Hi, James! I may have already sent this story for archiving thought I'm just posting it now. If so, please replace the original one with this one I'm sending you to be archived. This is the final version. Categorize this as Explicit Sex, Nick/LC Thanks! Marcia Tucker scfimarci@aol.com "A Cautious Peace" Part II in "Nicholas in Four" Forever Knight Erotica Copyright 1997 by Marcia Tucker =0D My blood boiled inside my veins. I was not in the sunlight, however, bu= t paced restlessly in his loft apartment, waiting to confront him when he= came home from work.. Our occasional kisses were sweet, but there had b= een none of the promised intimacy beyond that. Nicholas had been, I fear= ed, frightened of fulfilling his promise, and had been avoiding the issue= for weeks. I would allow that no longer. My impending loss of my son again was a wooden stake in my heart, twiste= d and shoved deeper so as to cause me maximum agony. I even thought of l= eaving him behind forever - I, Lucien LaCroix! I knew he would never com= e this close again. The loss would kill me, and I could do nothing about= it. My hands burned to feel him. My tongue burned to taste him. Had he bee= n a submissive son all along, would I burn as much? Had he turned out to= be the lusty killer I'd planned him to be, would I cherish him as much a= s I do now? = I thought with a silent moan, I stopped, fists clenched, and cast my mind back long= the myriads of doors along the hall of my vast memory, chose one. My ey= es closed, I concentrated on picturing what I remembered of his unclothed= body. It had been so very long ago... =0D Paris, 1434 =0D The room was filled with white candles, burning low, a rosy glow to grac= e the naked bodies on the white satin of the bedclothes. Stained white s= atin, marred by spurting blood that he'd missed. Nicholas lay entangled = with a very beautiful and very dead red-haired woman, her pallor whiter t= han his, for her blood was now filling his veins. He was sound asleep, s= ated, and beautiful beyond belief. He lay face up, and as I moved closer, I could not help indulging in a b= etter look. His body had been, before I'd brought him across over two c= enturies before, molded into a lean, hard masterpiece by the rigors of th= e Crusades. Though he had been imprisoned for a year, he had regained lo= st weight by the time he'd returned to Paris, and his body was again fit = and solid. I'd captured him for eternity like this, a perfect physical s= pecimen of a man. Moreover, he was extremely handsome and well endowed. I looked at those= manly endowments now, sitting beside him on the edge of the bed, admirin= g how the candlelight made his fair skin glow like golden velvet. I want= ed so much to touch him, but I did not want to wake him. At this time in= our relationship he would not want me to view him naked. That would cha= nge a couple years later. And again later until finally, about the time = of his marriage to Janette, those nights together were thought gone forev= er. His fine, supple cock lay aside his right thigh, a good size even when s= oft, and a slightly larger than normal diameter. I imagined taking the c= ock in my hand and squeezing it, playing with it, stroking its velvet len= gth. If I could have dared, I would take the rosy helmet in my mouth, fl= icking my tongue against the underside, making him moan with desire. Jus= t teasing at first, enough to arouse Nicholas into a fine hardness, his c= ock growing to its fully erect nine-inches. Magnificent! = After teasing with hand and tongue, my mouth would engulf his entire coc= k, its length extending down into my open throat which took him to the ro= ot of it. Nicholas would grunt and thrust up into my mouth as I would be= gin to work on its silken length to coax forth my luscious prize... =0D Imagining him thus indeed made me painfully rigid, my straining erection= pressing to be released, but I would not do so, would not touch myself, = not be reduced to a poor, demented, love-struck fool though my back arche= d with the painful tension of my arousal. Fuck, I wanted him! I wanted = him to suck me off or vice versa, or I wanted to pound and thrust hard in= to his mouth or ass. = Suddenly my senses shouted an alarm as his unique vampiric presence regi= stered. I gritted my teeth as I worked to put down the lusty beast that = was alive in me, thinking that I had a moment while he arrived via the el= evator to the main floor of the loft. I hadn't counted on vampiric speed= , however, and my eyes flew open in astonishment to see him kneeling befo= re me, his fingers flying to make short work of my belt and pants zipper.= "Nicholas, what -" I tried to gasp, but he'd freed me already, sliding h= is hands around my hips after he'd pulled my pants down to my thighs. "Shut up," he growled at me, then engulfed my still-rigid rod with his m= outh. My mind reeled but at the moment I wasn't able to contemplate the = consequences. He worked my cock with the rough power of a man, thorough = and energetically. I thrust up into his mouth, matching his rhythm and a= ll too soon was spurting deep into his throat. He stayed with it, sucking= me dry. I was nearly blind from hunger, the bloodlust making me ache for his blo= od, but somehow I had the presence of mind to keep from attacking him. I= shuddered still as he stood up, clutching at my shoulder for support. I= saw him swallow convulsively, his eyes hooded. A black expression twist= ed his face - not disgust or distaste, but something else I could only at= tribute with delight to his vampiric nature, then he was tearing his shir= t open at the neck. With a low growl, Nicholas lifted his chin and turne= d his head slightly, exposing his throat for my