Jennie woke up feeling awful. She didn't understand why at first, but then the memories hit her like a sledgehammer: Coming back to find Lisa hanging over Taehyung. her going into the bedroom to answer the phone. Her following her, rage consuming her. How dare she? The very idea had stunned her. She was attracted to her. Had had erotic dreams about her!
She could still feel her lips on hers.
Her first reaction to her sensual assault had been shock; then her anger had turned to relief, and, just as quickly, to desire.
The woman could kiss. She recalled her kiss as she pushed the covers aside and slid out of her bed. The woman could kiss like no one she'd ever met. her kisses had reached down inside her soul and pulled out every want, every desire, every drop of lust residing inside her body, and had brought it to the surface. She'd wanted her. She still did. Her nipples were erect just at the memories. And she had definitely been excited, too.
Which was all great. Except that she was her editor. And her coworker had caught them going at it!
Groaning, she walked into the bathroom, turned the cold water on in the shower and stepped inside. She had no idea how she was going to face either of them again. But somehow she had to. Should she act as if nothing had happened? Should she talk to Taehyung about it? Should she talk to both of them? And if she talked to either of them, what could she say? She knew what she should say to Lisa. She should say it was an aberration and could never happen again. But she didn't want to say that. And with Taehyung, she didn't have a clue. There really was nothing to say.
Sighing, Jennie turned off the water and grabbed a towel off the rack. She wrapped it turban-style around her wet hair, then grabbed a second towel to dry off. Next, she grabbed the terrycloth robe the hotel had provided and, bundled in that, she walked to the mirror and made a face at herself. She had to dry her hair, do her face, dress and then go out and see Taehyung and Lisa. Ugh.
Jennie reached for the towel around her hair, meaning to get the worst of the water out before blow-drying it, when she noticed marks on her neck. Pausing, she stared for a moment. Then, leaning into the mirror and turning her head to the side, she peered out of the corners of her eyes at her neck.
For the longest time she just stared at the two small puncture marks, all sorts of thoughts running through her mind: Lisa's books, with characters all bearing the same names as her family. The evening wedding. Lisa and her mother being allergic to the sun. The head wound that had appeared to bleed so copiously, but that she couldn't find and that didn't appear to bother Lisa at all after she washed the blood away. The way she'd been leaning over Taehyung when she'd returned, her mouth against her friend's neck. The fact that Taehyung hadn't even seemed to be aware of her presence, and hadn't reacted at all to Jennie's return.
Yet she didn't recall Lisa biting her last night. Did she?
Oh. Suddenly she saw an image of being half-naked in Lisa's arms, her breasts brushing her soft breasts as she thrust herself against her hand and nibbled on her neck. She had assumed she was giving her a hickey, maybe; hadn't cared, it had felt so good. "Dear God," she'd moaned. And "Don't stop." She'd even turned her head to allow her better access.
Her hands dropped to her sides. she'd bitten her. Not only was Lisa Manoban a vampire, she'd bite her!
Turning on her heel, she charged out of the bathroom.
"You bit me!"
Lisa's eyes popped open, and she sprang upright on the bed to stare at the woman in the doorway. her eyes were bleary with exhaustion. she hadn't slept at all well or long. A body couldn't take six hundred years of sleeping during the day and switch to sleeping at night just like that. she had lain in bed awake for most of the night, wondering if Jennie was very pissed at her and when she would be able to get her into her arms again. Judging by her expression now, she wasn't guessing anytime soon.
Sighing, she flopped back on the bed with a groan. she didn't have the energy to deal with Jennie at the moment. she had barely got a couple of sips out of Taehyung before she had returned, then had barely got a couple more out of Jennie. she was hungry, dammit.
"Don't you ignore me, Lisa Manoban!" Jennie snapped, storming forward. "You bit me."
Her words made their way through her sleep-fogged mind and her eyes blinked open again. Damn. She'd noticed. she watched her approach, then noticed Taehyung hovering worriedly outside the door.
"Close the damned door," she snapped.
Jennie turned in surprise to the door. Spotting Taehyung there, she looked at his neck. There were marks there, too.
Taehyung's eyebrows flew up at her angry expression. he grabbed the door handle and started to pull it closed. "I'll just close this."
