Tenth

The lake really wasn't a pleasant place for Yui to find herself, but she would rather be in it and having to pull herself up the short dock than deal with that…with the triplets' mother having control over her body. Anything was better than that. If the shock of half drowning got Yui back in control of her body, then so be it.

Still, she was curious…

She looked at Ayato, who was sitting next to her on the bank, watching with uncertainty as she caught her breath.

"Why was I in the lake?" she asked. "And this dress?" she added looking down at it.

It wasn't something she would ever pick for herself, that was for sure.

She looked up when she received no response. "Ayato?"

He blinked and refocused his eyes on her face, as if his mind had wondered elsewhere. Instead of answering her questions, though, he shifted himself purposefully toward her.

"Ayato?" Yui questioned cautiously.

"Shut up," Ayato murmured, voice low and carrying an undecipherable emotion in the undertone. "My body is unbelievably parched."

He leaned low, going for her neck, but Yui didn't move. She was frozen, unsure of how best to react to Ayato's uncharacteristic seriousness. He didn't grab her or anything. She could have actually tried to run.

Could have, but…

"I want your blood," Ayato said before biting her.

It was the only contact between them for a few seconds, but then Ayato wrapped his arms around her and straightened his back, pulling her onto his bent legs.

"Incredible," he said quietly after a long gulp. "Your blood is so filling now. There's no comparison."

He bit into Yui again with more fervor, this time just below her collarbone, and fell forward. The ground was soft, so it wouldn't have bothered Yui much of Ayato wasn't putting so much of his weight on her.

He took his fangs out, only to sink them right back into her neck, only to take them out again a second later.

"This is a first for me," he said, almost sounding like his usual self. "As long as I have your blood, I…"

He didn't finish his sentence. He bit back into her neck.

"Stop," Yui begged.

She started to squirm underneath him. She pressed her little hands against his shoulders with as much force as she could, trying to push him off, but all it did was make him chuckle against her skin. He started to tug at the skirt of her dress.

"Ayato," Yui whispered, "please, I don't…my heart…"

"Shut up," Ayato murmured huskily, and kissed her aggressively to prevent more attempts at protesting.

Yui had grown so familiar with the taste of her own blood via kisses that she couldn't help but wonder what Shu and Ayato were talking about. It tasted the way it always did. There was no change as far as she could tell.

Ayato kept kissing her and tugging at her dress until he got it half way up her thighs, at which point he slipped his hand under it.

It was only then that Yui realized she wasn't wearing any underwear.

She felt Ayato's hand slide smoothly from her outer thigh to her inner thigh and then up. He shifted a little so he could more easily shove two of his fingers into her and rub his thumb over her clitoris without having to stop kissing her.

Yui moaned involuntarily.

It didn't feel good.

Yes it did.

She wished he would stop.

She wished he would move his thumb faster.

It wasn't fair of him to touch her like that.

It wasn't fair of him to be gentle like that.

Ayato pulled his lips away from hers. He sucked in a desperate breath and murmured, "Give me more," before lowering his head and biting into her just below her collarbone.

Ayato didn't usually bite her in that inexplicable way that felt so horribly good. It made her back arch and her loins clench around his fingers. Her arms, of their own accord, wrapped themselves around his head. Her fingers curled over the collar of his blazer and knotted themselves in his hair. She moaned with pain and sheer want.

Then he stopped.

Ayato took his fangs and fingers out of her, panting. It was with a desperate kind of quickness that he shoved her legs further apart, got into position, and slammed into her.

Yui screamed, more from surprise than anything. Ayato clawed at the ground with one hand and gripped the back of Yui's neck with the other to keep her from being pushed forward by his brutal thrusts.

Don't enjoy it, Yui told herself, feeling an orgasm on its way and trying to fight it. This is bad. This is indecent. God is watching.

She tried to keep it up like a silent mantra, but her mental voice was easily drowned out by Ayato's grunts and growls, lips pressed right to her ear. There was no fighting him. Not when he had her like this. Not when he was inside her, going at her like he wanted to break her in half.

Perhaps it was her imagination—maybe even wishful thinking—but she was pretty sure she just heard her name dancing into her ear with the grunts and growls.

Ayato bit into Yui's throat.

The stars in the sky seemed to double from the orgasm that she gave up on fighting. The red moon itself seemed to shake. She pressed her thighs against Ayato's hips, not hindering his movements at all. She couldn't cry out with his fangs in her neck, but her mouth was open wide like she was screaming.

She only had to endure it for a couple more seconds. Ayato came, shuttering and moaning against her skin, digging his fangs in deeper than ever.

They let their bodies relax almost entirely and they stayed where they were, trying to catch their breath but otherwise silent. Ayato took his fangs from her neck and set his forehead heavily against her collarbone.

Yui's fingers loosened their grips on his blazer and hair, but it didn't occur to her to unwrap her arms from around him. Rather, she didn't want to. Ayato's hair was surprisingly silky. It was so easy to run her fingers through.

It took a few seconds for Yui to realize she had betrayed herself. She had decided long ago that she wouldn't show that kind of affection to any of them. Now there she was, freshly ravaged by a vampire and she was enjoying the feeling of his soft hair between her gloved fingers.

Ayato obviously enjoyed it. He made a noise, a growl that almost sounded like a purr. It was somewhat sobering. Yui knew she shouldn't keep it up…but she did. She kept running her fingers through his hair. There was no possible way things could get worse for her mentally or emotionally, so why not?

And for all she knew, this was the last chance she would get to do something as simple as caress the hair of a boy she, despite everything, had come to care about.

She kept running her fingers through his hair. Ayato nuzzled her breasts and then bit into them, quickly regaining his usual energy levels, and she just kept running her fingers through his hair while he drank, looking at the sky.

She only stopped when Ayato pushed himself up. She let her arms fall limply to her sides. Ayato wiped some of her blood from his chin.

"Your blood is too sweet to give up," he told her. "You're mine. Your blood, your heart, your body, your soul…your everything."

Yui's brow furrowed. It wasn't unusual for Ayato to say she was his property, but the way he was putting it now, it almost sounded like a warped confession of love. He was even looking at her in an almost tender way. Was it the moon? Was that how the eclipse affected him?

Ayato leaned back down and hovered over Yui, looking purposefully into her wide eyes.

"Devote your blood and your life to me," he commanded, though there was nothing demanding in his voice.

He sank further. He was going to kiss her. Just kiss her. It wasn't a whim in the heat of the moment. He was actually going to kiss her just for the sake of kissing her.

She couldn't move.

Ayato froze half a second before Laito's playful hum reached Yui's ears. She hastily tugged the skirt of her dress down to cover her legs.

"I see," Laito said. "It finally makes sense."

"I thought it was strange."

Yui felt a tremor go down her spine. If there was any blood left to color her cheeks, it would have drained away.

Kanato.

All three of them were there.

"Only just recently," Kanato continued, "the tiniest whiff of Yui's blood smelled so sweet it would drive me crazy. Teddy, it was so hard to restrain ourselves, wasn't it?"

Ayato stood up.

"I'm sure a drink of her blood would be very satisfying," Laito agreed. "I'm getting excited just thinking about it."

Yui stood up as well. She hesitated for three seconds, weighing her options, and then ran.

A/N: Almost done! One chapter with Subaru to go, and that will be it.