Battle for Blood Ch. 04

"What's wrong?" she whispered as she slid his shirt over his head. She kissed his chest, nuzzling it with her nose softly. His breath was slightly ragged.

"Nothing. Nothing is wrong. I'm just trying to stay calm."

"What's the fun in that?" She smiled mischievously at him and continued kissing his chest.

"Not fun, necessary," Cole moaned slightly as her kissed traveled towards the top of his jeans. "You are not back to strength and I cannot loose control with you."

"Yet," she said as she unbuttoned his pants. She could feel his cock straining against the fabric, begging to be released. She wondered, somewhere far in the back of her brain, where all of this was coming from. She had never really thought she was a sexual creature like woman in the movies but the idea of Cole inside of her made the tightening feeling in her abdomen send shivers of excitement through her body. Cole groaned as she unbuttoned his pants.

He pushed her back on the bed, pushing her shirt up over her head, revealing her tight torso and round breasts. He kissed her neck, cupping her breast in his hand. His mouth moved to her pert nipple. She hisses softly as his teeth gently closed around the hard nub. The heat in her belly seemed to rise up as his hand pushed down the elastic of the boxers around her waist. Cole moved off the bed, stepping between her legs as he pulled off the garment and threw it aside. Shane leaned up on her elbows and watched him pull off his own pants, leaving him beautifully naked before her.

He climbed back on the bed, kissing her legs, running his hands up her body. His finger found its way to her waiting sex and she gasped as her thumb brushed her clit. He continued to rub it gently as he kissed the inside of her knees, peppering small kissed up her inner thigh until his mouth came to join his hand. Shane squirmed beneath him. Her body felt on fire. She thought she might explode from feeling so much at one time. She wanted to scream and pull him away, end the torment of the lightness of his touch. But she couldn't bring herself to stop him.

"Your body has caused you so much pain, my darling," Cole said as his hands continued their soft caresses. She felt moisture building between her legs. His fingers traveled into her while his thumb continued its gentle assault. "I'm going to show you how much pleasure it is capable of." Shane bit her lip, whimpering at his touch, his words, all of him. She felt wound up so tight she might snap.

Cole lowered his tongue to her clit and began massaging it, flicking it across the surface, sending shocks through her body. His fingers slid easily inside her, exciting her with the prospect of being filled by him. She felt the tension rise in her throat, her skin felt tight across the back of her neck and she was suddenly afraid of all the energy building in her body. His soft mouth continued, his tongue working faster against her most sensitive spot. Suddenly the world stopped as the tension inside of her snapped. Pleasure like some sort of poison poured through her veins, her entire body tensing against the unstoppable onslaught of this feeling. Her eyes closed as heady excitement filled her brain. She called out as it came, again and again, rushing through her, her skin burning with sensation and she felt like every nerve in her body was overloaded with ecstasy.

Cole leaned away from her core, his fingers still inside her. She felt them slide against her with slick wetness. He settled next to her, kissing her neck. She breathed hard, feeling the world come back into focus. She put her hands on his cheeks bringing his lips to hers again, tasting herself in his mouth.

"I've forgotten all pain," she said softly. He kissed her again. She pulled him on top of her, throwing her legs around him again. "Please," she begged, feeling empty as his fingers left her. Cole looked at her, his eyes on fire. He grit his teeth, lowering himself towards her until she felt the tip of his cock against her wet opening. She felt him trying to get himself under control, the muscles in his back rippled with the effort. She pulled him forward with her feet, pushing him into her. She gasped as she felt his thick member enter her. The size of it was terrifying. She needed more.

"Shhh," he growled in her ear. "Give me a moment." He began to rock back and forth inside her, easing his way in. She whimpered with impatience and excitement, trying to pull him in deeper with her legs. He pushed forward once more and she nearly screamed. The fullness inside of her was unbearable and she never wanted him to leave. She felt her entire body focus on the sensation. Her nerves hummed and she moaned against his chest. Her fingers tangled in his chest hair, pushing against his hard muscle. She kissed him again, pushing her tongue into his mouth, feeling his fangs against her lips. He began rocking again, going deeper than she ever thought possible. She moaned against his mouth pulling him in harder against her. Her lips caught on the tip of his elongated incisor and the tiniest bead of blood rolled into his mouth.

