AN: I figured it would be nice to add in a bonus chapter to Carnival of Darkness. This takes place sometime before the Cullens arrive in 1687. It depicts Abraham and Cassie's first attempt at producing a child to continue Abraham's bloodline in order to protect Vermundr's life. Naturally, this chapter will be rated R-light. (I did my best to keep things from being overly graphic)
"Well, I'll be off, now," Vermundr announced, looking over his shoulder at his two human friends who had both came down to the estate's foyer to see him off. "Are there any requests before I go?"
"It has been a while since we've had partridge," Cassie mused. Instantly, a large smile appeared on the vampire's face.
"Hint taken," he replied. "I'll be back in a few hours." With one last nod of acknowledgement at the pair, Vermundr strolled through the front door before vanishing in the blink of an eye, dashing off into Epping Forest at vampire speed to begin his hunt.
The silence that filled the house after his departure was deafening. For a long moment, Abraham and Cassie stood unmoving, unable to tear their eyes away from the spot where Vermundr had been standing moments before. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Abraham broke the silence.
"So," he said, his voice coming out so softly, Cassie could only just hear it. "That's him gone, I suppose."
"Yes," Cassie agreed. "I suppose he is."
"Cassie, you don't have to…" Abraham suddenly started to speak quickly, turning to face her. "I know I've said this before, but please don't feel like you're obligated to do this."
"I've already told you, Abraham," Cassie answered, crossing the room to his side and gently taking his hand. "I wouldn't have offered if I wasn't completely willing. Trust what I say when I tell you that I will benefit from this just as much as you will."
"It's simply that," Abraham stammered, visibly tormented. "If we… if I do this…."
"You are nothing like them, Abraham," Cassie whispered, giving his hand a gentle, caring squeeze. "The very fact that you worry for me like this is proof of that.
"Please remember." Cassie continued. "I am leaving the final choice up to you. If you truly do not wish to accept my offer, than you only have to say so. But do not refuse only because you fear I am only granting my consent passively, the way I've done in the past. This time, my consent is coming because I am fully and willingly giving it." At Cassie's words, Abraham swallowed compulsory and finally met her eyes. Upon finding the confirmation in her gaze, an unspoken understanding passed between them. With a reassuring smile adorning her, youthful face, Cassie gently began leading Abraham by the hand up the winding stairwell. As he obediently allowed himself to be pulled along, Abraham's thoughts went back to the conversation they'd had only two days previously.
Flashback
"Is it true?" Upon hearing Cassie's voice, Abraham looked up from a rare copy of Paradise Lost, which he and Vermundr managed to obtain on one of their most recent exploits. The young woman was standing just outside the withdrawing chamber, looking right back at Abraham with a wide-eyed, almost fearful stare.
"Is what true, Cassie?" Abraham asked, setting the book aside to let her know that she had his complete attention.
"I overheard something you and Vermundr were saying, right before Vermundr went out to his forge," Cassie explained. "I didn't mean to overhear you, but I was fetching something in the pantry when you and Vermundr were passing by the open window, and…." Cassie's words trailed off when she saw Abraham had suddenly grown pale, indicating that he knew exactly what Cassie must have heard.
"How much did you hear?" he asked in a strained voice.
"Enough to hear you saying that the Life Contract that was formed between you and Vermundr after you attached your hand to Vermundr's body with magic has now permanently bound Vermundr to your bloodline. So much so that, should your bloodline ever die out, Vermundr…. also ceases to exist." Within seconds, Cassie's face crumpled. She didn't need Abraham to voice his confirmation of this fact. The expression on his face was proof enough.
"Cass, what have I done?" Abraham exclaimed, burring his face in his remaining true hand. "When I used that spell I took from Baba Yaga, I was trying to help Vermundr; to try and repay him for saving my life. And now, it turns out that what I really did was ensure his time will run out when mine does."
"But you said it was your bloodline Vermundr is bound to now," Cassie reminded. That means, the children you father will also…"
"Come now, Cassie, what children could I father?" Abraham argued. "I know enough of the ways of life to know I would need the aid of a woman to produce a child. And given the fact that I am frequently in the company of a vampire? What woman would possibly be able to tolerate that?"
"Have you forgotten, Abraham, that I not only tolerate Vermundr's presence, I enjoy it just as much as you?" Cassie challenged.
"I have not forgotten that," Abraham stated. "But you are extraordinarily exceptional in that regard."
"If that's how you see me," Cassie said, "then how is it you have not seen the obvious solution?"
"Obvious solution? Cassie, I don't understand what you are saying."
