This Text file is old! In a 🏛️Museum, an unsorted archive of (user-)pages. (Saved from Geocities in Oct-2009. The archival story: oocities.org)
--------------------------------------- (To 🚫report any bad content: archivehelp @ gmail.com)
>

ARCHIVIST'S NOTE:  This story contains material of an adult 
nature.


From KerrRaven@aol.com Fri Sep  6 20:37:38 1996 
 
Passions of the Heart 
by Diane C. Shea 
1996 
Nat/LaCroix 
Explicit 
 
This is a Nat/LaCroix story started during my Valentine days.  
Although now a proclaimed Seducer (that little known 
Janette/LaCroix faction), I've found that occasional Valentinism 
is hard to repress.   
 
This probably best fits in sometime after "Francesca".   
 
These characters aren't mine, but they do lend themselves to 
these situations so well that I just couldn't resist using them for 
a little while.   Forgive me JP.   
 
 
Thanks to my very knowledgeable beta reader Cousin Lisa P. 
who wrote the story that inspired me to finally finish this thing. 
:-)   
 
 
Comments, criticisms, and even praise if you are so moved, can 
be sent to KerrRaven@aol.com 

****   
 
 
     Three heavy plastic bags of groceries in tow, Dr. Lambert 
unlocked the door to her apartment and nudged it open with 
her knee.  Once inside, she hurried to put the bags down, too 
caught up in the plastic handles to worry about closing the door.  
After she untangled herself from the bags, she looked up to find 
Sidney sitting on the coffee table, nuzzling Joan of Arc's cross.   
 
     After an in-depth discussion with Nick on the subject of 
crosses, and the vampiric aversion to such objects, her interest in 
the roughly constructed gift of the martyred saint had been 
rekindled.  She knew Nick cherished the object, even though it 
caused him pain.  She loved him for that.  For his faith.  Despite 
all he had seen, and done, he still possessed it.  The cross that 
Joan had given him was one of the foremost symbols of that 
lingering faith.  He had offered to let her keep it for a while,  
knowing that she could enjoy it more, and that it would be in 
good hands.  Nat hadn't factored in the problem of bad paws. 

     "Sidney, no!  Nick didn't let me borrow that just so you could 
destroy it."  She ran across the short space and gingerly 
extracted it from beneath Sidney's paw.  She inspected the cross 
carefully, afraid the cat might have taken out his frustrations on 
the artifact by leaving tooth marks.  It was holy enough as it 
was, it didn't need Sid's ministrations.   
 
     Satisfied that no obvious damage had been done, Natalie 
moved the cross to a slightly safer shelf.  She proceeded to close 
the door and round up the bags for transport to the kitchen.  She 
looked up after gathering the handles together, and saw that a 
man was standing near her fireplace.  Terror and confusion 
shocked through her like electricity.  When she recognized who 
this man was, she added anger to the list of reactions.  LaCroix.  
The height, the hair, the all-black attire.  It was definitely him.   
 
     She was torn between screaming in fear or screaming out an 
accusatory "How dare you come in here!"  Then she looked to 
the cross on the shelf, and decided that actions were far more 
effective than yelling.  Within a heartbeat she had the cross 
clutched in her hands, her only defense against Nick's evil 
master.   
 
     LaCroix had not moved from his position by the mantle.  He 
looked calmly at the spectacle of the brave doctor, defending 
herself against the  demons of the world, protected by the one 
true god.  He found it almost too funny to keep from laughing, 
which would have upset the woman more.  He allowed himself 
only a mirthful smile.   
 
     Natalie was not pleased that her uninvited guest had not 
reacted to her hint to leave.  She gathered her courage and 
stepped closer to LaCroix, the cross between them.  She thought 
she registered the slightest flinch of discomfort from the 
vampire.   
 
     LaCroix decided it was time to explain his presence, before 
the cross really did become a pain.   
 
     "Doctor Lambert, hasn't it occurred to you that I could have 
killed you in the time it took to notice me?  That is not why I am 
here."   
 
     Nat felt tired, angry, and worst of all, helpless.  She was in no 
mood for that kind of crap.   
 
     "Oh, well, since we're being civilized today, why don't you sit 
down?" she said in a parody of invitation, her voice rising and 
threatening to turn hysterical.   
 
