Chapter 9

Barnabas looked around Maeve's room and noticed similar items he had in his room. The room was furnished with thick paisley drapes, one twin bed with several pillows, a nightstand with a glass of water, one dresser with a mirror, a wood chair, and a bathroom.

He watched Maeve's beautiful form stand in front of her dresser as she removed her necklace. He saw her reflection in the mirror and stared at her beauty. She glanced into the mirror where he should have been standing, turned and smiled at him. After she took her coat off, she laid it across the back of the chair. Watching her, he did the same with his cloak. She walked over to the window and securely closed the drapes. Not even the street lights penetrated into the room.

"Shall we make ourselves comfortable?" she said, as she slowly stepped up to him and waited for him to remove his vest and shirt, occasionally assisting him when he hesitated. Titillated by her encouragement, Barnabas motioned for her to do the same. She started to remove her clothes, accentuating the moves by rubbing her hand across parts of her body as they became bare. He bent forward and gently kissed her lips. It started out slow and soft, lips barely touching, and then the pressure increased as their clothes finally dropped to the floor. Very few words were spoken that night, but passion flowed, for a very . . . long . . . time.

This was new territory for both of them. For Maeve, it was to engage in such an act with one of his kind; and for Barnabas, it was to enmesh with one who possessed enormous power that could eliminate him ... permanently. She had difficultly believing he was anything but a man. She promised to rid the world of creatures of the night and now questioned her commitment. She had not left herself defenseless, though. Unbeknownst to Barnabas, she protected herself with a stake and hand-size cross well hidden under her pillows. Fortunately, the objects could not be felt when laying one's head on the pillows. The holy water on the nightstand added a sense of security.

Her "Inner Guides" told her once that she was protected from the vampire's bite, but they never explained what that meant. Since she never encountered a bite from a vampire, she never found out what this "protection" happened to be. Still, she felt perfectly secure and relaxed in this "man's" presence. She seemed to sense her "guest" would not hurt her and that insight comforted her, increased her desire to please him. She was ready for physical contact!

Barnabas' body heated up during his encounter with this amazing woman. It had been so long since he had any physical and emotional contact with any woman . . . since Julia, come to think of it. Barnabas gently lifted Maeve's naked body into his arms and carried her to the bed. He saw, next to the bed, a nightstand with a glass of water on it. Careful not to knock the table, he laid her gently on the bed so her head met with the pillows. As she calmly lay back, she hold her arms out as Barnabas climbed onto the bed. In a straddled position over her, he slowly bent down, kissed her forehead, cheek, eyes, lips, and finally her smooth ample neck.

The kisses excited Maeve as he slowly rubbed his lips over her neck and ear lobes. Barnabas started to feel an enormous urge to gently lower his fangs into her neck. Resisting the desire, he started moving his lips across her chest, caressing her nipples with his tongue, while using his hand to maneuver around her naval, and then even lower. As he lowered himself past her midriff, he rested his head between her thighs. He instantly detected a erotic fragrance, mistakenly believing it was her time. He inserted two fingers, moving slowly, hearing her moan. Lowering his head he didn't have to use his fangs to satisfy his urges. This was a perfect opportunity for them to receive long forgotten pleasures. Realizing what was happening to her body, Maeve wondered if this was the protection the "Powers-to-be" talked about?

After being completely lost in the pleasures of the night, they felt some unknown force pass between them. Maeve could not identify it but knew something very significant happened, linking them somehow.

Almost like a rooster's crow, an alarm went off in Barnabas' head when dawn rapidly approached. It so happened that Barnabas and Maeve reached their apex together. Maeve closed her eyes and appeared to drift off to sleep. He looked over at the window and was unable to tell how early it had become. Quietly, he sat up, got his clothes on and moved towards the door. Looking back at the sleeping Maeve, he hoped he'd see her again.

While Barnabas safely walked across the pre-dawn street to his hotel, Maeve peeked out through the corners of the drapes. She watched him enter the building where he resided and made plans to visit him later today.