The Return of Nicholas Collins

She nodded in agreement then both women jumped, startled by the scream that pierced the air. Kelly pushed open the door and hurried into the room, Rachel directly behind her, and found the girl sitting up in bed, tears streaming down her face.

At the foot of the queen size, oak canopy bed, she stood by observing the quiet, but commanding way that Kelly worked to sooth the crying girl. The rapid, pounding beat of her frightened heart resonated inside Rachel, making the hair on her nape stand on end. A younger, less experienced vampire in the art of control, would have pounced on the girl, unable to resist their beastly need to hunt out the weak and kill.

The scent of fear started to recede from the spacious cream colored room. Her sobs at last dwindling down to sniffles. Rachel picked up a box of tissues from the dresser and sat them on the bed. The girl leaned away from Kelly's comforting embrace and stared at Rachel. Her reaction instantaneous as she recognized her face.

"NO!" She gasped, slamming her back into the wooden headboard, her feet digging into the mattress, kicking the bed covers from her body.

Rachel had hoped that the girl would block out what happened that night in the alley, but clearly she remembered it all, including seeing what she was. She took a small step forward and the teen yelled, "Stay the fuck away from me!"

Kelly stopped her from leaving the bed while telling her that everything was okay, that Rachel wouldn't hurt her. Wild with fear her eyes zipped back and forth between the two women. "You weren't there. You don't know what she is. I do. She's a monster."

Kelly tried to take the girl's hand with hers but she jerked it away. "Honey, I know Rachel, she's not a monster."

"You didn't see her. She has big fangs and her face changes and her eyes glow blood red. She'll kill us."

Turning her head, Kelly looked at Rachel, regret written on her face. Easily holding the shaking girl in bed, she mental said, What are we going to do?

Show her the truth and if she still can't handle it, then I'll remove her memories of us, she said solemnly. She didn't like taking people's memories from them. Rachel felt that that was the worse kind of violation she could do to a human. Their lives were so short compared to her endlessness, and she hated robbing them of even a bad memory because even bad memories served a purpose.

Kelly released her hold on the girl and came to stand beside Rachel. "I know what she is," she inhaled and held the breath momentarily, "because I'm exactly like her."

The girl's face became even paler and for a split second Rachel thought about not showing her the proof, but the sooner she learned what they were and realized that they wouldn't hurt her, the better.

At the same time and in under a minute, both women changed their human features to their true vampire faces. Bones shifted, their cheeks and foreheads became more pronounced, the whites of their eyes turned red and the iris' held an unnatural glow. Low growls vibrated the air as their canines thrust through their gums.

The teen slid off the bed and Kelly moved like lightning, stepping in front of her. She screamed and stopped in her tracks before she stumbled around her and raced for the bedroom door.

Rachel was blocking the way. Her arms crossed beneath her breasts and rested her back against the door. The girl skidded on the loose rug that lay on the hardwood floor and fell onto her bottom. She swiftly scampered to her feet, her head twisting anxiously, searching for a way out until her eyes lit on the window.

"Oh no you don't. I didn't get shot twice so you could kill yourself jumping out some damn window." Rachel growled, grabbing the girl's uninjured shoulder and spinning her round, pushing her back to the wall, which made the girl grunt from the force that hit against the exit wound.

"Look here, kid, don't you think that if I really was a monster that you would be living right now?" Rachel put her hands on either side of her head against the wall and then brought her face in closer. "Calm down and think. I was losing blood that night and could have easily killed you in that alley when you were covered in it, but I didn't. Did I?"

She backed away, holding the frightened stare of the girl. "No, I didn't. Instead I brought you here, somewhere that I knew was safe, that you could get some medical attention and not have to deal with the authorities, which I bet is someone you want to avoid at any cost."

She remained silent and was visibly shaking and appeared to be using the wall for support. Rachel changed her features back to a more human look then offered her hand to the girl. "Let me help you back to bed before you fall down. I can promise you that no one here will hurt you."

She thought the girl was going to be stubborn and not accept the help that was being offered, then finally she put her hand into hers. Four steps into their walk across the room, her knees buckled and Rachel swept her into her arms carrying her to the bed.

