A Heart Whose Love is Innocent

by Spikeskat

January 10, 1765 

This will be the last entry I make.  Tomorrow I am to become Lady Renee Allen Atherton, Marchioness of Haversham. It will also be the day I die.  

Even after his bold pronouncement, Jared had hesitated about making me like him, a vampire.  But, I told him in no uncertain terms that I loved him.  Man, demon, it mattered naught.  I wanted to experience his world.  I had known long ago that I was meant for more than the meager existence I had led up until now.  It was probably why I had hesitated to bind myself to a man.  I knew my destiny awaited, and I had to be prepared. 

Jared was my destiny. 

Finally, after endless discussions on the matter – where he tried everything in his power to dissuade me from my course – he relented.  Afterwards, he hugged me tight, surprisingly overcome with emotion, that I had willingly chosen this.  

~*~*~*~*~ 

Renee glanced over at her husband from where she twirled around the dance floor with her partner of the moment, Viscount Sotheby.  More scholarly than dashing, Clayton Percival was silently counting out the steps to the dance as he attempted light conversation. 

“Jared has done well for himself,” he told the raven-haired human, referring to their recent nuptials. 

“Hmmm… yes, he has hasn’t he?  I think I’ll make an exceptional vampiress,” she whispered back conspiratorially – momentarily flustering the fledgling. 

“How did…” 

“I know about vampires?  And that my current dance partner also happens to be a ‘creature of the night’?” 

Said vampire just nodded, trying to resume his counting and continue with the dance. 

“Jared told me. He wanted me to know what I was agreeing to when I became his wife.  Well, not really agreeing, I suppose you could say, so much as letting me know.  I wanted to become a vampire.  Didn’t think it was right for him to be like he was and not me, don’t you think?” 

“Uh…yes.” 

Renee beamed at the flustered man, taking pity on him after her blunt statement. 

“The dance is about to end.  Why don’t you twirl me towards my husband?” 

“Certainly, Lady Haversham.  And, I repeat my statement.  Jared has chosen well.”  

“Thank you,” she responded, blushing slightly. 

The pair glided to a stop at the edge of the dance floor and the Viscount escorted Renee over to where her husband waited patiently. 

“Haversham,” the vampire greeted the lone man as the two approached. 

“Sotheby.” Jared slipped his arm around his wife’s waist and pulled her close for a quick kiss to her brow, asking her, “Enjoy your dance, sweetheart?” 

“Yes.  Although, I fear I caused Lord Percival some discomfort.” She glanced around to see that they were out of earshot of everyone.  “Apparently, he was unaware that I was cognizant as to his true nature.” 

The Marquess smiled at his wife’s whispered confession and turned towards the disgruntled vampire. 

“Gave me quite a start, I’ll have you know.  So much so I nearly lost count and stepped on your wife’s delicate toes,” the Viscount complained good-naturedly. 

“Sorry about that, Sotheby.  Well, I’d like to stay here and chat, but we need to be off.  Honeymoon, and all.”  Beside him, Renee blushed prettily. 

“Quite right.  Will you two make it to the function the Earl of Haskinstone is having at his country estate next month?” 

Jared glanced down at his bride and mentally calculated the time difference, a thoughtful look marring his brow. 

“We should be there.  Hawk is aware of my possible absence, however.  These things are just hard to judge.” 

“True.  Well, I won’t hold you any longer.”  The Viscount gave a slight bow to the Marquess before turning to Renee.  “Thank you for the dance, madam.” 

“Renee, please.  And, you’re quite welcome.  Goodbye, Clayton.” 

The newlyweds walked away from the other towards the front door.  Their bags were already packed for their journey to one of the Marquess lesser-known holdings towards the north, and the two sailed out the front door to the waiting carriage, leaving their townhouse near filled to overflowing with wedding guests.  

~*~ 

“He didn’t turn me that night.  Said he wanted to feel the heat from my body warm his skin.  So I agreed. He did bite me, though.”  Renee stopped for a moment to glance over at the human girl gazing at her in fascination, rather than revulsion.  “There’s something about a vampire’s bite that can bring you off faster and harder than anything. Anyway…for that night, I remained a human.  Towards dawn we both fell into an exhausted sleep, not waking until the sun started to set.  Then, it was time.” 

~*~ 

With her eyes still closed, Renee stretched in bed until she encountered a hard, cool mass as she twisted to her side. She blinked a few times then smiled as her eyes locked with the emerald green of her husband.  Her body ached in places she’d not thought possible, but it was a good ache.  One she’d like to repeat…often. 

