FicWad

In A Darkened Room
By Mishi
Chapter 18
Lessons In Tenderness

Touya opened the door to Maire’s apartment with a smile that said he was thinking something naughty. He had left her at the building’s entrance to make his way up the side of the building to enter the window, so he could let her in.

“I’m really starting to enjoy coming in through that window,” he beamed not giving her the slightest clue as to what the dirty thoughts were behind that smile. She looked down and walked past him, and then waited for him to close the door.

They entered Maire’s bedroom to find her clothes waiting on the bed. They were folded and placed in neat piles sorted according what each item was. Lying on the pillow was a pink Post-It note explaining that the key to the front door was left on the coffee table next to the laptop. It was signed “The Bride” with a smiley face which donned tiny fangs.

“The Bride? Is there something I’m not getting?” Maire asked a bit confused as she held out the note for him to see.

Touya rolled his eyes and took the note from her. He began to tear it up, so he could toss it in the trash next to the bed. “It’s a corny joke she makes. You know how Dracula had the three brides?” He asked shaking his head and waited for her to respond.

“Yeah, I think I remember something about that,” Maire answered still unsure where this was going, and now expecting the worst. She took off her windbreaker and waited for him to take off his coat before heading for the closet to hang it up.

“Well, Beth jokes that she’s my bride, because I make her do all my foot work. It would make more sense if she were a vampire.” He stopped talking and looked down at the floor for a moment with a worried expression on his face. “She’s really caught up in the vampire thing, and I fear that one of these days she’s going to ask me to make her one. I don’t want that to happen,” he confided while placing the large paper bag he was carrying under his arm on the floor next to the bed, so he could remove his coat.

She took the heavy leather garment from him and he removed his boots before climbing onto the foot of the bed. He was wearing a gorgeous crimson colored shirt that was made of silk and buttoned down the front, which she thought looked amazing against the black of his hair and black leather pants. He leaned his back against the wall and watched as she started putting clothing away.

His eyes landed on a stack of underwear that she was about to pick up. “You have pink panties,” he noted with a devious grin. “I thought you’d have all white.”

“Stop looking at my underpants, you perv!” She giggled and gathered them up quickly to shove into a drawer.

With raised browses he glanced over the bed and asked, “Would you happen to have the bras to match?”

She turned from the drawers with her mouth gaping open, “Touya! Stop it or I’ll make you wait outside while I put everything away.”

“Fine, I’ll behave myself,” he laughed and crossed his arms over his chest. He watched her walk back and forth between the bed and dresser until everything was neatly in its place. Then he watched her as she started to go back and forth between the bed and the closet to hang up her jeans and tops. “Do you want some help?” He spoke up, becoming a bit restless just setting there as she worked.

“Oh, well, I guess you can help if you want,” she answered unsure what to have him do.

“Why don’t you let me hold some things in my arms as I stand next to you, and you can hang the things right from my arms?” He suggested as he hopped off the bed to join her.

“That’s a good idea.”

“Of course it is, I thought of it,” he answered with a cocky grin.

“You and your ego!” She whispered and shook her head, before draping things over his outstretched arms.

He laughed and followed her to the closet. After a moment the laughter faded and he asked, “I wanted to ask this in the car…but why do you think Iris showed up tonight?”

Maire continued hanging a pair of jeans as she answered, “Iris said she was there to make sure everything went ok.”

“I guess that means that you and God are still good. I’m glad,” he commented sincerely.

She stopped to look at him. “Thank you,” she said before reaching up to give him a shy kiss on the lips.

“You’re very welcome,” he whispered against her lips before she could pull away completely.

She saw those eyes fill with lust and quickly grabbed a top to place on a hanger. In response to her reaction, he closed his eyes and forced himself to be a gentleman. The room was suddenly left with an awkward silence that lasted for the rest of the time it took to hang the clothing.

“Well, I guess I should change in to my jammies,” Maire announced as she made her way back to the bed. She stopped next to it and stood staring at the comforter as she waited for Touya to take the hint to leave the room.

He came to stand behind her, and without touching her, bent his face into her neck to ask softly, “Might I make a request?”

