Lorne (The Dark League 1) (3 page)

“So do you drink donated blood out of the bag? I saw that in a film.“

“No. Blood has to be fresh, otherwise it makes us ill and weak. We have to drink the blood directly from people, but it’s not dangerous for them. Our donors might be a little weak when they wake up the following day, but they don’t remember anything and they are unharmed. The Renegades, on the other hand, want the high from the blood. It’s like a drug for them and they kill without blinking an eyelash. That’s why we hunt them.“

“Vampires hunting vampires?“ I asked. “So there are good and bad vampires?“

“We all belong to the dark side, Trisha. We’re not saints. But we try not to harm humans any more than necessary. It’s more of a survival strategy than an act of neighbourly love.“

“But you saved me,“ I contradicted. “So you’re not as evil as you make out. And I ... I feel ... somehow protected with you. You’re gentle and ... I ...“

He laughed quietly. I liked his laugh. It was hoarse, a little husky, like his voice.

“You consider me to be good ... and gentle? That is an honour for me, even if it’s not true. It’s my fault that you’re in this condition and I feel responsible for helping you through your transformation.“

That cut me to the quick and I did not know why. His motives for being so gentle with me should not have bothered me. But I could not help enjoying his presence – even though I did wish that he was not wearing a damn sweatshirt, separating me from his skin. Somehow I felt the need to slide my hands under the thick material, but I was too shy for anything so bold.

“What happens during the transformation? Do you mean that I’ll ...“ I stopped, feeling a little uncomfortable at the thought that I might become a vampire.

“Yes, Trisha. You’ll soon be a vampire like me and the others in the League. You’ll remain under our protection and if you wish you can support us in our mission. You’ll get your own room, of course.“

I moved from his embrace, slipping off his lap. His words had
 
released a multitude of emotion within me. I had difficulty accepting my fate. Becoming a vampire? Drinking the blood of humans? I had drunk from Lorne, of course, but he was already a vampire and was giving me his blood voluntarily. He was not an innocent victim. Although part of me wanted to return home and lead a normal life, I somehow felt hurt that it clearly did not bother Lorne to let me go. He almost certainly could not wait for me to get my own room soon and have his bed to himself again.

“I know that’s a lot to digest,“ he said. “You’ll feel better when the transformation is complete and you’ve settled into the routine here.“

I turned away and walked to the window. With tears in my eyes, I stared out into the night. Was that all I would see from now on? The night?

“Will I never see the sun again?“ I asked quietly.

Large hands were placed around my waist from behind and pulled me against his hard body. Lorne placed his chin against my head.

“We’re very sensitive to light, but if you wear good sun protection and sunglasses you can actually be outside for a little while. I like watching sunrises. We can watch one together. What do you think? We can sit down in the garden. We have chairs on the terrace.“

I hated being a cry-baby, but I could not stop myself bursting into tears. Lorne turned me round in his arms and buried my face into his chest. He spoke quietly to me, as I had a good cry. I did not take any notice of his words, yet they did not fail to soothe me. As my tears subsided he lifted me up and took me back to the bed. He lay me down and sat down next to me.

“Sleep a little longer. The transformation processes in your body are very energy consuming. You need a lot of sleep.“

I did actually feel tired again. I felt my eyelids becoming heavy.
 

“Will you wake me up for the sunrise?“ I asked sleepily.

“Yes, I promise,“ he said gently and my eyes closed at last.

