Chapter 11: Blood and Intimacy

"What?"

Sithia stroked her thumb over Serana's hand, her skin tingling in its wake. "You heard me. Feed on me. Why hesitate? I know you want to."

Serana swallowed hard, her mouth watering. She licked her lips, her throat burning more than ever. "I do, but I don't want to feel like I'm forcing you into this. You don't owe me anything."

"Oh, I owe you, but you know perfectly well that's not why I'm doing this. Go on, before I change my mind."

"No. I won't, not if this is something you'll regret."

"I won't. I trust you. Get on with it." Sithia beckoned to her.

Serana shifted her grip on Sithia's hand and bent down to bring her mouth to her wrist.

Sithia's other hand caught her chin. Serana let go and straightened up, sure that Sithia had changed her mind. She resisted the urge to look away, as that would make her disappointment far too obvious.

Sithia raised an eyebrow. She tilted her head, and brought her newly freed hand up to trail her fingers over the exposed skin of her neck. "Wouldn't you prefer here?"

Serana's fangs descended, her eyes fixed on that smooth skin, watching the delicate movement of Sithia's pulse, and listening intently to every beat of her heart. To experience that richest taste combined with the warmth and freshness direct from the source… And a rather more intimate one than Sithia's wrist.

Sithia smirked. "I thought so." She tugged the collar of her casual clothes out of the way and beckoned to Serana.

She gripped Sithia's upper arms, and leant down until her lips brushed the startling warmth of Sithia's skin. She gently bit into her neck, retracted her fangs and sealed her lips around the wound. She lathed the bite with her tongue, savouring the heat of Sithia's ever present anger – Wait.

She frowned. If she concentrated, she could catch a glimpse of whoever evoked her morsel's emotions. It was how she knew Sithia was attracted to her, and not anyone else. Elenwen's face loomed large her mind's eye, but… faceless shadows clad in Thalmor robes surrounded her. What else had the Thalmor done to her? Something worse, something more behind the ice of deep lingering pain paradoxically feeding the fire of Sithia's anger.

'Who else do I need to kill?'

Serana shook away the thought before it could trigger her fangs, instead focusing on the incomparable hot blood welling up into her mouth.

She tasted more now. Bittersweet grim satisfaction… from killing those Thalmor in the storm she'd unleashed?

Sithia's breath caught, and the steady rhythm of her heart thudded faster. Serana felt it in the most intimate way possible for a vampire, flowing through her lips and caressing her tongue. Bringing with it more of Sithia's emotions. The fire of her attraction mingled with—

'By… the… blood.'

Serana groaned. Her eyes drifted shut.

Sweet.

Spicy.

Delicious.

Intense tingling on her tongue.

The heady, musky scent combined with the taste.

Lust. Arousal.

Serana sucked hard, swallowing mouthful after mouthful of the best blood to ever pass her lips. She distantly heard Sithia whimper. Serana revelled in that power over her Dragonborn, until Sithia's heart skipped a beat. A jolt of panic broke through Serana's intoxication. If she wasn't careful, if she kept this up too long… She was taking too much, too fast.

For a torturous moment she struggled to rein in her bloodlust. She forced herself to stop sucking, to resist the temptation brought with every beat of Sithia's pounding heart. She had to be gentle, to savour it, to let the blood trickle into her mouth. Not gulp it down like she had every other meal recently.

Serana opened her eyes and blinked. Consumed by the intoxicating taste, she hadn't even noticed pinning Sithia to the bed. Propped up on her forearms, her body rested against the firm warmth of her mortal's, their legs entangled. Sithia moaned deep in her throat, and bucked her hips.

From where they clutched at her back, Sithia's hands slipped down to grip her backside. She pulled Serana closer still, grinding against her.

Serana raised her leg, providing a little more friction for Sithia. Giving a little back to her was only fair… Especially when it made her taste so fucking good. The intense flavour deepened with every beat of Sithia's racing heart and every desperate shift of her hips.

"S'rana!" Sithia cried out, shuddering. She fell limp, chest heaving as she panted.