taking. I roughly grabbed his head and shoulders and bit into that tender offeri= ng, releasing his blood into my mouth. My need was such that I could onl= y read a swirl of turbulent emotions in his blood - anything else he had = well-masked. I wasn't interested in reading. I only wanted to drink! I= clutched at him hard, pulling him against me, taking his full weight on = me. For a long minute I sucked at his throat, my fangs recklessly tearin= g the puncture wounds wider. = Then, recovering my senses, I released him and let him stagger away from= me. Gasping, I peered at him while I did my pants back up, gauging his = condition. Nicholas's eyes were closed, his head turned from me, the hol= es in his neck still gaping and seeping blood. I wiped a thin stream of = blood from my chin and had brought it to my mouth just as he turned and l= ooked at me, wavering just slightly. He did not meet my eyes yet. "Nicholas," I murmured. He reacted to my voice, but did not speak. = I raised my hand towards him, but let it drop. "I did not mean for you = to find me in that condition," I stated hollowly. Damn. If I'd pushed h= im away again in my careless lust, I might not get him back. I snorted a= nd added, "And I certainly did not intend to get you into that condition,= either." Was his silence because of shock? I could only assume as much. "Nichol= as, please," I murmured and reached for his arm. I fully expected him to turn away. He did not, but turned back toward m= e when I gently pulled at his arm. He was trembling. I peered at him, c= oncerned - he *was* in shock. "Nicholas?" He swallowed again, hard, and then began to speak in his low, beautiful = voice. "When I arrived and sensed that you were here something in me fli= pped out - like the sight flipped a switch in me. It was as if one of me= was rudely shoved aside and another of me took over. The vampire, I sup= pose. But that's not what surprises me." His brows furrowed together, g= rappling with whatever he was feeling. To my amazement, he placed his ha= nd lightly on my chest, a familiar, intimate gesture. = I placed my hand over his, holding it in place. "What surprised you, Ni= cholas?" I asked quietly, watching his face. Nicholas still hadn't met my eyes yet. "It felt... natural. Yielding t= o my vampiric urges felt completely natural. And..." There was still aw= e or disbelief in him. "And there was utterly nothing wrong in what we j= ust did." His words were a soothing, cool balm to my fevered soul. "Of course not= , my dear," I breathed in relief. "We are passionate creatures, indeed."= I studied his profile, trying to read what I saw there and in the link = we shared. "And you do want this intimacy, do you not?" Now his eyes lifted to mine. "Yes," he answered matter-of-factly. "It'= s just not... easy." "Love is never easy, Nicholas," I murmured. I picked up the hand I held= and brought it up to my lips, dropping a light kiss on his knuckles. = Watching me, his eyes were huge, crystal blue windows to his soul. "Hel= p me, then," he murmured and as I opened my arms to him, he came into my = embrace easily. A deep sigh escaped him as he let me draw his body agai= nst his. and he even leaned on me gratefully. He was still trembling. A= fter a minute, he gently pulled away. "Not... yet," he breathed, "I'm no= t ready yet." = Exasperated, I threw up my hands. "Nicholas, I confess that I do desire= you. I cannot deny that. I do not want to push you into an intimacy yo= u are not ready for... or do not want. But if you want this and you want= help, then let me!" = He'd turned away, but I pulled him back with both hands, making him face= me. "What *do* you want of me, Nicholas?" I'd had enough of his games.= This would be resolved today, now, or never. "You come back to me indi= cating that you want a return to the physical intimacy we shared centurie= s ago, but you will not..." I paused, turning my head briefly, controlli= ng the anger that threatened to swell. "You will not let me be *intimate= * with you, Nicholas," I continued through clenched teeth. "To deliberat= ely tease me in this manner is more than my considerable patience can tol= erate." My fingers on his upper arms tightened slightly, then released him altog= ether. It had hurt to touch him. I glanced at his neck. The wounds wer= e already gone. "What do you want of me?" he queried. He did not look at me. "I believe I asked first," I muttered. He sighed. "I'm hungry." Then he was gone to the refrigerator, not eve= n waiting for my answer. = =0D To further put him at ease, I gave him a few minutes before joining him.= Not that I thought any gesture on my part at this point was going to he= lp bridge this impasse. When I rejoined him, Nicholas was already seated= on the couch, a bottle in one hand, and a half-full glass of blood in th= e other. He was taking a healthy swallow from it when I dropped down bes= ide him. A second full glass was on the coffee table waiting for me. = I couldn't help observe him drinking. I knew it was human blood. And I= could not help but savor the sight of my creation enjoying it, his eyes = closed and his nostrils slightly flared. Then he was meeting my gaze. H= astily I schooled my expression, but he'd seen enough. "LaCroix, please - don't." Nicholas set the glass down. "That's exactl= y what's wrong with us." "Us. So there is an 'us'. Whatever that means. You have not answered = my question." I had no interest at this point to bandy words about with = him. "What do you want of me, Nicholas?" He looked at me long before answering. I could only wonder whether he l= iked what he saw at all. I had no idea. "All right," he said at last. = "But I'm expecting that you will laugh at me." I snorted. "I'm hardly in a laughing mood, Nicholas." "I can never tell," he retorted. I almost could laugh. We were automat= ically reverting to the vampires' circling predators' mode. A ploy for p= recedence or power. He'd learned it from me so well. I had a feeling th= at if we indeed could salvage something of a relationship out of this pos= turing, this might be an expected activity of ours from time to time. On= e thing was adamantly clear - Nicholas was not about to become my submiss= ive plaything. I might have wanted that once, but I was learning that I = didn't really want that now. The sexual tension was too delicious. "Please, Nicholas, your answer." I hadn't touched the glass in front of= me yet, a silent reminder that I'd just fed. From him. = He finished the glass of blood, poured another, and set the bottle down.