Dark Desire – Chapter 14
Katy woke up around ten in the morning. She was laying on her back almost to the edge of the bed again. Eric lay close beside her facing her with his arm thrown across her waist holding her lightly. He was buzzing and making making soft snoring sounds. She was curious so she turned on the light and looked carefully at him. Yup; he was definitely snoring. She wondered why he did that since vampires don't breath. Was it some automatic reflex action, or a body memory from when he was human? She didn't know, but she knewthat she had a lot to learn about him.
Even though she wasn't looking forward to the conversation they would have later, just knowing that he was there beside her made her feel happy and content. In fact, she felt great. She had at least ten hours of good sleep, and she felt fully rested for the first time in weeks.
After showering and dressing, Katy left the bedroom and walked toward the kitchen. She was attracted by the wonderful aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and the sound of a coffee maker as a fresh pot was being brewed. She could also smell something fresh out of the the oven. It smelled like blueberry muffins. Her stomach started to grumble; she was absolutely starving.
Judith's kitchen was cheerful; it was large, well appointed and had everything a human could want in a kitchen. It looked like it was used a lot. Sunlight poured through the skylight over the large center island as Katy walked into the room.
A female voice said, "Morning, Miss. Can I fix you something to eat? I have eggs ready to scramble, or if you'd like, I can make you pancakes or French Toast." The voice belonged to Hannah Greeley, Judith Vardamon's human housekeeper; she was standing at the refrigerator looking inside for something. When Hannah closed the refrigerator door; she had a pitcher of fresh made orange juice in her hands.
The elderly white haired woman and her husband, Jerome, had worked for Judith decades. Hannah kept house, and Jerome handled the grounds. They both loved Judith and they had both loved her late human husband, Doc Hampton. They both picked Katy up at the motel last night. Hannah went shopping with her at Walmart's on the way to Judith's home.
"If it's no trouble, Hannah. Scrambled eggs and one of those muffins will do just fine. Coffee too, when it's done. Thank you." Katy replied.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Katy had eaten her eggs, downed her orange juice and sat buttering the last piece of muffin and wolfed it down with a big sip of black coffee. "Mmmm. This is all so good. Do you cook like this everyday?" she asked the elderly woman. Hannah came off as a very nice, down to earth woman. Katy had liked her immediately.
"Well there's usually just me and Jerome, but sometimes there are human visitors and other humans who occasionally do work for Ms. Vardamon. When they are here, I keep them all fed, so I try my best." Hannah smiled.
Katy sensed that Hannah was proud of her culinary skills. "Your best is really great," she said.
"I'm okay, but you should taste Judith's cooking. Now she is one great cook! She used to cook for Doc, you know. She hasn't cooked since he passed away though." Hannah said sadly. "Maybe she will cook for you while you are here."
Katy hadn't known that. She had never even thought about vampires cooking human meals. "Oh, I don't want to trouble her; she's doing enough for me already. Besides, I don't really know how long I am going to stay. I may be going back to New Orleans soon. Say, Hannah, may I use the washer and dryer to do some laundry today?"
"Just give your stuff to me. I'm doing laundry now, and I might as well do your things too."
Katy could hear the washer and dryer working in the laundry room off the kitchen. "I will as long as you let me help you with something." She got up from the table and stacked her dirty dishes in the dishwasher. The dryer buzzer went off. Hannah took the dry load out, and the two women sat folding bath towels as they talked companionably.
After the laundry was washed, dried, folded and put away. Katy put on her sneakers and went outside for a run. It had been a moe than six weeks since she was able to run outdoors, and she was looking forward to it. As she stretched, she saw Jerome in the garden pruning some bushes and trees. Katy stopped to say hello. The old gardener wasn't much of a talker, he just nodded and smiled.
The weather was still warm and she didn't need a jacket. The estate was large, and Katy ran on a well beaten path through some woods not far from the house. Every so often, she would pass an armed human security guard who would stop introduce himself and ask her if she needed anything. Everyone she met was friendly, but professional; Katy felt very safe. Evidently, Judith had let her whole staff know that she was staying and they all knew what she looked like.
