Nature or Nurture

It takes a long time for Victor to get his strength back. Adison is already going on house-calls again after one week, keeping their clientele happy, but he is still suffering from headaches and dizzy spells.

'I got hit twice by an undernourished woman with bare hands, Victor. You were beaten up by at least four men with clubs. There is a difference. It will all be fine, you'll see. It just takes time.'

He complains, 'But I'm bored, you won't let me read, or go to my workshop, or visit patients. Or feed Mina, or, well, you know..'

Adison may be a pillar of equanimity, but she's still only a twenty year old girl, and this is too much even for her. She exclaims indignantly.

'Victor, listen to yourself! I'm not your mother, or your doctor for that matter. I have not forbidden you to do any of those things, you don't do them because they hurt, or because you are an adult doctor who knows what is good for a patient with severe concussion, even if that patient is himself.'

At this outburst, Victor has the good grace to feel ashamed of his petulance. Of course everyone knows doctors are the worst patients, but that is no excuse to treat his friend this way. He looks very contrite, and Adison relents a bit.

'Let's not argue, Victor, but think of a way to resolve this. Reading would not be a good idea, that could cause lasting damage. Dissecting and drawing what you observe would be even worse, if you were able to concentrate.

But you can come with me on a few house-calls, or we could see some patients here, as a sort of trial for our idea. As for the other thing, your dizziness is not due to lack of blood or undernourishment, so why don't you try giving Mina a few mouthfuls this evening, see how it turns out. And if you listen to your body, you will know how far you can take the inevitable result. Just take it slow with the science, if you take my meaning. Let her do the hard work for a few weeks and just enjoy.'

Victor is now really sorry for his earlier reproofs, Adison is always so good to him, and all he can give her in return are childish accusations. Adison gives him a nice warm hug.

'You can't help feeling like that, love. Impatience and irritability are symptoms of concussion too. I'm not angry or hurt, I'm probably still irritable too. Even the way you feel now is not really you.' Victor realizes that is all true. He is emotional and irritable, and Adison has never reacted that way before either.

Relieved, he says, 'Where did you get so much wisdom at your age?' And, 'It can't be long now before Mina wakes up. Will you help me convince her to try?'

'Of course. And what would you say to taking Mina to the theatre this week? It's not as if that is really hard work.'

Victor's face lights up.

'You're right, and I'm sure she'd love to. But what if someone recognizes her?'

Adison is not taken aback.

'We ladies have our ways of looking totally different from how people know us. Don't you worry.'

When Mina wakes up, she finds Victor dozing next to her. They now share his room, and she never sleeps to sundown anymore, apparently she can waken after the sun is past its highest point, though of course she cannot go out in daylight.

She takes some convincing to try feeding on Victor that night, 'But you are still dizzy all the time, you need your blood for yourself. And I can see you aren't thinking of the kitchen table, you're planning to make love too.'

Victor takes both her hands and pleads with her.

'The dizziness is because my head got smashed in, not because of blood loss anymore. And Adison suggested I let you do the hard work during the follow-up, just laying back and enjoying it so to speak.'

'So Adison approves?' Mina says.

'She suggested we start with a little bit, and see how it goes,' Victor replies, hearing in her voice that he's won.

'Well, she's the doctor, so all right. I don't really need to feed until tomorrow, so tonight is the perfect time to try.'

And saying this, Mina feels a thrill of anticipation at finally tasting Victor's sweet blood again. She starts to picture how she can sate both their passions without overstraining his recovering body. His white soft skin, still bruised and cut, but so tempting, his boyish figure, that she has held so often the last few days, but not in passion since that first glorious time. She wants him, and not tonight, but now.

He is still clearly not as sharp as he usually is, for though he is sitting right next to her, he only notices her rising passion when she very carefully takes his bruised face in both her hands and kisses him on the mouth slowly and very, very deeply. Nearly out of breath, he feels his body awaken and respond to her passion.

