"Let me go Hunter. You don't want to do this. You need to leave." I fought him trying to get loose, but he easily overpowered me.

"No way, I'm not going. You need my blood," he told me.

"That's not going to happen. You hate vampires, remember?"

Hunter took my face in his hands so I had no choice but to look at him. "Janice, I'm not leaving you. I don't want to argue with you now. Just take what you need from me and after if you still want me to go I will."

"Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?" The way he stared at me at that moment reminded me of how he looked at me before he knew I was a vampire. He used to look at me as if he really cared about me.

He tilted his head so our foreheads touched. He looked me right in the eyes as he spoke to me softly.

"I'm helping you because I love you. I never stopped, even when I stormed out of here and told you I never wanted to see you again. But we can talk about all that later. Let's get you fed first, baby."

I felt tears in my eyes and when I tried to blink them away, all it did was cause them to roll down my cheeks. I never stopped loving him when he left that night, but I never expected him to tell me he felt the same way.

"You're sure you are okay with doing this? I don't want to hurt you."

"You can't hurt steel baby," he said in a joking macho voice. "Come on, give me what ya got," he said pulling his shirt and exposing his neck to me.

"So bad," I groaned as I moved my mouth onto his neck. I closed my eyes and inhaled his scent. I never thought I'd be this close to him again. I could feel the pain deep in me and I knew it was about to return. I didn't want to feel that again and I needed to start drinking. I opened my mouth and hesitated before I sunk my teeth into him.

When my fangs pierced his skin, I heard him gasp and his fists clenched. As his blood flowed into my mouth and I began to swallow, I could feel his body start to relax. I placed my hands on his chest my fingers touching his familiar muscles and contours. The combination of touching him and drinking from him was amazing.

He moaned as I drank from him. "d.a.m.n that feels so incredible. I had no idea..."

I pulled back and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. I knew I had taken enough from him and I wanted to stop before I took too much.

"Does it always feel like that? Is that what you felt with Jake?" he asked me as he gently touched his neck then looked at his fingers for signs of blood.

"It's a pretty s.e.xual thing, drinking blood from someone, but it's more intense when you're really attracted to the other person. And when both people are vampires, it's like a thousand times more intense. Does your neck hurt? I tried to be as gentle as I could. I think it will heal fine and no one will ever know what happened."

I was never one to be too subtle. I was changing the subject as fast as I could. I didn't want to talk about what I'd done with Jake.

"It feels fine. It didn't really hurt at all. So when you did that with Jake was it that intense?"

I chose my words carefully because I knew it was difficult for Hunter to accept I'd ever been intimate with Jake.

"Not really. I only slept with him one time after he changed me. After that, I told him there was never going to be anything between us. He understood I wasn't looking for a relationship with him. When I fed from him we used his wrist because there's less contact that way and it's not s.e.xual." I felt incredibly tired and I looked at my alarm clock. The sunrise was only a few minutes away and soon I would literally be dead to the world. I had to lie down; I could barely keep my eyes open. "Hunter, I have to lie down. It's almost sunrise."

He looked at the clock and swore. "I lost track of time. I'm going to go out to take care of a couple things but I want to be here when you wake up. Do you mind if I take your keys so I can let myself back in? Would you trust me with them?"

"I trust you, go ahead and take them. You know where they are," I told him.

He leaned down and kissed me right on the lips. "I meant what I said before. I do love you."

I smiled. Those were the last words I heard before I fell into a deep sleep until the next sunset.

Chapter Fifteen

When I woke up Hunter was lying in bed with me asleep. I didn't move because I was scared I would wake him. I watched him as he slept and thought he looked incredibly peaceful. He had a small smile on his lips that made me wonder what he was dreaming about. I hoped it was about me.

I eased myself out of bed to go take a shower. It had been a few days since I'd had one and having him there motivated me to get my a.s.s out of bed. I walked quietly to the bathroom and turned on the water. I got undressed and into the streaming hot water. It felt good to work the shampoo through my hair.

"When you're done would it be okay if I took a shower too?" Hunter asked me from the other side of the shower curtain.

I almost jumped out of my skin because I didn't know he was awake yet. I pulled the curtain back to look at him.

"Are you trying to see if it's possible for me to have a heart attack?" I asked him. "You just scared the s.h.i.t out of me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I was out all day then I hurried back here so I didn't get a chance to go back to my place."

I pulled the curtain closed again so water wouldn't get all over the floor.

"You can come in now so you don't have to wait," I offered. I paused to hear his answer then I started to laugh. I could hear him taking off his clothes on the other side of the curtain before he even said yes.

I was rinsing the shampoo out of my hair when he came into the shower with me. We didn't even talk. He opened his arms, I slid right into them and he held me tight. When I looked up to him, his lips touched mine. We started out kissing slow and gentle, but then his tongue began to explore and probe my eager mouth. I could feel his hardness pressing against me and my p.u.s.s.y throbbed I wanted him so badly.

