Chapter Three
Mr. Malfoy did not rejoin her that night. Ginny was a little disappointed, and, she had to admit, a little relieved. Though conversation with him was stimulating, too much so at times, it was also difficult because she seemed to have a problem separating business and pleasure. She hoped that was something that would come with experience, but, remembering the roller coaster on which her emotions seemed to ride whenever Mr. Malfoy was near, she doubted it.
After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours - according to the alarm clock on the bedside table it was actually about 15 minutes – Ginny gave up the chase for the elusive prey called sleep' and called Colin. She knew her best friend would want to speak to her and give her guidance no matter what time of night it was needed. After all, that's what friends were for.
Rustling sounds. Colin sounded as if she had swallowed a large frog.
"If this is an obscene phone call, forget it, I'm too tired to enjoy it and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you be a typical man and get your jollies without a bit of concern for your partner."
More rustling sounds warned of the phone being sent back to its cradle.
Ginny yelled into the phone, "Colin, it's me!"
"Me? This can't be me because me knows that I get up at six o'clock in the morning and would not appreciate a call at," rustle, rustle, "one in the morning! Are you crazy?!"
Ginny pulled the phone away from her ear to protect her eardrum as Colin shouted her discovery and annoyance. She warily brought it back when the other end grew silent.
"Colin?"
"Are you okay? Is this one of those middle-of-the-night something-awful- happened calls?"
She sounded reasonable now.
"Not exactly. I couldn't sleep. I had this really strange business meeting and..."
"Business meeting? Come on, Mare, you wouldn't take your life in your hands by waking me up for a business meeting."
More staticy rustling.
"Okay, I'm sitting up, I've reached a semblance of awake. Give."
Ginny smiled. Colin was a great friend who had always come through for her. She liked to bluff and bluster, but that was just her way of letting you know that she cared enough about you to put herself out. Ginny felt like a sixteen-year-old after her first date telling her friend all the details. She mentally chastised herself. You're twenty-two, at least get the age right!'
"You'll never believe what happened today!"
She proceeded to describe to Colin in minute detail her meetings with Mr. Abraham and Draco. Colin threw in you've got to be kidding' and you creep' at the appropriate times. When Ginny signified that she was finished by taking a deep breath, Colin jumped in.
"He's gay, you know."
Ginny exhaled indignantly. "No way!"
"Yes, way. Think about it. He's gorgeous, rich, has no wife appendage, and doesn't seem to be in mourning. I rest my case. He has to like guys. Or he's a psycho, also not a good choice to take home to meet the family."
Ginny screwed up her nose as though she smelled something bad. Colin had a point. As her mother had always said, If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.' But she just couldn't imagine Mr. Malfoy with another man. Oh, bossing them around, sure. Sitting on a throne and having them bow before him and kiss his ring, no problem. But actually holding one in his arms and... No way!
"You're wrong, Colin. I don't know how I know but I just know. Mr. Malfoy is definitely not gay."
"Girlfriend, you're thinking with your gonads. Okay, if he didn't have a date with another guy tonight, then how come he didn't stay and eat with you?"
"He had to make a phone call."
"Yeah, right. Phone calls do not pull studs from their appointed rounds. I was with you when you bought that little black number. If the guy wasn't twitchin' and droolin' after half an hour, he's not into girls. He just..."
Ginny had a sudden vivid memory of the heat of his touch, the fire in his eyes. She interrupted Colin with full conviction.
"He's not gay. I don't know why he didn't eat with me. Maybe, like he said, the call was really important."
Colin made a disgusted sound.
"Yeah, and maybe he's a vampire so he couldn't let you see that he wasn't really going to eat anything. You better get a handle on yourself, friend. You've got I'm falling for this guy' all over your voice."
Ginny giggled self-consciously.
"Oh, I do not. I'm going to sleep. Some of us have to work in the morning, y'know."
"You bitch!"
They both laughed and said goodnight.
After hanging up the phone, Ginny ran Colin's accusation through her mind. Mr. Malfoy gay? She shook her head vigorously. No way! He wasn't gay and he wasn't a vampire. Mr. Malfoy was a normal businessman who wanted a nice house to come home to after a long, hard day at the office.
He wanted her to build it because he wanted a woman's touch. That might be a slightly archaic way of thinking, but who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? She would do her very best, design a house for him worthy of a spread in Architect's Digest' and be on her way to a great career building beautiful houses. Her client's sexual proclivities would have no effect on that, and were none of her business, anyway! With visions of exposed beams floating in her head, Ginny drifted off to sleep.
To dream.
