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This is an AU Moonlight story. What if Mick regularly fed fresh when Beth discovered the truth about him? Come along for the 5 part adventure and find out!

*DISCLAIMER* If you recognize anyone in this story, I don't own them. Only the story idea is mine.

This chapter is a long one everyone. There is lots happening in the Twisted world of Mick and Beth. Hope you enjoy!

Twisted 4

Mick’s V/O
Destiny…those mysterious twists and turns that lead us down paths we might have avoided otherwise. Sometimes, they took you places you really didn’t want to go, but every now and then, they hit the ball out of the park.


Guillermo and Mick spotted Beth looking in the door of the morgue, trying to see what was going on. This was both pleasing to Mick and alarming all at the same time. Yes, he wanted to see her but only if she wanted to see him. He took a deep, unnecessary breath and headed out to talk to her.

“Hi.”

“Hey.”

They looked at one another and smiled and then laughed since they had spoken at the same time. Beth’s heart pounded as she stood right in front of him; was he happy to see her or not?

She decided from the crooked grin he gave her that he was as happy to see her as she was to see him. She wanted to wrap her arms around him and kiss him; she looked up and down the hall to make sure they were alone before doing just that.

Guillermo spied them kissing from the room and grinned to himself. She sure was a hottie; lucky Mick he thought. And she wasn’t shy either apparently, but then again, he didn’t notice Mick holding back much either.

Beth sighed as the kiss ended, excited to feel the same magic she had felt last night and this morning. She stared into his eyes for a moment and he met her look unflinchingly which made her relax.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Working on a case. You?”

“Word is there is a badly chewed up body; had all its blood drained out. Is it…?”

“Yes, it’s a vampire. Beth, this is too dangerous for you to be working on.”

“Hey, I’ve been working these cases since before I knew about vampires; I’m not backing off Mick.”

Mick groaned; he knew that she wasn’t going to leave it alone. “Well, it looks like we’ll be working the case together then.” He watched her reaction and added, “Okay?”

Her face lit up with excitement that brought a sparkle to her eyes. “Absolutely! It’ll be fun being on the hunt with you. So, what now?” she asked as they headed down the hall.

“I need to go and see a friend of mine; Josef. He generally knows who to talk to about these things.”

“Josef, hm? Well, let’s go!” she said, heading for his car.

A moment of panic rose in Mick’s throat. He didn’t really want to take her with him to see Josef; not after his reaction to her last night. He should have kept his mouth shut and talked to Josef later, when he was on his own. He knew that Beth wouldn’t stay in the car so he finally decided to just go with it and hope he didn’t have to force Josef to back off – he might see her as fair game now that Mick had bit her.

He unlocked the door for Beth and held it open and watched as she slid in. He shut the door and missed her grin at his courtliness, which was actually kind of nice she decided.

He headed the car downtown to Josef’s offices and occasionally cast glances at Beth as they drove. She was thinking about something pretty hard he noticed; her forehead was furrowed in thought. He knew he wouldn’t have to wait long to find out and he grinned at the thought.

“So how old are you? You look about 30, but…”

Here it came; the questions. He laughed and said, “It’s not polite to ask people their ages!”

“That’s just women!” she quipped.

“I’ll be 85 in November. Next?”

“Next what?” she teased innocently.

“Question?”

They played 20 vampire questions on the way to Josef’s. She learned he can’t fly or turn into a bat, that stakes don’t kill vampires, silver is poison to them and that fire would definitely kill them, but the sun wouldn’t do it, immediately any way.

“So where do you keep your coffin? Do you have like a special room for it?”

He laughed out right at that and it startled her at the depth of his amusement over that question. She had been serious and she thought he was being rude. “You don’t have to laugh at me like that!” she sputtered.

“I’m not laughing at you; it’s the old ‘coffin’ thing. Vampires don’t sleep in coffins Beth. We sleep in freezers!”

She wasn’t sure she heard him right. She grimaced as she said, “Fr – freezers? Really?”

“Yep. No coffins, I promise.”

“That seems, um, wrong I guess. I mean, don’t you freeze solid?” she asked, truly puzzled.

“They have temperature controls you know. I keep mine at about 35 degrees; some vamps like it colder and some like it warmer. It’s just a matter of choice. It uh, helps to keep us from decomposing.”

That was a disturbing thought. Obviously they weren’t really ‘alive’ in the way she was, but they weren’t really dead either she knew. She had more questions when they pulled into a parking lot.

Mick again opened her door and waited for her to get out of the car. As they walked into the building she read the information board. “Kostan Industries? Josef Kostan is your friend Josef?” she asked, stunned by the news. He was just about LA’s richest hedge fund trader.

As they walked Mick debated whether to warn her that Josef was the one at his loft the night before. He decided not to; she would find out soon enough and who knows? She might not have gotten a good enough look at him to recognize him today.

She was silent on the ride up to the office. When the doors opened Vincent, one of Josef’s associates greeted them. “Mick, how are you this evening?” he asked politely, glancing at Beth with interest as he scented her.
Mick stepped in front of her, blocking Vincent’s view. “Hey Vincent. Is he available?”

“For you Mick? Certainly. Go on in.” Vincent watched them as they made their way down the hallway. When Beth looked back at him he was still watching her, a small smile on his face.

Inside the office, Josef was standing at a putting green, a putter in hand. He grinned as Mick walked in and then spied Beth, following behind. “Mick! And who do we have here?”

Beth stared at him for a moment and then her eyes opened wide as she recognized him from the night before. “YOU! From last night at Mick’s!” She walked up to him and stared at him, before walking around him as she checked him out. Mick was on guard as she circled him, ready to jump in if necessary.

Josef stood there and grinned. “She’s even cuter than I thought Mick.” He inhaled deeply and realized that Mick had bitten her, marked her. He nodded in Mick’s direction to let him know that he knew and would behave.

Beth stopped in front of him and gazed up with accusing eyes. “You scared me half to death last night with those girls; I thought they were dead!”

“Yes, well I’m sure Mick has explained about all that. They are perfectly fine today, I assure you. Are you always this direct Ms…. ?”

“Turner. Beth Turner. And yes, I am. So you’re one of them too?”

Josef laughed and said, “She doesn’t have any hidden stakes does she? I like you Blondie; you’re feisty!”

Mick didn’t laugh, but he did grin. “No Josef, no stakes.”

“Good. Now, what can I do for you?”

Beth stood toe-to-toe with Josef and glared at him. “My name isn’t Blondie!”

Josef laughed and briefly bowed his head towards her. “Alright, Ms. Turner then?”

Beth backed down and said, “Beth will do.”

They spent the next half hour discussing the rogue vampire issue and Josef told Mick to talk to the cleaners, which Mick agreed to do.

An hour later they were armed with more information as the hunt for the rogue continued. Beth was quiet, thinking about Josh and what she wanted to say to Mick about him. He hadn’t said anything about a relationship between them, but she still wanted to talk to him about it all.

“Mick?” she asked, softly, her voice almost a whisper.

He looked at her quickly, wondering why she was suddenly so serious. “Yeah?”

I, um, I wanted to talk to you about something. I just don’t know how to say it I guess.”

Mick’s breath rushed out of him in a ‘whoosh’; he felt as if he’s just been kicked in the gut. This is it, this is where she tells you it’s been great, but it isn’t going to happen again.

“Last night was incredible; so was this morning. It just made me think about my relationship with Josh, you know?”

He couldn’t say a word, his heart was breaking. He managed to nod while holding on to the steering wheel. You should have known better than to think anything could come of this.

He was so quiet she wondered if she should continue. He probably didn’t want to deal with this, a human relationship, if that is even possible she reminded herself. She was half afraid it would only build a wall between them if she went on, but she had to; she had to take the chance.

“Mick, I don’t know what happened, uh, is happening with us, you and me, that is, but I don’t want it to stop…”

Mick interrupted and said, “You want to be with me? Beth I…”

Before he could continue she said, “Please Mick, let me just say this while I still can okay? I’m going to tell Josh that it’s over between us. Not just because of you and me but because it isn’t working between us, uh, Josh and I and hasn’t for a long time now. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great guy, just not for me. I – I don’t know if anything is possible between a vampire and a human, and I don’t even know if you are remotely interested in that, but I wanted you to know that I am.” She watched him as he digested her words and softly chewed her bottom lip while she waited for him to speak.

“Beth, I’m, I don’t…”

Oh God, here it comes, the ‘I don’t want that speech’;. Shoulda kept my mouth shut…

“Beth, I’m so happy that you told me this. I couldn’t have gone on if you were going to stay with him. I don’t want to come between you and Josh, but I can’t deny that I want to be with you.” Inside Mick was doing cart wheels, he felt about 16 again and it felt so good.

Beth grinned like a fool at his words. He does care about me! She wanted to yell it out the car windows at all the other cars. Control Beth, control…

She took a deep breath and said, “Is it possible, between vampires and humans?”

He threw her a look that said, ‘What, are you crazy? What do you call last night and this morning?’ But he understood her concerns and truthfully, he had them too. Since he had become a vampire he had never had a relationship with a human. “It can be done, but I won’t lie to you Beth – relationships between vamps and humans can be complicated, difficult, and dangerous. Does that change anything for you?”

She listened to his words and considered them. She understood what he was saying to her; they were in two different worlds and things wouldn’t be easy, but she didn’t care. Right now she could slay dragons to be with him and knew that regardless of how hard it was, she was in for trying it.

“Okay, I get it. We’ll never know if we don’t try, will we?” She gave him a mischievous grin and added, “Besides, you know you want me!”

“That I do baby, that I do.” He quieted for moment and realized it was time for his true confessions. This could break the deal, but he had to tell her. “Beth, I have to tell you something and it could change everything between us. But just hear me out; listen to everything I tell you before you decide on anything, okay?”

His somber tone almost scared her. What could he tell her that would change anything?

“Okay, I’ll listen.” What she heard stunned her. Never in a million years would she have guessed what he told her. Or would she? Hadn’t she been seeing his face in her dreams since Daniel tried to kill her? Part of her knew she realized; it just hadn’t let the other part know it yet.

She was quiet as she let it all sink in; she was quiet for so long in fact that Mick was scared to death. He pulled the car over into a parking lot so that he could focus on her.

“Beth?” he probed quietly, watching her face. He saw tears streaking her cheeks and he pulled her to him, setting her on his lap and holding her close. He knew it was all a huge shock to her.

She sobbed into his shoulder and he rocked her in his arms, rubbing her back as she clung to him. “It’s alright Beth, it’s going to be okay, I promise.”

“Oh M-Mick. Part of me knew, I did. It’s why I always feel safe with y-y-you. Even last night, I knew I was safe even though I was scared. It explains so much, it does.”

“Yeah, I know Beth, I know. I didn’t want to freak you out when we first met again, you know, so I didn’t tell you.”

He felt her head nodding against his shoulder. “All those years you watched over me, kept me safe. Do you know I always felt your presence? I always felt safe Mick, because of you. I always thought of you as my Guardian Angel.”

