Slayer [vampire+vampire hunter]

Slayer 12

This was absolutely terrifying, and he hadn't even done anything yet. No matter how much I cared for and trusted Xavier, consenting to this seemed almost like giving up everything that made me myself. Every fiber of slayer instinct screamed in panic against it, against his hold on my chin and back of my neck, against the sensation of his breath whispering against my skin. I choked back a whimper, but it came out nonetheless, slightly strangled, the feeble sound filled with panic and alarm.

Xavier pressed his lips to my throat without breaking the skin, and I held my breath. "Relax," he whispered, and I flinched when I felt his mouth moving on the neck. "Seriously, Alexis, relax... It's unnecessarily harder if you're so tense."

"I can't," I choked out, my voice reduced to a dry sob. I froze when the hand on the back of my neck began to massage the muscle there, trying fruitlessly to get it to loosen. He drew back slightly, his face creased with frustration. "You'll just make it worse... Don't think about it, Alexis." Her soft murmur wasn't enough to soothe me.

"Can't," I gasped again, my breath catching in my throat uncomfortably when he leaned back in, pressing his mouth against mine. Amazingly, my body went limp for a heartbeat, and then I was reflexively straining to get closer to him, seized by an irresistible force I had no control over, fueled by the insane longing to hold him forever. He moaned softly into my mouth, his arms tightening around my waist, the only thing holding me up, and then pulled away, sinking his fangs into the tender flesh of my neck quickly, before my mind could even register it.

It hurt, like a slash of fire ripping and scalding through the delicate muscles, plunging into the blood vein he knew from experience-the thought sending yet another shiver down my spine-was there. I squeezed my eyes shut with a sharp intake of breath, feeling the unpleasant tugging sensation as he sucked my blood from my body, my mind revolting against what was happening. I ought to shove him away, fight back, critically wound him, anything...

But I just couldn't bear the thought of Xavier suffering when I could help him. What was a little pain when I could save him so much more?

I hadn't realized I'd opened my eyes back up until the ceiling started to blur around the edges and the unnerving fluttering at my neck had ceased, along with the pain-which had eventually receded to...pleasure. "Xavier?" I managed to say softly, my eyelids suddenly very heavy, starting to droop.

He was cradling me in his arms, holding me carefully as he carried me back across the room to his bed, tucking me in as if I were a child. My vision was still hazy, but my vision was narrowing gradually. My breath hitched oddly, my lungs struggling to breathe. "It's okay, Alexis, you're fine. Sleep," he whispered reassuringly, his lips trailing burning, yet a much more enjoyable fire than before, lines and patterns on my face. Almost absently, he began humming under his breath, but I knew he wanted to make up for what he'd done. He was guilty. Of course...

The train of thought faded away as I let the oceans of sleep lap at my mind, taking me away, far out to sea.

~*~

I sighed heavily, watching her sleep, her chest moving up and down evenly, her eyelashes flickering slightly-but that soon disappeared as she settled more deeply into unconsciousness. Without thinking, I licked my lips, eager to taste the rest of her precious blood, hating any drop wasted. This was so much, more than I could've asked for. Well, not more. I would've done anything to get her to become a vampire, to spend eternity with me, but I knew that was a lost cause. Ever since birth, since the time when she could absorb things, she'd hated my kind, enough to believe vampires as abominations against nature and devote her life to being a slayer. Vampires had killed her beloved family. I shouldn't ask more than her affection towards me; it was enough of a 180, more than enough than anyone could ever ask for. I still wanted it...

But I was still amazed by the permission. Consenting to something so intimate, so significant-at least to us; many vampires just did it for the high and nourishment-was a miracle in itself. Now if only...

No. Two words: Lost. Hope.

I struggled to accept it, but a minor part of myself instinctively rebelled against the challenge. I loved her, and I'd get her to love me enough so she wanted to be with me forever...

I shoved the thought to the very back of my mind when Alexis stirred slightly, her breathing disturbed by her waking up. It was impressive how she'd managed to recover so rapidly after losing blood, but I'd known she was strong from the beginning, when she had broken free of my magick. That had been a first, and I'd been seized by the undeniable craving-need-to know her. She wasn't just some human. She was...different, even for a slayer. Maybe it was the impact of her family's death, or just her nature; whatever it was, it intoxicated me, pulled me toward her, drugging me so I couldn't fight back, giving into my desires...

"X-Xavier?" she called faintly, reaching out blindly with her hand.

I sat up in the chair by the bed to take it. "I'm here," I answered, bewildered she hadn't forced me away yet.

She sighed. "You all right now?"

Of course, the first thing she would say was for someone else, not herself. So selfless. "Yes. I'm fine." The thirst had now been reduced to a dull urge that I could easily disregard.

"Good," she breathed. "Don't worry about me, Xavier," she said, her voice slightly firmer, as she assessed my face.

I guess the guilt showed no matter how I struggled to hide it. "I don't know what you're talking about," I attempted.

She rolled her eyes, and I almost smiled at the familiar gesture but couldn't manage it. All I could do was stare at the two puncture marks at the side of her throat, standing out to me as if lined by neon lights, announcing another of my sins to the world. I shouldn't have drunk from her. I wanted to go back in time and obliterate the event from existence... I cursed mentally, but was completely diverted when she put her arms around my neck. "It's okay, Xavier," she whispered reassuringly. "I'm going to be fine."

I sighed. "I'm so sorry."

"I said it's okay," she said, slightly impatiently, but her hand betrayed her, caressing my cheek comfortingly. "Don't worry about it. It's not like you could go against your nature."

The nature that repulsed her so much that it spurred her to kill others of my kind. I relaxed against her hand, reaching up with my own to hold hers there. "I'm still sorry, regardless."

"It's all right." She raised her voice, brows furrowing with frustration. "Really. I mean it."

"I know." Doesn't make it any better.

She frowned, seeming to read my mind, but leaned forward to distract me. The sensation of her warm mouth on mine was more than enough to cause a diversion, and I pulled her toward me, as close as I possibly could in an effort to keep us together forever.