Dark Love (9 page)

‘Daniel . . .’
she called quietly, but with angst.

An idea
occurred to him.

‘Here,’ he said
leaning around her, protecting her from view with his body and
pushing his wrist against her lips.

She did not
hesitate. He felt twin points pierce his skin and she sucked,
instantly connecting their minds and bodies. She was fighting to be
quiet, and so was he, this was so romantic and he was starting to
feel hot. An image sprang to mind of ripping apart her jeans and
taking her against the window, right in front of everybody. He was
relieved there was a table over his lap concealing his arousal.

‘Now stop,’ he
strongly projected straight into her mind.

He felt her
teeth retract and was proud she had done as he commanded. She
continued to look away, and he listened to her controlled
breathing. She was still hungry. There was not more he could do,
however much he wanted to. If she drank too much of his blood he
might lose control and then they would both be done for.

He heard a cart
being pushed down the aisle and sat up straight, but Sarah
continued to look away. His wrist had healed already and he wiped
away a trace of blood before he had to pass their trays back to the
hostess. He asked for two more of those little bottles of wine.

He focused on
his own breathing, keeping it slow and rhythmic, and forced himself
not to listen to the pumping heart to his right. He was relieved
when the blushing lady returned with their drinks, eyeing the back
of Sarah’s head briefly, before giving Daniel a flirtatious
smile.

‘Thank you,’
Daniel said, doing his best at being polite.

He poured wine
for Sarah and passed it to her, she took it but she still did not
turn from the window. He sat back and took a long sip himself,
thinking the wine was far better than the food, and letting his
thoughts drift back to their destination.

Finally the
plane was descending and he held tightly to Sarah, for now she had
to face the crowds. The plane touched ground and Daniel braced
himself as the brakes came on and the plane slowly came to a halt.
The seatbelt light snapped off and they waited for the aisle to
clear before rising and leaving the plane. Daniel kept glancing at
Sarah to see if she was ok, but she kept her eyes lowered the whole
time. He held onto her hand to keep her from straying, but also for
his own support – to remind himself of the preciousness of life and
that he should never let himself lose control and take that life
from anybody.

She finally
smiled up at him uncertainly as he led her through customs and they
waited by the conveyer belt to collect their bags. Then they walked
to the nearest car hire desk and selected the strongest car they
had. He did not know what they would be facing after all. While
they were waiting to collect the vehicle he purchased every paper
they sold at the airport - a mix of regional and national news
reports. He kept hold of Sarah’s hand the whole time, feeding her
comforting, soothing, anti-blood lust, subconscious messages. His
power was really wearing thin and he needed to feed as soon as a
possibility presented itself.

They were soon
leaving the confines of the airport, walking outside into gentle
rain. Daniel thought about the seasons and realized it was early
April. It was warmer here than in Hartland, Sarah’s home in Canada,
but still on the chilly side.

The sky was
darkening as clouds thickened above and Daniel lifted his hand to
shield his eyes from the rain, exchanging a glance with Sarah
before pulling her in the right direction to get their car.

‘Not long now,’
he reassured her.

She still
looked hungry, despite his influence and blood, and he could sense
her need, her conflict, to be surrounded by so many people. He
longed to grab someone and feed right there. He needed to get away
from all those warm bodies and thrumming hearts as quickly as
possible.

He spotted the
car rental office up ahead, and his feet pounded over wet tarmac in
his hurry to get there. There was one lone man inside, behind an
immaculate desk, who stood as he saw Daniel and Sarah approach.
Daniel heard his blood swimming in his veins and could not wait any
longer. He released Sarah’s hand and jumped onto the desk – too
weak to even assert influence. The man before him looked horrified
and was just starting to scream as Daniel thrust him back against a
partition wall and sunk his fangs deeply into his jugular, cutting
off the sound. He swallowed the intoxicating blood and felt it
rejuvenating him at once, but there was a tug at the body and
another mind connected to his – Sarah’s – she must have grabbed the
man’s wrist and be feeding on him too. Daniel retracted his teeth
and projected influence – not at the weakening man – at Sarah – he
had to get her to stop before she killed him.