Later that afternoon, Katy got out her sketch pad and began to draw Hannah as the housekeeper prepared dinner for the three of them. Next, from memory, she sketched a picture of Jerome as he appeared working in the garden this morning. Katy was talented and her drawings were true to life. They captured the essence of two plain, hardworking people as they performed their simple labors. When she was done, she presented the two drawings to Hannah. The old servant was delighted. She said she was going to have the sketches framed. She couldn't remember anyone doing anything like that for her before.
At sundown, Katy was sitting at the kitchen table with Hannah and Jerome enjoying dessert and an after dinner coffee when Judith, followed by Bill and Daniel, walked in to the room. Jerome got up and took four pints of human blood out of the refrigerator, microwaved them and gave three of them to the vamps. As a doctor, Katy was not at all squeamish at the sight of blood, still it was a little strange watching the vamps as they palpated the bags then sank their fangs into them and drank.
After Judith finished her bag of blood, Katy walked up to the small, dark haired vamp and offered her hand. "Thank you for offering me the hospitality of your home, Judith. I will never forget your kindness," she said.
"Nonsense, it was the least I could do for a friend of a friend. Besides Doc liked you a lot, you know. He was sorry when you left the lab. He said you were the best doctor he'd ever employed there; the employees really liked you," Judith replied before she introduced Katy to Bill and Daniel.
At that moment, Eric walked in with his cellphone in his hand; he had been talking to some of his men in New Orleans. Without looking at Katy, he took the offered pint of blood from Jerome, mixed it up, sank his fangs into it and drank deeply.
Katy was silent. She watched Eric; her heart felt like it was in her throat.
"I think you two need to talk." Judith said.
"Yes, we do. Come with me." Eric turned and offered his hand to Katy. Together they walked back to her bedroom. Once inside, Eric stood in front of the bed and pulled her close. He began to kiss her. "You love me," he declared confidently. He liked the sound of that, so he said it again, only more softly. "You love me. You said so."
"Yes," she said simply as she moved back a little. "But you are trying to distract me. Aren't you?"
He was trying to avoid, or at least delay, their conversation. "I'm trying to make love to you, lover. Don't you want to?" he purred seductively as he closed with her and began to kiss her again. Her body had already given him the answer he wanted.
"Yes, but we talk first, okay," she said. She was almost breathless from his kisses, but she was determined to get this over with.
Eric didn't answer, he began to nibble her earlobe and kiss her softly on the neck. All the while, his hands slipped under her blouse and explored her body making her feel like she was on fire. He loved the feel of her soft, satiny skin, but he really liked the way her nipples hardened at his touch. He laughed, pleased with himself as her body began to tremble. He opened her blouse and started to trail kisses down to the tempting flesh that showed above her bra.
Katy jerked as his tongue trailed fire over her sensitive skin. She pushed herself away from him once more. "Oh, no you don't. You are not fighting fair, Eric. Stop! This is too important." she complained.
"Are we fighting, lover? I didn't know that. I sure don't feel like fighting right now, and I don't think you do either," Eric said as he looked in her eyes. He saw that she was serious and harumphed. "Okay, okay. I'll stop. Let's talk." He moved to sit on the loveseat in front of the window. She buttoned her blouse and sat down beside him.
"Explain to me what happened that night. Why were you so angry with me? Why did you call me a whore? Why did you treat me like that? For a while, I actually thought you were going to rape me. Why?" Katy asked simply. Her tone was deeply confused and hurt.
"I could feel you responding to me. It would not have been rape. I would never have forced you," he replied. He was offended that she thought he would hurt her.
"My body may have responded to you; I can't help that, but my heart and my head definitely didn't want you. Not like that way, anyway. I told you over and over to stop, and I know you heard me. Would you would have taken by force what I didn't want to give you willingly? No matter how my body responded, that is rape in my book," she stood up and faced him as she accused him.
That thought shocked Eric. He had been disgusted with himself for scaring her that night. He knew that he had been wrong, but hearing her say it so succinctly and clearly made it seem even worse. He knew she had been angry with him for treating her roughly and calling her names, but It had never occurred to him that she might actually think he was trying to rape her. Now he understood the look of terror and betrayal and in her eyes. He stood up and took both of her hands in his.