Kelly excused herself to get her a glass of juice while Rachel pulled the covers over the girl's lap and sat on the side of the bed. "We haven't been introduced yet. My name is Rachel."

Thoughts were running wild and completely unguarded behind the girl's eyes. There was fear, worry, but also a strange excitement. Easily reading her, Rachel saw that she was scared of the situation she was in, but part of her was thrilled at the unknown world she had fallen into.

She cleared her throat and raised her tear stained hazel eyes, then said, "I'm Roni."

She smiled at her, hoping to put her at ease. "I wish we could have met under different circumstances, Roni, but never the less, I'm glad we met."

At that moment Kelly arrived with a lap tray in hand, orange juice, toast and several flavors of jelly sitting on top. Rachel started from the room but at the door turned around and watched Roni. She saw a lot of herself in the girl. She was a fighter. Strong and tough, dealing with what life she was either dealt or lived by choice. That was good really, but terrible at the same time. A girl like Roni, any girl for that matter, should never have to battle to live.

*

Chapter 7

"What's going to happen to Roni once she's well enough to leave here?" Kelly asked, snuggling into John's embrace on the sofa.

"She'll go back to the streets," Rachel said to the others gathered in the living room.

John was outraged, "That just can't happen. She's too young to be on her own and heaven only knows what she has done to get by so far. There has to be someone we can talk to, someone to give her shelter and make sure she never has to go without food."

Rachel sat beside Nicholas, his strong, rough hand gently held hers, giving her an odd sense of comfort. "If you try to ship her off to the state or local authorities, she'll run."

Nicholas' thumb stroked the back of her hand. "Why would she do that? That's what those agencies are there for and she more than qualifies for their help."

"She'll run because she is strong, stubborn and independent. For all we know, she may have already been a part of the system and that could be the reason why she is living on the streets in the first place." Her fingers squeezed Nicholas', gathering in his strength. "I've seen the reports on television and read articles in the newspaper about how bad some of those foster homes are. I know that if I was one of those unfortunate kids to be put in one of those, I think I would have taken my chances on the street too."

"So, back to my original question. What's going to happen to Roni?" Kelly said sadly.

Rachel stood and moved around the room, her eyes landing on every photograph of Kelly and her new family. It was so easy to see how happy she was, how John and Sarah had brought about a change to Kelly's life. A change for the better.

"I'll help her," she said quietly.

Kelly's gasp of surprise told her just how much she had shocked her. She felt her friend's stare boring into her back. "Rachel, are you serious?"

She turned and held her friend's gaze before looking at Nicholas. His expression was unreadable. He showed no emotion what so ever on his beard-lined face or in his violet eyes. What he thought about her decision to keep Roni didn't matter, he'd be gone anyhow once the killer who was reeking havoc with his life was caught.

Her gaze never faltered as she stared at him. Her voice was strong and full of conviction, " I'm serious. If Roni wants to live with me, then she's more than welcome for as long as she likes."

Kelly came over and hugged her. "It's not going to be easy if she accepts, you know. Sarah is a wonderful child, but a handful and she's only a little girl."

A light chuckle came from John, "I can attest to that."

"What you're taking on is a teenager. A head strong, nobody is going to tell me what to do, teenager." Kelly held Rachel's hands. "Are you really sure you want to do this? You can easily break Roni's heart if things go bad and you change your mind about keeping her."

She pulled away from Kelly's loose grip. "In all the years I've lived and existed, I've never been surer of anything in my life." Then she walked from the room.

Deep in the heart of the house Rachel found a small quiet space, one that appeared to be used as a home office. She sat down on the edge of the long, black leather sofa, elbows on her knees and her head in her hands.

She sensed Kelly long before she ever spoke. "Are you okay, Rachel?"

She shoved her hands through her hair and leaned back. "Yes, I'm okay."

"What's the real reason you want Roni to come and live with you?"

She bit her bottom lip and looked away, fighting the urge to cry. It was crazy the way she felt already for that young girl upstairs. She really didn't know anything about her, yet she felt connected to her. Maybe it was because of Roni's life on the streets, reminding her of how she had to make it on her own after Nicholas made her leave, though she knew their experiences were vastly different from each others.