"Just a minute. Let me see your neck," Jennie demanded. She was at the door in an instant and jerking his head to the side. She stared at his throat for a minute, then whirled furiously on Lisa. "You son of a bitch."
"Geez, Jennie. Take a pill. It isn't Lisa's fault. I cut my neck shaving."
She whirled back to Taehyung in shock. He was already closing the door behind her as he left.
The room was enclosed in darkness for a moment; then Lisa flicked the switch on the bedside lamp. Jennie started toward her. "What did you do to him? How could you possibly make him think that is a shaving cut?"
Her incaution was foolish. She got too close and, just like that, Lisa rose up in bed, caught her by the arms and dragged her over her until she slammed down on the mattress. In the next moment, she moved to cover her.
"Get off of me." She had meant to sound commanding. Instead her voice came out weak and breathless. Jennie scowled to try to reinforce her words. She wasn't scared exactly, but there was a quaver in her voice. Lisa's eyes had turned that golden color, though not in anger. she looked like a predator, and Jennie was pretty sure she was the prey. The problem was, she wasn't sure she didn't want to be. Her body was already responding to the feel of her pressing down on her.
Lisa hesitated, then let her eyelids droop over her eyes. she looked like a sleepy lion. It really wasn't much better.
"I am sorry," she said in that proper language of her. Another clue to her vampirism, Jennie thought unhappily. she was probably real old.
"What for?" she asked after several moments of silence.
"For biting you," she answered promptly, then added, "without your permission."
Jennie scowled. "What about Taehyung?"
"It was just a nibble," she said with a shrug. "And you did say I should go to him if I needed anything."
"I didn't mean you should bite him!" Jennie yelled.
Lisa had the nerve to grin. "And what should I have done?"
"You could have"
When she fell into a confused silence, she asked, "What? Said, 'Oh. Say, Taehyung, would you mind picking up a pint of blood while you're out getting peanuts? I'm a tad thirsty at the moment.' " she made a face. "You didn't put my name on the room, so the blood that was supposed to be delivered here was turned away. I was hungry," she explained simply.
Jennie stared at her, her mouth gone dry. she really was a vampire. She suddenly realized that she hadn't really believed it yet. Now she did. Mostly. Shifting under her, she demanded, "Show me your teeth."
She bared them. They looked perfectly normal to her.her canines were a little pointy but not overly long, and she muttered, "No sharp, pointy, canine teeth...."
"Oh, those teeth." Lisa opened her mouth again. To her horror, the canines extended out of her gums like a cat's claws.
"Oh, God," Jennie whimpered.
She retracted the teeth at once. "It's okay, Jennie. I would never hurt you."
"You bit me!" she cried. Which was followed by another chorus of "Oh God, oh God, oh God." She couldn't seem to stop saying that.
"But it didn't hurt," she argued. "Did it?"
"Oh God! Get off me, get off me, get off me!" She began to struggle beneath her, but it was a useless attempt. she was much bigger than her. And stronger. She stopped struggling, tried to calm herself, then said, "Please."
Lisa peered at her for a moment, suspicious, then shook her head. "I can't. Not until you promise that you won't tell anyone about this."
She opened her mouth, but she forestalled her by adding, "It's for your own good, Jennie. People would just think you are nuts."
She was probably right about that, she realized. They would all think she'd been working too hard and gone off her rocker.
She cleared her throat. "Lisa. If you're dead, how can you get aroused?" she shifted away so she wasn't pressed quite so intimately against her.
"I apologize, but I fear I find you quite attractive," she said with great dignity.
"You do?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Oh." She wasn't sure whether she should be happy about that or not, so she returned to her question. "But, if you're dead"
"I am not dead," Lisa informed her, rolling her eyes.
"You aren't?" she asked. she shookher head solemnly, so she continued, "Then, you aren't soulless?"
"No." A smile quirked her lips.
"And the rest of your family ?"
She shook her head solemnly.
Jennie digested this news, her mind processing that she had written factual history books before her vampire romances. She processed that the first vampire romance had characters named after her parents, the second was about Mina and Momo a social worker and therapist, just like the real Mina and Momo and the third was about Irene and Seulgi, a coroner and a game designer. It seemed pretty obvious that she was still writing historical fact. "How old are you?"
"Six hundred and twelve," she answered calmly. As if it were a normal enough age. Dear Lord, Jennie realized with dismay. She had lost her mind. She whimpered again.