Cole growled against her. His arm wrapped around her body, pulling her towards him as he began pounding into her with earnest. His cock slid up inside of her over and over as the pressure inside her built up once more. His body moving against hers was all too much. She clung to his shoulders as his cock thrust into her again and again sending ripples of pleasure through her body. She felt like their kiss would never end, that the sensations inside of her would keep building forever and ever until she would go mad with pleasure. Her body screamed to have more of him as his hand cupped her bottom and pulled her harder against him.

At once the pressure built too much. She tore her mouth away from his and screamed as heat flooded between her legs, her muscles rippling around his buried cock. Cole threw his head back, thrusting into her faster as his own climax came. The sensation sent her further into the wave of electricity that was running through her body. Her fingers tingled as the blood rushed from them; she felt light headed and giddy with pleasure. He stilled above her, catching his breath. She pulled him back to her, kissing him deeply, reveling in his closeness and the feeling of his skin against her hyper sensitive fingers.

"This is only the beginning, love," he whispered to her. He moved next to her, pulling the blankets over them. She moaned softly as he pulled out of her, not wanting to feel empty again. He pulled her towards him and she buried her face in his chest again, throwing her arm over him. Soon they both slept.

As evening came he slid out of bed, away from her sleeping form. He moved silently towards the dresser at the wall and dressed. When he turned around she was standing behind him, long hair tumbling down her back. She held the bed sheet around her. Cole swore he had never seen anything as beautiful as she was now.

"Don't go," she whispered. He pulled her towards him, holding her close to him. He hated to disappoint her. Her hands crept up around his neck.

"I must," he growled. His voice emanated from his chest like thunder across her body. Her legs shook. He buried his face in her hair, nuzzling her neck. "Believe me, Shane, there is nothing I would rather do than stay here, in bed with you forever. But we are in danger and I have no idea how much or from whom. I will not let what happened to you, or me, happen again. I have to go."

Her arms slipped off his neck as he spoke and she curled around them against his chest. He held her close as she let her turbulent emotions die down. He was right, of course. She had no instincts for this kind of battle. She had no useful knowledge of the situation at hand. She had to trust him. Did she believe him that he wanted to stay? He would not just leave her here would he? No, she shook the thought from her head. No he wouldn't. His hand smoothed her hair. She didn't want him to go. The thought of being alone again after these few weeks of having him by her side constantly seemed unbearable.

"Can't I come?" she asked again. She knew the answer.

"I would bring you," he said, resting his chin on the crown of her head. "You know I would. But they do not know you are alive. It's better if it stays that way. You are much safer being dead to them. They are terribly meddlesome."

She nodded into his shirt.

"Stay inside?" he asked, hopefully.

"I'll try. I might go insane down here."

"If you need it there is a room on the second floor if you have the energy. Only go at night though."

"How long will you be gone?"

"A few days at most. I'm still not strong enough to travel in direct daylight. The council is not too far but I cannot raise suspicion by hurrying back. I want them to think I am truly alone in this world."

"But you're not," she said more to herself than to him.

"No, not anymore."

Cole pulled up to the gigantic mansion tucked deep within the backwoods of New York State. The council had retired here from the city, building this massive monstrosity sometime in the late 1800s, when the city grew too large for their tastes. His lip curled slightly at the ostentatious house he had once called home. So many vampires with decades and centuries to develop taste and instead they came up with this mash of styles that spread over an impressive lot.

Cole took a moment after he had stopped his car to gather himself. It had been hours since he left Shane, asleep, in Boston. He still burned for her. It had taken terrible control to force himself from the safe house. Part of him screamed with every step he took away from her. The sensation had not passed.

The spring evening still had a chill to it. The air smelled clean and fresh. Cole longed for the hot smells of the city. The feel of the forest reminded him too much of his condition not three weeks ago.

"You're how old and you still drive that piece of shit?" a silky voice emerged from the shadows of the porch.

Cole ignored it, walking up the steps to the front door. A small white hand slid onto his shoulder, bringing him to a halt.