She wiped a tear from her cheek, her eyes finding Kelly staring at her intently. "Truthfully, as much as I love Nicholas, I know he's not going to stay once this killer is caught, but, Kelly, I need someone to love. I'm tired of being alone and if I can offer that girl the kind of love a mother can give to a child, even if it's only for a few days, a few weeks, or if I'm lucky, a few years, then I'll take it."

Kelly brought over some tissue and sat beside her. Sniffling Rachel said, "I know it means I'll have to make a lot of changes to my life. Not only would I have Roni living with me, but also I would have to bring in live-in help to watch over her while I sleep. A lot of my habits, my love life and the way I feed from time to time, would have to be changed to set a better example for her, but I'm willing do that and more for her."

"I hope she takes you up on your offer," Kelly said with a tearful voice. "I don't think she could find a better person to love her than you could."

***

John drove Rachel and Nicholas across town, and at Rachel's insistence, dropped them off several blocks from her home. Nicholas and her silently kept to the shadows. Never a word spoken, verbally or mentally. For minutes they skirted the perimeter of her property, their senses wide open to detect any possible dangers.

Once inside they did a thorough scan of each room. Rachel paid special attention to the personal details, such as, if any items had been moved or if the desk drawers had been gone through.

When their search was complete Nicholas laced his fingers with Rachel's and led her from the top floor down to the basement. At the door to the hidden quarters he stood behind her, his arms surrounding her. His voice whisper soft next to her ear. "Show me how to enter your secret sanctum."

Hands splayed across her stomach, he pressed his body tight against her from back to thigh. Needles of awareness tingled along her spine and made her clit throb with desire. She placed her soft hands on his forearms and lightly stroked them downward till they covered his. A hint of a smile played at her lips as she felt him slightly stiffen behind her and felt his cock twitch against her ass.

"Relax your arms and let me guide your hands." Very little of the tension left his muscles, of course it didn't help that she was trying to distract him by pushing her bottom against his fly to keep him from asking questions about her choice to take Roni in.

"It takes a light and sensitive touch to gain entrance, Nicholas." She wove her fingers between his, teasing the tender skin between each digit. Carefully she guided his hands forward and lay them flat on the white painted, concrete wall. "You have to work your fingertips ever so gently between the crevices, using just the right amount of pressure to activate the switches within."

As she gently pressed his fingertips down on each of the hidden switches, she slowly rolled her hips, rubbing her bottom against the increasing hardness of his cock. By the time the last lock had released she'd pulled a deep, rumbling groan from him, its vibrations made her to squirm even more against him.

"You're going to be the death of me," he moaned against her neck, scraping her skin with his beard.

Air released from around the edges of the door and slowly opened. As it did, Nicholas pulled his hands back and placed them on her hips, his rough grip holding her bottom still as he ground his crotch into her. She moaned at his thickness and curled her arm upward, sliding her fingers into his hair. He cupped her chin and turned her head to the side, searching for her mouth.

The heat of his kiss sheared her lips. The weaving of their tongues casting a spell around them, pulling them deeper into the desire that threatened to consume them.

He practically dragged her through the partially opened door. Impatiently, he growled as she stopped to lock the door in place, then pulled her back into his arms. He sank his strong fingers into her bottom and murmured against her lips, "Put your legs around me," as he took control of her weight.

They both moaned in delight as he angled her jean covered pussy against the swollen ridge of his cock. "Ah, Rachel, I need back inside you." She whimpered with need and felt him tremble as he moved her against the front of his slacks. "I need inside you more than I need blood to survive."

She licked the leader on the side of his neck as his long stride quickly carried them to the bedroom. The world titled and she grunted in surprise as her eyes stared up at the ceiling, her back sinking into the softness of her bed.

He hovered over top of her. The weight and width of his body pressed her thighs farther and farther apart as he ground his sex into hers. "Nick," she hissed out his name through her rapidly changing teeth, her hips undulating, answering his mating call.

His eyes swirled from violet to deep blue as he looked down at her. The stare felt like a caress as it touched upon her mouth. She licked her lips, teasing him, daring him without words to taste her once more.