"It's okay, Jennie." Lisa brushed the hair back from her face. "I know this is a lot to accept, but it's okay."
"How can it be okay? You're a vampire. And you bit me." She still couldn't believe she'd done that. And why had it felt so good?
"It was just a little nibble," she said. When she glared at her, she tried again. "I'm sorry I bit you, but I was hungry and you smell so delicious."her eyes dropped to her neck as she spoke, and longing crossed her face. Alarm coursed through her, and Jennie covered her neck with both hands.
Much to her irritation, Lisa began to chuckle. her chest shook against hers.
"This isn't funny," she snapped. "How would you like to feel like a slab of veal?"
"My dear Jennie. You are hardly a slab of veal," she said. Forcing a solemn expression, she added, "You're at least a steak."
Her mouth dropped open in horror. Lisa took advantage of the moment and closed her mouth over hers. Much to Jennie's chagrin, the passion she had ignited in her the night before immediately flamed to life again. Apparently, her body didn't care that she was a bloodsucking demon. It liked her just fine. More than fine. And now Jennie was having to fight both her and herself. It was a losing battle. A bare moment passed before she gave in with a wrenching moan and slid her arms around her neck.
It was all Lisa was waiting for, apparently, for a heartbeat later she found the sheet that had been caught between them gone and her robe wide open. Which not only left her naked beneath her, but alerted her to the fact that Lisa Manoban slept in the nude.
Her eyes widened. she slept in the nude and in a bed. When she broke their kiss to nibble at her ear, Jennie gasped, "What about your coffin?"
"I left it at home." her voice was a velvet growl laced with laughter.
Jennie wasn't sure if she was joking or not, but she stopped worrying about it when her hand closed gently around one breast and squeezed. Moaning, she arched into the hot caress; then her eyes popped open. "Why aren't you cold? I thought vampires were cold."
"I told you, I'm not dead," Lisa reminded her.
"Oh, yeah," Jennie muttered. Then Lisa claimed her lips again. Shifting down her body, she enclosed one breast in her warm, wet mouth. she suckled on it like a hungry baby, her tongue flicking her nipple as she did. Jennie suddenly didn't mind being dinner. Which made her think. "What about garlic?"
"Love it," she said, and shifted her mouth to her other breast. "Someday I'll rub it all over your body and lick it off as proof."
Jennie squirmed at the erotic image, then realized it was not unsimilar to the one they were already playing out. She was naked; she was licking her. Dear God! She lost track of her thoughts as her hand slid between her thighs.
"Lis," she breathed. Much to her amazement, she stopped, heaved a sigh and shifted to sit beside her.
"Okay. Let's get this out of the way. We're obviously not going to get anywhere until we do," she said with exasperation.
Realizing she'd thought she was going to ask another question, Jennie opened her mouth to correct her, then decided against it. She really did want to understand.
"My great-great-grandfather was from what you people call Atlantis."
Jennie recoiled. This was the very last thing she'd expected her to say. she sounded like a nut.
Lisa ignored her reaction. "As some have speculated, Atlantis was far advanced scientifically. My great-great-grandfather was a scientist. Just before the city's fall, he developed what people today call nanostiny little computerized gizmos. I won't bother explaining the whole of it, but suffice it to say that he combined the science of nanos with microbiology to create microscopic little nanos a virus of sorts that when shot into the bloodstream, live there and replicate. They're a parasite of sorts," she explained. "They live off the host, but in return repair and regenerate the host. Which keeps the host, and in turn themselves, young and vital for an indeterminate length of time."
"A virus?" Jennie asked with disgust.
"It cannot be caught by touching, and it cannot be caught by kissing."
"What about biting?" she asked, her hand going unconsciously to her neck.
"No. Not by biting. The nanos have to be either shot directly into the bloodstream or consumed."
"Like when Dracula cuts herself and presses her wrist to Sarah's mouth?"
"Dracula!" Lisa heaved out a sigh. "Bram's character was based on a cruel, boastful, barbarous bastard. And if he could have kept his mouth shut whilst drinking, Bram Stoker would have never written that damned book which was mostly wrong due to the fact that his informant was dragged off before he could say too much."
Jennie stared, wide-eyed, unsure whether she believed Lisa or not. Perhaps they'd both lost their minds.
