Saved From Herself

Ok, bear with me...this is my first attempt at more graphic scenes. I'm working on a novel in this genre, but with less detail in the intimate scenes, but wanted to see if I could write it more graphically, possibly create two versions...

Note, I have set this up using some italics and bolds. Have also used style tags normal and dialog in Word 2011(mac). I used to set up text books for a living and have done one published how-to jewelry book, so I'm in layout mode!

*****

Ellie was tired. Tired of spinning her wheels in life; tired of being alone. It had been years since she'd had a real relationship. She'd been out on a few dates, only to find that the guys were jerks, or couldn't keep up with her intelligence, or they were only interested in taking advantage of her loneliness; something she didn't let them do. She'd been feeling increasingly depressed for several months, feeling like life was passing her by, leaving her behind. She feels like her life should be on some different path, but she just can't seem to find it. One night, she gets a Facebook message from a guy she doesn't know. She figures it's just another one of those scammer emails, preying on lonely women. She looks at it, expecting it to be the usual 'my dear, I came across you profile and fell for your smile'...blah, blah, blah... Instead, the message said:

"Hi, my name is Michael, and I live just outside of town. I saw we share some interests: sci-fi, paranormal, karaoke, rock collecting. Just thought I'd drop you a hello. Holler back if you feel like it!"

Shocked that the message was from a real, local person, who actually shared some of her interests, she looks through his profile and searches the web to try to see if there is any sign he's some sort of ax murderer before she writes back to him. Satisfied he had no criminal record and no obvious signs of being a scammer or potential rapist, she answers his message. So begins an online friendship. Her mood starts to improve as she looks forward to hearing from him every evening after work.

After a couple of weeks of chatting, she gets a message:

"Hey, I've really enjoyed chatting, but was wondering if maybe you wanted to get together some time? Grab some food or a movie or just go for a walk? I'd really like to meet you face to face."

It was the other shoe dropping. She's very self-conscious about her appearance and social awkwardness, she is unsure she wants to meet him face to face. She fears that it might ruin things between them-that he'd loose interest if he actually met her face to face, but after some coaxing, he gets her to agree to meet him at a local restaurant, The Purple Pear, a kind of casual restaurant and bar, at 8 pm.

She arrives a little early and waits in the bar, as agreed. 8 pm comes around, then 8:15. He hasn't arrived yet. 8:30, and feeling depressed at the possibility that she's been stood up by the one person she hoped could be what she's been missing in her life, she orders a drink. She drinks it down, but it only makes her more depressed. 8:45, then 9 pm and two more drinks on an otherwise empty stomach, and she sinks into a deep depression; so deep that she decides she's had enough. She decides to end it all. She pays her bar tab, grabs her purse and keys and heads for the door. As her foot reaches the threshold, she feels a hand on her shoulder.

"Ellie, I'm so sorry I'm late, I wanted to call, but my phone was dead." Michael says.

Ellie pauses, then reluctantly turns to face him. He's taller than she expected, but just as attractive as his picture on his profile, which makes her feel even more self conscious about her 'unremarkable' and slightly plump figure.

"I thought you...you weren't going to show..." she slurs out.

Ellie feels slightly dizzy for a second, as she makes eye contact with Michael. She writes it off to too much alcohol and nothing to eat. A flash of pain and pity flashes across Michael's eyes, as he gently shifts his hand from her shoulder to her arm and nudges her back inside the restaurant.

"Give me a second chance? I really was unavoidably detained, but I'm here now." He says, keeping eye contact all the while.

"I reserved a table in the back, where we can have some peace and quiet. Will you join me?" he asks.

Feeling a bit fuzzy, she nods, following him to the back of the restaurant, to a private corner booth, with vintage velvet curtains pulled back to allow entry. She sits down on autopilot, feeling strangely out of control. Michael enters the booth and pulls the curtains shut, even though no one else is in the room. He sits down to face Ellie, sadness in his eyes. He pours her a small glass of aromatic liquid.

"Here..." He says.

"I think I've had enough to drink, thanks." She says, pushing it away.

"It's non-alcoholic. It's a natural mix of several aromatic herbs and plants, including honeysuckle. It will help with that headache you must be brewing by now?" he says.

