Chapter 15

Lisa woke with a gasp, her body sucking oxygen deep into her lungs and just as quickly forcing it out again. The sound of her heart was like a drum in her ringing ears, and her eyes saw only darkness. That darkness slowly gave way to blurred color. Lisa lay still for several moments as her body struggled to recover, knowing she had come close to death.

She slowly became aware of pressure on her shoulder, and she glanced down, relieved to find that her eyesight had returned. she was able to see the top of a head. she couldn't see the face, but she recognized Jennie's black tresses and felt an odd warmth flow through her to know she was with her.

Letting her eyes drift closed, she took stock. There was no brain damage from what she could tell; her memory was intact. Jennie had saved her. The idea was a bit mind-boggling. she was used to being the warrior, the savior, the hero. But Jennie had been the hero today, fending off her attacker with of all things a pillow.

She would have chuckled if she had the energy to do so. The woman had felled their attacker with a pillow, an attacker who had got the best of her. It really did boggle the mind. Her courage and cleverness were a formidable combination. she tried to lift her hand to caress the soft strands of her hair, wanting that further connection with her, but didn't yet have the strength.

Frustrated by her weakness and lack of control, Lisa forced herself to be patient. her body would be working like mad to send blood to repair her brain and vital organs first. Once they were in working order, the blood would concentrate on the rest of her. Then some of her strength would return.

As she lay there, she wondered about her attacker. Who was the man? It was a question she would like answered, but Lisa also wondered what had become of her. she could only assume that Jennie had tended to the matter, or she surely wouldn't have fallen asleep on her. If she was asleep.

Her eyes popped open again.

From prior experience with injuries, Lisa guessed that she had been unconscious for perhaps half an hour. It seemed a relatively short period of time for Jennie to have handled their attacker, removed the stake from her chest and fallen asleep. This time, when she tried to move Lisa was able to raise her hand and rest it weakly against the side of her head.

Much to her relief, Jennie murmured sleepily. She cuddled kitten like against her, snuggling into her body. The action managed to relax Lisa. She was alive. Everything else could wait. she closed her eyes and fell into a light rest as her body finished its repairs.

When next she opened her eyes, it was hunger urging her back. her strength hadn't fully returned Lisa was still weak, comparatively speaking but her weakness was equivalent to an average man's strength. Moving carefully, she shifted out from under Jennie, easing her head to the floor before sitting up and peering around. she immediately spotted her attacker lying on the floor by the closet. The man was trussed like a turkey.

Lisa's eyes went to the refrigerator and she noted the four slashed bags. she twitched with realization. Four bags. There had been eight left after her last feeding. Standing up, she moved to the refrigerator, pulled the door the rest of the way open and peered inside. A breath of relief slipped from her lips at the sight of four intact blood bags. she must have interrupted the fellow's work before the man got the chance to destroy the whole supply.

Lisa grabbed one of the pints and stabbed her teeth into it as she turned to survey the room. There would be a bit of work setting it to rights. she had to clean up the blood on the carpet and take care of the gentleman now imitating a bear rug on her floor.

She contemplated what to do with her assailant as she went through two more bags of blood. At last, she decided she would have to find out more before making a decision. she needed to know if this had been an attack on Pranpriya the vampire author, or Lisa Manoban the vampire. The difference could affect the safety of her family.

Lisa felt pretty good once she’d finished her third bag of blood. she decided to leave the fourth and final bag for later, and she closed the refrigerator door and set to work. she took care of everything as best she could including handling her assailant then turned her attention to Jennie, who still lay sleeping in the middle ofher floor. she debated whether to take her back to her room, but the last she had seen she had hit her head on the closet rod. she didn't like the idea of leaving her alone all night. What if the injury caused her some difficulty later? She should sleep here in her room, though not on the floor.

Moving to her side, Lisa knelt and slipped her hands under Jennie, then lifted her into her arms. She barely stirred as she carried her over and laid her on the bed. she noticed the strip of cloth around her wrist as she started to straighten. Picking up her hand, she unwrapped the makeshift bandage. Concern filled her. The gash in her flesh had clotted and was no longer bleeding, but she couldn't tell how deep it was. she didn't think she needed stitches, since it was already closed, but

She grabbed the phone and called down to the front desk, requesting bandages and antiseptic, then pondered how she might have received the injury. The only thing she could think of was that she had gotten it somehow during the battle. she now regretted letting the man go so lightly. she should have

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the outer door. The first-aid items had arrived. she went and got them without letting the bellhop in, then went back to attend to Jennie. she cleaned her injury and carefully wrapped it, then set her hand gently on her chest and pulled the covers up over her.

