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42

I was cold by the tiot to the Jeep Graham had to drive, and I wouldn&039;t ride without a seat belt, so orked out a compromise I rode in the backseat with the blanket, and Requiem did his best to cuddle with me while I was strapped into the seat Which was a lot harder than it sounded

He started with his arm around my shoulders, his body pressed as close to et The blanket spread over us He arm, ith the blood he&039;d taken fromside-by-side wasn&039;t as war in someone&039;s lap By the ti A mile or so down Gravois and my body started to do those little involuntary spasripped my hand under the blanket "Your hand is cool to the touch"

"Yeah," I said

He wrapped his arrabbed it, tried to spread it back over us both "Allow me to unbelt you Allow me to hold you as Graha teeth--"we get in an accident, I could die"

"It is true you are no vampire and couldn&039;t survive a car crash, but it is also true that a va, cannot die Theyback to plump, ripe, life with the first taste of blood I fear that you will not"

My teeth began to chatter as if I was sitting on snow instead of in a car with the heater on high and a warm inning to ache from it

"Allow me at least to cover more of your body with nity, but allowof you"

I would have said, no, butto chip one of them He took the silence for a yes, and slid to the floorboard He burrowed under the blanket and laid his head against ht to tell him, move, but the involuntarylike castanets He&039;d been right, with ainst h I was still cold, so cold, as if I were ass-deep in the snow andto death was an easier way to die You just fell asleep This wasn&039;t easy, and I didn&039;t feel the least bit sleepy A little scared, but not sleepy

I wanted to be war warmer

Requiem&039;s voice came from under the blanket, his upper body co has slowed"

"I noticed," I said, and it was nice to just be able to talk without risking a tongue injury

He snuggled his face against h of the wereleopards rubbing overthat my lady required"

"What&039;s that supposed to h to sound suspicious

He laughed and pressed his body against h thatof sohts above the waist when they&039;re touching below the waist, no matter how innocently He was a vauess I couldn&039;t fault hi was all he did

"I&039; better than I was I don&039;t think we need any heroic measures"

"The tone of your voice, the stiffening of your body," he said from under the blanket, "such disapproval, as if you think I will try to ravish you"

"Let&039;s just say that I&039;h it felt a little silly talking to a lump under a blanket, when the lunity

He laid his head against the side of my body, because he was too tall to lay his head in s His hands wrapped around the back ofbetween me and the seat It ay too intiry this much up-close-and-personal would have raised it, but there was nothing Nothing but the war a near stranger that close to me But I could think I felt like crap, but hi it on I&039;d fed on hiht didn&039;t raise anything through the chill If I&039;d felt better, I would have been happy The ardeur wasn&039;t my master any things anymore Yeah, maybe I had to feed it, but it could be on my own terms Or close to eouswith e to trade that overwhel that I could feel now The ardeur wasn&039;t gone It was like a fire that had burned down to cold ashes, but there was still life in the heart of that dying wood It just needed a good poke and stir, and there would be fla that hard made it curl to life, a tiny flare I squashed it Pressed it down Not yet, not yet

Requieainst my body, so that the top of his head brushed h the leather jacket it wasn&039;t h that it could have been accidental on his part, though I doubted it If Requie like Jean-Claude and Asher, then he was very aware of where his body was, and what it was doing But I let it go I wasn&039;t that cheap a date for the ardeur anymore Yea!

I felt Damian I would like to say, I heard him, or saw hi against a wall, and he was cold, so cold Colder than I&039;d ever been I called to hi?"

I didn&039;t hear hi cold at the center of it Why, as happening to hi?"

"Did you say Damian?" Requiem asked

"Yes, he&039;s hurt He&039;s so cold, so cold, that he&039;s collapsed against a wall There are people around him, but I can&039;t see who He&039;s so cold, so cold"

Requie his head out of the blanket andmy eyes "You are his y makes him live"

"Oh, shit"

"Yes, you can refuse the ardeur&039;s call, but you are cold to the touch, and it is your waroes far beyond sharing blood"

I closed ainst the seat "Shit, shit, shit"

"Will you let him die for embarrassment&039;s sake?"

I opened my eyes "That question would have a lotby my knees"

He put his head to one side, and a curious look ca, then shook his head as if he&039;d decided better of it, and I was almost certain that what caht of first "Are you able to feed the ardeur without intercourse, or donating blood?"

