Chapter Eighteen

Exception

It seemed like hours before he could open his eyes again, and what he saw gave him enough energy to stand. Juliet, bleeding profusely, tossed a dagger at Lerron, he bat it aside with ease and screamed at her in hunger and rage. Staggering but quick, she scampered up a tree, and whether it was on accident or on purpose, dropped down behind the towering Vampaneze with a harsh 'oomph'. Close enough, she grabbed her discarded dagger and threw it a second time, and with success. It landed square in his throat; he fell to the ground, dead, his injured midsection spewing its contents with disgusting sloshing sounds.

Stunned and reeling from his head injury, Mika staggered over to her, the pain in his chest increasing with each step. He knew the only reason he'd regained consciousness was the adrenaline, and he nearly collapsed when Juliet threw herself at him, sobbing and barely able to catch her breath. She, too, was bleeding heavily from a wound on her thigh, the reason she'd been limping in the short battle with the Vampaneze, and a gash on her forehead.

"I killed him, I killed him." She whispered, her entire body shaking violently. The Vampire brought the girl closer to his body, clinging to her like a lifeline. He coughed and spit into his palm, rubbing the saliva, and a bit of his own blood, into the wound on her head. Juliet shivered and stared amazed as the blood stopped trickling in front of her eyes. "Healing spit." She gasped "Nifty."

Mika cringed as she clambered off of him, mustering up enough saliva to begin the healing process on his own stab wounds. Juliet watched, bright eyes glowing in the darkness, full of questions… and doubt. Painfully he leant against a tree, holding his hand up to signal that he needed a moment to collect himself. She sat on her knees, tears still rolling down her cheeks, breath hitching every now and then. His chest stitched itself together painfully, but only on the surface. He'd need a few days of real rest in order to heal completely. And he'd need blood, immediately.

"M-mika?" her whispered voice struck a chord in him. She was frightened and he wasn't talking. He reached for her and she slowly came to him.

"I'm sorry Juliet. So sorry."

"D-did you know those… those things? What…. What was?"

He frowned. "No Juliet, no. I did not know them. They are Vampaneze, and they do not usually hunt Vampires."

Juliet shook her head in confusion. "What is a Vampaneze, Mika? Why did they come after us?"

Mika sighed and sank both their bodies down to the earth. "Because that is what they do, Juliet. They hunt humans and drain them of their blood."

"Just like you…" she whispered.

Exhausted, Mika lifted her chin until their eyes met. "Not like me. Vampires respect human lives, we take only what we need and we are gentle when we do. A Vampaneze only respects the hunt. They take until their prey is dry. They kill, Juliet. It is what they are, killers."

She didn't say anything for a long time, instead she focused her gaze on the fabric of Mika's shirt. He sighed and relaxed more against the tree. "You told me once that it did not bother you, what I am…"

"It doesn't."

"Then why-"

"I love you Mika, I'm just… scared, shaken, I want to be angry at you for this, but I know you, you're far too honest. It's not your fault, I just…" she trailed off, tears welling once more.

"I will carry you home."

Juliet shook her head, and pulled out of his arms, standing and reaching out for him. "I should carry you. Your chest…" she glanced at the stab wound, the blood seeped through his shirt almost unendingly, even after he'd rubbed all the spit he could muster into it.

"It will heal, I just need to feed and rest. As do you." He accepted her hand and slowly rose, leaning heavily on her shoulders. Though she was also injured, she took his burden and they started the slow limp towards the manor, but Mika's eyes never stopped darting the area around them in search of other predators.

Finally back at the manor, Juliet slumped Mika onto the couch in the parlor room. His chest visibly sighed with relief at the surroundings, but Juliet stood still, staring at him with frightened eyes."Please don't die, Mika… I-"

Mika silenced her with a raise of his hand. "I won't I promise", his smile was a shadow of what he usually gave her. "Please, I just need something to eat." She nodded eagerly and ran to the kitchen, trailing mud and blood on the stone floors.