Her heartbeat speed up and she closed her eyes before answering, “You may.”

His hands slipped around her waist and he whispered his request softly against her skin, “Could you wear a tee shirt instead of the Eeyore pajamas? You remind me more of a woman in the tee shirt, and I can see your beautiful legs.”

He had made sure she was steady before letting her go and leaving the room, but she was still breathless and her heart was about to pound out of her chest. She was left wondering if he was more man than she could handle. She hadn’t put away her Eeyore pajamas, but had left them on the bed, so she could wear them like always. Now she would be trading them for a tee shirt she had put in a drawer. She stood for a moment in front of the open drawer, looking at the tee shirt without knowing whether she should wear it or not. Perhaps the younger look would be safer where her virtue was concerned. However, she didn’t want to be safe. She enjoyed the cool silkiness of his hands on her body more than she should admit.

“It’s normal,” she told herself at last. “It’s normal for me to want to touch him, and to want him to touch me back. For once I am feeling something normal. Stop being such a chicken and put on the tee shirt!” She grumbled at herself as she ripped the tee shirt from the drawer, and slammed it shut before she could change her mind. Tossing the tee shirt on the bed, she opened her underwear drawer for a fresh pair of panties. “Well, he’s already seen these,” she sighed and picked out a pink pair. “Should I wear the matching bra?” No sooner had the words come out of her mouth, than a million tiny alarms went off in the back of her mind telling her that it would be a bad idea to encourage him. She quickly picked out her pink undies and closed the drawer.

With her sleeping attire chosen, Maire, finally began to change her clothes. She had just finished pulling on the panties and was about to put on the tee shirt when an anxious Touya knocked on the door.

“Ma-chan, are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she called out, yanking down the tee, and heading for the door. Opening it, she found him standing in the doorway with a hand on each side of the frame. “Are you eavesdropping on me?”

“I think you forget that I have very sensitive hearing and can hear everything you mumble to yourself in here,” he replied reaching for her waist and pulling her close to him. The realization hit her and she turned red, which prompted him to continue, “So are you wearing the bra?” The smile on his face was more playful than anything else.

She rolled her eyes and answered, “No, I’m not wearing a bra at all.” Then she realized what she said.

His smile widened and his eyes sparkled as he purred, “Even better!”

“Maybe I should have thought it through a little more,” she whispered in a shaky voice while trying to back out of his arms.

“You know, you wore the same thing last night and there wasn’t a problem. Why is there such a problem tonight? What has you so worked up?” He asked keeping a firm hold on her, while he backed her into the room.

“For starters, you weren’t acting like a perv last night. Second, it’s been a long day and I’ve had a lot to think about. It also might’ve been the way you asked…well, maybe even the way I reacted to the way you asked. The thoughts that it caused sort of made me nervous,” she confessed looking at his chest.

“So you get nervous when something excites you?” He inquired with all seriousness, trying to look her in the eye.

“I never said that. I’m just worried about our souls. It would be a sin for us to go too far,” she responded angrily, and successfully avoiding his eyes.

“And you get defensive about the fact sexual arousal makes you nervous.” He took her chin in his hand and made her look up at him, and then said, “Don’t hide from me, Maire. I’m not hiding from you anymore.”

“Fine! But part of it does make me nervous, because I’m afraid of what will happen to us if we go too far.”

“Alright, what’s the rest of the anxiety caused by?”

“I don’t know. I’ve never felt relaxed during sex. I told you I jump out of my skin when people touch me. I guess I just don’t know the right way to react to being excited.”

“Well then, I’ll make a deal with you, my precious, beautiful Maire,” he whispered as he kissed her lightly on the lips. Leaving a trail of soft kisses from her forehead to jawbone, he continued, “As you work on your mission to restore my faith, I’ll make it my mission to teach you to be more comfortable with your sexuality.” Then after leaving her breathless with a deep passionate kiss, he finished, “And, hopefully, by time I’m finished you’ll be able to get aroused without being so nervous. How does that sound?”

For a moment she was dumbfounded. “How can I ever think of winning an argument with you? I’m lucky I can stand upright after all that!” She complained.

