Passions of the Heart by Diane C. Shea 1996 Nat/LaCroix Explicit This is a Nat/LaCroix story started during my Valentine days. Although n= ow a proclaimed Seducer (that little known Janette/LaCroix faction), I've= found that occasional Valentinism is hard to repress. = This probably best fits in sometime after "Francesca". = These characters aren't mine, but they do lend themselves to these situat= ions so well that I just couldn't resist using them for a little while. = Forgive me JP. = Thanks to my very knowledgeable beta reader Cousin Lisa P. who wrote the = story that inspired me to finally finish this thing. :-) = Comments, criticisms, and even praise if you are so moved, can be sent to= KerrRaven@aol.com **** = Three heavy plastic bags of groceries in tow, Dr. Lambert unlocked t= he door to her apartment and nudged it open with her knee. Once inside, = she hurried to put the bags down, too caught up in the plastic handles to= worry about closing the door. After she untangled herself from the bags= , she looked up to find Sidney sitting on the coffee table, nuzzling Joan= of Arc's cross. = After an in-depth discussion with Nick on the subject of crosses, an= d the vampiric aversion to such objects, her interest in the roughly cons= tructed gift of the martyred saint had been rekindled. She knew Nick che= rished the object, even though it caused him pain. She loved him for tha= t. For his faith. Despite all he had seen, and done, he still possessed= it. The cross that Joan had given him was one of the foremost symbols o= f that lingering faith. He had offered to let her keep it for a while, k= nowing that she could enjoy it more, and that it would be in good hands. = Nat hadn't factored in the problem of bad paws. "Sidney, no! Nick didn't let me borrow that just so you could destr= oy it." She ran across the short space and gingerly extracted it from be= neath Sidney's paw. She inspected the cross carefully, afraid the cat mi= ght have taken out his frustrations on the artifact by leaving tooth mark= s. It was holy enough as it was, it didn't need Sid's ministrations. = Satisfied that no obvious damage had been done, Natalie moved the cr= oss to a slightly safer shelf. She proceeded to close the door and round= up the bags for transport to the kitchen. She looked up after gathering= the handles together, and saw that a man was standing near her fireplace= =2E Terror and confusion shocked through her like electricity. When she= recognized who this man was, she added anger to the list of reactions. = LaCroix. The height, the hair, the all-black attire. It was definitely = him. = She was torn between screaming in fear or screaming out an accusator= y "How dare you come in here!" Then she looked to the cross on the shelf= , and decided that actions were far more effective than yelling. Within = a heartbeat she had the cross clutched in her hands, her only defense aga= inst Nick's evil master. = LaCroix had not moved from his position by the mantle. He looked ca= lmly at the spectacle of the brave doctor, defending herself against the = demons of the world, protected by the one true god. He found it almost t= oo funny to keep from laughing, which would have upset the woman more. H= e allowed himself only a mirthful smile. = Natalie was not pleased that her uninvited guest had not reacted to = her hint to leave. She gathered her courage and stepped closer to LaCroi= x, the cross between them. She thought she registered the slightest flin= ch of discomfort from the vampire. = LaCroix decided it was time to explain his presence, before the cros= s really did become a pain. = "Doctor Lambert, hasn't it occurred to you that I could have killed = you in the time it took to notice me? That is not why I am here." = Nat felt tired, angry, and worst of all, helpless. She was in no mo= od for that kind of crap. = "Oh, well, since we're being civilized today, why don't you sit down= ?" she said in a parody of invitation, her voice rising and threatening t= o turn hysterical. = He crossed slowly over to the beige sofa near the center of the room= , trying to remain unthreatening as he took a seat. The look in his eyes= was simply too predatory for her liking. She turned her back on him in = disgust, the cross still held in her hand. "If you're not here to kill me, which I can hardly believe, then wha= t are you here for?" Nat asked with exasperated skepticism. = LaCroix sighed and glanced briefly away, as if actually hurt by her = distrustful vehemence. When his eyes fell on her again she was surprised= by how human he seemed. When next he spoke, Nat felt the most unsettlin= g desire to trust him. = "I feared my attempt at a truce would not be taken the right way. Y= ou must understand Doctor, my people are a rather passionate lot. When w= e feel something we must act on that feeling. There are consequences if = we do not. It has been your luck to see me at my most..." he searched fo= r a word that would suit the circumstances, "obsessive, through Nick's ac= counts and our previous encounters. A vampire's emotions are very strong= , very dangerous to those such as yourself. What you may not have taken = into account is the fact that you are still alive." This sounded a great deal like a threat, and worked to shake Nat out= of her trusting haze. = "So, will you spend the rest of the night trying to blackmail me int= o doing something for you, perhaps in some pathetic attempt to hurt Nick,= relying on your fangs to quickly break my resolve? Or are you just goin= g to screw the talk and try to hypno me into it? Hey, with any luck you = might succeed!" She glared at him as he lounged on her sofa. "But right= now I have a cat to feed, and groceries to put in the frig, and in my li= ttle mundane mortal world these two things cannot be ignored," she finish= ed with breathless annoyance. After placing the cross back on the shelf,= she headed towards the kitchen. = LaCroix was silent for a moment, trying to get over his amazement. = She was incredible. She *was* scared, he could hear that from the rate o= f her heart, but her mind was able to inject practicality into the matter= =2E = "You know," LaCroix spoke as Nat stalked past him, plastic bags rust= ling, "you've made this hard on me. Fear. Lust. Hatred. I can deal wi= th those, but it's hard to woo sarcasm!" "Oh don't tell me you've come here for romance, LaCroix." She looke= d around. "Sidney! Come on out fuzzhead. I got that expensive Sheba br= and you adore. You'd better come out and eat it while you can, before yo= ur mistress turns into a late night vampire snack." LaCroix smiled slightly at this. She knew so well what could happen= to her in this situation. She knew there was little she could do about = it, and she was trying to give him whatever guilt he would take before sh= e went. Of course, he was not Nick, and guilt was not something he subsc= ribed to. = "Sid! Where are you?" Nat brushed a strand of hair away from her f= ace and looked carefully around the area she'd last seen the cat. "LaCro= ix, if you've caused my cat to have a heart attack I *will* break a few c= hair legs and do my damnedest to stake you to a wall!" = LaCroix refrained from chuckling over that. He recalled Nicholas ha= d a very similar reaction when that ugly hound of his had been threatened= =2E It was best not to anger a pet owner. "I don't think that will be n= ecessary," he informed her. "The 'fuzzhead', as you call it, is over the= re, watching." Natalie looked to the place he had gestured toward. She could dimly= see the shape of a cat muzzle and the gleam of frightened eyes from unde= r the chair. = "I envy you Sid. You get to run under the furniture, but I have to = meet the guests." She turned back to the task of storing the food away. = LaCroix wouldn't go unless he wanted to, and she was stuck with awaiting= whatever inevitable torment he might cause her. //Perhaps if I'm boring= enough, he'll leave,// Nat thought uselessly, as she stacked some alread= y thawing boxes in the freezer. = "Do you need any help?" LaCroix called from the living room. = "You'd actually help me put groceries away?" Nat stopped what she w= as doing and thought about how insane the night was turning out. A ruefu= l smile crept over her lips and her next words were laced with sarcasm. = "Careful, I might just have to marry you for that." = He was next to her by the counter in an instant. She tried not to j= ump back, but her surprise was evident. To test his offer she handed him= a head of lettuce with the directions, "Bottom of the frig, in the crisp= er." He took it from her gently and opened the refrigerator door. = "Here?" he asked unsure. "Well of course, silly. Where else would a crisper be? And why doe= s this make me think of shopping with Nick at the supermarket? I tell hi= m to go find the milk and he takes forever. Like milk isn't the easiest = thing to find or something, but he has to turn it into an expedition." S= he