The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
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marysuevirusTitle: The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death
Chapter Thirty Four: All the Old Familiar Faces, part two
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
Author's Notes: my wordiness bit me in the ass again. had to split this up. again. also. unbetaed.
The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link
"What exactly is a human servant?"
The question was loud in the near silence of the room Jean Claude had given Janika to use. She and Asher lay on the bed, her body curled up against his, held in his arms while one of his hands idly traced the edge of the red spot that circled her wound. He shifted his attention to her and offered her a gentle smile. "It is a human who serves a master vampire."
It was a simple answer to her question and she wondered for a moment if he didn't want to tell her what it was. Seeing the look on her face, he gave a soft laugh. "A master vampire has the right to choose for himself one human that he can bind to his side through a series of marks. This person is called a human servant. They are the vampire's eyes and ears during the daylight hours. If they are a person of power, such as a necromancer, they can strengthen the master's power. The two are bound through a series of marks. So long as the master lives, his human servant lives. He never ages and becomes harder to kill, becomes more resistant to illness and disease. Did your father not teach you such things when he taught you to hunt my kind?"
"No," she shook her head, then paused to give his question thought. "I don't think Papa knew of such things. I don't think he ever encountered a human on any of his hunts. If he did, he never said anything about it."
"It is more likely that he did not care," Asher replied, his voice filled with far off memories and thoughts.
"You met people like Papa?" The idea that he might have known someone in her family intrigued her. Shifting against him, she leaned up on one elbow so that she could look down into his face. Laying on his back as he was, his hair was pooled against the pillow beneath his head, leaving his face clearly visible. She realized then, looking down into his angelic face, that she didn't see the scars. She knew they were there, of course, but she never saw them.
Instead, she saw the man he was, saw the beauty inside and out. She always had. Reaching out with her free hand, she trailed her fingers against the scars that covered the right side of his face. He turned his head into her hand, rubbed the waxy skin against her palm. She knew it for the thanks it was, knew that his actions meant he loved and trusted her. She also knew it for the stalling tactic it was. She gave him a gentle smile. "You can tell me, Asher. I won't get upset and freak out. I know that what my father and his ilk did was wrong."
"Do you?" He turned eyes as cold as the arctic her way. She knew from experience that his eyes could hold such heat and such love. "Do you really know what they were like?"
"I saw what he did with my own eyes, Asher. I know."
He sighed and shifted his position, pushing himself up until he was sitting. She did the same, sitting so that she could face him. The plain white tank top she was wearing slipped down to cover up the healing wound on her hip, as well as the icy blue panties she'd dawned after her shower earlier. "Perhaps you do. Perhaps you do not."
"If you don't think I know what they were like, tell me. Make me understand how things used to be."
"Hunting vampires has become easier for mortals. Better weapons allow them to kill indiscriminately. Once, when all they had at their disposal was bladed weapons, hunting was more personal. Your ancestors hunted this way, stalked their prey like great jungle cats before finally cutting them down. They were cold and calculating. They did not simply walk into a nest of vampires and start shooting. They took their time, waited until the perfect moment. They did not slaughter. They killed ruthlessly and with purpose. And they taught these methods to their children, passed it down from one generation to the next. They shared their bigotry and hatred with all those around them."
He fell silent and stared, waiting for her to make some comment. But she gave consideration to his words before saying anything in reply. She'd seen such behavior from her father and her brothers before she'd left home, had seen the way they acted as if vampires were little more than cockroaches fit only for extermination. She finally nodded in acknowledgement of his assessment. "That was my Papa. And my brothers. Their only concern was the next kill."
"So you do know what they were like." There was no humor in his voice. She nodded in reply, not proud of her family's legacy. His hand reached out to touch her cheek, fingers tracing a line from the corner of her eye to her jaw. She leaned into his caress, her lips pressing a kiss to his palm. "You are nothing like those hunters, mon ange. I promise you this. You are a thing of ephemeral beauty and light next to their darkness. I am blessed to have someone of such grace in my life."
"You can say that even though you know what my family is like?"