“I told you that it was no good to argue with me. But is it really all that bad to lose to me?” He asked with a cocky grin.

“Well, not so far,” she admitted.

“See, I make losing enjoyable. You know…you can always count on me to take care of you.”

“I can?” She questioned, not taking the comment at all lightly.

Something changed in his eyes, and they became darker. He changed his tone from playful to serious as a heart attack and answered her, “You can. I promise to take care of you for as long as you’ll allow me. I’m nothing, if not intensely loyal to those I care about.”

“You care about me?” She asked sheepishly.

He looked into her eyes and wondered how much it would frighten her if he used the words I love you. Would she believe him if he used those words? He was sure that men had used those words in the past to get her to sleep with them. He had read in her journals that love had been her step-father’s excuse for what he had done to her. Would she think he was like the others? Touya had always believed that actions spoke far louder than words, so he decided that it would be better to show her the depth of his feelings, rather than say the words that might put her off.

“I care a great deal for you, baby. Be patient and I’ll show you how much,” he told her as he let her go and approached the bed. Climbing into the middle of it, he sat with his legs folded together like he was going to do yoga. “Come here,” he said, patting his thigh with his hand indicating where he wanted her to sit.

She hesitantly joined him, stopping directly in front of him on the mattress and pointing at his lap, she asked, “You want me there?”

“Yes…I want you to sit facing me with your legs wrapped around my body,” he answered gently. When she hesitated and gave him a worried look, he responded, “Trust me, it’ll be nice.”

“I have a feeling this is going to make me very uncomfortable, isn’t it?” She asked nervously as she stood on the bed and tried to position herself in the best way to sit in the manner in which he had described. When she thought she had the right spot, she began to sit. Touya guided her body until she was sitting steadily on his thighs with her legs around his hips. Color crept into her face as soon as she felt the leather of his pants on her bare skin. She let out a shaky breath. She was trying not to think about how she was dressed in a tee shirt and underwear and positioned on his lap in such a provocative way. In an effort to deal with her embarrassment, she began to fidget and act as if she needed to adjust how she was sitting.

Picking up on what she was doing, Touya spoke up, “Baby, you’re fine were you are. Relax and put your hands on my shoulders.”

“What are you going to do?” She asked as she stopped fidgeting.

He placed his hands on her ribs and repeated, “Put your hands on my shoulders.”

She slowly placed her palms flat on his shoulders and worriedly searched his face for some clue as to what he intended to do next.

“I’m going to do exactly what I told you I would do,” he said and leaned forward to kiss her gently on the lips.

She was proven more defenseless by his soft kisses than his deep passionate ones. The passionate kisses set off her alarms and she knew to stop them. But these gentle kisses had a way of breaking her down. They were like a gateway drug that got you started and soon had you thinking you could try something more risky. At least, that was the way it had turned out after the kiss in the car that left her daydreaming all day.

As the kiss lingered, Touya’s hands caressed her body. Occasionally, his thumbs would brush just under her breasts, causing her to jump. Her body was trembling slightly when he decided to break the kiss. Touya could hear her heart pounding, and smell the musky scent of her arousal. He pulled her closer and brushed the hair back from her neck. He planted several soft kisses on her throat, causing her to sigh.

“Baby, what is your body feeling right now?” He asked looking into her eyes.

“I feel nervous.”

“No, not what you’re feeling emotionally, but what you’re body is feeling physically. What’s happening to your body?” He let his hands come to rest again on her ribs.

She was thrown by the question at first, but after a moment of thought, she found herself trying to focus on her body. “Tense,” she said finally. “I like what you’re doing, but I feel like I’m going to freeze in place.”

“What are you thinking about? Is there anything going through your mind as I touch you?”

“Well, of course, I’m arguing with myself about how far I should let you go. And I’m worrying about what you will think as you feel certain parts for my body. I don’t have the greatest body.”

He raised his right hand to her cheek and caressed it lovingly, “Baby, I promise you we won’t do anything you don’t want to do. As for your body, I’m very please with it. I know it is difficult for you, but try to clear your mind and enjoy what’s happening.”