     He crossed slowly over to the beige sofa near the center of 
the room, trying to remain unthreatening as he took a seat.  The 
look in his eyes was simply too predatory for her liking.  She 
turned her back on him in disgust, the cross still held in her 
hand. 

     "If you're not here to kill me, which I can hardly believe, then 
what are you here for?" Nat asked with exasperated skepticism.   
 
     LaCroix sighed and glanced briefly away, as if actually hurt 
by her distrustful vehemence.  When his eyes fell on her again 
she was surprised by how human he seemed.  When next he 
spoke, Nat felt the most unsettling desire to trust him.   
 
     "I feared my attempt at a truce would not be taken the right 
way.  You must understand Doctor, my people are a rather 
passionate lot.  When we feel something we must act on that 
feeling.  There are consequences if we do not.  It has been your 
luck to see me at my most..." he searched for a word that would 
suit the circumstances, "obsessive, through Nick's accounts and 
our previous encounters.  A vampire's emotions are very strong, 
very dangerous to those such as yourself.  What you may not 
have taken into account is the fact that you are still alive." 

     This sounded a great deal like a threat, and worked to shake 
Nat out of her trusting haze.   
 
     "So, will you spend the rest of the night trying to blackmail 
me into doing something for you, perhaps in some pathetic 
attempt to hurt Nick, relying on your fangs to quickly break my 
resolve?  Or are you just going to screw the talk and try to 
hypno me into it?  Hey, with any luck you might succeed!"  She 
glared at him as he lounged on her sofa.  "But right now I have a 
cat to feed, and groceries to put in the fridge, and in my little 
mundane mortal world these two things cannot be ignored," she 
finished with breathless annoyance.  After placing the cross 
back on the shelf, she headed towards the kitchen.   
 
     LaCroix was silent for a moment, trying to get over his 
amazement.   She was incredible.  She *was* scared, he could 
hear that from the rate of her heart, but her mind was able to 
inject practicality into the matter. 
  
     "You know," LaCroix spoke as Nat stalked past him, plastic 
bags rustling, "you've made this hard on me.  Fear.  Lust.  
Hatred.  I can deal with those, but it's hard to woo sarcasm!" 

     "Oh don't tell me you've come here for romance, LaCroix."  
She looked around.  "Sidney!  Come on out fuzzhead.  I got that 
expensive Sheba brand you adore.  You'd better come out and 
eat it while you can, before your mistress turns into a late night 
vampire snack." 

     LaCroix smiled slightly at this.  She knew so well what could 
happen to her in this situation.  She knew there was little she 
could do about it, and she was trying to give him whatever guilt 
he would take before she went.  Of course, he was not Nick, and 
guilt was not something he subscribed to.   
 
     "Sid!  Where are you?"  Nat brushed a strand of hair away 
from her face and looked carefully around the area she'd last 
seen the cat.  "LaCroix, if you've caused my cat to have a heart 
attack I *will* break a few chair legs and do my damnedest to 
stake you to a wall!"   
 
     LaCroix refrained from chuckling over that.  He recalled 
Nicholas had a very similar reaction when that ugly hound of 
his had been threatened.  It was best not to anger a pet owner.  
"I don't think that will be necessary," he informed her.  "The 
'fuzzhead', as you call it, is over there, watching." 

     Natalie looked to the place he had gestured toward.  She 
could dimly see the shape of a cat muzzle and the gleam of 
frightened eyes from under the chair.   
 
     "I envy you Sid.  You get to run under the furniture, but I 
have to meet the guests."  She turned back to the task of storing 
the food away.  LaCroix wouldn't go unless he wanted to, and 
she was stuck with awaiting whatever inevitable torment he 
might cause her.  //Perhaps if I'm boring enough, he'll leave,// 
Nat thought uselessly, as she stacked some already thawing 
boxes in the freezer.  
 
     "Do you need any help?" LaCroix called from the living room.   
 
     "You'd actually help me put groceries away?"  Nat stopped 
what she was doing and thought about how insane the night 
was turning out.  A rueful smile crept over her lips and her next 
words were laced with sarcasm.  "Careful, I might just have to 
marry you for that."   
 
     He was next to her by the counter in an instant.  She tried not 
to jump back, but her surprise was evident.  To test his offer she 
handed him  a head of lettuce with the directions, "Bottom of 
the fridge, in the crisper."  He took it from her gently and 
opened the refrigerator door.   
 