"Yes," I said

"Then allowover snack until you reach the club and your po"

"Define snack," I said

Dali over hi, but he couldn&039;t hear her anymore, only watch her lipsticked rabbed the front of Requiem&039;s shirt "Out of time Damian needs needs to be warm"

"Then let me share my warmth with you," Requiem whispered it as his face bent toward ht I didn&039;t have to explain, or give detailed instructions He just grasped as needed, and acted

His lips touched entle, and no liberties were taken, his tongue stayed nicely in his ownto raise the ardeur

He drew back and searched aze "You are still cold in every way"

I nodded, and down that long , not like a huen It was as if so blown out inside him I was his spark now, and I didn&039;t kno to fix this

I looked up at the h, but without the ardeur&039;s heat, he was still a stranger, and I didn&039;t lust after strangers I had to be seduced not by the color of someone&039;s eyes, or the flawlessness of their face, but by a smile that had become dear to me, a conversation so familiar that it had become like music to me Familiarity never bred contempt with me, it made me feel safe, and until I felt safe, I did not lust after people, at least not in the front of my head, and it was the front of my head that I needed I&039;d finally found the lock forthe ardeur out on purpose, not just get out of its way, or stop fighting it, but truly had to coax it to life Again, I hadn&039;t thought what it would ree I see until it was too late

I grabbed Requie, and I don&039;t kno to save him"

"Simply raise the ardeur and feed"

"I don&039;t kno to do it, without the ardeur pushing on me Shit"

"Do you mean you do not kno to raise lust forpersonal, but I don&039;t know you"

"There is no sha a creature of casual lusts," he said

"Da," I whispered it, because I could feel it I could feel hias best he could

"I can raise lust in you, Anita, it is not the ardeur, but it is one of ifts"

If we&039;d had time I would have asked him what the difference was, but ere out of time "Do it, help me feed Don&039;t let me kill Damian, not like this"

"Drop your shields, or I am helpless to bespell you" He cupped the side of my face in his warm hand

Damian felt like a cold wind in s happened at once Requiem&039;s power crashed into ht, and I siotten past ht, but without theh what panties I had It leftup at him, my body already moist and ready for hiood foreplay packed into seconds The second thing that happened was my own special little poent,It was as if his power complemented the ardeur, as if it were a key to the lock, or maybe all of Belle&039;s line were like this, that we could bring each other

Whatever the reason, whatever the cause, the ardeur roared back to life And I felt it smash into hiht, blue fla in his skull Our entle This kiss was like feeding Like ere trying to suck each other&039;s souls froht the et one It wasn&039;t souls ere after

I fed on him and shoved it down that cold line to Damian I heard him in my head, "Anita," but still he was cold, still he lay in someone&039;s arms

The Jeep skittered around a turn and stopped Graha back there? My skin is crawling with it"

My hand was on the seat belt a second before Requiem&039;s The seat belt unsnapped, and he spilled ainst the seat, and I was suddenly very aware that the front of the leather pants were laced up tight Those lacings began to rub against ainst the front of his leather pants

He hesitated, as if afraid he&039;d hurt me, but I pulled at him, made him collapse on top of me He looked down at me with eyes like drowned flames, and whatever he saw on my face seemed to decide him, because he slid hands on ainst the front of his pants, so the leather bindings rubbed directly onto the most delicate of places

The sensation bowed s around his waist, pressed ely sainst hter I shoved the energy into Damian, shoved the feel of it, the heat of it, and kneake Knew he gazed up at the world through eyes that had swureen flames

His voice sounded soft in "

Requieht y to Da up at Requieroin pressing intoup and down the front of my body He rotated his hips and rubbed back and forth between s I could feel him swollen and thick behind the leather

I let my head fall back, so thatthe seat, and was staring upside dohen the door opened Graha down at me He went to his knees, as if he meant to kiss me, but Requiem picked me up, moved me out of reach He put one hand under ainst the back of the seat I was suddenly trapped between his body and the seat in a way that I hadn&039;t been before The push of his body was firher It was as if he&039;d spread me wider with the push of his body, peeled back the layers ofrubbed directly on those spots, that spot

It was as if he knew exactly what he&039;d done, because he looked down ateyes, and said, "Does it hurt?"

"No, not yet" I put my hands on his shoulders, and would have drawn hiainst h, so smooth The leather et from my body, from hoet he&039;d made me If I&039;d been a little less wet, he&039;d have hurt an to pivot his hips, rubbing his groin againstto rub acrosshiht spark of pleasure began to build inside ht of his stroke, as his groin brushed over that one s so wet from ht, and brighter It was as if fire had weight to it, and that bright light grew heavy inside my body, until I could feel the brush of that heat every time he moved over ht, nothing but the building pleasure, and then finally at the height of one of those rough strokes, all that heat and weight spilled overin screa down my hands, so that I ripped his shirt until I found skin to drive my nails into

It was only then that he drove hih that it was alainst h the leather of his pants His hands were on the back of the seat, holding us in place, but his neck was bowed, his eyes closed, and his body pinning h the leather and find himself inside ainst the seat, and the cry I gave him was part pleasure and part pain

It was only then that the ardeur truly fed It had gotten small bits, but not what it needed, not what I needed Requie himself with an iron will, and that iron will had keptthat I needed Only with his release had all his walls co down, and the ardeur had roared into that breach, and fed

His body collapsed down the seat, so that he was resting on his legs, still on his knees, still with ainst the seat His shoulders sluainst the top of my head, one hand on the back of the seat, and the other around , feel his pulse against the side of my face, where his neck lay, warm and close above me If I&039;d taken blood from him it would have left him colder, but the ardeur wasn&039;t blood, and it didn&039;tits warmth with those who fed it well

I felt Damian like a ind inside my head He blew me a kiss "Thank you, Anita, thank you" Then he pulled away, and there was so his hand He let them lead him onto the dance floor, and I was alone insidein the open door of the Jeep "Why wouldn&039;t you share, Requiem, ouldn&039;t you share?"

