Holier Than Thou

[Soran Nightblade]

"He could still come."

Vlad relaxed his neck and let her guide his chin to face her. His garnet eyes took her in, gleaming in the firelight. There was something about hearing her say that she'd missed him. Ever since Verin had kissed her, he'd been so focused on studying. Except for that one time, he'd barely even touched her, and hadn't bothered much with sleep. He'd hunted, but only because Talon still required an escort.

A woman this beautiful and patient and loving, and yet he hadn't been able to protect her from Verin's lust. How could he enjoy himself with her, knowing every moment he was distracted was another moment she was in danger?

He leaned forward and rested his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. He wanted her to be safe. He wanted her to be his.

It seemed he couldn't just have both. He would need to compromise. His stomach clenched up as he thought it, and he was glad he was too close for Tenele to see it in his eyes. He tensed his jaw as he rested against her, unsure if he wanted to speak.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele swallowed hard, feeling the corner of her eyes burn. He seemed to have such little interest in her lately, and she couldn't help but fear it was because he couldn't find her desirable after Verin marked her with his kiss. She didn't have the heart to ask him if that was the case, because she was afraid of the answer.

Tenele turned back around in his arms so that she faced the fire and rested back against him. Her chest was tight, and she realized that she was holding her breath. So she let it out in a tense sigh. She collected the soft fabric of her dress in her hands and played with it, tugging, twisting, and pulling.

It seemed neither one of them wanted to talk about it.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad put his arms around her waist as she leaned back into him. Her warm, slender form pressed in a soft line against his chest. He leaned down and let his lips barely touch her neck. Her pulse wasn't quite even. The part of him that wondered what was exciting her was losing out against the part of him that suddenly needed to taste her, to be connected to her. He drew a thready breath, testing himself.

A few minutes. A few minutes with her. One small period of risk. Was it so impossible? He stared at her smooth neck, exposed by her pinned-up hairstyle. He pressed his tongue to the delicate tendon at the base of her neck and lathed upward until he reached the hinge of her jaw. As if entranced by her scent, he took the corner of her ear into his mouth and nipped at it, running his tongue along its edge. His instincts flared up hotly. A soft sigh whispered across her ear. Why was he getting worked up so easily?

Well, he had been thinking about that. He shook off the idea, even as his pulse jumped a beat faster.

[Emora Deen]

Chills ran through Tenele and goosebumps feathered over her skin. She relaxed even more against him, shutting her eyes and letting out a soft breath. She tilted her head so that he had a better line of sight of the soft skin of her neck. Her hands wrapped around the arms circling her waist and holding his arms tighter to her.

"I love you," she told him softly, her voice wavering. She pushed back the overwhelming idea that had wrapped so tightly around her, that the decision she'd made would cost her the marriage they'd worked so hard for.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad pressed his mouth to her neck and sucked against her skin, holding her tighter. "I love you," he murmured against the heat of her neck. He wanted to kiss her, to possess her. To protect her. He grazed his teeth along her skin, just enough to feel the warm flesh compress under his bite. "Tenele," he purred. He tried to calm down. He had to explain to her, but her neck was right there. He took in the scent of her rising pulse. She was ecstasy to him. "Gods, this is impossible," he half-moaned into her neck.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele let out a soft, barely audible moan, squirming closer against him. "Please," she begged in a breathless whisper, her fingers digging into him tighter. "I've missed you. I need you."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad sucked in a thick breath. He slid around her side, easily breaking her grip, and climbed over her, pinning her back to the ground. His eyes flared with hot, unhidden need for her. His hands wove into hers, pressing them back into the floor as he pinned her body down with his. The dominant position made his senses scream out for more of her. His fingers squeezed around hers as he looked down at her.

He felt so unusual... He didn't want the slow languor of sex. He just wanted her. Immediately. "I need you, Tenele," he breathed thickly, his ruby eyes glowing urgently into hers. "Right now."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele nodded, feeling breathless, wild desire come over her. Her hands tightened around his, his weight pressing them into the stone floor. "Go on," she urged him, green eyes fixating on his. "Please." She wanted him to have at her, unhindered and ravenous if need be. She needed to be wanted, to be reminded that he desired her.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad pushed his cool nose into the crook of her neck, need screaming through him. He sucked on her skin, hard enough to leave marks later, shivering at the wonderful torture of depriving himself of her a few seconds longer. No one else could do this to him. He lathed his tongue along her neck, until it reached the place where her pulse trembled just under her skin. The sensation struck him more fiercely than if she had literally reached down and grasped the needful organ pressed between them. He groaned wordlessly and drove his teeth into her neck.

The bite wasn't gentle, but there was enough magic coursing through it to make it feel like something very different. He didn't even try to hold back his power. As the taste of her filled his mouth, he flooded into her mind like a wild storm, pouring his need and sensations back to her in an amplifying wave of ecstasy. His fingers clenched so tight around hers that it cut off her circulation, but not enough to truly injure her.