Mick smoothed her hair off of her face and kissed her cheek. He could taste the salt of her tears and he kissed as many of them away as he could. She wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head against his chest, enjoying the feel of his arms around her. She knew that this was where she was supposed to be.

Just then her cell phone beeped. She pulled it out of her pocket and told Mick it was some information they had requested. It brought both of them back to the case they were working on.

Before he started the car Mick looked at her again; her cheeks and nose were red from the tears and her eyes a bit watery still but he thought she had never looked better. “Well, let’s get going to Dr. Pollack’s house then.”

She nodded and Mick pulled back onto the road. The smiles they both wore told the story of their happiness.

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The next few days went by in a flash for Beth; working with Mick had been exciting and like nothing she had ever encountered. Her only regret was that she hadn’t had a chance to speak with Josh. He had cancelled dinner, twice and she was determined not to tell him on the phone. She and Mick kept a safe physical distance from each other; neither wanted to be together again until Josh was out of the picture, but it was difficult for them both.

They caught the rogue vampire, who had killed three people, including his wife. It was a shocking discovery for Beth and made her ask Mick about rogues.

“How does this happen Mick? Are they mentally unstable?”

“Well, I guess they can be; usually though it’s a newly turned vamp that hasn’t been trained. But not always – sometimes are just older vamps that are bored or think that human laws and rules no longer apply to them.”

“Are there vampire rules or laws?”

“Yes, there are and they move a lot swifter than human laws do. When we catch a rogue, they are immediately executed.”

“Wow, that uh, must save a lot on prison costs then huh?” She grimaced at her own feeble attempt at humor, but it was a really scary situation they had faced. Mick had incinerated Dr. Pollack as soon as he caught him.

Mick reached for her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’ll always protect you Beth, okay? I promise.”

She believed that, but what if he wasn’t around? How did she protect herself?”

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When Josh called her early that Sunday morning she was excited at first; here would be the chance to set up a meeting so she could tell him she didn’t want to see him any longer. Unfortunately, he had something else in mind.
Which is how she found herself, with Josh at Mick’s loft that morning. They had chatted about the case a bit and Beth began to understand why he had been so preoccupied with it. Now, the safety of a brave young woman lay in Mick’s hands. Beth didn’t know what he would say or do about it.

The scene was awkward among the three of them. Mick and Beth often exchanged looks that Josh couldn’t decipher; looks he knew he needed to get to the bottom of but right now his main concern was for his case – Beth would have to wait.

Mick agreed to try and find Leni and they all agreed that Beth would be Josh’s ‘go between’ in case there really was a leak. The three of them went to the crime scene, although Beth had to wait outside as Josh and Mick combed it. Mick quickly determined that Leni was alive, hadn’t been shot and had escaped through a fire escape and stolen one of the officers trucks.

Mick and Beth set off in search of the truck, with a little help from Steve, Beth’s camera man who tapped into the Lo-Jack system. When they found the truck they also found that Leni had been there and had caught a bus to Victorville. Mick decided to go on alone from this point, which Beth didn’t like.

Mick was worried because Leni had a gun with her and if he got shot, it wasn’t an issue, but if Beth got shot he could lose her and it wasn’t worth the risk. When he found Leni in Victorville, that’s exactly what happened; he got shot.

Leni was scared to death when she shot the gun; it went into Mick’s forearm but Leni didn’t know that and he convinced her that it had missed him. She finally agreed to talk to him and ultimately, to go back to LA with him. What they didn’t realize was that thanks to the leak in Josh’s team the killer knew exactly where they were. Mick caught on pretty quickly that the officer sent to ‘escort’ them back to LA wasn’t an officer at all. He and Leni escaped through a bathroom window and stole the police car. Things got worse when it was blown up and they ended up on foot in the desert.

When they finally stumbled onto the run down motel it was already almost too late for Mick; he was afraid he was going to bite Leni and immediately sent her to get ice and to try to call Beth. Sitting in the bathtub full of water and ice, Mick reflected on how he had gotten here.

He thought of Beth, and the brief time they had together. It hadn’t been enough, not nearly enough and seeing her this morning with Josh had shot holes in his heart. She didn’t belong with him, she belongs with me. He kept repeating that to himself, along with another; that he had to make it through this.

He was afraid he would feed on Leni; in fact he knew that if he didn’t feed soon he wouldn’t be able to control himself and he wouldn’t stop until he got the blood he needed. It was in his vamp DNA or something, but he knew it would happen. He just couldn’t bear the thought of hurting Leni, who already had seen so many problems in her life. No, Beth had to get here and take Leni away. When he couldn’t hold back any longer he supposed he’d go after the sleazy motel attendant who had signed them in with a lascivious gleam in his eye as he looked Leni up and down. He would be okay with that he decided – he had to be.

Before he knew it Beth was there and she wasn’t buying it that she had to take Leni away. Mick knew he was close to the point of control and when Beth started unbuttoning her shirt to expose her neck he almost came out of the tub in revulsion.

“Don’t be ridiculous Mick. You need it.”

“NO, not like this!” She didn’t get it, she would never be food for him; he’d die before he fed from her like this.

Beth was quickly losing patience with him. First, she had believed that he and Leni had died in the ashes of the police cruiser and her heart had broken. Did she love him? She realized she did and suddenly the thought of life without him was unbearable. It wasn’t supposed to be this way; the person who is your mate doesn’t get ripped from you like this. She refused to believe he was dead because she knew she could feel it inside if he was.

Now here she was in the disgusting motel room with a reluctant vampire and it was pissing her off. He needed blood – she had blood and he had drunk it before, what was the deal now?

“You’re going to drink my blood or I’m going to force feed it to you Mick; make your choice. She started digging around in her purse for something sharp to cut herself with; she figured that if the blood was there he wouldn’t be able to stop himself.

“Wh – what are you doing?” he asked when she pulled a pair of nail clippers out of her purse.

“Which vein will you get more from?” she asked, hoping he would call her bluff. She loved him but she really didn’t want to have to stab herself with nail clippers.

“No! What the hell Beth? No, I can’t do it like this.”

“Why? Just explain to me why Mick.”

“I – I, you’re not food for me Beth. I just can’t.”

It slowly started to make sense to her. He cared for her and as he had said, he differentiates between food and, dare she hope love? “Mick, I get it, I do. But these are extraordinary circumstances and I need you to help me protect Leni. And me too Mick, I need you to keep me safe!”

Her emotional plea sunk in and for a half a moment he felt guilty. He reached for her arm and felt shame wash over him. He held her arm and immediately spied the exaggerated highway of blue veins that stood out starkly against her skin. They sang to him, called him and wooed him with their warmth and scent. He felt heady just holding her arm and he shook with the need to taste her.

“At some point, you’re going to have to stop me,” he said before his fangs sunk into her arm.

It wasn’t the gentle bite she had previously experienced but it was Mick and she soon relaxed into him. She was saving his life and that was all that was important. She ran her hand though his wet curls as he fed, trying to let him know it was alright. She wondered when she should stop him; when she felt light-headed?

But in the end he stopped on his own and lay back in the tub. He had a bit more color to his face and his eyes were no longer yellowed as they had been. He stared at her as he licked his lips and then swiped at them with his hand. Had he been capable of it he would have blushed with embarrassment.

She could only smile at him, a weak smile but she wanted him to know she was okay. She shakily got to her feet and grabbed a hand towel and wrapped it around her arm and applied some pressure as she sat down on the edge of the tub.

“Feeling better?”

“Yeah.” He wouldn’t meet her eyes.

“Okay. Well, we need to get you back to LA and to you friend Josef’s for some more blood, don’t we?”

He looked at her, surprised that she had suggested that. It was exactly what he needed, what he intended but he was surprised she had suggested it first.

“I’m going out to check on Leni. Come out when you’re feeling better, okay? I think we need to get out of here as quickly as possible.”

He nodded and sat up as she left the bathroom; she was amazing. How on earth did he ever get lucky enough to find her?

Would he be lucky enough to keep her?

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Later that night at Beth’s apartment Josh was bustling around, worried about her. She knew that this was her opportunity to talk to him. She only wanted to get to Mick and she couldn’t do it if Josh was here.

When they got back to LA he literally disappeared; Beth knew where he was though and for the first time it occurred to her that some other woman was going to let him drink her blood. She got it that he was a vamp and that was going to happen but she wasn’t crazy about it. But he needed the blood and she knew she couldn’t give him anymore yet so she supposed it had to be. She inwardly sighed with that disconcerting thought.

When Josh teased her about the puncture marks on her arm she pulled her arm away from him immediately. She felt repulsed by his touch; she couldn’t have him touching the same place Mick had.

“Josh, we need to talk.”

“Beth, you’ve had a really trying day. Why don’t we talk tomorrow?”

For half a moment she considered it, but come tomorrow she would feel guilty for not telling him and then there was the problem of getting his attention long enough to do it. No, it had to be tonight.

“No Josh, now. I, um, I can’t go on in this relationship Josh. I think it’s over between us.” She watched his face as she told him and it was almost like it didn’t sink in to him what she was saying.

“Sweetheart, you are really tired. You don’t mean that do you?”

“Yes Josh, I do. Look, you’re a great guy, really, but you are so busy with your career and I’m the same way with mine. It’s just not right between us.”

He frowned as he finally heard her words. She really did want to break up. It stunned him. She would make the perfect wife for a DA, politically savvy and beautiful as well. He was going to ask her to marry him and now she was saying she didn’t want to be with him anymore? He felt bile rise up in his throat as anger overtook him.

“I take it Mick St. John has something to do with this? You know, since you met him screwed up has started to seem normal! Look Beth, he’s just a fly in the ointment and this crush or whatever you feel for him will pass. And I’ll bet my next paycheck that he doesn’t feel the same as you; the dude has ‘player’ written all over him.

Beth fought the urge to slap him; how dare he insult Mick that way when he didn’t know him. “He saved your ass today, Josh! Saved your case and that’s how you speak about him? Well, for one thing this really had nothing to do with him; I felt this way before Mick even came along but since I’ve gotten to know him I’ve realized that there is more to life than two people who have little in common and even less time with each other to discover if we can even find common ground. You’re a great ADA Josh and I know that someday you’ll be a great DA, but I’m not the one who is supposed to be with you when you get there. I want an equal partner; not to be some decoration on your arm that can look good for the camera during your acceptance speech. It’s over. Now, I’d like it if you left now!” She turned away from him and tried to catch her breath.

There were no tears, a fact that Josh noticed as he looked at her. He sighed and stood up before saying, “Beth, when you’ve had time to think about this I’ll be around, okay?”

She turned around and glared at him. “Just leave Josh, please.”

He did.

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After Josh left Beth gathered a few things in an overnight bag and headed over to Mick’s. She didn’t know how he would feel about her invading him right now, but she needed to be with him, to see him and feel his arms around her. She debated over calling a cab to get there because she was still a bit fuzzy headed but she didn’t want the delay.

When she got to Mick’s he didn’t answer the door. She wondered if he was home and sleeping already or if he wasn’t back from Josef’s yet. She didn’t know how long it would take for him to get enough blood into him, but it had been at least two hours; surely that was enough time? She was debating whether or not to call him when she heard the elevator door open.

