Microsoft Word - TheStormyLoveLifeofLauraCordelaisSusanCfinal Page 7

  "Born and raised. I traveled for a while. When I ran into trouble, Marchon came along and the rest is history."

  "So Marchon's your sire?"

  "Yes." Antoine poured blood wine into a wineglass. "After that, I traveled with Marchon for a while. Those were the nights. That man certainly knows how to have fun. I hadn't heard from him in years. You can imagine my surprise when I woke up yesterday with his voice in my head telling me to expect a guest and to treat him right.

  He said you were having trouble with Brilla."

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  "She kidnapped my companion." David hung his head as he ached for Laura.

  "Hmm, that is very bad."

  "But I got some direction from Mama Joe."

  Confused, Antoine put down his wineglass. "Mama Joe hates vampires. Her father was killed by a vampire. Why would she help you? I'd be careful if I were you."

  David didn't say anything more. He just ate his steak. All the blood made him feel a little sleepy. He figured it was the stress from worrying about Laura and how he was going to find Donovan. The fact that Mama Joe's father was killed by a vampire didn't make him feel any better.

  They watched the latest updates on New Orleans on the living room TV. Antoine wept. "I grew up in the Ninth Ward. I can't even see my nana's house."

  "I'm sure they must have evacuated her." David tried to sound sympathetic.

  "Oh, no, Nana died years ago. But my cousins still live there. Hopefully, they got out."

  David nodded. "Please, excuse me, Antoine. I have to get some sleep. I have to be on my way again at sunset."

  "Sure. I'll set the alarm in the kitchen. It chimes like Big Ben. If you need anything, I'm right in the next room."

  David got up and went into the bedroom. After putting his coat carefully into the bag, he prepared for bed . It will be interesting sleeping in a coffin again. The casket's red satin lining looked inviting, however looks aren't everything. It was a snug fit to say the least. David banged his knee and then his elbow. He didn't bother to shut the lid.

  He was used to sleeping in a spacious bed with Laura. The thought of her with that voodoo witch made him angry. He tossed and turned trying to get comfortable. Every 75

  time he tried to focus on her, she felt further away, always just beyond his grasp. David closed his eyes and concentrated to send a message to Laura. He could almost see her, almost touch her. "Come to your mother's grave." Then the image of her in his imagination dimmed as the dream took over.

  David paced back and forth in front of the Cordelais crypt. She didn't come. He wasn't sure Laura heard him.

  In his dream, he appeared in their basement apartment in Manhattan.

  Nervously, he walked into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of blood. He drank it down, washed out the glass, and put it in the drain board. David laughed to himself.

  Even in a dream, he was being neat, and it was all Laura's fault. Oh, how I love you.

  The sound of sobbing came from the bedroom. When he got to the doorway, he saw his beautiful Laura lying on the bed. A pink satin sheet covered her. Her clothes were draped on a chair. On seeing him, she smiled. David stripped off his clothes, as he walked to the bed and climbed in. David kissed her soft, wet face.

  Laura whispered in his ear, "I want you so much."

  Without another word spoken, he blanketed her with his body. He gazed down into those pale blue eyes of hers and smiled wickedly. Laura moaned, as his mouth possessed hers. His tongue teased her lips apart and caressed her fangs. She groaned, and he chuckled.

  Her fingers kneaded his shoulders and worked their way down pressed against the hard muscles in his back. His head went back. Oh, that's wonderful. Laura took the opportunity when he moved slightly to move her hands down his sides and into the front. Grasping his penis, she fondled and played.

  He groaned. Enough.

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  Not nearly. She giggled.

  He laughed and suddenly moved quickly down her body. His hands cupped her breasts for only moments before he left a trail of hot kisses down her abdomen. His face disappeared between her legs when he kissed the core of her.

  Ah-eeee. Her fingers desperately clawed the sheets. Enough.

  Oh, my darling, not nearly enough.

