What Lies Beneath

My head was a fog as something rough was put around my neck. I could hear a voice, but the words were like vibrations, too intense to be heard. Nothing was touching me. I was afraid. So afraid. But he was coming for me. He wouldn't let me die...

I was stood atop something sharp and small as awareness was coming back to me. The room was so dark. My hands were tied, and my neck was too tight. My mouth was gagged.

"Careful now," Knox smiled at me, grabbing a book. "You fall, and you're gone before the fun begins."

I balanced as best I could. My boys found me so quickly, but my head was a mess, light and dizzy, and I couldn't balance much longer. They would get me down. They wouldn't let me die.

They looked so scared when they saw me. My brother and my boyfriend, so lost. They needed to hurry, because I couldn't hold on...

Knox went to the door. He was smiling so wide. He would leave, and there would be a fight. We'd make it. We always did.

The door slammed, and my feet wobbled. I tried to regain my balance as-

****

I woke with a gasp as my eyes ripped open. I sat up, and my hands went to my neck. No rope. It was gone. My head didn't even hurt anymore. Nothing hurt. Not only that, but it all felt like... more.

"Mila!" My brother yelled, wrapping his arms around me and squeezing. I was too shocked to do much other than look around. Jaxon was gasping like he'd forgotten to breathe. It sounded painful. Like he was nearly hyperventilating.

I saw where we were. Where I was. And then I saw Landon. He was looking at me as if I was a ghost. But I was solid. Jaxon was holding me.

Then he let go and looked at Landon. "I suppose you want a turn-"

He wasn't finished talking before I launched away from him and at Landon. I knocked him to the floor on his back as I landed on his chest. Mine was pressed against his, and I held myself slightly up by my hands. My hair fell to his side. "Hello, darlin'." I smiled.

His smile back was weak. "Took you long enough."

I kissed him hard enough to get a noise out of him. And one out of my brother...

"Oh look..." Jaxon sighed. "...hay and dirt. I guess I'll go look at that while a dead man gets my baby sister pregnant in a fucking barn..." His voice was getting quieter the farther away he went.

Back to business. I forced my tongue in Landon's mouth when I got impatient at the lack thereof. I pushed my body against his as a way of compensating for how little I could do to him with my brother a hundred feet away. Then I noticed something.

I popped up, sitting on Landon and then brushing my hair out of my face. "Why aren't you cold?" I put my hand on my chest, and I couldn't feel my heartbeat.

Landon sat up, taking my hands and holding them. "Don't be afraid, okay?" He pressed my palm to my chest.

I waited a few seconds. "I don't get it. I don't feel anything." He didn't say anything. And then he didn't need to. "Am I," I whispered, "am I a vampire?"

I didn't really need to ask. I didn't feel the same as I had before. I knew it was deep into the night, but I could see just fine. I could hear my brother sighing, even though I knew that he was far from us. I knocked Landon over without effort. I thought I remembered dying. Not the actual death, but the falling part.

"It's okay, baby." Landon hugged me and spoke in my ear. "I know everything is different now, but you'll get used to it."

I nodded when he pulled away. Then I got a better look at him. He was covered in blood, but there wasn't a scratch on him. "What happened?"

He rubbed my hips. Even with the concern for me, he looked blissful. Oh god, he'd seen me die. "Knox tried to kill us. It didn't work."

I left it alone after that. I could get the story from Jax later if I needed to. Landon seemed a little too out of it.

"Is Knox dead?"

"No. But he will be."

Landon stood us up, and he insisted on carrying me. He called Jaxon over. "We need to get her somewhere. She should rest."

"Should she get some blood?"

That sounded strange. I needed blood now to survive. I didn't like the idea of feeding off strangers like Landon had for his entire life. I didn't have much choice, I guessed. "Yes," Landon said as we started walking.

Jaxon drove us to a hotel that was about an hour out. The boys changed their shirts before we went in, because they looked like they were serial killers.

Jaxon got us the rooms. He handed Landon and me each a key and looked around the empty lobby. "These damn places are gonna creep me out forever."

Landon didn't comment. "I need to have a talk with your sister about a few things. Do you mind if I borrow her?"

I thought he'd protest, but he just nodded. "Yeah, man. Take all the time you need." He patted Landon's arm and kissed my cheek before he handed me my bag off and left us.

Now I was nervous. A talk never sounded good. Surly we wouldn't talk about him leaving on the night I died. He'd give me a day. Right?

He took my hand and led me up to his room. Then he took my things and set them aside. I had left my shoes in the last room we'd been in, so I was stuck with the backups in my bag. I only thought about it because Landon took his shoes off before he picked me up and set me on the dresser.

