Black Seduction

It was obvious there was something wrong with Kaden when I met him. Even I knew it, deep down where my soul was at its darkest, that something was stalking him. We weren't close friends but I could still feel the darkness in him.

Being a deep spiritualist, I usually start the day at six o'clock by meditating, then have a basic breafast of corn flakes and a slice of wholemeal toast and low fat, unsalted butter. Following breakfast, I would shower, get dressed and go downstairs to my shop where my assistant - who was more of a PA - Kaden Black would be leaning against the counter top sipping a steaming mug of coffee while reading a book. At one, I would close up for lunch, which was brown rice, homemade sweet and sour sauce and some grilled organic chicken breast. When I opened up again, Kaden would be walking in from Subway with a foot long BLT and another caffine-filled drink which varied on a daily basis. We would close up and say our good-byes at seven in the evening after a quiet day. He would obviously go to the gym while I attended to my plants and pets. At eight-thirty, I would go to bed.

But today was different.

After my alarm had blasted me awake, I heard a faint groaning noise in the shop downstairs through the silence. It was a painful but pleasured groan, somehow sorrowful as I descended the eighteen small steps to the shop.

I found the back door open, the way Kaden always entered with his key, but it was hanging half open, sunlight streaming through the gap and across what looked like a Gothic biker boot...the same pair Kaden favoured.

The male body on the floor was muscular, dressed in a leather trench coat, black jeans tucked into the calf-high boots and a T-shirt with a heart peirced by three swords on it. What I noticed most was Kaden's burned face.

"Holy..." I breathed, unable to bring myself to curse. "Kaden, what happened?" I demanded, kneeling next to him.

I shook him hard; he did nothing but groan and tense in response.

"Kaden! You're scaring me. April fool's is months away," I protested, slapping his steel-muscled chest.

He just groaned again, "Rae."

The way he all but sobbed my name was heart-wrenching. Kaden was the closest thing to a friend I had and I'd promised to help him if he ever needed it. Right now, I was certain he needed it.

"Kaden, please, tell me you're kidding," I whispered, carefully pulling his head into my lap so I could examine his burned face. "Lord, what happened to you?"

He sniffled, breathing in on a wracking sob. "Rae, I'm so sorry," he cried, fisting my over-sized T-shirt. "I'm sorry. I shoulda listened to you."

It was comforting that he was speaking, his usual Texan-cockney accent the same, but he sounded terrible, as if he had downed a bottle of acid. He shook against me, trying to push me in vain towards the more shadowed part of the shop amongst the boxes while kicking at the door. He clung to me tight, and I froze when I saw the blood on his face and pouring from the hole in his abdomen, drenching his T-shirt and mine.

"Rae-" he began but I scrambled backwards.

"What have you done?!" I shreiked. "What the hell did you do, Kaden?!"

Panic surged through me in waves of terror, especially when he tried to reach me again, his eyes pleading. Oh, Lord, he was going to kill me. I could feel it all through me. He had wanted to kill me, hadn't he? I was just the stupid girl who got in the way of a robbery, right?

"Rae, please," he begged, tears of blood streaming from his eyes. "Please, help me."

I shook my head, hoping so much that this was not real, that Kaden hadn't been...

But that hope was crushed when I saw the twin creasent scars on his neck.

"Rae," he whispered, his voice choked. "You're the only one who can help me."

"I won't be your meal!" I yelled, managing to get to my feet. "Don't even think about it, Kaden - I know how to kill a vampire so don't think I won't-"

"Do it," he shouted brokenly. "Kill me! That's what I want, Rae. That's why I came to you. I knew I wouldn't be able to handle this even before I met him but I thought there was some slim chance I could control myself. I killed my flatmates and their girlfriends and boyfriends. I killed Ella, the old lady next door, the entire block of flats, and he didn't stop me! I made him swear I'd have bagged blood but...but..." He broke off as another sob scraped his throat dryer.

My entire body quivered in fear, mind and heart warring to help or to kill him. Kaden was a friend, an associate, but also a vicious killer like the one who had killed my parents in front of my very eyes. He still seemed to be himself, ashamed of what he had done, still my dark, Gothic friend.

"K-Kaden," I whispered, crouching in front of him. "Rules. No biting me. No hurting, killing or anything to anyone. I can help you - I don't want to lose my friend."

