About a month passed with James slowly turning over control of the casino and all his business dealings so he could spend more time with Olivia. He thought it was about time someone else dealt with it all. It was a young man's game, after all.
And he really didn't want to go on playing anymore.
He finally got around to fulfilling his promise and taking Olivia to the beach. Well, he had to do a bit of convincing first but she eventually came around.
It wasn't as tumultuous as she thought it would be. James only took her out on overcast days or else they kept their outings nearer to dawn and dusk.
As for the rest of the day…
…they found ways to keep themselves occupied.
They were glad of their time in their own little paradise, but they were also glad to come home again. When they got back into the house, Olivia put her bags in the bedroom and then went to get started on dinner. James wanted to cook for her, but she insisted, saying that he'd already waited on her hand and foot the entire time they were gone and it was time she did something nice for him. He relented, knowing he wasn't going to win, and instead opted to unpack for the both of them.
As he put the last of their clothing away, he ran his hand down the carved wooden armoire and took a look around the bedroom they now shared.
It was all a strange new kind of wonderful for James. Firstly, that he had somewhere he could call home. Sure he had his flat, and he'd had several houses over the years, which he eventually got rid of as he felt they were far more space than necessary for one person. But this was the first time anything ever really felt like home. And it was because he had Olivia there with him. He never thought he'd be the type to become domesticated, but he liked it.
He supposed because their relationship wasn't a "normal" one. Not only because of the age difference, which he didn't really think of as a big deal, but because of Olivia. He was pretty sure dating a vampire fell into the category of unconventional relationships.
He shook his head. He still had to remind himself of that bit sometimes. It all seemed a bit surreal. He didn't know if he'd ever really get used to it. But he loved that it was a side of her only he got to see. And it always gave him a thrill to know something that nobody else knew.
"James! Ready!" her voice wafted in from the kitchen, along with the smell of his favorite dish.
Solved the mystery of why she wanted to go shopping so badly.
He smiled and bounded through to the kitchen.
"Do I get to kiss the cook?" he smirked.
She chuckled. "Of course."
He bent down to kiss her quickly.
She raised an eyebrow. "All that gets you is potatoes. If you want the steak, you'll have to do a bit better than that."
He grinned and pulled her body flush to his, moaning against her lips as he kissed her deeply.
He pulled away, his breathing slightly ragged. "Well?"
"I think you just earned dessert," she smiled.
"Can't wait." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively and she laughed, smacking his arm with a tea towel.
"Sit down, you." She chuckled and started serving the meal.
When they finished dinner, Olivia cleared the table and took the dishes over to the sink, where, a few short seconds later, she felt James's arms encircle her waist.
She giggled as he kissed the back of her neck. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Showing you how much I loved dinner." He kissed her neck again and grinned when he felt her shiver.
"Really?" her eyes fluttered closed and she tilted her head to one side to give him better access.
He hummed and kissed her neck again before gently turning her face to capture her lips.
He took the tea towel out of her hands and threw it on the countertop, tugging her back towards the bedroom.
"I thought you wanted dessert…" she smiled.
He pulled her closer and nibbled her earlobe, whispering in a husky voice,
"What do you think I'm about to eat?"
She gasped and he smirked, kissing her neck again as a shudder ran through her body.
He led her the rest of the way through to the bedroom and wasted no time dispatching them both of their clothing. He intended to take his time, but they'd either been on the road or in shops all day. He'd hardly had any time alone with her.
She chuckled. "What's gotten into you?"
"I just miss you, that's all."
She rolled her eyes, feigning exasperation, but deep down she was delighted that she could still get such a response from a man. Particularly one a fraction of her age and as handsome as James.
"It's only been two days," she giggled.
"Two long days." He kissed across her collarbone as he unclasped her bra and pulled it from her shoulders. "I need you."
She smiled and pulled him up to kiss her lips. "Then we shouldn't keep you waiting anymore, should we?" She slid a hand down to cup him through his trousers and felt how hard he was already. She giggled as she groaned and closed his eyes, fighting to suppress the shiver through this body.
"That's it!" he growled.
She shrieked and giggled as he picked her up and tossed her onto the middle of the bed, practically ripping off her knickers. He pushed her thighs apart and moaned at the sight of her. However, he didn't take very much time to savor the vision before him. His impatience got the best of him and he tugged her closer, burying his face between her thighs.
"AH!" she arched and grabbed his hair as he licked hungrily, moaning against her core and sending vibrations through her body.
