Chapter 5

She looked at me like I was crazy and said, "For the last time, I'm not imaginary, I'm authentic. Also, my name is Stella, and I have no interest in undergoing a sex change."

She said that slowly as if I were retarded.

I didn't say anything. I just looked at her intensely, studying her features.

I involuntarily reached out and stroked her cheek, making sure she was real.

Her expression changed when I did that, and her eyes seemed to take on a lighter color.

She put her hand over mine, which was still resting on her cheek, and gently pushed it away from her face, "I... I'm going to get you something to eat. You must be hungry," she said, barely above a whisper.

I made a 'pfft' noise, "No way, you just wanna get me fat so you can eat me, like Hansel and Gretel."

When she didn't answer and just stood up to leave, I started panicking again and said, "Wait, you really are going to eat me, aren't you? You want to suck my blood! I... I'm too young to die!"

She just stared at me and then burst out laughing and said, "Annabelle Satcher, you really are something else."

"How do you know my name?" You crazy psycho. You really good-looking crazy psycho. Fuck. Stop it, Annie.

"I know a lot of things. Now, will you please calm down and let me get you something to eat?"

I nodded. When she left, I let myself fall on the bed and sighed loudly, "What have I gotten myself into?" I said to myself.

I lifted my hand to plant it on my forehead in an act of pure frustration, and then it hit me. My hands were free. My captor had forgotten to cuff me. I bolted upright and stared at the door, gulping loudly. What could be waiting for me out there?

Maybe they had guards at the door. Perhaps they were out there slaughtering people. Perhaps I wouldn't make it past the door frame, but I would never find out if I didn't try.

"Think about it, Annie," I said to myself, "Either you die trying to escape, or you die when they decide to have you for dinner. Plus, you've only spent about half an hour in here, and you're already talking to yourself." I took a deep breath, trying to suck in some courage, and made my way over to the door.

My hand lingered on the cold doorknob for about five seconds, before I slowly started turning it, but as I was about to walk outside, I bumped into a smirking Stella holding a tray of food.

"I figured you'd try something, but you wouldn't have made it out anyway. Any vampire here could have smelled you from a mile away," she said smugly.

I rolled my eyes and glared at her, trying to burn two holes in her damn pretty face.

She just smirked and put one hand on my chest, pushing me inside the room and locking the door behind her.

She set the tray of food on the bed and lifted the lid, "I don't know what you like, so I brought you a little of everything. You have pancakes, cereal, eggs and bacon, milk, and juice. If you need anything else, just tell me."

"Do you have some vodka?"

"I wouldn't give you anything unhealthy."

"What are you, my mother?"

She just smiled at me, shook her head, and started for the door.

"Oh, no, you don't!" I ran to stand in front of her.

She sighed, "What is it now?"

"You need to tell me what I'm doing here."

She sighed again and ran her hand through her hair in frustration, "Not this again."

"Oh, yes, you kidnapped me! You have to know people would have noticed by now. My friends would have notified the police the moment they realized I was missing."

"We took care of that."

My stomach dropped, "What do you mean?" Oh God, please tell me they didn't eat my friends.

"We own the police and the government. Basically, we run everything. Now shut up and eat like a good little human."

I grunted in frustration and decided to go for the puppy face act again. I made my eyes look sad and pleaded with her, "Please, I need to know what's going on. I promise I won't bother you again if you tell me."

She gazed into my eyes, probably trying to read me. After one second of staring back into her grayish-blue ones, I lost focus and involuntarily took a step forward.

She did the same at the same time, and we both laughed awkwardly.

I looked down at my feet. She put her hand under my chin, gently lifting my face so I could look at her. I avoided her eyes but couldn't ignore her intoxicating smell.

My hair fell on my face, and she tucked it behind my ear, letting her hand linger on my cheek, creating a burning sensation where her body touched mine that I wasn't getting used to.

I gulped hard, knowing what would happen when I looked into her eyes, but I looked anyway.

Her hand slowly moved to the back of my neck, pulling me closer to her, but giving me time to pull away. I ran my fingers through her hair and pulled her over to me in a quick move, kissing her hungrily.

She licked my lower lip, asking for entrance, which I gladly granted. Our tongues moved against each other, fighting for dominance, before falling into a steady beat and moving in sync, as if they were meant for each other. I slowly melted into the kiss, hugging her against me tightly, and then she started walking back towards the bed.

I smiled against her lips and walked with her, falling on top of her when we made it to the bed. I felt her lips quiver as she giggled a little. I then removed her hands from the back of my neck and pinned them above her head, intertwining my fingers with hers as I kissed down her jawline and neck, sucking gently above her collarbone.

A soft moan escaped her lips, and that threw me over the edge. I let go of her hands, which she wrapped around my neck, and snuck my hands under her shirt, stroking the soft skin of her stomach, and slowly moving them up, I hesitated when I felt the rim of her bra, but then she bit my lower lip, pulling it back slowly.

Oh, she's asking for it, I thought. Quickly, my mood became alarmingly unconcerned with my current circumstances.

I wrapped one hand around her waist and stroked over her bra with the other, feeling that area harden under the lace. I parted my lips from hers so I could look at her face and noticed she was biting her lip to hold back a moan.

"Don't bite your lip," I whispered in her ear, my voice lower than usual and slightly raspy.

I started leaving feathery kisses along her jawline before moving down to her neck and kissing every nook and cranny.

I moved my left hand, which was currently pinned under her in the small of her back, and she arched her back a little, so I could remove it.