Serana groaned. Satiated Sithia tasted far too good. She swallowed one last mouthful of richest and sweetest blood. She lathed her tongue over the bite again, staunching the flow of blood this time, and kissed it before she finally drew away.

Sithia's eyes were closed, her heart still racing and breathing unsteady, lips parted as she gasped for air.

Serana licked the last of Sithia's finest blood from her lips, eyes fixed on Sithia's mouth. She ached with the urge to steal a kiss, to claim her. Unable to resist, she leant close, brushing their lips together.

Sithia's breath caught and her eyes flew open.

"Dragonborn!"

Serana jerked back and looked up.

Delphine had pushed the curtain inside and frowned down at them. "Interesting. You prefer women after all. Younger women, or at least those that look like it. You're stupider than I thought, too, sharing a bed with a vampire instead," she hissed, her voice low enough so that no one else in the inn should overhear.

Sithia's hands slipped to Serana's hips, her grip tightening. "No, I prefer Serana. And I happen to trust her completely. I can't say the same with you. Your keeping watch while I slept when camping on the road is as far as my trust in you goes."

Delphine grimaced. "I'm sorry to hear that. I really didn't start things off in the best way to get you to trust in me when we first met, but you must understand that I had no choice."

"I know, you had to be sure I wasn't a Thalmor agent."

Those blonde brows drew together in confusion. "Then why—"

Sithia bared her teeth in a feral snarl. "I don't trust you because you want to use me. Don't deny it, you want me to be your weapon against the dragons and the Thalmor. Just like everyone else except Serana wants to use me for something."

"She wants to use you for feeding from." Delphine pointedly eyed the drops of blood still seeping from Sithia's neck.

Sithia pressed her fingers to the wound and healed herself, skin glowing gold. "Only if I volunteer."

"Keep telling yourself that. Sleep with a vampire and you'll be lucky to wake up."

"Fuck off, Delphine. What do you want?"

"Esbern knows where we need to go. A place called Karthspire in the Reach, on the island in the Karth river. Even you can't miss it. There's an ancient Akaviri temple hidden there, with a wall carved with the secret of how Alduin was defeated last time." Delphine looked sceptical, but then she did about most things. "Are you ready to leave, or would you rather travel separately? I've got to get Esbern out of here in case there's any more Thalmor snooping around."

"Much as I'd love to spend more time in the pleasure of your company," Sithia drawled, voice dripping with insincerity. "I need to get Dexion somewhere safe." This Dexion was presumably the Moth Priest.

"Fine, so long as you go to Karthspire right after that. This vampire plot isn't as important as stopping the World-Eater. Your duty as Dragonborn must come first." With that, Delphine walked out.

Serana flicked the curtain closed with a wave of her hand, her magic gripping the coarse cloth. She turned back to Sithia, eyes wide, aghast. "Delphine tried to…?"

Sithia's lip curled. "She propositioned me, yes. For base fucking, pure hate sex. I told her I'd sooner fuck a dragon. Funnily enough, a dragon chose that moment to attack. He might have been bitterly disappointed when I killed him instead."

"Is that why you have a new sword?" Serana nodded towards a glass sword resting against the wall by the chair.

"Well spotted. Remind me to get a spare, will you? I have my suspicions that'll shatter in the next dragon." Sithia sighed. "Void take it."

"At this rate you're going to keep the blacksmiths in business even more than this civil war must."

Sithia stroked her chin thoughtfully. "There's got to be a sword out there that'll survive dragon slaying. I just need to find it. Anyway, we should get moving."

Serana took the hint and climbed off her.

Sithia stripped down to her smallclothes, making it even easier for Serana to smell the musk from her arousal. She couldn't help but breathe in deeply, her eyes wandering over Sithia's exposed skin, lingering on her curves… and the exposed scars. Sithia hadn't been exaggerating - they were all over her legs too.

Serana's fangs trembled in their sheaths. Elenwen didn't suffer nearly enough…

Sithia pulled her armour on, covering her myriad scars with enchanted leather. Serana stepped closer, reaching for the ties dangling from the open seam over Sithia's back.

She paused right before touching the leather strip. "May I?"

Sithia nodded, reaching back to pull some stray strands of hair out of the way, tucking them into her braids.