= For a moment he regarded the red depths therein, then took a quick swal= low and set the glass down as well. Was he still deciding? Or just form= ulating words? If I had to wait much longer... "I want to be your lover= , LaCroix," he said simply and fervently, his deep beautiful voice stabbi= ng me deep. = I blinked as his gaze lifted to mine, and I frowned, confused. He'd sai= d this before, but keeping me at arm's length wasn't going to get us to t= hat point. There was something more, something unstated here, and for us= to get past whatever it was, I had to press him. For now, I sat back, g= laring at him. He hastily continued, in explanation: "I'm not talking about becoming yo= ur convenient little sex toy, your favorite possession. I want to be you= r equal in our bed, LaCroix. I will give equal pleasure as I am given. = I may be your child in vampire terms, but I am not a child and I will not= be your child or slave or student in this matter!" The fire fairly leap= ed out of his eyes. Ah, but he was magnificent like this. Strong and re= solute - so beautiful... "Why? I mean, why do you want to be my lover?" My voice was insistent,= hard, for I would have this out, now. If I had to, I'd throw him over m= y shoulder and carry him up to bed. I'd been tip-toeing around his tende= r sensibilities quite enough. "Why now after so long? And why, saying = this, do you keep me at arm's length?" Nicholas lifted his hand and after a moment, laid it on my arm. "Before= I answer, you must answer my question. What do you want of me, LaCroix?= " I grasped his hand and laid it on my upper thigh - where *I* wanted it. = He allowed it. I sighed - allowing my touch was the gesture I'd needed.= "Nicholas, what I have always wanted. Your affection. To be close to = you. To be allowed to enjoy your body, yes - I can't deny that I'm physi= cally attracted to you. " I'd almost added, "to be your father," but I w= as already that... and more. In the end, we were everything to each othe= r. His eyes dropped suddenly. Now what? "What is it?" I asked, frowning.= "That's the problem between us, LaCroix. Everything you stated just now= is what you want to *receive*. You want to take from me without having = to put anything back. That might work on the physical level - after all,= I can easily replenish the blood you drink from me, as I've just done." = He gestured at the glass before him. "And as a vampire I can suffer a l= ot of abuse. But I won't. If you can't find it in you to want to give t= o me equally, then you might as well leave now." I now saw what I'd done. In my hunger for him, I'd pushed him away beca= use he feared to return to the days when he'd had to submit sexually to m= e or suffer further abuse. In my hunger back then, I'd been heedless to = what I was doing to his spirit. So, why did he want a sexual relationshi= p with me now? "Nicholas, I can give you all you want of me, and more. = I will give it to you, and would gladly have if I had any idea that you w= ished it of me. Once I thought I had to possess you completely, subjugat= e your will to mine, but the rewards for both of us would be greater if I= did not. I know this now." His expression was as yet inscrutable. I knew he was trying to decide i= f I was serious. Well, I'd just had to do the same with him. Impulsivel= y I leaned in and kissed his lips lightly. "Why do you want to be my lov= er, Nicholas?" I whispered in his ear, and dropped another kiss on his ch= eek. When my lips touched his a small gasp escaped him. He suffered the kiss= es, then before I could straighten, he sighed, took my face in his hands,= and kissed me again. Briefly, more friendly than passionate, not deeply= =2E Still it was a kiss. And still he trembled, but I was now beginning= to see a new reason. He trembled not out of fear, but out of desire. N= icholas desired me as well! = "Oh, LaCroix," he breathed, separating from me, "I have lived with so m= uch pain for so many years that I seek to find healing in the arms of a l= over. And who better than you? You know me so well... and only you unde= rstand me. Only you know my history. Though you know well how I can be= hurt - I can perhaps trust no one better to keep me from getting hurt." "Trust!" I stared down into his eyes in disbelief. "You can trust me?"