She nodded and he pulled her to him for another kiss. He let the hand that had been caressing her cheek trace its way down to her chest. He cupped her breast and gave a light squeeze, which made Maire pull back from the his lips.

“Touya,” she murmured in her nearly breathless state.

He kissed her jaw and asked, “Is that too much for you?”

“No,” she answered giving into the wonderful sensation as he took her nipple between his thumb and index finger and twisted ever so slightly. She let her head fall back and a moan escaped her lips as the sensation became more intense. When she felt his teeth touch her neck, she gripped the silk of his shirt at his shoulders; letting both hands turn into fists. Without using his fangs, he gave her several nips along the neck, which drove more moans from her. Her heartbeat pounded unbelievably fast with her growing excitement.

He touched his nose to her skin and ran it up her neck to her jaw. The aroma of the tantalizing elixir just below the surface was more than tempting, but he kept his focus on Maire’s physical state. Pulling away he asked, “Now, what does your body feel?”

She wasn’t prepared for a conversation, so it took her some time to respond. Finally she managed to answer, “Most of the tension is gone. I’ve never been this excited before.”

“It’s unforgivable that none of your past lovers have taken the time to properly stimulate you,” he kissed her collar bone as he said it.

His words embarrassed her, causing her face to flush again. She closed her eyes and said nothing. Then, faster than her mind could follow what was going on; she was on her back with her head lying on the pillows. Touya was hovering above her and settling his body between her legs. His lips quickly reclaimed possession of her mouth, and though he was kissing her with greater passion he was still holding back out of fear of overwhelming her.

“Oh my God,” she panted when he pulled away for air. “You really need to warn a girl before you do stuff like that.”

“Huh?” He asked confused.

“I’m suddenly on my back,” she pointed out.

He smiled and replied, “Sorry, I forgot you’re not use to the vampire reflexes. I’ll try to warn you next time.”

“Thanks.”

“You can put your arms around my waist. I’m sure it would feel better than how you have them at the moment,” he suggested looking over at her hand still in place on his shoulder.

Her arms were bunched up uncomfortably beneath his weight. He lifted his upper body so she could move them. Her hands were resting on his back when he settled in against her.

She had to admit she loved the feeling of his weight on her body. As he continued to play with her nipple and bite at her neck, she let her hands roam his back. She stopped herself when her hands met the top of his pants, but she wanted so desperately to let her hands explore his backside.

Touya, who had been enjoying her hands downward journey, wondered what made her stop. Turning his attention away from her neck, he asked, “Is there a reason you stopped there? You’re hands can keep going if they like. The shirt can also disappear if it’s in the way.”

“I think for safety’s sake, all clothing should stay on. But thanks for giving me permission to go below the belt,” she grinned shyly.

His kissed her again, this time allowing his tongue entering her mouth. She let her hands wander lower until she had both of his butt cheeks in her hands. His rear end was firm and she wished the pants weren’t in her way, so she could feel his cheeks with her bare hands. She gave each cheek a squeeze, which brought an “mmm” sound from him. In return, he pressed his lower body against hers, and kissed her with greater enthusiasm.

There was no ignoring it now, she was very aware of his erection pressing against her most intimate of areas. Had he been this excited a moment ago? Judging from what she felt rubbing against her, she didn’t think she could have just overlooked it.

She broke the kiss and stumbled through an attempt to ask him about her observation, “Did you just now…I mean, I just now notice that you’re…”

“You noticed that I wasn’t hard before,” he spoke the words that wouldn’t come out of her mouth. “I was trying to keep myself from getting aroused, so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. I was doing fairly well until you got better acquainted with my backside. Not that that’s a complaint. As you can tell, I liked it.”

“With all the stuff you have been doing to me, why did that turn you on when nothing else did?”

“Because when you made the move to touch me, it showed me that you desired my body. You said it, all the stuff I was doing to you. There was no we in there. You were closed off to me. You may’ve been enjoying what I was doing, but you weren’t reciprocating. At least, not to the extent I needed in order to understand that you truly wanted me.”