"You say you need a woman's aid in producing a bloodline, Abraham. And given your friendship with a vampire, a being that is often feared simply by principle, you need a woman who is able to look past that. Do I not fit both criteria? Or," Cassie continued, narrowing her eyes upon seeing Abraham's aghast expression, "am I truly that repulsive to you that you will not even consider me in that manner?"
"No, Cassie!" Abraham cried, visibly shaken that she'd come to that conclusion. "I do not find you repulsive. Not in the least. But I… How can you ask me this? How can you expect me to use you like that? To use you in the same way that you were used in the past?" Immediately cottoning on to what was bothering Abraham, Cassie paled considerably, but she quickly recovered.
"Abraham, don't you dare place yourself on the same level as any of them," she demanded, emphasizing her words with a pointing finger. "To those men, I was nothing more than an object; a way to satisfy their own desires."
"And how is that any different than me using you like…that?"
"For two reasons. First of all, you have never shown me anything other than true kindness from the moment we met. You've never seen me as a possession, so you don't have it in you to use me. And secondly, I care for Vermundr just as much as you do. Neither of us want to see his life come to an end, especially not like that. Thus, you won't be acting only for your own desires like those men from my past. This is something we're doing together, to help save our friend."
"And rectify the wrong I caused by tethering Vermundr's life to my bloodline," Abraham added, looking away in guilt.
"The choice is yours, Abraham," Cassie concluded. After a moment, Abraham, without meeting Cassie's eyes, nodded once in agreement.
End Flashback
Abraham's thoughts returned to the present with a jarring snap when he realized that he and Cassie had reached his bedroom. The very second he caught sight of his four-poster bed, he felt a sudden wave of nausea.
"Abraham?" Cassie turned back to look at him, as if sensing his intense unease. "What's troubling you?"
"Cass, I… I don't know if…" As Abraham stumbled over his words, Cassie carefully took his face in her hands, tenderly tuning his head until he had no choice but to meet her eyes.
"Shhh," Cassie replied softly. "Do not think. Close your eyes, and simply feel." Abraham swallowed compulsory, but then obeyed Cassie's request. However, he was unable to hold back the sudden intake of breath when he felt Cassie's lips brush up against his skin, just below his jaw before continuing in an unbroken trail across his chin and down to the side of his neck. Without any conscious thought of doing so, Abraham suddenly realized his hands were pressed firmly against Cassie's hips while his own jutted forward slightly of their own accord. Instantly, Abraham pulled back, meeting Cassie's curious glance with an almost guilty look.
"I told you, Abraham," Cassie instructed. "Just let yourself feel." Abraham gave a shaky nod, doing his best to clear his mind of any lingering doubt as Cassie gracefully took a seat on Abraham's bed, reaching out for his hand. After hesitating for only a moment longer, Abraham willingly took Cassie's offered hand and took a few cautious steps forward until his knees bumped up against hers. Unable to stop his hands from shaking slightly, he reached out to cup Cassie's cheek before ever-so-slowly bending down to place a series of chaste kisses on her forehead, nose and eyelids. Within seconds, he found his lips hovering mere inches away from Cassie's; so close, they both could feel the other's breath washing over their skin.
Cassie raised her hand and carefully snaked it around to rest on the back of Abraham's head before firmly but gently nudging him forward, ensuring their lips met. The instant that physical contact had been made, a low moan slipped from Abraham's throat and he instinctively pulled her closer, deepening their kiss. Abraham's head was spinning so much, he couldn't find it in him to even care when Cassie lay back atop the bed, pulling Abraham with her. Once again letting pure instinct take over, Abraham allowed his hips to lurch forward. It was in doing so that he noticed that the front of his britches was starting to become uncomfortably tight.
With a tiny smile, Cassie pushed back on the bed, moving into a sitting position with Abraham backing up slightly to let her up. With a quiet, well-rehearsed skill, Cassie unfastened the buttons on Abraham's linen shirt. It was at that moment, seeing how adept Cassie was at removing his shirt, Abraham remembered how experienced Cassie was in this particular act. As if sensing the direction of Abraham's thoughts, Cassie looked up and met his gaze.
"Do not spare a thought to that," she instructed softly. "We can do nothing to change what has already happened. Leave the past in the past." After giving a sad sigh, Abraham nodded in understanding, allowing Cassie to peel his now-open shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. Once the shirt had dropped to the ground, Abraham's eyes closed as Cassie pressed her hands against his bare chest, exploring and pressing against every line and curve. Just as Cassie began to make a third circuit over the skin just above his abdomen, Abraham's hand flew up, taking hold of her wrist to stop her ministrations. Once again looking up to meet Abraham's gaze, Cassie now saw his eyes had grown darker.