Mick scented her as soon as the doors scooted apart on the elevator and when he looked up there she was. Pale, but beautiful and he walked straight into her arms. He needed her as much as she needed him. He smiled when he saw the overnight bag.

“Planning on staying?” he teased.

“If you’ll have me,” she answered, unsure of his answer would be.

“Sure, come on in. Have you eaten Beth? You still look kind of pale.”

“Yes, I ate. I uh, I told Josh. I don’t want to be alone.”

“Did he threaten you Beth?” Mick immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion.

She smiled and said, “No, he took it amazingly well actually. I really don’t know if he loved me or if I was just a good ‘prospect’ wife for him. He’s ambitious, and that’s great for him, but I don’t want to be a part of that political machine.”

Mick nodded as he picked up her bag and unlocked the door to his apartment. “I don’t have a bed Beth, I’m sorry.”
She grinned and said, “It seems to me we did okay on the couch!”

“Yeah, we did. Want to try it out again?”

“I thought you’d never ask!”

To be continued…

Chapter 42 The Big Bite

Author's Note: This chapter continues on from The Road Trip, essentially it is chapter 6 in that story. It is a bit tongue-in-cheek but gets us where we need to be. WSU is where I work, so you know.   Julia, your suggestion works perfectly! Thank you to much!!!
Chapter 42 The Big Bite



July 1, 2008

What a wonderful road trip this has been! It was made even better watching Mick as we traveled the highways as it was something he never had done before. With each mile and each state he grew more comfortable and relaxed. Unfortunately, Simone wasn’t quite as happy about it all.

She is not cut out to tour the USA in a bus, regardless of how big it is or how nice the bathroom is. She wants luxury and comfort and really, I think the bus provides both but they are not up to her expectations I guess. She been in turn angry, sullen, and sometimes hateful even. I feel bad for Josef because he is trying so hard to please her and nothing makes her happy. Mick and I have often heard them arguing at night and we just hold each other tighter, so happy for this dream vacation with one another.

I know it’s not perfect on the bus; it is cramped in the bedrooms but really, all in all very nice otherwise. I think she has gotten used to the servants at Josef’s house doing everything for her; here we have to cook and clean up after ourselves which isn’t too bad considering how small the space actually is.

And speaking of things of that nature, Josef has discovered that many RV campgrounds actually have people who will empty the storage tanks! I think it’s hilarious that he’ll pay a hundred bucks for something that only took them a few minutes but both of them are very happy about it. Vampire noses just can’t handle it I guess.

We traveled to the Grand Canyon, the Four Corners; saw the Painted Desert and Monument Valley where they made so many old westerns. Mick was more excited about that then the Grand Canyon I think. When he was a kid he loved the old serial features at the movies and later on anything with John Wayne and a horse. I’ve learned so much about him on this trip; he loves the clear blue skies against the red, gold and ochre colors of the desert and the small town attitudes of people when we pull this ridiculous bus in for gas and things. Josef only grins like an idiot when people comment on the name.

Simone usually stays in the bus, refusing to get out and get dusty. Honestly? She’s acting like a child, pouting because she isn’t getting her way. We are going to stop in Vegas on our way back to LA and she has done nothing but complain that we were doing all this other stuff before we got there.

Right now we are on our way to Wichita, Kansas. I’ve never been to Kansas, Land of Oz and Dorothy and her little dog Toto too. Josef and William Randolph had set up an endowment fund when the town started a university in 1895. It was called Fairmount College back then but it’s called Wichita State University now. He donated big bucks two years ago for a sculpture there and wants to see it; it’s a huge millipede and supposed to be quite something. We’ll see I guess!

Later…


OOOOOOOOOOOO



Simone looked with clouded and dismal eyes at the empty fields the bus passed by. It was true; right now they seemed pretty bare as the wheat had already been harvested. The bus was on I-35 only a few miles short of Wichita. They saw occasional small towns or farms out the windows, nothing that Simone had any interest in at all. She’d gone from quiet and withdrawn to discontented and vocal about the length of this side show. She wanted to go home, to LA and she wanted it 10 days ago.

“I do not understand why on earth we had to travel 1,500 miles out to this – this God forsaken place! There is nothing here, NOTHING!” she grumbled, causing an uncomfortable silence for all of them.

“Simone honey, why don’t you get a glass of wine and relax, okay? We’ll be in Wichita in about 10 minutes and from there we’ll head to the university. I have it all programmed into the GPS system.”

They were all very aware of the fact that Simone’s wine consumption had dramatically increased on the trip. Sometimes Beth felt like pouring a bottle or two down Simone’s throat just to get her to shut up. Beth realized it was a very uncharitable thought but the past two days they couldn’t go more than a mile or two without Simone complaining.

Mick and Josef were both fascinated with the GPS which left Beth and Simone to their own devices. After getting lost around Flagstaff, Arizona they had stopped and bought it; it seemed that vampire traveling knowledge was not quite up to snuff. They played with it constantly; programmed places like Sarasota, Florida or Mobile, Alabama into it, which in turn irritated Simone even more. It seemed she was paranoid they might actually head there. At one point Josef teased her about visiting all 48 contiguous states. It was not a funny moment.

Knowing Josef it could have been more of a threat…

It was 10:47 in the morning when they crossed the city limits into Wichita and 104 degrees in the Air Capital city, given that name for all the aircraft industry that was housed there. Air pioneers like Clyde Cessna, Bill Lear and Walter Beech founded their companies in this Midwestern city which was now home to not only them, but also to Boeing, Airbus, Piper, Spirit and other smaller aircraft related industries, according to the guide book Beth had picked up at an information stop. She read the information aloud as they made their way to the north part of the city.

The GPS led them through the city to the university. Josef took the exit off of 35 to head to the university and they saw the football stadium (although the guide book said they no longer played football there) and made the turn off onto the campus. They circled around on something called Perimeter Road and Beth exclaimed, “Look! There is the original building for the very first Pizza Hut. The book says it was moved here to campus by an anonymous benefactor after road construction on Kellogg Avenue threatened its existence.” Beth eyed Josef speculatively, wondering about the ‘anonymous benefactor’ thing. Josef stopped the bus and Beth hopped out, taking a picture of the unimposing and Beth had to admit, unimaginably small building.



Faculty, staff and students saw the bus but went on about their business, used to people coming to see the building. One student saw the name on the bus asked if they were with MTV. Assured they were not he headed on to class, casting a quick and last look over his shoulder at the bus.

Finally after circumnavigating the small roads of the campus, clearly not designed for a bus to travel on, they found the even smaller road around Milli. The road narrowed and hooked around, almost in the shape of a keyhole with Milli being on a center island.



“It kind of looks like a giant brown turd, doesn’t it? Not at all what I expected, you know, something whimsical, like in Alice in Wonderland.” Josef, clearly disappointed in his investment stared in horrified fascination at the sculpture.

“I don’t think you can get this bus around on the road Josef,” Mick said, standing up to take a better look at the road ahead of them.

“Sure, sure we can. It might be a l-i-t-t-l-e t-i-g-h-t though. If there weren’t so many cars parked here it would help for heaven sakes. What, have these people never heard of using the parking lots?” he grumbled as they almost took off the side mirror on a Honda.

Mick’s eyebrow rose as he saw how close they came to the mirror. He looked out the side windows to see what else was near. It was clear right now but the curve of the road was impossible he believed; unfortunately Josef didn’t. He suddenly had a headache and lightly pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to wish it all away. They were at a place now where they couldn’t really go back, but forward seemed impossible too.

“Look,” Beth said, oblivious to what was going on and pointing out a building on the west side of the bus. “It’s Wilner Auditorium. The book says it is supposedly one of the most haunted places in Kansas. It’s also one of the oldest buildings on campus, along with Fisk Hall which is behind us,” she said excitedly.

Mick cast a quick glance at the building and noticed a University police car pull up behind them. Shit, what the hell? What were they going to do now?

“Uh Josef, there is a police car behind us. If we can get out of here, now would be a good time,” he said, casting a longing look out the windshield at how close they were to sweet escape.

“Just let me back up a little bit and maybe angle to the left just a smidge…” Josef answered. They all jumped when they heard the scraping of metal on metal. Mick hung his head in frustration, ready to run for the hills, always supposing they could find any in this inordinately flat landscape. They had scraped up against a ‘No Parking’ sign which seemed ridiculous because there were cars parked everywhere.

There was a knock on the door of the bus and they all saw a University police officer tapping expectantly on it. Josef pushed the lever and the door opened, allowing the officer to climb aboard.

Between this horror of a road trip, the mess they were in now and Beth chirping excitedly about a haunted building Simone had had enough. She went to the bedroom and grabbed her purse and stomped back to the front of the bus. “Let me off this rolling house of horrors – I’ve had enough,” she told them all, frustration smeared all over her face.

The officer stared at her, caught up in her beauty but she ignored him. “Please, let me off NOW!”

“Simone, here?” Josef asked quizzically as he looked around. “What are you going to do?”

“I’ll find a way to the airport; even if I have to crawl across broken glass it will be better than staying here. I’ve had enough!”

“Ma’am, we do have busses, just out there on 17th street you can catch one if you want but I can’t let you go yet, not until we get this all figured out.”

Rage washed up over her face flushing it a brilliant scarlet color and the officer recognized desperation when he saw it; this was a woman on the edge. His past history with his ex wife had shown him that you don’t ever mess with a woman on the edge. Still, he couldn’t let her go yet so he stayed in the doorway and asked Josef for his license and registration.

Josef complied, pulling out the requested documents and hoped that Logan was as good as he claimed to be. The officer took them and headed back out to the cruiser with a warning to Simone to stay on the bus.

Mick was speechless; he knew that this was it, the jig was up. Beth saw his face and kissed him lightly on the cheek and murmured, “Must you always be so pessimistic?”

He realized she was right and grinned, half-halfheartedly anyway. He still didn’t know how the heck they were going to get the damn bus moved though.

Simone was on the phone to Delta Airlines arranging for a flight. They had one that left in a little over two hours so all she had to do was get off this damn bus. It seemed the officer was taking an inordinately long time to get the information. Just then another police vehicle pulled up ahead of them. It was some sort of 3 wheeled scooter thing and the officer got off and looked at the bus, staring at the name and scratching his head in question.

“He clearly doesn’t get it,” Josef joked.

“So few do,” Mick retorted and muttered a barely audible “Thank God…”

The new officer tapped on the door of the bus and Josef again pushed the lever allowing him to come up the steps and in. He was wearing khaki shorts and his navy blue polo shirt that said ‘WSU Police Department’ on it. He had a helmet on, much like one a child would wear to ride their bike.

“Howdy folks! I’m Sergeant Stucky. Looks like you got yourself a bit of a mess here. Yup, it happens. Road ain’t made for busses, that’s pretty clear.” He looked around at Mick, Beth and Simone, who was still waiting to get off the bus. He tilted his head in acknowledgment of the ladies, a cheesy grin on his face. “How you doing?” he said and it sounded as if he had been rehearsing it by watching old reruns of Friends.