“So you’re telling me, that if I hadn’t fondled your rear end, you wouldn’t have got turned on?”

“Correct, if you hadn’t made the effort, I wouldn’t have become aroused.”

“I don’t understand that.”

He actually allowed himself to become indignant as he answered, “Maire, any man that can derive pleasure from sex with a woman who is tense and rigid from anxiety needs to have his head bashed in. He’s not thinking about your pleasure or state of mind. I’m not that kind of man. I’m excited by the thought of giving you pleasure. The men you’ve been unfortunate enough to date in the past all need to have their asses kicked for how they’ve treated you. I think if I ever run across any of them, I might take great pleasure in doing just that. So don’t be surprised if I ask you for names and addresses in the near future!”

“Wow, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

He pushed himself off of her, and scooted over to lean back on the wall. He stretched his legs out in front of himself and crossed his arms over his chest.

Maire got to her knees and crawled over to him. “You’re amazing. I don’t know what to do with you. There is no way that I’m good enough for you,” she whispered putting her hands on his thigh.

He reached out and touched her cheek. “Why do you always think there’s something wrong with you? You’re the one who’s amazing, and you can’t see it.” She started to disagree, but he stopped her, “I’m an evil thing with a cursed existence, Maire. And you’re a pure being filled with light. Your light is blinding to me, but I can’t stay away from it. And knowing that I am such a lowly creature, but I can treat you better than the other men, which you have given yourself to in the past, makes me very angry.”

“You are not evil!” She stated firmly. “I don’t care what you say about your past. I know you have committed sins, just like the rest of us. But you are not evil. And you will not say that to me ever again. Do you hear me?” She demanded.

“Will you stop putting yourself down? If you promise to stop, then I’ll promise never to say it again,” he responded sternly.

“You are talking about a lifetime’s worth of learned behavior. I can’t just blink that out of existence and stop it with a snap of the fingers.”

“Do you really want to discuss how long I have been calling myself evil?” He was smug when he said it.

She thought about that and answered, “Fine, you’ve made your point. I’ll try if you try; how about that?”

“Sounds fair enough,” he said scooting forward to get off the bed.

“What are you doing?” Maire asked in a panic.

“I’m hungry. I didn’t eat last night, remember? You don’t have to work tomorrow, right?” He asked from the side of the bed, while putting on his boots.

“Right,” she said scooting up next to him.

“Then I’ll go hunt and come back to you,” Touya responded softly. He was about to stand when Maire placed her hand on his arm and pushed him back into place. He looked at her with a mixture of curiosity and amusement. It was almost laughable to him that such a fragile creature like Maire had hindered a being who could crush her with the slightest touch.

“Yes, my dearest Maire?” He asked with a gentle smile, which was his way of letting her know his anger had faded.

She quickly looked away with a shy smile on her face. “I…well…how…” she stopped to take a deep breath. If she could get started, she could handle the rest of the topic. Touya reached out to place his hand on the side of her face, and turned her toward him so their eyes could meet. With her eyes gazing at his, she took another deep breath and forced out her thought, “What’s it like…when you hunt?”

He mouthed a silent “Oh” and looked down. He sat silently for a moment, then stood up and began to pace before her.

“You already know my rules,” he began after crossing his arms over his chest. “I normally go to the worst side of the city and pick the sleaziest hang outs. My prey are never difficult to find. They’re always ready to harm someone who’s weaker than themselves. They’re criminals mostly. Sometimes I get lucky and stumble across someone who’s possessed; which is when I get to kick a little demon ass,” he stopped to flash her a quick grin. “That’s really it. I drink alcohol, sit in bars, and flash a lot of money around…they come to me. It’s as simple as that,” the last came out in almost a whisper as he came to a stop right in front of her. He could tell there was more on her mind by looking in her eyes, but he would not talk about the darker parts of his life unless it was brought up first.

Maire was bright eyed and fascinated, and dying to ask her next question as she looked up at him. “What’s it like when you drink your vic,” she had started to say victim and stopped herself, “mmm…prey’s blood?”

“You’ve seen me drink from someone before, baby. Don’t you remember the guy in the alley the first night we met?” He asked as he looked down at the floor with a frown.