She left her sleeping while she stripped off her ruined clothes and showered the blood away. Then she slid into bed, too, being sure to stay as far away from her as she could. she didn't want to risk bumping Jennie's arm or have her getting upset when she awoke. she would sleep on her side of the bed.

Of course, she hadn't considered that Jennie might not stay on her side. she had just started to doze off when Jennie rolled over, throwing her hand across her chest and snuggling up like she belonged there. Oddly enough, it felt like she did.

Jennie was slow to wake, almost reluctant to face the world. It took a moment for her foggy brain to remember what had happened; then Lisa's image slipped into her mind. She stiffened and opened her eyes. The first thing her gaze fell on was Lisa's chin. She stared at it for a moment, then reluctantly lowered her eyes to her chest, afraid to find the gaping hole there. When she saw bedding, she sat up abruptly, startled to find herself in bed with her. Her gaze swept the room in confusiononly to find it all in order. Had it all been a dream? she wondered vaguely.

Her eyes fell on the floor in front of the mini-refrigerator, and her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth. Obviously, someone had tried to wash away blood, and had managed to remove the worst of it, but there was still a large, faint stain. Turning back to Lisa, Jennie tugged the blankets down.

A sob surprised her by breaking from her throat at the sight of her unmarred chest. Both relieved and amazed, she ran the tips of her fingers lightly over the perfect skin there, then she closed her eyes and tried to calm her wildly beating heart. she was alive!

A warm hand closed over hers, and Jennie opened her eyes again. Lisa was awake, and she peered at her and clasped her hand.

"You saved my life," she said solemnly. "Thank you."

Jennie glanced away, her gaze finding the closet and the empty floor in front of it. "The man who attacked you"

"I cleared his mind and sent him home."

She stared at her in horror. "Sent him home? He attacked you."

"I could hardly call the police and try to explain the situation," Lisa pointed out. she shrugged, then added, "Besides, he wasn't well. His mind is wrong."

"Why did he attack you? Was he at the conference? Does he"

"No, he wasn't a conference attendee. He lives here in the city. Apparently, his wife was a big romance fan. When she left him, he wanted someone to blame it on. he decided it was all those books she was reading." she shrugged. "He started reading them for himself, and when he got to mine, he got the idea that I was a vampire. He saw our picture in the paper and knew that I was in town, and he decided that I had taken control of his wife's mind and lured her away from him. He began to believe that if he could just destroy me, her mind would be set free. He believed she would come back to him."

Jennie stared at Lisa, her thoughts racing. she sounded so understanding.

She had felt helpless and useless last night, and had suffered a great sense of loss at the possibility that she might be dead more loss than was appropriate for one of her writers. There was really no use fighting it anymore. Jennie knew her feelings for this woman ran deep. She had thought her brilliant and talented before ever meeting her, had found her surly and rude on arriving at her home, then had seen other sides of her slowly show themselves, like the legs, arms and head of a turtle. She had come to see that the hard shell she showed the world was just that, a shell, a shield meant to protect herself. she was smart and strong, but she was also compassionate and kind. A man had nearly killed her, and yet Lisa found it in her heart to feel sorry for him. She heard the compassion in her voice. It was as soft and open as her expression. her shield seemed to be missing entirely this morning, and she had no idea why. She almost wished it weren't so. Perhaps then she would be able to battle the wealth of feelings welling up within her.

"Jennie?"

Her eyes refocused on her face.

"How is your head?" she asked. "I saw you hit it on the clothing rod before I lost consciousness last night."

"My head is in bad shape," she told her solemnly.

Concern entered her gaze. "It is?" she sat up and reached for her, her fingers running gently over the back of her head. "I took a look last night, but there wasn't much of a bump. I thought" Lisa fell silent when she placed her hand against her chest where the stake had been. The bedding pooled around her waist, leaving endless flesh bare to her view.