     "Here?" he asked unsure. 

     "Well of course, silly.  Where else would a crisper be?  And 
why does this make me think of shopping with Nick at the 
supermarket?  I tell him to go find the milk and he takes 
forever.  Like milk isn't the easiest thing to find or something, 
but he has to turn it into an expedition."  She turned her 
attention back to the matter at hand.  "Oh forget it.  It'll go much 
faster if I do it myself."   
 
     She brushed past him to put the ice cream in the freezer 
before it melted.  The lettuce would have to wait until she 
found a vampire who knew something more about refrigerators 
than just how many bottles of "wine" could fit on the top shelf.  
LaCroix stepped back a bit to let her get by, but before she could 
close the door, and start on a new item, she felt his hand on her 
neck.  The cold coming from the freezer only added to the chill 
she felt wash over her inwardly.  Nat was forced to remember 
just who it was who was in her home.  Tales that Nick had 
shared with her of his past came unbidden, and she couldn't 
help but recall the many deaths he had attributed to LaCroix.   
 
     It was an unashamed and unrepentant killer who stood 
behind her, slowly massaging her neck like a concerned friend, 
or understanding lover.  Nat had no idea what to do, so she 
chose to do nothing.  She didn't stop him, nor encourage him.  
Her eyes betrayed her discomfort at the situation as they darted 
back and forth beneath partly lowered lids.   
 
     LaCroix felt the tenseness of Natalie's whole being.  He knew 
exactly what she was feeling.  He had caused it to occur in so 
many others, including Nicholas.  An uncomfortable warring of 
fear, loathing, and desire.  It was the simplest of cruelties, and 
one of the most enjoyable.  It was also not his goal, but old 
habits were hard to break.   

     He had not lied to her in the Azure.  He had not needed to.  
She was  exquisite.  Her personality was so rare in a woman, and 
he loved her strength.  That same strength would no doubt clash 
with his own dominant attitude, but the world would be bland 
without debate.   
 
     He shut the freezer door and slowly guided Natalie away 
from the kitchen.  It was a delicate operation to keep her from 
turning on him in accusation.  He didn't want to have to force 
her.  That would not do at all. 
   
     "I want to do for you what *he* will not," LaCroix spoke in 
velvet tones.   
 
     Natalie tensed at his words, feeling more than a little 
awkward.  She wondered just what her role in this would be.  
She was becoming a little turned on despite her previous 
feelings toward him.  //A little physical contact and you just 
fall apart, don't you Miss Lambert?// Nat chided herself.  She 
had never before appreciated LaCroix in this way.  Previously, 
had she felt any sexual desire for him it would have turned 
bitter, since all she really wanted was Nick.  Now, she was 
beginning to see some unique qualities in LaCroix that Nick 
lacked.  Complete confidence was one.  Total control being 
another.  Plus, he was compelling to look at, she finally 
admitted, and her anticipation was mounting.  What would 
those lips feel like on her skin?  But still, there was a history of 
hatred between them, and she could not dislodge it so easily 
from her mind.   

     "I love Nick."  She spoke it like a challenge.   
 
     "I know," his words were without malice.  "And you have 
never understood that I love Nicholas also."   
 
     "How can you, when you hurt him so much?"  She faced 
away from him still, her eyes fixed on a picture across the room.   
 
     LaCroix stroked her hair but responded with unsympathetic 
logic.  "The idea that love is kind is a very recent concept, 
another product of this upstart twentieth century.  Before, love 
meant doing what was best for someone, regardless of whether 
it hurt them or not.  Pain is something you will get over."   
 
     "Is that so!?" Nat turned to face him, nearly shouting.  "Have 
you gotten over your own pain, LaCroix?  Did you ever forgive 
Nick for doing the right thing all those years ago?"  She asked 
the question without thinking about all she had revealed with 
its utterance.  She found she didn't care if he knew.   
 
     LaCroix was a little surprised to hear this from her, but then 
realized he should have expected it.   
 
     "It seems you know more about me than I do about you.  
That's an unpleasant position for a two thousand year old 
immortal to be in."   
 
     "Two thousand?  Aren't you rounding things up a bit?  
You've got at least a mortal lifetime to go before you reach that 
goal.  And you didn't answer my question," Nat accused.   
 
