Electricity flowed through our touch. Suddenly, she whispered, "Don't move."
I froze. I closed my eyes then, and settled into being a statue. I could smell the air being stirred close to my face and suddenly she was touching my cheek, her warm hand rubbing up and down my face, like she had been doing with my arm. I wanted to pull her into my chest, and I wanted to push her away. I didn't want to do something I would regret and she was making it amazingly hard to say no to her now. Her finger tips moved from my chin to my eyelids. Her fingers traced around my eyes, down my nose and then she reached my lips. Pleasure washed over me. The bliss of her touch had me begging for more. I parted my lips then, sucking in the air of the warm aroma that was her hand. She dropped her hand then, this time I was instantly upset, wanting her to continue. I opened my eyes and she looked into them. Her pulse picked up again.
"I wish...I wish you could feel the... complexity...the confusion...I feel. That you could understand," I whispered.
I reached up to gently move a strand of her hair away from her face. I remembered when Mike had done this, she seemed repulsed. Now, she was just as eager as I was.
"Tell me," she barely made a noise, it was mostly a wisp of a breath.
"I don't think I can. I've told you, on the one hand, the hunger - the thirst - that deplorable creature that I am, I feel for you. And I think you can understand that, to an extent. Though," I grinned half heartily, "as you are not addicted to any illegal substances, you probably can't empathize completely. But..." I brought my fingers to her lips and watched her shiver under my touch, a shiver of pleasure, emphasizing my next words, "There are other hungers. Hungers I don't even understand, that are foreign to me."
She responded quickly, "I may understand that better than you think."
Did she understand? There was no way she could understand my feelings, but maybe she did, maybe it is because it is so new to me that I think she wasn't feeling them too. Maybe this was something that was more human than vampire.
"I'm not used to feeling so human. Is it always like this?"
"For me?" she asked, but answered before I could tell her to continue, "No, never. Never before this."
I held her hands securely in mine, making sure that I was gentle; constantly afraid I would use too much force and break her.
"I don't know how to be close to you." I confessed, "I don't know if I can."
She took charge then, slowly moving her face closer to mine. She kept her eyes on mine until she couldn't see me anymore. She had placed her head against my chest now. I continued to breathe slowly.
"This is enough," she sighed.
Before I understood my own actions, desire reared up and took control. I wrapped my arms around her, enveloping her, making sure my grip was not too strong, but was secure enough to show her that she could count on me to protect her. I brought my face to her hair and took in a large breath or her heady scent. Thirst broke free then, but the two creatures, hunger and desire fought, and desire won.
"You're better at this than you give yourself credit for," she noted.
"I have human instincts - they may be buried deep, but they're there." I explained to her.
My desire was refusing to let her go, and she didn't struggle against my tender grasp. After several long, but not long enough, moments, she sighed. I looked to the forest and realized the sun slanted at a different angle.
"You have to go," I told her.
"I thought you couldn't read my mind," she mocked.
"It's getting clearer," I responded playfully, my lips turning up.
I released her, only to grasp her shoulders, "Can I show you something?" I asked.
I wanted her to understand me more, and one way to do that was to show her exactly how I travel.
"I'll show you how I travel in the forest."
She looked apprehensive, "Don't worry, you'll be safe, and we'll get to your truck much faster." I grinned widely and I heard her heart skip a beat.
She looked at me then, a smile in her voice, "Will you turn into a bat?" she asked.
I laughed so loud that I was sure it could have been heard for some distance.
"Like I haven't heard that one before!" I scoffed.
"Right, I'm sure you get that all the time," she replied, still playful.
"Come on, little coward, climb on my back." I suppressed a laugh.
Her eyes became wide and she hesitated. I became impatient and grabbed for her, making sure I was gentle. Her heart beat speed up and I could smell her pulse hammering. I placed her on my back and she engulfed me. He body wrapped around me and I could feel the heat emitting from her. She embraced me fiercely.
"I'm a bit heavier than your average backpack," she cautioned.
She was light as a feather to me, almost like she wasn't there, but she was, because I could feel her warmth and her beating pulse.