Relief flooded his handsome face, right as the scarring healed before my eyes. The wound in his middle closed over but the blood remained. "Oh, thank you," he breathed, launching himself into my arms, burying his face in my shoulder. "Thank you, Rae. Oh, God, thank you."

I nodded and stroked back his wild hair. "C'mon. Let's get you cleaned up. You're a mess. And you're living off animal blood, got it?"

He nodded back. "I promise. I won't hurt anyone. I swear."

"I feel much better now," Kaden mused as he came out of the bathroom with a fluffy grey towel around his lean hips, his hands working at his hair to dry it a little. "Hot water does wonders."

I tried not to look but, Lord, it was hard not to notice. His body was so much better than...well, any man's. His muscles stood out prominently, beautifully. He looked like he was smuggling an eight pack of paint rollers under his skin. Those long, masculine legs were all hard muscle and almost graceful sinew. And his arms...Oh, I had always been a major sucker for guys with thick bands of muscle on their arms. They gave the best cuddles.

"I'm glad," I said, trying to keep my voice even while staring into my bowl of rice, chicken and sauce.

When I next looked up, he was in the chair beside me at the table, staring me in the face with those bright blue eyes of his. I actually jerked back and landed on my backside. "Oof!" I huffed.

A grin lit up his face. "Are you alright, Rae?" he chuckled.

I glared up at him. "That was not funny, Kaden!"

He howled all the louder, leaning on the table as pink tears fled the corners of his eyes. I gritted my teeth and stood, brushing down the back of my jeans. Still he laughed.

"Shut up, you freak!" I complained, blashing his head with a pillow, but catching a peek at his well-hung balls and the thick rod resting on them. Even soft, he was still very large.

Instantly, I had an image of him lying naked on my bed, his golden skin standing out against the white cotton sheets. One large hand wrapped around a thickness I did not doubt would stretch me wide, one hand reaching out to me in invitation as he rode himself from base to tip. Moans leaving his mouth as he murmurs for me to take him...

Oh, Lord, where had those thoughts come from? For crying out loud, the closest I had ever been to a naked man was...well, now.

"Rae," Kaden purred, looking up at me as I cleared away my lunch. He had his chin resting on folded arms, eyes dark and smouldering. "I was joking. You have to see the funny side of it and this is coming from the guy you call miserable."

I snorted and turned to the sink. "I know. But I was being laughed at and-"

"Rae it was funny," he snickered. "Just laugh about it."

"Do you actually want cow's blood for dinner?" I snapped.

He groaned. "Bitch."

"I know but that's what you get for laughing," I giggled, washing up the bowl and fork. "Look, Kaden, I know this is hard for you. Believe me, I know it's hard to try not to do something you think is necessary but isn't."

"You're human. You wouldn't know jack shit," he snarled.

"Yeah and there's a lot of things humans get addicted to, Kaden. You're new dead and I'm your boss. Shut up and suck the blood."

"Don't even make that suggestion." He got to his feet and prowled towards me, eyes glittering with some sort of sensual evil. He leaned down and scraped his fully extended fangs over my pulse, which jumped beneath his predatory touch and warm breath. Those large hands of his held my hips back against his. "Or I'll suck yours," he whispered, nibbling my ear lobe.

I genuinely couldn't move. The way his mouth moved against my neck and shoulder, my lower jaw, was like nothing I had ever felt. My words - the ones that would have told him to get off - caught in my throat, strangling my breath until I was hyperventilating.

"You're afraid of me being so close, aren't you, Rae?" he purred, gently tilting my chin up to look at him. "You don't like any man being this close to you. I've seen you in the shopping centre down the road - you try to avoid even so much as talking to any man. You only really talk to me when you need help but now you're helping me."

I trembled. I really didn't like men being close to me. After almost being raped two years ago, right before I employed Kaden, I had a strong phobia of men. I hadn't told anyone about it because I'd survived, got away.

"Kaden, stop," I blurted, finding my voice. "Just-just...back off a little, please."

"Why? What scared you so much that you can't be near a guy in this way?" he pryed, staring into my eyes.

I stared back. "That's none of your business," I muttered, trying to look away but failing. "Don't hurt me, Kaden. Please." I could feel tears filling my eyes from fear and panic. "Being in this position with a vampire was how my mother was killed. He ripped her throat out before I could blink."

His eyes softened from that dark leer, his hold less possessive. "Rae...I-I'm s-"

"Don't be," I muttered, yanking myself away from him. "Look, I want to help you, I really do, but just" - I paused to take a deep breath - "don't do that again. Please."