     "And I don't think I will.  There is something to be said for 
being the one with the fangs."  He smiled slightly, a blend of 
cruelty and good humor.   
 
     Nat frowned.  She hated it when people avoided questions.  
Even worse, when they flat out refused to answer.   
 
     "I did not come here to discuss Nicholas or myself," LaCroix 
struggled to keep the sharpness out of his voice.  His next words 
were balanced perfectly between emotion and obligation.  "I 
came here for you."   
 
     "For me?"  Nat didn't want to look him in the eyes.  "Why 
does that worry me for some reason?"   
 
     He answered her half serious question with an equally half 
serious answer.  "Because you are so unused to getting the 
attention you deserve." 
   
     "And why have you decided this is Satisfy Nat Day?" she 
asked suspiciously.     
 
     "The reason does not matter," LaCroix stated a little 
forcefully.  "You simply have too little self-confidence." 
 
    "Oh please.  You sound like a psychiatrist.  I hope you don't 
expect payment for this session."   
 
     "My dear Natalie, it would be more than you could afford."  
He looked into her eyes intently, his seriousness marred only by 
the hint of a smile on his lips.   
 
     Nat studied that small bit of levity on the otherwise chiseled 
features.  Again she felt a strange sensation of wanting to like 
the man that was behind the killer.  In some odd way she felt 
she might understand the way LaCroix thought better than she 
could Nick.  But she had only known him for a short time, so 
that was probably an illusion.  Still, there was that damn feeling.   
 
     Just as she was beginning to recognize her feelings, LaCroix 
disappeared from her sight.  She gasped when she felt his hand 
on her right shoulder, the fingers of his other hand touched the 
pulse on the left side of her neck.  He brushed her hair aside and 
she froze.  A fleeting wish that she could have the cross beside 
her ran through her mind.  When she felt the tip of his tongue 
caressing the back of her ear, she simultaneously shivered and 
relaxed.  His hand was gentle as it slid from her right shoulder, 
down her arm, and to her waist.  
 
    LaCroix indulged in the sound of her heartbeat, let himself 
imagine the taste of her, but never lost himself in the bloodlust.  
 
     Nat let him do as he pleased.  On an impulse, perhaps 
generated from some irrational central processing unit of her 
sex drive, she reached behind her with her left hand and 
brought his other arm around to encircle her body.  That done, 
she placed her hands over his, and continued to enjoy the 
sensations.   
 
     LaCroix was quite pleased at her initiative.  Things were 
ready to progress.  He undid the top buttons of her blouse as he 
sucked delicately on her ear, an action made all the more simple 
through experience.  Natalie, for her part, undid the bottom 
buttons, and in a moment the blouse was open.   
 
     LaCroix slid the garment over her shoulders and down her 
arms.  Once free, he draped it across the back of a chair to his 
right, then held Natalie close to him once again.  His hands 
brushed over the silken material of her bra, and he closed his 
eyes momentarily to enjoy a heightened sense of touch.   
 
     Nat caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror near the 
door.   She saw herself enveloped by a near stranger, one so 
sensual he was impossible to turn down.  She felt an 
overwhelming rush of emotions, guilt being one of the chief 
culprits.  She thought of Nick.  She was reminded that she'd had 
her own vampire for a long time.  She'd had what should have 
been a woman's typical fantasy of passionate love and danger, 
pleasure beyond compare.  But that just didn't happen with 
Nick.  Nick had his moments, but unfortunately, that's all they 
were, moments.  And sometimes, when she was just as horny as 
the rest of the world, Nick couldn't do a darn thing about it.  But 
she did love Nick.  She couldn't deny that.  No matter how hard 
she tried.  She hoped LaCroix understood that.   
 
     "I can't forgive you," she said simply.   
 
     "I don't need you to," he replied just as calmly.   
 
     Since it seemed that the moral issues were out of the way, 
she slowly unzipped her black skirt and worked it down her 
legs, gracefully stepping out of it when it reached the floor.  She 
took the time to drape it across a chair before looking at him.  
He wasn't the only one who knew how to be sensuous, and she 
decided that it wouldn't hurt to look unhurried.  She couldn't 
help but wonder if she was impressing him at all.  Nat didn't 
worry about it too much, figuring that in nearly two thousand 
years he had probably seen and taken some of the more 
beautiful women of the world.  Instead of feeling daunted, it 
helped her ego to know he might be including her with these 
others.  
 