She lifted her hand to bring it towards his face; her fingers flitted over his eyebrow, along one sculpted cheekbone.  Her thumb caressed his full lips before sliding away to slip her fingers in his light-brown hair, pulling him down for a kiss.  The hesitancy faded away as he allowed himself to be swept away by her touch.  Their lips met in a fiery kiss, mouths parted, allowing tongues to duel.  Renee arched towards him even as his arm banded around her back to hold her close to him. 

Then he guided her onto her back and slipped between her parted legs.  Unable to stand the wait, she raised her legs and wrapped them around his lower back, her actions telling him without words that she was more than ready for his invasion. 

He groaned as the head of his cock brushed over her damp opening, the mingled scent of her arousal and her virgin’s blood was too much for him to hold back, and he sheathed himself in her velvet heat for the last time. 

“Yes, Jared,” she moaned.  She could practically feel the blood racing along her veins as he thrust himself repeatedly into her willing warmth.  Her fingers clawed at his pale flesh as her body came alive beneath him, driving closer and closer to climax.  She just…needed…there… 

His fangs slid into her throat, triggering her orgasm. She held him tight as her body splintered into a thousand pieces, and then she was floating…Her body felt light, lighter than a feather as it floated along the wind.  Then, life-giving sustenance was pressed to her lips, parted with the name of her lover fresh from her mouth.  She swallowed, eagerly taking that which was offered to her before closing her eyes and laying limp. 

Jared released his wife’s neck and lovingly licked at the marks; he lifted his gaze to stare down at her lax features, pressing a loving kiss to her lips as he slipped out of her and moved to leave their bed. The bed was a mess, their night of lovemaking had scattered the sheets to the edge where they half-lay on the floor.  The vampire righted the covers, drawing them over his naked wife and settling them around her shoulders.   

Naked, he crossed to the fireplace and stoked the fire, adding more warmth and light to the room.  After slipping on a pair of trousers, Jared grabbed a book and seated himself in a chair to read while waiting for his childe to waken. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Renee woke – and for the life of her – couldn’t figure out why she was so hungry.  Her eyes still closed, she tried to remember the last time she’d eaten.  Drawing a blank, she opened her eyes and looked around.   

She was still in bed, could see the fire blazing in the hearth to her right.  No sign of her husband caused her to let out a slight whimper, more an exhalation of breath, if she actually needed to breathe.  Her hunger quickly overtook her sudden anxiety and she was just about to get out of bed when she noticed him across the room, outlined by the doorway. 

Sire. 

Bare but for the pants riding his lean hips, Jared stepped into the room and moved towards where she lay on the bed.  She licked her lips in anticipation, and even the nicking of her tongue barely intruded on the two thoughts that battled for supremacy in her brain: blood and Sire. 

He took the decision out of her hands when he dropped his pants at the foot of the bed and climbed up to settle himself next to her.  She felt his hardened length along her thigh – she wanted to feel him inside her.  Renee moved to wrap her leg around him and pull him close.  She needed him…now.  Why was he torturing her like this? Finally, he allowed himself to be pulled over her, but she grew frustrated when he just lay atop her unmoving. 

“You need to feed, childe,” Jared told her as his hand slipped behind her neck to guide her up to where he’d tilted his head to the side.  He sighed in contentment as he felt her fangs pierce his flesh and began drinking from him.  After a while, he felt her stop, releasing his neck so that she could lave at the puncture marks. 

“Jared?” 

“Yes, love,” he responded as he braced himself on his elbows to look down at her. 

“Make love to me now?” 

~*~ 

“It’s indescribable, really,” the vampiress began.  “You wake with such a burning hunger.  Dazed and confused…but that hunger…and you don’t know for what until it’s presented to you. It just seems to gnaw at your insides.  You can’t concentrate on anything else.  But then your Sire appears and things change.  You don’t know who or what you want more: sire or blood.” 

“Anyway, after I fed and he fucked me six ways from Sunday…” 

Renee was harsh, intentionally so.  She couldn’t tell this girl that her Sire had loved her with an intensity that rivaled anything from the previous night.  That the blood that flowed between the two throughout the afternoon and into the early night took their lovemaking to new heights, something that couldn’t be explained to a mere mortal, it had to be experienced.  Even when Jared had bitten her while human…it was nothing compared to when they were both able to bite each other.  

“…he took me out into the night and introduced me to the fine art of the kill.  He taught me how to use my senses to find my prey and get near drunk off their fear, how to bite to maximize the blood flow and hasten their death.  In essence, he showed me how to be me.  He was a wonderful teacher and I was his eager pupil, his beloved childe.” 