"Is this gonna be a bad talk?" I asked.

His hands were on either side of me. "That depends on you."

I sighed. "You never actually told me why you came back. We were kind of interrupted."

"We were, but first, you need blood. Mine won't do much for you, since I'm a vampire. But it can help enough."

I blinked. "Our Link is dead," I said miserably.

He nodded. "It is. I can't feel you anymore."

"I don't like that. I really, really don't like that."

"I don't like that either. But you should drink. Just focus on feeding, and the rest is easy."

He leaned forward, and I readied myself for what would be the start of the most unpleasant aspect of this new life. My fangs came out with ease. The hardest part was hurting Landon. He didn't flinch as my fangs bit into him.

My mouth filled with blood, and the taste was nothing like I thought it would be. It wasn't metallic. It was almost sweet in a way. It was nearly enjoyable.

When I was done, I ran my tongue over the holes, like Landon always did. And it worked. He stopped bleeding.

"You feel better?" he asked.

I nodded. "A little. Should we talk now?"

He smiled. "Yeah. It's about why I came back to find you." He waited a few seconds, and I couldn't fathom why. It was agony. "I thought that maybe... I should stick around for a while."

If my heart could beat, it would be racing. "How long?"

He looked down, eyes on my lap as he took my hands. "As long as you'll have me."

I pulled his face down to mine and kissed him, because I didn't know how else to show him how much I liked that idea. I felt him smile against me as he picked me up.

He was holding on to me as we moved. I said, "So, um, are you saying that we're gonna be... together? Like, really together?"

Landon sat me on the edge of the bed and knelt on the floor, taking my hands. "Mila, do you really believe we can be anything other than together?"

I smiled. "So, I guess you're not too old to be someone's boyfriend."

His smile was less pleased than mine. "I'm still not your boyfriend. I'm your mate."

That word again. "You're an old vampire, so I get that you use that phrase. But we're in the twenty-first century. I can't be introducing you as my mate. It'll sound weird." "That's fine, since you're essentially my wife now, I'll be referring to you as such."

I felt a phantom flutter in my chest. "Um, huh... interesting. But we're not married."

He shrugged. "We'll never exist legally, since we're both dead. You were never official to begin with. And a ceremony is only for show without the paperwork. Neither really mean anything. You're more than a wife to me now. A mate is forever in a way that a spouse isn't always. So... deal with it. I'm an old-fashioned man, and I want you to be my wife."

I laughed. "Aggressive, I kind of like it." It made sense that he would be adamant about that kind of thing. Mercy and her mate were never married, and I knew that upset him. He believed that they should have had every right the rest of the world had. "Okay then," I agreed. "I'm eighteen, and I have a sort of husband. That'll take some getting used to.'

He looked down again. "We might not be able to make it official, but there's something else we can do. Something to reflect the permanence of this."

"Like finally have sex? I think that would do it." I was joking. Mostly. Not really at all, actually.

He smiled again. "I actually meant something else."

I understood then. "Oh. Are you sure?" I asked nervously. "What if you don't want me forever?"

He rubbed my hands as he looked up at me. "I'm an old man, darlin'. My mind isn't changing. Not now. Not with you. But you're young. I'd understand if you didn't want to Link again."

It wasn't the smart thing to do. I knew that. But that didn't make me want to do it any less. He was it for me. He was what I wanted in ten years. Fifty. A thousand. So I just leaned down and kissed him.

He pulled me onto my knees in front of him. When his fangs sank into my neck, it felt like home. It took only a second, but his hands grabbed my hips, and I felt the change with him. It was like something in me that was growing. I could feel... him. That was the best way to explain it. I could feel the little hums of his body, everything ticking and flowing. I felt that he was well, and in front of me. And mine.

He pressed our foreheads together when it was over. "Are you okay?"

I bent down and kissed him as my answer.

"Good," he said, sounding pleased. His hands tightened on me as he lifted me up and set me back on the edge of the bed. I waited for him to move next to me, but he stayed where he was. "Lie down," he told me in a very specific voice. I waited for a blush that never came. I was sad for only a moment. It went away when Landon put his lips against my knee and started moving up. Ah, I think I knew what was about to happen. Yay!

After I lay back, Landon slipped his hands under my dress, pulling my underwear down as I lifted up. Once they were on the floor, he lifted his head up just enough so I could see him smiling like the devil. Then his head disappeared under my dress as he yanked me to him by the hips, making me squeak in shock.

Since I couldn't see him, I was going by touch alone. I felt his lips skimming across my skin, and he stopped to nip at me. When I giggled, he bit harder. He pulled my dress further up as his tongue danced along my left hipbone. I could kill him for teasing me like this.