“We’re fine Officer Sucky,” Simone said, reading the name on his name tag. She had to suppress a sarcastic comment about his name.

“Actually it’s Stucky Ma’am. They misspelled it at the engravers.” Seeing the possible interest in Simone’s face he straightened his shoulders a bit and tried to suck in the beer gut.

Whatever it took to impress the ladies!

“Sergeant, I really need to get of this bus and get to the airport. I have a flight to catch at 2:10, back to LA.”

“Delta?” he queried.

“Of course,” she acknowledged her voice sounding like silken velvet with a coquettish twist to it. “I never fly anything else.” It sounded almost sexual the way she said the words. “I’m just not sure how to get to the airport from here though.”

Sergeant Stucky picked up on it. Looks like he got himself a live one here he thought. “Why, we’d be happy to escort you out to Midcontinent Miss…”

“Walker, Simone Walker,” she said offering her hand in a limp-wristed shake. She looked into his watery blue eyes and smiled. Maybe she might get out of here yet she decided.

The first officer came back on the bus and motioned the sergeant off of it for a moment. Outside, he whispered something in the sergeant’s ear and they watched as his eyebrows shot up a couple of inches in surprise. Because of the air running in the bus Mick and Josef couldn’t hear what was said but they did hear the sergeant give out a long whistle and say, “Well, I’ll be darned!”

They both climbed back on board and were almost bowing in apology. “Uh, Mr. Kostan sir, the chief says we should just help you folks get on your way here. Whatever it takes!” Sergeant Stucky told them. “I believe if you angle towards the left you can make it; you’ll take out those rose bushes there but that’s alright, the Physical Plant can plant new ones! Now, you just go ahead there and we’ll try to direct you as best we can.” As he spoke he handed Josef’s identification back to him and Josef tried to hide the smile that crept up his face.

“Thank you, and thank the chief for me too. Oh, and Simone?” he said, slipping his sunglasses back on. “I believe this is your stop!”

Since hearing that they were going to let them go Simone had decided to just stay. She was dumbfounded by Josef’s words. “Um, no that’s okay, I’ll stay.” She looked at the sergeant’s crestfallen face and held back a shudder.

“No, I insist,” Josef told her, his voice like steel. “Off. The. Bus. Now. Sergeant Stucky, you wouldn’t mind ensuring that Ms. Walker gets to the airport on time would you?” At the sergeants suddenly bright face he looked at Simone again. “I’ll make sure you get everything you’ve left on the bus when I get back to LA. Hurry up now, we don’t want to keep the good sergeant waiting do we?”

For a moment Simone considered planting herself down in protest but one look at Josef’s face told her that one way or the other she wasn’t going to stay on the bus. She briefly wondered what Wichita’s version of the tar pits was and then decided she didn’t want to find out. “Fine!” she all but screamed. “I hate this damn constant blue sky and clean air. I want to see smog and traffic and buildings that have more than 30 stories!” She grabbed her purse and stood up, raising her chin just a fraction too high as she followed the sergeant off the bus. She missed the last step and fell straight into Sergeant Stucky’s arms.

He considered it fate. She considered that maybe the tar pits wouldn’t have been so bad.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



After taking out half a dozen of the Physical Plant’s award-winning rose bushes the bus finally made it out onto the street. Josef concentrated and hit the button to bring the GPS back on line.

Beth watched his face in the mirror; it was as cool as ice giving no hint at what he was thinking. While it would be a blessing to not hear Simone’s constant nagging and complaining it surprised her greatly that he had kicked her off the bus. She wondered how he was really feeling about it all. She decided to walk forward to see.

Mick was laughing and she caught his comment. “Good luck with Delta. I knew someone who recently flew with them and when they got their bag back it looked like it had been run over by the plane.”

“That’s what I’m always hearing too; that and that they are never on time. Hope she doesn’t miss any connecting flights!” Josef said, chuckling loudly.

“Hey Josef,” Beth said, standing behind him.

“Ah, back behind the yellow line,” Josef said.

Beth looked down, puzzled as there was no yellow line and said as much.

“Hm, in movies there is always a yellow line. Damn, would you look at that! We’re supposed to turn here and there’s construction.”

As they went past the intersection the GPS started crooning, “Recalculating, recalculating! Proceed .8 miles and turn left…” in its tinny computer-generated voice.

As Josef made the turn and the interstate was in sight Beth said, “Josef, are you okay?”

She caught his eye in the rear view mirror and for a half a second she thought he looked sad but then his face immediately changed back to a bland expression. She laid her hand on his shoulder and leant down to whisper in his ear, “If you need anything…” and stepped away. She thought maybe he would talk to Mick if she made herself scarce. “I’m tired guys. I’m going to head back to the bedroom and take a nap.”

“Well, if you and Romeo didn’t play spin the bottle all night long you might get some sleep.”

She started to say that wasn’t what kept them up, but they all knew what it was because they were all thinking it; Josef and Simone’s constant arguments had often ensured that no one got much sleep. “Yes, well…Mick, wake me up in a couple of hours, okay?”

“Sure baby,” he told her, kissing her briefly. He watched as she moved to the bedrooms in the back, her hips swaying delightfully and it was all he could do to stay where he was and not join her. He finally turned away when he heard the bedroom door click firmly into place. He looked at Josef then, one eyebrow crooked in question.

“Don’t say it Mick. Yes, I’m okay, or I will be.”

Mick studied Josef’s face, debating just how true those words actually were. Josef was on edge, trying to push it all away from him; it was actually one of the things that Josef did best, hiding his feelings. Only problem was that Mick knew him well enough to know it was all a sham. “When you are ready to talk about it, I’m here Josef; Beth and I both are. Hey, I need to go check on her for a minute, I’ll be right back.”

Josef rolled his whiskey colored eyes, hidden behind his sunglasses and then grinned. Right back could be an hour, but that was okay.

Mick made his way into the bedroom they shared and smiled as he saw Beth lying on the bed in nothing but one of his Henley’s. “Hey, are you alright?”

“Yes, I really am tired, that’s all. None of us have been getting much rest.”

“Um, yeah. Hey, have you taken your vitamins today?” he asked, referring to the pre-natal vitamins they had bought at a drug store. Mick had read that it was one of the steps to help her body get ready for artificial insemination. Beth just grinned and took them.

“Yes worry wart, I did, right after I ate my organic banana and yogurt for breakfast. Honestly Mick, I’m fine.”

“Yeah, I know. I just want everything to be okay. Hey, I’ve been thinking that maybe I will build one of those small garden greenhouses on the roof so that I can grow organic vegetables and herbs for you? How would that be?” he said, watching her as she smiled at him and then laughed.

“I think it would be fine! Now go,” she demanded, pointing towards the door. “Josef needs you more than I do right now.”

He nodded and bent down to kiss her sweet warm lips, savoring them for just a moment. “Okay, call me if you need anything.”

At her nod he left the room, closing the door firmly behind him. As he headed back up front Josef laughed and commented that ‘that’ didn’t take long.

“We only talked Josef. ‘THAT’ is not all we do.”

“Could have fooled me. Do you think she knows anything?” he said changing the subject.

Mick grinned like a love-sick fool as he thought about the surprise they had in store for her in Las Vegas. “No, she doesn’t know anything. Lani, Dorothy and Robbi aren’t saying a word. Have you heard from them today?”

“Yes, I had an email from Lani this morning; the three of them are in Vegas making preparations. They seem to think that they can have enough done so that when we arrive tomorrow night there will be very little for Beth to do; pick out her gown and flowers, things like that. The whole crew from home will be there, Clark, Logan and his new girl, Robbi’s family, Guillermo, Carl, Ben, Steve, her photographer friend from Buzzwire, Beth’s friends Max and Mark, Elka, Cami and Lani’s boyfriend, uh, Amos somebody…”

Mick smiled at Josef’s deliberate, incorrect name for Lani’s boyfriend. Those two would either kill one another someday or…” He tried not to speculate on the ‘or’. “When will they all be arriving?”

“The same day we get there, but a little later in the day. We have the whole top floor of the Bellagio reserved for the group. That evening we are throwing you one helluva bachelor party boyo. Lani is doing the same for your little blonde-haired bride. She has also decided that the wedding dinner will be a buffet, that way with people sort of milling around it might not be as noticeable that some of us aren’t eating the food. Think you can choke down a bit of wedding cake?”

“For Beth? I can do anything,” Mick answered.

“Good, wouldn’t want you screwing up the pictures of the wedding by making faces. You, Logan, Clark and I get fitted for our tuxes the afternoon we arrive and the wedding will be the evening after that. Small, intimate and with half the tourists in Vegas watching no doubt.”

“If it weren’t a grand show it wouldn’t be a Kostan production would it?” Mick chuckled, finally relaxing because it seemed like everything was falling into place. The extra days they had spent on the side trip to Wichita had provided them the extra time to get things ready in Vegas.

As they cruised down the interstate in Oklahoma a thought finally occurred to Mick. “Hey, just why did they let us go at WSU anyway? You know that chief or something?”

“Nah, they probably recognized my name. After all, I never said the donation for that priceless and tacky piece of art was anonymous, did I?” he joked. “Boy, I wish I could take that one back!”



To be continued…

Freshie Friday! Twisted -Part 3

Beautiful banner by Moonlightlover60

Author's Note:

I have sort of been an absentee landlord for a while now and I thank you all for your patience.  Life has been very complicated and difficult; for me I'm just sort of putting one foot in front of the other and trying to carry on.  Right now there is no real end in sight, but I will continue to do my best to keep updates coming to this story and hopefully will get back to the others eventually.

Hope

 This is an AU (Alternate Universe) Moonlight story. What if Mick regularly fed fresh when Beth discovered the truth about him? Come along for the 5 part adventure and find out!

*DISCLAIMER* If you recognize anyone in this story, I don't own them. Only the story idea is mine.

Twisted, Chapter Three

Even though it wasn’t the freezer Mick managed to rest on the couch with Beth snuggled against him; amazingly well in fact. He started waking with the dawn and watched as the light gradually flickered in the room through the lattice panels and window blinds.

Around 7 a.m. he felt Beth beginning to stir. He wished he could find a way to get up without disturbing her so that he could make some coffee for her. And, he had to admit that waking up with her face to face was rather scary for him. How would she feel when she remembered what had happened last night?

He didn’t have to wait too long; he felt her stretch her body against his and then she leaned up to kiss him good morning.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hi yourself. Did you sleep well?”

She grinned and laughed, “Yes I did. You wore me out!”

It wasn’t what he had expected to hear; recriminations, anger even but not that. She was happy and the thought tugged at his heart and gave him hope that he hadn’t screwed everything up.

Beth sat up on the edge of the couch and said, “Bathroom?”

“Um, upstairs on the left.”

She smiled again and headed upstairs, the afghan wrapped around her. God, he thought, she was probably freezing in here. He got up and turned the glass fireplace on, hoping that it might help a bit. He then slid into his jeans, a la commando and headed to the kitchen to make her some coffee. By the time it was brewing she still hadn’t come back down stairs so he headed up there to see if she needed anything.

