Henry
Drawing in ragged breaths, I steadied myself and sat on the sofa waiting for my Little Fawn to come downstairs. The sight of her naked body in the mirror played on an unrelenting loop in my mind. Oh, Lilith, she was perfection with her pert breasts, pinkish little nipples, her generous hips and narrow waist. It was fortuitous I had only been able to see her bare chest because I did not doubt that if I saw her enticing sex, nothing short of Lilith herself would have stopped me from taking her.
She had bare feet, a sweater but no bra and yoga pants which showed her shapely thighs nicely. I inhaled sharply as I noticed she had ditched the thigh armour. Her breasts bounced slightly, provocatively, as she carefully made her way down the stairs. Her nipples were hard from the chill in the evening air and poked against her thin sweater. Her hair was still up in a messy bun like it had been in the shower, and I longed to see her hair fanned out on a pillow as I took her.
She smelled delicious. The scent of her skin layered beneath her fruity soap made my mouth water, my fangs descended and my Lust rose. I was still quite full from the three men I fed on last night, but I may need to sneak away and feed again early in the morning or first thing tomorrow night. I will probably have to try to sleep in the day tomorrow. I don't need to sleep, but it is enjoyable and helps keep my mind clear.
"I have some chicken and a few steaks. What would you like to eat?" My Little Fawn asked.
Biting back my desire to remind her that I only wanted to drink and from her, I said I'd prefer the steaks. I shadowed her around the kitchen, not wanting to be more than an arms reach away from her. The memory of the Pull was still fresh in my mind, and the urges had not completely abated.
Busying herself about the kitchen, she kept turning from here to there, nearly bumping into me as she gathered her supplies. If I hadn't had a Vampires enhanced reflexes, she would have crashed into me several times. Eventually, she got angry at my loitering.
"Either help me or go and sit and wait," she said, aiming the point of a knife at my chest.
Taken aback by her demand, I sat at the kitchen island. "I don't know how to cook," I admitted. I never had to, I always had servants to do it for me, or I usually stayed with other royal families when I was away. Cooking had never come up.
"How old are you?" She asked narrowing her eyes.
"180 years."
"And you've never cooked? Ever?"
I shook my head. "I've never needed to."
She looked puzzled then remembered who I was. "Right, prince," she said flatly.
I shrugged, a little offended by her tone. "When we mate, you will be a princess, you know. Queen one day," I reminded her pointedly. She flinched. I wondered which part particularly displeased her, the mating or the titles.
"Want to learn to cook?" She asked, forcing a smile.
"Sure," I said without much enthusiasm.
"Okay," she genuinely grinned then, and for the first time, I felt like she smiled at me with joy in her heart.
We made a greek salad together, standing side by side at the kitchen bench. She showed me how to cut the cucumber, the red onion, the fetta, how to tear the cos lettuce and wash it and then we added the olives and olive oil and lemon.
Despite my earlier lack of interest, I found it enjoyable to do something as mundane as preparing a meal. It gave me a chance to watch my Little Fawn without her becoming self-conscious. I observed her mannerisms, the way her lips pursed when she tried to hold back a smile, how she played with her earlobe when she was impatient and the way her dainty fingers seemed to caress the handle of the knife as she chopped. I found myself distracted several times, lost in her subtle gestures. She was very appealing when she wasn't angry and pointing knives at me. Although, there was something precious about her useless threats.
When it was time for the steaks, she instructed me on how to season them and got me to cook them in the pan. She set the table while I stood over the stove, waiting a couple of minutes before turning them. I was surprised when she came up close to me to peer over my shoulder. She put her hand on my upper back and leaned into my arm. "Ohh, that looks good," she said.
I gasped at her touch, it was so unexpected. Lilith, she was so close. I could feel her body heat against my arm, and her gentle fragrance washed over me. She looked up at me in alarm when she heard my hiss. I watched as her eyes took in how she was standing. She took a step back and muttered a sorry.
"No, Little Fawn," I said. I brought her under my arm and rested it on her shoulders. "Stay," I said, smiling down at her. She smiled back before leaning her head into me and returning her arm to my back. I hummed, contentedly, as I felt her breasts at my side, and with each of her tiny breaths, they pressed temptingly into me. Lilith, it was nice having her close.
When the food was done and plated, we ate. My Little Fawn ate slowly, taking her time. She didn't mix her food, eating her salad and meat separately. I don't know why it was endearing, but I found it so.
While I was content to watch her eat, she had said she wanted to talk. I noticed her brows furrow a few times as she ate, but then her face would relax. It was like she was having an internal dialogue or argument with herself. I decided to help her out and asked, "So, I assume you had questions, Little Fawn. You can ask me anything."
She didn't look at me, but she stooped eating and played with her food, moving it around her plate. "Why did I dream about you?" she asked faintly.
I was surprised by her question. "What do you mean?"
"About six years ago, I started having a dream where I was in my garden, and you walked into the yard then kneeled as you did at Alex's house." She looked at me then, her eyes shone with gathering tears. "Then you're about to say something, and I wake up."
I immediately knew why. I was going to have to do something about Lawrence. He had overstepped his boundaries too many times. How much should I tell her, I wondered. But I deliberated briefly, instinctively knowing that once we consummated the bond, it would be difficult to keep secrets from her. Best to be honest from the outset.
"It's not so much a dream as much as it is a memory." Her eyes widened. "You're remembering the night we first met."
