Kidnapped for the Auction

Perin - Dinnertime

Perin woke with his arms full of warm, soft wife and smiled to himself. The previous day had been good; she had started to relax a little with him.

He gathered her closer and breathed in the scent of her. She smelt so good! He brushed his lips against the back of her neck and she mumbled something unintelligible. Had he woken her?

No, she just shifted slightly against him but didn’t move away, so she was obviously still asleep.  He kissed her neck again; her skin was so soft! He swiped the skin with his tongue, and his fangs had lengthened against her skin before he had realised what he was doing.

Shit! He quickly rolled away from her, his body assaulted with thirst. He hadn’t let it get this bad before; it had been 13 days since he last fed and he usually went about ten days between feedings.

He stifled a groan as his stomach cramped violently, and saw that he had woken Rowan with his swift disengagement.

“What is it?” she asked groggily. She turned towards him, and obviously noticed that something was wrong because her gaze quickly sharpened. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s just cramp,” he told her, taking deep breaths to get through the pain.

“Where?” she demanded, sitting up in concern. It looked like she was going into nursing mode, ready to examine him.

The pain had subsided enough for him to be able to move again, and he knew that he couldn’t tell her the real reason behind this episode.

“Just my thigh,” he said forcing a laugh. “It’s better now. Probably because I haven’t trained enough over the past couple of days!”

“Are you sure?” she asked, sitting back on her heels with her brow furrowed.

“Yeah, I’m fine now,” he said, sitting up. If he told her the truth about how he was feeling it would be sure to frighten her. He would be ok through the meal with his parents, then go out to feed tomorrow night.

His stomach turned again, this time at the thought of having to seduce a random female and then return to his beautiful wife’s bed afterwards. But what choice did he have? He had to feed, and he couldn’t break his word and force her to let him take her blood.

Glancing at the clock he saw that it was still early, only four, but he knew he couldn’t stay in bed any longer without giving away how hungry he was.

“I’m gonna get up,” he told her, swinging his legs out of bed, “you should go back to sleep if you want.”

She stifled a yawn, but turned to get out of bed too. “I’m awake now.”

He managed to smile at her before fleeing to the bathroom. Perching on the edge of the bath he dropped his head into his hands; he really felt rough. Just need to get through today, he told himself, reaching to turn on the shower.

Ten minutes later, he was clean and semi-dressed, finding Rowan in the kitchen in her pyjama’s making tea.

“What are you doing?” he asked, as she rummaged in the cupboard before pulling out his coffee press.  

“You were right with what you said yesterday. It’s likely that I will be here for some time; I can’t stay a guest forever. So I thought I would make you a coffee as I have already boiled the kettle”

“Thanks,” said Perin, surprised at her sudden shift in attitude. He watched her put the coffee grounds in and pour the water, before passing it and a cup over to him.

“Milk?” she asked, then handed him the bottle at his nod.

Wow, did this mean that she was actually accepting that she was his? No. He thought back to what she had actually said; be here for some time, meaning not forever. She was still planning to escape but was going to have to bide her time before she did.

“What are we going to do tonight?” she asked him, peering into the fridge to find something for breakfast.

“I don’t mind.” He replied, his eyes straying to her slender throat as she craned her neck to see better.

“Can we go for a run then?” she asked, turning to face him. “If I don’t go soon then I will start to lose condition, and I don’t fancy another trip to the gym!” She smiled at him brightly.

A run. Could he take an hour or so listening to her heart beat and watching her skin flush? Another sharp twinge in his gut gave him the answer. 

“Not today.” He replied shortly. “I’m not in the mood.”

 “Oh,” she said, rather taken aback. “Ok, then what shall we do?”

Good question. “Is there anything you need to buy?”  He couldn’t expect her to sit in front of the TV for another night.

“Not really.” She replied, and he could tell that he had upset her with his sharpness.

