Christmas and a Vampire - Part 5

**May not be appropriate for readers under 17**

Warm hands snaked around her waist and his lips descended on her neck. The gesture was familiar and welcome. She leaned into his firm body. How could he be so warm when he was stone dead? She'd never figured that out. He had a heartbeat, too. For a reanimated corpse, he was surprisingly lively.

He nibbled the curve of her neck in the way that only he did, dragging his fangs slowly across her skin. He could bite her, feed from her, but never turn her. It was another gift given the Hunters. Were he to take her head, stab her through the heart, or rip her throat out, he would surely kill her. There weren't many ways a Hunter could be killed and none of them were pretty deaths.

Dirk's hands drifted upward, cupping her breasts. Rafaela let her own fingers roam, grasping his firm ass with one hand as she massaged the front of his taut thigh with the other.

"I knew you'd think of coming here," he whispered huskily.

"We've had some good times here, Dirk."

"That we have." He chuckled, licking her throat. "Perhaps we will be snowed in again. Hmm?"

"Or we could pretend," she murmured as she turned to face him. Her hands switched positions, continuing to roam.

"We could, indeed. I want you, Ella. So much!" His voice dropped to a bass growl as he tore at her clothing.

Their lovemaking was primal, urgent. They didn't even make it to the bed, but sated themselves in the living room, on the rug by the fire. Laughing and kissing, they let were carried away by their lust. Sometime later, they stopped for a meal and drank hot chocolate. Hours after that, they fell asleep.

Or rather, Rafaela fell asleep. Dirk didn't need to sleep. He rested some during the day, but at night, he was awake. It was his nature. For a time, he watched her sleep, mesmerized by her beauty. He never tired of looking at her, even after all this time. Afraid he would wake her, he dressed and went into the living room.

Dirk lit a pipe and sat by the banked fire, remembering how they met. It was on board the Titanic. He hadn't anticipated the collision with the ice berg, but it helped to conceal his rampage. Back in his earlier life, he'd been unable to control his rage. Rafaela was sent to hunt him. She found him stalking the underbelly of the ship, feasting on the poor and helpless in steerage. He tried to restrict his kills to those who were already sick and dying, but the fear and panic caused by the crash, got his blood lust up.

As the Titanic sank, Dirk made his way through the ship, killing indiscriminately, drinking the blood of rich and poor alike. Rafaela stalked him, very nearly bringing an end to him. A final lurch of the ship as it sank, saved him from an untimely grave. The cold water closed over them both and he was able to escape. Though she couldn't drown, the freezing water slowed and weakened her. She was picked up by one of the rescue boats. Dirk got away.

Their lives wove around one another, throughout the turbulent times that followed. Their next meeting was on the battlefield during World War I. She shot him twice and very nearly skewered him with a bayonet. Not a stake, but it would have done the job just as well, a fact that most people didn't know.

Wherever there was trouble, Dirk was in the midst of it. Wherever he was, Rafaela was sure to follow. So it had been for 100 years and so it would be until one of them killed the other. Even if he could convince her to stay with him, he knew theirs could never be a peaceful relationship. Her nature was to kill vampires. It was in her blood. She was as far from human as he, but it was his nature to hunt humans. I was Rafaela's nature to protect them.

A sound behind him alerted him that she was awake. He rose languidly, turning to face her. "Can't sleep either?"

She shook her sleep tousled head. "Got cold. Come back to bed?"

He smiled as he walked over to her. "If I do, we won't sleep."

"If we don't, I won't mind."

They kissed a long time. Dirk lifted her easily, carrying her to the bed. This time, he made love to her gently, as if she were made of spun glass. The taste of her made him giddy and he longed to bite and feed from her. He knew that she wouldn't stand for that. Even if he couldn't kill or turn her, he could weaken her and make her vulnerable. She wouldn't forgive him for that. If he fed from her now, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

"Bite me," she commanded suddenly.

"What?" he grunted as she clutched him tightly with her thighs.

"Bite—me."

"But you hate that."

"But you love it." She bared her throat, daring him to take her.

Of their own accord, his fangs descended and his eyes darkened with blood lust. "Are you sure?"

In response, she grabbed his head, pulling his mouth to her neck. He bit delicately, groaning as her blood filled his mouth. His lean, hard body pumped against hers as he fed from her. When she decided she'd had enough, Rafaela pushed his head away. He fought her a moment, desperate for more. To make her point, she flipped him over, pinning him to the bed.

© Dellani Oakes 2017

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