"Yeah...three drinks is more than I usually have, but I wasn't really thinking ahead to a morning hangover. Some way to make a first impression?" She says, grinning and drinks the liquid down.

Now that she's drunk the elixir he gave her, he plunges in with both feet, knowing he will have to work quickly...and move plans forward way ahead of schedule, and without the subtlety he had planned.

"Ellie, I'm sorry, this is not how I wanted things to go, but I can't ignore the fact that you were ready to drive off from here and kill yourself." He says, waiting for her response.

Taken aback by his blunt words and his impossible knowledge, she stares at him a few seconds before responding.

"H... how did you know? I... I only decided..."

He cuts her off. "I could see it in your mind when I stopped you at the door." He tells her, waiting for the other mental shoe to drop.

"Excuse me? You could what?" she says, slowly starting to 'wake up' mentally again.

"I read your mind. Your intent was clear. You were going to drive off the high road by the river, and end it all." He says, bluntly. "And seeing as how you have essentially forfeited your life with your intension to suicide, I claim it." He says, putting his hand on hers on the table.

"You mean

you're

going to kill me instead?" she asks, trying to stave off her gut feeling of danger with sarcasm.

"No, but I will keep you from carrying it out. I can't let you kill yourself. I have worked too hard to find you and get to you.

I need you alive

." He says, emphasizing each word of the last sentence.

"Whoa! Take a step back here! What do you mean 'you've been looking for me' and you 'need me alive'? And how the hell did you read my mind?!" she asks.

She realizes something is very off. She tries to get closer to the opening in the curtains, to stand up, and escape a potentially very bad situation, but finds her muscles won't cooperate; she can't move. She prepares to scream, but feels her vocal chords lock up. Her eyes widen and her heart rate skyrockets in panic.

"No screaming, and no running away. I'm not going to hurt you, but I can't wait for you to feel comfortable with me to do what needs to be done next." He says.

He pauses to look her in the eyes, he reaches over and gently strokes her cheek.

"Don't be afraid. I'm going to loosen my control now, so you can speak." He tells her.

"What the

Hell

are you? How are you doing this?" she says, breathlessly.

"That's the hard part to explain, at least without freaking you out. (He pauses, searching her face to gauge how she might take things). I'm guessing by now, you already suspect I'm not quite an ordinary man, or even human?" he says, expectantly.

"I...I don't know. You

look

human, but a human can't control people like this!" She says, flustered.

"I was human, once, but long ago; but I became something more, and it's a gift I'm going to share with you." He says.

"What do you mean, 'share with me'? You mean telling me about it?" she asks nervously, having a sinking feeling that is not what he means.

"No, you see, this gift can only be given to certain special people, one-in-a-million people. You are one such person, and I'm going to give you this gift, make you like me." He says bluntly.

"Oh... um... but you still haven't answered me...what

ARE

you then?" she asks again.

His gaze downward, he says "It's easiest if I show you, try not to freak out, it's not as bad as you'll think it is." He lifts his gaze and opens his mouth as fangs pop down and into place.

"Holy shit! That's not possible! You can't be..." She trails off in disbelief.

"No Ellie, it

is

what it looks like. I

am

a vampire, just not quite like the myths would have it. I'm not allergic to sunlight or garlic or adverse to Holy relics...though sometimes I would rather avoid some of the holy rollers!" He says with a one sided grin.

"(gasps) You want to make me like you?! Turn me into...a

vampire

?!" she says. "I thought...I thought you were my friend?!"

"I am Ellie, but it's always been my intension since contacting you, I'm afraid. I'd intended to wait until you felt comfortable with me, to ease you into it, but when I saw your what you planned to do, I knew I had to skip the preliminaries." He explains.

"But I don't want to be a vampire! You can't!" she pleads frantically.

"Ellie, half an hour ago, you fully intended to

literally

throw your life away. You've forfeited any choice in this matter. I am going to turn you tonight; I cannot risk loosing you. You mean too much to me!" He tells her, looking her in the eyes the whole time.

"Please, no...I promise, I won't ...throw my life away, ok?" she sobs.

"My decision has been made, Ellie, and if I have to, I'll force the issue: I'll paralyze you again, feed from you and force feed you my blood; however, I'd... I'd much prefer you as a willing participant. You know it's going to happen, you know you can't fight my control. Make it easy on yourself." He says, gently, resting his hand on her knee.