Tentatively she searched her cupboards and the small cooler in the pantry, it was running low on ice, but she managed to find the cold cuts she used to make sandwiches. As she pulled them out and set about slicing her bread, she suddenly felt very foolish. In the forest Mika had said he'd need to feed, something far more important to him than 'eating'. Her heartbeat quickened at the thought of him stumbling into the darkness, bleeding and hungry to find someone he could feed from easily. She knew that she could give him her blood, in fact she set the knife down and went to the glass cupboard, she would feed him her blood without hesitation. She pulled out a small brandy glass, something she could easily fill with her blood without hurting herself. She stared at the knife next to the bread loaf. Pain had never been something Juliet could cope with, but Mika had gotten injured trying to save her life, something that made her heart ache in an undeniable way. She felt guilty, if she'd been a more apt student she would have been able to harm her attackers into leaving her alone, instead she'd fled with her daggers, afraid to do anything more than slash blindly. Tonight Juliet had shown Mika that she was a coward, and Mika had shown her that he was willing to die for her.

She sliced open her palm without a second's hesitation.

The blood flowed thick and dark into the glass; Juliet hadn't realized how deep she'd sliced until she had to force a dish towel to the cut to stop the bleeding. 'So much for making a sandwich.' She thought. Instead she used her good hand to place the plate of cold cuts and the single slice of bread on the serving tray. She set the glass on the tray as well, and carefully picked it up with both hands, positioning her injured hand directly under it for better balance.

When she returned to Mika he was watching the fire quietly, his breathing wasn't heavy, but it was far from normal, he turned as she silently set the tray on his lap. He eyed her hand, then the crystal glass of dark liquid in front of him.

"Juliet, love, you shouldn't have."

She shook her head and smiled sadly. "It's my fault you got hurt Mika, I… I had to do something. This was nothing. I'm actually wondering why we never thought of it before." There was a sad laugh to her voice as if she thought all her actions that night had been ridiculous and childish, Mika softened and took her injured hand.

"Kind girl, you have my heart and my thanks." He kissed her wrist, as her hand was still wrapped in and clutching the dish towel. "I'll heal you, but I need to eat first. You should too, because this is no small amount of blood you've given me."

Juliet shook her head and smiled at him. "I'd rather sleep than eat, Mika."

"Then come here, my love, you may rest your head on me."

She did as he said and crawled next to him on the small couch, curling up and leaning her head on his shoulder. She sighed, "I'm sorry Mika."

"Do not apologize; I lead them here, to a beautiful woman with a knack for getting into trouble. I should be the one who's sorry."

She glanced at him as he quietly bit into his food, tentative not to move the shoulder she lay on. "But you're not?"

"I am sorry the ordeal happened, that you are hurt, that they… the things they said to you. I am sorry for all of that. But I am not sorry that you gained firsthand experience in fighting and taught that low-life the harshest lesson life has to teach."

There was silence after he said that, and he continued to eat, seemingly saving her blood for last. Finally Juliet broke the silence, "You're happy I killed…?"

"I'm happy you're alive. I am not happy you killed." He leaned forward and set the tray on the ground, Juliet allowed her body to sink into his lap when he sat back up, glass in hand. "I'm happy you fought for your life."

"You didn't think I would?"

He paused before answering, gazing into her eyes from where she lay below him. The fire reflected in his onyx orbs, and seemed to dance along with the emotions that crossed his face. "When I met you, you would have welcomed death… with all that we have been through…" He was at a loss for words, and Juliet didn't blame him. But she waited, silently for him to sift through what he wanted to say. "I love you." He said, finally. "I would kill for you, anyone who would cause you harm or distress, they would die by my hand and my blade if you wished it. You are… everything to me.

I would die for you, jump between you and harms way, undergo the harshest of tortures if it meant keeping you safe. My words, they are harsh, my demeanor more-so, I know this, but there is no adequate way to describe how I feel for you Juliet, the lengths I would go to be by your side. It's almost painful, to think of you in harm, tonight… I…I had to calm myself from losing control or I would have lost you and myself to those bastards." His hand clenched in his hair, his brows were drawn in frustration and he gazed deeply into his glass of blood.

"I-I am not good at reading women's emotions, other than lust and desire. I want to make you happier than you've ever been. But even as you say you love me, I do not know if I alone am enough to bring you back from that brink of despair I first encountered you on. I am scared that I will lose you to some unseen sadness, or perhaps even some danger I put near you!"

