Author's note: Thank you to the readers who've taken the time to read the first chapter of this story and leave reviews! Sorry for the delays with uploading this chapter. Please enjoy! C&Cs are more than welcome!

Chapter Two

They reached Jane's front door and David waited for her to unlock it, curious to see her place and get to know her better. He didn't even care whether or not he would get a formal invitation, as he had no intention of using his powers on her. All of his trickery and deception had gotten him nowhere. Maybe this time if he went against his usual actions, things would be different.

After a dull click was heard, Jane turned the knob and pushed the door open. It groaned loudly as it slowly revealed a dark living room on plush carpeting, with the only source of light coming from the broken blinds off to the side. Upon taking her key back and stuffing it into her pocket, she gave a quick glance over to David and announced, "Welcome to my home sweet home."

Unknowingly she had granted access entry to a vampire. Though all she was concerned about was seeing how to tend to her new acquaintance's wounds and praying that nothing disastrous occurred because of her. She had very little time to believe in the unordinary when she herself was anything but ordinary.

Once she guided David indoors, she closed the door and locked it securely. The lights were flipped on and a couch large enough for one person to sleep on became visible. The living room itself wasn't very big. It was enough to fit the couch and a basic entertainment center with a TV and stereo system. Jane wished she had put away her laundry before she went out on her walk, as a rather heavy stack of it was painfully visible and piled up in a corner. Maria must had put them there before taking off for the weekend with her latest boyfriend, bless her.

"I'm going to get the first aid kit," Jane said as she led David over to the couch, where after she sat him down, she released her hold over him. She would have to convince him to remove his jacket and shirt if she was going to see how bad the damage was he sustained. "I'm no expert on patching up others, but if I can do enough to get you looking – and smelling – decent, then you can do whatever it is you need to do to take care of the rest."

Turning her back to him, she apologized. "Sorry I didn't take you to the hospital. They make me nervous."

She said nothing more as she went off to the bathroom to fetch what she needed. Bad experiences, religious beliefs – whatever excuse she came up with in the past, they often worked. She never needed to lie more than she had to. Brief explanations worked best. David better not be the nosy type. Then again, his wardrobe alone suggested that he most likely harbored a few secrets of his own.

What was it about him she wanted to know more about? Curiosity killed the cat, after all. She would know better than most. It wasn't every day she came upon someone like him with quite a story to reveal without having said much of anything, other than a fantastic wound she imagined she would be viewing very shortly.

When Jane left the room to retrieve the first aid kit that was earlier mentioned, David contemplated his current situation. She would need to see the wounds in order to administer first aid. The injuries themselves would have healed enough by now to not be gaping holes going straight through him.

David pulled at the neckline of his tee-shirt, viewing the exit wounds. They weren't much more than a pair of scabbed over circular marks the size of a quarter. The wounds on his back, however, would be much more gruesome. They had to still be pretty bad as he was bleeding from it.

Jane most certainly would be confused at how it looked as though he had been gored. Not to mention the differences of vampires' blood. She had already noticed how pungent it was, but there would be no way she wouldn't notice it's slightly different appearance. In the alley where they met it was dark. The shadows hid the shimmering purple tinge of his blood. It had just looked like a dark smear along the wall behind him. But here, in her apartment with the lights shining, she would see.

David's first reaction was that he would just trick her mind into seeing nothing out of the ordinary. Jane had invited him in, he could do just that. But wasn't he just reminiscing of how detrimental his usual instincts were when it came to such things? Wasn't he just telling himself that he didn't want to have another react the same way that Star did?

With a sigh of resignation, he decided to just get it over with. Let her see him for what he truly was right off the bat. If she went running, so be it. But maybe… Just maybe, she wouldn't. And he didn't really expect her to, she didn't seem the type to scare easy.

He slowly started to pull his gloves off one by one. Looking up as Jane entered the room with her supplies, the brooding look fell from his face. She had left the room too quickly for him to respond to her earlier statement.

"It's a good thing you didn't take me to the hospital, you don't need to apologize for that." He wondered what exactly caused her to be so nervous at hospitals. Germs? Death? It would have to be something far more mundane than his reasons… Or so he thought. "I also don't do well with hospitals. I'm not exactly…" He searched for an appropriate word. "Normal."