= His eyes glittered momentarily. "I have to!" he retorted, then pulled m= e hard into his arms for another kiss. This one, however, was neither fr= iendly nor hesitant. I was quick to respond with equal ardor - at last! = His mouth opened against mine almost immediately, his tongue invading in= a way that was both sensual and insistent. I was warned; his meaning wa= s clear. I did not have to taste his blood to know that he was telling m= e that he'd better be able to trust me this time. Not that I'd heed a th= reat of his, but as he was fearful of what I could do to him, so I was eq= ually fearful of losing him forever. In this we had at last approached s= ome sort of equality that we could build on. The kiss was long and delicious, and when we separated a bit, we saw our= eyes were gold, our vampiric senses aroused. Nicholas smiled briefly. = "So the barriers fall," he rasped at me in a quiet, low voice. "We both = have much to gain, LaCroix, and much to lose." As he spoke, I ran my han= ds over his shoulders, his chest. Not a single flinch. "It's a terrible= risk, love between the two of us," he sighed, and I knew he was enjoying= the light caresses. = "Then let us risk it all, Nicholas," I rasped back fervently, loving and= wanting him so much. My fingers slid up the sides of his neck. His lip= s parted and I could see his fangs as his glance went to my neck. A litt= le gasp escaped him again as I caressed his highly sensitive throat. His= hands rose to attend to the buttons of my shirt. "Risk... for love," Nicholas murmured as he unbuttoned my top three butt= ons and pulled the shirt away from my throat. Now it was his turn to car= ess me, and a low growl escaped me as I savored the pleasure imparted by = his touch. I lifted my chin, letting my hands go still on his chest in o= rder to concentrate on his touching. His fingers moved slowly as if to m= emorize my skin, or in our case, to relearn what had been forgotten over = time. They paused to trace the larger raised veins on my neck and I shiv= ered. = My eyes had closed, but now opened to see him bending slowly toward my n= eck, his mouth widening, the lips pulled back slightly away from his glis= tening fangs. Yes! I yearned for the sweet piercing of his fangs and re= ached for his shoulders to pull him nearer. His hands had now fallen to = my forearms and he gripped me convulsively as he bent to my neck. = "Do it, Nicholas," I rasped through my own fangs, arching my neck for hi= m. "Take back the blood I took from you, feel in it my desire..." I gas= ped as I felt, not his bite, but his tongue tracing my vein as if wetting= it in advance. "Take me, Nicholas!" I moaned, my hands clenching him t= ightly. Then ever so softly his fangs pierced the vein he had so carefully chose= n and prepared. I felt them sinking in deeply and the exquisite sensatio= n of my blood being sucked up into his mouth. My hands shifted to either= side of his head to hold him in place as he drank of me. And I sighed w= hen the psychic backwash flooded my mind with flashes of Nicholas at tim= es when he was supremely a vampire - biting, feeding, flying, moving with= lightning speed, all his senses intensely alive... killing. But, forcib= ly - and now I was aware that he *was* forcing this back to me - more tha= n that. Loving... I was made to feel his powerful love for Janette, bur= ned into his blood for eternity whether he willed it or no. I was made t= o remember a time when he was a fledgling when he sought to completely ab= andon himself to our nature, to remember his exultation in the hunt and i= n our bed. To know that underlying the centuries of wasted hatred and bi= tterness was the inescapable love between us that he could never be rid o= f, would never want to be rid of, not when he faced it. And he had not f= aced that truth in a very, very long time. All this he pushed back into = me in the taking of my blood. = Whatever he felt, tasted in my blood, caused him to tremble violently an= d he ripped his fangs from me abruptly. I pressed him close to me, my ar= ms about his shoulders, and was rewarded with the pressure of his arms sl= ipping around my back. But a second later he broke from me, rose from t= he sofa, and had stumbled two steps away, facing the fireplace. = I was not about to let him return to that uncertain skittishness of minu= tes before. Swiftly I rose to my feet and approached him, though I did n= ot touch him. "Nicholas," I spoke softly yet firmly. "Sorry," I heard him mutter, then he turned back to me. There were trac= es of tears in the corners of his eyes, but he was trying to smile gamely= at me. His hands slipped into mine. "That was.... powerful." "Indeed," I murmured, skeptical of his reaction. "And what did you read= in my blood, my Nicholas?" But I already knew that. He'd read that he was far from being merely my= favorite. He'd read that no other being in my very long life had ever o= ccupied my thoughts as much, ever drawn my interest so much, ever inspire= d me so much, ever attracted me to them so much. That he was the most su= blime achievement of my life, never mind that for much of his he'd been a= deep disappointment to me. = Nicholas was unable to hold my gaze. "I... I read far more than I think= I wanted to," he murmured. But his fingers squeezed mine. "I don't kno= w how we can have an equal relationship," he added, turning and looking a= gain into the fireplace, "...knowing... *that*." I wanted him to say it, face it. "That - what?" His nostrils flared; he released one of my hands but kept the other. Wa= nting to be far away from me. Fearing to leave me. I could see powerful= things at work in him and I could see the struggle in the taut lines of = his body. It was his own eternal struggle, the Dark and the Light at war= for him, though in Nicholas, the two were impossible to separate, despit= e how much he wanted to separate them. It was one thing I loved in him. = The Dark in him was not evil or bad - not in this one. Too much Light. = Instead, the Dark was purely Other. Yet only the Dark in Nicholas de Br= abant could ever produce such incredible Light. And I had given him the = means to let the Dark shine so. He was not like this as a mortal - only = a vessel with the potential. A paradox - perhaps. Contrary to the teach= ings of those who proclaimed