“Is everything alright?” he asked. She was staring at her neck in the mirror, a smile on her face. Mick stood behind her, afraid to reach out and touch her, although he ached to. His eyes met hers in the mirror and she smiled at him, her blue eyes sparking with something that Mick didn’t recognize at first.

“Yes. I – I thought it would be um, bigger I guess. It’s hardly noticeable really. Is it okay if I take a shower?”

“Sure, let me get you a towel, okay?”

“Will you take a shower with me?” she asked, letting the afghan drop in a pool on the floor. She reached her hands behind him and took his arms and pulled them about her and then she leaned her head back against his chest.

He was amazed; she stood there in front of him fearless, asking him to shower with her. “Sure, if you don’t turn the water on too hot.”

Understanding glimmered in her eyes and she said, “However you like it. Go ahead and turn it on.” Her nipples were hard and he caught the double meaning in her comment. He swallowed hard and headed over to the shower. Had he been human he knew he would be blushing.

He got the shower set and then said, “I’ll be right back Beth. I’ll only be gone a minute or two.”

“Oh, okay,” she told him.

Mick jumped from the top step to the bottom and opened the hidden fridge. He pulled out a bottle of fresh blood and drank straight from it, half the bottle in a few gulps. He knew that he needed it to keep from losing control with her. He stopped to quickly rinse the residue out of his mouth before vaulting the stairs again and heading into the bathroom.

She was surprised to see him again so soon; it really only had been a minute or so. She opened the shower door and stepped inside, watching him as he unbuttoned his jeans and kicked them aside. Her eyes lit with pleasure as she saw that he was aroused, standing fully erect. He seemed to move in slow motion towards her, his eyes eating her up. She was beautiful, not shying away from his gaze but meeting it unflinchingly, her blue eyes flickering with desire. She licked her lip slowly and the sight of her pink tongue peeking out of her mouth made him groan.

He stared at her hungrily for a moment, his eyes devouring her. They swept from the top of her head to the tips of her pink polished toes; she was beautiful and he couldn’t wait to have her again.

Mick stepped into the shower and pulled her close to him, savoring the feel of her delicious curves pressed against him. He remembered to pull the shower door closed behind him at the last minute and then they were enveloped in the tepid mist of the shower, small rivulets of water streaking down their bodies.

Beth wasted no time in sliding her hand down between their bodies and grasping his hardened length firmly, tugging on him as she murmured into his ear, “Now Mick, I need you inside me!”

His mouth captured hers and feasted upon it ravenously , much like a starving man. He drank deeply of her sweet mouth and stroked the honeyed depths with his tongue. Beth wrapped her arms around his waist and he reached down to cup her bottom and lifted her up and onto his erection. She slipped him inside her and wrapped her legs tightly around his waist, sighing with the pleasure. It was like coming home.

Beth shifted her arms around his neck and pulled her mouth away from his before gliding if down along his jaw to his neck. She kissed and nipped at it enticingly as he pumped faster and faster into her welcoming body. Each lost themselves in the moment, aware only of the need for one another and fulfillment. Mick feasted on her neck in preparation for the bite that would bring them both to passions valley. He pulled lightly on the skin and tongued it, driving Beth wild with need.

As he worked on her neck, on that spot the bite actually tingled in anticipation of what was to come. She moaned and whispered, “Now Mick, bite me NOW!”

She was on the edge as was he and he felt his fangs lengthen and ache with desire to bite her, to bring them both to orgasm. Finally the moment was there; he drove himself frantically into her trembling body and his mouth kissed the marks from last night before his fangs lightly pierced her skin, sending them both over the edge. Beth screamed with her release and he felt her body spasm and clench his tightly, milking him of every bit of his release. Mick savored the tang of the Beth’s warm blood as it flowed into his mouth; it was the sweetest if gifts, every drop precious to him.

He pulled his fangs free and gently kissed his mark, lovingly tonguing the tiny puncture marks until they ceased to bleed. She was still shaking in his arms so he continued to hold her close as they both caught their breaths.

Beth finally unhooked her legs and let them slide down his body to stand in the shower. She leaned her head against his chest and rested her cheek against the damp skin. The warm water bathed them both, providing a pleasant cascade of sensation.

They stepped out of the spray and Mick grabbed the bottle of shampoo and poured some into his hand and then worked it into her hair. His fingers tingled against her scalp as he massaged the shampoo in until it was a foamy lather. He kissed her eyes to close them and then moved her back under the spray to rinse the shampoo from her head. He then combed conditioner through with his fingers before washing her body, treating it like the finest treasure. After he had thoroughly rinsed her he allowed her to perform the same ministrations on him and delighted in the light play of her fingers over his skin.

Mick had never shared such an intimate experience with anyone. He found it exhilarating to wash her hair and body and submit as she did the same for him. He watched her as they washed one another and was awed by the comfort in it. It felt good, perfect in fact. But would there be more than just this brief time with her he wondered.

She has a boyfriend…

MLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLML

Beth finished drying her hair with Mick’s blow dryer and made her way downstairs, sniffing the air appreciatively.

“Um, coffee! Thanks,” she said, accepting the cup from Mick. He was busy wiping the countertop down and mumbled a “you’re welcome” to her as he rinsed out the cloth. Beth looked around the spotless kitchen and decided you could probably eat off of every surface in there, including the floor without any worries. Mick apparently was a neat freak; either that or he had a very competent maid.

She wasn’t sure she liked that idea at all.

He finally looked at her as she sipped the coffee and what she saw in his eyes melted her heart; he was anxious she realized. She reached out and touched his hand, “Mick?” she asked, trying to figure out how best to alleviate his concerns.

“I – uh, is the coffee okay? I keep it around for clients, but since I can’t taste it I don’t know if it’s any good.”

The words all came out in a nervous rush and she smiled again and said, “Its fine – good. So, you can’t taste it hmm? What can you taste?”

“Uh, blood. I can taste blood.” He paused for a moment before adding softly, “You Beth. I can taste you”.

The words made her breath catch in her throat and she blushed; the memories of last night flooding her head and she shivered slightly as she vividly pictured what he was doing when he tasted her. She sat her coffee cup down on the pristine counter and was in his arms practically before he could blink. Two pairs of lips met in aching abandon, clinging and teasing as their tongues lovingly stroked everything in their paths. Beth finally pulled away, breathless and tried to compose herself.

“Wow. I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I have to go. I have to um, take care of a few things,” she told him, taking a step back, hopefully out of the pull of desire she felt for him.

Mick nodded and said, “I had two messages from Carl Davis on my phone; probably about what happened last night. They uh, shooting thing I mean.” He stared at her, his eyes unblinking as he watched her digest his words.
Inwardly, Beth groaned. She knew she was going to have to deal with all this and Josh too. Yes, Josh was going to be an important part of what would be happening. Beth nodded at Mick and said, “Um yes, I’m sure I’ll have messages too. So, I guess I’ll see you later?” she asked hopefully. She waited, almost holding her breath, until he answered.

He smiled at her then and his face lit up as he looked at her. She wanted to see him later! He felt like jumping up and down, but instead all he did was nod and say, “Yeah. So uh, until then I guess?”

“Okay. Thanks for the coffee. So you don’t eat food at all?” she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

“Really don’t!” he said with a laugh. “Bye.” He walked her to the door and opened it, waiting for her to step through. The desire to pull her to him one last time was too strong, but before he had a chance to do it she was already there, in his arms.

“Bye,” she said, kissing him again. This time it was a sweet kiss, but a kiss that promised that later on, there would be more.

It was enough for Mick. He watched her go with a lighter heart, accepting that his lonely world was somehow changing because of a curious little blonde. And he was very thankful for that.

MLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLML

When she got home Beth checked her messages; she had 5 of them, three from Carl and two from Josh. Seriously, she was surprised there weren’t more from Josh and she was even more amazed that he apparently hadn’t come over last night to see her. She knew that he was working really hard on a case; they were doing surveillance on an El Salvadorian by the name of Tejada, in preparation for filing charges against him. Josh had been working on the case for almost two years and it was a top priority for the DA’s office.

As she changed clothes she thought about Josh and what she was going to do about him, or rather their relationship. She frowned as she pulled on a pair of pants and zipped them up. It was complicated with him; she was going to hurt him and she didn’t relish that thought at all.

Was she ready to throw away everything she had with Josh for a “maybe” relationship with Mick? Was Mick even interested in that? In the end, it didn’t matter to her because regardless of what happened with Mick, she knew that her relationship with Josh was done.

Beth was never one to shy away from the facts of a situation and the fact was that she and Josh were at the end of the road and had been even before Mick came along. Although, as soon as she met Mick she had been drawn to him; the attraction had been undeniable. She just clicked with him; she felt a comfort and safety with him that she couldn’t explain, but she knew she wanted to explore it.

Josh was a good man; an exceptional man really. Steady, dependable, all those qualities that a woman could dream of, and perhaps she was an idiot to walk away, but her heart and her conscience wouldn’t allow her to stay and hurt him any further. And the sooner the better, for everyone’s sake she knew.

She called Carl first and made arrangements to go in and give him a statement regarding Lee Jay’s shooting. It all seemed a million miles away now, a lifetime ago really and it was amazing but she felt a huge degree of distance from it all. She had shot and killed a man and she wasn’t freaking out about it; quite the contrary in fact. One truth came to her about it though, she had done it to save Mick and she would have killed a dozen people to do that and not batted an eye.

Next she called Josh, prepared to ask him if she could see him later so that she could end their relationship, but he was swamped at work so that would have to wait until tomorrow. He asked her how she was doing but didn’t seem to be aware that she didn’t spend the night at her apartment, for which she was grateful. They agreed on dinner the following night and she hung up the phone a bit happier because she had a plan for what was going to happen.
She wondered what Mick was doing right now? She fought the impulse to call him, just to say hi, or something equally ridiculous when all she really wanted was just to hear his voice. Was he thinking about her at all she wondered? Memories of their steamy night together flowed through her head and she actually felt herself blush as she remembered how forward she had been, insistent even. Then she remembered the bite and her hand flew up to her neck where her fingers gently traced to the small spots that were already healing and she couldn’t believe it when she realized that they were actually tingling as she thought about him and the bite.

Yes, the bite. He’s a vampire Beth, he’s really a vampire.

That put a whole new spin on things. Can vampires even have relationships with humans? He could certainly have sex ,she thought with a chuckle. Yes, he did that very well! But was he interested in a relationship with me? How would that even work? Could it work? She had so many questions she wanted to ask. Again, her hand reached for her phone and she almost dropped it when it started to ring. She stared at it for a moment before it registered that it wasn’t Mick calling but Mo. With a sigh she answered the call.

MLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLMLML

Mick caught a couple of hours of freezer time before he had to meet Carl down at the police station. He did manage to sleep a bit but thoughts of Beth kept invading his rest. First, there were the downright dirty thoughts that made things physically uncomfortable and then there was the other stuff…like, was she thinking about him at all today?

Last night and this morning were incredible and he definitely wanted more of the same. But, could she handle me being a vampire, he wondered. Really handle it and everything that went with it. AND – the biggest thing of all, how would she take the truth about how he had been involved in her life all these years. He couldn’t pursue a relationship with her if she didn’t know the truth, but the truth may keep it from happening.

