The Vampire & the Rebel (Completed)

Part 3: Chapter 4

My list lay forgotten on the table. Usually I would dictate such things to Leif or another one of my humans, but I did not want anyone around in case Jamie actually did come find me after he was done with the other humans.

I did not actually expect him to make any real headway with them, but at least he would have given them something to think about. It was not like they would have anything else to do.

But they, of course, were not what had captured my interest in the moment. Jamie was leaning on the back of my chair, looming over me, and there was no hope that I would be able to keep my attention on such boring matters as day to day affairs. In my position it was easy to forget that humans were effective predators in their own right, but I could see it in Jamie when he was like this, and it called to me.

I reached my arm up around his neck and pulled him down towards me and kissed him. He did not hesitate to return my action and I strongly felt the stillness beneath my ribs where there should have been rapid palpitations.

The feeling scattered as Jamie pulled me up from the chair and into his arms. He was warmth and movement and he warded away the yawning emptiness that haunted me.

He made me feel alive in a way I could barely remember.

I let myself get swept up in the motion of the moment and revelled in the memory of life.

* * * * *

The darkness was thick without awareness as it released me. As I woke from the void, I became aware of the presence of my body and the sensory information in the world around me. My humans moved about my home with the hum of their everyday activities, and there was light beyond my eyelids.

Even breathing met my ears, and I was quick to remember who had watched over me while I took my rest. I opened my eyes and instantly spotted Jamie.

He had left the bed and was in the chair, but I was pleased to see he was still only half dressed, not having bothered to put on a shirt. It was a glorious sight to wake up to, corded muscle and the line of hair leading downwards. I smiled at him.

"You're awake."

Some of my other humans had been aghast that I had decided to have Jamie stay with me while I was vulnerable, instead of my regular guards, and I was pleased I had been right to trust him. He could have staked me at any time, and yet here I was.

Of course, he well knew now that staking me would not finish the job, but I preferred to focus on the warm sensation that it seemed he no longer wanted to destroy me.

A part of me wanted to lure him back into my bed, but a bigger part of me wanted to rub the fact that I was right about Jamie in the faces of my overwrought humans. If I stayed in here too long, Leif or someone would barge in to see what was wrong.

I wasn't too concerned about being caught in a compromising situation, but the interruption would be most displeasing. Better to assuage their concerns.

Plus, I needed my coffee.

"Yes. It always feels like I won't wake up, but I always do." As I walked towards him I noted there was a tension in his face that had not been there before I had fallen into the dark. "What's bothering you?"

"Your sleep is..."

I smiled softly and brought my hand up to rest on the side of his face. "Unnerving?"

"That's not what I meant."

"You can say what you're thinking," I prodded.

"You looked as if you'd died."