"I can say that because it is the truth, my sweet. Your father may have been a hunter, but someone in your family taught you love and compassion. Someone taught you that all life is sacred, no matter what form it takes. That is a precious gift. One that I am loathe to turn away," he paused and allowed a hint of a frown to slide across his face. She'd seen that look on his face many times before. In the beginning, it had lived there constantly, a method with which he kept people from getting too close. It was how he'd protected himself. It was also what kept him from moving past his self-hatred.
That look had been absent more and more frequently in the days that had passed since they'd found on another. Time spent in her company had helped suck out the poisons that had turned him bitter and cold. She liked to think that their relationship had changed him, that she had helped change him. "Mama was the soft one."
"What was she like?"
His question caught her off guard. One of the few things she regretted about leaving the family the way she had was the loss of warmth that she'd always gotten from her mother. The truth was, she missed her mother more than anything. So much that she rarely allowed herself to think about her. When she didn't answer him right away, he tugged her close to him and wrapped her in his arms. "I do not mean to upset you, cherie," he whispered before pressing a kiss to her temple. "I simply wish to know. I have lived so long, I can barely remember my mother."
"I'm sorry, Asher. Sometimes I forget that you're older than dirt." She held the smirk back when he shot a mock glare her way. Then she couldn't help but laugh when his fingers danced across her side, tickling her mercilessly until her stomach hurt and her lungs were ready to burst with the need for air.
"Were you not recovering from a serious injury, I would show you older than dirt." She shivered at the sound of desire in his voice.
"I feel fine. Show me anyway."
"Tell me of your mother," he insisted gently.
"You're no fun," Janika sighed, but she snuggled up against him and wrapped an arm around him. His chest served as her pillow. "Mama was so unlike Papa. She was quiet where he was loud. She was tender and gentle, always showering me and my brothers with the love that we needed. The love we didn't get from Papa. She cleaned our scrapes and kissed away our tears. She never judged any of us for the choices we made. She never made me feel like my decision to walk away from the family was the wrong one. Mama accepted us all for who she was. Of all my family, she's the one I miss most."
"Have you tried to contact her?"
Janika blinked. "No. I haven't. I never really thought about it. I kind of figured that Mama would side with Papa on this. And I really didn't want to see any disappointment in her eyes."
"Perhaps your mother wanted something more for you than simply following in your father's footsteps. Have you considered that?" His voice sounded light. And encouraging.
"I... No. I always assumed that Mama wanted the same things for me that Papa did. That she would go with what he wanted for me instead of voicing her own opinions." Janika couldn't remember her mother being very vocal with her own opinions. Perhaps she'd never been like that. Perhaps living with her father had taught the woman to keep her opinions to herself. Janika knew first hand just how difficult and demanding her father could be. "I suppose its possible that Mama kept any hopes and aspirations she had for her kids to herself. Knowing Papa, he wouldn't have liked it if any of them veered away from his own."
"How long has it been since you have seen your mother?"
"Ten years," she admitted with a sigh. "I know that a decade isn't much compared to your life. but for me... It seems like its been forever."
"Perhaps now is the time to try and make contact?"
"I don't know. I don't even know if she's still in the same village we lived in."
"Then I will help you find out." His statement saw Janika sitting up so that she could stare at him in shock. Asher chuckled and reached out to cup her face between his palms. "There is no need to look so surprised, mon ange. I would do anything to put a sweet smile upon your face. If helping you reconnect with your mother will do so, then this is what I shall do."
"But how? The village was small and not very modern."
"Allow me to worry about that. What is your mother named?"
"Beata Izabella Odon." She didn't understand why he would want to do such a thing but the idea of seeing her mother again... That was something she couldn't push aside. She wasn't going to get her hopes up, but she would love the opportunity. Just one last time. "We lived in a small village along the border by Romania."
"Ah ha. Transylvania. Home of Dracula." There was amusement in his tone. "I am sure I have contacts that can seek your mother out. Would you like to give her a message? Or would you rather she call you here?"
"I really don't know, Asher. I wouldn't know what to say to her. I wouldn't even know where to begin. I'm just... You can do this? You can find her?"
"For you, cherie, I can do anything."