He nodded and rubbed his face. "God, I'm still in a towel for crying out loud."

I giggled and swiped at my tears. "Th-there's some uniforms in the wardrobe that should be your size. We can go out at seven when it's dark to get you some cheap Primark stuff for now-"

"I'd rather get my own clothes from home," he mused, going into my bedroom. "It's not that I don't appreciate it but I'd rather have something I'm comfortable in to wear than new stuff."

"That's okay but don't you think it's wiser to get other stuff? 'Cause something I've learned it a vampire's sire is never too far away. It would be better if we went to Primark."

"Fine!" he huffed. "But I get to choose the clothes."

"Deal," I smirked, smug that I'd finally won an argument with him.

While Kaden got changed and combed his wayward hair, I made myself look presentable by running a brush through my hair and putting on my amber necklace. My outfit was a pair of indigo flares and a white gypsy top with a thick brown belt and a pair of brown flip-flops. My earrings were also amber to match the necklace.

"You look gorgeous."

I jumped at his voice as he came out of the bedroom wearing a black shirt, as well as his jeans and his boots. He looked edible. Delicious.

"You don't look bad yourself," I shrugged, playing it off. "I have to go out quickly. The shop's closed so nobody can get in and I'll lock the back door on my way out."

He nodded. "I'll be okay. I'll busy myself with looking through your underwear drawer."

"Kaden!" I laughed.

"I'm kidding," he smirked, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "See you later."

"I'll be about half an hour," I told him with a smile as I headed out of the flat.

It was a ten minute walk to the local butchers. Luckily, it was early so I would be able to get some good meat in for Kaden to juice up.

It was a sunny day, which was why Kaden's face had been burned. Vampires were really not such hotshots when it came to sunlight. A friend of mine on the internet - Jake Hartigan - was a self-titled vampire hunter. He had taught me everything I knew about vamps. The ones over a century could walk in daylight for about an hour. Judging by Kaden's distress, he was newly changed. Very new, due to the scars on his neck which had still not healed.

The smell of blood and fresh meat was overpowering as I walked into the butchers. Two fat men were behind the counter chopping up meat of various rednesses.

"Hello?" I smiled, leaning on the glass countertop.

The fatter man turned to me. "'Ello, love. What can I do for you?" he smiled, showing a lot of missing teeth.

"I'd like to buy some really bloody beef, lamb and pork, please," I said sweetly. "About three pound of each. I'm cooking for a lot of different people this week so I need different stuff."

"Alright, darlin'," he nodded and got to work slicing the meat as my mobile buzzed.

I answered it. "Hello?"

"Rae, there's someone downstairs," Kaden said in a hushed voice. "I can hear them emptying the safe."

My heart dropped. "Don't do anything, Kaden, please. Call the police. The CCTV is on so we can catch them," I murmured. "I'll be back in a little while. I just need to pick up a few more bits at the corner shop and I'll be back."

I heard him take a shuddering breath. "I'm so angry right now I don't think I can hold back."

"Deep breaths, honey, okay? Deep in through the nose, hold it for a sec, then out long and slow through the mouth."

He complied softly. "I can't stand the idea of them taking your money."

It brought tears to my eyes to know how much he truly cared. But I couldn't have him killing people. That was just...

"Look, I'll be back soon. Call the police," I snapped and hung up, heart pounding.

"Here's your meat, love," the fat man called. "That'll be fifty-five quid."

I nodded and handed over the money. "Thanks, mate," I smiled and walked out with hysteria threatening me.

The dash to the corner shop for bottles of coke took too long. It was agonising to know Kaden could be feasting on a bunch of wrong-doers by now.

When I walked through the back door, it was to Kaden's embrace, his face buried in my hair. "Hey, what's wrong?" I whispered, dropping my bags and stroking his back as he held me tight. "C'mon. It's okay."

"No, it's not," he sobbed. "I let them get away. They stole your money. I let you down, Rae. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

I almost fainted with relief. Thank you, Lord! Kaden had not eaten those criminals like I thought he would.

"It's okay, baby," I murmured, stroking his thick, soft hair. "I so proud of you for not killing them. I knew you could do it. I'm so happy."

He sighed and lifted his head, red rimming his eyes. "Really?"

"Yes, really," I smiled, stroking his cheek.