     Before she could begin to undo the catch on her bra he was 
in front of her, in a blur of motion that made her dizzy.   
 
     "Impatient are you?" she asked cautiously.  It was rather fun 
to tease one such as him, Nat discovered.  It was a little like 
courting death, which she supposed she was. 

     There was a small click and a flash of metal before her eyes.  
She barely registered the switch blade in his hand before he put 
it to use along her thighs, deftly cutting the silk and lace of her 
underwear at her hips.  Her heart skipped a beat, which she was 
sure he picked up on, before she realized that she hadn't been 
cut in any way.  As long as her Victoria's Secrets were the only 
things sacrificed to the knife.
 
     "There are still a few good uses for a classic such as this," 
LaCroi=x explained, as he carefully brought the blade between 
her breasts and severed the silk bra in half. 
 
     She had seen enough women torn apart by weapons like that, 
yet Nat knew she was safe from that fate with him.  It was not 
in that way that he would kill her.  She was amazed by the 
blend of Old World and New that she saw within him.  At once 
he reminded her of a modern rapist and a seventeenth century 
gentleman.  
 
     As the mutilated undergarments fell to the floor, Natalie 
stood naked before him.  Together they made a classic image of 
an ivory skinned maiden and her darkly clad lover.  She looked 
into his eyes.  They were a safe, calm blue.  A blue that belied a 
malevolent heart. 

     LaCroix was slightly moved by the sight of this woman.  Her 
amazingly pleasant curves had more than a subtle effect on his 
jaded heart.  He would have loved to have taken her then.  
Taken her and kept her for an eternity.  But he could not make 
that choice for her.  And that was exactly why he wouldn't 
allow himself the pleasure of her blood, or the feel of her hot 
body embracing him intimately.  He knew the limit of his 
control.

     Nat, on the other hand, did not.  As nicely as his garments 
suited his figure, she would have rather had them off.  She 
wanted the fun of stroking some sensitive vampire flesh.   

     "And are you not going to submit to me in turn?" Nat asked 
coyly. 
 
     LaCroix was pleased to see her so receptive to the idea, but 
was still forced to decline. 

     "Natalie, you should only trust a chained lion so far.  There 
may be a weak link in an otherwise iron restraint," LaCroix 
rationalized. 

     "Oh, you sound so much like Nick.  Taking all the 
spontaneity out of  the moment," Nat said, half joking.   

     "Really?" LaCroix asked with interest.  "I would love to have 
heard words similar to mine coming from my Nicholas.  We are 
more alike than he wants to admit.  As far as the ultimate 
penetration," he continued, and Nat nearly shivered at the 
words, "it's overrated.  I can give you twice the pleasure with 
half the danger.  I know myself well enough to realize I couldn't 
stop the need to kill at that point. 

     "I only hope that you'll finish what you start, unlike your 
Nicholas," Nat lightly accused. 
 
     "Rest assured, my dear Doctor," LaCroix's voice purred 
dangerously, "I always finish what I start.  And now, I think it's 
time we began." 

     Without warning he swept Nat into his arms and carried her 
over to the sofa.  She was not surprised by his strength. 
 
     "Aren't I a bit heavy?" she asked, knowing the answer, but 
wanting to hear it anyway. 

     "We are a little more hearty than you give us credit for, 
Doctor.  To me, you are nearly weightless." 

     "Weightless eh?  You really do know how to win a girl's 
heart." 

     She was surprised when her back came to rest on the back of 
the sofa  instead of the cushions.  She had certainly never done 
it on the back of a sofa.  She had no idea that vampires could be 
kinky.  Without warning, visions of LaCroix and herself, in a 
public phone booth on a cold winter night, sprang to mind.  She 
struggled to keep from giggling.  Nick was never kinky, at least 
not with her.  She began to wonder if Nick was really much like 
his master in that way, and only suppressing those urges along 
with his other primal feelings. 

     Unfortunately, this reminded her that LaCroix did not 
suppress anything if he didn't feel like it.  Her life was literally 
in his hands, and although he seemed to be willing to restrain 
his vampiric violence, she could do nothing to stop him from 
destroying her if he chose.  In some ways this thought was 
liberating.  Whatever happened would not be her fault.  She 
could refuse him or encourage him, and either way he would do 
as he pleased.  
 