He paused for a moment. "You were dancing with those humans. You played pool with them. You let them touch you! You are my woman! You should not let any man touch you, but me." replied firmly, but quietly. His eyes glittered with jealousy and anger as he remembered.
Eric's answer stunned her. She didn't expect to hear that he was jealous of her. He had no right to be jealous of her. The very thought of that made her furious. Her eyes sparkled with her own righteous anger.
"You were jealous of me? But that doesn't even make sense. We'd been together for only two nights, and we hadn't seen each other in a week. You didn't even call me to say hi, or ask how I was doing. I worked almost every night until after dawn, but you could have left a message. After I saw your pictures in the newspapers, I had no reason to even think you were going to call me, or that I would even see see you again. You tried to glamour me into forgetting you, don't you remember?" her hurt filled voice reminded him.
The memories of Eric's pictures in the papers, kissing and groping those women suddenly exploded in her mind. She had been hurt and jealous back then, but tonight, she was absolutely furious at his hypocrisy. She moved right up into his face and and almost spat her words at him.
She went on, "Besides, I was only dancing and having fun. I wasn't making out; none of those guys touched me anyplace they shouldn't have. They didn't grope me the way you groped those other women. That week, you were all over the papers shoving your tongue down some woman's throat. Christ, I thought you were digging for gold. Don't even try to tell me you weren't sleeping with them. So, even if I had let a guy touch me, even if I had slept with him, what business would that have been of yours? We were not together; we had no understanding. You had no right to be jealous of me. What I was doing in the bar that night wasn't any of your business!"
Eric pulled her to him, "You are mine! You will always be mine, and what you do is my business," he said as he enfolded her in his arms. He was furious, but he didn't know who he was angrier at; Katy, because she challenged him, or himself, because what she said was true. He had behaved badly that night. He had behaved like a randy stud all week long.
Katy continued, "I am yours? What exactly does that mean? If I am yours, doesn't that mean you are mine? Why would you expect me to be faithful to you, while you out banging anything in skirts. I don't know what your other girlfriends put up with, but believe me, I will never stay with a man who cheats on me, period. If we are going to be together, I will never cheat on you, but you better not cheat on me either, do you understand?"she shouted at him.
Eric was chagrined, but he clearly heard her willingness to consider a relationship with him. He said quietly, "You are right, and I am sorry. I should have called you, I am sorry now that I didn't. I was angry because you wouldn't tell me the truth about who you were. I thought you didn't trust me. I wanted to see you, but I decided to stay away until I found out more about you. You could have been an axe murderer for all I knew," he knew immediately that his lame joke fell flat.
He explained further, "I was even angrier because I couldn't stop thinking about you when I didn't want to. I don't really know why I slept with those women; I was trying to prove something to myself, I guess."
"I knew you were in some kind of trouble, so I had my men watching out for you. That night, I found out that you were being stalked by another vamp, Peter Kenyon. He had been asking questions around town about you. I wanted to protect you from him, but when I got to the bar, you were dancing with those other men. I felt foolish and jealous. I guess I just lost my head."
"I was wrong and I am sorry for what I did and said. I never would have hurt you, but I know I scared you. I am sorry I made you run from me; I never wanted that. I tried so hard to find you to explain. I wanted to protect you and keep you safe. I hope you believe me," he explained.
Eric was a proud and powerful being. Katy was sure that he wasn't used to admitting that he had been wrong, and he wasn't used to apologizing for his actions. She put her arms around him and kissed him softly. "I believe you. I should have told you who I was from the beginning, but I was afraid to. Not because I didn't trust you, but because of my aunt. Also Wit-Sec would have moved me immediately if they found out I had identified myself to you. I realized later that you didn't want to hurt me, but by then it was too late. So where do we go from here?" She asked.
"I want you to come to New Orleans to live with me, to be my lover, to share my life. I want to form a blood bond with you. I want you to be part of me, and I want to be part of you." he said.