"Cassie." Abraham's voice was now rough and gravelly with primal want. Softly smiling, Cassie took hold of Abraham's hands and guided them to the front of her bodice, which was held in place by a thin satin ribbon. Taking the nonverbal invitation, Abraham carefully began to undo the woven binding until the bodice simply fell away, exposing the top of her chemise.
"Cassie," Abraham mused as he somehow managed to unhook her dress skirt with fumbling fingers. "How do you manage to dress every morning with so many layers?" Unable to hold back a soft laugh, Cassie leaned forward to place a tender kiss on Abraham's cheek before lying back down, rolling over so her back was facing him.
Feeling his breaths becoming shallower, Abraham began to pull and loosen the ribbons holding Cassie's chemise in place. As more and more of her bare flesh became exposed, Abraham followed the progression with tender strokes of his lips, showing particular tenderness with the pale scars crisscrossing across her back, a relic of her harsh upbringing under her cruel father. The strain in his britches grew even more uncomfortable than before as soft, breathy pants began to slip out of Cassie's mouth. When the ribbon had been pulled from the final hole, enabling the removal of the chemise, Abraham lowered his body, feeling a shiver wash over him as the exposed skin of Cassie's back met his bare chest for the first time. Relishing in the sensation, Abraham began to caress Cassie's soft shoulder with open-mouthed kisses.
"Abraham," Cassie said, her voice coming out in a strained whimper. "Please, let me see you." With heavy-lidded eyes, Abraham obediently pulled back, allowing Cassie to reposition herself so she was lying on her back, allowing Abraham to get his first glimpse of her bosom. His mouth going dry at the sight, Abraham's good hand was halfway extended when he realized what he was doing and nervously met Cassie's eyes. Taking her single nod as permission, Abraham reverently cupped her full breast before copying the motion with his prosthetic hand. The stark contrast between warm flesh and cold metal made Cassie release a gasp.
"Sorry," Abraham apologized quickly, starting to pull his prosthetic hand back.
"No," Cassie insisted, shaking her head. "That…that was a good sound. Please, don't stop." Accepting the invite, Abraham returned his metal hand to Cassie's bare skin, allowing it to move across her body, only coming to a stop when he felt Cassie's legs parting to allow him to rest in between them. The moment he felt himself brush up against Cassie's heated flesh, the straining in his britches became unbearable. Pulling back slightly, Abraham began to fumble with the trouser buttons. Cassie, taking one look at Abraham's pained expression as he struggled in his task, immediately assisted him in removing the last few offending articles of clothing, smiling slightly at Abraham's gasp of relief as his arousal became exposed to the open air. The moment he got over the sensation of being free from the limited area within his britches, Abraham found himself pausing as a sudden nagging worry entered his head. Concerned that the overall temperature of his room might grow to be too cold for Cassie's liking, Abraham carefully repositioned their bodies atop the bed before using his telekinetic powers to drape the bed sheets over them, creating a small shield to help keep them both at least somewhat protected from catching cold.
Once the task had been completed, Cassie lifted her legs to frame Abraham's hips, granting him access. However, Abraham hesitated before making the final movement, meeting her eyes one more time, needing to see her give the final okay, which he received when Cassie reached out and gave his hair a gentle tug, drawing his lips back down to meet hers. Only when he felt truly lost in the kiss did Abraham start edging forward. The second he felt himself start to enter Cassie's opening, Abraham was forced to break the kiss, his mouth open in a silent groan. The sensation was beyond anything he'd imagined, and it only got more and more intense the deeper he moved inside Cassie. By the time he made it all the way in, he was so lost in the feeling that he became completely frozen for a few moments.
"You'll have to move," Cassie reminded, her own voice trembling from the feeling of Abraham filling her.
"Mmmmhhh?" Abraham mumbled, feeling a bit too lightheaded to fully understand Cassie's words.
"You're…you're supposed to move, now, Abraham," Cassie repeated.
"Yes, of course, um…" Abraham trailed off, hissing in protest as he pulled out. Stopping just before he could withdraw completely, he moved back in with an almost primal grunt. Upon entering again to the hilt, he felt an unfamiliar feeling starting to stir deep inside him, almost like a rope being pulled taut. For the wildest of seconds, Abraham nearly stopped in response to the foreign sensation, but the thought had barely entered into his head when his body moved again of its own accord; out and then in, again and again. Each time another circuit was completed, the feeling inside Abraham grew in intensity, until, upon pushing into Cassie for the fifth time, his body went completely rigid as something exploded deep inside of him, followed by a rhythmic pulsing within his manhood. The unbridled pleasure washing over him was so intense; he could almost swear stars were exploding in front of his eyes as a hazy fog rolled into his head.
