Chapter 5 - Burning
We made our way out onto the cathedral plaza and quickly moved along the path to one of the neighboring old world buildings that towered over the cathedral. It had originally been a hotel, temporary housing for people coming into the city from out of town. Now many of the vampires used them as their temporary homes when in Chicago. There were several such buildings along this block where now thousands of vampires scurried to the privacy of their rooms.
We quickly made our way up the many flights of stairs toward Damion's top floor suite. There is no electrical power left in Chicago so elevators are useless and each of the plush halls is lit by decorative candelabras. As always the first thing to catch my eye when the door to Damion's suite is opened is the the vast wall of windows overlooking the lake just beyond the plaza and the rising red rimmed moon. Damion guides his companions toward his bedroom with its oversized king bed as I walk to the windows staring at the moon. Lost in the view I do not hear Damion return but purr as I feel his arms snake around my waist.
"You won't join us will you." He stated more than asked as his whispered in my ear, the cool breath teasing the skin on my neck. I shook my head but leaned into his embrace relishing in his touch. He sighed expecting my answer but ever hopeful. He released me and I could not stop the soft whine that escaped my throat as he walked toward the package sitting on the bar. He glanced back at my complaint and saw the battle in my eyes for control. He returned with the package neatly wrapped in blue paper with a silver ribbon. The girls called for him from the bedroom growing restless and impatient. He smirked as he handed me the gift.
"Duty calls little one, but I promise I'll return and give you your release. Until then I brought you something to keep you entertained." He kissed my head and retreated to the bedroom and his restless companions. He kindly shut the door leaving me in the darkness of the living room lit only by the full moon outside the window.
I stared after him for a few moments almost wishing I'd accepted his invitation to join them but in the end turned my attention to my gift. I knew what it was before I'd even tugged on the silver ribbon. He brought me the same thing every year since that ill fated evening of my botched ceremony 10 years ago. Each year he'd given me a bottle of vampiric blood to help take the edge off the frenzy that is the blood moon. His way of letting me know it was safe here, that he would harbor me and protect my reputation without me having to give myself again. The bottle of blood still cool from its journey here in an ice box had a plain black label on it. On the label scribed in his beautiful slanting handwriting was Libidine Sanguinius Aeternus Eternus. "Bloodlust Everlasting" No name, no date. THIS was part of his private collection.
I stood by the windows watching the waves rolling lazily onto the lakeshore less than a block away as I sipped on his precious gift. Each sip of blood at least temporarily cooling the fire beneath my skin. At this rate I wasn't sure I'd survive the night. The moon had barely risen above the trees and the fire of the moon was driving me mad with need, my instincts telling me to feed and breed. Damion's gift would satiate the need for blood but would do nothing for my physical need for sex. It's why I loathed the blood moon as much as I do. Its draw made me crave the last thing on earth I really wanted.
Hours passed as I waited for Damion's return, longing for his touch again. I sighed with relief when I heard his footsteps behind me and the warmth of his arms as they wrapped around my waist again pulling me against his now naked form. I stiffened in his arms as i felt his still hard cock nestled against my back.
"Shhhh.. Still your fears little one, it may be the blood moon but the last nine years should have proved I won't use it on you." he whispered in my ear as his hands ran down my stomach and over my thighs as he tried to soothe me. "Though should you ever change your mind all you have to do is ask." The slightest of touches set the blaze in my skin anew. Physically I wanted him with every fiber of my being. I wasn't sure which was worse anymore. The pain i feared or being consumed by the growing fire beneath my skin. How did I survive this last year... or the year before that?
He tugged at my shirt and before I could hesitate he had it over my head and onto the floor. He quieted my protest with a nip to my shoulder that sent waves of pleasure through my need wracked body. My skirt soon joined my shirt on the floor.
The thin black lace of my undergarments the only thing covering my pale skin in the moonlight as he let his hands roam up to my breasts trapped behind the fabric of my bra. He kneaded them with his warm hands and it was not long before he discarded my bra so that he could play with my hardened nipples. I was writhing in his arms, my skin hot beneath his fingers. He slowly ran his hand down my stomach, hoping I was too lost in the sensations from the nipple still being rolled between his fingers to notice its descent. No such luck. I went rigid in his arms and my hands wrapped around his wrist as his hand slipped beneath the lace of my thong.
"Damion!" I begged now trembling in a confusing mix of need and fear my breath catching in my throat.