Arching his back, David shrugged his coats off, thinking of how they must have puncture holes in them now. And they were his favorites. Another thing that added to the fuel that fired his rage over what Michael and his friends did.

David started to peel his shirt off, wincing as he got half way there, it wasn't all that comfortable to raise his arms overhead. He paused in the action and gazed at her, eyebrows arched as he smiled mischievously.

"A little help?" The thought of getting this girl (who seemed somewhat reluctant to be helping him in the first place) to undress him was far too amusing to not try.

Jane had taken a seat on the other side of the couch while David did his best to undress. She kept herself busy by going through the first aid kit to see what would be needed. If anything, she would be going through quite a bit of sterilized dressings and bandages. The question was, would she have enough? Judging by the blood on the wall where she found David earlier, she wondered whether or not she was over her head by attempting this.

That was when David's voice pulled her away from her thoughts. Glancing up from the kit, she turned and saw his predicament... and that smile of his.

He had such a stunning smile.

Wait a minute! What the hell was she thinking?

Jane scoffed at her thoughts and set aside the supplies in order to assist him. She had been wanting to avoid this part, but there was no choice now. She could either be standoffish and let David struggle and reopen his wounds, or she could be hospitable and help. Under normal circumstances, she supposed a normal heterosexual female would jump at the opportunity to "handle" a slick guy like David.

Too bad I'm anything but normal, Jane thought amusingly, knowing that even engaging in something mundane like dating was out of the question for her.

She rose from the sofa; seeing as how she never once removed her gloves or her jacket since arriving home, she decided she was covered well enough to proceed with helping him. With care, it didn't take long to have him shirtless, and when she had him maneuver to a comfortable position, she witnessed first hand the shocking nature of his injuries from his backside alone.

Stab wounds that oozed with blood were seen in various places along his back. It looked as if he'd been ran through with something very long and very sharp - over and over again. Blood continued to slowly leak from his wounds and drip onto the couch upholstery. The smell hadn't improved since David's shirt and coat were removed, but she wasn't so concerned about that as opposed to the damage itself. She had yet to notice the (healing) exit wounds on his chest, because there was so much going on with his backside. The blood was vibrant, almost alive, against his pale skin.

So many questions sprung up for her, but Jane asked none of them. Instead, she started moving, grabbing the bandages and dressings and proceeding to work on addressing the bleeding. She wasn't a medical expert by any means but seeing such wounds on David made her sick to her stomach, and not to mention angry. Would in their right mind could do this to him? Why? What happened?

David noticed her hesitation as she approached him to assist with the shirt removal. Jane was a mystery. One that he wanted to unravel. She seemed so reserved and standoffish, and yet she had approached him on the street and brought him home with her. From what he had seen so far, it didn't seem like that was a common practice of hers. And yet she showed him compassion. Why?

Maybe she was just wary of strangers. And a person really couldn't be too careful in the murder capital of the world. Especially when they were in the presence of one of the individuals responsible for that title. Perhaps it was just her compassionate nature that allowed him to receive some help. And maybe it was fateful that their paths crossed.

David looked over the room they were in. It was neat, tidy… Clean. The cushions and carpeting gave it a comfy look. And he could just imagine how great a hot shower would feel. Luxuries he wasn't used to. Jane's abode was definitely nothing like the cave. The resort was fun and all, but this was also good. It was a nice change, even if he would only be enjoying it for a brief time. Blue eyes shot over to the window, to the crack in the blinds. A reminder that there was a time limit on this.

As Jane tended to his wounds, he couldn't help but notice her gentle touch on his back. David's mind wandered, imagining how it would feel to have those gentle hands gliding across his back. Huh. There she went again, causing him to forget his current predicament. A distraction he welcomed. David craved to feel the touch of her fingertips against his skin, trying to imagine the gloves away. Why would she still be wearing them? Again he wondered if she was a germaphobe and didn't want to expose herself to him. And, actually… He did have something in his blood that was catching. He couldn't really blame her for not wanting to get blood on her hands.

David turned his head, looking over his shoulder at her, seeing the expression she wore. The surprise on her face was something he expected, the anger was not. She was actually pissed that he was hurt? He was liking her more and more.

"So, are you scared of germs or are you just always cold, like I am?" His body inadvertently shivered, unaccustomed to being without several layers of clothing on.

