11. It's the End of the World

Eric was running faster than any human on Earth could dream of running, but he was stumbling and nowhere near as fast as normal. She felt it each time he stumbled with a joggle of pain.

"Eric," she whispered. "Stop."

"Almost there," he told her.

"But you're—"

"I'll be fine," he told her. "We're almost there. I'll go to ground." His arms tightened, "You'll wait for me. You'll be safe if you just stay and wait."

He leaped into the air and they fell... slowly. Darkness rose around them and she felt an instant of panic. His arms tightened. She felt reassured.

He landed hard and she gasped through the pain. He laid her down carefully.

"Eric, are you dying?"

There was silence. "Yes," he finally admitted. "There's still silver in me. They dragged me far while I was under silver. It did as much damage because of the silver as if I was a human."

"I can help," she told him, feeling her own pain subside and knowing it was a bad sign.

"They threw a net on me," he told her. "It has embedded into my skin. It will be difficult to get to."

She realized that by 'difficult', he meant she would have to dig into his skin for it. "I can do it," she said softly.

His hand found hers and she asked as she felt along his clothing to find the netting, "Where are we?"

"An old abandoned mineshaft. Even if I don't manage to bury myself, we're protected from the sun here."

She chuckled. "So if you die, I can't get out."

"I will survive if you can find the silver," he told her. "I think I have the strength left to bury myself. If so, it will work faster and better."

She fell silent and began the process of digging the strands of silver out of him. He grunted in pain sometimes. After what felt like hours, she dug the last strand out of his foot. She leaned back.

"Alexis, I know you're injured, too."

"I'll be okay," she lied. "You cannot afford to give me any blood right now."

"I'm sorry you must suffer," he said quietly. "If I could help, I would."

"Eric."

"Yes?"

"I love you. You were right. I wasn't happy. My life was meaningless beyond Mormor and when she died, I think if I hadn't met you, I might have killed myself."

"Alexis-"

"You don't have much time, Eric. Please listen."

"It can wait," he told her. "I don't want it to be like this when you-"

"Please, Eric? I need to say this to you now. My father still has my sister. Anything could happen while you try to rescue her. Please?"

He fell silent. She held his hand in hers. "You were right when you said that I would know I was happy when I realized I was yours. And I was dead before I met you. Being without you these last weeks has made life meaningless and empty. I never recognized how pointless it all was."

"Alexis-"

She shook her head. "Go sleep, Eric. You said it yourself, humans come and go, but vampires are forever." She said it with a chuckle. "And if you can heal yourself and eat, then you can help me. So everything will be okay."

She felt him nod, "Tonight, Alexis."

"Tonight, my love."

Tears fell down her cheeks as he dug himself into the ground. When silence fell, she let her sobs fill it. There would be other humans for him. There were always more humans. But there would never be another Eric for her.

Crawling, she laid down across the spot he had burrowed into. She caressed the ground, longing for the man it separated her from. She didn't know a lot about human anatomy, but she'd watched enough TV to know she was in shock and that her blood had been poisoned. She was hallucinating already.

The ground beneath her seemed to breathe, and she smiled sadly.

"I had so much more to tell you," she whispered into the darkness. "You were so sweet to Mormor. I don't know how she knew I would love you, but she did. I wish I could explain to you how much in my life has changed with you in it. I'm sorry I lied to you. But I know you would have tried, and maybe died. You've always protected me since we met. Now it was my turn. For you, and for Pam."

She ran her hand across the cool ground and thought it strange that it felt so much like him. Soft to the touch but unyielding.

"I'm glad I got to tell you. I'm glad I got to love you. Please save my sister and my nieces. I know it's asking a lot, but I believe you can do it. Alphonsio can't get the drop on you again." She gritted her teeth as pain flowed into her again. "I wish I could have told you that the house is Pam's when I die. I willed this house to her, and the one in Arkansas to Haley. Haley wouldn't want this one and wouldn't know what to do with it. I wrote my will three weeks ago, when you didn't return for so long. I wonder what you will think when you find out. I should have told you, so you didn't think I put her over you."

She grew quiet, her tears still running down her cheeks. "Good-bye, Eric. Thank you for everything."

