Karizma

Kristopher stood in front of Ryleigh in his office. She had insisted on being isolated until her magic had returned to normal, and worried about being around Grayson until then. She was sitting on top of his desk to face him, her legs crossed. Kristopher fought the wave of lust that rolled through his body as he appreciated her sitting on his desk, and the images of her sprawled against the top of his desk that attempted to penetrate his thoughts. She was sexy as hell in that tight little dress, and the power behind her magic only added to his attraction to her. She was not just another weak witch, she was the real deal, but his attraction to her still could not be warranted. Witches and vampires did not mix, and I will be the one killing one of her kind soon enough, he thought.

Kristopher clenched his jaw and crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at Ryleigh. Exhaustion carved into her face, her green eyes dim. Her magic’s intensity had begun to fade, but she was still on edge about the incident. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?” Kristopher asked softly.

“My magic was protecting me,” she said.

“Your magic has been on alert for longer than just tonight, pet. Are you in danger?”

“More than you know,” she smiled bitterly. She sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. “I just need to keep a lid on it. I’ll be okay. I’m sorry about your hands,” she added with a nod to his hands.

Kristopher shrugged. “I told you to stop apologizing for that. I healed fine. I’m just thankful that it was me that found you and not another human. Not overly thrilled that I couldn’t kill that rapist piece of shit—”

“You can’t,” Ryleigh interjected. “Let it be. I’m fine, he didn’t get that far. Whenever he wakes up, he won’t remember any of it.”

“But you will.”

“I’m a big girl, Kristopher, I’ll be fine.”

“I still worry about you,” Kristopher said softly. He uncrossed his arms and gently cupped her cheek with one of his hands. Her warm magic seared his skin, but not enough to disintegrate his skin. “You’re a friend of mine. If you need anything, or protection, please seek me out. I’m not skilled in magic, but I can handle it fine when you lose control.”

“I appreciate that, but we both know that shouldn’t be an option,” Ryleigh whispered. She turned her face away and his hand fell. Kristopher growled lightly at the void that now filled his palm. He gently rested it on her shoulder and squeezed softly. “We don’t mix,” she whispered.

“We seem to be mixing fine now,” Kristopher said before he could stop himself. “I would rather you unleash magic on me than on a human.”

“I would rather you unleash your hunger on me than on a human as well,” Ryleigh nodded. She turned her face to look at him again. “Humans have more to worry about than the supernatural being reckless.”

Kristopher’s hand trailed up her collarbone to her throat, his fingers stroking her jawline. He had an overwhelming urge to protect her, to keep her close. She seemed so fragile, but he knew that she was the farthest thing from it. Her skin had cooled down more, a faint burn on Kristopher’s fingers now. His fingers trailed back down her throat, and she closed her eyes. He looked at her with fascination and curiosity; the two had an unspoken trust with one another. She knows that I won’t hurt her, he thought. His eyes caressed the skin of her throat, the vein pulsing beneath it as her rate increased slightly. His auburn eyes flared, and his fangs flirted with his restraint to grant them access.

Ryleigh’s skin warmed suddenly, and her eyes opened. “You don’t have to hide it with me,” she smiled. “I already know what you are, no sense in hurting yourself by holding it back. Hell, I hurt you because I didn’t hold back. Unless you can melt my skin off my bones, I think I’ll survive.”

“It’s not just the beast wanting to come out, the beast is also hungry,” Kristopher growled darkly. He craved to tear out the male’s throat and drain his blood entirely for being such a threat to Ryleigh, but he had fought the beast within and won. He could not have humans dropping dead in or around his club, it would draw too much attention. The supernatural world only thrived as long as it did because of its anonymity amongst the humans; once the supernatural world was discovered, he had no doubt in his mind that it would trigger a war.

Ryleigh bit her lip briefly, then ran her tongue over her bottom lip. Kristopher growled as the saliva glistened against her bottom lip, plumping it for invitation. Ryleigh pulled her hair over her right shoulder, exposing the left side of her neck to him. Kristopher growled and tore his hand from her. He took a step back and ran his hand through his hair. “No.”

“I’m part of the reason that you need to feed, I’m sure. Healing skin as consistently and rapidly as you did probably took a lot out of you. It’s okay.”

“No.”

“It’s the least I can do. Seriously, it’s okay,” Ryleigh nodded. “With my consent, my magic shouldn’t react too harshly. Especially with someone I trust.”

