Chapter 3

“I want to kiss you,” Geo said as he moved closer, “but I won’t.

I sucked in air and my heart skipped a beat in excited anticipation while almost falling out of my body from deflated disappointment all at one time.  He was standing so close, I could feel what little heat his body emitted on my flesh.  Vampires are like humans in so many ways.  I attribute it to the fact that they started as humans and then were transmuted into vampires. Even the ones who are born vampires carry a semblance of human genetics within them. Whatever the reason, the rumor that they are cold as death is untrue.  Most vampires run a body temperature of about sixty-five degrees.  Since this is significantly lower than the human’s average body temperature of ninety-eight point six, they feel cold to the human’s touch.  Because my body temperature was now similar to his, I could easily feel the heat from his breath as it caressed my face.

“One of the advantages we’ll have, should Bartholomew managed to make it into our realm, is that his weapons won’t serve him,” he continued as if he’d never laid claim to wanting to kiss me at all.

“Guns don’t work here?” I said with forced focus and calm, as well as genuine amazement.

“It’s a funny thing,” he replied, “but they don’t. Gwendoline believes it’s because of the magic Verso holds.  It doesn’t allow something traveling as fast as the speed of a bullet if it isn’t attached to magic.”

“It sounds complicated,” I mused as I struggled to get my libido under control. “Vampires aren’t magical and those who do have a magical block, yet we’re capable of traveling as fast as the speed of a bullet.”

“Have you tried it in Verso?” he asked.

“Now that I think about it, the speed I’ve traveled wouldn’t equal that of a speeding bullet,” I said.

“There are quite a few things that are complicated here when you compare them to the world outside our realm.  In truth, most of the time I don’t have a free moment to spend contemplating it. The affairs of Verso demand a good deal of my time and attention.  I tend to leave the whys and why nots about things working and not working to Gwendoline and focus on the do’s and don’ts instead.”

“Why don’t you call her mother?” I asked quietly.

“What?” he asked with surprise.

He’d spent the last hour orientating me on the situation we all faced and my part in assisting.  My question as to why he called his mother by her name instead of “mother” was so out of context, it sent him awry almost as much as his profession of wanting to kiss had sent me.

“It just seems odd that you call her Gwendoline instead of mom or mother,” I explained.  “Have you always called her Gwendoline?”

“No,” he said quietly.  “It shifted when Verso was created and she became the Verso Witch,” he said. “We felt it would help me to command more order and her more respect if we did not refer to each other  as mother and son.”

“I don’t get it,” I said with knitted brows.

“Times today are different than they were seven hundred years ago,” he said.  “If it was today, I would have no trouble calling her mother, but back then it would have been a sign of weakness, even though all are aware she is my mother.  Now, I’m just so used to calling her Gwendoline...”

“It was a silly question,” I said abruptly.  “I don’t know why I asked it.”

“I want to kiss you,” he said again as he moved even closer.

Our noses were practically touching and the hair on my body was alive with electric excitement as I waited for his lips to consume mine.  When they didn’t, I took matters into my own hands.  Placing the palms of my hands on both sides of his head, I pulled him close until I was able to devour his lips with my own.

I’d been warned that I’d feel emotions far more acutely and intensely now that I was a vampire and it would take some getting used to in order to balance things out. Other than my hormones being “off” -which could have easily been attributed to giving birth so recently- I hadn’t noticed much of a difference in my emotions.  However, I did notice that I could hear the tiniest of sounds as clearly as if they were amped up to maximum, I was sensitive to smells I never knew existed, and I could now see in the dark.  I was also a lot stronger than before.  My libido, however, hadn’t been tested; until now. 

I was completely out of control.

Even if Geo tried to resist, I question if he could have fought me off. He may have been a one-thousand-year-old vampire, but I had the strength and power of a newbie with sexual needs that demanded satiating.  One of the things I’d read and heard about vampires in the folklore while growing up was that, for the first few months after their transition, the newly made vampire possessed incredible strength that would rival the oldest of vampires.  This was one tale that proved to be true. I held Geo in such a vice grip and devoured his lips with such passionate aggression that he grunted in discomfort rather than the lustful ecstasy I was experiencing.

  Hearing this, I eased up on my overture and lightened my grip on his face enough for him to let his own passion rise to equal mine.

I knew we were breaking all of the rules set forth by my grandfather and his idea of courting, but I didn’t care.  At that moment, my desire and lust far outweighed my respect and consideration for my grandfather’s wishes.  I was certain I’d explode at any minute if Geo didn’t make love to me. 

His kisses felt hot against my flesh.  They eased some of my agony over want of touch while they slowly inched down my neck with short, light caresses.  His strong hands explored my still engorged breasts with curious tenderness.

“Do they hurt?” he whispered.

“What?” I replied with a moan.

“Your breasts,” he said, “do they hurt?”

“Only from want of you,” I moaned. “Take me now.”

“Your grandfather...” he began.

“If you don’t take me willingly, I’ll take you by force,” I urged.

I shuddered with delight at the sound of his low chuckle before he raised my shirt and placed his soft lips over the tip of my engorged breast and suckled tenderly.

“How does that feel?” he asked softly, after an all too brief moment of deliciousness that sent me into new heights of ecstasy.

“Don’t stop,” I pleaded.

He pushed the maps we’d been reviewing out of our way while his powerful arms lifted me onto the table as if I weighed no more than a loaf of bread. I lay back willingly, while he pulled at my jeans with incredible agility and speed. He removed his own pants with equal ease, before burrowing his kisses into my most private area in a completely unnecessary act of foreplay.  What happened after that was a blur.  The slow, sensual love making he’d shown me in the past was replaced by an aggressive, almost animal rutting that we both fully participated in. 

