Chapter VIII. – Stay Forever

"Stay with me… forever," his deep voice resounded in her head over and over. She lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. What on earth should I do? It wasn't as if she detested the man, or felt there was an irrevocable flaw in his character. But could she say that she loved him? Could she say that he truly loved her? She seemed to still require proof of Blood's intentions, since he didn't exactly represent them honestly in front of her. She had seen fragments of his true self, here and there…but was that really enough to make her decide to stay in Wonderland?

There was something terribly important that she was forgetting, and it was driving her mad. The last time Blood had attempted to make love to her, the image of her sister suddenly appeared in her head, making her immediately unable to think of anything else. She knew that this had upset Blood, but she needed to be at peace before she could fully become his. His…huh…? Speaking of which, wouldn't he just throw her away after he became tired of her? Wouldn't some other woman catch his eye someday?

"Argh!" Alice cried, throwing a pillow as hard as she could across the room. Her head hurt and her face was becoming hot and stained with fresh tears. She didn't even notice someone standing in the doorway, "Ehem," a man cleared his throat. It was Blood. Alice, startled by his sudden appearance and being mortified at having just thrown a pillow at him, sat up in bed. "Blood! I'm – so terribly sorry! I… didn't see you there…" Without a word, Blood crossed the room in several swift steps and set the pillow down before he sat on the edge of the bed. With no light except for the moon, his face was in shadow and she could only see his body – his chest rising and falling steadily, both hands at his sides, his right leg draped gracefully over the other. Then he leaned in towards her, his face visible now.

"Alice," he said languorously, his breath hot on her face, "I need to know what your answer is." He reached out his hand to cup her cheek, the soft but firm expanse of his palm feeling the dampness from her tears. "You were crying?" he asked, his voice gentle, concerned. Why must I always feel like an idiot around you?! She thought, turning her head away from him. As she turned, his fingers brushed her lips, to her surprise he didn't reach out to her again. "I've never needed to know something this badly before," he stated looking away from her, embarrassed. He'd never felt this way towards anyone, so he didn't know how to proceed.

"What?" Alice asked, turning back to him. She couldn't see very well, but it looked as though he was…blushing? "I'll wait for your answer," Blood said as he rose from the bed. "Wait!" Alice cried as she reached out to grab his hand. Now they were in the opposite position, Alice thought. Now Blood looked like he was in a situation he didn't know how to handle, that he needed her to show him what to do. She got up from the bed, still holding his hand. Standing by his side, she suddenly felt sure of where she was meant to be. That this man could possibly love her just as much as she loved him, and that he needed her just as she did. She reached her hand to lightly place it on his back, pressing her face against his shoulder.

"I don't want you to leave," she said into his shoulder, the sound of her voice partly muffled as she tried to hide behind him. She could hear him sigh deeply, his broad shoulders rising and falling with his breath. "Alice…" he started, "what is it that you want?" He let out another deep sigh. She circled her arms around him, hugging him, "I need you." The words left her lips so naturally she barely knew she was saying them. Silence enveloped the room for a while, both of them standing there in the dark while she embraced him. He listened to the rapid beating of her heart; he knew she was still afraid of him.

"Do you know what you're saying," he said after a while, his voice cold as ice. Blood turned around to face her, bringing up his hands to cup her face. His predator-like eyes glistened in the dark like two razor sharp gems, piercing her. He chuckled… "Ah, such a child you are, you do not know the weight of your words." Stooping low, he kissed her forehead politely; not wanting to let his true feelings show. Dropping both hands to his sides he turned back around towards the door and exited the room, leaving Alice standing there in a stupor.

For a moment, she stood there in a daze, not moving a muscle. Her mind was racing and her heart beat like crazy. I don't understand… Does he see me as nothing more than a child? Anger started to bubble to the surface. Finally, it's about time I regained my senses! She'd made up her mind to go after him, to tell him that he was wrong – that she did know what she wanted from him, that it was the same thing he wanted from her and that it was all right. Rushing out of her room, she stormed down the hall, cursing under her breath. So that's it, is it? I'm just a child, eh? When I finally got enough courage to…! When she'd reached his room she flung open the door without even bothering to knock. She strode right up to Blood who was sitting at his desk. He looked up to see a fuming Alice.

"So that's it. You just think I'm a child, then. Just when I'd finally had a mind to -," Blood was up from his chair and in front of her before she ever finished. He grabbed the back of her head and pulled her up into a violent, crushing kiss unlike any other; it was nearly enough to make her heart stop. Blood, guiding her over to the bed, did not once break his kiss. She felt herself fall down with Blood onto the bed with him on top of her. She felt all his emotions running through her at once – His hunger for her was insatiable. While she was only wearing her under-dress, he had easy access to everything. His hands blazed over her skin like wildfire, imbuing a desire in her to explore him as well.

To his surprise, he saw Alice's small fingers start to undo the buttons of his shirt. Interesting…he thought, wondering how far she'd be able to go this time. He took a moment to take off his shirt, totally unabashed, looking with satisfaction at Alice's deeply reddened face. Then he laid back down again, resuming his thorough ministrations. He kissed her everywhere – her lips, her eyes, her cheeks… Alice gave a slight moan as he briefly flicked his tongue in her ear, the sound arousing him more. She ran her hands through his jet-black hair as he moved downwards towards her chest. He could feel her heart pounding wildly beneath her ribcage.

He kissed her breast, loving how her body arched into his instinctively at his touch as she gave another moan. While fondling the other breast, his lips returned to her mouth, lips red and swollen. Now it was Alice's turn. I need to show him how much I…she thought as she slipped her hand between them to start to unfasten his belt. The moment she touched it, Blood's hand that had been on her breast came down to take hers and slide it down to the hem of her dress. Just a little more…he thought, thoroughly amused by her little stunt. He wanted to make her moans louder and less polite, wanted to make her so hot that she wouldn't be able to think. Deftly he made her hand lift the hem of her dress above her knees, allowing for his hand to slip underneath to touch her inner thigh.

"Nnn!" Alice moaned a little louder than before, making her feel even more embarrassed. What were these sounds she was making? Blood grinned before he slid his hand right between her thighs, making her cry out in ecstasy. With his finger her started to stroke there, making her whole body tense beneath him. "Blood-," she panted; her eyes were glazed over, her skin hot to the touch – the picture of innocence. Not for long…he thought to himself as took one her hands and planted it on the bulge protruding from his trousers. He looked at her, waiting to see what she would do on her own, thinking that she had probably never even dreamed of touching him there. She stared at Blood, wide-eyed in surprise at how he – it – felt touching her palm.

Blood unbuckled his belt and let Alice do the rest. Then he carefully lifted her under-dress over her head so that she lay on the bed completely naked. Standing up, he slid down and stepped out of his trousers before gazing back over at Alice. Seeing him unclothed for the first time, or any man for that matter, she shyly turned her head away.

"No, Alice. Look at me," Blood commanded in a gentle tone of voice; she looked. He was overwhelmingly beautiful in every way. She'd only seen Classical sculptures and paintings in museums, but those only made her snort in childish chagrin. But the man who now stood naked before her looked like a god. Somewhere deep within her, desire stirred. Climbing back on top of her, he took her in his arms again. "You are beautiful," he said while stroking her hair, "I'm going to make you mine."

"Yes," she breathed as Blood repeatedly kissed her neck, "yes."

. . .

Author's Note: I apologize for taking so long in updating this chapter as life sort of got in the way, thank you for waiting. Please let me know what you thought of the story's *ehem* developments. I guess you could say that the main characters' relationship is becoming more adult. If you get as flustered as I was while writing this, then I'll know I've done a good job. Thanks!