Katy wanted to be with Eric and she was intrigued by the blood bond; it sounded romantic to her. "Explain what a blood bond is." she said. He did. He didn't make it sound romantic at all. He warned her of how intimate and invasive it could be.
"We will be connected to each other as if we have become one in many ways. We will be able to sense each other and always know where the other is, unless we are very far apart. We won't be able to read each others minds, but we will be able to feel each others emotions. If one of us is in pain, the other one will feel it too. If one of us us happy or sad, the other one will feel that too. We will always know when the other is telling the truth or hiding something, so we won't be able to keep secrets from each other. I will always be present in your mind, and you will always be present in mine. It will be as if we always carry each other around inside us. It is very powerful, deep magic, and it is very intense. There is much, much more to it, but you have to experience it to know."
"Would that even work with me since I am a null?"
"I am not totally sure, but I think so, because the bond has to do with the blood, not with the mind. It is magic, but it is not like the magic of glamour. It is more intense and much more powerful than glamour. Most humans would go crazy from the intimacy and the invasiveness of the bond, but since it is a vampire thing, I can control it from my end. I would teach you how to control it too. I promise that if you ever wanted to be free of it, or of me, I would release you from the bond."
"You can do that? You can control the blood bond?"
"Yes, even though I don't have total control over it, I would be able to break the bond and release you. If feeling me through the bond becomes too much for you, I can turn it down from my end."
"This sounds like something you would not want to do unless you deeply cared about the human. Is that true?"
"Yes, although we can form a blood bond for other reasons, it usually done for love. Vampires do not often share their blood with a human unless it is to turn them into a vampire. It is rare for a vampire to form a blood bond with a human for any reason at all."
"Have you ever made another vampire? Have you ever bonded with a human before?"
Eric hesitated, Katy thought she saw a brief flash of pain in his eyes. "Yes. I have made one child. Her name is Pam. You will meet her soon. I was blood bonded to another human for a while. Her name is Sookie Compton, and she is married to Bill now. I want you to know that because you will also meet her soon. You also should know that I didn't ask her to bond with me. I tricked her into it because I wanted her, and that was wrong. I loved her once, but she is just a very dear friend now. It is a long story and I will tell it all to you one day, but not now. What I want you to know now is that bonding with me is your choice. I won't trick you or force you into it. Even if you don't want to bond with me, I still want you with me," he said quietly, but Katy understood how badly he wanted to bond with her.
"How do you do it?" Katy asked.
"We exchange enough blood until the blood bond forms."
"Will I be turned into a vampire? I am not sure I would like that very much," she said.
"No. To turn you, I would have to almost drain you, and then, just when you are on the edge of death, I would have to give you my blood, a lot of it. To form a blood bond, I have to take more blood than I did before, but I don't have to drain you."
A sudden chilling thought hit Katy. "Are you offering to bond with me simply because you think it is the best way for you to protect me. If that is the case, you don't need the blood bond. I will be with you anyway. I do not want to share myself with you so intimately, unless you really want to share yourself with me the same way. Your wanting to protect me is not enough. I don't think I could stand that," she said.
"I want this bond with you because I care about you. I want us to be part of each other," he said.
"Then there are a few things that we need to settle first."
"What?" he asked.
"I never cheated on my husband, or any of my boyfriends. I never wanted to. As long as we are together, I will be faithful to you, so I need to know now that you intend to be faithful to me. I won't stay with any man who cheats on me. Also, so that there won't be any more episodes like that night, we both must agree to talk things out even when we don't want to. I know you think humans are inferior, but if I am your woman, you must treat me with respect and as an equal. You can't make decisions for me without asking me first."
"That sounds reasonable," he said.
"When we get to New Orleans, I would like go back to work as soon as I can. I went through years of study and training to become a doctor, and I want to practice again."
Eric hesitated as he thought that over. "Right now there are still humans and vampires after you and it won't be safe until this thing is over. But you used to be the company doctor when you worked for Judith's husband. Maybe you can do the same for me. I have many human employees, not just in the palace, but in other businesses I own. We could set up a small clinic for you in the palace if you like. After this is over, you can go back to work in a hospital if you want."
