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John sat on the edge of the bed in nothing but a pair of plain white cotton pants, water dripping from his shoulder length hair onto his bare chest as he wore a smile of pure unadulterated happiness. Helen was clad in a pair of his black cotton pants that he used to sleep in as well as a matching shirt. The sleeves were hanging over her hands as she paced back and forth, a ball excited of energy. He couldn’t keep from chuckling at the sight of the sleeves swaying back and forth, covering her hands. Her long fall of blonde hair was swaying in wet ringlets, carrying traces of the storm they had escaped. He had surprised her with an impromptu trip to a tropical getaway. It was the first time she had been with him as he used his newly acquired powers. Unfortunately, they had to return sooner than he imagined as they had gotten caught in the middle of a rainstorm.
Helen was energized. She had gotten caught in the rain before, but nothing had ever been as thrilling as this time because she’d been with John. He had looked at her like she was the most radiant woman ever as the stood on a foreign tropical beach when the heavens opened, pelting them with a deluge. Then he’d kissed her, giving her the taste of him and the warm rain soaking them to the bone. “This was an amazing surprise,” Helen laughed, her body still tingling with the aftereffects of his teleportation abilities. “Though next time, try not to take us there in the middle of the rainy season,” she scolded, but her broad smile dulled it a bit.
John was still distracted by the sleeves. “I haven’t heard a word you’ve said. I’m too caught up by the fact my shirt is a little too big for you,” he laughed. “Let me roll them up,” John offered sweetly, holding out his hand, beckoning her to come to him.
“I can do it myself,” Helen stated, playfully defiant.
“Get over here, woman,” John ordered lightly, his laugh diluting the authority in his voice.
“Do you think I enjoy being summoned like that?” Helen crossed her arms, continuing to keep her distance from him. Secretly, she loved the way he said woman. It always carried a hint of a growl that never failed to stir her desire for him.
John had been practicing with his powers, using them to cross short distances. He started to get up, and then used his abilities to appear behind Helen, his arms going around her waist. Then, to be playful, he teleported them back to the bed. He had her under him, where he was comfortably settled between her willing thighs.
Helen tried to push him off her in jest, but he took her hands, pinning them above her head. Her knuckles brushed against the brass bars of the headboard. She had spent a delightful night with him cuffed while she explored his body. John pressed a loving kiss to her cheek, then to the side of her neck that had her moaning lightly. “John…” she drew out his name.
“Please, continue telling me how much fun you had getting soaked to the bone, I’m fine doing what I’m doing,” John responded releasing her wrists from his light hold, slipping down to press a kiss to the center of her chest. Then on down to nuzzle her belly. She tried to twist away from him. He knew she was ticklish in a certain spot.
“John…” Helen laughed again and then gasped when he moved even lower, pushing the hem of the shirt up, exposing her stomach. His lips touched her, stirring her desire further. It hadn’t been a surprise when their association turned romantic. There had always been that spark between them. It ignited from the moment they met, and she saw the power of his dazzling smile for the first time.
John raised his head, seeing the state he’d reduced Helen to in such a short amount of time. He craved to taste her, letting her muddy his senses until all he could focus on was her. Moving back up her body, he supported his weight on his forearms waiting for her to look at him. Finally, she gazed up at him, her blue eyes shining. They let the moment stretch out between them. Neither one was ready to break the intimacy that was building in intensity.
Helen draped her arms over John’s shoulders, her hands cupping the back of his neck. He angled his head, leaning down to capture her lips with his. The kiss started out sweet, but soon turned hungry. Pressing into her, he ravished her. Then he surprised her by rolling them, putting her on top, changing the angle of the kiss, and letting her feel the evidence of his physical hunger for her. She pulled back, gazing into his eyes, her hands pressed flat against his chest, the heat of him bleeding into her.
John couldn’t hide his need for her. It was the same she had for him. He tasted it each time they kissed. Slowly, he slipped his hands under the hem of the shirt, sliding them up her back, savoring the softness of her. She nodded, giving him permission to remove the shirt. A furious knocking broke the erotic spell weaving around them. John growled in annoyance, pulling his hands free. “Bloody hell,” he bit out.
Helen shifted off him, watching as he got up, not bothering to put a shirt on. She got to admire him walking towards the bedroom door even as she pouted that he was leaving. “Who could that be at this hour?” she wondered when he paused looking back at her.