I pulled back and took the bottle of body wash from the shower ledge. I poured some on my hands, and then started rubbing it on his chest, working my way down to his waist.

"Turn around," I told him and he did as I instructed so his back was facing me. My soapy hands moved over the muscles of his back, than caressed his perfect a.s.s. I knelt down behind him and worked my way down the backs of his legs.

He turned around to face me and his erection was in front of my face. I used my right hand to take hold of him and stroked his c.o.c.k. As I moved forward, I rubbed his erection against my lips and used my other hand to cup his b.a.l.l.s. I kissed his hardness and ran my tongue along the length of him before I slid his c.o.c.k into my mouth. When I closed my lips around him, I heard him moan.

I moved my head so his erection slid in and out of my mouth. Once in a while, I would suck on the tip or run my tongue over the slit. I could tell he was getting close to coming so I relaxed my throat and took in as much of him as I could. His body tensed and he came in spurts in my mouth, warm and salty. When I knew his o.r.g.a.s.m was finished I stood up with his a.s.sistance. He hugged me so tight he lifted me off the shower floor for a second.

"You're amazing," he said in my ear then squeezed my a.s.s.

"I don't know about amazing, but I'm definitely pruning," I said back showing him my hands. "I'm going to get out and you finish your shower."

"Ok, I'll just be a minute."

"No rush, I've got all night." I got out and grabbed a towel to dry off. I was putting on my pajamas when he came out of my bathroom. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and another around his neck. I watched him sit on my bed and put on his boxers then I went and sat next to him. "So I guess your opinion of vampires has changed somewhat since you met me?" I asked him.

"Yeah, ever since that night I was a total a.s.shole and walked out on you. You're all I thought about for weeks. After I found out the truth about you, I was so p.i.s.sed off. It changed everything I believed in for my entire life. It changed how I was a slayer. And I was partly angry with myself too. The night we met at the park, I thought there was something different about you. I had my suspicions but I didn't want to believe them. Then I started thinking about other vampires before they were changed, that they had lives and people they loved and that they have emotions just like me."

I never dreamed he'd be talking to me this way. "But if you felt all that then why didn't you ever call me or come over?"

"Because I was scared of what my family would think when they found out. I grew up with the belief that all vampires deserve to die. My brothers and I were trained our whole lives to kill them. A vampire killed one of my younger brothers. If anyone would have told me that I was going to fall in love with a vampire I would have told them they needed to be committed.

When I saw you at the club that night when that guy was bothering you, I wanted to hurt him for touching you. I wanted to tell you how I felt then, but I knew my brothers were on their way there. You don't know how many times I picked up the phone to call you, or how many times I went past your house wishing I had the b.a.l.l.s to see you and apologize to you. Then when everything happened with Jake, I didn't give a s.h.i.t anymore what my brothers thought. What they do is wrong and if something happened to you, it would kill me. I would protect you with my own life I love you so much, and I'm never going to be able to slay another vampire ever."

"What are you going to do now? When your family finds out aren't they going to freak out on you?" I was really concerned what their reaction would be.

"Yeah, my brothers are going to go nuts. They're already p.i.s.sed about what I did that night with Jake and the others, but I had to do it."

I could tell from looking at him that he seemed troubled once we started talking about his family. I didn't like being the cause of his unhappiness.

"Are you sure we're doing the right thing? Us being together? I don't want to ruin your life," I told him.

He put his arm around me and pulled me closer to him.

"You're not ruining my life, babe. You've helped me see that I haven't been living."

"So really, what you're saying is it took a dead girl to show you how to live, right?"

He thought about what I'd just said, then starting laughing. "You're one hundred percent right. So tonight I can stay for a little while, but then I want to go find my brothers and talk to them. I have to tell them I'm done with the slaying." He leaned in and kissed me.

I kissed him back filled with mixed emotions. I was thrilled to know he loved me, but I was scared as well. His brothers weren't going to be happy when he told them he was officially done with the slaying. I didn't even want to think of what their reaction would be when if told them he was in love with a vampire.

Chapter Sixteen

I was pacing my apartment waiting for Hunter to come back. It was already nine pm and I hadn't heard from him since he left yesterday. I thought he would be there when I woke up, but no such luck. I was worried about him terribly since I knew he was going to see his brothers. Walking around my apartment was making me crazy. There was suddenly the sound of a key in my front door and I knew that he had returned. I almost ran to the door to greet him. When I saw him, though, I stopped dead in my tracks. He looked bad that night after trying to save Jake, but now he looked incredibly worse. One of his eyes was swollen shut, his upper lip more swollen than I thought possible. Looking at his hands, I saw cuts and bruises on both his knuckles. I could only imagine the condition of the rest of his body.