I assumed he got the hint, because his tongue left my hipbone and started dragging downward. Landon pushed my legs further apart while he planted kisses along his way to his destination.

He felt warm against me and faintly, I could hear his heart beating. His movements were torturously slow, and I couldn't imagine why. His hand was drifting up my thigh, and I started losing control of my hips. I was moving against him, and his hand held my leg down. I made a sound that embarrassed me, and I covered my mouth with my hands just before I did it again.

Landon got on top of me. His smile was small, but there was such light in his eyes. This was him happy, and I'd never really seen that before.

"I love you," I told him.

This time he didn't hightail it outta the room. He just kissed me and said, "I love you too."

As we kissed, my hands found the buttons on his shirt. I started undoing them as quickly as I could. Landon seemed as patient as could be, while I was just dying under him.

I managed to get the buttons all undone, and Landon helped me get his whole shirt off. He tossed it on the floor and went for the zipper of my dress. Soon, that and my bra were on the floor.

Now I was starting to get nervous. This was real, and I was scared. But every warm touch from Landon made me feel better.

He knocked my legs apart with his knee and pressed his palm between my thighs. He watched me as I arched up and pushed against him. Then I decided that I very much needed the rest of his clothes off.

He didn't move until I came, but once he did, I took advantage. I shoved him onto his back and perched atop him. "You better not leave this time," I said as serious as I could.

He smiled at me as I started undoing his zipper. "There is nothing that can get me to leave this room right now."

"Good." I started pulling his pants off him and all but threw them across the room. Boxer-briefs too.

I was absolutely petrified for the next part, but I wanted to do it. Landon didn't catch on, literally, until it was happening. A groan came from him that was very pleasing to hear. Though his drought gets more credit than my talents. I didn't know how long it had been for him, but he was almost loud when he was enjoying himself. I found it absolutely adorable.

Once he was done, I lay back next to him, half sure we were done for the night. We seemed to have a habit of going far and never actually sealing the deal. If we were indeed done, at least we both had a good time. And I was sure the hotel staff was about to call the room to ask us to keep it down.

Landon rolled on top of me and kissed me, pulling my legs around him. His other hand started at my hip and trailed up my torso. His thumb brushed a scar, and I tried not to think about it. That got harder when he stopped kissing my lips to kiss the scar instead. It was sweet, but it made me think about how I would have it for eternity. After he kissed the scar, he moved just a touch lower.

He looked at me, just watching me, with pure love in his eyes.

I wasn't very patient. "Are you going to do something or what?"

He had a mischievous grin on his face. "What do you mean?"

"Do something."

Landon lowered his head down and started nipping at my skin. Such a devil, he was.

"It's rude to tease," I pointed out.

"Am I teasing?" he asked before moving to the center of my breast. I felt teeth that weren't quite fangs.

My eyebrow went up. "You better take care of the problem you started, or I'll do it myself."

He moved to the side just a little, giving me room. "Go for it."

Damn, he was calling my bluff. Well, might as well go for it.

He watched me as my hand moved down my stomach. I was fairly certain he wasn't going to make me take care of it myself, but he always kept me off balance. His expression changed from one of challenge to one that seemed almost entranced. My hand didn't even reach its destination before he got back on top of me, more eager than before.

His warmth was wonderful, and I wondered if my coldness stood out to him. He covered my mouth with his again, letting his hand wander along my side. I couldn't breathe through my mouth during the kiss, but inhaled quickly through my nose when I was hit with a little bolt of shock. Landon's hand dragged over my breast, his palm scraping against the hard tip. He laughed against me when I bit his lip. All my worry about my cold body left me when I realized his happiness. He seemed to be enjoying himself, unless what was pressed against my thigh was lying to me. Somehow I doubted that.

Landon didn't move away until I made a satisfied sound, and then he smiled. "Tell me," he said, his voice deeper than normal.

I smiled back, almost coy. "What would you like me to tell you?"

He bumped against me, roughly and carefully at the same time. All it did was cause perfect friction and a sudden need to wrap myself around him.

All right, I suppose I should play along. He liked feeling wanted, and I understood that. Being alone so long had done horrible things to him that I needed to soothe when I could.

I smiled again, wrapping my body around him. "I want you."

"How?" he asked in my ear. He nibbled on my earlobe before he moved on to kissing my throat.

Oh God. How do I not sound stupid right now? I wasn't sure it was possible at all. There was what he needed, and what he wanted on the surface. Well, I didn't feel all that confident in my abilities to say something sexy, but I knew how to reach his soul.

I brushed his cheek with my fingertips to get his attention, and then I kissed him, only for a second. "I just want you. All of you."