     He supported her body with strong arms while she was 
balanced on the narrow space.  It forced her to trust him not to 
let her fall as he leaned over to kiss the place between her 
breasts.  For a moment Nat had a flashback to gymnastics class 
long ago when she used to practice on the beam.  Her teacher 
had done something very similar, but she had never been 
naked, and he had never caressed her thighs.  She brought her 
legs up, knees bent, toes curling over the edge of the furniture, 
and placed her hands on LaCroix's shoulders.  She slowly 
brought one hand up, trailed it along the edge of his collar, and 
then let it lightly brush against the back of his neck.  The touch 
turned braver as she used her thumb and middle finger to trace 
along the line of the trapezius towards the base of his skull, her 
fingers grazing over the short hairs.  It surprised her a little 
when LaCroix didn't pull away as Nick often did.  He wasn't 
exactly paying attention to what she was doing.  That suited her 
fine.  She arched involuntarily as his mouth encountered her 
nipple.  Nat closed her eyes and lost herself in the suckling 
sensation.  Running her fingers through his close-cropped hair, 
she moaned in pure passion.  
 
     LaCroix glanced up at her briefly, pleased that she was 
enjoying herself.  He moved to the other nipple and sucked it to 
its peak of rigidity.  Now that she was receptive to his style it 
didn't take long to arouse her to an intimate wetness.  

     She felt his hand go between her legs, and as his finger 
dipped gently into her moist being, she was struck by how 
strange the whole situation had become.  LaCroix was a master 
vampire.  Nearly two thousand years of power behind every 
light caress.  He was what Nick fought against, what she had to 
fight against to win Nick over.  And now he was pleasuring her, 
and asking nothing in return.  Nat could only imagine what the 
catch would be.  But at that moment she could not have cared 
less.  Her reason was swiftly giving way to her lust.  A lust that 
had not been satisfied in too long a time.  If LaCroix could give 
her what Nick wouldn't... so be it. 
 
     The feeling of being stroked from within sent all her body to 
tingling, and LaCroix added another finger to the task.  His 
thumb worked over her clitoris as he licked along her 
collarbone, and she was soon moving smoothly underneath 
him.  He held onto her tightly, not letting up.  His tongue traced 
back along her clavicle to the hollow of her throat where he felt 
the vibrations of her deepest sounds of desire. 
 
     Nat felt the subtle pulsing within her growing more intense 
and she bared her teeth in anticipation.  She could feel 
everything around her; the sofa's soft but unyielding upholstery, 
the gentle breeze produced by the ceiling fan, and most 
important, the triple places of luscious contact with LaCroix.  It 
was almost too much as she tensed up in ecstasy, digging her 
nails into his shoulder and neck.   
 
     She was on the edge, and suddenly... there was nothing.  He 
had retreated from within her, and the only sensation she felt 
was the building of her soon to be wasted orgasm if he didn't 
continue.  She looked at him desperately, with the beginnings of 
deep hatred if he denied her release.
 
     LaCroix smiled, amused by her ferocious need.  He slowly 
gathered her in his arms, lifted her off the back of the sofa, and 
gently deposited her on the cushions.  She looked mad enough 
to bite, and while the idea of role reversal intrigued him to some 
extent, he thought better of it.  Instead he knelt down in front of 
her, spread her legs wide, and leaned into her throbbing 
mound. 

     She watched him in terrified rapture as his ice-blue eyes 
yellowed, and his fangs slid out, realizing that this was what she 
had wanted from Nick.  She was primed to explode when his 
tongue lightly touched the bottom of her slit.  When it traced 
upwards between her curving lips she felt herself falling into a 
decadent void, only to be brought back by an eruption of nerve 
endings as LaCroix used the side of a very sharp canine tooth to 
carefully brush her clitoris.  It was the idea of who was doing it, 
and how, as much as the feeling of it being done, that brought 
her to an unparalleled climax.  She shuddered uncontrollably, 
and LaCroix pinned her down so her jarring wouldn't cause him 
to hurt her while he finished taking her to new levels of 
pleasure.  Shutting her eyes, she writhed exquisitely under his 
weight, and growled as she released her feelings of frustration.  
She felt she was finally getting even with Nick for all those 
lapses into his old nature.  What better way to repay him for all 
the times he'd groaned and balked at taking one of her potential 
cures than to have a sexual fling with his master and live?  That 
would teach him that beautiful words and flowers weren't 
everything to a woman. 
 