I placed both my hands on her hips and squeezed a little before moving them up her torso and over her bra, stroking the area where her lady garden should be. This must have pushed her over the edge, and she unlatched her hands from my hair and cupped my face, making me look straight into her eyes.

"My turn," she said, flipping me over in one swift move, so she was on top of me, straddling me with her legs. She didn't hesitate before crashing her lips back into mine and kissing me passionately.

Her hands roamed my body, settling on my thighs. She started stroking my bare skin, and I realized I was still wearing the short black dress from the day before.

We kissed for a while, and it dawned on me that she hadn't made a move toward my weak spot, even though her hands were dangerously close. I felt her stroke my inner thighs as she kissed my neck, moving close, and then quickly moving away as if she was unsure whether to touch me there. I put my hand on her cheek, pushing her face up so I could look at her. She smiled tenderly and stopped; I felt my insides melt.

Then I felt something sharp against my neck.

Uh-oh, I made her fangs pop out again.

She stopped kissing me and touching me altogether, moving up into a sitting position. She was now sitting on top of me, with a hand covering her mouth. She looked so embarrassed, and it was kind of... cute.

"Shit," she said and shut her eyes to avoid my gaze.

I gently pushed her off me so I could kneel in front of her and grabbed her hand, pulling it away from her mouth. Her eyes shot open, and she looked at me with a confused expression.

"It's okay," I said, smiling warmly at her, "It doesn't freak me out or anything."

A look of awe took over her expression, and her eyes looked so sad for some reason. She had her mouth shut tight, pursing her lips.

I ran my thumb along her mouth and said, "Don't close your mouth." She hesitantly parted her lips, and I saw two long, sharp fangs. She avoided my eyes.

"Hey," I said softly, "Don't be embarrassed. This is a natural reaction for you, right?" She nodded, "I don't mind," I said, tucking a stray lock of seemingly natural platinum blonde hair behind her ear.

Her eyes finally met mine, and I noticed she had a pained expression in her face, "It's just... I... I'm dangerous when I'm like this."

I sighed, "You want to bite me," I stated.

"It kind of hurts not to.'" I studied her face and noticed her eyes looked paler, and she looked like she was in a lot of pain.

I thought about it for a second and finally made up my mind. I laid back down on the bed, pulling her on top of me. She looked shocked for a second, and then regained her composure and made herself more comfortable. I looked her straight in the eyes, then smiled at her, and moved my head to expose my neck so she could have a better angle.

"Go ahead," I whispered, slightly scared.

Her jaw dropped, and she stared at me with an expression of pure shock, "I... No! What are you doing?!"

I sighed and grabbed the back of her neck, pulling her close until her lips were touching my skin. Stella's breath hitched, and I felt her whole body tense.

"You do know that if I start, I might not be able to stop, right?" She mumbled against my neck, her voice breaking as if she were about to cry. The change of tone was almost imperceptible.

I took a deep breath and said, "I trust you."

She laughed cynically, "You're crazy."

"Just do it, Stella."

She gulped loudly and started breathing hard as if she were out of breath. "Shit," she said, sounding asphyxiated.

I stroked her silky hair with my hand, trying to calm her down, and gently pushed her toward my neck until I felt her fangs graze my skin. She let out a low growl, and I felt a painful prick, letting out a soft yelp.

At first, it felt like it should've hurt, as if something had just pierced my skin, but when she started sucking, a feeling of pure ecstasy took over my body, rocking me to the core.

I had no idea what was going on. I'd never felt like this before. It felt so good, and I couldn't help but moan loudly. I felt her moan against my skin, too, and knew she was feeling the same way.

Suddenly it was like she became a part of me, and I could feel her emotions. It was like our souls had merged to become one, and our bodies were moving against each other in sync. I felt her rock back and forth, riding me as she swallowed my blood, and I moved my body against hers, enjoying the way our bodies felt together, and this feeling of ecstasy that was taking over me.

After a few seconds, I started feeling numb and finding it hard to move. She must have noticed my sudden weakness because she grabbed my arms tightly, and I felt her emotions, her internal battle, as she struggled to let go. I started slipping into darkness and felt the despair in her heart at the thought of killing me.

Suddenly the feeling of ecstasy stopped, and I heard her gasp loudly.

"Miss Satcher!" She grabbed my arms and shook me, "Wake up!"

My eyes were closed, and I felt so tired, I just wanted to sleep, but then I remembered how scared she had felt when she thought she was killing me and managed to find my voice.

"I'm here," I said, more softly than a whisper.

She let out a breath, and I felt her pull me into a hug. She was lying down on the bed, so I rested my head on her chest. "Oh, thank god," she said, sounding relieved.

"I'm gonna go to sleep now, okay?" I said, but I was so tired it sounded more like "Imna go to sleepno m'kay?" She understood me, though.

"Okay." She said, and I could feel the smile in her voice. She held me more tightly and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. I smiled and cuddled up against her, putting my head on the nook of her neck and wrapping one arm around her torso. Something about hugging her felt so good, but I didn't know what it was, and I was too tired to think.

I smiled and quickly placed a kiss on her neck. In my increasingly clouded conscience, a nagging feeling of recognition stabbed me in the gut, but it was rapidly dismissed by exhaustion. I felt her body vibrate like she was laughing and smiled again, feeling safe enough to let the darkness take over me. Before I slipped away, I thought I heard her say something.

"Shit, what have I gotten myself into."