He took a sip of coffee, hoping that it would ease the pain in his stomach. He had come to the realisation that he would need to feed tonight, which would mean cancelling the dinner with his parents. But if he did that, his family would know that he wasn’t feeding from her and that he had let himself get into such a state.

He caught sight of Rowan watching him warily.

“Are you ok?” she asked, when he looked up to meet her gaze.

“I’m fine.” He paused, wondering how much to tell her. “I could really do with feeding tonight.”

“You mean…” she was looking at him with thinly veiled disgust.

“Yes.” He said harshly. “Would you mind if I called my parents to see if we could have dinner early so I can go out afterwards?”

She shrugged and nodded, and he turned to get his phone from the living room.

His mother was fine about changing the time, somewhat bewildered but didn’t push for a reason why. He returned to the kitchen to tell Rowan that they had an hour or so until they were expected at his parents, and found her subdued. She obviously knew that something was wrong, but wasn’t going to say anything in order to find out what.  

He got dressed whilst she was in the shower, putting on a shirt and smart jeans. Then felt foolish as he looked in the mirror nervously; Rowan doesn’t care how you look, he reminded himself. She hates you for what you are and the fact that you are keeping her imprisoned here.

He paced the flat whilst he waited, unable to sit still due to the gnawing in his stomach. He had never felt quite like this before, and he had no idea how much worse it may get. They were all warned as youngsters that going too long without blood would cause them to become irrational and aggressive, and he was already picturing Rowans throat in his mind; the curve between her shoulder and neck. He could already imagine the softness of her skin under his tongue, and then the way it would yield to his teeth as he applied pressure.

He had to stop this! Thank goodness he was going out to feed tonight; there was no way that he could spend the day lying next to her and not touch her.

What was taking her so long!? He was tempted to go and thump on the bathroom door to hurry her up, but knew he would be out of line if he did. So he settled for some more pacing and clockwatching.

Finally she was ready. The bathroom door opened and he spun to see her; beautiful. Both blood lust and regular lust surged; the dress was a wonderful choice. She had clipped back the front sections of her hair so it fell in deep red waves down her back, making his hands itch to handle it.

He hadn’t thought to get her any make up the other day, and was glad that he hadn’t. She looked right without it, the right amount of innocence to offset the sensuality of the dress.

“Do I look alright?” she asked, tugging the hem of the dress a little lower.

“You look lovely.” He replied, tearing his eyes away from her before he gave away how thirsty he was. “Shall we go?”

“Ok,” she replied, seeming rather deflated at his response.

He led the way out of the flat, locking the door behind them. They walked in silence for a little while before he realised that he was behaving like an ass. She must be nervous, and not just because she wasn’t happy with the dress.

“You really do look lovely,” he told her, slowing his pace so she could keep up easier.

“Thank you.” She replied softly. “Is there anything that I should do? Any customs or anything that I need to know?”

He smiled at how sensible she was. “No, not really. I think my parents will both try to be nice, maybe a little too much so it’s awkward. Lance might be a little quiet, but he won’t mean anything by it.”

“Ok.” She nodded. “Are we nearly there?”

“Another few minutes, not far.”  He felt like maybe he should say something more, but the need for blood was riding him hard.  He caught the scent of her, clean and warm, and it made his stomach ache. Thoughts of taking Rowan in many different ways were running through his head all the way to his parents, making him feel both turned on and ashamed all at once.

They reached his parents door without mishap, and stood waiting in silence when he rang the bell. He was carefully not looking at her, not wanting to torture himself with glimpses of her pale throat, which was so beautifully displayed by the green dress.

“Perin!” cried his mother, throwing open the door and leaning up to kiss his cheek. After a moment she turned towards Rowan expectantly.

“Mum, this is Rowan. Rowan, this is my mother, Sandra.”  He introduced them, and Rowan said “Hello” shyly.

His mother ushered them through to the dining room where he introduced Rowan to his father and Lance. She seemed nervous, and he longed to touch her in an attempt to reassure her, but knew that it probably wouldn’t help either of them at this moment in time.