For a moment, all he did are stare at me. Lord, his eyes were such a bright, clear blue. How could I have not noticed how gorgeous he was before?

Swiftly, surely, he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my stunned lips. My eyes flared wide when he quickly drew back, my gasp caught in my throat.

His gaze searched my face. "I've wanted to do that for ages," he breathed, cupping my face with one hand. "You drive me insane, Rae. I came to you because..."

He trailed off, leaning in to kiss me again. I stayed perfectly still, my lips half-parted so I could gasp for the air my throat denied me. His touch was sure, tender, almost reverent. His kiss was loaded with some kind of power I couldn't name. It was so wrong but it felt so right I almost fainted.

"Rae, I love you," he purred when he pulled away. "I know you can't stand me being so close but I need you. You're like sunshine that doesn't burn me to ashes." One hand brushed my hair off my face. "And I'm not just saying this to get you into bed, although I bet you're completely perfect."

I bit my lip, finally tearing my stared from his. "Kaden you're my friend. I don't want any more than that, especially with you."

"It's 'cause I'm a bloodsucker, isn't it?" he sighed. "I knew you'd be prejudice because of that."

"I-it's not that," I told him, taking his hand and squeezing it. He seemed shocked I was touching him willingly. "I'm just scared of you."

"Don't be," he answered automatically. "I'm scared of hurting you, Rae, but I know if I start feeling like I might, I'll vanish so you can get on with your life without having to worry about me."

"No!" I yelped, too loud and needy. "I don't want you to go, Kaden."

He smiled sadly. "Rae I don't want to constantly scare you. I know how much you hurt when you even so much as look at me."

I sniffled and pressed myself against his chest, my arms around his waist. "If I hurt whenever I look at you, why did it feel so right when you kissed me?" I mumbled, breathing in his Lynx shower gel scent. "Why do I feel like I can actually talk to you and be myself? And how come I like how dangerous you are?"

He stayed quiet, his arms tight around me. It felt wonderful to be held so close as if I would shatter into a million peices if he released his grip. My heart thumped against him.

"I think your heart recognises that I may be your soul mate," he whispered. "I know my heart beat this loud and fast whenever I was around you as a human but you just looked straight through me. That was more painful than you not even acknowledging me."

I smiled weakly and hugged him tighter. "Don't you worry about anything, Kaden. I'll take care of you."

As I tried to sleep that night, I couldn't help feeling bad about making Kaden sleep on the sofa.

With his heightened sense of touch, the sticky leather of the thing wouldn't really be very good to sleep on, even with the sheet.

I got up, pulled on my slippers and padded into the living room where he laid on the sofa, half asleep, but sat up when I stroked his hair.

"You okay?" he murmured, his face concerned.

I nodded. "Do you want to sleep in my bed? The sofa can't be comfy," I mused.

He smiled tiredly. "I think you already know the answer to that."

"Okay." I sat on the sofa as he got up. He gave me a look. "What?"

"It's big enough for both of us, Rae," he said, picking me up bridal style.

"Kaden!" I giggled, hugging his neck.

"What?" he chuckled, kissing my cheek. "Is there anything wrong with me wanting to hold you while you sleep?"

"No," I smiled, nuzzling his neck. "I'm glad you're feeling better now."

"So am I," he replied, carrying me into my small bedroom with ease.

Carefully, he placed me on the bed and climbed in bedside me, his front curled against my back, one arm draped over my waist. His erection rubbed against my derriere.

"Uh, Kaden, can you...?" I muttered.

"Oh, right," he chuckled nervously, shifting away so I could barely feel him with me. "Hey, Rae?"

"Yes?" I replied softly.

"Do you think you could ever love me back?"

My heart fractured. I didn't like being so close to him and yet feel so good around him. Even I thought I was playing with his feelings a little.

"Possibly," I told him honestly. "We're pretty close already but I feel like we're too far apart."

"That's the thing. I am in love with you, Rae, and I'm not gonna deny it."

"I'm not saying you are." I sat up and leaned over to kiss his head. "You're my best friend, Kaden. I don't want to lose you because of a sexual relationship. You know I want to wait until the time is right for that kind of thing."

He scoffed. "No offence but I find it hard to believe you're a virgin at twenty-three."

"Find it hard if you want. I'm a virgin, not a slut like some girls," I said as I laid back down. "I'm saving myself for Taylor Lautner or Brad Pitt."