She was back in the stairwell at Castle Dracula only this time she had made her way safely to the bottom of the stairs. She entered a large cavern illuminated by hundreds of candles, there soft glow warming her as she watched them flicker and flare. In the middle of the room a dais held a huge four-poster bed, covered in a blood-red fur throw. The candlelight seemed to dance over the fur, bringing forth highlights and casting shadows, until it seemed almost alive. And standing in front of the dais was Draco. He wore skintight black leather pants and a seductive smile. He raised his arm and unrolled his fingers, one by one, till his palm was exposed to her, beckoning her to him.
"Come to me, Ginny."
His voice was a breath of wind and a kingly command all rolled into one. Ginny had never wanted anything as much as she wanted to obey him.
Still, she hesitated. She wasn't certain exactly why, just that some tiny warning bell in her brain was trying to get her attention. But he was so magnificent! He flexed the fingers of his extended hand and she made note of his slightly long, well-manicured fingernails. The thought crossed her mind that he could curl his hands into some pretty wicked claws if he so desired.
With her attention already on his hand, she followed it as it descended to the buttons at the waistband of his pants. He slowly unfastened the top button. Ginny raised her eyes to meet his intense gaze and saw the promise of Heaven, and the fires of Hell, shining in his silver eyes.
She felt indecision tearing at her - Go to him or turn and run?
He spoke again, velvet over steel, and she was lost.
"I am all that you seek, my love, and more. Trust me."
As soon as Ginny stepped into the room, a door slammed shut behind her.
Startled, she turned toward the noise. There was nothing but blackness behind her. No door, no stairs, no escape. Fear barely had time to register in her heart before she felt fur against her bare back and the welcome weight of a man settling over her. Her body responded immediately, her back arching to meet the hard male presence. Mr. Malfoy - at this point, she guessed she should call him 'Draco' - smiled down at her as he slowly eased his way into her body. She raised her eyes to meet his and found ebony oblivion, the pleasure coursing through her veins like a bullet-train.
This was all happening so fast! She screamed and pushed against him, fear of losing herself, and of not caring if she did, spurring her on.
He wrapped her struggling body tightly in his strong arms and laid his cheek against hers. His lips touched her ear, his breath feathering the tiny hairs inside as he whispered, "Don't fight me, Ginny."
Ginny held still so she might better hear him.
"Look at me and see you heart's desire."
Their bodies were still intimately joined and she throbbed for release, though she fought it. He raised his head, putting his face inches above hers. He parted his moist lips as though in preparation for a deep lover's kiss. Then his teeth parted slightly and Ginny saw what she had known all along would be there. Sharp eyeteeth glistened longer than normal, long enough to pierce flesh and drain blood.
Her eyes flew back to meet the fire of his gaze. Her body tightened around him in a muscular spasm that sent another flash of pleasure through her.
Could she really convince herself that she wanted to get away from him?
"Give your throat to me, my love, and I will lay the world at your feet. Your pleasure will be more than your mind can comprehend."
He was so intense, his eyes boring into hers as his hips performed an age- old dance of seduction against her tender flesh. "You chose to stay with me, now choose to be mine forever. I will love you, cherish you, for all eternity. I swear it!"
The tiny bell in her brain had become an air-raid siren but it didn't have a chance of getting through the haze of passion that had filled her entire being. Her dreams, warped as they might be, were coming true, and she wasn't about to blow this chance. She closed her eyes and turned her face to the side, exposing her throat to him. He inhaled sharply, his voice a growl in her ear.
"You are mine!"
A sharp prick of pain as his teeth pierced her neck was followed by such an exquisite orgasm that she cried out his name. Heat spread outward from the place where his lips touched her neck like the ripples in a rock-disturbed pond. He was stroking her breast with one warm palm, the other holding her to him. He thrust deeply and she felt her body building to a new peak. She wondered if another climax like the last would overtax her heart and kill her. She sighed, not caring if this night were her last as long as it went of forever. He had promised pleasure beyond her comprehension. She had no doubt that he could, and would, deliver.
Suddenly he pulled his lips from her throat, turned his face and hissed.
"...a few low clouds. Temperatures should be in the high 70's..."
Ginny jumped as her radio alarm did its duty and brought her to consciousness. She quickly touched the button that would reset it for tomorrow. As she stretched, her hand automatically went to her throat.
She felt for any tenderness, then laughed at herself when disappointment met her touch. Had she really expected to find teethmarks? But that dream had seemed so real. She shook her head and reaffirmed her convictions about keeping this job on a professional level.
Tossing the dream into the realm of a nice memory, she went about her morning routine. Put on the tea, do some yoga, shower, get dressed. As she looked in the mirror to check her hair, the vision of her vampire dream lover hissing caused her to turn quickly to the bed. She knew it was foolishness, but she had the strong desire to send her hand across her chest in the sign of the cross, something she hadn't done in years. In the dream Draco had hissed his displeasure, it had been directly at her alarm clock.