How do you tell someone that you’ve known them since they were 4? That you rescued them from your crazy wife whom you had to kill just to be able to save her and that he had ‘watched’ over her all these years? Yeah, that’s a nice way to put it St. John, watched, not stalked. If anything were to come of this thing with her he had to tell her first.

After he got done with the meeting with Carl, which had actually gone pretty easy because Julia had filled Carl in on things, he started getting text messages from Guillermo, urging him to come to the morgue. Mick headed there with a sigh; he really wanted to call Beth, but thought it was better to let her take the next step, when she felt comfortable.

At the morgue he got two shocks; the first being that there was evidently a rogue vampire on the loose and the second that Beth was on the case for Buzzwire.

It looked like destiny was stepping in. He was perfectly okay with that!

To be continued…

Chapter 41 Open Arms

June 17, 2008

The barbeque at Mom and Clarks was good. Kevin met Mick and it went so well. Robbi of course had met him, albeit briefly the night at the beach but she loves him already. But then, that’s Robbi; she just wants us all to be as happy as she is. We told them that Mick had some blood work the following day and they accepted that. Brianna loved him, she sat on his lap and laid her head on his chest and he patted her back tenderly. I feel so bad for him; he would be such a good and patient dad and he’ll never have that chance. Not any point in worrying about what will never be I guess.

What happened on the beach has made me think about my life and what I want; Mick and I have started talking about it all and he knows what I want. I think he is okay with it all; he says he is, but sometimes he’s still so hard to read.

I’m getting ready to go to Josef’s beach house for a few days while Mick is in Reno; we’re hoping that it won’t be too long, but it’s hard to say with some cases Mick says. It’s a cast of industrial espionage and he’ll gather the info as quickly as he can. I hear Josef’s house is great, right on the beach and with a pool too. The temperature here is really heating up so it might not be a bad idea actually; at least I can guarantee that it will be kept nice and cool!

Josef told Mick and me that Kelly was found and executed. That’s what Katrina told Josef; she’s the head or leader cleaner I guess. I don’t know if being a cleaner is a calling, like a priest or something or if it’s just a career choice. They seem to all be similarly alike from what I can see. The girl who came after Kelly on the beach is called Colleen; I’ve not had a chance to meet her but I’d like to if for no other reason than to thank her for her help because I have no doubt that I’d be dead if she hadn’t.

It was scary out there, but it all happened so fast that at least it was over before it started almost. I feel comforted by the fact that she is dead although kind of creepy about it all. She hated me enough, or loved (or thought) she loved Mick enough to kill for that love. Maybe that’s not so hard to believe in retrospect; after all I had Dean Foster killed for Mick, because I love him. Would I have taken him out personally? I might have if forced into it without the alternative of Josef’s intervention. I would do anything to keep Mick safe. Lani and I talked about it and she thinks its perfect justice that Kelly is dead. Lani was so mad that night she would have done it herself if she could have.

I just hope that neither of us will ever have to make that decision.

Later…



OOOOOOOOOOOO



Kelly sat in a chair, the same chair that Emma Monahan had sat in months ago. She looked around her at the dim and austere room and knew that this would be the last she’d see of this world. She squirmed in the chair, the silver around her neck and wrists burning sharply. She looked down at the livid redness of her wrists and wished there was a way to lessen the pain. It seemed that none was to be found.

Katrina and Billie walked in to the room, Billie bearing the weight of the flame thrower, a simple task for one such as herself. She hefted it over her shoulder, the strap allowing it to rest with ease and she looked at Kelly with disgust in her eyes.

All this because of a human!

“Kelly Detzien, you are charged with the interruption of another vampire’s life through physical threats to his mate. You are also charged with endangering your brothers and sisters by exposure to humans. What do you have to say?”

“His mate? She’s human, she means nothing. He should be charged with that!” she spat out, enraged that a human would be behind all this. A HUMAN!

Katrina shut her eyes for a moment, shielding the silver from view. She felt much the same way as Kelly did; humans were beneath them and why St. John would actually want to take one to mate was beyond her. They were food, plain and simple and some of us like them so little that we even buy the blood bagged from them to avoid having to touch them.

“Kostan has commanded your death, as is his right as senior vampire in LA. His directions are clear; you shall be burned to death, reduced to ashes and scattered. Do you understand that?”

Kelly nodded numbly and swallowed hard but her eyes never left Katrina’s.

“Do you also understand that this was unnecessary? You have thrown your life away on a vampire who has never, NEVER been interested in you? You have taken every opportunity to throw yourself at him but he wasn’t buying! Still, you pursued him with alacrity, without out any thought of the consequences of such actions. You were warned; more times than I care to admit to leave them both alone and you flagrantly disregarded first a request and then a direct order. You have endangered all of us with exposure by that stunt at the beach as there were other humans there. Do you have anything else to say?”

“She is human,” were the only words that she could choke out.

Katrina nodded and Billie raised the flamethrower. Kelly closed her eyes…



OOOOOOOOOOOO



After the cookout Mick and Beth stopped by her apartment to pick up Travis before going back to the loft. Travis was excited to see them and twisted around Mick’s legs and then walked to his food dish.

“Hungry Travis?” Mick asked as he chuckled at the cat’s antics. The small cat looked at him and stared for a moment, focusing on Mick’s eyes. Mick shook his head to break the contact; it was like Travis was trying to convince him to put some food in the bowl. Mick scooped him up and said, “Hang on buddy, you can eat when we get to the loft.”

“Mick?” Beth called from the bedroom. He heard the dresser drawers opening and closing and walked in to find Beth pulling things out willy-nilly. “I think I’m just going to gather everything I need for going to Josef’s since I’m going day after tomorrow. Is that okay with you if Travis and I just stay at your place until then?”

Mick wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned down to kiss her neck; he felt her shiver of response and his own answering reaction. “Beth, you don’t have to ask; you can stay there permanently if you like.”

“Are you asking me to move in with you?” She’d thought about it, but he’d never said so she’d just forgotten about it.

“Well, yes I guess I am. Nothing would make me happier. I just wasn’t sure you’d want to. I mean, you and Josh didn’t live together so I just sort of thought you wouldn’t want to, at least so soon.”

A laugh bubbled forth from within; she felt ridiculously happy and giddy at the thought of living with Mick. “Well, next time you might just ask anyway St. John. Travis and I would love to live with you. When we get back from Reno I’ll have to see what I can do about my lease and stuff.”

“We can just buy it out you know Beth, money isn’t an issue.”

“Maybe not for you but for me it definitely is. We’ll see what the options are, okay?” He nodded and she continued pulling clothes out and laying them on the bed. Mick could only stare and wonder how many clothes she needed for a few days at Josef’s but decided to not ask – it would probably only get him in trouble. He had no idea how right he was.



OOOOOOOOOOOO



When the elevator doors opened at the loft Beth started to step out and Mick put his arm out to stay her, scenting the air. A vamp was out there and then he smiled, realizing who the visitor was.

Logan and Audrey were waiting in the hallway for the elevator. “Oh hey, we were just leaving; thought you weren’t home.”

“We weren’t but we are now. Come in,” he said. He glanced down at Travis who was surprisingly complacent in his carrier. Mick hoped it stayed that way once he was out of it.

Logan hoped the same thing.

When the apartment door opened Beth wheeled her suitcase in and Mick sat the carrier on the floor and cast a worried glance up at Logan before releasing the door catch. Travis came out and looked around the room, taking notice of Logan and a new person.

Audrey smiled and knelt down and said, “Here kitty,” holding her hand out for him to sniff. “I love cat’s, I have one at home named Plato.” Travis walked up to her and sniffed before rubbing his head against her hand, pushing insistently when he didn’t think she was scratching hard enough. She laughed and said, “You’re just like Plato!”

Bored, Travis walked to Logan next and stood eyeing him for a moment. Logan knew that if he had any kind of a regular heartbeat it would be beating wildly right now. He still remembered the feel of Travis’ teeth and claws. However, Travis only rubbed against his legs and meowed softly before heading to the kitchen where Mick was pouring out kitty chow for him.

“Aw Logan, that is so cute! He likes you,” Beth said, smiling at how Travis has rubbed against Logan. “Hey, I have an idea, how about if Travis stays with you when I’m out at Josef’s? I don’t think Josef is really crazy about the idea of a litter box in his house,” she laughed. She petted Travis as he ate his kitty chow and said, “You’d like that wouldn’t you Travis?”

His only response was to take another bite.

Logan and Mick both spoke up at the same time, “I don’t know about that…”

Audrey chimed in, “Hey, that would be awesome. I’ll help you Logan and you can bring him over to meet Plato; they’ll like each other!”

Logan and Mick exchanged a frightened look but knew they were out-voted. “Uh, okay. My house it is,” Logan said. Travis looked up from his dish and Logan was sure he saw fangs.

Nah, couldn’t be… well, cat’s do have fangs don’t they? I just didn’t realize they were so big!


OOOOOOOOOOOO



Mick and Beth were just getting ready to head upstairs to bed when there was another knock on the door followed by the lock clicking. Josef walked in and said, “Put your clothes on – you have company!”

Mick and Beth looked at one another and then at Josef, who laughed at the guilty looks they both wore. “Never fear children, not staying long; don’t want to interrupt you nightly activities!”

“What do you want Josef?” Mick prompted as he they all sat down in the living room.

“What, don’t I get offered a tasty beverage? I’m sure you must have an old bag of non-fat soy vegan blood around here somewhere.”

“What?” Beth asked, a puzzled look on her face.

“Don’t ask,” Mick said as he headed into the kitchen to get out glasses.

“Seriously, don’t bother with the refreshment Mick – not staying long. I just stopped by to tell you kids that I just spoke with Katrina. Kelly was caught and is being executed as we speak.”

“Really? Are you going to see the ashes?” Mick asked, not quite willing to believe it.

“No, but she wouldn’t lie to me – she wouldn’t dare,” he told them, coming to his feet smoothly and heading to the door. “So, you can rest easy.” He looked at Beth pointedly and said, “But don’t think you can get out of coming to the beach house; Simone would either kill me or drive me crazy out there all alone!” The door clicked behind him and he was gone.

As Josef walked out to the car he got to think about what Mick said; he needed to see the ashes. He dialed his phone and waited for Katrina to answer.

“I want to see the ashes,” he said. “I’m on my way.”





OOOOOOOOOOOO



Later a very satisfied vampire and his mate snuggled in bed together, their still sweaty bodies entwined with one another.

“Do you believe it, that Kelly is dead?” Beth asked quietly.

Mick wanted to believe it but after Coraline he had a hard time accepting the news since Josef hadn’t seen the ashes. On the other hand, he wanted Beth to be able to relax and so he said, “I think Katrina would be a fool to lie to Josef; the council would literally have her head if she did.”

“Nice answer but that didn’t really tell me anything Mick. Talk to me,” she prompted.

He let out a long sigh; he didn’t want to scare her but he had a nagging feeling inside. “I don’t know for sure what to believe Beth. Until I get some proof we’ll still be vigilant, okay?” He sincerely hoped it would be enough of an answer for her.