"I am alive, not dead. I have a soul. I can smell, eat and touch garlic. Crosses have no effect, and I can go into churches as you very well know since you attended my sister's wedding."
"But you can't go out in the sun," Jennie said.
"I can," she corrected. "It is just that the sun does a great deal of damage to flesh, which means more blood is needed for the nanos to repair it. Tanning isn't really good for people. It ages the skin. Our bodies won't tan, and the nanos try to replace the skin as it ages. That consumes quite a bit of blood. The more skin exposed and the longer the exposure, the more blood is needed. In the old days there were no blood banks, which meant we had to take the blood from humans and increased the risk of our drawing attention. It was easier to avoid the sunlight and limit our blood-intake requirements. It was also easier to hunt at night."
"And you hunted 'humans.'"
She nodded.
"So you're not a human?"
"Yes. Well." she frowned. "I'm an Atlantian. Same species, different race."
"Oh." She breathed out a sigh, then just sat there digesting it all until her eyes drifted to Lisa's leg. her very pale leg. She supposed a tanning salon was out, and recalled how sometimes she was terribly pale and other times flushed with color. "So when you're really pale it's because"
"Because I am in need of feeding," she finished. "I'm dehydrated, and the blood has all moved closer to my organs to keep them functioning. When I am flushed, I have fed."
"Dehydrated." She nodded. "Why can't you just drink lots of water? Why do you have to have blood?"
"The nanos use blood to repair and reproduce themselves. The body can't make blood at a fast enough rate. The nanos cause the hunger for blood when they need more by creating some sort of chemical reaction in the body."
"And the teeth?"
"They create those first. It's some sort of genetic encoding." she sighed wearily. "Jennie, I've entrusted you with my life and the lives of my family by telling you this. Were you to tell anyone well, most people would think you mad. But it's possible someone might believe, and just one person is enough to endanger all my people."
"How many of you are there?"
"Under five hundred."
She let her surprise show. "So few?"
"Yes. It would be dangerous to have too many. Each of us is only allowed to have one child per century to keep the population down."
"But there should still be more of you. If there are five hundred now, and all of them have children"
"The five hundred include men, women and children. Out of those, there are perhaps one hundred couples. And then we have a certain number of deaths in each century, too."
Jennie was surprised. "I thought you couldn't die."
"We don't age. Everything dies," she explained patiently. "Diseases and viruses have no effect on usthe nanos see to that and we don't age. But there are other ways to die. For instance, many of us were burned at the stake during the Inquisition."
"What about a stake to the heart?"
Lisa nodded.
"A bullet to the heart?" she asked.
He shook her head. "The nanos would repair the damage quickly."
"Then why does a stake kill?"
"Well, it will kill if you leave it in long enough. The nanos will try to repair the heart around it, but can't force the stake out. The heart won't beat, there will be no fresh blood or nanos brought to help, and they and the body will die."
"Oh. I see." Jennie dropped her gaze. All this explaining had ruined the mood somewhat which was a damned shame. Clearing her throat, she lifted her gaze to her face again. "So Jeongyeon sent you blood, but because I left your name off the registration it was returned, and now you're" She hesitated. she was as pale as death. She would have looked like hell had she been as pale as her. she still managed to look strong and sexy, though. It really didn't seem fair. "What happens if you don't get blood?"
"The nanos will start to eat tissue to get the nutrients they need," she admitted reluctantly.
Jennie's eyes widened in horror. "That sounds painful."
"It is," she said simply.
"Would it kill you?"
"Eventually, but there would be a lot of pain first."
"And I hung up on Jeongyeon last night," she realized with horror. "Were you able to tell her to send more before"
"No." Lisa suddenly sounded a little testy.
"Did you call her back?"
"I don't know where she is. All she said was that she was in Europe before you hung up."
"Oh, dear," she said faintly. "How long until it starts to hurt?"
"Four o'clock this morning."
Jennie closed her eyes. Great! That meant the nanos were eating her already. She had a hungry vampire on her hands. One who was so hungry she was in pain. And she had her in a hotel with over two thousand romance fans waiting to throw themselves at her. It would be like bringing a lion to a hog farm. Jennie heaved a sigh. This was all her fault, of course. She supposed she had better fix it.
"All right. How much blood do you need until we can think of a way to get you more?"