“I’ll find out,” John promised without telling her to stay where she was. He walked out, crossed the short landing heading down the stairs, going for the front door. When he opened the door, he was unprepared to find Nigel standing there. “Good God man, what are you doing here at this hour?” he asked.
“It’s Nikola…” Nigel said.
“What’s the poor sod done now? Gotten himself ejected from yet another pub?” John asked, scoffing.
“I think he’s going to feed on a human,” Nigel explained. He didn’t miss the state of undress his friend was in, nor that his hair was wet and hanging down over his shoulders.
“Fetch James. I’ll retrieve Helen, and we’ll lure him to the lab,” John decided. At the top of the stairs, he heard a floorboard creek, knowing that Helen was up there, listening. Nigel heard it too.
“Do you have company…?” Nigel inquired cautiously.
“Off you go to get James,” John repeated, stepping back, closing the door. Sighing, he used his powers to take him to the top of the stairs. When he appeared, he said, “Heard all that, did you?”
“You don’t think Nikola would really feed on a human, do you?” Helen asked quietly. The idea was almost too much for her to think about.
“Nigel seems to think so, and he’s closer to Nikola than the rest of us,” John reminded her.
“We have to go,” Helen stated.
“I know,” John responded. “I’ll lend you some of my clothes. I fear we don’t have time for me to take you home and get you into the multiple layers women are forced to wear on a daily basis.”
Helen wouldn’t disagree with John on this point. She wasn’t in the mood to struggle back into her corset and dress that were still hanging in the bathroom, drying from the torrential downpour she and John had been in earlier that evening.
In a room across the hall from his bedroom that served as his closet, John pulled out two pairs of riding pants from a dresser, handing one over to Helen. He found a suitable shirt for her and a vest that he could tighten in the back. After handing them off to her, he dressed himself, then retrieved a pair of riding boots as we all as pair for her that he had planned on giving to her for her next birthday. She looked at them skeptically.
“They’re in my size,” Helen scolded, sitting on the bench, pulling the right boot on.
“I had planned to take you riding for your next birthday,” John confessed, giving her a boyish smile.
Helen stood up, feeling the stiffness of the leather now encasing her calves. She bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, pleased with the fit none the less. “Now you’ll have to think of something else.”
“I will,” John promised. Before they departed, he stood behind her, gating her mass of silken hair, quickly putting it in a braid. If they were going to face Nikola in the grips of starvation, he wanted to make sure her hair wasn’t flying about.
Helen smiled at the way John manipulated three sections of her hair. When he was finished, he pressed a kiss to the back of her head. “Thank you,” she whispered, turning to him. Politely, he offered his arm to her so they could depart. They had one of their own to save from himself.
OXFORD LAB:
Helen appeared with John just as the door opened. Nigel and James managed to strong arm Nikola into the room. James shut the door while Nigel grappled with the wayward vampire. She and John shared a look that was telling her to stay out of the way. One look at Nikola told her all she needed to know. His black eyes were unfocused, his mouth was open, showing razor sharp teeth, and his breathing was ragged. He was close to losing control.
John touched Helen’s side, seeing the way Nikola eyed her. The urge to protect her kicked in. Slowly, he put himself in front of her, drawing the black gaze. He rolled up his right sleeve, and then reached for the knife that was on the nearest table. Without thinking about it, he sliced into the inside of his forearm, putting the scent of blood in the air. “Nikola, come on,” John said, drawing the hungry vampiric gaze. He was deliberate in his steps that took him away from Helen. John would make himself a target to keep her safe.
Through the haze of hunger, Nikola scented fresh blood. His body was starving, dying for the substance that would save his life. He tracked John’s movements, keeping pace with the other man one step at a time. He was so hungry. He needed to feed. His throat felt raw, his belly hollow. Nikola was going to lose the fight he’d been waging for months.
“Come on,” John said again, moving his arm, drawing Nikola’s ravenous gaze. In the blink of an eye, the vampire was on him, teeth sinking into his arm. A desperate sucking pulled mouthfuls of his blood out of his wound and into Nikola’s mouth. He swallowed greedily, moaning in desperation for more.
“John…” James started to say, moving to place himself a step ahead of Helen. She had a tendency to rush into things without considering the consequences.
Helen caught John’s gaze across the lab as he left the ravenous vampire feed from him. His face was set in a stern scowl, a hint of anger snapping in his blue eyes. Her heart was beating wildly out of control, watching, not able to do anything lest the situation turned any more dangerous than it already was.