turned her attention back to the matter at hand. "Oh forget it. It'l= l go much faster if I do it myself." = She brushed past him to put the ice cream in the freezer before it m= elted. The lettuce would have to wait until she found a vampire who knew= something more about refrigerators than just how many bottles of "wine" = could fit on the top shelf. LaCroix stepped back a bit to let her get by= , but before she could close the door, and start on a new item, she felt = his hand on her neck. The cold coming from the freezer only added to the= chill she felt wash over her inwardly. Nat was forced to remember just = who it was who was in her home. Tales that Nick had shared with her of h= is past came unbidden, and she couldn't help but recall the many deaths h= e had attributed to LaCroix. = It was an unashamed and unrepentant killer who stood behind her, slo= wly massaging her neck like a concerned friend, or understanding lover. = Nat had no idea what to do, so she chose to do nothing. She didn't stop = him, nor encourage him. Her eyes betrayed her discomfort at the situatio= n as they darted back and forth beneath partly lowered lids. = LaCroix felt the tenseness of Natalie's whole being. He knew exactl= y what she was feeling. He had caused it to occur in so many others, inc= luding Nicholas. An uncomfortable warring of fear, loathing, and desire.= It was the simplest of cruelties, and one of the most enjoyable. It wa= s also not his goal, but old habits were hard to break. = He had not lied to her in the Azure. He had not needed to. She was= exquisite. Her personality was so rare in a woman, and he loved her str= ength. That same strength would no doubt clash with his own dominant att= itude, but the world would be bland without debate. = He shut the freezer door and slowly guided Natalie away from the kit= chen. It was a delicate operation to keep her from turning on him in acc= usation. He didn't want to have to force her. That would not do at all.= = "I want to do for you what *he* will not," LaCroix spoke in velvet t= ones. = Natalie tensed at his words, feeling more than a little awkward. Sh= e wondered just what her role in this would be. She was becoming a littl= e turned on despite her previous feelings toward him. //A little physica= l contact and you just fall apart, don't you Miss Lambert?// Nat chided h= erself. She had never before appreciated LaCroix in this way. Previousl= y, had she felt any sexual desire for him it would have turned bitter, si= nce all she really wanted was Nick. Now, she was beginning to see some u= nique qualities in LaCroix that Nick lacked. Complete confidence was one= =2E Total control being another. Plus, he was compelling to look at, sh= e finally admitted, and her anticipation was mounting. What would those = lips feel like on her skin? But still, there was a history of hatred bet= ween them, and she could not dislodge it so easily from her mind. = "I love Nick." She spoke it like a challenge. = "I know," his words were without malice. "And you have never unders= tood that I love Nicholas also." = "How can you, when you hurt him so much?" She faced away from him s= till, her eyes fixed on a picture across the room. = LaCroix stroked her hair but responded with unsympathetic logic. "T= he idea that love is kind is a very recent concept, another product of th= is upstart twentieth century. Before, love meant doing what was best for= someone, regardless of whether it hurt them or not. Pain is something y= ou will get over." = "Is that so!?" Nat turned to face him, nearly shouting. "Have you g= otten over your own pain, LaCroix? Did you ever forgive Nick for doing t= he right thing all those years ago?" She asked the question without thin= king about all she had revealed with its utterance. She found she didn't= care if he knew. = LaCroix was a little surprised to hear this from her, but then reali= zed he should have expected it. = "It seems you know more about me than I do about you. That's an unp= leasant position for a two thousand year old immortal to be in." = "Two thousand? Aren't you rounding things up a bit? You've got at = least a mortal lifetime to go before you reach that goal. And you didn't= answer my question," Nat accused. = "And I don't think I will. There is something to be said for being = the one with the fangs." He smiled slightly, a blend of cruelty and good= humor. = Nat frowned. She hated it when people avoided questions. Even wors= e, when they flat out refused to answer. = "I did not come here to discuss Nicholas or myself," LaCroix struggl= ed to keep the sharpness out of his voice. His next words were balanced = perfectly between emotion and obligation. "I came here for you." = "For me?" Nat didn't want to look him in the eyes. "Why does that = worry me for some reason?" = He answered her half serious question with an equally half serious a= nswer. "Because you are so unused to getting the attention you deserve."