“He lost a lot of blood,” she whispered with the memory, “I donated blood for the first transfusion.”

“That was an extreme circumstance; I don’t normally take that much from those I hunt. I had to make a choice that night, because I needed blood immediately; and the only donors in the alley were you and the man. I could never allow myself to pick an innocent, so I picked the man.”

She stood up and walked to him. Placing her hands on his arms she asked softly, “But what is it like to drink the blood?”

Touya looked into her face with sadness showing in his dark eyes. “Don’t,” he pleaded with a whisper.

“Don’t what?” Maire asked in concern as she reached up to move his gorgeous hair out of the way and put her hands on the sides of his face.

He took her hands in his and pressed them to his chest. “Don’t ask me about the Nature. I’m not ready to talk to you about that yet.”

“You said you weren’t hiding anymore,” she stated, while trying not to sound angry.

“I’m not hiding.”

“Then why?”

He let out a frustrated sigh and answered, “I am afraid it will disturb you as much as it disturbs me. That I’ll lose you before we’ve had a chance to begin. I had hoped to keep you out of the vampire culture for as long as possible. Have you forgotten that they’ll kill you if they find out you exist?”

“Unless you claim me as your Groupie,” she blurted the thought out the second it came to mind.

Touya was stunned by what he had just heard and let go of her hands to turn and walk around the room. After several minutes of dead silence, and Touya pacing and playing with his bottom lip, Maire began to fidget.

Finally he came to a stop a foot before her, and in his calmest voice said, “Are you out of your mind? You would be bound to me for the rest of your life. You would be cattle! You would belong to the vampire community, unless I paid an extra price to put a ban on your body.”

“Would you pay it?” She interrupted him.

“What?” He was shocked she would ask the question.

“Would you pay the extra price for me?” She clarified assuming he hadn’t understood her implications.

“I would give anything they asked,” he answered staring deep into her eyes. “But it’s a mute point, because it will not happen. You do not want to be a part of this evil shit, baby. Please, just let me stay in the light with you for a little while,” he finished as he traced her face with his fingertips.

She nodded and returned to the bed. Setting on the edge of the mattress, Maire said a quick prayer and asked God to give her strength. Then she looked up at Touya and explained, “There are a lot of things I want to understand about you, and for me to do that you are going to have to sit down and talk to me about them. Regardless if you want to or not. So I might be dropping this for now, but I want you to know I will bring it up again; and I will expect an answer next time. I want you to be thinking about what you will tell me when the time comes.”

“Alright,” he said moving closer to her. “Thank you for letting me off the hook…for now.”

“You’re welcome,” she looked up at him with an awkward smile.

“But there’s something I want you to think about as well.” He quickly dropped to his knees in front of her and continued, “I want you to think about where your boundaries are while I’m gone. Everyone has a different idea about what sex is and what it isn’t. I want to know what you think is alright of us to do and what isn’t.”

“I don’t think I get what you’re talking about, Touya. Sex is pretty much sex, isn’t it?”

“Baby, there are several ways I could make love to you. I could use my hand…or my mouth. We don’t have to resort to penetration.”

Her face was red again and she couldn’t look him in the eye. “Oh…thanks for clearing that up for me,” she said sarcastically.

“One of these days you’ll get use to me and I’ll not get to see that cute little blush of yours,” he laughed, causing her to look at him and shake her head. “I want you to consider one more thing while I’m gone.” She was about to ask him what that thing was, but he moved before she could get the words out. Her nipple was between his lips and he was sucking, despite the fabric covering it. Instantly the nipple grew hard and he claimed it with his teeth. Maire moaned and her head fell back, while Touya’s strong hands held her in place. When he thought he had demonstrated his point clearly enough, he let her go and waited for her to compose herself. The best she could manage was to stare at him with her eyes full of longing. He looked up at her and said, “Imagine what that would feel like without the tee shirt.”

She took in a sharp breath and closed her eyes. “Oh my God, you are so…so…” she couldn’t find the word she wanted to use.

“Evil?” He chuckled sarcastically.