The lust drowns out every lingering feeling of pain or tiredness. He feels invigorated, and kisses her again passionately. Every one of his nerves tingles, he feels a real lust gripping him, telling him to grab this woman.

And so it happens, he grabs his woman, and his woman grabs him, and because she is a lot stronger than him, she can just pick him up and lay him down carefully on their bed.

'Now you lay back and enjoy, and let me do the work', she says smilingly, and he takes her advice. With incredible discipline, she controls her lust and starts small, exploring every inch of him with her mouth and and sensitive fingers, avoiding all the places that still hurt, and emphasising those that feel best.

Then when he is gasping with feelings brought so high they can no longer be undergone passively, she straddles him, guides him inside her and with his first thrust, bites his tender white throat and latches on.

His feelings explode, and for a moment the whole world comes to a standstill. He can feel her worry over this, but just at that moment, the world moves on and he is happily thrusting again, feeling her ride his movement, making them one creature in a flowing motion. When he tires because of his injuries, she continues the ecstatic movement on her own, her teeth still in his neck and her mouth still sucking just enough to make him feel all his nerve-endings. This cannot last much longer, he can feel his climax approaching rapidly, and with renewed vigour he starts moving along with her again in perfect harmony.

This entices a groan of pleasure from her, clearly they are doing right by her as well. For a moment, he changes from a thinking man into a lustful creature, pumping furiously in pursuit of his high, and then he comes to himself again, sated, feeling his lover ardently licking the puncture marks her teeth have left there. She kisses him, her mouth tasting of his own blood, and he answers her kiss greedily. Then she lies next to him, arms and legs entangled in his, and she looks at him.

'How's the head', she asks.

'Empty', he replies.

'Good', is her return. And with that they lie back again and savour the moment.

In the meantime, Adison is in the study, working on the administration of their patients. It is a boring chore, but someone has to do it. At least they don't have to do the laundry, the shopping and most of the cooking themselves anymore since their practice has become successful and Vincent has a lead part.

The practice is still growing, Victor will soon have to decide whether he wants to keep doing his research, or take on more living patients. Or they could hire someone to keep the patient files. But in a way they don't need to take on more patients, they make a good living even now and they do want to keep some spare time to spend together.

Hearing the front door open, she decides to call it a day, that's Vincent coming back from arms practice with Bruce, and her talk with Victor has made her feel her own need for some intimacy.

As she puts away the patient files, her lover enters the study, eyes lighting up as he sees her.

'I knew I'd find you here!'

She is so happy to see him, she practically runs at him, and he catches her and clamps her firmly to his chest. They kiss as if they haven't seen each other for months instead of hours, and suddenly they realize they haven't made love since they both got trashed by Miss Yves.

Seeing in her eyes what she has in mind, Vincent remarks, 'I've been working out, I smell like a pig.' Adison doesn't think so at all, she loves it when he is sweaty, his nice comfortable smell takes on a new, very stimulating, aspect.

'Good,' she says, 'I want you to smell like an animal, because I want you to make love to me like an animal. I feel in heat, like an animal. We've been too careful for too long.'

And with that, she goes straight for the scar on his temple, a strong reminder of the time when his violent side would sometimes take charge. Touching it used to be a fool-proof way to get him fired up with lust and totally out of control in a second.

As she traces the scar, the effect is astounding, but not what she expected. Instead of being thrown over his shoulder and taken to and dumped on their bed for some rough lovemaking, as is her intention, he sinks to the ground and lands on his knees, like a bull struck down.

Adison is in shock, she has brought her proud, immensely strong other half down as if she's struck him between the eyes.

She automatically looks in those yellow eyes, she has always been able to read them, see what is going on inside him. And so it is this time. For in his eyes, she doesn't see the beaten expression that goes with the posture, she sees the intensity she saw there the first time she touched those scars, she can see it growing.

He pulls his loose shirt over his head, baring his scarred torso. Then he looks straight at her with those sulphurous orbs, and his husky voice says, 'Touch it again, touch all of them.'