"Then I do want to bond with you; I want us to be part of each other, too," she quietly as she embraced him and tilted her head to one side. Eric moved her face back up to his. With his fangs fully extended, and his eyes glowing with deep emotion, he kissed her for a long time then softly laved her throat where the blood pulsed so temptingly.
"I won't hurt you, I promise," he whispered just before he sank his fangs deep into the pulsing artery. Katy was still reeling from his kisses when he bit her. His bite was so gentle, she didn't feel it at first, then he began to suck and lap, again and again.
"Oh, my!" she moaned and gave herself up entirely to the wonderful sensations that rippled in wave like motions through body. Every nerve in her body was alive and thirsting for Eric, wanting to satisfy him; wanting to belong to him. Her blood sang as it rushed to meet his lips.
She knew he could easily drain her completely, and there was nothing she could do to stop him. She didn't have to be an empath to feel the powerful draw of his vampire bloodlust, but she wasn't afraid. She willingly placed her very life and her complete trust in his ability to control himself.
Fire that burned exquisitely, yet didn't cause any pain, sent pleasure roaring through her. Tension built up between her legs so tightly, she almost cried with relief as a powerful orgasm surged through her giving her much needed release. Hot liquid warmth suffused her whole body centering on the channel between her legs. Her hot core ached to be filled with him.
Eric began to tremble as passion and pleasure held him in thrall. He drank deep, lapping again and again, groaning, moaning, mewling and shaking in ecstasy as her thick sweet, blood filled his mouth. He drank much more than the first two times. As her blood coursed through his body, he realized again that she was different from other humans. Her blood called to him like no other; it smelled like no other; its heat warmed him like no other; it gave him sustenance, but it also made him feel more alive than he had since he was human. He knew Katy Dumont was the one he was meant to be with; she was made for him, and him alone.
He swallowed again and again and drank until he both smelled and felt her powerful orgasm as she came. He knew it was time to stop. Reluctantly, he withdrew his fangs and sealed her wounds with his saliva. He felt her knees go weak as she collapsed into him.
Eric lifted Katy into his arms and placed her on the bed. He stripped her of her clothing and and undressed himself. He laid down and pulled her up to lay face down on top of him. His fully engorged member lay between them. With one hand, she reached down and gently touched the silken tip of his organ, and he almost lost it; he almost forgot what they were doing. "Not yet, lover; not yet. You have to wait a few minutes."
He used his sharp nail to open a deep wound in his neck. With the other hand, he cupped the back of her head and brought her face down to his bleeding wound. "Drink, Katy. Drink deep. Drink until I tell you to stop."
Katy wound her arms tightly around his body and did just that. Her mouth surrounded the wound and she began to suck. She had barely tasted him that night so long ago, but tonight she drank deeply. As his blood gushed into her mouth; she almost couldn't keep up with it. For long minutes, his salty, spicy, sweet thick blood filled her mouth and she swallowed again and again. His blood tasted so good. The act of drinking like this directly from Eric excited Katy on a primal level in a way she did not understand. It was made even more exciting as he convulsed with pleasure and moaned mightily under her until his own orgasm gushed between them. "Stop now, lover. It is done," he said. She pulled back and looked at him with wonder on her face.
All the while as Katy sucked strongly at his throat, and as his blood filled her, Eric felt the blood bond forming on his side. He felt her passion and her pleasure as she drank from him. He felt the strength of her love for him, but he also felt her confusion. She didn't feel him yet, he could tell. He was disappointed.
Katy felt strange, giddy and lightheaded. Her head buzzed a lot like a static on a radio. She felt a powerful headache and she was confused. She was deeply disappointed because she did not feel Eric within her. "I can't feel you. Can you feel me?" she asked him. He nodded. "Maybe it didn't work for me, because I am a null," she said with tears in her eyes. She knew Eric was disappointed too, and that made her feel worse.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"I have a headache, and I feel a little dizzy and lightheaded, but I'll be okay. I'm sorry it didn't work on me, Eric," she said softly. As soon as the words left her mouth, Katy was was consumed with an overwhelming urge to make love to Eric. The urge was raw, powerful and primal. She desperately needed him inside her. Eric felt her desire, and he readily complied. They made love over and over for hours until Katy was completely exhausted. She slept at least an hour in his arms.