He squeezed her thighs, as if trying to pull her even closer, and she squirmed in his grasp, whimpering and breathing heavily. He dipped his tongue inside her to taste her properly and she groaned, grabbing the duvet in her fists, trying her best not to roll her hips against him. But it felt too good and after a while, she couldn't help herself. He replaced his tongue with two of his fingers, thrusting as deep as he could, taking care to hit her g-spot with every thrust. She was shuddering even more frequently now and he knew it wouldn't be long.
He curled his fingers and sucked her clit hard.
Her cry of completion tore from her throat as she came hard onto his waiting tongue.
"James… please…" she whimpered, trying to squirm away.
He wasn't stopping. He held her tight and kept licking, moaning at the taste of her.
"Please… I can't ta- AH!" she cried out as a second orgasm washed over her.
He finally relented, trailing soft, open-mouthed kisses back up her trembling body.
She pulled him up to kiss her lips and ran her fingers down his back, hooking her fingers under the elastic of his underwear in a silent plea for him to take them off.
He got the message and pulled them off as quickly as he could, desperate to be inside her. He slid up and down her folds, coating himself in her juices before slowly sinking in. They both groaned and captured each other's lips in a fiery kiss. Her muscles fluttered around him, trying to adjust, and he had to use every ounce of strength not to start thrusting right away.
Her eyes closed and she moaned softly as he placed feather light kisses all along her face and neck.
She opened her eyes again when he stopped. She looked up at him and he caressed her face, bending down to kiss her softly.
"Tonight," he whispered.
She looked up, confused. "What?"
"Tonight… let's do it tonight."
"What… now?"
"You said it would help if I was distracted... so I wouldn't be so tense." He kissed her neck. "I can't think of a better opportunity."
"Are you sure?"
He captured her lips again before whispering, "Yes."
She gulped and nodded.
He could see her hesitation so he kissed her again, long tender kisses, hoping it would help ease some of her fear. He trailed kisses across her cheek and down to her jawline. He could hear her moaning again, so he figured he was doing something right.
"Will it hurt?" he asked, kissing her neck gently.
He knew it sounded like an odd question coming from someone who'd taken as many bullets and knife wounds as he had over the years. He could deal with those. He knew what to expect. But fangs to the neck was new territory. He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous. But he did trust her. He knew she wouldn't harm him intentionally.
She mentioned that there would be a reaction involved, but he figured he'd survived three poisoning attempts in the past year alone, so he should be able to get through it alright. She also mentioned that vampires could either bite to convert or kill, and they had a sort of instinctual way of telling their bodies which was which. But a conversion bite, if done incorrectly, it could be fatal, which was the reason she flat out refused when he first mentioned it. She was afraid her hunger would take over her mind and she'd end up killing him by mistake.
"I don't want to be without you," he whispered. "And you said yourself you hated the fact that you could never get close to anyone because of the life span. If we do this, we could be together. It wouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Yes and no. I've got about a century long head start on you. You'll end up outliving me. Not by very much, mind. Your life span won't be nearly as long as if you were a pureblood. But you will. But yes. In theory, we should be able to spend a great deal of our lives together."
"So then what's the problem? If it means we can be together for the rest of our lives by doing this, then let's do it. I know we can't stay put. They can have the business, I don't care about that. We can pack up and leave whenever you're ready. I've got the money. Wherever you want, we'll go there. I just want us to be there together. I just want you."
She smiled gently and caressed his cheek. "I want you too. It's just…" she sighed. "It isn't that simple. I could hurt you. And I couldn't live with myself if anything happened to you because of me."
"You won't."
"You can't know that."
"Yes, actually, I do," he said. "You wouldn't let yourself go that far." He kissed her gently and looked into her eyes. "I trust you."
She leaned her head on his shoulder. He sighed, thinking she'd made up her mind. He tried not to think on the future. About the day he'd have to face life without her. He'd lived that for the two weeks they'd split up and it nearly killed him.
They sat in silence for a few moments before he heard her whisper, "Next week. After we get back from the beach. You'll need time to readjust to sunlight and I don't want to ruin our holiday."
He blinked down at her.
He couldn't believe she actually said yes.
He grinned and kissed the top of her head, squeezing her tighter. They could do this. They could be together. Unstoppable.
"Will it hurt?"
She bit her lip and watched her fingertips trail over his collarbone. "Honestly? I don't know. I've never does this before…" she caressed his cheek and looked into his eyes. "Are you absolutely sure about this? If it goes wrong, I-"
He silenced her with a kiss. She moaned and clung to him tightly.
"I trust you," he whispered against her lips. He brought a hand up to caress her cheek. "I love you. I was stupid to push you away. I should have had more faith in you… in us." He kissed her deeply. "But it won't happen again. I'm not letting you go this time. I want to be with you… so let's do it."