Lorne

“Sleep well,“ I said quietly, although I knew that she would not hear it. It was hard for me to take my eyes off her. What was it that attracted me to her so much? She was beautiful, of course. But I had already had a lot of beautiful women in my bed. Women with a lot more finesse who knew how to drive a man wild. Trisha was different. She was somehow innocent. It was not that I thought she was still untouched, but she was clearly not aware of her effect on me. Her trust was something that moved me. It had felt so right when she had climbed onto my lap and I had held her in my arms. It had triggered something within me that was alarming. That was why I had built a wall between us by making it clear to her that she would soon live without me – that our togetherness was not permanent. But the pain that I had sensed in her after that had pierced my heart like a blade. I desperately needed some distance from her – I had already let her get far too close to me. I could not even be certain whether the feelings that she currently seemed to have for me had not been triggered by the fact that I was giving her my blood. I knew that this was an emotional and intimate process. Once her transformation was complete and she could move freely within the League, then she might turn to another vampire. With her appearance it would not be hard for her to find a companion. The thought did not please me, but I had to face the facts. It was best for me to create distance. I already felt much too possessive where she was concerned. I did not want this feeling to continue growing and make me vulnerable. Serge’s image was all too clear before my eyes. I had killed a lot in my life, but killing Serge had been the hardest thing that I had ever experienced.
 

Trisha

“Hey!“ a husky voice got through to me. I grumbled and was about to turn onto my other side, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me from doing so. “Wake up! Or the sun will rise without us!“

I opened my eyes and they fell upon Lorne’s face above me. His eyes were sparkling with happiness and a smile lay on his lips. The thought of leaving this room urged me on. I did, of course, know that there were other vampires here in this building, but I had not set eyes on them – Lorne was my only company.
 

Lorne got up and I slowly sat up. I felt cold. The cold was coming from inside me and seemed to be creeping into every tiny bit of my body.
 

“I’m cold,“ I said.

“I know,“ said Lorne regretfully. “You’re on the point of transforming and your body temperature is sinking. Once the transformation is complete, you’ll never freeze again, no matter how cold it is.“

“You mean, I could run around naked in the snow and I wouldn’t be cold?“

Lorne laughed.

“Well, I wouldn’t recommend that you try that. Too many men here might see that as an invitation if you were to run around naked,
 
but yes, you wouldn’t freeze doing it.“

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan to run around naked. I was just asking so that I could get a full grasp of the situation,“ I explained.

Lorne held his hand out to me.

“Come on!“

I got up out of the bed and slipped into a robe that Lorne was holding out to me. My eyes met his and for a moment time seemed to stand still. My heart beat faster and I put my hands on his chest. I could feel his heartbeat. Surprised, I pulled my hand away.
 

“You’ve got a heartbeat!“

Lorne laughed quietly and took my hand to guide it back to his chest and put it on the spot where his heart was beating slowly but strongly.

“Yes, vampires have a heartbeat, Trisha. However, our heart beats much more slowly, as you can feel. I’m afraid that very little of what you get to see about us in vampire films is true. We don’t burst into flames as soon as we go into the sunlight, we have no problem with garlic, holy water or crosses and we don’t turn into bats either. The story about the stake is also not true. To kill us you have to cut off our head or burn us. We don’t like silver either, but it doesn’t kill us. Just damn hurts and weakens us. And no, our bite doesn’t turn anyone into a vampire. To transform humans, the human has to drink regularly from the same donor. From the moment when you first drank my blood, you‘ll need it until the transformation is complete. Otherwise you’ll die.“

“And no one else could give me blood? Why not?“

“With the first donation blood there is a bond between the human and the vampire. The blood of another would cause you revulsion, sickness, yes, even pain. And it would not help you to transform. You would die.“

“So we have ... a bond?“

Lorne avoided my gaze, turning away.

“Yes, the human and the vampire feel very close during the process. There’s a certain sexual attraction. At least, until the transformation.“

“And afterwards? Afterwards everything is ... gone again? Just like that?“ I asked in disbelief.

“Not necessarily, but it’s not guaranteed that the attraction will remain,“ he replied.
 

I did not know what to think about the whole situation. The feelings that I had developed for Lorne were all that had made the thought of being a vampire bearable. But if that should simply disappear, then I would have no one. My family and friends were lost to me and then Lorne, too. What if my feelings remained, but his disappeared? How would I live with that?

