Mark started dialing again. "Lord Chaos, help me," the vampire growled under his breath.
"Seven."
"You skipped six, bitch," he snapped.
Spider stuck out her tongue at him.
"Nine," she said.
"Don't fuck with me."
Spider smiled wickedly. "Nine and a half." She opened her mouth again, raised her hands, began a series of gestures. Her eyes began to glow.
"OKAY!!!"
"Okay?"
"You win."
Mark put his hand to his collar, ripped it open in one sharp deliberate motion, well past his collarbone. He stepped forward, dropped to his knees, clasped his hands behind his back, and flung back his head, baring his throat to her. The very picture of vampiric submission. Defeated.
"Very nice," purred Spider, "What a pretty picture. You all down on your knees like that."
Mark couldn't help himself; he bared his fangs. THWACK! The business end of Spider's boot connected with his jaw. Mark dropped to the floor, stunned. He lay there for a moment, tasting blood. It took every bit of self-control he had to resume his submissive posture.
"I won't stay pretty for very long, if you keep kicking me in the face," he rasped hoarsely, desperately trying to contain his fury.
"Oh, stop being such a baby, you'll heal." Spider smiled. "I'll do whatever I wish to you, and you'll like it." She sniffed. "Your blood smells absolutely lovely," she murmured. Dropping to all fours, she crawled up to him and took his head in her hands, and drew it up to face her. She licked the blood off of his cheek, and followed the gleaming liquid scarlet trail back to his mouth. "Mmmm."
Even in spite of his rage, Mark trembled with lust, and hated it. His body betrayed him. His lips parted for the impending kiss. Her tongue brushed his bruised mouth, and then, instead of kissing him, she seized his already swollen lower lip between her teeth. Mark groaned softly with mingled pain and desire. She let go, and brushed her lip to his ear.
"Tell me what you want, Sartain. You can tell me... just remember your manners."
"Don't do this to me." He swallowed heavily. "Please."
Her smile oozed false sympathy. "I must. If I let you up now, if I don't have your total submission, you'll never rest until you kill me. So I have to go though with this. Sorry." She didn't sound very sorry. She stroked his hair lovingly.
"Not as sorry as you'll soon be... I promise."
"Shhh, lover, it'll be over soon."
"Please, don't." The word was becoming a little easier to say already.
"Oh, I love the way you beg. We're gonna have so much fun together." She brought her lips down to his bare throat, and plunged her fangs into his flesh. Mark cried out, shuddering, and then the blood began to flow, and he arced against her, moaning, pulling her closer, closer, until it seemed as if they merged into one creature, all dark wings and flowing black hair. She didn't take much blood; much wasn't needed for this particular spell. She released him regretfully, her cheeks flushed, and brought her face back up to his.
"Here's a little secret, lover," she whispered. "It was all a lie, your company's safe. I couldn't get to ZauberCorp's power source even if I knew where find it." She brushed his lips with a finger, cocked her head to one side. "You are much too paranoid... Markkas."
Mark couldn't bring himself to speak, but his body, ever the traitor, spoke for him. The vampire's face was drawn and fierce with hatred and lust, his eyes blazing sapphire. He looked sharp and cruel. How could she know that name? Not even Davy calls me. She tilted her head slightly, offered him her own neck. He lunged forward without hesitation, pressed his mouth eagerly against her tender ivory flesh. He drank deeply, and Spider had to use all of her strength to draw his face back up to hers. Mark was panting, his injured mouth painted scarlet with his blood and hers. Mark felt the heat of her glamour, and could do nothing against it.
"Markkastanen Sartannsian Drac'Rhaegar, you are mine," she whispered softly. Spider pressed her mouth against his, teasing her way past his lips with her tongue, coaxing him into responding, enjoying the taste. He slashed her invading tongue with his fangs, making the blood flow, and she responded by kissing him harder, twisting and tugging his wounded lip.
Mark was lost in a raging maelstrom of desire. Mingled pain and pleasure were driving him to madness. Never breaking their kiss, he forced Spider down to the floor, covered her with his own body, tearing at her clothing. She moved against him, moaning, continued sucking at his mouth, raked her nails down his back, ripping his shirt away, dragged her dagger nails across the sensitive base of his wings. Mark tore his mouth away from hers long enough to cry out in pain. He hovered over her for a moment, fangs bared, mouth dripping blood. His ebony hair framed his face in a wild tangle, spilled over his shoulders and brushed her breasts. He glared at her for a long moment. She looked back at him, burning blue eyes half-hidden behind lowered lids and thick black lashes. She gave him a hot, languid pout. In a single flowing movement, he rose to his feet. He stripped slowly, completely, threateningly, never taking his eyes off of her face. Spider watched him, studying him intently, as if she'd never seen a man before, might never again, and didn't want to forget what they looked like. Once completely nude, Mark bent over, picked up Spider and laid her across his bed. Her eyes were still roaming over him hungrily. He smiled at her, a dark, twisted grin.