She digested that for a moment and said, “Alright, I can handle that. I do still want to go to the beach house with Simone and Josef, it sounds like fun.” She got quiet then, thinking about Kelly again and what happened on the beach, unaware that her heart and breathing had changed but the vampire next to her was fully aware of it.

He turned towards her and held her face in his hands, tenderly tracing the soft skin of her cheeks and jaw with his thumbs. “What’s wrong baby?”

She swallowed hard and tried to shake her head, as if nothing was wrong but her breath caught in her throat as she blinked in the moonlight that was shining incandescently into the room. She met his eyes and saw the concern written in their hazel-blue depths. “I’m still shaken up over what happened Mick. It made me think about a lot of things.”

His thumbs shifted to trace lightly over her lips, loving their softness. “What kind of things?” he prompted, his voice velvety smooth sounding.

Beth lightly bit her lower lip, a sure sign that she was contemplating what to say. “I don’t know how to say this, but to just do it. Mick, the night that Josh was killed, you said you’d have let me die too. That night I felt as if I lost both men I loved, my heart wanted to die Mick. Did you mean that?”

Had she been able to hear it she would have caught the sound of his heart suddenly pumping rapidly. He didn’t want to have to talk about this with her and yet he always knew that they would someday. “I honestly don’t know Beth,” he said, and saw tears start to run down her face. “Shh, listen to what I have to say, okay?”

She nodded, her eyes never leaving his as he continued.

“If it would have been you, I don’t honestly know what I would have done, especially then. I didn’t know what you would want Beth. I couldn’t have done it without knowing what you wanted but at the same time I would have died if I lost you. I’m serious when I say that it isn’t saving a life, it’s taking one. But Beth, I don’t know how I would live without you. When a vampire loses a beloved mate, we often take our own lives.”

She caught a harsh breath, horrified at what he was saying to her. “NO Mick, I won’t accept that.” She took a deep breath and swallowed hard. “If something did happen to me, I’d want you to turn me.” She could see he was going to say something else and she laid a finger against his lips and murmured, “No, no, I mean it Mick. I’m – I’m not ready to make that decision just yet in my life, but if something happened, before then, it’s what I would want. Do you understand that? Accept that?”

A tear slipped down his face; what she was willing to give up for him was almost more than he could bear. He wanted to cry ‘NO!’ but he couldn’t because he meant it when he said he couldn’t go on without her. He knew that he would do everything possible to keep her safe. She was so selfless in her love and devotion to him; she deserved to live and be happy. What could he give her but a long and cold eternity?

It was her turn to gently stroke his face, fingertips brushing feather-like across the sculpted planes of his cheeks and the beautiful aquiline nose. She leaned up and kissed the tear away and sensed how much he was holding back. “Mick, talk to me, tell me what you are thinking, please?”

“I just can’t believe what you would give up for me. You would live with me in a cold eternity?”

“I’d be with you Mick. You gave it up for me, when Josef returned you Mick. Do you know how that made me feel, knowing how much you cherished being human again and that you threw it away to save me?”

“I would do it over and over again for you Beth if that’s what it took. You are my life, my world; I can’t imagine existing without you. Is that really what you want?”

“Yes, it is. Kelly made me realize it. Mick, someday I’ll want it all too, the forever with you.”

“Beth, I don’t know if I could!” he protested.

“You did before, didn’t you?”

His eyes flashed silver in the moonlight as he saw that she knew somehow. “How did you figure it out?”

“I don’t know, it just seemed sort of natural to me. Everything I guess; you being the one they called to find me, Logan constantly holding out his hand for money.” She gave a wry laugh and added, “I did the same thing to Mom when I was a teenager. It just all fit.”

“Did he tell you?”

“No, when I asked who his sire was he wouldn’t tell me. How did it happen Mick?”

He told her of the night he turned Logan and the death of his mother. She listened to his quiet voice as he choked over some of the details. “He begged me and so did the judge. I felt as if it would have been worse if I didn’t do it.”

She nodded in understanding. “Then you’ve did it once, you could do it again. We’ve got time Mick.”

It was his turn to nod as he tried to accept what she asked. He was all too aware of the fact that if it were an emergency he would do it because he didn’t want to go on without her.

Trying to lighten the mood a bit she changed the subject. “Robbi looks so good when she is pregnant, doesn’t she? She’s a natural mother, but then she always was. She was the sensible one of the three of us.”

“I remember that. She’s grown into a beautiful woman and yes, I think she glows with her pregnancy.” He remembered his earlier conversation with Dorothy about him and Beth’s inability to have children. It might not be totally impossible now; she had said that she was okay not having kids but did that mean because he couldn’t or because she didn’t want them. “Beth, if it were possible to have kids, with me I mean, would you want to?”

She smiled at him and kissed him, loving the feel of his lips against hers. “Sure, I would love to have kids with you, but Mick, you really are enough for me – honestly.”

“Okay, but if it were possible? What would you want to do?”

“I’d have your baby of course. I’d want him to have your dark curls and hazel eyes.”

“No, she should have her mother’s golden hair and electric blue eyes.” He ran his fingers through her silken moonlight drenched tresses and added, “Beth, it might be possible.”

“What? How?” she asked, genuinely confused.

“While I was human I made a deposit in the bank. The sperm bank that is.”

She sat up straight in bed, shocked and amazed at what he had just told her. “You mean that there are some St. John swimmer’s just waiting to weigh anchor somewhere?”

He laughed at her naval vernacular and sat up next to her. She bent her knees and wrapped her arms around them, watching him in the darkness. “Yes, I do. They told me that they had good motility so they should be okay to use. I know that it isn’t the traditional way baby, but we can give it a shot. There’s only one thing though Beth.”

“What?” she asked, still amazed over his news.

“I won’t get you pregnant until you marry me. I’m kinda old school,” he declared. He watched her eyes grow large and round as she heard his words.

She leaned over and kissed him, savoring the sweet kiss for all it’s worth. “Mick, that is without a doubt the most unromantic proposal I’ve ever heard of. And yes, I’ll marry you first!”



To be continued…

Freshie Friday!! Twisted Chapter Two

Beautiful banner by Moonlightlover60

This is an AU Moonlight story. What if Mick regularly fed fresh when Beth discovered the truth about him? Come along for the 5 part adventure and find out!

*DISCLAIMER* If you recognize anyone in this story, I don't own them. Only the story idea is mine.



“I’m a vampire Beth,” Mick told her. “I’m a vampire.”

“No. No, no, NO!” she said. Her blue eyes were round with fear at she stared at him, furiously shaking her head. “There’s no such thing as vampires!”

He had moved to sit next to her on the couch and he heard her heart thumping frantically in her chest. He reached for her hand and held it gently between his own. It felt feverish compared to his own cool fingers. Her breathing was jerky, almost impatient and she finally let out a huge breath.

“Beth, try to slow your breathing, you don’t want to hyperventilate do you?” he asked softly. He didn’t want to use allure on her but she was starting to frighten him a bit. He focused on sending her calming vibes as he looked into her eyes. His hand softly stroked hers in a soothing touch.

“Slow my breathing? Are you kidding me? After what you just said you expect me to slow my breathing?” She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to do what he suggested. Part of her wanted to run screaming from the room, but another part of her wanted answers, the truth. Mick would never hurt her, she knew it, she had to believe it.

She became a bit calmer and was suddenly very aware of her hand lying in his. It felt cool, definitely chilly in fact as his fingers gently stroked hers. It was almost soothing; no, it was soothing, hypnotic really. She started to relax; hopefully she could start thinking straight.

Mick heard her heartbeat slow and saw that her breathing was calming as well. Good, it was a good sign and he started to relax a bit as well.

“Do you, uh, what…can I ask questions?”

Mick smiled at the thought of her actually asking if she could ask questions. Beth, whose over-whelming curiosity never allowed her to hesitate, was asking him if it was okay.

“Sure, you can ask questions; I sort of expect it of you Beth. I’ll answer what I can. But you have to understand a few things; no one can know about us Beth. I mean it; we’ve been hunted for centuries and I have to be able to trust you with this. You cannot tell anyone; do you get that?”

“Ye-es. I won’t tell anyone Mick, I promise.” She took a deep, shaky breath and bit her bottom lip for a moment, obviously thinking about her question. “Uh, so do you bite people’s necks and suck their blood out? Is that what you were doing when I got here?”

“Yes, that’s one way of doing it. Also, we can bite the vein in the wrist as well. We can also get blood from the blood bank too.”

Her eyebrow rose a bit as she considered what he had just said. Her eyes glanced down at her wrist, where his thumb was still gently strumming along the vein. She gave a small, nervous laugh and said, “The Red Cross does not mention that in their literature!”

“No, I’m sure they don’t know about it,” he answered, waiting for the next question.

“Do they, um, do they die when you do that. Drink from their neck?”

Mick debated for a moment on how to answer that question. The answer would no doubt surprise her, but he chose his words carefully.

“Beth, people can die from that, but that’s not what we were doing. We were just, feeding. And most freshies find it pleasurable.”

“What? You’re kidding me? Someone would let you do that? Freshie, what is that?”

“That’s a term that vamps use for uh, human donors. Because the blood is fresh you know.”

Beth sat up a bit straighter and fixed Mick with a piercing look. Her blue eyes were practically flashing as she asked her next question.

“Is this like ‘friends with benefits’ or a ‘paid’ arrangement?”

“Well, it can be either, depending on who’s involved. Some vamps, like my friend Josef have women who work for him regularly. They live at the mansion; he pays their college tuition, medical costs, that kind of thing. Other vamps may have other arrangements.”

Beth’s brow furrowed a bit and her eyes narrowed as she took in what he had said. “So what is it with you? Do you have girls that live here?”

“No – no. I uh, don’t have the kind of income it takes to support that kind of system. Josef ‘shares’ occasionally and I pay him for the use… usage I guess you could say.”

“So this ‘usage’ does it involve sex?”

“Why would you ask that?” Mick asked, almost shocked.

“Well, you said the girls find it pleasurable. Don’t you?”

Mick tipped his head down a bit to hide the slow smile that spread across his face. “Beth, for me, it’s just food – dinner you could say.”

“I find that hard to believe,” she told him skeptically.

“Why? Don’t you have the ability to differentiate between food and sex?”

Beth fixed him with a level gaze and said, “I can, but I’m not so sure about those two girls who were lying across your laps, almost passed out. It didn’t look to me like they were differentiating anything!”

“Well, for them they might not; as I said, it can be very pleasurable for the uh, donor. Very intense in fact. For the vamp, well, it’s different, really…”

Beth was starting to squirm in her seat a bit Mick noticed. Her heart had picked up a bit too. Was she nervous again he wondered?

“So you don’t enjoy it?” Mick had continued to softly stoke her wrist, the inside skin that was so delicate and sensitive. It was starting to make her skin tingle in fact, a curious sensation, given the circumstances. She looked down at his hand as he touched her and gently pulled her hand away, although she was unsure why. It was definitely stirring her and she took a huge gulp of air, trying to clear her head.