He looked pleasantly satisfied with that. I had eternity to work my way up to the dirty stuff, but for now I was happy with what I gave him.

He told me he loved me again, and I responded in kind. Landon slowly and carefully pushed himself inside of me. There was pain, but I didn't hate it. At all. My breath hitched at the sudden pressure, and he was a little out of breath too. He laughed once, and it was breathy, like he couldn't truly believe this was happening.

When he started pumping, he was still careful. Like he thought he would break me if he went faster. I was a lot more durable now that I was a vampire. I wanted to find out just how much.

There was this look in his eyes that screamed wickedness, and he began to test my patience. Landon's eyes wouldn't look away from mine as he began drawing himself out of me so slowly that it made me shiver in all this coldness coursing through my body. He smiled before he thrust hard into me, making me gasp again. My nails bit harshly into his skin, and he did it again.

Both of my legs were around him, and I did all I could to move my hips faster, hoping he would go with it. It took a moment, but he did. We were moving in sync, and the pace was dragging new sounds out of me. The satisfaction on Landon's face was comforting, so I knew he was enjoying himself.

Fast was good, but I wanted something a little more. It was hard trying to talk, but I found a way. "Landon." I said his name in a pant.

He slowed down. "Am I hurting you?"

Ha. I shook my head. Then I turned him onto his back, pulling off the maneuver without separating our bodies. He looked surprised, but that turned to something else when I set my hands on his shoulders and started rocking against him. His nails bit into my hips, and I went faster.

This position was working much better for me. Landon had appeared a bit distracted, worried that he was hurting me. He no longer seemed concerned as I rode him. There was eagerness and greed in his eyes.

My breathing stopped just before Landon groaned and grabbed me tighter. At that point, I was too out of it to know just how loud I was. But when I came back down, Landon was grinning at me.

I lay down, and Landon and I faced each other, getting our breath back.

"That was fun." I smiled.

He nodded. "Yeah. No wonder so many people do it."

I laughed. "Worth getting kicked out of here for a noise complaint."

He looked over at the phone for a second. "Sorry about that."

"S'okay." I smiled again. "I imagine now that you'll be getting it on the regular, it'll get less intense."

He half shrugged. "Might take a while. Three-hundred-and-eighty years is a long time."

My eyes widened. "What?"

His brow furrowed. "What what? Did I say something?"

"Um, yeah. Like something about you not having sex for how long?"

He waited. "A while. So?"

All I could do was blink. "You haven't had sex since you were human? I took your vampire virginity, and you didn't tell me first?!"

He just laughed at me. "Why does it matter? Would you have been gentle?"

Mocking me... rude. "No, I wouldn't have. I would have probably been rougher. How the fuck do you even remember how to do all the stuff you did?"

Way too casually he said, "There's nothing to remember."

I blinked again. "Sweetheart, are you telling me all the foreplay stuff we did, now and before, was the only foreplay you've ever had?"

"Yeah."

I sat up, and my back was against the backboard as I stared at the wall, taking that in. I guess that explained why he enjoyed what I'd done so much. "When you were joking that first time we were in the car together, and you said you'd had sex a couple times, did you literally mean a couple?"

"Yes. And I was even sober for one of them."

"Oh, sweetie," I said mournfully. "Why were you drunk?"

He lay on his back. "It was the first time, and she told me that it would make it easier. All I remember is that she didn't have much fun. Maybe she would have liked it more if we'd taken more of our clothes off. The second time it was over a minute after it started. As it turned out, she had a husband. Said husband came home. I had to sneak out a window. I broke my arm."

I leaned down and kissed him. "I'm so sorry, baby. If it makes you feel better, I came three times tonight."

He smiled. "That does make me feel better."

I snuggled up to his side and rested my head on the crook of his arm. "So, if I took your vampire virginity..."

He laughed at me.

"...what did you do with that whore at the coffee place?"

It took him a second to remember what I was talking about. "Oh, I hit her in the head and threw her in the back of her car. She kept trying to grab my ass. Very annoying. You thought I screwed her?"

I looked up at him, my nose against his skin. "Maybe..."

"And that's why you were upset." He sighed, finally figuring it out. He almost looked disappointed in me.

A few minutes of quiet went by before I tapped on his chest to get his attention. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Um, it was okay, right? I know I'm all cold now. I don't know what that must feel like for you..." I trailed off.

He laughed again. "You're worried I didn't like it? Not an issue. And I didn't notice cold at all. It was perfect."

I really wanted to believe that was true. It had been perfect for me. He'd been warm and gentle when he'd needed to be. And it had been great when he didn't.

My eyes started closing, and Landon held me tighter. He said, "Goodnight, Mila."

I smiled and kissed his skin. "Goodnight, sweetheart."