She looked surprised. "A full pint would be enough to get me through the day, maybe. But I need"
"A pint!" Jennie shrieked. Dear Lord. "A pint? That's like a milk-bag full."
"Roughly, yes."
Jennie considered the matter seriously, it hadn't hurt when she bit her last night. Actually, it had felt damned good. But a pint?
"That's how much they take when you give blood," she told her helpfully.
"Is it?" She had never given blood. But she had seen footage of people giving blood on the news whenever they had those big drives. She supposed she was telling the truth.
"Yes, it is," she assured her. "I really need a lot more, but that's all that it's safe to take without side effects. And it would get me by for a bit."
Heaving a sigh, Jennie held her arm out, wrist up toward her mouth. "Go ahead."
Lisa blinked,her nose quivering slightly. She wondered if she could smell her blood. The idea that she smelled like dinner to her was rather distressing.
"Go ahead?" she echoed uncertainly.
"Go ahead and bite me," she said impatiently. Turning her head away, she squinted her eyes in case it hurt this time. It was her wrist, after all, not her neck. Maybe she should have given her her neck.
She stiffened as she took her fingers in hers. Jennie held her breath, waiting for the bite. Her heart stalled, and she nearly snatched her hand away when she felt her lips touch the sensitive skin of her wrist. But there was no great sharp pain; it just felt like she was nibbling the skin.
Well, she thought as the nibbling sensation moved slowly along her wrist, this wasn't so bad. Much nicer than giving blood at the blood bank, she was sure. Much nicer. Exciting even. She squirmed a bit when the nibbling reached the sensitive inner curve of her elbow. Obviously, she hadn't bitten yet. Or had she? Blinking one eye open, she peered at her. All she could see was her head bent over her arm. she had nice hair. Thick and a little wavy and
"Oh," she breathed as she took a little nip at her skin. It didn't hurt, just startled her in a sexy kind of way. But Jennie didn't think she'd drawn blood or anything. she was already moving further up her arm. The vein must not have been good there, she thought vaguely, watching her head rise farther and farther. When she got to the inside of her upper arm, even with her breast, she suddenly shifted to the side and latched onto her nipple. She started in surprise. She almost protested, but as she drew on her sensitive skin, she decided it might be better if she bit her there anyway. It wouldn't show. she laved and suckled her, then drew her deep into her mouth, and Jennie decided that if she was biting her, she could do it anytime.
One of her hands slid up along her stomach to find her other breast. Jennie slowly drifted back on the bed, telling herself that it was to prevent feeling faint after she took the pint, but the truth was her body was shaking horribly, her muscles quivering with excitement. She didn't think she could have stayed upright under her sensual onslaught had she wanted to.
Lisa followed her down and braced herself with one elbow as she continued to pleasure her. Jennie closed her eyes and let her hands drift into her hair. They knotted and tugged there of their own accord. She didn't mean to interrupt her meal, but she had a sudden hunger of her own she desperately wanted her to kiss her. When she raised her mouth from her nipple, Jennie saw that her flesh was still intact. No biting yet. It appeared that feeding was a rather involved ordeal. She should have known. Lisa wasn't the eat-and-run type.
Her mouth came down on hers as she'd wanted, and Jennie sighed into the kiss. She also allowed her hands to drift down over her back to find her behind, and she pushed her tight against her even while arching up to meet her. she ground against her, but it seemed to excite her as much as her, because her kiss grew hard, her mouth demanding.
Jennie moaned when she tore her lips away and shifted to her neck. Somehow, she knew the time for biting had come and felt herself tensing in preparation. Then she was distracted by the way she moved over her, urging her legs apart. She settled in the cradle of her thighs, her fingers pressing against her.
"I want you," she whispered in her ear, then nibbled at the tender lobe, a sharp tooth running lightly over the skin.
Jennie suddenly had the mad idea that, were her ears not pierced, she could have done it for her.
"Jennie?"
She forced herself to concentrate. she was asking permission. She wasn't sure for what exactly. To bite her, or to sink her fingers into hers? Probably both. Jennie opened her mouth to vaguely tell her to go ahead when there was a knock at the door.
"Hello? Hey! You two!" Taehyung called through the door. "Look. I hate to bother you, but the welcome brunch and RT awards start in about fifteen minutes. Are you guys ready?"