Kristopher’s speed tore her legs apart and he planted himself directly in front of her body before she could blink. He wrapped a hand in her hair and stared at her. He groaned as his fangs descended and he tugged her hair lightly. “Do you mean it?” he whispered lowly. He could not remember the last time that he had been given consent to feed; consent to feed was a true expression of trust, and it fueled his need to be with her even more.

“Yes,” she whispered breathlessly. “I’ll be fine.”

Kristopher’s hand ripped her head to the side, and he plunged his fangs into her neck. He purred deeply as her blood filled his mouth. His free hand gripped her waist, and he pulled her body further into his. Her blood was the sweetest iron elixir that he had ever tasted. She tasted of of raspberries with vanilla, her creamy skin smooth under his tongue. He grunted and buried his fangs deeper into her neck. The beast longed to rip her throat open and bathe in her sweet elixir, to eat the tender skin that protected her elixir from flowing. He heard her inhale sharply as he suckled into her neck. Her vein throbbed against his lips, and his grip tightened on her waist. He jumped in surprise as her hand tangled into his hair, and she gently pressed him against her neck.

Her elixir coated his tongue, the raspberries and vanilla bursting against his fangs. He heard her sigh suddenly. He gripped her waist sharply as a low purr reverberated through his throat. His fingers twitched in response to the cloth of her dress preventing him from digging his fingers into her creamy flesh directly. Feeding was such an intimate action; coupled with his desire for her, he wanted her bare beneath him while he fed. His hand released her waist and pressed into her lower back. He retracted his fangs from her neck and gazed into her green eyes with his hooded auburn ones. Her magic did not even flinch while he fed on her, and that knowledge stirred an emotion in him that he had not felt in years. True desire. She did not fear him; she trusted him, and it had been so long since a woman had truly trusted him and did not want to just use him. Without a second thought, he brought his head down and kissed her.

Kristopher’s mouth swallowed Ryleigh’s surprised gasp greedily. With the hunger in the beast satiated, the hunger in himself ignited. He kissed her deeply, tenderly. His tongue caressed her lips before plunging between them to enter her mouth. He grunted as his tongue grazed across her smooth one. Ryleigh’s fingers in his hair tightened and she ripped him away suddenly. He snarled lightly in protest but restrained his crave to resume tasting her. Her green eyes studied his auburn fire, her chest rising and falling as she breathed heavily. “Do you mean it?” she repeated his words to him.

“More than I’ve ever meant it,” he whispered.

Ryleigh brought Kristopher’s face back to hers and she kissed him hungrily. A throaty growl rocked his lips as he devoured hers. This was dangerous, developing these types of feelings for a witch, but he could not help it. She made him feel emotions that he had not felt in years, emotions that he had denied himself from feeling. Trust, compassion, concern. She makes me feel human, he realized. He thoroughly enjoyed being a vampire, but a vampire was a human at some point; whether turned or born, a vampire was created with human genetics in some regard. He spent centuries convincing himself that these emotions were a weakness, but he realized that he was wrong. How I felt about her tonight when she was in danger was the strongest that I had been in a very long time, he thought.

Ryleigh pulled away from the kiss slowly. Kristopher growled and nipped at her lips in protest. Her breath teased his lips as she struggled to resume it. “I forget that you need to breathe,” Kristopher chuckled.

“Yeah,” she whispered breathlessly. “I should probably go, though. My friend is probably waiting for me.”

“I can have her escorted home,” Kristopher whispered gruffly. He felt asinine wanting to dismiss the friend so quickly, but he did not want to lose the woman in his grasp right now. A creature of the undead in the dark felt alive in the light for the first time in many decades. It was not a feeling that he wanted to be deprived of, even for a second.

Ryleigh smiled and rested her forehead against his. “I need to go, Kristopher. I should probably put in my two weeks, though.”

“Don’t you dare,” he growled instantly. “It’s not like you and I actually work together. You are good for business, and I am rather hands-off with the club. You can stay.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’d like you to stay right here and now, too, but you have other obligations.”

“And…us?” she asked softly.

“We will figure this out,” Kristopher whispered after he kissed her lips briefly. “I’m over three hundred years old, and I do not remember the last time that a vampire and a witch were more than enemies. Whatever this is, we’ll face it together. We’ve been alone long enough, don’t you agree?”