“Can ... can it happen that feelings only change with one person and the other still feels the same as before?“ I asked. Lorne turned round to me. He appeared expressionless as he answered me: “Yes, that does happen!“

Two days later

I felt restless. My hunger was driving me mad. Where was Lorne? I was angry, desperate and so hungry. Like an animal in a cage, I walked up and down Lorne’s room. Yet again I shook the door handle, only to find it locked. A cry of frustration came from my lips. I began throwing things around, then pulled the covers from the bed and tore up one of the pillows. Suddenly the door was torn open and I turned round. Lorne was standing in the doorway, his eyes wild. He closed it quickly and rushed over to me.

“I’m sorry, Trisha. I was held up.“

“You locked me in!“ I screamed at him.

“It’s for your protection, Trisha.“

I sobbed, only to scream in the next moment.

“Shhh,“ said Lorne reassuringly. “I’ll give you what you need.“

He tore his shirt down, pulled me to the bed and lay down in the middle. With a finger nail he cut himself in the chest and delicious red blood ran from the wound.

“Come on,“ he said gently. “Drink, baby.“

His eyes were glazed, as always, when he offered himself to me. I knew that it aroused him when I drank from him. I had felt his hard cock more than once when he was feeding me. It did not leave me unaffected either. My pussy became hot and tingled whenever he was giving me his blood. Right now I could feel the arousal. Until now I had always drunk from his wrist. To now be drinking from his chest seemed to me to be much more intimate and my heart began to beat excitedly. I slowly climbed over him. I licked my lips before lowering my head and drinking. Lorne groaned and put his hand on the back of my head.
 

“Trisha,“ he murmured. “If you knew what you’re doing to me, baby.“

His hands were digging into my hair. His scent rose enticingly to my nostrils. I had never been so close to him, had direct skin contact with him. I had always assumed that vampires must be cold but his skin was warm, almost feverishly hot. His quiet groaning was turning me on. I pulled away from him and looked up. The yearning expression in his blue eyes went right through me.

“Trisha,“ he murmured, rolling over me. My heart was pounding madly as he stared down at me. I could now clearly feel his erection pressing hard against my belly. With a wild groan he lowered his head and took possession of my lips. I had dreamt of him kissing me, but nothing had prepared me for the high that I felt as he pushed his tongue demandingly between my lips and entered my mouth. We groaned in unison. I responded with the same unbridled passion. My fingers moved constantly over his naked upper body. I had never felt anything like this before. It was too much and yet not enough. He pulled away from my mouth and his lips moved to my neck. I felt his sharp canine teeth scratching my skin and I gasped, aroused.

“Yes,“ I gave my permission and then his teeth bored into my flesh and an indescribable ecstasy consumed me. Was that what he was feeling when I drank from him? “Lorne,“ I groaned. “Yes! Yes! Yesss!“

I whimpered with regret when he pulled away from me.

“Not too much,“ he gasped. “I must not drink too much from you. You’re still too weak.“

“Lorne,“ I whispered, pushing towards him.

“I must have you, Trisha,“ said Lorne huskily. “I want you so much. Since I first saw you, I’ve wanted to be inside you.“

“Yes, “I whispered, sliding my hands impatiently between us to place them on his erection.

He laughed quietly.

“Don’t be so impatient, little one.“

He got up from the bed and began to pull off his trousers and pants. His cock stood proud and erect. It was large and veined. I licked my lips. I had previously been rather shy where sex was concerned, but with Lorne I felt a wildness, a desire that had not been there before. I wanted to, at last, feel him inside me.
 

Lorne climbed back onto the bed and tore my t-shirt with one tug. My skirt did not fare any better. He groaned, his eyes hungrily devouring my body, now clothed only with panties.
 

“You have no idea how much I yearn to ram my cock into you and fuck you senseless,“ he groaned, before lowering his head and taking one of my nipples between his lips. I cried out quietly as he sucked on it and a sharp, exquisite pain ran through my body. He tended to both breasts in turn, licking over the points, sucking and nibbling on them until I turned beneath him, half crazed with desire.

“Lorne,“ I begged. “I need you now. Inside me!“

“I’m not finished with you yet, Trisha,“ he said, grinning at me, teasing. “I want to taste you first. I’ve been dreaming about this since the first time I gave you my blood. Your scent drives me mad. I need to know what you taste like.“