Janika practically threw herself into his arms. She knew that she shouldn't allow herself to become too hopeful that anything would come of this. But the thought that she might get to talk to her mother again, perhaps even see her one more time, sent excitement coursing through her. Asher chuckled, a gentle rumble of appreciation and pleasure that tingled all the way down to her toes, and wrapped his arms around her. "You are so wonderful!" she exclaimed, dropping tiny kisses against his brow, his cheek, his nose and his lips. Unable to catch her lips with his own, he rolled them so that he was on top of her. His mouth took hers in an impassioned kiss that left her breathless and hungry.
"Asher," she began. He put his fingers against her lips, bringing her to silence before she could even finish voicing her request.
"Anything but that, my sweet. Until Dr. Lillian says that you are well enough for such activities, you will rest as you have been told."
"You suck." Her proclamation was met with the lift of a brow. Yeah. That did sound kind of stupid when one said it to a vampire. A smile spread across his face a moment before he let go his laughter. She joined him, letting the simple pleasure that amusement brought wash through her. Maybe it wasn't the kind of pleasure she was looking for, but there was something pure and real about sharing a laugh with someone she loved.
It still shocked her that she loved him. Every time she thought about such tender emotions, some part of her inside went all funny. Ever since the crazy had stabbed him, she'd been awash in a group of weird emotions that kept her on a roller coast ride. She marveled at the fact that she was in love with him. With anyone, really. Growing up with her family, she hadn't thought that her life would allow for some kind of lover or partner. Very few people understood those who hunted vampires the way her father and his family had. Her mother had come from a family of hunters, which was why the two of them had gotten married.
"I do. But not you. Not tonight. When you have fully recovered."
"That is so unfair. I feel fine and I want nothing more than to spend the night rolling around the bed with you."
"As do I, cherie. I would love nothing more. But such a thing will not happen until I am certain you are healed. I know you do not like this."
Janika sighed and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. She loved the silky soft texture as it slid across her skin. She'd never in her life felt anything as luxurious as Asher's hair. "But we're here in this lovely bed. A bed just made for all kinds of wild sex. It seems a shame to waste the opportunity."
"There will be plenty of opportunities when you are fully healed." Though he smiled when he said it, she could hear the finality in his voice. He wasn't going to tell her again. Sighing, she let her arms drop down to the mattress.
"You are such a party pooper. What are we going to do for the rest of the night?"
Asher chuckled and shook his head. "Such a forward woman. Did you know this is something I love about this time? The fact that any woman can be open about her sexuality, that she can walk up to any man and inform him that she wishes to fuck him. It is a refreshing change from the stifling morals of the Victorians or the church." He offered her a kiss as a means of soothing her upset. "Surely a woman of learning, such as yourself, can think of some manner of entertainment that does not require nudity."
She stared up at him, lower lip caught between her teeth. He was adamant that he wasn't going to have sex with her. She had to think of something else. Her mind spun, coming up with ideas that she gave consideration to before turning them down. She didn't want to go to dinner or a movie or a show. She didn't really want to get up out of bed. Now that she could spend time with Asher openly, she found that she didn't want to spend as much time out as she'd once thought she did. Finally, her mind came up with a suggestion that she found intriguing. "You said when I got shot that you gave me the first mark?" She made it a question.
"I did. To help heal you. I shared my life force with you."
"What's the next mark?"
"Nothing that will hurt. It is..." he stopped and sighed. She could tell he was looking for the right words or phrases to explain it to her. "You will see flames. They will be the color of my eyes. They will sink into you and further our connection. You will find yourself immune to the strongest of vampire tricks and be granted more stamina. I will be able to taste food through you and I can come to you in a dream."
"It doesn't sound really horrible. The flames won't burn me or anything, right?"
"They are like gossamer."
"Then lay them on me."
Asher stared at her, eyes wide. Obviously he was surprised by her suggestion. He sat up, allowing Janika to follow after him. She reached out and laid her hands on his shoulders. Tension had pulled them tight, suggesting he wasn't expecting this. "Are you certain?"
"Yes. I'm certain. Lay it on me. I want the next mark."
"But we have not discussed this. I did not want to push the first mark upon you. I wished to explain the process and allow you time to think upon it."