= = "And why have you decided this is Satisfy Nat Day?" she asked suspic= iously. = "The reason does not matter," LaCroix stated a little forcefully. "= You simply have too little self-confidence." "Oh please. You sound like a psychiatrist. I hope you don't expect= payment for this session." = "My dear Natalie, it would be more than you could afford." He looke= d into her eyes intently, his seriousness marred only by the hint of a sm= ile on his lips. = Nat studied that small bit of levity on the otherwise chiseled featu= res. Again she felt a strange sensation of wanting to like the man that = was behind the killer. In some odd way she felt she might understand the= way LaCroix thought better than she could Nick. But she had only known = him for a short time, so that was probably an illusion. Still, there was= that damn feeling. = Just as she was beginning to recognize her feelings, LaCroix disappe= ared from her sight. She gasped when she felt his hand on her right shou= lder, the fingers of his other hand touched the pulse on the left side of= her neck. He brushed her hair aside and she froze. A fleeting wish tha= t she could have the cross beside her ran through her mind. When she fel= t the tip of his tongue caressing the back of her ear, she simultaneously= shivered and relaxed. His hand was gentle as it slid from her right sho= ulder, down her arm, and to her waist. = LaCroix indulged in the sound of her heartbeat, let himself imagine t= he taste of her, but never lost himself in the bloodlust. = Nat let him do as he pleased. On an impulse, perhaps generated from= some irrational central processing unit of her sex drive, she reached be= hind her with her left hand and brought his other arm around to encircle = her body. That done, she placed her hands over his, and continued to enj= oy the sensations. = LaCroix was quite pleased at her initiative. Things were ready to p= rogress. He undid the top buttons of her blouse as he sucked delicately = on her ear, an action made all the more simple through experience. Natal= ie, for her part, undid the bottom buttons, and in a moment the blouse wa= s open. = LaCroix slid the garment over her shoulders and down her arms. Once= free, he draped it across the back of a chair to his right, then held Na= talie close to him once again. His hands brushed over the silken materia= l of her bra, and he closed his eyes momentarily to enjoy a heightened se= nse of touch. = Nat caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror near the door. = She saw herself enveloped by a near stranger, one so sensual he was impo= ssible to turn down. She felt an overwhelming rush of emotions, guilt be= ing one of the chief culprits. She thought of Nick. She was reminded th= at she'd had her own vampire for a long time. She'd had what should have= been a woman's typical fantasy of passionate love and danger, pleasure b= eyond compare. But that just didn't happen with Nick. Nick had his mome= nts, but unfortunately, that's all they were, moments. And sometimes, wh= en she was just as horny as the rest of the world, Nick couldn't do a dar= n thing about it. But she did love Nick. She couldn't deny that. No ma= tter how hard she tried. She hoped LaCroix understood that. = "I can't forgive you," she said simply. = "I don't need you to," he replied just as calmly. = Since it seemed that the moral issues were out of the way, she slowl= y unzipped her black skirt and worked it down her legs, gracefully steppi= ng out of it when it reached the floor. She took the time to drape it ac= ross a chair before looking at him. He wasn't the only one who knew how = to be sensuous, and she decided that it wouldn't hurt to look unhurried. = She couldn't help but wonder if she was impressing him at all. Nat didn= 't worry about it too much, figuring that in nearly two thousand years he= had probably seen and taken some of the more beautiful women of the worl= d. Instead of feeling daunted, it helped her ego to know he might be inc= luding