The vampiress paused in her story as her mind played over the events of her turning.  It had been a special time for her.  Jared – her Sire and lover – had instructed her in the ways of the vampire: how they lived, what they avoided, their strengths and weaknesses.  Then, he’d taken her back home and taught her about the pleasures of the flesh, how pain could be a precursor to pleasure, how sex between a sire and childe differed between that of mated vampires. 

“Jared wanted me to wait, told me that the childe/sire bond was a powerful lure to mate, but I forestalled him.  I told him that, yes, I could feel the tug towards him as my sire, but that I’d wanted him, even before I’d been turned. So, before we left our idyllic hideaway in the country, we bound ourselves together for all eternity.” 

Renee looked up at Jocelyn, who had tears swimming in her eyes. 

“What’s wrong, child?” 

Jocelyn’s amber gaze settled on her ancestor, an almost exact replica of herself, and she felt her loneliness settle over her an oppressive blanket.  Surprising both herself and the vampiress sitting on the other end of the couch, Jocelyn scrambled over towards her and curled herself beside her – Renee’s arm coming up automatically to pull the girl snug along her side. 

“I just…what you had…to have someone like that, for all eternity.  It’s just…beautiful.” 

In a rare show of true affection, something she hadn’t possessed since her sire had dusted not ten years after her turning, she leaned over and kissed the girl’s cheek, hugging her close. 

“Beauty is a double-edged sword.” 

“How so?” 

“I’d no sooner gotten used to spending the rest of eternity with my Jared, and then in an instant, he was gone, a pile of ash that blew away with the wind.  And, in that moment, I realized I’d spend eternity alone.” 

“Like me,” Jocelyn whispered softly, but the vampiress heard and squeezed her tight.  There wasn’t much she could say to comfort the girl, knew firsthand how the loneliness could grip you and drive you near insane. 

The two women stayed huddled together like that until Renee felt the tingling along her back indicating the impending sunrise.  Jocelyn lifted her head from where it rested on the other’s shoulder, feeling her restlessness.  She pulled away from the vampiress and stood, holding out her hand to the other. 

“Come on. I’ll get you settled in the guest room.” 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Jocelyn stood in front of the huge windows and watched as the sun broke behind the cover of the numerous skyscrapers and rose over the city.  Instinctively, she knew it would be the last she’d ever see.  When she’d first begun looking for Renee, she’d wanted nothing more than to reassure herself that she was not alone, that there was someone out there that was known to her.  The discovery that the males of her line had secretly kept tabs on Jocelyn had only increased her desire to meet her ancestor. 

With her two-year quest at an end, after having finally found her, there was no way she’d be able to let her go…to just let the vampiress walk away into the night. 

Alone. 

They didn’t have to be alone anymore. They had each other. 

She stood in that spot in front of the window and watched the sun chase away the darkened shadows, ignoring the exhaustion of her body.  She hadn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, unable to find sleep the night before in her excitement at having finally found Renee.  Then, the late hours of the club and subsequent talking the two had engaged in to near dawn just added to the hours she’d been awake.   

Finally satisfied with her decision, she turned away from the sun and embraced the dark. 

~*~*~*~*~ 

Renee lay in bed awake, unable to sleep, so she knew the moment the girl came to stand before her borrowed bedroom door.  She didn’t hesitate – something the vampiress could appreciate – as she turned the knob and stepped inside. 

“You didn’t tell me the rest of your story,” the girl told her. 

Sitting up in bed, Renee patted the place beside her. 

“No, I didn’t, did I?” 

Jocelyn walked towards the other, sitting on the bed so that she faced the other. 

“Show me instead.” 

Renee briefly closed her eyes, sensing that this was what she was going to say.  Opening her eyes, her amber gaze locked onto that of her near-twin.  She should tell her no, that she had her whole life ahead of her and would find love like she once had. But she was selfish.  She was tired of being alone and this girl, this human, was a part of her. 

“You’re sure?” 

“Yes.” 

Such a simple answer, yet it carried such meaning. 

Renee brushed the hair back from Jocelyn’s neck as her face shifted, revealing her vampiric countenance. 

“There’s no going back,” Renee told her.  Jocelyn just tilted her head to the side, exposing the long column of her throat to the other’s gaze as she leaned forward. 

As her fangs pierced the girl’s neck and her warm, rich blood flowed down her throat, Renee sighed in satisfaction. 

‘I’ll show her, just like you showed me, Jared.’

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