"I have been thinking on it, Asher. I don't mind if you give me the mark. I didn't mind that you gave me the first mark. It shows you care. It means that you're happy with me." She inched closer to him, climbed up into his lap so that she could press her body to his. "I want the next mark. I want all of them. I love you, Asher. I didn't know it until I thought I would lose you. I want you to give me the next mark. I want to be with you."
"Janika, mon ange," he tried to protest. It was her turn to lift her hand and lay her fingers against his mouth so that she halted his words. He stared down into her eyes with a look that was filled with wonder and awe. "You are sure you wish to do this?"
"I'm sure. I want to do this. Mark me. Lay it on me, baby." He laughed again, a sound that left her feeling giddy. His hands cupped her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered shut when he leaned in and took her lips with his own. The kiss was achingly sweet and tender. Before she had a chance to deepen the kiss, he drew back. He didn't relinquish his hold on her, though. Instead, he tilted her head back just slightly so that she looked directly into his eyes.
"Relax, Janika. This will not hurt. I promise." She gave a slight nod. The room lapsed into silence as they simply stared at one another. In only seconds, a pair of icy blue flames seemed to appear on the air, hovering just before his face. She found herself fascinated by them and couldn't take her eyes off them.
Slowly, gradually, the flames began floating toward her. Janika had to fight the urge to back away and bat at them. They moved toward her almost lazily, shimmering like ethereal fire. When they were close to her face, they stopped and simply hung there. If she could have torn her eyes away to look at Asher, she would have. She wanted to find out if this was right. But then the flames moved again and she felt them, actually felt them, as they slipped into her. The whole world was enveloped in icy blue fire.
When the blue finally faded, she blinked and found herself staring at Asher. He smiled softly. "That was the second mark. Two more will make you mine."
His. Janika smiled. She liked the sound of that.
Chapter Thirty Four: All the Old Familiar Faces, part two
Fandom: Anita Blake universe
Rating: 18 and up
Warnings: graphic sex and violence, language, anything else i can toss in.
Disclaimer: the recognizable characters and places contained herein are the property of LKH. i'm merely borrowing for the sake of entertainment. no money is being made from this venture. the Sues are the sole property of their originators, Ginevra, Dazzledfirestar, Nanaea, SilverFoxChan and ladydeathfaerie. the concept and title of The Mary Sue Virus are used with permission from Dazzledfirestar.
Author's Notes: my wordiness bit me in the ass again. had to split this up. again. also. unbetaed.
The Mary Sue Virus: Beyond Death - Index Link
"What exactly is a human servant?"
The question was loud in the near silence of the room Jean Claude had given Janika to use. She and Asher lay on the bed, her body curled up against his, held in his arms while one of his hands idly traced the edge of the red spot that circled her wound. He shifted his attention to her and offered her a gentle smile. "It is a human who serves a master vampire."
It was a simple answer to her question and she wondered for a moment if he didn't want to tell her what it was. Seeing the look on her face, he gave a soft laugh. "A master vampire has the right to choose for himself one human that he can bind to his side through a series of marks. This person is called a human servant. They are the vampire's eyes and ears during the daylight hours. If they are a person of power, such as a necromancer, they can strengthen the master's power. The two are bound through a series of marks. So long as the master lives, his human servant lives. He never ages and becomes harder to kill, becomes more resistant to illness and disease. Did your father not teach you such things when he taught you to hunt my kind?"
"No," she shook her head, then paused to give his question thought. "I don't think Papa knew of such things. I don't think he ever encountered a human on any of his hunts. If he did, he never said anything about it."
"It is more likely that he did not care," Asher replied, his voice filled with far off memories and thoughts.
"You met people like Papa?" The idea that he might have known someone in her family intrigued her. Shifting against him, she leaned up on one elbow so that she could look down into his face. Laying on his back as he was, his hair was pooled against the pillow beneath his head, leaving his face clearly visible. She realized then, looking down into his angelic face, that she didn't see the scars. She knew they were there, of course, but she never saw them.