Mr. Malfoy did not rejoin her that night. Ginny was a little disappointed, and, she had to admit, a little relieved. Though conversation with him was stimulating, too much so at times, it was also difficult because she seemed to have a problem separating business and pleasure. She hoped that was something that would come with experience, but, remembering the roller coaster on which her emotions seemed to ride whenever Mr. Malfoy was near, she doubted it.
After tossing and turning for what seemed like hours - according to the alarm clock on the bedside table it was actually about 15 minutes – Ginny gave up the chase for the elusive prey called sleep' and called Colin. She knew her best friend would want to speak to her and give her guidance no matter what time of night it was needed. After all, that's what friends were for.
Rustling sounds. Colin sounded as if she had swallowed a large frog.
"If this is an obscene phone call, forget it, I'm too tired to enjoy it and I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you be a typical man and get your jollies without a bit of concern for your partner."
More rustling sounds warned of the phone being sent back to its cradle.
Ginny yelled into the phone, "Colin, it's me!"
"Me? This can't be me because me knows that I get up at six o'clock in the morning and would not appreciate a call at," rustle, rustle, "one in the morning! Are you crazy?!"
Ginny pulled the phone away from her ear to protect her eardrum as Colin shouted her discovery and annoyance. She warily brought it back when the other end grew silent.
"Colin?"
"Are you okay? Is this one of those middle-of-the-night something-awful- happened calls?"
She sounded reasonable now.
"Not exactly. I couldn't sleep. I had this really strange business meeting and..."
"Business meeting? Come on, Mare, you wouldn't take your life in your hands by waking me up for a business meeting."
More staticy rustling.
"Okay, I'm sitting up, I've reached a semblance of awake. Give."
Ginny smiled. Colin was a great friend who had always come through for her. She liked to bluff and bluster, but that was just her way of letting you know that she cared enough about you to put herself out. Ginny felt like a sixteen-year-old after her first date telling her friend all the details. She mentally chastised herself. You're twenty-two, at least get the age right!'
"You'll never believe what happened today!"
She proceeded to describe to Colin in minute detail her meetings with Mr. Abraham and Draco. Colin threw in you've got to be kidding' and you creep' at the appropriate times. When Ginny signified that she was finished by taking a deep breath, Colin jumped in.
"He's gay, you know."
Ginny exhaled indignantly. "No way!"
"Yes, way. Think about it. He's gorgeous, rich, has no wife appendage, and doesn't seem to be in mourning. I rest my case. He has to like guys. Or he's a psycho, also not a good choice to take home to meet the family."
Ginny screwed up her nose as though she smelled something bad. Colin had a point. As her mother had always said, If something seems too good to be true, it usually is.' But she just couldn't imagine Mr. Malfoy with another man. Oh, bossing them around, sure. Sitting on a throne and having them bow before him and kiss his ring, no problem. But actually holding one in his arms and... No way!
"You're wrong, Colin. I don't know how I know but I just know. Mr. Malfoy is definitely not gay."
"Girlfriend, you're thinking with your gonads. Okay, if he didn't have a date with another guy tonight, then how come he didn't stay and eat with you?"
"He had to make a phone call."
"Yeah, right. Phone calls do not pull studs from their appointed rounds. I was with you when you bought that little black number. If the guy wasn't twitchin' and droolin' after half an hour, he's not into girls. He just..."
Ginny had a sudden vivid memory of the heat of his touch, the fire in his eyes. She interrupted Colin with full conviction.
"He's not gay. I don't know why he didn't eat with me. Maybe, like he said, the call was really important."
Colin made a disgusted sound.
"Yeah, and maybe he's a vampire so he couldn't let you see that he wasn't really going to eat anything. You better get a handle on yourself, friend. You've got I'm falling for this guy' all over your voice."
Ginny giggled self-consciously.
"Oh, I do not. I'm going to sleep. Some of us have to work in the morning, y'know."
"You bitch!"
They both laughed and said goodnight.
After hanging up the phone, Ginny ran Colin's accusation through her mind. Mr. Malfoy gay? She shook her head vigorously. No way! He wasn't gay and he wasn't a vampire. Mr. Malfoy was a normal businessman who wanted a nice house to come home to after a long, hard day at the office.
He wanted her to build it because he wanted a woman's touch. That might be a slightly archaic way of thinking, but who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? She would do her very best, design a house for him worthy of a spread in Architect's Digest' and be on her way to a great career building beautiful houses. Her client's sexual proclivities would have no effect on that, and were none of her business, anyway! With visions of exposed beams floating in her head, Ginny drifted off to sleep.
To dream.