"But I don't remember that. It's a dream," she insisted.
"No, Little Fawn," I said. "Six years ago, I was taking a walk, and I picked up your scent and followed it to you. I knelt like that because it is the traditional way we approach our mates. Our mates are human, and therefore it could be quite frightening the first time you encounter us. So traditionally, we approach in a way to make our mates feel at ease, to show them we aren't a threat."
She huffed at that, "You're about to take a woman away from her family. You're definitely a threat."
I smiled back at her, "Well, usually our mates come willingly."
She snickered, "I suppose I had to be difficult."
I shook my head and smirked at her, "Actually, you were quite willing." Fawn blinked rapidly in shock. "But I smelled your child on you, so I left." My smirk left as I remembered the pain of the moment I smelled the babe and her breasts full of milk. The hurt, the rage, and the fear I felt was raw. Even now, having her here with me, the memory still stung.
"Because of your parents?" she asked.
I nodded. "I sent Lawrence to check that my assumptions were correct, and if you were a mother, he was to Coerce you into forgetting the meeting. I resolved to come back when the child was grown and take you then."
"What if I had married or something?"
"I wasn't going to let that happen. I got Lawrence to check on you frequently. Which incidentally, is how he met your brother."
"Maybe fate did have a hand in it," she said to herself. To me, she asked, "If Lawrence Coerced me, why did I remember you?"
"I think Lawrence did it on purpose. Lawrence is a loyal friend with a good heart, but he is very manipulative when he wants to be. I'd hazard a guess he thought keeping me in your dreams was an easy way for you not to forget me and to make his charge of safeguarding you from other male advances easier."
"Well, it worked," she said. "You were the man in my dreams that no others seemed to match." Quietly, she added, "I couldn't get you off my mind."
"I assure you, Little Fawn, you were always on my mind too." I wanted to go to her then and hold her. But if tonight has taught me anything, it was that I needed to let her come to me. I didn't need to seduce her, I needed to be patient and give her time. However, that was easier said than done.
She blushed, her cheeks filling with blood, and I could hear her raised heartbeat. I caught a faint whiff of arousal tickling my nose, my fangs descend, and my sex grew in my pants. Trying to ignore her signs of desire, I took a drink of wine. Its bold, dry taste was a poor substitute for her veins' sweet nectar.
She stood up and cleared the plates. Instead of coming around near me, she leaned over the table. My gaze was drawn to her loose sweater, which fell forward as she collected my plate, and for a few tantalising moments, Little Fawn briefly displayed her breasts. Groaning internally, I looked away. Restraining myself was not going to be easy. How was I going to let her come to me when every movement she made drove me to distraction?
She cleaned the plates and stacked the dishwasher. Then she filled the basin with water and began to wash up the pan we used. It was strange watching her do domestic tasks. I never thought about my mate doing those kinds of things. My mate was to be a princess, and here I was, letting her clean pans like a commoner. But something about it was nice, wholesome even. Cooking with her was a pleasant experience, not the chore I had always assumed it would be. And she was alluring with her sleeves pushed up and... My body acted before my mind caught up, her sleeves were raised, and she had taken off the silver bracelets.
With my Lust rioting through me, I was on her with supernatural speed. My body pressed hers against the bench, and I lifted her wet wrist to my mouth. My fangs scraped the delicate skin over her pulsing vein. My free hand went around her waist, clutching her unholstered breasts, kneading them over her clothes. My cock throbbed against her lower back, and I bent my knees to rut against her. Grunting with the effort, I tried to gain some control, but the promise of her delectable and unguarded vein was too much temptation. I took in her horrified look, hoping it would calm me.
"My Inamorata," I whispered, "My little Fawn." I inhaled her wrist, seeking the scent of her blood. She trembled in my arms, and I could smell her terror. Her fear no longer held the deterrent it once did. Not now that I knew she wanted me too.
"Please, Henry," Her voice quivered. Was she pleading to be taken or pleading to be let go?
I flicked my tongue out and tasted her skin. Unable to hold it in, I growled, shuddered and pressed myself against her harder. My fangs ached, desperate, the potency of her skin rocked my entire world, nothing had ever tasted so sweet, and I was yet to taste all of her. "Fuck, Little Fawn. Lilith never made anything as delicious as you."
She moaned, rocking her ass back to meet me, but her words didn't match her actions. "Please don't," she softly begged.
I fought myself. I looked into her eyes. I wanted her so much, and she wanted me. I had no doubt I could take her, make her take the necklace off, and she would say yes to me. But I would not have that be the beginning for us. Forcing her would cause her anger to fester. I will not be my father.
Placing a kiss on her wrist, I let her go. The thought of my father was enough for me to get a modicum of control. Smiling at her and trying to allay her fears, I said, "Sorry, Little Fawn, you're just too appealing. I forgot my manners."
She didn't smile, and she turned back to her cleaning. She rinsed the pan with fresh water, dried it off, and put it away. "Thanks for helping," she said finally.
"Helping?" I laughed scornfully. "I wouldn't know where to begin."
She rolled her eyes. "Alright, so you can't cook, you can't clean. You can't control yourself. What can you do?" Her eyes flashed with anger. Oh, she wasn't happy. She dried her hands and put the bracelets back on. She didn't pull her sleeves down over them. She stared at me, arms crossed and a frown on her face.
Hmm, this evening was a case of one step forward, two steps back.