"There's no way you'd reconsider? Change your mind?" she asks, tears starting to well up in her eyes.

"No. This

is

going to happen. I

need

to do this tonight. Compatible humans are a rarity and I can't let you slip through my fingers. Even if you promise not to try to kill yourself, the unconscious mind has a way of, well, making accidents happen." He explains.

"Hell! If you want compatible, why not sign up for eHarmony or Match dot com! You barely know me!" she says.

He laughs lightly. "I know you better than you think, love, and it's not that kind of compatibility Ellie. It's genetic, though we do seem compatible in other ways too. Only a small number of humans

can

become like me, and you are one of those few. So you see, I can't let you go...I may never find another like you. Now, do I have to force this, or will you let me turn you?"

Ellie is quiet for a while, looking down at her hands, which are shaking, her knuckles pale from stress.

"I don't suppose you'd consider putting it off a little while?" she asks, feeling desperate to stave off the inevitable, to have time to find some argument to convince him not to turn her.

"I think you know my answer, Ellie." He says, seriously.

After a couple of minutes of silence, she looks up at Michael, knowing he's being honest with her, there's no way out of this. She's not strong enough to fight him. He is going to turn her no matter what she says or does. She tries to stifle her 'fight or flight' instincts and let logic takeover.

"I...I'll cooperate... but... will it hurt much?" she says, fear in her eyes.

"I'll block the pain from my bite, but yes, there will likely be some pain and discomfort during your transformation. Think of it as a rebirth...with birth, there is always some pain, some trauma; but I'll do my best to make this as easy on you as possible. Take my hand." He says, and extends it for her to take.

She tentatively reaches out, taking his hand. He stands up, drawing her up from the booth, and close to him. The world shimmers around them, and suddenly they are somewhere else.

"What just happened? Where are we?" she asks, disoriented.

"My home. I can't exactly turn you in the middle of a restaurant, now can I?" he says with a grin. "To answer your first question, we teleported here, it's one of my other abilities... Now, there is one more thing I need to talk to you about... one more choice I need you to make."

"Like what?" she asks, feeling a little dizzy, she sits down on a nearby sofa.

"I'd like to offer you another option as to how I turn you. I can do this platonically, simply feeding from you and giving you some of my blood to drink in return, but I know you've been alone quite a while? I've felt your sadness, and loneliness. It was like a deep well of loneliness and despair tonight. How long has it been since...since you were with someone?" He says, trying to be polite about it. He sits down next to her and caresses her leg gently.

Ellie blushes a deep shade of red, uncomfortable talking to him about it, but she answers honestly.

"Over four years, it's one of the reasons I've been so depressed, actually."

"Then let me give you what you need, let me make love to you until you're sated.

Then

, I will turn you." He says.

"I...I don't know...I mean, I just met you face to face tonight..." Ellie says, slowly.

He flashes her a charming, but amused smile.

"Ellie, we are going to be together for years to come... Unless you plan to be celibate, it's going to happen sooner or later. Let me make this as pleasant an experience as possible. Let yourself have what you need." He suggests, sending mental waves to calm her fear.

After a long, thoughtful pause while she argues with herself over the shoulds and shoudn'ts, she says:

"It has been a very long time..." she trails off and looks down at her hands, avoiding eye contact.

Michael stands up and walks behind her, putting strong, warm hands on her shoulders and massaging them.

"Relax. You're extremely tense."

"Gee, I wonder why?" she says sarcastically. "hm...that does feel nice, but ...I feel kind of strange..." she says, a bit groggily.

"That would be the drink I gave you kicking in. It was more than just homeopathic hangover relief, I'm afraid. It's a drug that helps prepare you for transformation, by opening up latent psychic pathways. It makes the transition a bit smoother. So you see, I really do have to turn you tonight, because your human brain won't be able to cope with the onslaught of psychic stimuli, such as hearing dozens of mental voices from those around you, all at once, without risking madness. Do you feel like you can stand up?" he says.

"I'll try..." she says, getting about halfway up and getting dizzy and nauseas, and sitting back down. "Well, so much for that!" she says.

Michael picks her up gently and effortlessly, and carries her to his bedroom.