"You can say... both..." Jane replied, trying to concentrate on getting the rest of the blood wiped up. David had a rather strong backside, not to mention firm muscles. She imagined she would have to poke him really hard in order to get him to even flinch. He wasn't overly muscular like some guys she had seen walking around the boardwalk, but he wasn't super lean, either. He had a good build to him – from what she saw, anyhow.

Though she worked quickly but delicately on cleaning the wounds on his back, she was already running out of bandages. She needed to check out the entry wounds on his chest. The nearest store was just down the block, and they would have the supplies she needed to continue properly tending to him, but she didn't want to leave an acquaintance in her home, even though nothing had gone amiss so far. She actually wanted to learn more about David (particularly what he had done to get himself hurt like this) and what made him tick. Most importantly, she wanted to learn what it was about him that made her come out of her protective shell. Her success to surviving was keeping everyone at a distance, but here was this mysterious person she found, who most likely attracted more trouble than anything... and it made her wonder...

"Don't get too excited now," Jane announced coyly to David, a faint glimmer of amusement flashing in her eyes. She had finished what she could with his back. It wasn't a complete, sopping mess like it had been when she first saw it. "I'm gonna have to look at your chest and see if it's salvageable."

She drew away from him in order to dispose of the bloodied dressings. She would have to make sure to take out the garbage before Maria returned in a couple of days, so no suspicions would arise. Her mind wandered back to how physically close she was with David. It had been a very long time since she felt the touch of another person like that. Even with the act of applying first-aid, she could only recall the last person she touched, which had been a very long time ago, and how it ended up a disaster.

Before she knew it, she was standing between his legs, having him lean back as far as he could do so comfortably, so she could examine his chest.

"Wait a second," she began, a perplexed look shown on her face. The damage on his chest was nowhere near as grisly looking as his backside. In fact, other than the circular scabs, there was no real indication that he had gotten hurt unless someone were to check his other side. She bent down to get a closer inspection. She even used the tip of her gloved finger to carefully trace around the scabs, which were no bigger than coins.

How was this possible...?

And there it was. The look of suspicion, the confusion on her face. Soon the questions would start. Soon two and two would add up, but there would be no way she would figure out the answer. But she would know, in fact, she must already know that something wasn't exactly normal about David. He knew this would happen when he followed her home, and had resigned himself to let it ride out as long as it could before leaving her be. But now that it was happening, he didn't want it to.

His mind raced for a moment, trying to figure something out. Like a drowning man coming up for one last, futile gasp of air, before sinking. He could possibly try deceiving her, tricking her mind into seeing something else. But it was too late. Jane would only question that even more now. And he had already settled on not doing that again. It didn't end well before, and he wouldn't be repeating the same mistakes. And yet, coming right out and telling her the truth seemed impossible. How would she ever believe him, without seeing proof? And that's the last thing he wanted to show her. He liked the girl, so he didn't really want to scare the bejesus out of her. And if there was any way of letting her know what he was and her actually believing it, what then? David highly doubted she would want much to do with him then. Would probably go running from him, if she were to know what he really was.

So, then, this was it… Unfortunately. The limited time he had with her was already running out, and it was no fault of the sun's. He would have to leave and try not to look back. Try to forget all the feelings she had stirred within him. It hurt just thinking that it was over, before it had ever really begun. And yet there she was, speeding up his heart by being so enticingly close to him, leaning down and peering at the wounds on his chest.

David lips turned up into a sad smile. "Well-" One shoulder shrugged as his head tilted toward it. "-I knew this would have to end sooner or later."

He became very serious, looking at her with admiration. Not even a hint of mocking, sarcasm, mischief, or slyness in his features. "Thank you, Jane. For everything you've done for me."

His eyes bore into hers for a moment, before he decided what he wanted to do. What he needed to do.

Hell, if he was going out, he was going out with a bang. If he ended up being thrown in the ocean, so be it. He acted in a split second; encircling her waist with one arm and bringing her down closer to him in a sitting position on his thigh. His other hand dove underneath her hair and rested firmly on her neck as he brought her face to his. With closed eyes he came in closer to plant his lips on hers, but then paused right before stealing a kiss.

