“You need to leave,” I huffed as I nervously paced the room.
My mind darted in all directions. I didn’t want to die and become a vampire. I didn’t want to give birth to a vampire baby. More importantly, I didn’t want to have to tell Duncan that I’d been unfaithful with another vampire and I was carrying that vampire’s child.
“I can’t lose him,” I murmured.
“I am right here, my love. You shant lose me. There is nothing to fear. I will remain by your side the entire time,” Rufus cooed as he hopped out of bed and moved next to me.
My psyche kicked in and I heard loud and clear that I needed to avoid looking into his eyes. Perhaps the myth of them glamoring their victims wasn’t a myth after all? I wished I’d gotten that message about an hour earlier. I growled at my own lack of capabilities. He put his fingers beneath my chin and I pulled away. Making a point to look down, my eyes settled on his naked manhood reacting to my nearness. It was only then that I realized I hadn’t a stitch on. I raced for my robe and slipped into it as quickly as I could.
“It’s a little late for modesty, don’t you think?” he chuckled.
“Oh, just go away,” I huffed.
“You can’t mean that, my lovely” he said softly as he crossed the room to stand near me once more.
“I mean it. Oh yes, I mean it!” I hissed.
“I apologize for misreading your signals. Had I realized your former vampire lover was inadequate to the extent that my love making would release your wild side for the first time, I would have done things differently,” he said in a tone that reeked of amusement.
“He’s not inadequate. He’s also not former!” I cried out.
“No, my love. There is a code … a law if you will… amongst vampires. Impregnating a mortal is as good as marrying them. He may have been your lover, but he is no more. You belong to me, my beauty,” he replied in a firm, yet sultry tone.
“What? What are you… What?” I stammered. My mind was reeling. “No! You can’t… no… I… we love each other.”
“Truly? Is that so?” he chuckled, “Your behavior in bed leads me to think otherwise.”
I held my fingers to my temples and pressed as I mumbled, “This can’t be happening.”
“You can’t make me believe you aren’t attracted to me, so don’t try,” he said. “In time you will forget your lover and love me as I love you.”
“What? You don’t love me… how can you… what do you mean you love me?” I huffed.
This was all too much.
“I fell in love with you the minute I set eyes on you,” he explained. “When you reach my age, you can tell the difference between love and infatuation. You are who I want to spend eternity with.” He looked at me smugly. “So I will.”
“Do you always get what you want?” I asked.
“Why not,” he said matter-of-flatly as he shrugged his shoulders.
“No matter who gets hurt?” I said more than asked.
“I shall do my utmost to never hurt you, my love. I shall cherish you and the children you bear me always,” he said with earnest.
“Children?” I choked out.
I couldn’t contain my shock.
“Of course. You have a young and healthy body. Once you are made vampire, your body will be even stronger. You’ll be able to bear many children,” he responded.
“This is a nightmare,” I moaned. “You really need to leave.”
“Oh, my dear, this is no dream. This is very, very real,” he assured me.
It was clear Rufus was getting annoyed with my refusal to accept what was happening. I knew it was dangerous for me to anger a vampire, but I just didn’t care. What was the worst he could do to me? Kill me? Well, that was going to happen sooner or later; so what the heck.
I continued with my tirade as I spat, “You are the sneakiest, most conniving beast I have ever encountered. What would possibly make you think that you can waltz in here, impregnate me without my permission, tell me you love me, and expect me to run to you with open arms?”
His eyes twinkled with amusement as he said in a tone that sounded like he was talking to a child, “You are a spitfire.”
His response sent me into a blind, frustrated rage. I must have gone temporarily insane. That had to be the only explanation for my rushing at him with claws extended, ready to do whatever ever damage I may. It wasn’t only foolish, but stupid of me to think he couldn’t thwart my efforts with minimal exertion. All my little tantrum did was land me right back into his naked grasp.
That was not a good place to be.
Typical man that this vampire was, my display of rage had an arousing effect on him and he was ready for action once again.
As if to prove his point of possession, he tossed me onto the bed -as if I was nothing more than a stuffed toy he’d tired of playing with- and ripped the tie from my robe. I struggled to cover my body with the fabric as it fell opened with one hand while fending his advances off with the other.
Looking back, it was foolish of me to even try to fight a vampire who was twice my size and four times my strength, but I did the best I could to the bitter end before he gained entry to my womanhood. Without the aphrodisiac affects to push my body to heights unknown and with all desire for him terminated, the experience was nothing short of tortuous. To add to the agony of the situation, he was driving into me with a pounding force that clearly showed how angry I’d made him.
As if to solidify our bond, once again he planted his seed within my womb.
I made no move to get up and clean myself. What was the sense in trying to wash away the inevitable? Deep down in my core I knew I’d conceived. I now belonged to this beast that lay atop me grunting the remainder of his sperm into me.
I’d lost Duncan -my one true love- forever and I had no one to blame but myself. I lay stiff as a board while I waited for him to release me.
As if knowing my thoughts, he growled in his native eighteenth century voice, “You shall love no other. I shant have it.”
His fiery lips burned as they forced mine to respond. His frustration mounted. He was a vampire who was accustomed to getting his own way. As handsome as he was, I had no doubt he’d also gotten his own way as a mortal, at least with the ladies.
My mind flew to our initial meeting and the hesitation I had when we’d met. Why hadn’t I paid attention to my own intuition? I’d been so trusting of Elizabeth when she told he her brother wouldn’t harm me. Had they planned this together?
“Why do you want me? There are plenty of beautiful women. I mirror Lady Margaret. Why not take her?” I practically wailed.