She looked fine. Still, Jennie knew she would need to replenish the blood used to repair her body. She would also have to replace the bags of blood the attacker had destroyed. Lisa needed enough to see her through the rest of the conference. It was Saturday morning, six a.m, she saw with a glance at the bedside clock. There was only that day and the next to get through but Lisa had been injured and would need a large infusion. She was willing to offer her her own. Unlike last night, this time it would be a pleasure to give it. she would make sure of that, she knew. Her fingers moved across her chest of their own accord.

Her skin was slightly cool to the touch not the cold flesh of a corpse, but a degree or two cooler than her own. It felt nice. Jennie almost felt as if she were suffering a temperature, but knew her overheated flesh had nothing to do with ill health and everything to do with the naked woman in bed next to her. She was pretty sure she was naked. She had learned that first morning that she slept in the nude, and she vaguely recalled her legs scraping bare skin as she had shifted this morning.

Lisa caught her wayward hand in hers, ending her mental debate as to whether she was naked. Jennie dragged her gaze from her lap where it had drifted. she caught her eyes with her own, held them as she raised her hand to her mouth and pressed a kiss to her palm.

Jennie's breath caught. Her caress caused a tingling in her palm that ran up her arm, eliciting from her a small shiver.

"Does your head hurt very badly?" she asked.

Jennie slowly shook her head. "That's not what I meant by its being in bad shape, Lisa."

"Then, what ?"

Jennie ignored her question and raised her hand to caress her cheek. The clean bandage on her wrist surprised her. "Did you?"

"Yes." she caught her hand and drew it to her mouth. Again she pressed a kiss on her palm just above the edge of the bandage. There was a flicker of anger in her eyes. "Did he do this?"

"No. I did," she admitted. "To help you."

Her gaze followed hers to her chest, and realization dawned on her face. It softened the anger of a moment before.

"Jennie," she began, her voice husky. But she didn't want her gratitude. She hadn't done it wholly for her. Her reasons were much more complex and partially selfish. She had done it for herself. Because she couldn't imagine a world without her in it. She didn't want to, and she didn't want a thank you. She wanted to give her the chance to take the blood she no doubt needed, and she wanted her.

"I want you," she admitted. "You're one of my writers, a vampire in serious need of blood, you nearly died last night, we both could have died, and yet now, this morning, I don't care about any of that. I want to push you back on the bed, crawl on top of you and make love to you."

Lisa stared at Jennie, her mind blanked by her words, filled with the image she painted. she could see her pushing her back, dragging the sheets and blankets aside, shrugging out of the bulky terrycloth robe she wore, then shifting over her and reaching down to pleasure her.

A moment before, what she suggested would have been impossible. her body would not have cooperated. Now, however, she was awake and peering expectantly up from under the blankets. Damn, she thought with mild amazement, there was definitely something to be said for modern, aggressive women.

Clearing her throat, Lisa managed a smile. "I think that idea shows merit," she said.

Oddly, her gruff formal words had the effect of making Jennie burst out laughing. Lisa was trying to decide if she should join her or be affronted when she suddenly sobered, straightened beside her on the bed, and untied her robe. She slipped it off her shoulders. As it pooled around her waist, she said solemnly, "I hope you don't have STD."

Lisa stared at the pale creamy flesh of her body. she had gotten her almost naked just days before in this very room, but she hadn't had the view she had now. Jennie was slender and shapely, her curves generous but not overly so. She had rosy nipples, which topped breasts pointing at her like a pair of binoculars. she wanted to reach out and grasp them as she would binoculars, but rather than look through them, she wanted desperately to lick and suck and

"Hmm?" she asked, as if she’d never heard the word before. Fortunately, her mind cleared enough for her to grasp the meaning: she was concerned about the sexual diseases of the day. "Oh. Not to worry; diseases can't survive in my body."

She smiled one of her rare smiles, pleased to be able to pass along the information. she reached out to run her finger over one of her erect nipples.

She glanced up with a start when the phone in the living room rang, it must be the front desk since she asked for call back to get the breakfast menu for Jennie.

"Uh, just a minute. Just uh" Sweeping the blankets aside, she leapt from the bed and grabbed the bloodstained pants she’d removed last night. She smiled at her an admittedly pained smile. "I just have to er just one minute."

She ran out of the room and into the living room. She paused halfway to the door to the hall when she shouted, "Where are you going? You're naked, Lisa!"

