Fang jerked his head up, appearing surprised by my offer. "What the hell are you doing?"
"I'm going to let you suck my blood, duh." I scowled at him, he was ogling my breasts clad in the crimson bra like they were two generous globes of glory. Okay...well...maybe I exaggerated on the size just a little. They were more like teacups of triumph, but still... "Eyes up here, fang boy," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest trying to block his intense stare.
"You want me to take blood...from you?" he said frowning.
"What's wrong with me?" Here I was, sitting in my skivvies in a dark, damp and dank tunnel, the triple D of my least desirable things to do and he was acting like I had just offered him up a plate of liver with extra onions. I swear...if he mentions the word abomination...I was going to beat him with one of his own appendages.
"It's complicated."
"Can't you drink blood from another vampire?" If he couldn't, we were in a whole lot of trouble. It's not like I could just skip on down to the nearest 7-Eleven and grab him a Slurpee of O negative, you know what I mean Vern?
My eyes darted around the cavern in hopes of spotting one of those damn rats. Maybe he could snarf down one of those suckers in a pinch, though the thought had me throwing up a little in my mouth.
"Yes..." he cleared his throat, "vampires can drink the blood of their species."
My shoulders sagged in relief. I wouldn't have to pull a Bear Grylls after all. "So, what's the problem? You need blood and I have it." I narrowed my eyes at him. "Unless you would rather I go drag Druilla back in here. I'm sure she'd be more than happy to slice a vein open for you. Hell, she'd probably desiccate a small village in your honor," I sneered, not caring my jealously showed greener than a granny smith apple.
"That won't be necessary," he muttered, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the wall. "Like I said, Red...It's not that simple...it's complicated. You wouldn't understand." He groaned as he moved uncomfortably. The action making him sweat more than a sinner in church.
Complicated? Man, if I had a dollar every time some guy gave me that little speech, I would be freaking rich right now. I snorted. Let me tell you something guys, the "It's complicated" excuse is about as effective to women as "The dog ate my homework" excuse was in school.
"You know what's complicated? Calculous. That shit is hard. This," I gestured between me and him, "is simple. You either take my blood or die. Easy peasy. But, you had better make a decision quick, because, I'm telling you, Fang...you look like something the cat yacked up in the middle of the night."
He chuckled weakly. "Thank you." Opening his eyes, he looked at me. It was a lost and forlorn kind of look. "Red if I...," he paused and shook his head, "It's a long story."
A thunderous banging filled the cavern, vibrating through the walls and was followed by the wailing squall of one pissed off banshee. Holy Moses on a pogo stick! Dru-zilla was awake.
"Then you had better talk fast or take my blood," I snapped at him.
"Fuck!" he cursed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "This was not what I intended." He lurched forward and dragged me to him.
I saw his canines drop long and glistening. My heart started tumbling in my chest like a pair of Converse sneakers in the dryer before he nuzzled my neck. I shivered, gasping as his teeth broke the flesh of my throat. The sharp sting was soon replaced with a rush of pleasure unlike anything I had ever experienced. It was like having my vampire cherry popped. Oh my! I melted against him in a swoon.
To my surprise, he was wonderfully warm under my hands. The cold clammy feeling disappearing and I could feel him regaining his strength and vitality. While he fed, he soothed my back in long strokes which felt amazing as did the greedy pulling sensations at my neck. This was the domination of being taken by a creature who was much bigger and more powerful. A creature who could snap you in two, if he so chose, but still...you would run to the front of the line and kick Katniss Everdeen's pasty ass to volunteer for it.
Too soon, I felt his teeth retract from my neck and then his tongue gliding up the side before he kissed the very spot he had been feeding from. Pulling back, Fang smiled at me with a look of utter contentment. His chest with those impossible abs where back to being in pristine condition, his skin...glowed along with his diamond eyes.
I groaned with enough relief that he was whole again to wake up Yogi and Boo Boo during hibernation. I was about to stand up, but he yanked me back down to him and I ended up sprawled in his lap. Before I could say a word, his mouth covered mine, his arms were around me and I was pressed up against him tighter than a Panini.