her with these others. = Before she could begin to undo the catch on her bra he was in front = of her, in a blur of motion that made her dizzy. = "Impatient are you?" she asked cautiously. It was rather fun to tea= se one such as him, Nat discovered. It was a little like courting death,= which she supposed she was. There was a small click and a flash of metal before her eyes. She b= arely registered the switch blade in his hand before he put it to use alo= ng her thighs, deftly cutting the silk and lace of her underwear at her h= ips. Her heart skipped a beat, which she was sure he picked up on, befor= e she realized that she hadn't been cut in any way. As long as her Victo= ria's Secrets were the only things sacrificed to the knife. = "There are still a few good uses for a classic such as this," LaCroi= x explained, as he carefully brought the blade between her breasts and se= vered the silk bra in half. = She had seen enough women torn apart by weapons like that, yet Nat k= new she was safe from that fate with him. It was not in that way that he= would kill her. She was amazed by the blend of Old World and New that s= he saw within him. At once he reminded her of a modern rapist and a seve= nteenth century gentleman. = As the mutilated undergarments fell to the floor, Natalie stood nake= d before him. Together they made a classic image of an ivory skinned mai= den and her darkly clad lover. She looked into his eyes. They were a sa= fe, calm blue. A blue that belied a malevolent heart. LaCroix was slightly moved by the sight of this woman. Her amazingl= y pleasant curves had more than a subtle effect on his jaded heart. He w= ould have loved to have taken her then. Taken her and kept her for an et= ernity. But he could not make that choice for her. And that was exactly= why he wouldn't allow himself the pleasure of her blood, or the feel of = her hot body embracing him intimately. He knew the limit of his control.= = Nat, on the other hand, did not. As nicely as his garments suited h= is figure, she would have rather had them off. She wanted the fun of str= oking some sensitive vampire flesh. = "And are you not going to submit to me in turn?" Nat asked coyly. = LaCroix was pleased to see her so receptive to the idea, but was sti= ll forced to decline. "Natalie, you should only trust a chained lion so far. There may be= a weak link in an otherwise iron restraint," LaCroix rationalized. "Oh, you sound so much like Nick. Taking all the spontaneity out of= the moment," Nat said, half joking. = "Really?" LaCroix asked with interest. "I would love to have heard = words similar to mine coming from my Nicholas. We are more alike than he= wants to admit. As far as the ultimate penetration," he continued, and = Nat nearly shivered at the words, "it's overrated. I can give you twice = the pleasure with half the danger. I know myself well enough to realize = I couldn't stop the need to kill at that point. "I only hope that you'll finish what you start, unlike your Nicholas= ," Nat lightly accused. = "Rest assured, my dear Doctor," LaCroix's voice purred dangerously, = "I always finish what I start. And now, I think it's time we began." Without warning he swept Nat into his arms and carried her over to t= he sofa. She was not surprised by his strength. = "Aren't I a bit heavy?" she asked, knowing the answer, but wanting t= o hear it anyway. "We are a little more hearty than you give us credit for, Doctor. T= o me, you are nearly weightless." "Weightless eh? You really do know how to win a girl's heart." = She was surprised when her back came to rest on the back of the sofa= instead of the cushions. She had certainly never done it on the back of= a sofa. She had no idea that vampires could be kinky. Without warning,= visions of LaCroix and herself, in a public phone booth on a cold winter= night, sprang to mind. She struggled to keep from giggling. Nick was n= ever kinky, at least not with her. She began to wonder if Nick was reall= y much like his master in that way, and only suppressing those urges alon= g with his other primal feelings. Unfortunately, this reminded her that LaCroix did not suppress anyth= ing if he didn't feel like it. Her life was literally in his hands, and = although he seemed to be willing to restrain his vampiric violence, she c= ould do nothing to stop him from destroying her if he chose. In some way= s this thought was liberating. Whatever happened would not be her fault.