Eric dressed and left her sleeping as he walked down to the family room. It was one o'clock; Judith, Bill and Daniel were talking. Bill and Daniel had scouted the area around the motel in Carlisle to see if anyone had been searching for Katy. They asked questions of the desk clerk and maids, then promptly glamoured them. They asked at the fast food joint next door and glamoured the counter clerk there too. There was no evidence that anyone had been looking for her there.
As Eric walked into the room, Judith's empathic senses came alive. She could feel his strong sense of disappointment. She could also feel the love he had for Katy. She could feel Katy's mind at rest, but that feeling came second hand through Eric's own sense of Katy. She knew immediately that the blood bond had not worked on Katy. She felt sorry for the big male.
The four talked and made plans. They were talking about Gaetano Califano when Eric was swept up by a murderous rage. He wanted to kill the old vamp for wanting to harm Katy. Suddenly, both Eric and Judith's heads swivelled toward the hallway. Eric's eyes widened in surprise and shock. He felt Katy; she was awake, and he knew she felt him. Judith felt it too.
Seconds before, Katy opened her eyes and sat up. The headache was gone, but she still felt lightheaded and dizzy. She felt different...she felt more...she was not alone inside her mind anymore. It was as if a dam burst and Eric poured into her. He was broadcasting loud and clear. The strength of his powerful emotions engulfed, then almost bowled her over, as they exploded inside her mind. She knew for certain that it was the blood bond, and she knew he felt it too. She rejoiced as she felt his love and his happiness; they were forever one.
She quickly dressed and headed to where she instinctively knew he was. It was like having a Garmin in her head and Eric was "Destination: Home." She was a little shaky on her feet as she padded barefoot down the hall toward him. He met her halfway, and picked her up in his arms.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I can feel you, Eric!" she whispered to him. She wondered at the feel of him. "Your emotions are so powerful and strong. Ooh! I can feel your love for me; its wonderful!. I never guessed that you would feel like this!" Katy was elated and awestruck.
Feeling Katy's happiness as she felt him inside her mind made Eric feel humble and overwhelmed with love for her. Sookie had resented the intimacy and the invasiveness of their blood bond, and he knew it; he had wondered if Katy would feel the same way. He never expected Katy's joy and her open acceptance of him in her mind. He was touched on a level so deep, he couldn't comprehend it.
Katy was overcome with happiness. The big male truly loved her. Feeling the strength of his love for her was like a powerful drug, one that she never wanted to stop taking. But she felt other emotions too, some of them were very dark, violent, deep and intense. She felt hatred and rage and knew he wanted to kill someone. She wanted him to calm down.
"Are you all right, lover? Maybe you should go back to bed," he asked tenderly. He was all concern and worry for her now.
"Don't be silly. I am all right, but it would help if you toned it down a little. It would help if you stopped thinking about killing somebody," she softly tapped his head with her fingertips and laughed. "Besides, I am hungry."
'Oh, yes. I feel it." he said. It felt strange feeling hunger for human food. He could feel the ebb and flow of her emotions, and how new and confusing this all was to her. He knew he was overwhelming her with his own strong emotions. He deliberately calmed himself; she calmed down right along with him.
A few minutes later, Katy was sitting on the sofa in the family room beside Eric who made sure some part of his body touched her at all times. She was eating a piece of toast, drinking hot chocolate and telling the story of her complicated life to four fascinated vampires.
Judith Vardamon looked back and forth between them. She could not sense Katy's emotions directly, but she could feel Eric as he felt Katy; her emotions broadcasted strongly through the big blonde vampire. There was no doubt in Judith's mind that Katy and Eric were in love with each other, and they were happy.
She sent a mental message vampire style to Bill. "No more worries there, Bill. Eric will never bother you and Sookie again. Those two are definitely in love."
Bill smiled back at her. He knew without a doubt Sookie loved him, still Judith could feel his relief.