"You look at me as if you've never seen a man before."
She smiled back, blushing, suddenly coy. "I haven't."
Mark blinked. "I see." And then his smile grew even more twisted. "Then here's the first lesson you'll learn in my bed. Don't let your first time be with a vampire that hates you."
Mark learned one more thing about Spider that evening - she didn't like pain as much as he did. She liked pain even more than he did. Knew how to give as good as she got too, yes indeed. It was a very long and exhausting night. He left her only once, and returned to fling a battered and naked girl to the foot of the bed. "A wedding gift," he said. "I was saving her for my dinner. Share her death with me."
They crouched there on the floor, one on either side of her, and fed until her last breath. Spider was delighted. "We'll have to do that again, you and I." She smiled, and her eyes flickered briefly. "Go ahead, you can burn her now if you want."
Mark shrugged. His eyes flared in the darkness, and the woman's poor sad corpse disappeared in a flash of cold blue light. Spider smiled and laid her head on his shoulder.
"You wanted to do that to me, once."
"I still wish I could."
"Then why don't you?"
"You know why, you evil bitch."
"Tell me anyway. Tell me why you won't kill me. Tell me why you don't tear me up into teensy weensy little bloody pieces." Her voice was low and breathy; her hand was caressing the inside of his thigh, moving upward in little maddening circles. Mark groaned as he stiffened all at once, responding to her touch.
"Because I need you to release my magic."
"Is that all?" she pouted, and took her hand away.
Mark grabbed her wrist, painfully hard. He bared his fangs. What was it about her anyway? Surely the Lord of the Pit himself would be willing to crawl for a single touch from this one. And she was probably just crazy enough to try and make him, too. And the worst of it is, everything she does to me is in the name of entertainment. She's robbed me of my magic, stripped me of my dignity and forced me though a god's cursed mating ritual for shits and giggles. Even Aerael doesn't affect me like this...although he probably could if he tried. I don't think I've ever been so out of control. Perhaps this is normal, I don't know - I've never before met a female of my own kind. If there are any others out there, and if they're anything like her, I hope to never meet one again.
"Because... I need you." He heard himself say, from between clenched teeth.
"Show me. Show me how much you need me."
He flung her back on the bed and showed her repeatedly, until they both were too exhausted to move, and then they fell asleep, still intertwined.
* * * * *
She wasn't there the next morning. She had somehow disentangled herself from his embrace without waking him, and left him there alone. Wait. It was a large bed. Perhaps.he rolled over, and without opening his eyes, he reached for her again. Nothing.
Mark opened his eyes. They were softer now, wide and dark with longing and fear. He sat up looking around wildly, almost frantic. He felt as if his very soul had been cut adrift. Where was she? He was lost without her. "Spider?² He fought to keep the panic he was feeling out of his voice.
"I'm here, in the closet. I'm looking to see which of your clothes I'm borrowing first."
He sighed deeply in relief when he saw her emerge from his cavernous walk-in closet, nearly lost behind the pile of silk and velvet she was carrying. She dropped them in the middle of the floor. And then the reaction hit. He felt an overwhelming rush of emotion at the sight of her, mischievously peering at him though her long silky hair. He groaned softly, and clutched the black silk sheets with shaking hands. His sapphire eyes were wide with alarm. "Chaos help me... why am I so weak?" he whispered. "Spider, What else have you done to me? I'm sick."
Spider giggled, as she pushed her hair out of her face. "Our Lord did help you," she murmured, walking over to the bed. "He has helped you find your mate so you don't have to spend all of eternity alone." She bent over and caressed his face. "You're not sick, you silly bloodsucker. You're in love with me, just like you're supposed to be." She gave his cheek a pat. "Good boy."
"No." He shook his head roughly. "I don't accept that, this can't be happening to me. I've got to be sick - I must've over-done it again, all the spell-casting, or something - Or perhaps it's a reaction to losing my magic - I'm going to call a healer. And for the love of Chaos, will you please put my clothes back exactly the way you found them? You're getting them all - "
"Here." Mark stopped ranting long enough to look at what she was offering him. Her eyes glowed momentarily. "I released the entrapment spell. You should be able to use your magic now, so you can't use it as an excuse for how you're feeling right now. And since you don't love me, you can kill me." A challenge. There was a moment of total silence. Mark's eyes flared brightly. They grew brighter, more intense, casting such a brilliant light that Spider had to look away. She waited, the hairs on the back of her neck curling, the surface of her skin tingling in reaction to the dark forces she could feel gathering around them. She kept waiting. Nothing happened. The cold tingling sensation cut off abruptly. She looked up and met Mark's horrified stare.
The vampire put his head down and wept bitterly.
Spider crawled up on the bed and patted his shoulder reassuringly, as she regarded her new mate with wicked amusement. "I'm really glad you're taking this so well, lover." She gave an ecstatic shiver. "This is going to be so much fun."