the Light - perhaps. My own personal delusi= on, madness - perhaps. All I knew was that I had made... *this*. = "Is it so hard to bear?" I ventured, bringing his hand up to my cheek. = "To be so regarded?" Despite the obvious tension in him, he relaxed min= utely. Then, oh, then, I saw what I'd truly been waiting for all this time. I = saw the Dark, the beautiful, sweet Dark flood back into him, commingling = with all that Light. He gazed at me abruptly, fully, and his gaze was ex= ultant. "No," Nicholas whispered intensely. He reached for my waist wit= h his other hand and drew me against him. "It will not be hard to bear a= t all," he added in his low, sultry voice before he kissed me suddenly. =0D We retired to the bedroom, arms around each other, a new accord in our l= ink. There was utterly no hesitancy in the hands that lovingly removed m= y clothes, the lips that kissed their way down my chest and belly. And I= , I reciprocated in kind, my fingers drinking in the silken feel of his s= kin, the light sparsity of blonde hair on his body, excited by the hard m= uscles beneath. I laid him down beside me on his bed, my side pressed ag= ainst his as I propped myself up on an elbow. I traced the lines of his = body with a finger as he did the same to mine, exploring, remembering. "I want to take our time with this," he murmured, eyes hooded. I could = see their golden edges. "What I sense in you will not wait," I countered, following the tracing = of my finger with kisses. "Do not resist what you feel, Nicholas." To p= unctuate my words, I let my wandering hand move down to his groin as I to= ok his stiffening cock into my hand. "Release your power - give in to it= =2E.." He groaned as I squeezed his cock. "You're still lecturing me ... ah, t= hat's so good ... " His hips tensed then relaxed and he wriggled a littl= e at the sensations. = "Lecturing - is that what you call it. And you think that after eight h= undred years you have nothing left to learn." I felt him look at me shar= ply, but I did not look back, continuing to stroke him. "Of course, considering that you've withheld much that you had to teach,= ensuring that I would still be dependent on you..." = We were "circling" again. I smiled. "And you do not like to be depende= nt on me." "Hell, no," he muttered. I saw a glimpse of a wicked smile. Abruptly h= e struck my hand away from his organ and rolled onto his side against me.= Before I could react, he'd pulled my head down, diving in with his mout= h to my neck. I half-expected him to bite, but instead he began licking = a sensuous path up and down my skin, leaving a tingling trail. The back = of one hand pressed against my forehead and the other clutched my shoulde= r - a feeding position that thrilled me! = I was tense in his grasp, both from excitement and anticipation. One ha= nd of mine was pinned beneath him, and the other clutched at his back, pr= essing him to me, my fingernails clawing at him as the sensations he was = producing began to arouse the beast in me. "Nicholas..." I hissed his n= ame, and brought up a bloody finger to my mouth to taste of him. Again I= repeated his name and was rewarded with a deep growl from him. When I f= elt a careless fang slit into my skin, I knew it was my turn. With a burst of energy I roared and shoved him back onto his back. He f= ought me briefly as I shifted to reverse positions on him - not fighting,= I knew, because he did not want what I was doing, but because the strugg= le was expected, part of the play of the predators we are. I highly appr= oved. Now I was on top of him, facing his groin, my own positioned above= his face. I moaned as his hands slid sinuously up my legs to my ass, sq= ueezing before settling on my hips. And as I took his cock into my mouth= below me, Nicholas took mine in his in like. To taste of this velvet rod again after six centuries was a delight . T= o engulf it, massage it, work it intensely, then to cause it to give of i= ts red-tinged offering was incredible. To do so while his own expert min= istrations achieved the same in mine was a bliss I could not have imagine= d, sweeter by far than memory. When done, I collapsed on top of him, ga= sping as his cock slipped out of my mouth, hearing his own hard breathing= behind me as he released me in same. Immediately I turned back around t= o face him, catching him up in my arms, holding him close. = I whispered his name. and he whispered mine back in equal fervor. I fel= t a shudder go through his body, then he tensed, his lips already on my n= eck, his hands sliding down toward my ass. Slipping my hand into his hai= r, I bade him lift his head to look at me and at last our eyes met. His = were still gold, understandably, as were mine, bloodlust raging within us= from the sexual stimulation. Nicholas, so aroused, was a vision I would= not have missed for anything. = "I must feed, LaCroix" he gasped, his eyes already dropping from mine to= my neck. "And you - take my blood..." The ferocity at which he bit me was deeply thrilling, and I reciprocated= with equal brutality. We were supreme vampires in this moment, all our = senses heightened and singing, the hunger in our veins fueling our desire= hotter. For a minute I lost myself in his blood, the thick chemical tan= g of his orgasm exciting me... and more. His blood was a psychic shunt i= nto his very soul, pouring his new need for me and his intensified regard= for me, no, *love* for me back out into my own heart and soul, bestowing= a blessing of peace that fairly dazed me. When my blood came back into = my body from his, I could read what he'd read in my blood, my joy in his = presence and immense relief that we had bridged the caution that had so