Instead, she saw the man he was, saw the beauty inside and out. She always had. Reaching out with her free hand, she trailed her fingers against the scars that covered the right side of his face. He turned his head into her hand, rubbed the waxy skin against her palm. She knew it for the thanks it was, knew that his actions meant he loved and trusted her. She also knew it for the stalling tactic it was. She gave him a gentle smile. "You can tell me, Asher. I won't get upset and freak out. I know that what my father and his ilk did was wrong."
"Do you?" He turned eyes as cold as the arctic her way. She knew from experience that his eyes could hold such heat and such love. "Do you really know what they were like?"
"I saw what he did with my own eyes, Asher. I know."
He sighed and shifted his position, pushing himself up until he was sitting. She did the same, sitting so that she could face him. The plain white tank top she was wearing slipped down to cover up the healing wound on her hip, as well as the icy blue panties she'd dawned after her shower earlier. "Perhaps you do. Perhaps you do not."
"If you don't think I know what they were like, tell me. Make me understand how things used to be."
"Hunting vampires has become easier for mortals. Better weapons allow them to kill indiscriminately. Once, when all they had at their disposal was bladed weapons, hunting was more personal. Your ancestors hunted this way, stalked their prey like great jungle cats before finally cutting them down. They were cold and calculating. They did not simply walk into a nest of vampires and start shooting. They took their time, waited until the perfect moment. They did not slaughter. They killed ruthlessly and with purpose. And they taught these methods to their children, passed it down from one generation to the next. They shared their bigotry and hatred with all those around them."
He fell silent and stared, waiting for her to make some comment. But she gave consideration to his words before saying anything in reply. She'd seen such behavior from her father and her brothers before she'd left home, had seen the way they acted as if vampires were little more than cockroaches fit only for extermination. She finally nodded in acknowledgement of his assessment. "That was my Papa. And my brothers. Their only concern was the next kill."
"So you do know what they were like." There was no humor in his voice. She nodded in reply, not proud of her family's legacy. His hand reached out to touch her cheek, fingers tracing a line from the corner of her eye to her jaw. She leaned into his caress, her lips pressing a kiss to his palm. "You are nothing like those hunters, mon ange. I promise you this. You are a thing of ephemeral beauty and light next to their darkness. I am blessed to have someone of such grace in my life."
"You can say that even though you know what my family is like?"
"I can say that because it is the truth, my sweet. Your father may have been a hunter, but someone in your family taught you love and compassion. Someone taught you that all life is sacred, no matter what form it takes. That is a precious gift. One that I am loathe to turn away," he paused and allowed a hint of a frown to slide across his face. She'd seen that look on his face many times before. In the beginning, it had lived there constantly, a method with which he kept people from getting too close. It was how he'd protected himself. It was also what kept him from moving past his self-hatred.
That look had been absent more and more frequently in the days that had passed since they'd found on another. Time spent in her company had helped suck out the poisons that had turned him bitter and cold. She liked to think that their relationship had changed him, that she had helped change him. "Mama was the soft one."
"What was she like?"
His question caught her off guard. One of the few things she regretted about leaving the family the way she had was the loss of warmth that she'd always gotten from her mother. The truth was, she missed her mother more than anything. So much that she rarely allowed herself to think about her. When she didn't answer him right away, he tugged her close to him and wrapped her in his arms. "I do not mean to upset you, cherie," he whispered before pressing a kiss to her temple. "I simply wish to know. I have lived so long, I can barely remember my mother."
"I'm sorry, Asher. Sometimes I forget that you're older than dirt." She held the smirk back when he shot a mock glare her way. Then she couldn't help but laugh when his fingers danced across her side, tickling her mercilessly until her stomach hurt and her lungs were ready to burst with the need for air.
"Were you not recovering from a serious injury, I would show you older than dirt." She shivered at the sound of desire in his voice.
"I feel fine. Show me anyway."
"Tell me of your mother," he insisted gently.
"You're no fun," Janika sighed, but she snuggled up against him and wrapped an arm around him. His chest served as her pillow. "Mama was so unlike Papa. She was quiet where he was loud. She was tender and gentle, always showering me and my brothers with the love that we needed. The love we didn't get from Papa. She cleaned our scrapes and kissed away our tears. She never judged any of us for the choices we made. She never made me feel like my decision to walk away from the family was the wrong one. Mama accepted us all for who she was. Of all my family, she's the one I miss most."