= She could refuse him or encourage him, and either way he would do as he= pleased. = He supported her body with strong arms while she was balanced on the= narrow space. It forced her to trust him not to let her fall as he lean= ed over to kiss the place between her breasts. For a moment Nat had a fl= ashback to gymnastics class long ago when she used to practice on the bea= m. Her teacher had done something very similar, but she had never been n= aked, and he had never caressed her thighs. She brought her legs up, kne= es bent, toes curling over the edge of the furniture, and placed her hand= s on LaCroix's shoulders. She slowly brought one hand up, trailed it alo= ng the edge of his collar, and then let it lightly brush against the back= of his neck. The touch turned braver as she used her thumb and middle f= inger to trace along the line of the trapezius towards the base of his sk= ull, her fingers grazing over the short hairs. It surprised her a little= when LaCroix didn't pull away as Nick often did. He wasn't exactly payi= ng attention to what she was doing. That suited her fine. She arched in= voluntarily as his mouth encountered her nipple. Nat closed her eyes and= lost herself in the suckling sensation. Running her fingers through his= close-cropped hair, she moaned in pure passion. = LaCroix glanced up at her briefly, pleased that she was enjoying her= self. He moved to the other nipple and sucked it to its peak of rigidity= =2E Now that she was receptive to his style it didn't take long to arous= e her to an intimate wetness. = She felt his hand go between her legs, and as his finger dipped gent= ly into her moist being, she was struck by how strange the whole situatio= n had become. LaCroix was a master vampire. Nearly two thousand years o= f power behind every light caress. He was what Nick fought against, what= she had to fight against to win Nick over. And now he was pleasuring he= r, and asking nothing in return. Nat could only imagine what the catch w= ould be. But at that moment she could not have cared less. Her reason w= as swiftly giving way to her lust. A lust that had not been satisfied in= too long a time. If LaCroix could give her what Nick wouldn't... so be = it. = The feeling of being stroked from within sent all her body to tingli= ng, and LaCroix added another finger to the task. His thumb worked over = her clitoris as he licked along her collarbone, and she was soon moving s= moothly underneath him. He held onto her tightly, not letting up. His t= ongue traced back along her clavicle to the hollow of her throat where he= felt the vibrations of her deepest sounds of desire. = Nat felt the subtle pulsing within her growing more intense and she = bared her teeth in anticipation. She could feel everything around her; t= he sofa's soft but unyielding upholstery, the gentle breeze produced by t= he ceiling fan, and most important, the triple places of luscious contact= with LaCroix. It was almost too much as she tensed up in ecstasy, diggi= ng her nails into his shoulder and neck. = She was on the edge, and suddenly... there was nothing. He had retr= eated from within her, and the only sensation she felt was the building o= f her soon to be wasted orgasm if he didn't continue. She looked at him = desperately, with the beginnings of deep hatred if he denied her release.= LaCroix smiled, amused by her ferocious need. He slowly gathered he= r in his arms, lifted her off the back of the sofa, and gently deposited = her on the cushions. She looked mad enough to bite, and while the idea o= f role reversal intrigued him to some extent, he thought better of it. I= nstead he knelt down in front of her, spread her legs wide, and leaned in= to her throbbing mound. She watched him in terrified rapture as his ice-blue eyes yellowed, = and his fangs slid out, realizing that this was what she had wanted from = Nick. She was primed to explode when his tongue lightly touched the bott= om of her slit. When it traced upwards between her curving lips she felt= herself falling into a decadent void, only to be brought back by an erup= tion of nerve endings as LaCroix used the side of a very sharp canine too= th to carefully brush her clitoris. It was the idea of who was doing it,= and how, as much as the feeling of it being done, that brought her to an= unparalleled climax. She shuddered uncontrollably, and LaCroix pinned h= er down so her jarring wouldn't cause him to hurt her while he finished t= aking her to new levels of pleasure. Shutting