Finally he brought his eyes back to her and she gazed up at him with tear stained cheeks, her eyes glossy and wet. "Mika… I-I…" she sat up and wiped away her tears, instead casting him a look so furious he had to hide his surprise.

"How could you say something like that? Talk about putting me in danger when all you've done is try to prepare me for anything that may come! You saved my life tonight with your lessons and your stern words about learning to protect myself." Her expression softened. "You… almost died because I didn't listen enough, because I didn't try hard enough and that… if that happened." Un-beckoned, the tears returned.

"The only way I would stop fighting, stop living is if I lost you, Mika! Don't you understand? You're my world. Morning, noon and night I want to be in your arms. Yes I want to be by your side! Please! Don't assume that I would give you up because I'm SAD! That's absurd! You are the light in my life, or the dark in my life if you want to be so broody all the time!" she laughed, eyes cast down at her hands and he smiled softly at the fire.

"I don't know who… or what I'd be without you. But I know it's not happy, because only you can make me happy." She looked up to find his eyes piercing hers. She saw her mussed reflection in them, her hair, frazzled with leaves sticking in it here and there, and dried blood in lines down the side of her face, and there he sat, injured and bloody and handsome as if he was born to look as such. She tried to look away but he caught her chin with his free hand.

"I love you." His words were like a brand, searing the inside of her body, placed squarely on her heart. She felt herself melt into him as her lips found his. The hand that once held her chin now gripped her hair, holding her close to him, as if she had thoughts of leaving the warmth of his body. His tongue found purchase in her mouth eliciting sharp moans from her as it caressed and danced with her own. Her body felt sensitized, probably from the blood loss, and awkwardly she bit at his bottom lip, begging for more, but as she moved her body to straddle his, she let out a sharp cry at the pain in her hand.

Nonetheless she couldn't bring herself to stop kissing him until he slowly, groaning almost painfully pulled away. "Please Juliet, you're hurt. We can continue this after I heal you."

She was panting and, though it was strong and sharp, managed to ignore the pain in her hand long enough to grind her hips into his, causing her lover to growl and let his head fall back. The thin fabric of her pants hid none of the feeling from the grinding, and she found herself moaning almost obscenely, unable to stop. Part of her realized she was being foolish, grinding her hips against his after the kind of night they'd had, but perhaps it was leftover adrenaline, or the blood loss, or maybe she just enjoyed the killing, but at that moment all she could think of was making love to the man under her. Mika, for his part, couldn't find the words to argue with her body, which was shimmying and undulating so erotically that it was almost too hard for him to sit and watch, even as the display aroused him painfully.

Little Juliet. His shy, quiet, intelligent Juliet was straddling his waist and grinding her hips against him, moaning with a need he yearned to sate. She was so perfect with her tangled hair, her blood stained clothing and her full plump lips, the bottom of which she chewed while watching his eyes intently, one hand, the injured one, brushing the hair out of her face while the other slowly lifted her blouse. The display of skin was almost teasing, and the blush on her cheeks told Mika that she'd imagined doing this for him before. All he could do was sit back and watch; one hand on her hip, slowly and sensually caressing her lower back and the other still clutching the glass, though now for control more than to drink from.

She watched his face, watched his eyes dart from her smooth and firm midsection to her round breasts as she pulled up and off her shirt and camisole. Then she sat before him in nothing but her thin pants and whatever undergarments there were under those. He inhaled sharply, easily smelling her arousal as she continued her slow grinding against him.

"If this is how you act after nearly getting killed, I may have to take you hunting with me." His voice was a low rumble filled with lust, and she shivered as his hand moved from her hip to her midsection and slowly rubbed and pressed, feeling her muscles as she worked her hips.

"I don't know what to blame it on, but I can't control how attractive you are, and that's got to be part of it."

His dark eyes seemed to grow even darker at her words. "If only you could see yourself." She blushed at his words.

Slowly, she leaned forward and reached for his glass, "Come Mika, you're not even drinking it, perhaps you need it from the source?" she tilted her head at him and he smiled darkly.

"I don't know what you're thinking Juliet but there is not much pleasurable about the cutting of flesh and drawing of sustenance."