  Laura panted. She reached for his dark hair, trying to pull him up. David ignored her frantic tugs. Please.

  Please, what? He raised his head to look at her and grinned. The view is wonderful from here.

  She whacked him gently on the head. You're such a tease. Have mercy on me.

  David shook his head no, smiling, showing his fangs. Then he slid the entire length of her body, at the same time sliding into her. Laura shivered all over. He captured her mouth again but this time she was ready. Her tongue rubbed seductively up and down his fangs. David gasped for breath. Every time he pushed into her, she pushed against him. He panted desperately. She gazed deeply into his eyes like the sultry vixen she was. He loved the taste of her on his tongue. She sucked his tongue.

  He groaned.

  His fingers caressed every part of her, while his lips embraced her. He would never let her go. Never. She urged him on with her touch. Her desire rippled through him like a shock wave.

  Please, more.

  Hearing her thoughts, feeling the wild surge in her body, he smiled wickedly because wicked was his intention. He needed her, and he knew she needed him. As 77

  primal as the need for blood. David growled, his eyes half closed with pleasure. Laura whimpered, as the heat within her grew. David nuzzled her neck, his fangs skimming across her skin. He pushed faster, deeper. Her last vestige of control disintegrated.

  They moved together. His hands fondled her breasts. Then his mouth took over, and Laura cried out his name. Possessed by passion, he led the charge. Her fingers tugged at his hair, and in one swift movement he moved from the breast he was suckling to her mouth. His tongue parted her lips and went straight for the fangs. She quivered all over, her fingers clawing the sheets. His final thrust left her breathless. He collapsed on her, and they remained entwined.

  He stayed within her even when they dozed in the sweet calm afterward. He couldn't stop touching her. She couldn't stop touching him.

  "Come here tomorrow. She doesn't know about this place." He stroked her hair.

  "She mustn't know what you dream."

  "I wish I could tell you where I am." She sighed.

  He kissed her. "I know where you are."

  "You do?"

  "Don't let on." He brushed back her golden hair.

  "I'm afraid for you, David." She tightened her embrace.

  "Don't worry. Do whatever she tells you to do. Distract her."

  Laura vanished. Humming filled the air around him. Growling, David sat up in the coffin. I'll rip that witch's throat out.

  Then a scream filled the darkness.

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  Chapter 7

  "Aeeeeeeeeeeeeeee! Help!"

  David hurried to the other bedroom in the apartment and found his host sitting up in his coffin with eyes shut, screaming.

  David shook him. "You're dreaming. Wake up!"

  Antoine's eyes snapped open. He jumped out of the coffin, and then began a desperate search of its white satin lining.

  "What's wrong? What are you looking for?"

  "Scorpions. Scorpions were crawling all over me. They were everywhere."

  David helped him search. "They're not here now. It was only a daymare.

  Anyway, vampires have no reason to fear scorpions."

  Antoine turned to him angrily. "I would have died of a scorpion sting, if Marchon hadn't come by and gloriously resurrected me. No. This dream is an omen. I have let danger near me, but how?" He paused to think then looked at David. "It's you. The danger is you. Get out of my house."

  "But what about Marchon?"

  "I don't care. You're under some evil spell, and I can't help you?"

  "But it's three in the afternoon and sunny."

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  "I don't care. Take your things and get out," Antoine demanded.

  David went back into the guest room, got dressed, checked his bag and made sure the coat for Laura and the bottles were secure, and put on his coat and gloves. He walked quietly through the hall to the front door.

  Antoine didn't say anything, just stood behind the door as he opened it. David, with hood pulled low over his face, walked into the afternoon sun. It was a frightening experience. His stomach felt sick, when he heard the door lock behind him.

  Fear and waves of nausea petrified him for several minutes. He descended the apartment building steps. As he reached the street, he looked up and down, unsure where to go, unsure where he would find a sanctuary.