"Have you tried to contact her?"
Janika blinked. "No. I haven't. I never really thought about it. I kind of figured that Mama would side with Papa on this. And I really didn't want to see any disappointment in her eyes."
"Perhaps your mother wanted something more for you than simply following in your father's footsteps. Have you considered that?" His voice sounded light. And encouraging.
"I... No. I always assumed that Mama wanted the same things for me that Papa did. That she would go with what he wanted for me instead of voicing her own opinions." Janika couldn't remember her mother being very vocal with her own opinions. Perhaps she'd never been like that. Perhaps living with her father had taught the woman to keep her opinions to herself. Janika knew first hand just how difficult and demanding her father could be. "I suppose its possible that Mama kept any hopes and aspirations she had for her kids to herself. Knowing Papa, he wouldn't have liked it if any of them veered away from his own."
"How long has it been since you have seen your mother?"
"Ten years," she admitted with a sigh. "I know that a decade isn't much compared to your life. but for me... It seems like its been forever."
"Perhaps now is the time to try and make contact?"
"I don't know. I don't even know if she's still in the same village we lived in."
"Then I will help you find out." His statement saw Janika sitting up so that she could stare at him in shock. Asher chuckled and reached out to cup her face between his palms. "There is no need to look so surprised, mon ange. I would do anything to put a sweet smile upon your face. If helping you reconnect with your mother will do so, then this is what I shall do."
"But how? The village was small and not very modern."
"Allow me to worry about that. What is your mother named?"
"Beata Izabella Odon." She didn't understand why he would want to do such a thing but the idea of seeing her mother again... That was something she couldn't push aside. She wasn't going to get her hopes up, but she would love the opportunity. Just one last time. "We lived in a small village along the border by Romania."
"Ah ha. Transylvania. Home of Dracula." There was amusement in his tone. "I am sure I have contacts that can seek your mother out. Would you like to give her a message? Or would you rather she call you here?"
"I really don't know, Asher. I wouldn't know what to say to her. I wouldn't even know where to begin. I'm just... You can do this? You can find her?"
"For you, cherie, I can do anything."
Janika practically threw herself into his arms. She knew that she shouldn't allow herself to become too hopeful that anything would come of this. But the thought that she might get to talk to her mother again, perhaps even see her one more time, sent excitement coursing through her. Asher chuckled, a gentle rumble of appreciation and pleasure that tingled all the way down to her toes, and wrapped his arms around her. "You are so wonderful!" she exclaimed, dropping tiny kisses against his brow, his cheek, his nose and his lips. Unable to catch her lips with his own, he rolled them so that he was on top of her. His mouth took hers in an impassioned kiss that left her breathless and hungry.
"Asher," she began. He put his fingers against her lips, bringing her to silence before she could even finish voicing her request.
"Anything but that, my sweet. Until Dr. Lillian says that you are well enough for such activities, you will rest as you have been told."
"You suck." Her proclamation was met with the lift of a brow. Yeah. That did sound kind of stupid when one said it to a vampire. A smile spread across his face a moment before he let go his laughter. She joined him, letting the simple pleasure that amusement brought wash through her. Maybe it wasn't the kind of pleasure she was looking for, but there was something pure and real about sharing a laugh with someone she loved.
It still shocked her that she loved him. Every time she thought about such tender emotions, some part of her inside went all funny. Ever since the crazy had stabbed him, she'd been awash in a group of weird emotions that kept her on a roller coast ride. She marveled at the fact that she was in love with him. With anyone, really. Growing up with her family, she hadn't thought that her life would allow for some kind of lover or partner. Very few people understood those who hunted vampires the way her father and his family had. Her mother had come from a family of hunters, which was why the two of them had gotten married.
"I do. But not you. Not tonight. When you have fully recovered."
"That is so unfair. I feel fine and I want nothing more than to spend the night rolling around the bed with you."
"As do I, cherie. I would love nothing more. But such a thing will not happen until I am certain you are healed. I know you do not like this."