That stopped her.

"Lis?"

"Wait, wait. Just a minute," she finished at last, her mind feverish. she considered dressing, but then an image of Jennie rose in her mind. No, there wasn't time to dress. What if she changed her mind? Had second thoughts? she couldn't risk that. She grabbed the robe from behind her bedroom door

Hurrying to the phone, she snatched it up to answer the call.

"Good morning," a cheerful female voice sang. "Front desk. I believe you would like to know our breakfa"

"Yes," Lisa blurted.

"I see, maam." The cheerfulness went out of the voice. "We have rice, soup, meat, and a full array of side dishes, this breakfast includes grilled short ribs (galbi), spicy seafood salad, bean sprout rice (kongnamul bab), spicy stewed fish, cold cucumber soup (oi naengguk), seasoned kelp, and radish strip kimchi (moo saengchae). Do you like all?"

"Yes!" She replied impatient.

"Which do you like? We have water, tea, milk, coffee or jui"

"Water."

"All right, maam," the voice said dryly. "Your choices are regular, large or extra large."

Lisa stared down at herself. "Large."

"Lis? What are you doing?"

Lisa turned to find Jennie standing naked in the bedroom doorway, her gaze moving nervously between her and the door to Taehyung's room. her gaze swept her from top to toe, and she was grateful that her eyesight hadn't been damaged last night. Neither had her sense of smell. Her sweet, spicy scent was wafting to her, surrounding her with its succulence. She smelled good enough to eat. That thought brought other thoughts to mind: licking every inch of her flesh and

"Lisa?" Jennie was starting to look concerned. "Are you all right? You look odd."

Lisa's mouth went dry at the sight of her.

"Maam?"

Lisa's gaze dropped to back to the phone she was holding. she said into the phone, "Make that extra large."

"Extra large what? Lisa, what are you doing?" Jennie asked. She was starting to sound irritated.

"Just a minute," Lisa barked into the phone. Setting it on the table, she hurried to Jennie's side to catch her by the arms. "I'll be right there. Go back to bed. You have goosebumps." She had them everywhere on the arms her hands were absently caressing, on her breasts which her eyes were caressing.

Shaking her head, Lisa turned Jennie around and pointed her toward the bed. "I'll be right there. I promise."

"But"

Lisa closed the door on her protest and hurried back to the phone. "Hello?"

"Yes, maam." The woman was definitely annoyed at waiting. "Now, what brand do you want? We have VIVA!, wilkins, absolute or summit."

"VIVA!, wilkins, absolute or summit?" Lisa repeated. This was like some sort of test. Dear God, she couldn't think. The scent of Jennie still enveloped her, and her brain had gone all fuzzy. She wondered briefly if she shouldn't have consumed more blood. Perhaps she had lost more than she’d thought, and her blood supply was so low that her body was now having to take blood from elsewhere to support her. If so, it had definitely chosen to remove it from her brain. her thoughts were as muddy as a pigsty after a rainfall.

"Maam?"

"All of them," she said at last. The more the merrier.

"Cold or not?"

"Urgh," Lisa choked into the phone.

"Very good. Cold," the woman sounded like she was really enjoying herself.

Lisa wasn't.

Lisa was sagging against the table in relief when she added, "That should be no more than half an hour. Have a good day, maam."

Lisa was aroused at once. Well, her body was. Her nipples were hard as she roared, "Half an hour?" into the phone.

Her answer was the dial tone.

"Lis?"

She slammed down the phone and turned to find her bedroom door open again. Jennie was once again standing in it. But, she had re-donned her robe. she noted this with horror, her sinking heart telling her that the moment was passing. If she didn't do something soon, she was going to change her mind. Uncertainty was already creeping into her expression. "Maybe we should just give this a pass. You're one of my writers, and it probably isn't very professional to"

Lisa almost groaned aloud. This was exactly what she’d feared might happen. Faced with it now, she did the only thing she could think of. Crossing the room, she caught her in her arms and kissed her. It was no "Good morning, nice to see you" kiss. It was "I want your body hot, sweaty and plastered against mine." Jennie hesitated the barest moment, then much to Lisa's relief gave in with a moan. She melted against her.