My heart felt like it was going to explode with the love I felt for my handsome, sexy vampire.

****

“So much for the courting ritual,” Geo said with smug satisfaction as we snuggled beneath the table, completely satiated.

“How did we end up down here?” I chuckled.

“That was your doing, my vixen,” he replied with equal amusement. “You contorted me in so many odd positions, my back will never be the same.”

“Vampire sex is really different than human sex,” I mused. “I didn’t realize you were holding back when I was human.”

“Slow, luscious sex is good too,” he said as he brushed a lock of hair from my face.

“I don’t want to go away with Luthias,” I whined.

“It certainly isn’t my wish,” he said as he raised himself on one elbow to better see me, “believe me.”

“Why can’t you and I handle it from here?” I asked with dismay. “The only non-Verso vampires I’ve met were the ones Gwendoline, Luthias, and I encountered when we went searching for you. They seemed just as evil as Charles.  I don’t want to mingle with vampires like them.”

“Oh,” he said with concern.  “Did they know who you were?   That could interfere with our plans. Would you recognize them if you saw them again?”

“Luthias and Gwendoline killed all but one,” I said casually.

“So, one got away,” he mused.

“He most certainly did not,” I said with vain pride. “I pulled his heart from his chest.”

“You seem to be making a habit of ripping men’s hearts out,” he said as he placed his rugged palm over his own in mock dismay.  “Perhaps I need to watch out for mine a little better.”

Although we were talking about how I’d ripped the hearts out of my vampire opponents during battle because I hadn’t the strength to rip off their heads, I sensed he wasn’t really referring to that type of heart ripping.  It saddened me to put him through such torture when I knew he was the one I’d be choosing after the courting period my grandfather imposed upon us was over.

“This wasn’t my idea,” I said somberly.  “If I had my way we’d be together right now.  It’s just...”

“I understand,” he said as he placed his finger against my lips to stop me from speaking.  “I may not like it, but I completely understand why Arthur insists we court you.”

“I don’t want to be courted,” I whispered as I nuzzled my face into his neck.  “You smell so good.”

“I love you,” he whispered back before kissing me long and hard.

“Let’s run away,” I said after filling my lungs with air when we finally parted lips.

“Where would we run to?” he asked with sincerity. 

“To the moon might not be far enough if your grandfather finds out about this,” barked my grandmother as she stormed into the room.  “Are we going to have to do this the old-fashioned way with chaperones?” she asked as she looked directly at Geo.  “Casey is new to this custom, but you certainly are not. I expected better from you Geordie Brennus.”  I’d never seen my grandmother that furious as she scooped up our clothing from around the room and tossed them at us with disgust.  “Your grandfather’s looking for you, Casey.  I estimate you have about a minute before he wanders into this room.  I’d use it wisely by getting dressed,” she said as she left the room with indignation.

I was grateful for the speed in which my vampirism allowed me to move.  Had I still been human, I doubt I’d have one leg into my jeans before my grandfather entered the room. As it was, I was not only fully dressed, but the maps were put back in order.

“There you are, my dear,” my grandfather said with a broad smile of affection.  “This is exactly the reason I sought you out,” he said as he moved toward the maps.  “I wanted to discuss our game plan with you before you headed off on your mission.

“Geo’s done a pretty good job orientating me,” I volunteered.

“I have no doubt he has,” my grandfather said as he looked at Geo and smiled, “but, it doesn’t hurt to have another’s perspective on a subject as imperative as this one.

“He’s right,” Luthias said as he entered the room.

I couldn’t help expelling a gust of air as I thought about how careless Geo and I were just moments earlier.  I gave silent thanks that it was my grandmother who discovered us instead of my grandfather or Luthias.

We spent the better part of an hour collaborating our plans for uniting all the vampire kingdoms for preparation for a battle like no other against the New World Order.  When we were finally satisfied that we were as prepared as we’d ever be, my grandfather kissed me on the forehead and suggested I get some rest before exiting the room.

Luthias stayed behind. There was a long and uncomfortable silence before he finally spoke.

“I was under the impression we were going to court our lovely Casey in accordance to custom,” he said softly while looking directly at Geo.  When I shook my head while I scrambled to produce a viable lie, he held his hand up to stop me. “Vampires have a sense of smell that far exceeds that of a human.  I can smell his semen, so please don’t make it worse by lying to me.”

“Seriously?” I said as I sniffed the air. “I don’t smell anything.”

“That’s probably because you’ve been in this room all along.  For someone just entering, it’s painfully obvious,” he replied.

“I can’t believe...” I began.

“It’s true,” Geo interjected.  He looked at Luthias apologetically and said, “It wasn’t what I intended...”

“That’s a familiar line, now isn’t it,” Luthias said bitterly.  “I believe that’s what you said about the first time you took her while on a mission to fetch her for Sybil.”

I don’t know what made me cringe more; his reminder of how Geo and I met or the venomous tone of his voice.  He was clearly hurt, jealous, and angry.

“Please,” I pleaded, “believe me when I tell you that something snapped in me and if he hadn’t cooperated willingly I would have taken him by force.  You know I have the ability to do it; for a while anyway.” The ‘humph’ Luthias emitted prompted me to continue.  “If you’d been here instead of him it would have been you satiating my needs.”

I couldn’t believe my own words as I felt the energy around Geo spin while he visibly cringed.  I didn’t mean to hurt him, but I couldn’t start out a mission where I was so heavily dependent on Luthias with him jealous and angry.  It felt wrong and somehow unsafe. Spurned lovers rarely thought with clear heads. I knew I’d have to find a way to explain this to Geo and smooth his bruised ego before I left.

I silently cursed myself for ending up in such a precarious position between two brothers who meant so much to me as I excused myself to go freshen up.