  David took a left and walked for several blocks, feeling the heat reaching for him even through his coat. Then he saw a movie marquee. It was one of those old remodeled theaters that played old movies. Finally, a cool dark place, a sanctuary for the rest of the day. David went through the door and up to the ticket window.

  Unable to look upward, he asked, "What's playing now?"

  "The Return of Dracula," the red-haired, pony-tailed teenage girl said.

  "Okay. One, please." David reached into his pocket and took out his wallet.

  "I'm sorry, sir, no large bags allowed in the theater."

  "It's only a gym bag. Do you have someplace I can store it?"

  "No, sorry. You could put it in your car. You have time before the movie starts."

  "I didn't bring my car. I walked."

  "Sorry, sir. It's the theater policy."

  David put his wallet in his pocket and walked back into the sun. Across the street was a church. Well, it's only a few hours until sundown.

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  He crossed the street and walked up the stone stairs. Gingerly, he put his hand on the door handles, uncertain what might happen. Other vampires had said some power protected churches, and they couldn't enter. He personally hadn't been in one since before his undeath.

  As David opened the door, he heard someone speak. "Evil cannot enter here."

  He turned around but no one was there. No one was around anywhere that he could see. Maybe he only imagined it. Then he went in. Immediately, the dim coolness welcomed him. The stained glass windows threw patches of color between the pews.

  David found a pew cast in shadow beside a stone pillar. He sat there and leaned against the pillar, finding its chill refreshing. With his bag beside him, he folded his hands and closed his eyes.

  He woke with a start. Someone had touched him. David looked up and saw a young priest.

  "Can I help you, my son?"

  "Please, I just need to stay for a few hours, and then I'll be on my way. Just a few hours. That's all I need."

  The priest left but returned a moment later with an older priest. "Come, my son, we have a room where you rest."

  David took his bag and followed the older man behind the altar to a room and then out a side door. He led him to a smaller building and down a corridor and finally to a small room. The older priest turned on the light and walked over to pull down the shade. It was a tiny room with a cot.

  "Thank you, Father."

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  "You're welcome. The former priest of this parish used to take naps here. You can sleep here for a while without disturbance."

  Surprised and happily relieved, David took off his coat and made the mistake of smiling.

  The priest lurched backwards against the door. "How did you get in my church?"

  "I will not harm you, Father. You have my word. I will harm no one here."

  "And I'm supposed to believe you?"

  David noticed the door on the outside wall of the room. "I can leave if you like."

  He put on his coat.

  "No, I don't mean that," said the priest in a dither. "I mean, I don't understand how you can enter my church. Evil cannot enter here."

  David smiled softly, carefully shielding his fangs with a less open smile. "I am not evil, at least not anymore."

  The priest looked confused. "Don't all vampires drink human blood?"

  "Most do. I don't. I drink animal blood."

  The priest sat but missed the chair, falling on the floor. David gave him a hand up to his feet once more.

  "Thank you," he replied more out of habit than anything else. Then he looked at David and didn't say anything for a long time.

  This made David very uncomfortable. He was on the verge of leaving.

  "I'm not sure what you are. Perhaps you are a test of my faith." He stood near the door. "This house is a sanctuary for all souls and it is protected by God's grace from evil. If I believe that, I should not fear you." The man gazed at David as if he was figuring out a puzzle. "When I was young and studying in the seminary, one of my 82

  teachers said the strangest thing but it stuck with me--that among sinners there are saints that we would not know by their faces. I didn't know what he meant at the time, but now I do. Rest well, my son, and may God keep you."

  "Thank you, Father."

  The priest left, and David made himself comfortable on the cot.

  Today had been weird. He thought about what had happened at Antoine's. What if Brilla couldn't attack David like she wanted? What if she searched Antoine's mind and found the one thing he still feared? Scorpions. David didn't see any scorpions. What if she did this to force David out into the sun?