Serana laced her armour up, lingering longer than she needed to, making the most of their closeness. She reluctantly stepped back, away from the warmth of Sithia's body.

Sithia pulled her cowl on, but left the mask down. Serana would have to make the most of that too.

Sithia cleared her throat, rubbing at the back of her neck through that damn cowl. "When you said that feeding is better than sex, I had no idea you meant it could be that intimate for the meal as well."

"I had no idea it could be. My willing meals have enjoyed it before, but never that much. I can assure you that it wasn't remotely pleasant for Elenwen."

"I thought as much. After promising to give me time, you wouldn't have done that if you'd known what you'd do to me." The flicker of vulnerability in Sithia's eyes betrayed her moment of doubt.

"I would have warned you. I'm sorry, by the way." Serana cringed. It was so embarrassing, how far her prized self control had slipped. She'd managed to control how much she took – barely – but… She'd almost stolen a kiss, almost broken her promise. Delphine's interruption had been the only thing that stopped her.

Sithia pulled her mask up, cheeks burning. She started to turn away.

'Damn it.' Sithia couldn't think she regretted it. 'Far from it!'

"Don't hide from me." Serana caught her shoulders, and tugged the mask back down. She cupped Sithia's face in her hands. "What happened between us is nothing to be ashamed of. Something as good as that can't be wrong. It felt right to me, very much so. I'm sorry because I almost lost control, not because I regret it."

Or… Serana's undead heart froze in her chest at the thought that Sithia regretted it.

'No. Please, no.' Serana stifled a ragged sigh. "Do… do you?" She held her breath, dreading Sithia's answer.

Sithia frowned. "Do I what?" Understanding dawned. Her voice lapsed back into her lilting accent, just like it had with her strangled cry of Serana's name. "How could I? I've never… It's never been that good before. That was every bit as…" Her cheeks burned, but she didn't look away. "It was better than stealing a dragon soul. Without the annoyance of a broken sword to replace, which might explain it."

Serana couldn't help but smirk. Now that was impressive. That meant… By the blood, if she could persuade Sithia to let her turn her, it would be even better for both of them. Nothing was more intimate. Well, apart from whatever her parents had done to create their vampiric bond. If only her mother had told her how…

Sithia stifled a moan. "We have got to do that again."

Serana's smirk widened into a smile. It soon faded.

"What is it?"

"We can't do that just anywhere. It'd be far too distracting, I don't think I'd have noticed if Delphine blundered in while I was feeding. You're something else." Serana reached out and caressed Sithia's cheek.

Sithia's lips quirked in a slight smile. "Flatterer."

"Only when it's true." Serana leant close, her eyes drifting shut. Their noses brushed together, and their lips touched for a heartbeat.

Sithia gently pushed herself away, her hands on Serana's shoulders. She coughed and shifted uncomfortably. She looked away and held out her hand. "My map, please."

Serana dug it out of her pocket and handed it over.

Serana hissed between her teeth. At this rate she'd end up stealing a kiss and risk being rewarded with a Shout. It'd be worth it… But that would break her promise to give Sithia time. She'd already crossed the line, with that achingly sweet almost kiss after feeding. No, for now she'd wait for Sithia to make the first move. She'd rethink that only if the frustration got too torturous.

Another moment like that, though, and it might well be too much.

Important AN: This chapter is ending here rather than later on where I originally intended, because I feel the need to let my lovely reviewers and silent readers know what's going on sooner rather than later. And to not leave you with a fairly evil cliffie in the process.

It's already mentioned on my profile here, and buried in my Tumblog, but not all readers necessarily look at them.

It's why most replies for reviews since Chapter 10 posted have been delayed. I'll get back to you awesome reviewers as soon as I can.

I need to put Doom Driven on hiatus. I really don't want to, and I'll keep chapters coming as and when I can. I'm sorry about this.

A rather nasty health issue has reared its ugly head. Again. It's quite likely that it might be best to resort to surgery this time, once they figure out exactly what's wrong with me.

Coming up next whenever I can manage it: Serana meets Dexion the Moth Priest. To Fort Dawnguard again! And Isran is his paranoid bastardly self.