‘Sarah,’ he
projected into her mind, for his strength had returned. ‘Sarah!
Stop feeding and release him NOW.’

Relief swept
over him as his influence worked and Sarah let the man fall. Daniel
caught hold of him, glancing over his shoulder to check that they
were still alone. Green eyes regarded him with fear as they locked
on to his, and Daniel made sure the man would not remember what had
happened.

‘Is there a
bathroom out the back?’ Daniel asked the man.

He nodded, his
chin doubling up as he did.

‘Go and clean
yourself, and then return to the desk. When you come back in do not
remember that you have seen us before,’ he commanded.

He watched the
man exit through a side door and turned to Sarah. She grinned up at
him, and he laughed, taking her in her arms.

‘Well done for
stopping,’ he said, wiping a smudge of blood from her lower
lip.

‘It wasn’t
without your help,’ she replied – ‘but at least I did stop without
you needing to pry open my mouth this time!’

‘Indeed,’
Daniel said, and kissed her. He only stopped when he heard the man
returning.

‘Hello, can I
help you?’ the man asked.

He sounded
embarrassed to have caught them kissing.

Daniel pulled
his wallet out of the back pocket of his dark trousers and showed
him his identification. The man nodded and gave him the keys he
needed before pointing them in the direction of a four by four; a
small off road vehicle.

Daniel jangled
the keys in front of Sarah’s face playfully, thanked the man at the
desk and raced with Sarah to the car – enjoying the sound of her
giggles. He threw their bags and newspapers into the boot as Sarah
climbed into the passenger side, then he jumped in next to her.

He was filled
with enthusiasm.

They had made
it.

Nothing too
terrible had happened.

He leant over
and kissed Sarah’s full lips, sharing a look of infinite
possibility. Her eyes sparkled beautifully.

Daniel started
the car and drove through the congested airport, Sarah’s hand
clutching his thigh. They left the traffic and noise behind and
turned west, driving into rolling hills and narrow country
lanes.

Sarah looked
out
of the window as Daniel drove them on. She saw a narrow
lane stretching ahead and all views were obscured by hedges on
either side of the road, where wildflowers blossomed.

She was
here!

England.

She glanced at
Daniel, catching his eye, and grinned. He returned her smile before
going back to concentrating on the road. He did not have to worry
about driving on the left hand side as it was a one way track. If
they came across another vehicle one of them would need to reverse
to find a wider stretch of road, or a gateway to a field.

Sarah still
felt amazing from consuming human blood – God, it had tasted better
than that bear she had, err . . . fed on, back in Canada. She could
feel the blood buzzing in her veins, making her doubts and worries
pale into insignificance.

She wondered if
she could handle the animal blood life style, but hey, even Daniel
drank human blood on occasion. It was
him
who had given in
and fed first at the airport. But then, she had drunk
his
blood on the plan. That must have made him pretty darn hungry. Her
cheeks reddened as she thought back on it. It had been pretty sexy
drinking his blood. If she had not been surrounded by people who
knows where it may have led. . . .

Sarah looked
away from Daniel and focused on the scenery instead. As she did the
rain turned to a light drizzle and the sun poked out from behind a
cloud, casting a wide rainbow in the sky. The colors, they were
beautiful. Her first rainbow as a vampire and she was astounded.
She glanced at Daniel, and he smiled knowingly. Each color was so
pure, it was stunning.

Sarah rested,
leaning back against the car seat, content to just take it all in.
As she watched the sky the drizzle stopped and the rainbow
disappeared. They rounded the crest of a hill and she caught a
glimpse of fields beyond. Yellow flowers filled her vision; they
grew in mass beyond the hedges on either side of the road.

‘What are
they?’ she asked Daniel.

‘Rape seed,
used for making an oil,’ he answered. ‘It’s beautiful, isn’t
it?’

‘Yes. Shall we
pull over? I can see a gate ahead, we could park there and climb
into a field with those newspapers you purchased and see if we can
find any useful info in them,’ she said.