“Well, yes, but on a different level. Like, maybe the difference between eating steak and a bologna sandwich, you know? The fresh blood tastes, well, fresh, warm. Bagged blood sustains us, but the taste is flat. There is no thrill to it.”

“AHA! I knew you enjoyed it!”

“Yes, but not like you think Beth. It’s not a sexual thing for me.” Not most of the time!

“So, it’s that way for all vamps?”

“I couldn’t say. I’m pretty sure that Josef sometimes does more than eat, but I don’t ask questions about that.”

“And you have never? Got more than lunch, shall we say, out of it?” She was watching him closely, trying to gauge whether or not he was being honest.

He smiled at her and picked her hand up again and held it lightly while looking into her eyes before he declared, “There is a difference between feeding and sex Beth.” He hoped she didn’t probe into that answer any further.

“I – I just don’t see how it could feel good. I mean, you are biting them!”

“It’s the way we bite and do it. We’re gentle and there’s something about the um, motion of the mouth on your skin, almost a …caress,” he told her, watching her eyes get bigger.

She swallowed hard and looked down at his hand that was softly stroking the delicate skin on the inside of her wrist again. The whisper soft touch spread goose bumps along her arm and she almost shivered. She wanted to know, felt compelled to know, but she was also scared; and she never wanted to be ‘dinner’.

He watched her pupils dilate a bit and noticed her nipples were blossoming beneath her blouse. It caused an immediate tightening in his jeans. It was time for her to leave before they headed down a path that they weren’t meant to be on. She had a very real boyfriend and he definitely did not want her to be ‘food’.

“Mick…” His name was spoken quietly, almost a whisper, a plea.

“No Beth. We can’t, I won’t, not with you, not like this.”

“Not like this? What do you mean?”

“You are not food for me Beth and you have a boyfriend.”

Beth licked her lips, and Mick caught the small gesture; a moist, pink tongue delicately rimming her beautiful lips. Beautiful, plump lips that Mick ached to kiss. He realized he was still holding her hand, stroking her wrist and he tried to pull his hand away but he couldn’t force himself to let go. She suddenly felt hot and it was a fire that was catching. His eyes started to silver and a low, soft growl escaped his lips.

Beth was mesmerized by that growl; it didn’t scare her at all, it thrilled her. She felt an immediate rush of wetness between her legs, soaking her panties. She saw Mick lift his head a bit, as if he could smell her arousal. Her eyes took him in, all of him from his silvered eyes to the bulge that was starkly evident in his jeans. She ached for him; it was past desire now, it was an all-consuming need. She didn’t understand it, but she knew she would explore it.
She reached out a hand and lightly traced it across his cheek, feeling the slight stubble that made her fingertips tingle as they rubbed against it. Her heart was racing now and she felt as if she was falling, falling into a warm other- place in a swirling vortex of desire.

Mick knew the moment was now; if he was going to stop this it had to be now. He knew he shouldn’t do this, he didn’t want to be the ‘other man’ in Beth’s life, he wanted to be ‘the man’. His head told him to pull away, hell, to run away. His heart spoke of another path, of staying the course with her, riding out the passion. He tried, but he couldn’t resist; the vamp would not let him resist. He pulled her to him, his mouth capturing hers in a scorching kiss. The vamp took control and Mick relinquished the reins.

She caught her breath as she felt his mouth take hers. Her arms wrapped around his neck to pull him tighter to her and she opened herself to him, inviting and welcoming him with all that she had. The cool touch of his lips and tongue drove her crazy; she couldn’t get enough of him.

Mick felt himself drowning in the kiss, a delicious drowning that he never wanted to end. With each stroke of his tongue against hers he fell a little bit farther into the sensual abyss that awaited them. His mouth hungrily ravaged hers, drinking her in like the sweetest of wines.

Beth returned the kisses passionately; her small, blunt teeth captured his bottom lip and tugged on it which elicited another low growl from Mick. She licked his lips, sucked them into her mouth and pulled on them with her teeth, nipping lightly and she was rewarded with another growl. She bit a little harder and thrilled when she got a taste of his blood and she lapped it up greedily. His mouth deepened the pressure on hers and she felt the twin points of his fangs against her own mouth; she rubbed her tongue against one sharp fang and the warm taste of her own blood thrilled her senses. She felt invincible, on fire and she wanted to consume him, to be consumed by him.
Beth hungrily slid her mouth down his chin, stroking her tongue or the slight stubble. It was just rough enough to make her tongue tingle with the contact; she couldn’t get enough!

Mick lay back on the couch and pulled her on top of him. His hand cupped her ass and pulled her tightly against him so she could feel his need. Beth ground her hips against him and was rewarded with another sensual growl. Meanwhile Micks mouth had found her throat and he was nibbling enticingly along the vein that was beating out a frantic rhythm. He pressed his tongue against it and felt the warm blood pounding through the vein as he licked it delicately. He was rewarded by a low moan and a shiver of anticipation from Beth.

“Oh Mick, please don’t stop…don’t stop!” The words were a breathless whisper, escaping from her kiss swollen lips.

“Never Beth, never.”

Beth sat up and started to unbutton her shirt. Mick’s hand gently replaced hers and he took his time, unfastening one button at a time and reveling as inch by inch her creamy skin was revealed to him. Soft wet kisses covered her chest and he tongued a hardened nipple through the thin lace of her bra before biting it softly. His hands reached around and unfastened the clasp and the bit of lace was free. He slid the straps down her arms, finally slipping it free from her body.

For a moment he stared at her breasts; ripe and luscious, his mouth ached to taste them. He pulled her down again and rolled over so that he was on top of her and then captured one perfect breast with his mouth. The skin was soft as silk and he nuzzled the underside and ran his tongue around the sensitive skin where her breast joined her body. He listened to her sharp intake of breath with satisfaction and redoubled his efforts by lavishing attention on the other breast.

Beth was panting with need and she almost came off the couch as she felt feather-like fingers caress the skin along her ribs. His hands meandered down her body and stopped to tickle her belly button. His mouth traced the path his fingers had made as she squirmed, her hips pushing up against him, grinding against him in need. Mick chuckled as he slipped the button free on her jeans and she shivered as she heard the zipper slid down.

Mick pulled her jeans down, sliding them off of her legs, leaving only a tiny wisp of lace covering her womanhood. He could see blond curls peeking out around the lace and his mouth watered as he scented her arousal and he spied the tell-tale wet stain on the fabric. He slipped his fingers under the elastic and pulled the garment off in one fluid motion. She lay exposed under him, open and ready for his caresses.

Mick stood up and quickly divested himself of his clothes. Beth watched with eager eyes as he stepped out of his boxers and his proud manhood was revealed to her. She reached a hand out to capture his length and wrapped her warm fingers around him, stroking him up and down. She was rewarded when a small drop of his desire seeped out of the tip and she gently spread it around with a fingertip, which she then placed in her mouth.

Mick watched as she sucked on her finger and then swirled her tongue over it, licking it clean. A surge is passion spread through his body like wildfire, setting him on edge. He was trying to hold back, to not rush this for Beth; he wanted this to be a night she would forever remember but his patience was being sorely tried. He closed his eyes for a moment or two to try to regain his control.

Beth sat up and surprised him by taking him into her mouth, taking him deep within its wet warmth. He twitched and jerked as he felt her tongue swirl in lazy arcs over him and laid his hands on her shoulders, caressing her in time to her movement. His hands caught in the fluid silk of her hair and he combed through the tresses with gentle fingers.

“Beth, I – I, you have to stop now baby, you have to stop!” he pleaded, knowing that he was too close to losing control.

Beth looked up at him, the cornflower blue eyes sparkling with mischief as she took him deeper still into her mouth and sucked harder on him. She stroked him a few more times and then released him, right when he was on the verge of coming.

He lightly shoved her back down on the couch and growled, “My turn!” and before she could catch her breath his mouth had found the inviting valley between her legs. He spread her gently and swirled his tongue around the aroused button of desire. Beth whimpered and lifted herself up to meet the thrusts of his tongue as he explored deeper into the wet folds.

Beth clutched a pillow in her hand and squeezed hard, rhythmically kneading it with each stroke of his tongue. She was on the edge of her orgasm and couldn’t lie still; her body squirmed frantically and Mick tried to hold her still by placing his hands on her hips. Her release came in a torrent, keening through her body. She moaned through the orgasm and wrapped her legs around Mick’s head, unaware of anything except the blissful tremors that spread through her body.

Mick unwound her legs from his head and lifted on foot up to his mouth, kissing the arch which elicited a breathy sigh. He teased her ankle with soft nibbles and moved upwards, stopping every few inches to taste the silken flesh. Finally he was nose to nose with her and he heard her heartbeat rapidly pumping in her chest. His mouth claimed hers again, his tongue seeking hers in a passionate duel. Just when she thought she couldn’t stand it another minute he sank into her wet depths and she moaned with the exhilaration of feeling him inside her.

Mick closed his eyes as he gave her a moment to adjust to him. His lips slid down her cheek to lightly tease along her jaw line and lower still, being drawn inextricably back to the vein that mesmerized him.

Beth wrapped her legs around his hips and started moving against him, trying to increase their contact. Mick smiled at her and happily obliged, plummeting her depths over and over until she was panting and aching for release again. Mick kept the pace fast and deep enough to keep her hanging on the edge, but wouldn’t let her go over yet. He worked her body like the most precious of gifts, burying himself deep in her and then withdrawing so that only the very tip of him was still inside her body.

Beth was going mad with the ache, the need to come. Her mouth found his again and hungrily captured it, sucking playfully on his tongue. He played the game, his tongue darting in and out of her mouth matching the rhythm of his body as he plundered hers.

He could tell she was on the verge of orgasm again and this time he would let that happen. His mouth found the vein again and as he felt her body grip him with the beginning of her orgasm he bit her. He buried himself deeply in her as his own release came.

Beth’s eyes flew open in surprise but much to her shock it didn’t hurt; in fact it intensified her orgasm and she cried out loud, a sound that slowly turned into a scream. It went on and on, the delicate pull of his mouth against her neck increasing the pleasure until both of them were spent. She felt his mouth softly licking at the bite marks, tenderly sealing the wounds.

Mick rolled over and pulled her with him so that she was lying on top of him. Her breath was gradually slowing down and the damp sweat was making her chilly. Mick reached behind him and pulled an afghan over them, to help warm her.

Beth’s cheek was pressed against his chest. It seemed so strange to not hear a heartbeat. She let a fingertip play in the dark hair on his chest and kissed the places her finger had played. He was quiet as he watched her touching him, afraid to say anything for fear it would break the spell they had woven between them.

She lifted her head and looked directly into his eyes and what he saw in them made him blink in surprise. No regret or anger, only happiness. She smiled at him and he smiled back and hugged her tighter to him. He felt her yawn and snuggle into his chest. Before long he heard the soft sighs that told him she was asleep.

He knew there would be repercussions from this night; he knew that he had not done himself any favors by taking this step with her. She had a boyfriend, he kept repeating it over and over, like a mantra.

She had a boyfriend.

To be continued…