I couldn’t believe the words were coming out of my mouth. Even so, I felt no loyalty toward that evil woman or shame in offering her up to him. As far as I was concerned, it was her comeuppance.
“You might resemble her in looks, but that is where it ends. She has a heart as black as coal. ‘Twould be a life of hell with that one,” he mumbled as he nuzzled my neck. “No, my lovely Jane, ‘tis you I have waited all these centuries for. You are the sunshine of my dreary life,”
I gasped in horror. Those were the exact words Duncan said to me. Had he somehow found out? I had to know.
“Those are the exact words my lover said to me when we met. Is that a coined phrase for vampires?” I asked bitterly.
“He said this?” Rufus sounded agitated at the thought.
I nodded.
A dark cloud of jealousy consumed his face and a faraway look came into his eyes. I dared say no more. For the first time, I was afraid.
“Tell me the name of this vampire that said this to you,” he commanded.
“What does it matter? He’s in the future and I’m stuck here,” I said quickly.
Something warned me that it wouldn’t be the wisest thing to divulge Duncan’s name or whereabouts to Rufus.
“It matters. Tell me his name!” he growled.
Without a moment’s hesitation I blurted out, “Sebastian McDougal.”
I have no clue why I came up with the name. There was no reason for my madness, except to protect Duncan from this vampire who was crazy with jealousy.
“He made it to the future?” he asked incredulously.
Oh no. Leave it to me to select a name out of thin air that actually belonged to a vampire; and one Rufus knew no less. I was batting a thousand in this game of hell.
“Do you know him?” I asked hesitantly.
“Only by reputation,” he replied.
I took a chance and said confidently, “He’s a force to be reckoned with.”
“Aye, that he is,” he mumbled absent mindedly.
“I wonder his reaction when he hears you raped me,” I said boldly.
That was definitely the wrong thing to say. Without a moment’s hesitation he growled that my body belonged to him in all ways and there was no such thing as raping what belonged to him. Whether he was trying to drive his message home or was simply fed up and frustrated and knew no other recourse, I don’t know. All I do know was that when he sunk his fangs into my neck it burned like nothing I’d ever experienced before. I think a hot iron might have felt better. What a stark contrast from the erotic experience I’d had while in the throes of passion.
Tears flooded my cheeks. I whimpered and begged for him to stop. The sound of him sucking my blood from my body thundered through my ears. I could feel my life force leaving. I was sure he was going to kill me right then and there. When he finally did stop, I had barely enough where-with-all left in me to breath, let alone do anything else.
I lay weak, limp, and lifeless. I was fully aware of all that was happening, but powerless to make a move or participate in conversation. I could hear him mumbling his apologies about losing control and felt him rubbing my body as if trying to rub life back into me. He bit his wrist and held it firmly against my mouth. I had no choice but to ingest his blood. As the metallic taste of the rich fluid oozed past my lips, I slowly began to breathe life back into myself. Minutes later, I was opening my eyes and looking around.
Relief consumed his face and real tears slid down his cheeks. I was so intrigued by the concept of a vampire crying I did nothing to resist him when he cradled me against his chest and rocked me back and forth. All the while he cooed in my ear about his undying love and the bond we’d created between us that night. He assured me that he’d tend to Sebastian, if need be, and begged me not to give it another thought.
When I finally felt myself again, I decided to use a different tactic. I needed to be alone so I could think about all that just occurred. It took a while for me to convince Lord Rufus to leave. He finally agreed, but not until he’d arrogantly informed me that he’d be back. Now that I carried his child, I was considered his mate and he had a right to come and go as he pleased.
My tortured mind was working overtime, as were my tear ducts when Elizabeth slipped into the darkness of my room and lay down next to me on the bed. No words passed between us, but I knew she was aware of what happened and she was offering me the only thing she had to give; her sympathy and support. It was then that I remembered her look of warning as she’d left to attend to Margaret. She’d feared something like this would happen.
“By my troth, I knew not when I introduced you. I trusted his word. He disappoints us both,” she whispered.
“He more than disappointed me, my friend. He’s written my death sentence,” I sighed.
A loud gasp in the dark clued me in on the fact that Elizabeth had no idea of the consequences of my encounter with her brother. I explained in great detail all I knew about what happened to a mortal female who was impregnated with a vampire’s seed. She admitted to me that she’d believed vampires weren’t able to procreate and one needed to be drained of blood in order to be made vampire. Since her brother was a vampire, this surprised me. I expressed my surprise to her and she explained that he’d only just returned into their lives and she was still getting used to the idea of him being a vampire. She’d taken no measures to truly understand vampirism -after her vampire love was killed- out of superstition and fear.
“Did you inform him of your lover’s identity?” she asked cautiously.
“No,” I whispered.
“Good,” she said before pulling me close and stroking my hair.
Although her actions bordered on intimate, I inherently knew Elizabeth was displaying a sisterly love and desire to protect me. I cuddled into the crook of her shoulder and nuzzled my face into her neck. Her long locks fell over her shoulders and tickled my nose.
“He deliberately impregnated me and he says that it’s vampire law that I’m his wife now that I’m pregnant with his child. What will I tell Duncan?” I murmured into her neck.
“Perhaps we can reverse the pregnancy,” she replied.
“Abortion?” I asked.
“’Tis only a seed seeking claim on your womb, m’ lady. An herbal potion and a bit of magic should do the trick. We shall seek the council of Lady Helen in the morning,” she soothed.
“’Tis a most splendid idea,” I murmured as I drifted into blissful sleep.