Requiem turned his head, slowly, as if even that small movement were an effort "She is not mine to share"

Graham laid his head on his arms on the seat, al at Requiereen shirt had been ripped away, and there was a glint of scarlet froht arm was ripped away too, and there wereI could think of, "Did I hurt you?"

That hter hurt "I think,that of you" He eased me off his body, and hi on the seat, and he was kneeling in front of me It was almost exactly hoe started

Heflat in the floor, with his back against the opposite door fro "Did I hurt you?" he asked

"Not yet," I said, but even as I said it the endorphins began to fade, and the first ache began It was suddenly harder to find a comfortable place to sit on the seats

"I have hurt you," he said, "and I a h to answer, but clus, but clumsy isn&039;t one of them"

"You compliment me, even as I see your discomfort"

"Why didn&039;t you just take off the pants and fuck her?" Graham asked His face looked more in pain than either of ours

"I told her to let down her shields, and she did it She trusted me, but she did not understand what my power can do"

"You told me that it was lust," I said, and my voice still sounded lazier than normal, almost sleepy

"Yes, but it is not seduction as Jean-Claude and Asher can do It is siood foreplay all at once It felt wonderful"

"But it is purely physiological, purely of the body My gift does not touch thewith that?" Graham asked

"If a woman&039;s body reacts to my power, but her mind does not, I see it as little better than rape, and I have never been interested in such things" He sighed "Anita did not want to have intercourse with me, she ht, but she needed to keep the rest for herself I was hoping to be able to stop sooner, but you kept de more The ardeur did not quiet as I had hoped"

"I could feel it," Graha, like what you did to me earlier, but more It felt like if I could have just touched you, it would have been more"

Requiem said, "More, yes, it would be asm?"

He looked at me, and I looked at him, and neither of us looked at Graha knew it"

"I obeyed Anita&039;s wishes We did not have intercourse, we saved her vampire servant, and the ardeur has been fed"

I looked at hiant, but sort of dissipated, like an elegant rake If he&039;d unfastened those leather pants and made it intercourse, I wouldn&039;t have said no, because truthfully, I&039;d thought that was all that would save Damian Or maybe I was just too American, and only intercourse , Requiem had behaved hiot a lot of brownie points for that If I&039;d had a gold star, I would have pinned it on hi I kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thank you"

43

Graham double-parked in front of Guilty Pleasures and said he&039;d valet the car forI was better, but I&039;d shoved a lot of the last feeding into Da curve on the new version of the ardeur was going to take so used to

Requiem offered me his hand to help me out of the Jeep, and I took it I was stiff and et me that way, it seemed fair he help me out of the Jeep Besides, I couldn&039;t just flounce out of the Jeep like noroals in life was not to flash anyone tonight by accident

Clay, the new blond olf, was at the door A trio of wo him up A man in coat and hat slipped past his back and into the club Clay didn&039;t see at the redhead&039;s chest

He noticed us in tiot there He stood, one hand on the opposite wrist, as if he&039;d been doing it all night But everything about hiht with his hand in the cookie jar

Requie up to the door, too, which let ht have a few rubby spots of his own When ere at the top, even with Clay, I stopped long enough to say, "All those woe, Clay"

He looked surprised, either at the thought of it, or that I&039;d seen him "They&039;re over twenty-one"

"You see ID?"

He looked perplexed "Well, Maria said that her friend had left her ID at home I know Maria"

I shook my head "You better hope someone catches her friend inside" I let Requiem lead me past the puzzled olf

It was 1:00 in the , but when Requiem opened the door, the sound of ood time, spilled out around us It was hot inside the doors, and it wasn&039;t caused by the heating system, it was just that many bodies in a se yet, because my vieas blocked by a curtain of black-shirted security

Buzz was talking to the three woet in"

"But Clay told us it would be alright," the redhead said, and I assumed it was Maria

"Maria," Buzz said, "you know the rules No exceptions, not even for regulars"

Thetwo of the largest security guards I&039;d seen One was as blond as Clay, and the other was very, very brunette, as in African American brunette They were both over six feet, with a shoulder spread that was nearly as wide as I was tall They made Buzz look small, and I wondered where they&039;d been when Pri everyone&039;s ass

The brunette said, "You are not allowed in here"

"I have a right to see my own son," thetonight He called in sick"

Marloas Gregory&039;s stage naical unit that called itself his father The man who&039;d sexually abused them as children, pimped them out to other pedophiles, and even put the order against hiory and Stephen did