She blinked and blushed deeper. "Perhaps, but there's nothing wrong… with a little pain." The thought had crossed her mind before, with a man as dark and powerful as Mika for a lover, she had to think that perhaps he had skills in the bedroom he hadn't utilized for fear of hurting her. She was so small compared to him, and their lovemaking was passionate, but never rough.

Her words struck something primal in him, and he dropped his glass, leaning forward and capturing her hips in his hands, grinding his length against her. The shattering sound was lost to both of them as he growled in her ear "It must be the hunger, because I'm hearing something too erotic to be true." When she moaned in response he groaned "Gods you don't know how you affect me woman. What is it you need Juliet?"

Her eyes sparkled in a sinister way when he looked at them. "I need you, Mika. And you know… you can take what you need from me as well." He ground against her again, harder this time, and she gasped and wrapped her arms around him, gripping his shirt. He stopped when he saw her wince in pain at her hand. Blood seeped from the towel, now a bright crimson, and onto his shirt.

He groaned and slowly pulled her off of him, much to her dislike. He smiled, something dark and sinister, at her frown. "Oh, do not worry yourself, my love. I'll get right back to our above-the-clothes fucking after I'm finished tending to your wound." His harsh words sent heat straight between her thighs as he unwound the towel from her hand. It pooled and dripped blood from her palm and she saw his eyes shine with a wicked light as he bent forward. His tongue darted out and touched the pool of blood in her palm. He groaned at the taste.

"My Juliet, you are full of surprises," he whispered. "I can learn so much about you from this offering of yours, and I'll tell you what I find when we're completely finished, but for now be content to know that your blood doesn't taste like anything I've ever had." She closed her eyes at his words. He lapped at her palm as if it were an ice cream cone and once the pool of blood was gone and she could feel the roughness of his tongue against the sensitive flesh of her wound she shivered, there was a stinging pain every time he went over the cut, something like burning and ant bites, but as he reached the sides and ends of the cut it was like a tickling sensitivity that reached down to her toes. She chewed her bottom lip to keep from gasping. He was laving at her palm as if on purpose, and when she finally looked down at him she could see his onyx eyes looking back at her, hungrily.

Once more his tongue covered the surface of her palm, but this time there was no pain, only that tingling sensation and she couldn't stop the moan that escaped her. His tongue moved higher now, to her wrist leaving that same feeling, trailing all the way up her arm. He began kissing at her shoulder, nipping at her neck, and suddenly she was grinding against him again, frenzied with need.

"I never pegged you for the type to enjoy that." He whispered sensually to her collarbone.

She shivered at the sensation, it was as if his mouth was everywhere, and now that her hand was healed, she tangled her fingers in his hair, urging him to stay in some places and forcing him elsewhere. When he came back up to face her it was with the most mischievous smile she had ever seen on him. His hands moved from her undulating hips to her breasts, eliciting a gasp from her and causing her to grind slightly more urgently.

"Juliet," he whispered, leaning in and catching her lips while his fingers worked magic on her stiff nipples. She groaned and pulled at his hair as his tongue flicked at her over sensitized lips, sending waves of electricity down her spine. When he pulled away he left her panting like a dog, mouth open and needy. She was so far gone for him, eyes half lidded and moaning at his every touch, nearly reaching release with every movement of her hips. He smirked.

"I've been thinking about what you said."

"When did I say what?"

He laughed, and leaned his forehead against hers, savoring the feeling of her grinding against him, her soft breasts in his hands, nearly crying out to be suckled and tasted. He couldn't hold back anymore.

"About how there's nothing wrong with a little pain." Before she could respond he used his fingernails to make inch long cuts directly above each of her nipples. Juliet cried out in protest, the pain more than she would have imagined and stinging like a terrible paper cut on her super sensitive breasts. She looked at Mika's dark eyes with shock and excitement. She knew what was going to happen now.

Suddenly his tongue was on her breasts, licking up the tiny streams of blood produced by his cuts. Juliet whimpered, unsure if she was hurting or not, but when she felt the roughness of his tongue over one of her cuts, she couldn't hold back. The entire sensation was too much, Mika, it seemed, couldn't decide which of her breasts he like better and kept her constantly crying out from the sharp pleasure-pain of his tongue on her wounds.