  David closed his eyes and dozed off. Brilla searched for him; he could feel it. And he knew she couldn't find him. Whatever power existed here shielded him, and David was glad for the reprieve. For once his mind grew silent, and he could think things over more clearly. Mama Joe told him he would need Laura's father to succeed. He pondered what a mortal could do to help.

  He slept peacefully without the humming haunting him. While he considered praying, a dream being a perfect place for prayers, he didn't feel it was necessary. He had only ever asked for one thing and that was given him when he met Laura. Yes, God had already given him enough. The rest was up to him to figure out. That seemed perfectly fair. So he floated away in his sleep, a dream overtaking him.

  He woke up in his bed in his apartment and smiled. David laughed and stretched out his arms. It feels so good to sleep in a bed.

  "Laura," he called. "Are you coming to bed?"

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  She entered wearing a nightgown of black lace. It slid off one shoulder as she climbed into bed. Her long, blonde hair shimmered seductively over her breasts. He couldn't stop gazing at her.

  "Okay, what's with that wicked smile? What are you thinking?" she asked.

  "Nothing. I just wanted to look at you. I'm afraid that if I close my eyes, I will lose you again." He traced a strand of her golden hair with a finger as it curved by her collarbone and fell just between her breasts.

  She sighed with passion.

  He leaned over and kissed her, his mouth capturing hers. His tongue caressed her fangs and she sighed helplessly. He chuckled, his mind dancing with a myriad of ways to make love but undecided on the best for the moment. She bit his tongue and he laughed.

  "You, creature, you." He gazed into her entrancing pale blue eyes. Then his lips brushed her alluringly, to tease and to conquer.

  Laura's hand cradled his face, rubbing the stubble of a young beard. Her hand trailed down to his chest, to the dark curls there, then moving downward.

  He sighed and he took her hand. "Not yet."

  "You don't want to make love?"

  He smiled very comfortably, not needing to hide his fangs from her. "I do, but I just want to look at you for a while. Every part of me hurts not being with you."

  "Me too. I mean . . . "

  They both laughed.

  "I know what you mean." He grinned. "I've been thinking."

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  She tickled him. "You're not supposed to be thinking when we're going to make love. It's not allowed." Her hands moved downward once more.

  He held her hands up and away. "I know, bu
t I've been thinking that if you could mesmerize Brilla, you'll be able to get away."

  Laura's face fell. "David, I've never taken control over anyone before. What if I do it wrong? I could hurt her. I don't want to harm Brilla. She hasn't harmed me."

  David's mouth dropped open. "Now you're kidding, darling. She kidnapped and drugged you. I consider that harming."

  "Brilla only meant to protect me. She's an old friend of my mother's. And what if what she says about the Keres is true?"

  David frowned. His fingers caressed her hair. "Laura, if it were true, we would have been destroyed the first day we slept together."

  "No, you don't understand. Our sleeping together did not involve a vow."

  He shook his head. "I won't take back my marriage vow." He kissed her several times, each time slowly tasting her lips. "Besides, there aren't any Keres anymore."

  "I don't know," replied Laura. "Okay, say that the Keres don't exist except in Brilla's imagination. She said she would let me go if I let her train me in my Telkhine powers. Why don't we let her? And when I've finished training, I'll come back to you."

  "I don't believe she'll let you go." He kissed her again, moved slowly on top of her.

  "Brilla has never lied to me."

  "She said you could leave and come back to me when you're done?"

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  Laura shook her head. "No, she said I can never go back to you." Then realization dawned on her face. "She did lie to me when she told me the ingredients in the tea."

  He kissed her neck. Then sensing something wrong, he gazed into her sad eyes.

  "David, when you come to rescue me, she's going to kill you." Laura was panting hard for all the wrong reasons.

  Face-to-face they embraced.

  "She's going to try," he growled. He kissed her but kept his eyes open, as if he suspected the instant they were closed she would be gone. "Don't worry, Laura.