She was back in the stairwell at Castle Dracula only this time she had made her way safely to the bottom of the stairs. She entered a large cavern illuminated by hundreds of candles, there soft glow warming her as she watched them flicker and flare. In the middle of the room a dais held a huge four-poster bed, covered in a blood-red fur throw. The candlelight seemed to dance over the fur, bringing forth highlights and casting shadows, until it seemed almost alive. And standing in front of the dais was Draco. He wore skintight black leather pants and a seductive smile. He raised his arm and unrolled his fingers, one by one, till his palm was exposed to her, beckoning her to him.
"Come to me, Ginny."
His voice was a breath of wind and a kingly command all rolled into one. Ginny had never wanted anything as much as she wanted to obey him.
Still, she hesitated. She wasn't certain exactly why, just that some tiny warning bell in her brain was trying to get her attention. But he was so magnificent! He flexed the fingers of his extended hand and she made note of his slightly long, well-manicured fingernails. The thought crossed her mind that he could curl his hands into some pretty wicked claws if he so desired.
With her attention already on his hand, she followed it as it descended to the buttons at the waistband of his pants. He slowly unfastened the top button. Ginny raised her eyes to meet his intense gaze and saw the promise of Heaven, and the fires of Hell, shining in his silver eyes.
She felt indecision tearing at her - Go to him or turn and run?
He spoke again, velvet over steel, and she was lost.
"I am all that you seek, my love, and more. Trust me."
As soon as Ginny stepped into the room, a door slammed shut behind her.
Startled, she turned toward the noise. There was nothing but blackness behind her. No door, no stairs, no escape. Fear barely had time to register in her heart before she felt fur against her bare back and the welcome weight of a man settling over her. Her body responded immediately, her back arching to meet the hard male presence. Mr. Malfoy - at this point, she guessed she should call him 'Draco' - smiled down at her as he slowly eased his way into her body. She raised her eyes to meet his and found ebony oblivion, the pleasure coursing through her veins like a bullet-train.
This was all happening so fast! She screamed and pushed against him, fear of losing herself, and of not caring if she did, spurring her on.
He wrapped her struggling body tightly in his strong arms and laid his cheek against hers. His lips touched her ear, his breath feathering the tiny hairs inside as he whispered, "Don't fight me, Ginny."
Ginny held still so she might better hear him.
"Look at me and see you heart's desire."
Their bodies were still intimately joined and she throbbed for release, though she fought it. He raised his head, putting his face inches above hers. He parted his moist lips as though in preparation for a deep lover's kiss. Then his teeth parted slightly and Ginny saw what she had known all along would be there. Sharp eyeteeth glistened longer than normal, long enough to pierce flesh and drain blood.
Her eyes flew back to meet the fire of his gaze. Her body tightened around him in a muscular spasm that sent another flash of pleasure through her.
Could she really convince herself that she wanted to get away from him?
"Give your throat to me, my love, and I will lay the world at your feet. Your pleasure will be more than your mind can comprehend."
He was so intense, his eyes boring into hers as his hips performed an age- old dance of seduction against her tender flesh. "You chose to stay with me, now choose to be mine forever. I will love you, cherish you, for all eternity. I swear it!"
The tiny bell in her brain had become an air-raid siren but it didn't have a chance of getting through the haze of passion that had filled her entire being. Her dreams, warped as they might be, were coming true, and she wasn't about to blow this chance. She closed her eyes and turned her face to the side, exposing her throat to him. He inhaled sharply, his voice a growl in her ear.
"You are mine!"
A sharp prick of pain as his teeth pierced her neck was followed by such an exquisite orgasm that she cried out his name. Heat spread outward from the place where his lips touched her neck like the ripples in a rock-disturbed pond. He was stroking her breast with one warm palm, the other holding her to him. He thrust deeply and she felt her body building to a new peak. She wondered if another climax like the last would overtax her heart and kill her. She sighed, not caring if this night were her last as long as it went of forever. He had promised pleasure beyond her comprehension. She had no doubt that he could, and would, deliver.
Suddenly he pulled his lips from her throat, turned his face and hissed.
"...a few low clouds. Temperatures should be in the high 70's..."
Ginny jumped as her radio alarm did its duty and brought her to consciousness. She quickly touched the button that would reset it for tomorrow. As she stretched, her hand automatically went to her throat.
She felt for any tenderness, then laughed at herself when disappointment met her touch. Had she really expected to find teethmarks? But that dream had seemed so real. She shook her head and reaffirmed her convictions about keeping this job on a professional level.
Tossing the dream into the realm of a nice memory, she went about her morning routine. Put on the tea, do some yoga, shower, get dressed. As she looked in the mirror to check her hair, the vision of her vampire dream lover hissing caused her to turn quickly to the bed. She knew it was foolishness, but she had the strong desire to send her hand across her chest in the sign of the cross, something she hadn't done in years. In the dream Draco had hissed his displeasure, it had been directly at her alarm clock.