"Mika!" she cried, about to reach that brilliant shining edge that he always made sure she found, she wasn't sure if it was a warning or a protest or what, but he didn't stop what he was doing, and as his teeth grazed her nipples over and over again she found herself plummeting down to the core of the universe, surrounded by shining lights and colors and screaming his name as her orgasm wiped the entirety her soul clean.

But she couldn't let that stop her, as she clung to him and he kissed her plump lips, her breasts now completely healed from his ministrations with his marvelous tongue, she found herself tugging at his shirt and his pants and her pants with such frustration that she thought she might scream if she couldn't feel his shaft within her.

Mika chuckled at her frantic movements and pulled from her lips to remove his shirt, revealing bright pink scars from their recent brush with death. Juliet couldn't contain her growl of approval as his flexing muscles tossed the shirt behind them somewhere. She stopped her frantic feelings and reached for his chest, running her fingers over the largest scar on his left pectoral.

"All of this for me." She whispered, but he heard her and caught her chin to tug her gaze to his eyes.

"I'd take a thousand more like it if it meant I could see your smile every day for the rest of my life."

Juliet smiled and blushed and fought back the tears of joy she knew were going to find their way to the surface. Instead she pushed his hand away and trailed her tongue down the pink flesh, causing him to groan loudly. "Take those pants off Juliet, or I promise I will rip them off and shove myself inside you hard enough to make you scream." He rasped.

"You make that sound like something terrible." She moaned. And when she made no move to take them off herself, true to his word he pushed her down and forcefully tugged at the pants until they practically flew from her body and onto to floor behind the couch. He stared at her in her small white panties, visibly damp from all of her grinding and his attentions. She smelled so sweet to him, he bent down between her legs and licked the dampness he found on her, kissing her thighs all over until she moaned and squirmed under him. Then, without warning he sliced the panties once on each thigh and pulled them out from under her.

Juliet moaned at her nakedness before him, she could feel how wet she was without any need to touch. Gods she was dizzy with need for him, or perhaps just dizzy. He picked her up and flipped her onto her stomach, shimmying out of his own pants as he did so. Mika grabbed her hips and forced her on her knees, but kept her shoulders down with one arm. She whimpered at being unable to see what was going on, but that stopped abruptly as he roughly shoved his member inside of her.

Mika half expected to hear her cry out in pleasure and pain but he knew as soon as he was seated inside her, more than from the erotic moan she produced that she had felt no pain. Gods she was so wet and ready for him. And the way she whimpered when he pulled out and rammed his way back in was driving him toward the edge so much faster than he wanted. He watched as her sheath sucked in his length, the pressure and the wetness forcing a groan from his throat. He'd never felt anything like it. As he increased his pace, driving in and out of her with increased need and force, Juliet's cries of pleasure became louder and louder, alternating between moaning her name and frantic cries for more.

Finally he released her shoulders and gripped her hips, grinding his length deeper inside her. With the ability to move, Juliet leveraged her arms and pushed back against her lover, allowing him to penetrate her even deeper and they both groaned at the feeling of it. Over and over he pushed into her core forcefully, causing her to gasp and moan at the pressure. She would never become accustomed to his size, she knew this now. But she could never imagine anyone fitting her the way Mika did. At the thought he pushed into her one last time, sending her over the edge again and she cried his name as she frantically ground her hips back against his. Her erotic pleas sent him as well and he groaned words for her ears only as he pulled her against him and spilled himself deep inside of her. Their hearts beat in perfect unison, and they stayed connected until finally Mika lessened his grip and allowed Juliet to turn and sink against him.

He kissed her forehead. "You've no idea how much pleasure you bring me, Juliet."

"I can tell from your voice that you mean more than just physically." She murmured against his neck. Mika chuckled.

"You are my north star, my guiding light Juliet. Suddenly I know everything I have to do, and it's all because of you."

Juliet smiled against him. "I'm glad Mika, because I know exactly how you feel."

It was about half an hour before Mika realized that Juliet had fallen asleep, chuckling to himself he picked her up and took her back to Highlands room, quietly tucking her under the covers on one side and following her in on the other side. He pulled her close to him and sighed into her hair, thoughts drifting from place to place. With one last kiss on Juliet's cheek, he closed his eyes and drifted off with her.