She kissed him with all the emotion she could muster and he responded eagerly.
He rocked his hips gently, waiting for her permission to move further. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, he knew she was ready for him and he began to thrust into her slowly and deeply. She held him as close as she could, her hands rubbing up and down his back as she kissed him.
"You feel so good…" he moaned. "My Olli."
A tear ran down her cheek and she turned her head to place a kiss his neck. She laved her tongue over his pulse point and she could feel the familiar tingle begin to rise within her. She nuzzled into his neck, moaning as she realized his pulse was beating faster and was therefore making his blood smell sweeter.
Despite her attentions to his neck, his tempo never faltered, something that didn't go unnoticed by her. His fingers unerringly found her clit and began rubbing in small circles, making her whimper. She let her eyes flutter closed as her release came steamrolling toward her at an incredible rate.
She smiled.
He wasn't afraid.
He really did trust her.
He really did want to be with her.
He really did…
"…love you… I love you, Olivia." His husky, passionate whisper in her ear was all she needed to send her over the edge.
Her body tensed as the last of her control snapped. Her back arched and she came with a keening cry that filled the air. He smiled, rocking his hips gently against her as his fingers kept circling against her clit to prolong her orgasm.
She pulled him into a kiss and looked up at him.
"It's alright…" she smiled. "Take what you need." She kissed his neck again. "Take me."
He ducked down and kissed her lips before burying his face in her neck and thrusting in earnest. He was whimpering in her ear, her name a mantra on his lips. She could feel her urge growing stronger as his pulse beat wildly in his neck.
She moaned quietly as her fangs extended themselves.
She felt his hips stutter and knew he was nearly there, so she locked her legs around him and whispered the simple command.
"Come."
He screamed and thrust one last time as he came hard inside her.
Suddenly, everything got five times as intense and he felt like he would explode from the sensation. His body tingled as something warm and unfamiliar began to flow through his veins like quicksilver. It felt like fire and ice at the same time. It felt like life.
It felt like the kind of adrenalin rush that came with absolute freedom.
His breathing came in shorter gasps. His body tensed. There was a pounding in his ears and an unfamiliar tightening in his chest. The room disappeared as blinding white light took over his vision, and before he really had a chance to fathom what was happening, the light disappeared in a flash and his body went limp atop her.
She felt an unfamiliar sensation go through her as she sank her fangs into his neck. His blood was warm and sweet. It tingled on her tongue, which had never happened before and probably would have amused her if she weren't so busy concentrating. She couldn't really say she knew what she doing, but somehow her instincts kicked in and she seemed to go on autopilot. She injected a small amount of her own blood into his bloodstream.
She felt his limbs tremble. She could hear his breathing becoming erratic. She began to get nervous, wondering if she'd done something wrong.
The moment his body went limp, she retracted her fangs, horrified at the thought that she'd gone too far. She instinctively licked the wound, the healing properties of her saliva, making it seal itself and vanish almost instantly.
She carefully rolled him off her, onto his back. She patted his face gently, trying to wake him, but he was out cold. Her heart was racing and she began to panic, hoping above all hopes that he would be alright. She kissed his forehead and pulled the duvet up to cover him.
She got out of bed and threw on her nightdress, going into the kitchen to start work on a healing potion of sorts to help his recovery along.
She worked as fast as she could, gathering different herbs and preparing them in the ways her mother had taught her long ago. She kept her hands busy, concentrating on getting it just right. She knew the moment she allowed herself to become still, the doubts would creep in and she'd start fearing the worst. She couldn't let that happen. She had to believe he would be okay.
Once she'd finished mixing everything, she poured some into a mug. Then she made him a cup of tea, made exactly the way he liked it; a spoonful of sugar and just a splash of milk. She began carefully mixing it with in the potion, stirring it slowly to help the flavors blend. She'd put a couple of herbs in that she knew weren't too pleasant on their own, and she hoped mixing it with the tea would take the edge off a bit.
She carried it back through to the bedroom and set it on the nightstand.
He groaned softly.
Her eyes snapped up to his face. She climbed back onto the bed and peered at his face, stroking his cheek softly to see if he'd respond.
His eyelids fluttered briefly, but that was all.
She let out the breath she was holding.
It wasn't exactly the response she was hoping for, but it was better than nothing.
She knew he was alive. She hadn't killed him.
She tucked him in and got back into bed beside him, pulling him over to her and holding him close, stroking his hair. She could feel how warm he was and got up just for a moment to get a cold cloth. The minute she got back, she took up her position again and put his head in her lap, pressing the cloth against his head to try and cool him down.