“A few more minutes. He needs to feed,” John said through gritted teeth. “Nikola, enough,” he said, trying to free his arm from the starving maw. “Nikola,” John barked harshly.
Nikola reacted to the harsh tone of John’s voice. He ripped himself away, panting in horror over what he’d done. A trickle of blood ran down the corner of her his mouth as evidence of his loss of control.
Helen rushed to John, covering the wound with a folded piece of cloth. She wanted to berate him violently for the danger he put himself in. This was not the time nor the place for it. Later, when they were alone, she would give him an earful.
John looked at Nikola, saying, “Clean yourself up.” He started to move back, pulling the cloth from his arm.
“Let me bandage this,” Helen whispered, applying a bit more pressure, keeping her hand where it was despite his efforts to move away.
“It’ll be healed by tomorrow,” John argued lightly.
“That’s not soon enough for my liking,” Helen replied bluntly, guiding John over to one of the stools in the lab. She pushed him onto it and got him to hold the cloth to his arm.
“You have lost your damn mind,” Nikola accused, wiping the blood off his chin. The gnawing, aching hole in his belly was full for now because of the warm meal he’d been tricked into taking. If he thought he wouldn’t be right back to wanting to feed on a human, he’d stick his finger down his throat and throw up all the blood he’d taken.
“And you’ve grown stupid,” John retorted. “You’ve allowed yourself to starve while the others have pandered to your delusions that you can fight against your hunger. You are a vampire. You subsist on blood and it’s high time you stop acting like you can drown it out with alcohol.” He growled in pain when Helen gripped his injured arm forcefully. It was her way of telling him to tread carefully when hurling accusations.
“I won’t feed on humans,” Nikola argued. He said it more for himself than anyone else in the room. The blood had tasted like nirvana as it rolled down his throat, easing his hunger, giving him a greater sense of peace than he’d ever known before.
“Then find an animal that will suit your palate,” John suggested. “If I so much as suspect that you’re starving yourself again, I will kick your ass from here to the queen’s front gates.” Under the anger was fear. John had seen the way Nikola’s gaze had turned towards Helen. His heart had stopped in that moment. He feared what would happen next time if she was alone and a starving Nikola happened upon her.
Nikola wouldn’t admit it, but Druitt was right. Tonight, he’d come too close to losing control. That was something that couldn’t happen. If he had attacked an innocent person, his conscience – such as it is – wouldn’t have been able to handle it. He knew himself well enough to know that.
Helen tied John’s bandage, resting her hand over it for a second. Then, she moved away, going to Nikola. “If you would like, we can go to a butcher tomorrow and get some pigs blood for you to try,” she offered sweetly. He had to do something to tide him over until his medication was ready. After this display, she knew now that they would have to add a blood component to keep his hunger from raging out of control.
“Who knows, you might even like it,” Nigel joked.
Nikola curled his lip, grimacing at the thought. “I can’t believe it’s come to this,” he bemoaned.
“It’s this or human blood,” Nigel reminded him.
John got up balling his right hand into a fist, sending a jolt of pain up his arm, and then noticed James staring at him. Casually, he walked over to his friend, eyeing him. “You have something to say?” he asked quietly.
“You and Helen were together tonight?” James asked in return. It wasn’t lost on him that the clothing Helen was in wasn’t made for her female form. And the vest was one James knew was in John’s closet.
“We’ve been together all week,” John responded nonchalantly. And the week before that. And the week before that. Not that he would tell James how long he and Helen had been seeing each other romantically.
“Does Gregory know you’re cavorting with his daughter?” James questioned.
“It hasn’t come up. Why?” John replied. He eyed his friend, wondering why this was becoming a topic of discussion.
“Don’t make her another conquest, John,” James wanted.
“It’s not like that,” John assured his friend.
“It better not be. We both know you can be a bit…” James trailed off, knowing how he was starting to sound.
“Of a tart?” John asked quietly sarcastic. “Nice to know you still have such a high opinion of me personally, seeing as you used to benefit from it,” he added. It was time he see Helen back home safely. John walked away before he could say some unkind things to the man who had once been his lover.
JOHN’S RESIDENCE:
“That was reckless, short sighted, dangerous, and stupid!” Helen raged, pacing back and forth in front of the chair where John was sitting. He looked contrite, and apologetic for risking his life and putting himself at the mercy of a hungry vampire. She knew better, however. He was letting her rant and rave at him. “How dare you say we are pandering to him! Nikola is a grown man, capable of making his own choices!”