Janika sighed and reached up to run her fingers through his hair. She loved the silky soft texture as it slid across her skin. She'd never in her life felt anything as luxurious as Asher's hair. "But we're here in this lovely bed. A bed just made for all kinds of wild sex. It seems a shame to waste the opportunity."
"There will be plenty of opportunities when you are fully healed." Though he smiled when he said it, she could hear the finality in his voice. He wasn't going to tell her again. Sighing, she let her arms drop down to the mattress.
"You are such a party pooper. What are we going to do for the rest of the night?"
Asher chuckled and shook his head. "Such a forward woman. Did you know this is something I love about this time? The fact that any woman can be open about her sexuality, that she can walk up to any man and inform him that she wishes to fuck him. It is a refreshing change from the stifling morals of the Victorians or the church." He offered her a kiss as a means of soothing her upset. "Surely a woman of learning, such as yourself, can think of some manner of entertainment that does not require nudity."
She stared up at him, lower lip caught between her teeth. He was adamant that he wasn't going to have sex with her. She had to think of something else. Her mind spun, coming up with ideas that she gave consideration to before turning them down. She didn't want to go to dinner or a movie or a show. She didn't really want to get up out of bed. Now that she could spend time with Asher openly, she found that she didn't want to spend as much time out as she'd once thought she did. Finally, her mind came up with a suggestion that she found intriguing. "You said when I got shot that you gave me the first mark?" She made it a question.
"I did. To help heal you. I shared my life force with you."
"What's the next mark?"
"Nothing that will hurt. It is..." he stopped and sighed. She could tell he was looking for the right words or phrases to explain it to her. "You will see flames. They will be the color of my eyes. They will sink into you and further our connection. You will find yourself immune to the strongest of vampire tricks and be granted more stamina. I will be able to taste food through you and I can come to you in a dream."
"It doesn't sound really horrible. The flames won't burn me or anything, right?"
"They are like gossamer."
"Then lay them on me."
Asher stared at her, eyes wide. Obviously he was surprised by her suggestion. He sat up, allowing Janika to follow after him. She reached out and laid her hands on his shoulders. Tension had pulled them tight, suggesting he wasn't expecting this. "Are you certain?"
"Yes. I'm certain. Lay it on me. I want the next mark."
"But we have not discussed this. I did not want to push the first mark upon you. I wished to explain the process and allow you time to think upon it."
"I have been thinking on it, Asher. I don't mind if you give me the mark. I didn't mind that you gave me the first mark. It shows you care. It means that you're happy with me." She inched closer to him, climbed up into his lap so that she could press her body to his. "I want the next mark. I want all of them. I love you, Asher. I didn't know it until I thought I would lose you. I want you to give me the next mark. I want to be with you."
"Janika, mon ange," he tried to protest. It was her turn to lift her hand and lay her fingers against his mouth so that she halted his words. He stared down into her eyes with a look that was filled with wonder and awe. "You are sure you wish to do this?"
"I'm sure. I want to do this. Mark me. Lay it on me, baby." He laughed again, a sound that left her feeling giddy. His hands cupped her cheeks. Her eyes fluttered shut when he leaned in and took her lips with his own. The kiss was achingly sweet and tender. Before she had a chance to deepen the kiss, he drew back. He didn't relinquish his hold on her, though. Instead, he tilted her head back just slightly so that she looked directly into his eyes.
"Relax, Janika. This will not hurt. I promise." She gave a slight nod. The room lapsed into silence as they simply stared at one another. In only seconds, a pair of icy blue flames seemed to appear on the air, hovering just before his face. She found herself fascinated by them and couldn't take her eyes off them.
Slowly, gradually, the flames began floating toward her. Janika had to fight the urge to back away and bat at them. They moved toward her almost lazily, shimmering like ethereal fire. When they were close to her face, they stopped and simply hung there. If she could have torn her eyes away to look at Asher, she would have. She wanted to find out if this was right. But then the flames moved again and she felt them, actually felt them, as they slipped into her. The whole world was enveloped in icy blue fire.
When the blue finally faded, she blinked and found herself staring at Asher. He smiled softly. "That was the second mark. Two more will make you mine."
His. Janika smiled. She liked the sound of that.
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