r= estricted our intimacy. I'd finally been able to reassure him of my sinc= erity, that I truly did wish to love him, not possess, not exploit the vu= lnerability so offered. And in turn his peace, though offered at great r= isk, served to calm my own deeply hidden fears, my own phobia of intimacy= which I had been careful to shield from him. = "Love" had always spelled foolish risk to me, setting oneself up for rej= ection, risking betrayal and irreparable hurt. I had always believed tha= t any, all of my liaisons in my very long life were based on self-interes= t, either from what I could get out of it, or what they sought to get fro= m me. This, however, this new-bloomed relationship with my own son, my N= icholas, seemed so far removed from this that I'd truly wondered if I'd e= ver *really* been touched by love before. I'd fallen rather hard for his= sister Fleur that time so long ago, but he'd been cruelly right - I'd fa= llen for her purity and warmth of spirit, and the moment she'd possibly l= ose that as a vampire, I'd forget all about her. = That particular ache was screamingly absent in me at this moment of feed= ing from my son and he from me. I realized belatedly that Fleur's warmth= of spirit was but a signpost leading to the truer source that drew me, h= er brother Nicholas. I was now totally absorbed in him, his blood settli= ng me into a bliss I'd scarcely believed possible. How long did we feed? Time, locked away as we were in his haven, had no= meaning anymore. It could have been hours, days, minutes - I had no ide= a. Neither of us wished to end it, but eventually our mutual joy drew th= e other desire from us, the one that had not been fulfilled for so very, = very long. No - realizing this as I began to take my fangs from him, I k= new this fulfillment would be like never before, for he wanted it, truly = and fully, and it would be a mature, strong Nicholas in my arms this time= , so far removed from the eager fledgling who only abandoned himself to l= ust or my force. = I wanted him with every cell in my body, wanted this older, independent = Nicholas, wanted to make passionate love to my fine, beautiful creation, = this vampire I'd made from my innermost desires. His blood, oh, his incr= edibly rich blood had told me of his own powerful desires - he wanted me!= I had no will any longer to hold back the love that his new regard caus= ed to flood up from my ancient ice castle of a heart. Nicholas... loved = and wanted me... And when our eyes met again - eyes a normal blue again - I knew this for= certain, and my smile matched his. "Lucien..." he breathed happily, an= d before I could speak he dove in to lick a stream of blood from my chin.= He said my name again, and proceeded to clean my face, then my throat, = his kisses reverent and joyful - while I lay stunned in his arms. Then I= was doing the same to him, cleaning his neck, caressing his throat as th= e fang marks closed under my touch. = "Nicholas," I breathed at last, lifting my eyes back to his, "you may ta= ke me first." His surprise washed through his face, and his lips parted. "No, Lucien = - I will take you, but I want you to take me first." His nostrils flared= , and I could see he was quite serious. To further convince me, he took = my cock in his hand, the other hand caressing my chest and belly. "I kno= w how it was between us in the past, but the past is long gone, and this.= =2E. this is new between us. I do not fear being taken by you - not now.= And I know I will take you as well. This first time... " = He paused and pulled my body against his, his hand still stroking me. Q= uickly he kissed me, then finished his sentence, his voice sensuous and a= little rough. "This first time you must be certain that I want this - s= o you will fill me because I want to be filled with you. Now - prepare m= e." And with that, he shifted to take my cock into his mouth again to re= ady me. Well, being so invited, I could not help but comply with his command. "= With delight," I said with a low chuckle and pulled his ass into position= over my face. Sated on his blood, I would have him as he desired. As h= e worked my cock below, using his fingernails lightly on my thighs and sc= rotum, I applied my tongue and fangs - oh, yes, with this invitation the = change had come again - licking and nipping at the lovely round cheeks of= his ass - one of his finest features, to be sure! Gripping his cheeks a= part, I invaded the cleft with my tongue, and was rewarded with his first= delighted shiver when I licked at the ringed muscle of his anus. = It was almost more than I could adequately pay attention to - his expert= ministrations to my organ and my enjoyment of his ass. I heard his rasp= y grunt as I worked his anus with my tongue, and knew he'd changed back a= s well. The sound and his mouth made my cock a solid pillar, and I reali= zed he would soon have me coming again that way - that would *not* do at = this time. = So I pulled him off my cock, rising up from beneath him, and he seemed t= o have read my mind, for Nicholas immediately presented himself as I knel= t behind him, his legs apart and his ass butting against me, pushing agai= nst my hard cock. "Do it," he breathed harshly, his head down on his arm= s, his hands clutching at the bedclothes. = "Nicholas, so eager," I murmured as I caressed his sides and felt around= to his own rock-hard organ, squeezing once. He gasped and then growled = at me, shoving his ass back at me again. = "Get on with it," he rasped, not out of irritation - on the contrary, I = could hear the lust in his voice. Oh, I had my son back all right. That= he would never return to the kill again seemed at this moment to be a pi= ffling matter, something