She slid her hand in Jennie's robe. Jennie sighed when she squeezed her breast hard. Her moans were enough to urge Lisa to take her in her arms and carry her to the bed. Setting her on her feet beside it, she quickly removed her robe and tossed it aside, then set to work convincing her she hadn't made a mistake on admitting she wanted her.

Her plan she began to worship her body was to drag out the foreplay until her order arrived, she didn't want any interruption. Half an hour shouldn't be any problem at all. It would take that long to make her way across every inch of her skin. She started with her breasts, sweeping her hands up beneath them and catching their bottoms with her thumbs as the rest of her fingers closed around the sides. Then she bent her head and took one perfect nipple into her mouth. she would coax it back to its former glorious state of erection.

Jennie moaned and shuddered as her nipple pebbled in Lisa's mouth. She had begun to think this wasn't a very good idea when Lisa left her side, but now, as she suckled on her breast, drawing its peak into her mouth and pulling her desire back from where it had briefly hidden, she let her doubts drift away. She wanted her. Oh, yes, how she wanted her.

Jennie's hands roamed over her shoulders and down her back, clawed her flesh as she nipped playfully at hers.

Lisa chuckled against her breast and urged her onto the bed. she lay atop her at once, her mouth finding hers and devouring it. Jennie kissed her back with every ounce of her being, her hands sliding into her hair and holding her there as she did. Then she let her hands drift down over her body.

Lisa stiffened against Jennie, her eyes closing with pleasure as her fingers slid to her wet core. Jennie pressed gently before sliding her fingers along its clit.

Ah, the aggressive modern woman, she thought vaguely. Renaissance and Regency women had been much more timid. Not all of them, of course, but the majority had allowed the woman to set the pace and do most of the work. Nother Jennie, however. She grabbed for the gusto, urging her on, and once again Lisa saw that there was something to be said for modern women after all. They were smart, business savvy, sexy as hell and not afraid to go after what they wanted. They were

Horrible, she thought suddenly as she herself into her caress. she had half an hour to kill before the order arrived. she hadn't been with a woman for a while. Several hundred years of sex had rather stolen the novelty of it, and she had grown tired of the bother more than fifty years ago. she’d led a rather asexual life since. However, Jennie had reinvigorated that side of her with a vengeance. And if she continued to touch and caress her the way she was, she was going to lose control like a teenager. Oh, this wasn't good.

Reaching down, Lisa caught her by the wrist and pulled her hand away. she broke their kiss and moved down her body, shifting her pussy out of reach. she was determined to keep her busy and excited until the food arrived.

Jennie moaned with mingled desire and displeasure when Lisa's mouth slid from hers and she began licking and nibbling her way down her body. She had the brief thought that it was a shame she didn't have two mouths so she could continue to kiss her as she ravaged her flesh.

Catching the hand that had stopped hers from exploring, she drew it to her mouth. Grabbing one slender finger, Jennie sucked it into her mouth and nipped. Lisa paused to pay special attention to her breasts.

Her body tingled everywhere, and Jennie shifted restlessly beneath Lisa, clutching her hand and gasping as Lisa's mouth dropped to her belly. The muscles in her stomach contracted and rippled under her onslaught; then they clenched as Lisa moved lower still and urged her legs apart. Oh, this was she hoped she wouldn't bite her there.

The thought, silly as it was, forced a gasping laugh from her lips, but it died as quickly as it was born. What she was doing to her didn't leave breath or thought for such concerns, and moments later she didn't care if she did bite her so long as she didn't stop everything else.

Dear God, she would kill her with pleasure and she would be happy in the dying, she thought dazedly.

Then, losing the capacity to think as her body imploded, she cried out, arching her hips upward and tearing at the bedsheets. She shuddered out of control, grabbing Lisa's shoulders as she shifted. The only thing that would make this better was to have her inside her. She was sure of it. "Please, Lisa," she gasped.

"What is it, sweet?" she asked as she lay between her legs.

"I want you inside me. Please," she begged. When she stiffened and paused, she frowned. "Lis?"

"Er" Much to her dismay, she pulled away from her. "I, er"

"What?" she asked. "I thought"

"Yes, yes. I, er, I just forgot something." she told her quickly. Pushing herself from the bed, she added, "I'll er just be a moment. Stay here."

Then she hurried out of the room, pulling the door closed behind her.