Chapter 10: A Terrible Feeling

Nicholas Stavaros woke, a gnawing sensation in his stomach. It was one he wasn't used to, one he hadn't felt since he'd gotten old enough to feed himself. He was hungry. He rolled over on the bed, sitting up on the side to let his feet hang over and touch the floor. His eye narrowed and he felt as if something was wrong, something was different.

He smelt the blood and turned his head, seeing the naked girl who sat shivering on the floor nearest the door of the room. She was chained, a collar around her throat, a substantial leash running from the metal loop there to the heavy metal hook on the floor.

"Who are you?" Nicky asked. "Where am I?"

His memory was a blank and he tipped his head, studying her and the room curiously. It was four walls painted a very uninspiring pale green. Linoleum covered the floor. The only piece of furniture was the bed he'd woken up in. There was a door, a plain wooden portal that had a window on the top and metal bars across the glass.

"Y-you don't remember?" she stuttered, shivering under his interested gaze.

"I don't remember what?"

"They b-brought you in l-last night." She turned her face so that he could see her and he inhaled sharply. She was incredibly lovely, a blonde haired, blue eyed angel. But she was bleeding from marks in her throat, marks he knew he hadn't been responsible for.

"Who are you?"

"M-my n-name is Arielle Clayton. My father is Senator Richard Clayton from Texas."

"How did you get here, Arielle?" Nicky rubbed his hand over his protesting stomach. It was protesting the fact that he hadn't fed from her yet, that he'd managed to ignore his vampiric instincts and kept from ripping her throat out and bathing in her blood. She wasn't very strong, she'd been fed on before and it had left her weak and unable to fight.

"I don't know. I'd been on my way home and then I woke up here. There'd been another man here then."

"Was he the one that fed on you?"

"Yes," she said quickly. Her hand rose to the bite marks on her throat, touching one of them gently. "He hurt me. Are you going to hurt me too?"

Nicky stood, his hands reaching out to steady himself. He took a couple of steps, feeling his own weakness and the almost overpowering urge to feed. He fought it, unwilling to continue her suffering, to force her to bear the agony of his weakness and his need. "I don't want to hurt you, Arielle. But I am almost impossibly hungry and your blood smells so good." He moaned as he said the words, making it sound almost sexual.

She ducked her head, turning her eyes away from him. He was naked, as was she, but she hadn't really noted his bareness until he'd walked toward her. He was muscular and very strong looking and she knew she had no chance of fighting him off if he decided he wanted to finish what the other man had started. That man had been like a ravening dog, tearing into her flesh over and over, his hands holding her to him as he'd gulped at her blood.

"Arielle," Nicky said softly and she looked up, startled to see how close he'd gotten to her while she'd been distracted. "We need to get out of here. I'm going to try to free you."

"Okay," she whispered. He was a gorgeous man, very tall and well built, he had hair the color of the sun and eyes that swirled with the blue of a spring sky. He was pale, but that didn't detract from his looks. It made him seem even more exotic in some strange way. As he spoke to her, she could see the sharpness of his fangs. She could almost sense his hunger and the pain it was causing him.

He grabbed the leash and gave it a good, strong pull. It ripped out easily, freeing her. Holding up her hands as if she wanted to push him a way, she scuttled backward, her back butting up against the door.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Nicky said again. But it was almost impossible to calm her. She'd been hurt badly by the vampire that had fed from her the night before, and she had little trust in Nicky's self-control now. She was curled into a ball in front of the door and she wouldn't listen to a word he tried to say to her.

Finally, he had no choice. If he was going to get the two of them out safely, he had to get by her and calm her down in some way. There was only one way that came to mind and he moved quickly to her, his fist flashing out and catching on her jaw.

She moaned and then her head tipped back, her body falling to lay sprawled on the floor at his feet. Nicky's eyes roamed over her unconscious form, noting the shapeliness of her legs, the curve of her hips. Her belly was flat, her ribs slender. Her breasts would have been delicate handfuls and except for the bite marks on her neck, she was very nearly perfect.

He went back to the bed, ripping the blanket off and taking it over to wrap her in it. When he was done, he stood in front of the heavy door, reaching out for the handle. With one deft twist, he wrested it open and then glanced out into the hallway beyond. It was empty.

Nicky bent, lifting Arielle into his strong arms, fighting the instincts of the demon inside of him that wanted to take her to the bed and part her thighs, digging his teeth into the vein and drinking his full. It would kill her and he'd made himself a promise to never be the cause of another death if he had anyway to stop it. Turning to the door, he forced himself to ignore the scent of her blood and then he headed out of the room, spotting a small green sign up by the ceiling that lit the way to the "Exit."