It rose up within him alarmingly fast; his control was not great when it came to Tenele. He was crying out, but not out loud any more. His mental connection carried his thoughts to her freely, and in his mind, they were joined in more ways than blood alone.

[Emora Deen]

The sharp jab of his fangs driving in earned a soft cry from her. She clenched here eyes, her fingers tightening around him. Her body flinched, lifting up off the ground what little it could to arch against him. His soul washed over her in waves, his presence filled her so completely and with so much beauty that it drew a tear from her. Sure, it might not be the most normal relationship, and by most standards there was little beauty to it, but this was love to Tenele.

The feeling made her wither beneath him. It was the sort of pleasure that could be too much, the kind that made you want to withdraw just as much as it made you want to beg for more. A burning that needed to be doused and fuelled at once, and as she crested over the edge of that sensation her nails dug into the backs of his hands, and her voice cried his name loud enough to echo off the walls.

[Soran Nightblade]

Tenele's cry was like a physical blow to the vampire's senses, knocking him over the edge of reason. His composure, if it could really be called that, crumpled into white-hot sensation as climax burst over him. The explosive sensation seemed to rip through him again and again. He could barely think at all as he drew his fangs away from her neck, not sure his body could take it if this kept up. He didn't think it was even possible to go that...that many times...

And to still want more of her...

He put his hand over the wound on Tenele's neck and slowly released her other hand. I love you. I love you, he moaned over and over inside her mind as he rested his forehead on the ground beside hers. He tried to calm his body down a bit so he could get some control, but apparently that wasn't in the cards at the moment.

[Emora Deen]

Tenele snaked her arms around him, her legs drawing around to tangle with his. He was enveloped in red velvet and soft warm skin. Her breath came in sweeping huffs, just as surely as she'd spent the last half hour doing a more physical form of lovemaking. This was different. This was Vlad's way, a vampires way. It didn't really matter what way he took her, as long as she could have him.

Tenele's fingers brushed through his hair, the pattern of the stone floor imprinted into her skin. I love you, forever and ever, she mused to him. No matter what.

"Do you want more?" she asked him, because she could sense that he did. He wanted more, and she wanted more... and it was hard to tell if it was because he wanted it so much, or because she was thinking the same thing. Often when their connection was this deep it was hard to sort her thoughts out with his. It was usually pretty safe to assume that anything involving blood was coming from Vlad.

She laughed softly, holding him tighter. "You are going to have to start getting creative with your biting... or I'll never hear the end of it from the advisers when they see marks on my neck." She nuzzled her face against his skin. "I can think of a few easy to hide places."

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad's mind responded honestly and immediately to her question, his simultaneous horror and needful anticipation vying for dominance at the thought of her taking him to that edge yet again so soon. "You are going to be the end of me," he purred out loud, controlling his voice a bit. His hand slid gently along the unharmed side of her neck, stroking the unbroken skin carefully. His treacherous body shuddered as his fingers brushed along her pulse.

A loud click sounded from the doorway, and the heavy wood surface swung inward with a creak. "Vlad, I have news-" Atul announced, striding into the room. He halted abruptly as he noticed the two lying fully clothed on the floor and immediately noticed the scent of blood and sex. He took a step back, a dark flush coloring his tanned skin.

Vlad looked up at him, trying to focus on him while his body was still completely engrossed with thoughts of Tenele. Hearing Atul's racing heartbeat and remembering the unique rush of drinking from his vein didn't really help Vlad calm down. It was the wrong time to be reminded of such things. "N...knocking, Atul. It's done here," Vlad burst out, knowing Tenele probably felt the stab of sensation he'd just felt in response to the demigod.

"I- I am sorry. Forgive me," Atul muttered, retreating toward the door with his attention fixed on Tenele's flushed appearance. To see her in that state... He forbade his body from responding, but it didn't listen well.

"Wait, Atul," Vlad said breathily. "Stay. Just... wait outside for a minute. Then knock."

[Emora Deen]

Tenele was clothed, but under Atul's gaze she suddenly felt naked and exposed. That could have something to do with how personal this moment was for she and her husband. It was something stronger and open than sex.

Then, she felt a rush of desire for him... no for his blood. Why would she want... Oh, that's right. Vlad wanted his blood. Why did it make her mouth water? No, not her mouth. Was it?

Gods, this got confusing.

"I'm going to give you personal lessons on knocking," Tenele called to him. She arched her head back dizzily, trying to reign in and separate her thoughts.

[Soran Nightblade]

Vlad pushed himself reluctantly to sit upright over her. He gave her a hand to sit up and drew her into his arms. "Don't," he whispered silkily. "Don't pull away from me yet." A sheltering hand curled over the back of her neck. *This is precious to me,* his voice said inside her mind, tender and effortlessly seductive.