates, huh?" he chuckled breathily.
"Yes," she confirmed.
"Good." He started kissing her again, but he did not linger at her lips. He moved across her jaw and to her ear and down her neck. Jen could not stop the little sounds of pleasure that escaped her at his efforts.
This time, though, it was Jen who had to break them apart. She stood up, and Nick had a flicker of fear on his face. But Jen just smiled and reached out for his hand. He gave it without hesitation. And just like that, she led him down the hall to the bedroom.
They renewed their passionate kisses and quickly undressed each other. Nick had already left his jacket in the car, so Jen undid his loosened tie and unbuttoned his shirt. He tackled the buttons on her blouse and pulled it from where it was tucked into her trousers. She almost told him to rip it off her, but this was her favorite pink silk blouse. And Nick was nothing if not considerate.
Eventually, they both were left only in their trousers. Jen kicked off her shoes and took off the rest of her clothes, allowing Nick to do the same for himself. He paused in front of her, looking at her with more blatant desire than Jennifer could have ever dreamed of.
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he breathed in awe.
"Not an undead monster?"
He smiled. "An angel."
Jen didn't know what to say to that, but thankfully, Nick did not wait for a response. He took her by the hand this time and pulled her towards him.
"In bed," he whispered.
She nodded. She couldn't quite find her voice. She did, however, find his erection. Already Nick was hard for her. She stroked the velvet soft skin of his cock, feeling the thick, heavy length of him in her hand.
Nick whimpered. Jen let out a breathy little laugh, pleased by the power she could have over him like this, proud of the way she affected him, and unbelievably turned on.
Jen grew impatient and gave him one last squeeze. "In bed," she whispered, repeating the words he had said just a minute ago, before she distracted them both.
She let go of him and went to pull back the covers. Jen got into bed and Nick followed her. He did not hesitate to climb on top of her and rest in the cradle of her open thighs. Immediately, Jen enjoyed the feel of him like this, the heat of his skin, the weight of his muscled body. All that time undercover, they'd slept side by side, but never did more than hold each other in bed. They'd never held each other like this in bed.
Nick kissed her messily as his hands traced her body, caressing her breasts and eventually dipping between her legs. His fingers explored her, letting the sounds she made and the gyrations of her hips guide his efforts. Jen was on the edge quicker than ever in her life. She was close, and he continued to stroke and tease her. And then he touched her in just the right way. Her body shattered and Jen bit down on his shoulder without really meaning to.
It wasn't until her body calmed that she recognized the taste of blood and realized what she'd done. Jen gasped and pulled away, retracting her fangs. Sure enough, two punctures were left in the muscle connecting Nick's neck to his shoulder.
She looked from the wound to Nick's face and was shocked to find his eyes not afraid but dark with desire. "Do that again," he requested.
Jen hardly knew what he was saying. Nick leaned forward and brushed the head of his cock against her wetness, making her moan and jerk at the sensation. Her teeth came out.
"Again," he pleaded as he thrust inside her body.
She arched up off the bed with a cry of pleasure. Nick started moving in and out of her. Jen crossed her legs around his waist, bringing him in deeper, and she clutched his upper arms. He was starting to shake from his efforts. Jen fluttered around him, already close once again. This time, before she climaxed, she sank her fangs into Nick's neck. The intoxicating flavor of his blood filled her mouth and rocketed her body into orgasm. Nick let out a loud groan as his own completion washed over him just as she bit him.
When Nick eventually stilled and collapsed on top of her, Jen laved her tongue over his wounds; the enzymes of her saliva would stop the bleeding and speed healing. They both struggled to catch their breath as Jen held Nick close to her and ran her fingers through his sweaty hair.
"I love you," she murmured, once she regained the power of speech.
Nick shifted, slipping his soft cock out of her body and rolling over so he could look at her better. "I love you," he answered. "Can I stay?"
She smiled. "Please."
"Can I buy you breakfast in the morning, or do you want to feed off me again instead?"
The glint in his tired eyes let her know that he was teasing her now. So she teased back, "How about both? I didn't mean to bite you this time, but we can try something a little more structured in the morning and go to the diner or something after."
He nuzzled against her hair. "We can try this again in the morning, too," he pointed out. "Plenty of other places to bite me like that."
Jen started to laugh. She was exhausted, but she was giddy and in love and happier than she ever believed she had any right to be. "We've got plenty of time to try that out."
"Are you going to turn me into a vampire?"
She froze.
Nick wrapped her in his embrace and kissed her temple. "We can talk about it another time, sorry. But I want to be with you, Jen, no matter what."
"We can talk about it later," she answered, but she was encouraged by what he'd said so far.
She buried herself into his chest and reveled in this perfect moment. Sated and happy and in bed with her soulmate.