"What? No kiss hello?" Adriana pulled herself against his back, whispering in his ear. Cole grit his teeth. Her body was cold against his.

"What do you want Adriana?" His voice was hard. She slid around him, her body coiling around his, till they were face to face. "You a council pet now?"

"I go where I'm needed," she purred.

Cole scoffed. "Yes, you were always the helpful one."

"Don't pout lover. I know you've been in a hole for 3 years but don't take it out on me. I did my best to get you out of there as soon as I could."

"So it was you who sent me that delicious little morsel?" Cole tried to keep the rage from his voice. It was as he suspected. She had sent Shane to die.

"Fixed her up myself." Adriana leaned into him. "Did you like it?"

Cole gave her a cruel smile, wrenching her hands from where she had clasped them around his neck. "I've had better." He kept holding her wrists as he backed her away. "Now if you'll excuse me." He stepped around her into the house.

"Don't be coy lover. I saved your life. You owe me."

He let the door close behind him.

The council room was packed. Instead of the usual eleven members and some aids it seemed the entire staff of the house had found a reason to be there. It was eerily quiet despite their numbers save the beat of several human hearts. The black onyx floor reflected the high mahogany desks about him. He stood on the star inlayed in the center of the room while the balcony rose up behind him, seating more onlookers. The chief council sat before Cole, the same vampire he had faced for over eight hundred years. His face and body were those of a teenage boy, but his eyes bore witness to his years and his voice was embittered with centuries of life. The other members sat in a wide half circle above the floor where Cole stood, the silent crowd at his back.

"It is good to see you alive ancient one." Landsman said. His large brown eyes twinkled in his dark face. He had not lost the sun of his birthplace in southern Spain. His face still shone as if he had just returned from a sun-filled day.

Cole nodded at the chief council "It is good to be seen Chief Landsman."

"We have a fair number of questions for you. We were beginning to worry after not seeing you for so many weeks since your rescue. We are glad you've returned home."

Cole grimaced mentally. This was no longer his home. He was still unsure if he owed them anything more than a thank you. He would wait and see. "I will do my best to answer them."

"We shall begin now."

"Now?" Cole smiled inwardly. He would not be the impatient one here. He had to remain calm so he could leave here sooner without suspicion.

"Yes, now." Landsman snapped. "Where have you been? We sent a rescue mission almost a month ago. We have little time."

Cole was confused but did not show it. Since when were vampires short on time? "I had to recover. It takes longer to return to full strength after three years of starvation." He felt a shudder go through every vampire there. The thought of starvation is terrifying to vampires. None would want to dwell on the thought for too long.

Medea, another ancient vampire, whose looks better fit her age, stood up in her chair, leaning over her desk and staring at him. "How did they capture you? You are the oldest among us. How could they have captured you so successfully for so long?"

Cole shrugged; she was worried for her own skin. After a thousand years of life it is difficult to imagine that something could harm her yet he had been taken. There were only a few ancients left now. Cole had been the second for centuries. With the suicide of the former head council, he was now officially the oldest among them. He had been unwilling to accept any of the responsibility that historically went along with that position and it had lead to some friction with the council.

"Hubris, my lady councilwoman. I'm afraid I walked into a trap without fully considering what I was doing. I was impaled with a silver spike, spelled with the blood of three species and covered in a net of the same material. I awoke in a hole beneath the ground. It took three months to get the spike out of my chest. By the time I had managed it I was too weak to break through the barriers. They left the top open to the sun, allowing it to burn my strength as well. They were shockingly prepared for me. More so than usual with wolves."

"Perhaps this is why ancient ones do not usually go gallivanting around the city with baby vamps seeking the next big thrill," René spoke out from his seat to the left of Medea.

"Mais bien sûr, councilman. Thank you for that thoughtful remark as to my lifestyle. I'll be sure to take it under advisement."

"Pas un problème, mon ami, I'd hate to see you fall into a pit again."

"Enough." Landsman rose from his chair. "We have a problem that you may or may not be aware of."

"Dare I guess it has something to do with the wolves?"