‘OK, why not?’
Daniel said.

He slowed the
car as they approached the gate and pulled onto the grassy verge.
Sarah climbed out straight away, eager to see and feel beyond the
confines of the car. She inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh and
vibrant scent of the abundant flowers, their pollen rich on the
breeze.

Next she
stretched, enjoying being able to move again. She was not stiff,
like she would have been after such a long journey as a human. She
was stretching for the sheer pleasure of being able to move again.
It had been incredibly restrictive being on that plane, under
Daniel’s tight control, for such a long time. She was pleased she
had
been under his control though, who knows how badly
things may have gone otherwise.

She imagined
her children running through those fields, seeing their happy faces
vividly in her mind. It would be amazing if I could bring them here
. . . one day, she thought.

Sarah turned as
she heard a slam, her heart accelerating for an instant. She saw
Daniel at the boot, he had just pushed it down. Why was she jumpy
already? They had not even started looking for trouble yet. She
shook it off and smiled, stepping closer to Daniel as he came to
her, a think bundle of newspapers under his arm.

‘Hi,’ she said,
suddenly shy.

‘Hi yourself,’
he answered, and stroked her jaw with his spare hand.

‘We’re
here.’

‘I know,’
Daniel said amused, raising his eyebrows.

He stepped even
closer, so their bodies were lightly touching. Electricity and
static ignited between them and Sarah felt heat coursing through
her. They were alone. Free. She grabbed the back of his head and
pulled his lips to hers, kissing him heatedly. He held her tight
with his one free hand and sprang into the air. Adrenaline released
in her system as she moved backwards, unseeing, under Daniel’s
control, and landed in the midst of a sea of yellow, pollen forming
a haze around them.

She giggled and
stepped back. The sun cast a beam of light in her direction, making
her skin feel odd, itchy. Then she saw Daniel’s look, and thoughts
of her skin left her mind. It was predatory. He stepped closer,
stalking her, looking like a sleek, dark panther.

I can play at
that game, she thought, and slowly stepped back, a sly smile
touching her lips.

She saw his
eyes light within, a lively passion glinting through the darkness,
and then he jumped, releasing the newspapers he was holding, and
they fell all around them. Sarah gasped as his weight hit her and
she fell back, her fall cushioned by the soft, fertile ground.
Sarah giggled again – what was wrong with her – she was acting like
a teenager!

Daniel did not
seem to mind. He looked amused, happy.

He started to
unbutton her coat and kiss her neck.

Ummm, that felt
so good, thought Sarah. She slid her hands under his jacket, and
slid it back over his shoulders. He lifted his arms so she could
pull it right off. She pushed him back so he was sitting astride
her. She ran her fingers over the black cotton covering his tight
abdominals, and then ripped his t-shirt over his head. She returned
his kisses, running her mouth from his jaw down to his collar
bone.

She heard a
tractor start up and her heart skipped a beat, and then she
realized how far away it was and relaxed. They were alone, apart
from the odd field mouse scuttling between the plant stems and a
few bumblebees buzzing around.

Fingers grabbed
her jaw as Daniel commanded her attention, and kissed her intently
on the mouth, pulling at her lips teasingly. She ran her fingers
over his naked chest; it was so firm and sexy, adding to his
irresistible mystique. Her fingers found their way to the top of
his trousers and she swiftly undid the button, but his position
wouldn’t allow them to come down. He smiled wickedly at her and
pushed her back, and she sneezed as pollen from the squashed
flowers flew up her nose. More giggles followed.

‘Sarah,’ said
Daniel, teasingly, ‘we can’t have that.’

He pushed back
his legs so he was lying upon her again and kissed her hard, taking
away her breath. She reached for his zip and pulled it down, then
rubbed him through his underwear. He pushed against her and her
lower regions contracted in pleasure. She kissed him, sharing
breath and life as she continued to rub him and he yanked down her
jeans. Then somehow he was inside her and pushing into her. She
breathed deeply, taking in his woody scent and his seductive
pheromones, becoming lost to his rhythm.