There was an odd sensation on his hand where it made contact with the soft skin of her neck. He ran his thumb across the back of her jawline, feeling it there as well. He furrowed his brows in confusion, but his eyes remained closed. Never had he ever experienced anything like this. It was a strange kind of a pulling sensation, like they were magnetized and attracted to each other. It wasn't like his hand was stuck to her, but he could sense that it was an energetic pull. He figured he could fight it, but didn't. It wasn't a bad sensation; if anything, he kind of liked it. He tilted his head and rested his forehead against hers, their noses touching side by side, the peak of his upper lip just grazing against hers. The feeling intensified, it almost made his brain buzz. David wasn't sure if she was able to read his mind, or what it was that she was able to do, but he was sure something was happening. He gave into it, into her.

Jane was so close to him that he could feel the warmth of her skin, the moist air of her exhales against his lips. He could smell the sweet scent of whatever products she used on her face and in her hair. He breathed in deeply, savoring the moment, before finding her lips with his own. David's arm held her close to him, his hand grasping her hip. His lips overlapped hers as he moved his mouth against her warm, silky lips. Everything else melted away. Nothing mattered. In this moment all there was, was her. And if he felt like a drowning man before, he now felt as though she was rescuing him. David realized with absolute certainty just how much he needed her.

The very moment David's eyes bore into hers, there was no turning back. She was compelled to be still for him even when she should have moved away. She should have kept her distance. She should have just left him be at Video Max. There was no mistaking that David had such an effect on her that was undeniable. She wasn't sure what it was, but it was nothing she ever encountered before.

There was a hitch in her breath when he thanked her and then took a hold of her. She whispered, "No," but it was a half-hearted plea if anything. Truly, she feared for him, not of him.

When she was pulled onto his thigh, her heart began to race. It was when he touched the back of her neck did she swear her heart stop for a moment. She experienced brief flashbacks to when people touched her in the past: anybody who touched her skin, let along just grazed her, was drained of their energy. She stole their life force without hesitation, and there was nothing she could do about it. For them, it was like getting an electric shock, only that person couldn't pull away until she let them go. Not only did she steal their life but she also was able to see into their memories. Their most cherished thoughts and feelings were revealed to her. They were an open book to her, whether she liked it or not. So when David willingly touched her flesh, she was so caught off guard that she could not say or do anything.

However...

David was not hurt. He did not have a violent reaction like everyone else did. There was a pull of his life due to her power at work, but it was more of a gentle tug than anything. He was drawn to her as she was drawn to him. It slipped into her own being and at the same time, David was not harmed. The longer he touched her so soothingly, the more she was able to delve into his mind. It almost frightened her, only because this was the first time this has ever happened to her. It scared her and captivated her.

Jane even breathed a sigh of relief when his lips claimed hers. Instead of pushing him away, she allowed him to pull her even closer. It had been such a long time since anyone kissed her. The last kiss she received was from her middle school crush: a gawky french kiss.

What David was doing to her was anything but gawky nor inexperienced. It was a rather sweet kiss but full of magnetism in so many ways.

Her hands settled upon his shoulders while she became lost to his touch and to his memories. Vision after vision appeared and disappeared before Jane's very eyes. She first witnessed a faceless girl – pale, crumpled, and lifeless – in David's arms.

She saw David leading a group of radically dressed boys along the boardwalk at night, all acting as if they owned the place, without any cares or worries in the world.

She saw Maria's boss: a tall, middle aged man who wore glasses, inside Video Max.

She saw a boy with curly brown hair being taunted by David.

"How far are you willing to go, Michael?"

Rivulets of blood ran down David's chin and neck. His eyes were the color of amber as they shined in the darkness. Sharp fangs were seen behind lips that were pulled back to form a cruel smile.

Dear God...

What was he...?

"My blood is in your veins!"

Like whiplash, she was thrown into the next memory without warning. There, she watched helplessly, and in mute horror, as David was impaled upon a set of antlers by that same boy – Michael. Those antlers punctured David's body with sickening ease.

She jerked her mouth away from David's but she did not pull away entirely. Her entire face was as white as a ghost's and sweat trickled down the side of her temple. She was shaking like a leaf in his arms.

She couldn't look into his eyes or even at his lips. Instead, she focused on the wounds on his chest. What were the size of quarters had shrunk to the size of dimes, and the scabs were nothing more than irritated pink skin that would soon match the color of the rest of his body. She gripped his shoulders, as if making sure to see that he was still with her, if he was real.

Then Jane mouthed a single word.

"Vampire."