“And those adult decisions put you in danger tonight,” John stated calmly, resisting the urge to tug on the bandage on his arm. He could feel the wound healing as he was sitting here being chastised.
“I wasn’t in danger from Nikola,” Helen scoffed, waving off his concerns.
“He had you in his sights, and had I not distracted him with the scent of fresh blood, he would have gone for your throat,” John said, rising from his chair. “Nigel, Nikola, and I are still getting a handle on active abilities, where you and James have more passive gifts. Nikola…” he trailed off, griping the bridge of his nose, at a loss for what to say. To him, this argument she was trying to have was over.
“Had the most dramatic of changes, I know,” Helen said softly, feeling defeated. She replayed the moment in her mind and reluctantly had to agree that John was right. Nikola had focused on her.
“I kept him from doing something he wouldn’t have been able to live with. He can live with attacking me, but if he had harmed you…” John let the sentence taper off. Neither one of them wanted to contemplate the emotional damage would have been had their vampire associate gone for Helen.
“I suppose I should thank you, hmmm?” Helen asked, teasing him lightly. There was no sense in arguing with him any further. He wasn’t going to relinquish his position on his view of the events from an hour ago.
“A little gratitude would not be remiss,” John replied, looking her up and down in a salaciously hungry manner. The red tint to that rose in her cheeks made him smirk in triumph. In the months since they had begun their romance, he still had the power to make her rosy in the cheeks.
Helen moved in close to him, tilting her head to the side, giving him a coquettish smile. She reached for his right wrist gently, lifting his arm, making it easier for her to press a kiss to the bandage on his arm. He leaned over her, touching his brow to her temple. She could feel the contentment radiating off him.
“I feel better already,” John whispered, dropping a little kiss to her temple, and then took a step back. He wasn’t sure if she still wanted to berate him for his foolhardy behavior with Nikola.
“What were you and James talking about?” Helen inquired pointedly, unsure if she wanted to know the topic of their tense whispered discussion.
John sighed, taking her hand, guiding her to the stairs. He wanted to get out of their clothes and resume their earlier state of relaxed undress. As they made their ascent to the second floor, he answered her. “He warned me to be careful with you and not treat you as one of my latest conquests.”
Helen chuckled. “You could be my latest conquest. Did James think of that?” she joked, catching his appreciative glance. He liked the thought of being taken by her.
On the second floor landing, John cornered Helen, using his hands braced on the wall on either side of her hips. “Am I simply a conquest to you?” he asked, his tone low and dark as velvet.
Helen swallowed, the wicked timber of his voice delighting her ears. When he spoke to her like that, it was wickedly sensual, silken words that washed through her. She craved the sound of it almost as much as she hungered for his kiss. “You are more than a momentary distraction,” she finally answered. He had worked his way into her heart so quickly.
John made it seem as if he was going to kiss her, but at the last second, he touched his lips to the side of her neck. Her thundering pulse beat rapidly against his kiss. Dipping down, he nuzzled the tip of his nose against her chest between the open v of her borrowed shirt. “Shall I get on my knees for you?” John asked darkly, sinking down, kneeling in front of her.
Helen watched transfixed by her lover, down in front of her. “And what should I do with you like this?” she asked, cupping his face, her thumbs stroking his cheeks. He gave her that bright boyish smile she’d come love so much.
“Whatever your brilliant can dream up,” John responded, wagging his brows suggestively.
“Then tell me what James said to you moments before we left,” Helen said, wanting to know what had put such a dark look on his face.
John leaned in, hiding his face against her stomach, shaking his head slowly. “He reminded me that I’ve led a bit of a libertine life, taking pleasure in the arms of those that attracted my notice,” he answered her, tiling his head back, resting his chin against her stomach. “I might think I’m not good enough for you,” he surmised, deciphering the tone his old friend had used.
“I know you’ve had lovers in the past. It doesn’t bother me,” Helen assured him. She wasn’t untouched when she went to John’s bed the first time. He’d know that and because of that knowledge, they had a night of passion that had led to them being together.
John stood up, taking her hand, drawing her back to the bedroom. “Some of those lovers have been men, including James,” he said softly, walking through the open door. She pulled him to a stop, slipping her arms around his waist from behind where her fingers started to undo the buttons of his vest. “Would you have preferred had I been a fumbling virgin the first time we went to bed?” he asked, glancing at her over his shoulder.