"Do you recall the year, ancient one?" Landsman arched his eyebrow. Cole longed to slap the cocky teenager out of him. Then he stopped. It was this year.

"The millennium?" He could not hide his shock.

"The very one. You may remember, as only a handful of you were around at the last one, that it is a time of great upheaval? Something like 16,000 vampires died during that time? Tell me, ancient one, wasn't that half of the population?"

"More," Cole said, his mouth suddenly very dry. It was this year! What a fool he had been. Or in denial more likely. He had dreaded this for a thousand years.

"If I am not mistaken that is when you lost your anchor and became an insufferable turncoat with a different personality every hundred years," Medea spoke again. Cole did not look at her but hot rage shot through his body. She had been a fledgling at that time. He could still snap her neck with a thought. He held back the sneer at her arrogance.

"What are the wolves doing?" Cole looked up at Landsman in his seat. The crowd was murmuring behind him, no doubt tickled with this new piece of information about his past. Landsman considered him a moment, his eyes flicking over the crowd.

"There is time for that yet. The council is dismissed until tomorrow night. We will deal with this without an audience." Landsman stood up and swept out of the room before anyone could say a word.

Cole bit his tongue. He would not press this but he longed to be far away from here. The crowd had filed out as he turned towards the door. Adriana was waiting for him there. Cole ignored her and walked out into the large marble hallway. Vampires and humans alike cast furtive glances his way as they disappeared into the many hallways of the house.

"You should be thanking me, you know." Adriana appeared at his side again. "They were going to leave you to rot. They were in talks with Olrun to come overseas and serve on the council. Terrible. Imagine having a Viking in the new world." She wrinkled her nose. "Disgusting."

Cole gave her a withering look. "Adriana, I want nothing to do with you. Whatever part you had in my rescue is small in comparison to the debt you owe me. Go waste your charms, if you can call them that, on someone else."

She tossed her jet-black hair over her shoulder and pouted slightly with her full red mouth. "Don't be like that. You have no idea how hard I worked to get you back. Aren't you curious in the least about how I did it?" She looked up at him with excited eyes "Did you eat her before she told you what she was? Don't you want to know?"

Cole shut the rage up inside his head and looked back at her impassively. "The lives of mortals and baby vampires are nothing to me. You, oh thorn in my side, are nothing to me. If not for the unfortunate circumstances behind your turning I would have killed you long ago. But that premium is running out." He grabbed her neck and pulled her close to him. His thumb slid over the pressure point on her neck, closing off her windpipe. While vampires did not need to breathe it was a terribly unpleasant sensation. "No go before I change my mind about keeping the peace in the place."

He released her and she stumbled back. Her hand went to her neck. Her eyes were wide with surprise but her mouth still pouted. "You've changed m'lord. The Cole I knew had no ties, nothing holding him down, no desire to remember yesterday or the coming of tomorrow. Now you talk of debts of two lifetimes ago as if you care." She gave him another seductive gaze. "Does this mean you will not warm my bed tonight?"

Cole gave her another look. The smugness flew from her face. She backed away. "We all have to grow up sometime. Now go!" he growled, putting his force into the last word, shoving her further down the hallway. She turned and ran.

The tiniest whisper of footsteps sounded behind him and he whirled around to face the person sneaking up on him. He slammed the unfortunate messenger into a marble column, his hands around his neck.

"Ch-chief Landsman has sent for you," the man squeaked in terror. His eyes turned up towards the ceiling and Cole felt his fear roll off of him. Cole fought the anger down with a low growl. "Pl-please ancient one," the man said again holding out a folded message to him. Cole dropped the man and he scurried away. Cole opened the thick paper and read Landsman's elegant hand. He sighed. This place was always such a disaster.

Landsman's office had not changed since Cole's last days with the council. Cole suspected every council room Landsman had ever occupied had resembled this one. The high wooden ceilings were etched in swirling designs and long, decorative beams arched across the indoor space. Rich tapestries lined the walls, cutting out sounds but adding a lot of noise to the room. Though Landsman had been born human in Spain, his heart lay in the Bavarian style. Unsurprisingly, with his dark skin and black hair, he was the only thing that did not seem to match the rest of the room.