Til' Death Do Us Part

Chapter Twenty-Three

     Warning: Near the end of this chapter, there will be some minor sex scenes, so if you don't want to read them, I will cut off the chapter at a certain point. There will also be some scenes uncomfortable for certain viewers in the beginning of Chapter Twenty Four. Thank you for your patience.

     "What?" Rome's entire body went cold, "You-what are you talking about?"

     "You don't have to hide it from me. I-I'm not going to be here for much longer so I figured I'd just tell you I know. It would make it easier for you." Elizabeth bit her lip, "It's why you're getting sick."

     "Who told you?"

     "A blood whore." Elizabeth lied smoothly, "She didn't know I didn't know so I just started looking it up and I got my answers that way."

      Romulus stood up with a frown, "H-How long have you known?" Disbelief and shock. Of course he hadn't let her know but only because he didn't want to involve her in his life. It was taboo for a human to know unless they were completely aligned with a vampire's logic-and open to their wants and views, or unless they were ready to take a stand against it. Like vampire hunters or bounty for vampires. Humans with that kind of knowledge were dangerous because they could spread the information and cause a war within themselves.

      However, the vampire system was just as corrupt as the human one. He had no choice but to turn her in but Elizabeth only patted the seat beside her on the couch and with a small smile, she turned to look at Romulus before saying, "Bring me there tonight. Just give us a few hours before. I need to memorize everything before I have to go."

     Rome did, he stayed there with her and clasped Elizabeth's hands in his and kissed them delicately as many times as he could. Countless times, too many times to count but he had. He'd kissed them two hundred and forty one times before he was too upset and weak to do it anymore. He was becoming sick himself since he'd denied himself any blood since soon after they'd gotten together and somehow the taste of Elizabeth's was still on his tongue. All blood was different because diet, lifestyle and health all went into the mix-similar to anything else. Everything was crucial and each drop of blood tasted differently.

    Rome kissed Elizabeth's hand once more and whispered to her quietly as if she might break if he hadn't, because to him she might have already broken-she was so quiet. He'd tear the entire world apart to keep her with him if he knew it wouldn't tear her apart first and so he would treasure every last fleeting second with her, "We have three hours left. What would you like to do?"

      "I'd like to do a lot of things, Romulus but for now, I'd like to stay here with you. Just like this." Elizabeth wanted to squeeze out every last second she had with Rome, "But I would also like to kiss you right now."

     Rome bit the inside of his lip. He didn't know if he had the control for that, and right now?

     "We can but are you sure-I haven't had blood in a few months and-"

_______________

      Elizabeth had already kissed him and before he'd realized it, he was kissing her back. She was tangling her fingers in his hair and he was leaning in closer. Elizabeth was pushing Romulus over, climbing on top of him and pulling him closer by his shirt. He traced his fingers over the stitching of her clothing and she pulled it off. Romulus pulled away from Elizabeth, looking her in the eyes when he asked, "Are you sure you're ready for this?"

     "Yes. I'm sure." She answered, "Are you, Rome?"

     Rome sucked in a breath when she spoke his name-it made it seem so much more surreal, he'd almost never thought this would happen but he was glad it was, "Yes." He whispered before kissing her again. He took off her clothes and she took off his before the two were going at each other for hours, letting them slide by like water drops on a leaf. There wasn't an amount of time that was enough because it certainly didn't exist.

     Because there was a large possibility that for either of them-there wouldn't be a tomorrow.

     Word Count: 784