Life Starts After Dark

Skylar’s POV

Even though not completely present, I was not entirely gone either.

I could hear the fighting that ensued around me, but it was rapidly growing fainter in my ears.

Eventually, everything went silent. I couldn’t tell if this was because the fighting had stopped, or because I had died. It was a morbid thought, to think that I was dead, but something completely plausible considering the amount of blood I had lost.

And then I felt him pull me to chest.

“Skylar, open your eyes. Please, wake up. Skylar? Skylar!” He was shaking me now, and that hurt. My broken bones seemed to rattle and shake with the pain of it.

“Ow,” I managed to whisper, and my eyes fluttered open. “Why did you have to do that?” I asked weakly. But the words didn’t come out right. It was as if I was no longer in control of my own speech anymore. I felt the sensation of falling, and knew I had very little time left. My eyelids fluttered again, and I struggled to keep awake.

“Skylar, listen to me. This is very important. I need to give you my blood again.”

It wasn’t as if I had the strength to object. I knew that when he held his wrist to my mouth, I could simply choose not to suck, knowing what his blood would do to me yet again, but that was suicide. I realized now that I would be doing him actual damage if I were to die here and now. It was strange to think that a vampire loved me, but I knew now that was true. Why else would he give his own self to me so completely? It was not right for a vampire to truly love a human. They were only discreet blood bags to most vampires, yet he had not taken anything from me. He had only given over and over again.

But I was slipping again, wasting time with my thinking. Eric saw this, and quickly pressed his wrist to my mouth.

I drank as deeply as I possibly could in my condition, which was not very hard. And as I did so, I knew that Eric was holding back. He did not want me to see that he was enjoying this, especially since the only cause for my drinking from him was the fact that my life was in danger.

Once I had drunk enough blood to speak properly, I whispered weakly, “It’s ok.” Then I continued to drink from him, this time sucking harder now that my strength had improved a little more.

“Skylar,” he gasped, his head falling back. I wasn’t paying too much attention to him, mostly due to the fact that my bones were mending, which was a particularly uncomfortable process.

When I could drink no more, I started to fall back onto the cold earth beneath me. Eric caught me before I could hit the ground, and in one sweeping motion, took me up in his arms.

“I’ll take you home,” he said, tucking me into his chest before he took off running. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t get nauseous, and let my arms wrap around his neck as my head rested on his broad shoulder.

Within a few short minutes, I felt the crunch of gravel beneath his feet as we reached the road that led to my driveway.

He quickly opened the door to my house, pulling it shut behind him.

“Where do you want to be?” he asked.

“My room, please.”

He needed no further instruction. He carried me up the stairs and into my room. Then, before he put me down, he pulled back the covers for me. He slid me gently under the comforter after pulling off my shoes and socks for me, and tucked me in carefully, as if I were a precious artifact in a museum.

Then he turned to leave.

“Stay,” I whispered pleadingly.

He stopped in his tracks, and then turned back to me. He studied my face carefully, as if trying to determine whether or not I was messing with him. The he sat on the very edge of my mattress and took my outstretched hand.

“You want me to stay?” he asked in disbelief.

I nodded. “I’m so sorry, Eric.”

“What are you sorry for?” he asked in a confused manner.

“For everything I have put you through. For that night at Fangtasia, when you…told me that you loved me. Did you really mean that?”

“Yes,” he whispered.

“I should not have let you leave. I should have made you stay, so I could explain. I was so confused. But…everything is very clear now. I know what I want. And what I want is you. I love you, Eric.”

In an instant, his lips brushed against mine, cool and inviting. And where I had given my own body the reins before, I gave the reins to him this time.

He was so gentle. Every kiss, though deep and passionate, was soft and lovingly kind.

He hovered over me, using his elbows to support his weight, his hands in my hair.

“I love you,” he whispered against my lips, his breath blowing sweetly against my skin.

“I love you,” I said back, feeling so blissfully happy that I thought my chest would explode. My heart had never felt so large or so strong. It hammered in my chest. Eric smiled, placing his hand over it.

He joined me under the covers after kicking off his shoes, and then only our clothes were separating us from each other.

His kisses moved to my recently broken collarbone that was still slightly bruised. Each touch of his lips sent shivers down the length of my body.

He made his way up my collarbone to my neck. He inhaled deeply, and then I heard a faint pop as he fangs emerged.

He turned away from me, breathing heavily, despite the fact that he needed no air.

I took his face in my hands, turning him back to face me again. I let my thumb brush over his fangs gently. “I’m not afraid of what you are, Eric. You don’t have to hide.”

Eric smiled, kissing me again. This time his tongue tasted my lips. He pulled away again, hunger in his eyes. “Skylar, I can’t. I’m so hungry,” he breathed.

“Then bite me,” I offered, stretching up to meet him.

“You have already lost blood tonight,” he argued.

“You have given me your blood twice already. You’ve saved my life twice as many times as I have been able to pay you back. Please, Eric. I want this.”

He growled in response, and then searched my neck, kissing it gently until he found a spot where the pulse was the strongest. He gently bit down then, and I gasped at the sharp sting of fangs breaking flesh. But this was very different from when the vampire had attacked me by the side of the road. This time I was perfectly willing to give my blood, and Eric was being very gentle with me.

Soon I began to feel and unspeakable pleasure and I knew that this must be what it felt like when Eric was giving me his blood.

“Eric!” I gasped, running my fingers through his hair as I pulled him closer to me, allowing him to drink more deeply.

When he had decided it was time to stop, he pulled away again, licking his lips as he looked into my eyes.

“Make love to me,” I whispered.