She smiled as the half-formed world around her finally coalesced. She sat at the bottom of the waterfall. The bed was gone, and there was only the sandy beach of the pool beneath it.

"Alexis?"

"Eric!" she turned to him and smiled.

"I'm dreaming?"

He smiled back. "Yes."

She felt a thrill of joy. "Will you..."

She couldn't bring herself to say it out loud.

But even in her dreams, he wouldn't let her get away with it.

He sat down behind her and pulled her hair off of her neck. "Will I what, Alexis?" He trailed kisses down her neck and across her shoulder. A shiver ran up her spine.

"Will you... lay with me?"

"That's it? All you want to do is lay around?"

She dug for all the courage she had and blurted, in such a rush that it came out seeming as a single word, "Will you make love to me?"

He turned her around and this time she had something to work with for these dreams.

He rolled her onto the sand and kissed her, his body heavy as his leg pressed between hers. She felt suddenly vulnerable and strange beneath him, because she was naked and had not realized it. But his hand found her breast and she forgot to be ashamed. She whimpered as his lips left hers and found her breast instead.

His hand slid down her body and between her legs. He chuckled slightly. "You're so wet," he told her softly, his voice low and sexy. And she was, she knew. She wanted him desperately.

His fingers found her clitoris and she bucked under him, the electricity of the touch rocking her. He could be in the sun here, but he hadn't lost his vampire speed, and his fingers flickered a fast as any vibrator. Within seconds, she was panting and gasping beneath him.

His eyes met hers, vivid and smiling. He kissed her again and then trailed kisses down her body. His tongue touched her and she jerked, surprised at the cool, delicious feel of him against her. He held her hips easily as they reacted against her will, jumping and twitching in time with his touch.

His fingers and his tongue teased her until she was panting and desperate to orgasm. He pulled away an instant before she did, and she groaned, her teeth grinding in disappointment.

"Why such a hurry, Alexis?" he whispered, nipping at her ear. "You haven't done your part yet, and you already think to take your pleasure?"

"I don't know what to do," she said, burying her face in his chest, embarrassed.

"Yes, you do," he said quietly in her ear. "Do for me what I did for you."

"But I-" she meant to say that she couldn't do it, that she feared he would think less of her if she did that. It was so bold, so...

He pulled her head back by the hair, his eyes glittering in the sunlight reflecting off of the pool behind her.

A thrill ran through her. "Yes, Eric."

He grinned; that sweet boyish grin that made her willing to do anything at all for him. He rolled over on his back, his arms crossed behind his head. She didn't know where to begin or what to do, so she just followed his lead and straddled one of his legs, then kissed him on the chest.

She let her hand slide down his body and found his penis cool and hard, but sleek and smooth to the touch. He groaned as she touched him and she felt a strange thrill run through her. It was powerful, that realization that she could make him react as he had done to her.

She relished the wonder of his body, the curves and planes of it. She kissed him as he had kissed her, trailing down his body until she found the soft hairs at the base of him. When she touched him lightly with her tongue, he bucked toward her and she smiled.

She controlled the reactions of this magnificent, sexy, powerful man. His body responded to her like a puppet and she found it intoxicating. He growled slightly as she tasted him again, and when she let her lips slip around him and he arched as she had, she thrilled to the experience of teasing him and drawing away when he twitched towards her.

Never, in her entire life, had she felt powerful. But in that moment, as she heard him groan when she slowed the pace of her sucking, a profound sense of herself as a woman settled over her. She had never imagined feeling that way, and it was not only the most beautiful moment of her life, but it was the saddest.

Much later, when she had touched and explored that forbidden part of him thoroughly, touching and tasting and licking every part of him, he dragged her up his body. Rolling over on top of her, he growled at her. "Enough of your teasing, little doe."

And he was inside of her and she was clinging to him as the bright blue skies opened up and rain sluiced over them, cool and tingling on her skin. He thrust inside of her and she, in her turn, opened for him. He thrust into her and claimed her and she gave herself to him without reservation.

"You are mine, Alexis," he murmured in her ear as he throbbed inside her, grunting with an animal passion that inflamed her.

She rose beneath him and as she orgasmed, the world ended. She felt the darkness come and she did not fear it. Eric's face drifted away and Alexis died.