"Oh, thanks, babe. That's comforting," he teased, leaning across the bed to kiss my neck.

I rolled over to face him. "It's not that I don't think you're the hottest thing on two legs with a pulse but we just need time. After the drama today...I don't think I'm ready for a serious relationship with anyone."

He smiled slightly in the low light of the twilight, then leaned forwards too quickly and pressed his lips to mine. I moaned low in my throat as he kissed me deeper than her had earlier, his teeth grazing my lower lip, tongue searching my depths. One hand slid down to cup my breast beneath my T-shirt, his thumb rubbing my pebbly nipple.

"I suppose this doesn't change your mind," he whispered, pulling away as his hand moved under the hem of the T-shirt.

"Kaden-" I protested but he silenced me with another passionate kiss.

His fingers stroked me through my bikini breifs, stoking the fire his kiss ignited within me. I groaned hard into his mouth, shifting my hips against his hand.

Good Lord, why was I reacting like this, like some provocative little slut?

But as Kaden moved the cotton aside and his hand covered my aching heat, I lost all train of thought.

"What about this?" he growled, shoving my T-shirt up so he could bite the front of my bra open with his sharp fangs.

My breasts - a modest C-cup - were also aching, the tips distended and pink. He licked the left one before wrapping his mouth around it. I cried out. His fingers worked my hot, wet core with care and I still felt like I was burning up.

"Kaden..." I gasped, arching my back as a flood of euphoric warmth flowed over me, attacking my senses, causing me to almost black out for a moment.

When I was able to articulate what the heck was going on, I felt something in my core. Thick, hot, a body between my legs, arms holding me close to a muscled chest.

"Are you okay?" Kaden whispered in my ear. "Rae?"

I stared at him. "I'm fine," I told him. "Just a little full." He chuckled and his thick, long manhood twitched inside me. I gasped with the delicious sensation. "Oh, Kaden, I can feel you inside me. Do that again."

"I can do a lot more," he purred, drawing his hips away from me.

"No, don't pull out-" I complained but moaned when he thrust into me again. "Oh, Lord...Keep going."

"With pleasure, my Rae of sunshine," he growled, kissing me deeply.

His hips moved towards and away from mine, his hardness stroking me in all the right ways. One hand dipped down to rub my clitoris intensely, adding to the pleasure.

Fire kept building and building in my womb, my pelvic muscles tightening around him. I could feel him so much more vividly like this, so moved my hips against his in time with his strokes.

He reached around to my backside, his fingers sliding down the crease. The middle one breached my surrogate hole, third knuckle deep, and orgasm caught me by surprise.

I screamed his name, my fingernails drawing blood on his back. Moments later, his strokes sped up and he roared, the sound almost deafening.

And then his fangs slid into my neck.

The feel of those sharp points in my skin was like white-hot lightning firing a second orgasm just as the first ebbed into an afterglow. I yelled again, the noise scraping my dry throat as he drank from me in deep pulls.

"Kaden," I groaned, pushing at his head. "Kaden, stop!"

He got the message then and carefully pulled away, licking the wound to close it. He was soft inside me now, his thick cream overflowing me, mixed with blood.

"Rae," he breathed, his eyes sparkling with vitality. "Are you...Did I..."

I hugged him tight, unable to keep myself from crying with joy. "I'm so proud of you!" I laughed, kissing his shoulder. "You lost it for a second but you were strong enough to stop! You're amazing, Kaden!"

He laughed in relief and cuddled me back, gently rocking us back and forth. "I love you so much, Rae."

Warmth swelled in my chest as nerves played in my belly. Did he feel it, too? It was like something was pulling me to him, tying our souls together with an unbreakable thread.

Lord, I felt...I felt his love flowing through me, into me, over my skin. And it felt so right I almost whimpered.

He noticed. "Rae, did I hurt you?" he whispered.

I shook my head, squeezing harder. "No, no, you didn't. I promise."

"Did I change your mind?"

Blushing, I giggled and snuggled into his body. "I feel like I should be with you. It feels right, safe...whatever 'it' is," I mused. "You're right. I think we do belong together, Kaden."

His grin was like all the good things in life - chocolate, sunshine, even puppies - especially when he leaned in to kiss me again, deep and sensual.

"I love you, Rae Adrienne Jordan."

I grinned back up at him, holding his heavenly face between my hands. "I love you, too, Kaden Alexander Black."