And she does, right there and then. Kneeling in front of him she touches the scar on his right temple, tracing it with her fingers as she used to do. He lowers himself even further, until he is lying on the rug, with her straddling him, still tracing and caressing the white lines that she helped shape out of the wounds of his birth. Under her touch, he is shuddering with emotion and rising passion.

Reaching the end of the scar on his stomach, she doesn't move down to caress the curly hair, as she did the first time. Instead, she traces the new scars, ragged lines from the claws of the horrid creature that attacked him. They are not really white scars yet, but rather wounds just healed, pinkish in colour.

She can feel his tension grow, the emotion overruled by the heat and the passion. As she reaches the last of the new scars, she bends over him to kiss him, touching the scar on his temple again at the same time.

And now she gets the reaction she expected the first time, she is clutched in an iron embrace, as their mouths meet in an electrically charged kiss. Still kissing, he takes her to their bedroom where, indeed, he does drop her on the bed with him on top of her. His smell and weight drive her crazy with lust, she so loves to see this glorious beast, feel his pride, his strength, even his dominant nature.

He's out of his trousers easily enough, but her even her simple house dress is a bit more challenging. He manages to make getting it off her a sensuous experience, unbuttoning the front with one hand, the other exploring the layers of fabric of her skirts until he finds some part of her that is aching for his touch. Buttons undone, he literally finds his way beneath the skirts, following his exploring hand, moving the whole dress up and over her head, stopping at several places underway for a quick taste, or some lusty fondling.

When the dress is no longer on her body, he pretends to have gotten stuck in it, fighting to get out. This is not what she has in mind, but she can't help enjoying the show very much, he can be so incredibly funny. Besides, she knows a trick or two to get this fellow's attention back to lovemaking.

With his legs sticking out of her dress, she feels both of them up from the ankles. Very stimulating, she notices, also for the person doing the feeling. Following the legs upward, she will automatically find the object of her search. Somehow, her wayward lover has quieted down a lot with her hands fondling his inner thighs. He's lying still now, making it easier for her to find what she is looking for under the fabric, moving her head under the skirts too, and taking it in her mouth.

She supposes that her chances with the beast are over this time, she cannot imagine him winning from the actor in a silly mood. But actually she's enjoying herself quite well as it is. Of course she succeeds in her objective, she can clearly feel him tensing up, ecstatic with her attentions. He even emerges from the dress, pushing it to the side where it will be safe. She is now putting some serious effort in her ministrations, and to good effect.

He knows what she wants from him, and now he's ready to deliver. In one fluid move he lifts her, rolls her on the bed with him on top, and connects his body with hers. She is hit with a surge of intense heat, feeling exhilarated. He's really let go now, and she gives herself up to his ferocious lovemaking.

Afterward they decide to try the showers, but since the last few days have been chilly, the water is rather cold. They use it anyway, but quickly.

'Maybe Victor can invent a smaller boiler, just for a shower or two,' Vincent says, shivering.

'That'll give him something to do until he feels better,' he adds.

Adison looks at him slyly.

'I think he took a big step towards recovery today, he proposed Mina to try feeding her again, and I think she accepted.'

Now, Vincent's mood becomes thoughtful, and he immediately explains why.

'That's a good thing, for master Man summoned me today from arms practise. He told me that there are portents concerning my past, and he would like to induce my memories with a certain potion. I can't take that as long as Mina is dependent on my blood.'

'Portents?' Adison asks, 'I thought we were done with the enemy for now?'

'That's what they thought, too, but someone has foreseen that the enemy is looking for something or someone, and apparently it is connected with me. They want me to delve in my past to find out. I don't mind, I'm not afraid of my past anymore, it actually feels good to have memories past one year, even if they can be uncomfortable. I suppose I could run into someone from the past any day now. It would be safer to know whether they are friend or foe.'

'You will take me with you when you do that, won't you?'

He takes her in him arms, kissing her.

'I will take you with me wherever I go, I want you with me always. Will you come see me play tonight?'

'I will, gladly.' And with that, they dress and go in search of some dinner.