He didn't see anyone as he traveled down the twisting and turning halls of the place they'd been locked up in, always following that sign. When he'd finally pushed through another heavy door and out into the cool outside air, he could have shouted his victory. He'd made it and he hadn't hurt her or tasted her blood. He sank down into the cool grass, letting Arielle down next to him. He wanted to race and run, to savor the feel of the dewy grass on his feet and legs. He wanted to crow his victory.

And then the hunger settled in, a hunger different than what he was used to. This was blood lust in its worst form and it hit him right in the stomach, letting him think of nothing but the urge to feed. No urge wasn't the right word. This wasn't an urge; this was a need that was almost desperate in its intensity. His eyes went from where he'd been scanning the area to where Arielle laid, defenseless, unconscious, temptingly smelling of blood. She wouldn't know if he drank from her as well.

He went to her, not even realizing he was moving until he knelt at her side. Her neck was bloody but it wasn't his preferred place to feed from, especially not from a woman who looked like she did. Nicky tugged the blanket down, taking it away from the long, slender length of her thighs. Then he slid between them, his hands coming out to tip her hips up so that he could slick his tongue through the tastiness of her juices.

She was hot, sweet, her clit turgid and pulsing against his tongue. He flicked at that tiny bundle of nerve endings, hearing her moan in pleasure in her dreams. He could smell her, the scent of her arousal, the aroma of her blood. It called to him and he felt his cock grow hard, pressing against the blanket that was under her.

The temptation was great, the need for more of her even greater. He wanted nothing more than to lift himself above her, to push his hard flesh between her wet pussy lips and take her. Then, as he gave her the ultimate in pleasure, he wanted to sink his teeth into the unbroken flesh of her neck, to give her the pleasure of his bite and give him the satisfaction of her blood.

Nicky could feel his teeth growing, his fangs becoming more pronounced. He could feel the demon of his soul begging for her blood, demanding it. He wanted to fight it, he wanted to defeat it, but the scent of her was too strong. He rose, pressing his cock into the flesh of her pussy. He barely felt the small piece of flesh that blocked his path, unable to stop until it was split around his cock.

"Oh God," he groaned, staring down at her in shock. She was so incredibly beautiful, it was impossible that he'd felt what he had, that he'd taken her virginity. No girl her age that looked the way she did could be a virgin in this day and age. "Arielle."

She was hot and tight around him, her body moving under his. She began to meet his thrusts, her hands coming up to wrap around his neck, to hold onto him tighter. Moans were coming from her mouth, moans that were a counterpoint to the groans he was unable to control.

Her hands grasped at him, dragging him closer, the scent of her blood calling him like a compulsion. He filled his hands with her breasts, his thumbs rubbing over the hard nipples. He dipped his head, his lips sliding over the torn flesh of her neck, tasting the blood the oozed slowly out. His tongue lapped at the blood and he felt her skin healing. She would be scarred, there was nothing he could do about that. But she wouldn't die from blood loss, at least not from that wound.

His thrust grew shorter, harder, her body jiggling with every jolt. She was moaning, tiny whimpers, small cries, were ripped from her mouth. But they were sounds of pleasure. Her hands were like claws against his back, digging into his skin as the pleasure grew sharper. Her eyes opened and she stared at him, confused.

"Nicholas?" Then her head fell back and he felt the first pulsing of her body as pleasure convulsed over her. "God! Nicky!"

A dark smile crossed his lips and he kissed his way down, over the scars on her throat, finally taking her nipple into his mouth. He played with it, teasing her with frantic suckling before just flicking it with the tip of his tongue, rolling the tender bud. He let her feel the sharpness of his teeth, but he didn't bite her. Not there, not yet.

"Is it good?" he asked, lifting his head to stare down into her pretty blue eyes. "Is it?"

"Yes," she moaned, the sound dragged from her mouth. "It's good."

"More?" He slowed the pace of his thrusts, the heat of her juices squelching out from around his plunging cock. She was excited, she couldn't deny that, not while the proof was so readily visible. "Do you want more, Arielle?"

Her eyes wouldn't meet his, her cheeks flushing a pale pink. "Yes," she whimpered softly even as her hands dragged down his back, cupping over his ass, flexing with the movements of his muscles.

He lifted her soft breast, holding it in his hand, twisting her nipple with his thumb and finger. She moaned and arched her back, giving him more of herself, begging silently for more of him. His tongue ran over his teeth and he felt a quick, sharp pain, the taste of his blood filling his mouth. His fangs were sharp, cutting him, but the taste was different. His blood was different.

A sudden panicked thought had him throwing himself backward, away from Arielle. "The orange liquid," he said softly, his head dropping into his hands. "It's done something to me."

"Nicholas?"

He looked up, seeing the concern in Arielle's eyes. She was sitting up, her hand out, reaching for him. Her body, her naked skin, almost seemed to glow in what little light there was from the moon above. She was beautiful, even more so now that he'd healed her wounds and her pale blue eyes stared up at him.