He brushed his body over every inch of hers as he leaned down, lightly touching his mouth to hers. His tongue barely a breeze as it moved across her lips. She lifted her head and tried to capture his mouth, but he swiftly pulled back, chuckling at her soft curse. "Looks like it's my turn to tease."

Never giving her the kiss she needed, he sat back on his heels and ran his hungry gaze over her. The steady hands that she'd always known him to have, now trembled as he placed them on her inner thighs. In slow motion he brought them forward until he cupped her through her jeans, circling the heel of his hand over her clit.

She groaned deep from her gut and moved her pussy harder into his touch. "You're so warm and you're so wet. I can feel just how wet you are for me, even through your clothes." He closed his eyes as he continued to tease her pussy through her pants and breathed in deep. "God, you smell so sweet, Rachel," he said in a rush.

Unbridled lust torn through her veins as she watched him stroke his cock through his slacks. Then he bent his head, and a strangled cry filled her throat when he rubbed his face against her crotch and breathed in once more, exhaling slowly.

"So sweet that I can almost taste you," he growled.

Achingly slow, he opened the resistant snap of her jeans and tugged the zipper down. Pulling her blouse out of her pants, he worked button after button through their openings. With the edges of the shirt gathered in his hands he pulled her upward off the bed and pushed it down her arms.

Rachel seized the opportunity and caught him off guard, taking the hungry kiss that he denied her moments ago. She plundered his mouth. Her sex throbbed as their greedy tongues dueled for control. A stroking charge that tickled his palette. A swiping retreat that licked his inner lip.

While Rachel was trying to keep the reins of control over Nicholas' mouth, he was not idly standing by. His hands freed her arms of the white clinging blouse and quickly dispersed her of her bra. The restraint on his hunger ready to break, he grabbed her wrists and used his weight to push her backwards, penning her hands flat to the mattress above her head.

That didn't stop Rachel from trying to break him. As she tugged to free herself from his powerful grip, she arched her back and rubbed her aching breasts against the solid rock of his chest. Wild with the need for him to love her she thrust her hips upward, digging her heels into his ass to pull him tighter between her legs.

"Nicholas..." she groaned, withering beneath him. "Stop this teasing and fuck me."

His chuckle infuriated her, but his wicked tongue soothed her anger as he licked down the side of her neck to her breast. She cried out in pleasure. His knife sharp fangs penetrated deeply around her nipple, into the deep rose color of her areola. The powerful suckle of his mouth sent shockwaves straight to her clit. Blood red eyes held her gaze as he lavishly licked the wounds closed.

He moved to her other breast and bit into her supple flesh. She nearly screamed as the harsh suction of his mouth drove her to the edge of coming.

He licked those wounds closed even slower than the first set, making her blood boil. From there he then slid down her body pushing his hands inside the waistband of her jeans. She eagerly lifted up as his calloused hands worked the buttery soft material and her silk panties over her bottom. He wasted only seconds as he moved off the end of the bed, pulling the jeans from her long legs.

He stripped in a matter of moments and then they both groaned when their naked flesh came into contact. Her long silky legs wrapped around him as he settled between her creamy thighs. His hard cock slid against her wet slit, spreading it wider as he pressed all of his weight on top of her.

Resting on his forearms, he tenderly caressed her face with his hands. She responded in kind, tracing the faint line of his scar beneath his beard with her fingertip. "I can give you part of what you want, Rachel," he said as he stared into her eyes. "I can stop teasing you, but what I can't do is fuck you."

She was shocked. Oh god, I'll die if he leaves me aching like this, she thought. She voiced the only question that ran through her fevered and anxious mind, "Why?"

He lifted his hips and reach between their heated bodies. The head of his cock worked between the swollen wet lips of her pussy and she gasped as he pressed against her opening. "Because, Rachel, all I really want to do is make love to you," he said and then slowly sank into her, seating himself completely inside her.

Everything around her disappeared, except for him. The warm masculine scent of his body, the pulsing sensation of his cock buried within her, and the sizzling intensity of his eyes burning straight to her heart, were the only things that mattered.