I could care less about, not when I could have h= im like this! = "Get on with what?" I wasn't beyond teasing him, and contrary to my wor= ds, I began to insert one finger into his anus. A deep groan issued from= him, which just encouraged me all the more. As I worked my finger aroun= d, I went back to kissing and nuzzling his round buttocks, slipping the o= ther hand around again to stroke his balls and cock. Nicholas was reduced to occasional noises of pleasure after this. He wa= s not content to merely take what I was doing, but reached around behind = him periodically to caress my cheek, give me a finger to suck. Still he = moved his ass around, enjoying the sensations - I'd had a second finger i= n by now - pushing back onto my digits, helping my working of him. = Then, what I'd been waiting for - it was time. I straightened and posit= ioned the head of my cock at his stretched-out anus. But first - I reach= ed down to his stomach, and, sighing his name, pulled him up against me. = I would take my Nicholas in my arms, not in this abject, open position, = no matter how willing. He sighed and as we entwined our arms together ov= er his chest, turned his head up to mine, kissing my cheek. "Do it," he w= hispered with a flash of fang. My hips thrust upward and he gasped as I entered him, but as I pressed t= o go deeper, he pressed back against me to help, taking the whole length = of my shaft within him. He growled, and I supposed I did too, then I beg= an to thrust in earnest, fucking my Nicholas for the first time in centur= ies. His fingernails dug painfully into my hands and forearms, and tore = at me so that I had to release him. Back down he went, and my hands sett= led on his hips. But for every pump of my hips forward, he thrust back a= gainst me hard, fucking my cock every bit as much as I fucked his ass. I scratched his back deep and brought his blood up to my mouth. He'd do= ne the same with the blood he'd scratched from my arms. No mistaking des= ire now, and our vampire lusts were fully engaged. Soon we were both mak= ing angry vampire noises deep in our throats, roaring with the power of t= he arousal that had us so hard in its grip. I could feel, as I thrust an= d thrust into him and he against me, that my orgasm was swiftly approachi= ng. Before it could I grabbed at his rigid rod again, working it, hoping= to get him off as well. Not that I needed to worry - our link was on fi= re, and I knew he was as close to coming as I was. = Then we were simultaneously roaring, snarling, my cock spurting deep wit= hin him as his erupted in my hand, onto the black sheets. Bloodlust was = sharpened in the violence of our orgasms - I could feel his hard need to = bite as if it were my own. Spent or not, I swiftly withdrew from him as = I released his still spurting cock, meaning to strike his shoulder, but j= ust as swiftly Nicholas was turning. With a yell, we both attacked as on= e, nearly falling off the bed, collapsing onto our sides, our teeth in ea= ch other's throat. = My mind had gone quite clean the second his fangs had struck. We were b= oth still coming, and our continuing orgasms - mine, at least, and I had = no doubt that he was experiencing the same thing - sent our senses into s= ome higher realm. I had no sense of my body, of his, of pain or anything= but these incredible vibrations coursing through me, through him, pulsin= g within our shared blood. It was a full minute before the raging within= settled to a dull roar. I wasn't even aware of withdrawing my fangs, or feeling his leave my nec= k when it was over. I because aware of myself slowly, then realized we w= ere in each other's arms and he was watching me with huge, clear, blue ey= es. "Lucien..." he breathed and I stared at him suddenly, the name shoc= king me into full awareness. I also realized that this was the fourth ti= me today already that he had called me by my adopted first name. It soun= ded... it sounded so sweet coming from his lips. I hoped to hear more of= it. "Nicholas? Are you all right, mon amour?" I studied his face, reaching= around to touch it now, wondering what he thought of what just happened.= He leaned into my caress, the blond lashes momentarily closed upon his c= heek, then he was looking at me again with the same incredible expression= =2E "Yes, I'm all right - and you?" I sighed, and couldn't keep from smiling as his lips pushed against my h= and. "Never better." = =0D When we'd rested, he'd laid me back against the bed and prepared to take= me in his turn. Now that our hungers were quite sated, he could afford = to take his time. Surrendering gladly to his deft touch, I let him play = my body like an instrument, my senses alive and singing, my joy to be und= er his hands complete. = I was truly looking forward to this. I'd tasted his pleasure in being f= illed in his blood, and wanted to know that same pleasure, of taking his = beautiful velvet rod into my body, and feeling it massage me and indeed, = beat me to a powerful explosion. And just as he'd thrown himself repeate= dly onto the cock impaling him earlier, I soon found myself thrashing aga= inst him in like. It was merely as if my ass was giving him a blow job i= nstead of my mouth, the ring of muscle sucking and tightening against his= cock beautifully. = Again we came at the same time, convulsing and roaring with reddened eye= s, gasping from the power rushing through us. And again we bit each othe= r to relieve the ache in our fangs and veins. This was short and extreme= ly intense, and moments later we were already falling apart, collapsing b= ack. I cried out softly as his cock left me, but did not yet reach for h= im again, momentarily exhausted. My eyes closed as