“Would you have wished that I was untouched? Hmm?” Helen asked in turn, parting the stiff fabric, pulling it off his body, casting it to the floor. He turned to her, returning the favor. Helen helped him eagerly.
“I may be radical for saying this, but virgins can be disappointing,” John confessed, glad he was no longer one of them. “I wouldn’t have wanted our first night to be marred by pain if you had come to me without already knowing the intimate of another.” He stripped her borrowed vest from her body.
“Then it doesn’t matter who we’ve known in the past. What matters is now, and the simple fact of the matter is, you belong to me – body and soul,” Helen stated possessively.
“Oh, is that so?” John teased, laughing, leaning down to steal a heated kiss. Then, catching her off guard, he gripped the back of her thighs, lifting her against him, letting her feel the renewed evidence of his desire for her. “This is definitely yours,” he whispered wickedly.
Helen felt her cheeks heat up as she wrapped her arms around the back of John’s neck, moaning when the hard press of his flesh wedged against her intimate center. “Take me to bed, John,” she moaned, taking his lips a second later.
MORNING:
Waking up for John Druitt wasn’t usually a pleasant experience. This morning, however, was one of the rare exceptions. Helen was cuddled in close to his chest, her head tucked up under his chin while his arms held her. She was already awake, that much he knew through the fog still in his head. “Good morning,” he muttered, keeping his eyes closed, snuggling even closer to her.
“Morning,” Helen replied sweetly, savoring their closeness. After the events of last night, she wasn’t as enthused to rise and start the day. She let her body commit the feeling of his to memory, knowing instinctually that no others touch would ever satisfy her in any way. His skin felt so right against her.
“I can hear the wheels turning in your mind,” John grumbled, giving her brow little kisses, hoping to persuade her to stay in the sweet limbo between going back to sleep and waking up fully for the day.
“I’m marveling at the miraculous nature of our situation,” Helen responded, shifting back, looking up at the peace on his face. She wished he’d open his eyes so she might be able to gaze into the powerful blue depths. Helen had gotten lost in those eyes more times than she could count.
“You’re going to make me wake up, aren’t you?” John playfully complained, turning over on his back, bringing her with him, keeping her against his side.
“We can’t stay in bed all day,” Helen giggled, curling in against his side. Her actions were betraying her words.
“I was injured last night, I most definitely should stay in bed,” John reminded her, his tone light and joking.
“You brought that on yourself,” Helen reminded him, nudging him in the side. Reluctantly, she pulled away, sitting up. His right arm stretched across her crossed legs as she lifted the sheet up, covering herself, hooking the edge under her arms.
“And I would do it again to keep you from harm,” John replied softly. His gaze drifted down to the bandage on his arm, knowing there was no need for it any longer. The fresh vampire blood that flowed through his veins had healed the vicious bite through the night.
Helen untied the knot of the cloth ties, unwrapping it to satisfy her curiosity. She balled the used linen up, tossing it on top of the nightstand. The inside of his arm was indeed mended, but to her vision she could see the faint outline of a bite and of the laceration from the previous night. “You’ll have a scar here,” she informed him gently, continuing to caress his arm.
“Add it to the others,” John said with a nonchalant shrug. Sitting up, he braced his right hand flat on the bed with his forearm touching her thigh. “If I get hurt again, your healing touch will fix me right up,” he flirted, leaning in to attempt stealing a kiss.
Helen stopped him, her hands planted on his chest. “Do not get hurt again,” she advised sternly, winking to soften the order.
“If it is a choice between you being harmed or myself, I will gladly take the damage to spare you,” John responded. He’d never been so certain of something in all his life.
“I believe I could handle it,” Helen told him, touched that he was thinking of her safety.
“You won’t have to so long as I’m around,” John promised. This time when he leaned in, she didn’t stop him from touching his lips to hers, giving her a sweet kiss of adoration.
Helen sighed happily. “Why am I so in love with you, John Druitt?” she asked in a whisper.
“For the same reason I’m in love with you, Helen Magnus. You and I fit so perfectly together,” John answered, shifting, slipping his arms around her waist, draping her across his lap. He leaned down, fitting his lips to hers, lazily kissing her. Her arms came up, draping over his shoulders, her fingers digging into his back lightly. This was the best way to spend the morning, in John’s learned opinion.
THE END