"I am forever, permanently, and eternally bonded to you," he breathed against my lips.
"Great. I'll keep that in mind when I need you to cosign for my new house," I managed to breathlessly mumble before he went back for round two.
More pounding from the barred door broke us apart quicker than a couple of teenagers getting busted under the bleachers during homecoming.
"Shit!" Fang's eyes skirted down the tunnel before he turned them back to me. "That door isn't going to keep her out for long."
"She's becoming a real buzzkill," I muttered, leaning over to grab what remained of my tattered turtleneck. At that precise moment, my bra slid down my arms. "What the..." I quickly grabbed at it, trying to pull it back one handed while my other arm hastily covered my exposed girls from his leering gaze. "You unhooked my bra?" I squealed.
Giving me a sheepish grin, he shrugged his massive shoulders. "Sorry...bad habit."
Jumping to my feet, I turned my back and did the Truffle Shuffle trying to get the damn hooks latched in the back. Not an easy thing to do in my flustered state. Anyone who's ever been busted steaming up a Ford Taurus from the backseat at Inspiration Point by the cops...knows what I'm talking about. It's during stressful situations like these that trying to get those little hooks into the loops becomes as complicated and frustratingly annoying as a Rubik's Cube.
"You are such a scumbag," I muttered under my breath about wrenching my shoulder's out of their sockets reaching behind my back for the third attempt.
Two hands brushed mine out of the way and before I could blink, he had it latched. "There you go, all fixed," he said, giving it a little snap.
Flipping him the bird over my shoulder, I pulled my turtleneck on over my head. "Don't ever do that again!" I hissed when my head popped out with a crackle of static electricity. Great. I could only imagine what my hair must look like. Obviously, Mason didn't believe in Cling Free.
"Oh, Melanie...I'll be doing it again." He winked while smiling down at me with that Colgate smile of his. "Only, next time, you will be begging me."
"Don't count on it, snaggletooth."
"It will be fun when I prove how very wrong you are," he rumbled. His accent so thick, I could almost see it weaving its decadent arms around me and stripping me naked.
Gulping, I raised my chin with a false bravado I wasn't remotely feeling because my inner slut had already begun drooling. Snapping my mouth shut, I gathered my chain and wrapped it around my shoulders like a mink stole. But, in hindsight, it might have been better to wear it like a diaper in hopes of keeping Mr. Smexy out of my undies.
With one last glare, I started trudging down the long tunnel. His chuckling nipping at my heels making my face burn.
"Where does this lead anyway?" I asked, scanning the empty length ahead of us.
"If memory serves me right, it pops out just on the other side of the colony gates."
"What do we do when we get there?"
"I suppose since you can't ghost, we will have to make a run for it."
I stumbled. Running? He expected me to run? I looked down at my heels. Beautiful as they may be, they weren't exactly Nikes. I have to admit, I wasn't overly thrilled with his plan. After all, if he could ghost, then I am guessing the rest of the moldy oldies could as well which left me with no option other than to embrace my inner Forrest Gump. Considering we were going to be running for our lives...I was seriously screwed and was probably going to die. Another thing I was not overly thrilled about. With my luck, Druilla will plow a petrified penis through my heart and it will be game over. I shuddered at the thought.
"That's a stupid plan," I groused, stepping over what I hoped was a tree root and not a dead body.
"I didn't say it was brilliant, but unless you can think of something else, it's the only one we have."
I could sense the eye roll in that comment.
"Believe me, I'm working on it." And I was. Desperately. But my hamster had buckled under the stress and had flicked me off in a huff carrying an "on strike" poster. I just wasn't good at thinking under pressure. If, perhaps, there was a nice tub filled with warm bubbly water and I had an hour or two to soak about it...then I could be a freaking genius. But, since I was traversing through the bowels of castle Greyskull, I had neither the time nor the luxury. Though, seriously, I would cut off Fang's left arm right now for a Calgon moment.