"I think you'll be more comfortable in here." He says, as he puts her down on the bed and sits next to her.

Ellie closes her eyes and lets out a sigh. She opens them again and says:

"I'm scared. I know I can't stop you, but I don't want to be some kind of blood sucking monster. (she closes her eyes and breaths irregularly, her head starting to ache).

"I know, and all I can say is you'll feel differently when this is over... Headache worse?" he asks, reaching over to stroke the side of her face.

"Yeah, a mega migraine's brewing." She says, keeping her eyes closed.

"It's the drink- um, drug I gave you. Everything becomes more sensitive, including normal senses. I'm going to turn the main lights off, and just keep a little light on. When I do, I want you to open your eyes and look at me." He tells her, as most of the lights go out, with only a smaller light on across the bedroom.

She slowly opens her eyes, trying to resist the need to squint. Michael cups her face with his hands and looks into her eyes. She feels his mind slip into hers, and as it does, the pain lessens.

"Better?" he asks.

"Yes. What did you do?" she asks.

"It's temporary...I numbed the pain...told your mind it doesn't exist, but it won't last forever. The only way to prevent it from returning, is to get this over with, so you can cope with the heightened sensory load." He tells her.

Knowing he needs to get on with it before his pain block wears off, he leans in and gently kisses her, first on her forehead, then her nose and cheek and finally her mouth. She feels awkward at first, torn between need and fear, so he telepathically lowers her fear level and her inhibitions slightly, not fully taking away control, but enough so that she can let herself respond, which she does. He kisses her more deeply, pausing to help her remove her shirt as well as his own.

Sensing a touch of panic, he reassures her: "This is for you, love...but if you want me to stop and just turn you, then tell me at any point, and I will." He says, lying next to her on his side and rolling her to face him.

He leans forward to kiss her again, and she responds with more enthusiasm, relaxing into his caresses. He undoes her bra, and pulls her flush with him, so that both their exposed torsos mold to each other's contours. On the periphery of her mind, she makes note of how warm he is, and that his heart beats as hers does.

He pulls away from her slightly, with a sly grin.

"Now I'm going to cheat a little." He says.

He puts his hand on her pants, both the outer and undergarments vanish and reappear lying across a chair nearby. He does the same with his own. He runs his hand down the contour of her body, from shoulder to hip.

"Sometimes teleportation comes in handy!" he says, grinning.

Ellie tenses, feeling the closeness of their bodies without any barrier between them.

Michael senses her unease rise.

"Shh...I won't until you're ready, okay?" He says, making eye contact.

She looks back and nods courtly. He leans forward and kisses her again, but starts to stray from her mouth to her jaw, down her neck. She tenses, thinking he's going to bite. She's surprised by a clear voice in her mind:

"not yet...unless you want me to? Some enjoy it..."

She senses a wicked grin, and blushes. He continues to explore her body, rolling her on her back and giving her breasts some much needed attention, playing with them, kissing them and tonguing her nipples. Occasionally, she feels a hint of fang slide across her skin. Instead of being frightened, she unexpectedly starts to feel excited by it, mixed with a splash of guilt for liking it.

He continues to move lower, spreading her legs and kissing her inner thighs, then moves in and mouths her opening. She gasps as he sucks and uses his tongue to stimulate all the right places, occasionally she can feel his fangs against her soft, moist skin, but he never bites. Everything seems many times more sensitive than before. Before she knows it, she feels a building in her groin, exploding in an orgasm like she hasn't had... she thinks at first, in years, but even then, not like this. He starts to move upward on her body, kissing her stomach and breasts on the way up.

Thinking maybe he was going to turn her now that she came, she braces herself for pain, but he leans in and kisses her deeply, pushing his tongue into her mouth, and encouraging her to do the same. She feels the contours and tips of his fangs with her tongue. A rush of adrenalin spurts through her body. She realizes he is poised and ready to enter her, but he waits, pausing in his kisses to look her in the eye, waiting for her permission. After a few seconds of indecision, she slides her hands down his back to his behind, and nudges him forward, opening her legs even wider to let him know she's ready for him. Leaning in for a quick kiss, he slides forward and gently into her, a little at a time, pulling a little out, then back in, until he's all the way inside her. She can't ever remember it feeling this way, not awkward, like it often was, but like he was meant to be there.