     She was smiling as the convulsions began to subside and she 
could catch her breath.  She opened her eyes to find LaCroix 
gone.  It was a shock.  She looked frantically around the room 
and found him seated at her dinette.  He looked utterly calm, as 
though he'd had nothing to do with her still tingling nerves.  
 
     Without saying a word she crossed the room and disappeared 
into the bedroom.  LaCroix waited patiently, using the time to 
study a photo of Nick on the wall.  He wondered how long it 
would take before Nicholas found out about their little 
escapade.  It would be wonderfully entertaining to watch his 
reaction. 
 
     When Nat reappeared she wore a silky medium length robe, 
belted at the waist.  
 
     "You really didn't hurt me," she said with some wonder.  
 
     LaCroix did not seem surprised by the statement.  "As I said I 
wouldn't.  Do you feel this is a let down in some way?" his smile 
turned blatantly wicked.  "Is that darker part of yourself 
surfacing to seek its own pleasure?"  

     "My darker part has been rejoicing all night!"  Nat felt that 
had to be clarified.  She wasn't always like that.  "It's not for 
myself that I mention it, but for you." 

     "Pour moi.  Pourquoi?" he asked as he leaned back in the 
chair. 
 
     "Uh, why, because as strange as this may sound, I wish you 
could have felt the same ecstasy that I did," her expression 
turned sultry in remembrance, "and I know that can only be 
achieved through the taking of blood." 

     "I rather agree," LaCroix spoke truthfully, "but tonight was 
not for my pleasure.  There will be other encounters between us.  
In time I will be repaid for tonight."  He stood, his next words 
chosen with care, "I know you now, enough to feel your desires 
were not satisfied fully.  Consider this carefully.  You can 
become my child.  You would be a sister to Nick, a lover 
through endless nights.  I would do this for the betterment of us 
all, Natalie.  You offer the stability that our family has always 
needed.  Understand there have been very few I've ever 
considered making part of my life.  I see potential in you that I 
do not want wasted by death."  
 
     Nat turned away from him, her mind contemplating things 
at once enticing, and painful.   

     LaCroix's voice became a seductive whisper, "Someday, you 
will come to me, wanting more than just my touch."  Before she 
could think he stood behind her again.  This time his teeth 
grazed her neck.  He was slowly biting, griping her throat in his 
jaws.  She gasped at his suddenness, fearing her own death, then 
realized the twin pinpricks of pain were absent from the bite.  
His fangs were still retracted.  She could feel her pulse racing 
under the pressure.  He lingered like that for a moment, then let 
go and raised his mouth to her ear. 

     "I do not have eternity to await your decision, Doctor.  Your 
beauty and life will fade all too quickly before my eyes.  One 
word," he brushed her cheek with his lips, "and you are mine.  
You must choose." 
 
     "I'll...I'll let you know."  Her voice quavered as she spoke. 
 
     He turned her head so their gazes met, and kissed her mouth 
with restrained intensity.  The feeling of strangeness she'd felt 
before climaxed in this act.  She kept herself from both enjoying 
it too much, or pulling away, and soon it was over.  She knew 
she could have it again if that was her wish, but she needed 
time to think.  Sidney meowed from somewhere nearby. 

     "I will leave you to your thoughts," LaCroix looked past Nat 
to where Sid was sitting on the counter, meowing his heart out, 
"and your cat." 

     Nat looked around to see that Sidney had overcome his fear 
enough to be pissed at the lack of attention.  When she looked 
back LaCroix was gone.   

     Nat walked over to the cat and received an affectionate head-
butt from the furry creature.  "Well Sidney, whether cat, 
vampire, or mortal, you men are all alike.  Love em, and leave 
em wanting more."  She gave Sid a distracted pat.  "We'll see, 
LaCroix.  We shall just see." 

 
**fin** 

Text file Source (historic): geocities.com/zoewolfson/val

geocities.com/zoewolfson

(to report bad content: archivehelp @ gmail)