I relaxed. We were silent during these first few minutes apart, each locked into ou= r own whirling thoughts. I could not help but be concerned that what we = had just done had been too much, that Nicholas would not want more, not s= ince he'd had me. This wasn't entirely about sexual satiation, and our i= ntimacy together was going to involve a vulnerability that would be unner= ving at best - I admit I had reservations about trusting Nicholas so deep= ly, I who had given him far different treatment during our long history. = Could he truly have forgiven me that much? Did I trust that somewhere i= n all this he did not have ulterior motives? = Well, I already knew that, and as I lay beside him, resting, I made myse= lf examine what I'd read in his blood. Blood did not lie, and having dru= nk so deep of him, I could not have escaped what lay there. He'd hidden = it from me before, but this time his mind and blood were laid bare to me = at last. And what lay there, had frankly stunned me. = =0D As I'd suspected all along, much to my dismay, a good part of Nicholas's= change of heart was a result of a deep depression, a desperation that ha= d come over him at last after a century of fruitless attempts to escape = his nature. That century had taken a toll on his entire system - and I'd= learned how very close he had come to committing suicide. Not once, but= several times over the past year. But within my child lay the lust for = living that had drawn him to immortality in the first place. That desire= to live had thwarted his every attempt to end his supposed nightmare for= ever. Moreover, his natural survival instincts as a vampire also operate= d to keep him locked into our immortal life. = Depressed, desperate, Nicholas then sought another solution - to do the = exact opposite, to throw himself into life by throwing himself literally = at me. What he had not counted on, had never suspected, was that somethi= ng else, something long and assiduously ignored, had surfaced in the proc= ess. Nicholas... my exquisite, beautiful, zesty child... loved me. Despite a= ll I had done to him. Something deep within him, hidden from his awarene= ss, understood that I had acted not out of a sick desire to torment him o= r possess him as my toy, my creature, but had acted out of love. A hard = love, to be sure, but I could have done no less with this one. = Even when Nicholas had come to me and first had asked to be my lover aga= in, this was still well buried. When had it come out? This is what stun= ned me - sometime in the last hour, sometime during our mad, passionate f= ucking the love that was there had burst out of its carefully crafted cag= e and had washed through his blood where neither of us could ignore it. = It was not a new love - that was readily apparent. It was centuries old= , locked away where he didn't have to face it. = Where now the desperation, the depression that had dragged him back into= my arms? His blood was still in my mouth, and I could find no desperati= on there whatsoever. Blood did not lie. The heart-sickness, the insane = desire to doom himself to whatever fate he thought he'd receive from my h= ands - it was all gone. = And what of me? I was an open book. I did love him, and fiercely, havi= ng nurtured that eternal flame for 769 years. I desired him, was thrille= d by him, lusted after him, wanted so much to protect and love and care f= or him that it fairly frightened me. That fear, however, I'd kept from h= im - I hoped. To be so vulnerable, even to him, was something I did not = want - ever. But that vulnerability may allow us something I'd only drea= med of - Nicholas, at my side, my sweet child, my best and most loyal fri= end, my confidant, my beloved... =0D I started when his fingertips touched my lips. I shot him a glance. Ni= cholas was sitting beside me, looking at me again with those widened, blu= e eyes, reaching for my mouth. Did he know what had happened? Did he kn= ow the final veil from his heart had been pierced? = He knew. Immediately I clasped his hand in mine as I sat up and drew hi= m gently against me. A soft sigh escaped his lips as I met his mouth wit= h mine. The kiss was warm and sweet, and he was soon drawing away to loo= k at me again. "Lucien..." he said, and his voice broke on my name. = I smiled at him and cupped his cheek in my hand. "Mon amour... somethin= g has happened here." Nicholas nodded, and laid his hand over mine, caressing it. "I thought = I wanted to die, Lucien," he murmured, searching my eyes. "And now I wan= t to live so badly it hurts." "Of course," I replied, sliding my hand up his thigh, caressing him lovi= ngly. "But it's not a bad hurt, is it?" The smile that suddenly blossomed through his face stabbed me right in t= he heart. "Oh, no, it's... wonderful!" He took my hand from his face an= d cradled it in his lap. "I feel..." The smile faded into awe. "I feel = new, like you've brought me across all over again..." "Indeed?" How delightful that he should describe it so - his forgivenes= s was that complete. "You mean if you had to do it all over...?" He smiled again and briefly brought my fingers to his lips again for a q= uick kiss. "Not as I was then - I did not know you then, Lucien. But no= w - I know you so well, and you me. Now would be so different." The smi= le deepened. "I'm not making much sense." Every time my name fell from his lips I felt it as a secret thrill up my= spine. "Au contraire, mon fils, you make perfect sense." I matched his= smile easily. =0D The End =0D Marcia Tucker / scfimarci@aol.com Enthusiastically Unnamed / Dark Knightie / IB Next offering: #3 in Nicholas in Four - "A Sweet Peace" =0D --PART.BOUNDARY.0.29314.emout03.mail.aol.com.863988261--