Before long, we came to the end of the road...or...err...tunnel. Did I mention I was getting tired? This being a hero routine is exhausting business. I looked around, but saw nothing. No door. No window. Just more slimy walls.
"Well what now, Einstein?" I hissed at Fang. Yeah...I get a little grumpy when I am tired, so sue me.
Smiling down at me with that bless your heart sort of way, he reached out and tilted my chin up. OH!
"Who puts a door in the ceiling?"
"People who build escape tunnels."
"Whatever," I rolled my eyes. Looking up, I realized there was no way I was going to be able to reach the trap door, even with heels. "Give me a boost." I propped a leg up in the air and balanced on the other, but he left me hanging there doing the Karate Kid crane pose. "Any day now."
"Do you know what time it is?"
"What? Do I look like Siri?" I snapped, putting my foot down and stomping the muddy ground.
He gave an exasperated sigh. "We have no idea if it's still daylight out, Red."
"There's only one way to find out." When he still didn't budge, I put my hands on my hips and glared at him. "Or would you rather wait for Druilla to catch up with us?"
"If it's daylight out we're dead."
"If we don't leave we are dead anyway and I would much rather turn into a crispy critter than go another round with your wanker welding ex-girlfriend. And might I add, there's no stone statues down here so her only option would be to break yours off."
"Good point." He shuddered, crossing his legs.
"Thank you, now give me a boost."
"Fine, but only open it a crack," he warned, bending down and cupping his hands to give me a leg up.
"Really? I would have never thought of that on my own," I groused as I reached for the latch. Course, it didn't pass my attention that he didn't volunteer to go first.
Giving it a twist, I opened it a crack and saw...blue sky. After spending what seemed like days in the dungeon and this tunnel scurrying around like a mole, it was absolutely....beautiful. I'm not going to lie, the sun made me squint and hurt like a bitch, but since I didn't burst into flames, I wasn't going to complain.
Looking up, I figured it to be late afternoon. Pushing dusk, maybe. Without Druilla's tat-tas to tell for sure, I was only guessing. I was about to tell him my thoughts, when I looked down and got a gander at Fang. He was standing there humped over holding my foot with his eyes tightly pinched shut and his face looking as if he had sucked down a bunch of lemons and followed it with some Sour Patch Kids. I giggled. The light wasn't even touching him, big baby.
That's when in really dawned on me. I was looking at sunlight! Sticking my hand out of the door, I whirled it around in the bright light. No smoke. No flame. Not even a sunburn. Holy Moses on a pogo stick...I was Super Vamp! I also noticed I still didn't sparkle, even in sunlight, but for now I was willing to let that slide.
Besides, I was too busy marveling at the beauty of it. Druilla can kiss my non-combustible butt! Now, I almost wished she had pushed me outside. What a bummer that would have been for her and it would have saved me from experiencing what it felt like to be hung up like a slab of beef. Snorting, I was about to duck back inside when I spotted Gizmo's chrome blinking in the afternoon sun up in the driveway. Screw running...we had the Millennium Falcon!
Slamming the door shut, I jumped out of Fang's leg lift and started doing a happy dance around the cavern as I brilliant idea took hold. Mistaking my jerking and twitching for being on fire, Fang jumped on me. Tackling me to the ground, he started patting me down as he rolled me across the filthy floor.
"Stop it!" I shoved at his hands which were everywhere and moving so fast, it was hard to track them.
Fang paused playing Smokey the Bear, his face paler than it was when he was ill. "You're not on fire?"
"No...but thanks for thinking my dancing is the equivalent of someone being burned alive."
His hands started roaming back over me, much slower this time as he looked for any evidence of me being singed or smoldering. All the while he kept mumbling things like "amazing" and "remarkable".
I'm not going to lie. I totally gloated.
Mel has an idea? That's almost scary....
Stay tuned for the next installment of FANGED to find out. Don't forget to come join the fun on my Facebook page K. M. Halandras for sneak peeks!
Hey everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I have enjoyed writing it. If you liked it please give it a vote and comments are always appreciated. If you don't see any updates here...check out my other stories Bending Steele, When Roses Collide or Stealing You Away