"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it looks," he said as he closed the door behind him.

"Good, because it looks like you got your a.s.s kicked. Is this from your brothers?" My previous thoughts of them not taking too well to their big brother loving a vampire had been correct. I reached over to touch his eye and he winced in pain.

"Sorry, sorry," I apologized as I quickly withdrew my hand.

"It's okay. As you can imagine my brothers didn't take what I had to tell them too well. And for the record, they're not looking too pretty right now either. But I'm glad you're up and dressed. We really have to talk. It's important."

"What is it?"

"I wanted to let you know I'm leaving the city tonight. My car is packed and I'm leaving right now... and you have to come with me," he stated matter of fact.

"What? Why do we have to leave? What happened with your brothers?" He wasn't they type to easily run away so I knew something bad happened that night.

"We have to go because of what happened with my brothers. I started out telling them that I'm done with the slaying. I tried to explain to them that not all vampires are bad, that a lot were made vampires against their will."

"Your brothers must have gone crazy on you," I mumbled, thinking of his reaction to my saying the same thing not that long ago.

"They went crazy when I told them what I thought, and then when I told them I was in love with a vampire, all h.e.l.l broke loose. We started fighting and I was doing all right for a while against the three of them. I got to kick all their a.s.ses pretty good," he said with a painful laugh. "But three against one odds are never really too good...So before we all killed each other we made a deal. I leave the city now and we never see each other again. And if I stay, they say they'll kill me. I don't want to hurt them or fight with them again, so I have to go," he told me.

"Oh," I murmured surprised with what he said. I knew they were going to be angry when he told them he was finished slaying. I had no idea he was going to tell them he was in love with a vampire. I was a little speechless, and that doesn't happen all too often.

"And so you have to come with me for two reasons."

"What are the reasons?" I asked.

"One, because I am so in love with you and I can't imagine living without you."

I smiled as he spoke because it was so incredible hearing him tell me how he felt about me. I didn't think I'd ever get tired of hearing him tell me that he loved me.

"And two, because if you stay my brothers will hunt you down and kill you."

"What?" I exclaimed surprised. "Why would they want to kill me?"

"Because you're the one I'm in love with. They told me if you didn't leave with me they'd find out who you were and hunt you down to destroy you."

"So if I stay I'll have three slayers trying to find me to kill me? That's just great," I said sarcastically while shaking my head.

"I love you with my whole heart Janice," he said, "and I would die if anything happened to you." He leaned down and gently brushed his lips against mine.

The kiss was exquisite but ended much too quickly for my liking. He pulled back from me so our faces were only a few inches apart.

"Say you'll come with me," he whispered as he stared into my eyes.

Mentally I started packing my bags, thinking that he and I would be able to be together after all. I would go with him even if my life weren't in danger. I loved him. But then, I thought of something that would prevent me from ever leaving the city.

"I want to go with you, but I can't just leave my mom. What if they find me gone and they kill her instead?" I would have to stay and try to protect my mom from his brothers.

"No Janice, your mom will be fine. They won't hurt her because she's human. They won't do anything to her because of you. It's only you they'll want. Will you come with me?" he asked me.

"Of course I'm going to leave with you. I love you so much."

We kissed gently so his lips wouldn't hurt more, then he gathered me in his arms and stroked my hair.

"Are you sure they'll even come after me?" I was trying to be optimistic despite his telling me I was about to be hunted and destroyed. He let me go and looked at me.

"Janice, think about it. I told them I'm in love with a vampire. I know my brothers and I can tell you exactly what they'll do. They'll find out who you are, track you down wherever you are in the city and turn you to dust. You're the reason they think they lost me," he explained.

"Do you think they'll try to follow me out of the city to kill me?" I asked. I didn't like the idea of living our life together on the run from his slayer brothers. It sounded like a prime time television series that was destined to be cancelled its first season.

"They're not going to leave the city, but if you stay they'll find you for sure," he said.

Standing there, I thought about what he said and it made sense. His brothers would most definitely want me dead. "Can I at least call my mom and let her know that I'm going?"

"I'd actually feel a lot better if we left as soon as we can. I'd like to get as far away from the city as possible because I know they'll be out looking for you soon," he said as he started walking down my hall towards my bedroom. He opened my closet and brought out the one suitcase I owned. Eyeing it lying on my bed, I realized I was going to have to leave almost all my clothes behind. I went into the closet, grabbed my backpack and went to the bathroom to pack my shampoo, deodorant and other necessities. When I was finished, I went back to my bedroom and found him closing my suitcase.

"You packed my clothes?" I asked him. It made me nervous that he was in such a hurry to get us out of my apartment. He was scared his brothers would find us before we could leave. I could tell.

"Yep, you're all packed," he confirmed. "I tried to pack your favorite stuff."

"Did you remember underwear?" I asked him.

"Yep," he said back.