her eyes, she writhed exqu= isitely under his weight, and growled as she released her feelings of fru= stration. She felt she was finally getting even with Nick for all those = lapses into his old nature. What better way to repay him for all the tim= es he'd groaned and balked at taking one of her potential cures than to h= ave a sexual fling with his master and live? That would teach him that b= eautiful words and flowers weren't everything to a woman. = She was smiling as the convulsions began to subside and she could ca= tch her breath. She opened her eyes to find LaCroix gone. It was a shoc= k. She looked frantically around the room and found him seated at her di= nette. He looked utterly calm, as though he'd had nothing to do with her= still tingling nerves. = Without saying a word she crossed the room and disappeared into the = bedroom. LaCroix waited patiently, using the time to study a photo of Ni= ck on the wall. He wondered how long it would take before Nicholas found= out about their little escapade. It would be wonderfully entertaining t= o watch his reaction. = When Nat reappeared she wore a silky medium length robe, belted at t= he waist. = "You really didn't hurt me," she said with some wonder. = LaCroix did not seem surprised by the statement. "As I said I would= n't. Do you feel this is a let down in some way?" his smile turned blata= ntly wicked. "Is that darker part of yourself surfacing to seek its own = pleasure?" = "My darker part has been rejoicing all night!" Nat felt that had to= be clarified. She wasn't always like that. "It's not for myself that I= mention it, but for you." "Pour moi. Pourquoi?" he asked as he leaned back in the chair. = "Uh, why, because as strange as this may sound, I wish you could hav= e felt the same ecstasy that I did," her expression turned sultry in reme= mbrance, "and I know that can only be achieved through the taking of bloo= d." "I rather agree," LaCroix spoke truthfully, "but tonight was not for= my pleasure. There will be other encounters between us. In time I will= be repaid for tonight." He stood, his next words chosen with care, "I k= now you now, enough to feel your desires were not satisfied fully. Consi= der this carefully. You can become my child. You would be a sister to N= ick, a lover through endless nights. I would do this for the betterment = of us all, Natalie. You offer the stability that our family has always n= eeded. Understand there have been very few I've ever considered making p= art of my life. I see potential in you that I do not want wasted by deat= h." = Nat turned away from him, her mind contemplating things at once enti= cing, and painful. = LaCroix's voice became a seductive whisper, "Someday, you will come = to me, wanting more than just my touch." Before she could think he stood= behind her again. This time his teeth grazed her neck. He was slowly b= iting, griping her throat in his jaws. She gasped at his suddenness, fea= ring her own death, then realized the twin pinpricks of pain were absent = from the bite. His fangs were still retracted. She could feel her pulse= racing under the pressure. He lingered like that for a moment, then let= go and raised his mouth to her ear. "I do not have eternity to await your decision, Doctor. Your beauty= and life will fade all too quickly before my eyes. One word," he brushe= d her cheek with his lips, "and you are mine. You must choose." = "I'll...I'll let you know." Her voice quavered as she spoke. = He turned her head so their gazes met, and kissed her mouth with res= trained intensity. The feeling of strangeness she'd felt before climaxed= in this act. She kept herself from both enjoying it too much, or pullin= g away, and soon it was over. She knew she could have it again if that w= as her wish, but she needed time to think. Sidney meowed from somewhere = nearby. "I will leave you to your thoughts," LaCroix looked past Nat to wher= e Sid was sitting on the counter, meowing his heart out, "and your cat." Nat looked around to see that Sidney had overcome his fear enough to= be pissed at the lack of attention. When she looked back LaCroix was go= ne. = Nat walked over to the cat and received an affectionate head-butt fr= om the furry creature. "Well Sidney, whether cat, vampire, or mortal, yo= u men are all alike. Love em, and leave em wanting more." She gave Sid = a distracted pat. "We'll see, LaCroix. We shall just see." **fin** = --PART.BOUNDARY.0.9887.emout08.mail.aol.com.842056170--