Ever so slowly, awareness began to come back to him, and he realized that he had allowed his full weight to fall onto Cassie.
"Sorry, Cass," Abraham apologized as he lifted himself up slightly, his words slightly slurred from the lingering euphoria. "I just…"
"It's all right," Cassie cut him off kindly. "It's not uncommon for men to not last too long at first." Abraham blinked in confusion, getting the feeling that they were not having the same conversation. Finally, the residual haze in his brain dissipated enough for him to realize what Cassie was saying.
"You mean… you did not…? Oh, Cassie, I'm sorry!"
"I already told you, you have nothing to be sorry for," Cassie insisted. "It's normal for men to have a fast release the first time around."
"But I didn't even think about…" Abraham stammered, his cheeks heating with humiliation. "How can you still think I'm better than those…pigs who used you in the past?"
"Stop it, Abraham!" Cassie demanded, her voice suddenly uncharacteristically harsh. "I will not say this again! You have no right to compare yourself to them, so don't you dare do it again! Those men made the choice to disregard me when seeking their pleasure. With you, it was simply a case of inexperience. Do not berate yourself for being unable to run when you've only just started learning how to walk."
"I didn't think of it like that," Abraham admitted abashedly, avoiding her eyes. It was only when he felt Cassie tenderly run her fingers through his hair that he looked back, seeing in her face that he was forgiven.
"You will get better," Cassie repeated, running a hand up and down Abraham's back. Propping herself up on one elbow, she leaned forward and began to kiss him deeply again, only just managing to hold back a smile when the low moan rumbled in Abraham's throat as he pulled her even closer, deepening the kiss.
"Let me prove it to you," Cassie whispered when she pulled back to allow them both to catch their breaths. Before Abraham could utter so much as a syllable, Cassie had managed to skillfully alter their positions, so Abraham was lying flat on his back and Cassie was straddling his waist. This time, Cassie was unable to fight the smile at the sight of Abraham's startled expression. A part of her couldn't blame him from being so shocked. It wasn't often when she did something this bold. In fact, a few years ago, she never would have dared, but her time here as part of Abraham and Vermundr's family had made her a stronger, braver person. Ever-so-slowly, Cassie lowered her body until it just hovered above Abraham's. Her hair falling forward to form a tent over Abraham's face, she began to kiss him in such a sensual manner that Abraham immediately started to feel his arousal returning even stronger than before. Lifting his hands, he cupped her face in his hands to fully relish in the kiss. As the kiss grew in intensity, Cassie's hands started to roam across Abraham's chest and down his sides, electing a primitive moan to slip from his throat as he repositioned his hold on Cassie, cradling her back with one hand while gently gripping her hip with the other. It was only when he heard her sudden intake of breath that Abraham realized his arousal was pressed up against Cassie's midriff. Cassie, upon seeing that Abraham was beginning to open his mouth in order to say something, quickly leaned forward to muffle his words with another deep kiss.
Without any noticeable hesitation, he pulled Cassie into his embrace as he clumsily rolled them both over so Cassie's body became entrapped beneath his. Without breaking the kiss, Abraham lowered himself down, entering her body once again. This time, Abraham did his best to be mindful of his actions as he moved in and out, allowing his hands and lips to accent his rhythm. Thus, he was rewarded with the sounds of Cassie's breathy gasps and moans, which helped to spur him on. As the internal pressure began to build once again, Abraham lifted his head just a bit in order to rest his forehead against Cassie's, making it so their breaths mingled between them. Finally, just when Abraham felt as if he might snap in two from having the wire wound taught, Cassie let out a strangled cry, her hands immediately clenching onto his back so tightly, he could feel her fingernails piercing his skin. The instant he felt the pain in his back, his whole body went rigid as the explosion ripped through him for the second time.
As awareness steadily came back to him, Abraham forced himself onto his back, pulling himself out in the process. He was pleasantly surprised when Cassie shifted her position to rest against him, color flushing in her smiling face.
"How are you fairing?" Abraham found himself asking, meeting her gentle gaze.
"Just fine," Cassie replied. "I thank you, Abraham."
"Thank me?" Abraham blinked in confusion. "But what….?" Cassie silenced him by placing one single finger over his lips.
"I can honestly say," she explained. "That tonight was the very first time I was able to find pleasure in the act."
"Truly?" Abraham's eyes widened slightly. "Even though I…."
"Because of that," Cassie insisted, bending down to place a tender kiss on Abraham's cheek. "I thank you, Abraham." Once again, Cassie leaned forward to kiss Abraham, an act which he reciprocated.