He felt his thirst ebb a little, and started to relax. His mother had just asked him a question, so he turned to reply, and she recoiled from him with a gasp.

“When did you last feed?!” she asked sharply, bringing all other conversation in the room to a halt. He looked around and saw that Rowan had the same reaction as his mother when he looked at her.

He didn’t answer immediately, and his mother asked again, in the same voice he remembered from when he was a small child and had been naughty.

“Last Friday.” He said sheepishly, realising that his eyes and face must be showing his thirst.

“Perin, for goodness sake!” she exclaimed. “Why have you let it go so long?”

He glanced at Rowan involuntarily. “I’ve been busy,” he muttered. So now his family knew that he wasn’t being sustained by his wife.

“Well, you need…” began his mother, speaking to him like he was a silly child.

“I know what I need; this is why I asked to eat early. I’m going out once we are finished.” He spoke firmly, hoping that his family would realise that he didn’t want to discuss this right now. Of course, his family had no concept of subtlety.

“Going out?” asked his father, perplexed.

“Yes, going out.” He repeated. He knew that his parents wouldn’t be able to understand why he wasn’t feeding from Rowan, and he certainly didn’t want to try and explain whilst she was sitting right there.

“But…” his mother was looking back and forth between him and Rowan, and he could see that she wasn’t going to let it drop.

“Let’s go into the kitchen for a minute,” he said, getting up. He looked over at Rowan’s worried face and tried to smile reassuringly, then left her sitting at the table with Lance whilst he and his parents trooped through to the kitchen.

“Why have you not fed from her?” demanded his mother the second the door was closed.

“She doesn’t feel like my wife.” He told them.

“Oh,” said his father with a frown. “Do you think you have made a mistake in choosing her if you don’t want her like that?”

“No,” said Perin, shaking his head. “SHE doesn’t feel as if she is my wife. She feels like she’s a prisoner. And if I force her to do this then she will feel violated.”

“That’s just because she doesn’t understand!” said his mother soothingly. “She might be a little upset at first, but she will forgive you.”

“I can’t do that to her.” He said. “I won’t.” He re-iterated, because it was a very tempting option.

“I will go out after dinner, and it will be fine.” He told them firmly.

“I think you had better go out now.” Said his father after a moment. “I can already see the change in your face, and if you leave it too much longer the humans will see it too. You had better take Lance with you too, just in case.”

Perin nodded, knowing he was right. If his face was already changing when he was unaware then he was obviously not in control of himself.

They all trooped through to the living room and he collected his jacket. He then went to the dining room doorway.

“Lance, can you come with me?” he asked his brother, who took one look at his face and got up to accompany him. He then turned to Rowan.

“I’m going out to feed now, ok? You stay here with mum and dad whilst I’m gone, and hopefully I won’t be too long.”

“Ok.” She said, her face plainly showing that she didn’t want to be left here.

Nothing more was said as he and Lance left, but he could see that his parents thought that he was being foolish.

“What’s going on?” asked Lance as they strode quickly down the corridors to the garage. “You’re not feeding from her?”

“No, I’m not feeding from her. She would hate me if I did.” Perin had known that Lance would be full of questions too.

“But what are you going to do? If she won’t let you feed then you’re going to continue doing this every other week?”

“I’m hoping that she will come around to it eventually. I think it’s a case of building her trust. And she is warming to me.” Perin was getting a little annoyed; wasn’t he doing the decent thing? Why was everyone questioning this?

The drive into town was pretty quiet; Lance was behind the wheel taking them to the usual street of bars and nightclubs that they visited to feed. Finally, Perin spoke.

“I appreciate you coming with me tonight, man.”

“No probs,” said Lance with a grin. “Just don’t leave it so long next time. To be honest, I don’t know how you stopped yourself with her wearing that dress.”

Perin felt another burst of thirst and aggression, barely stopping himself from snarling at his brother.

“Your face has gone again.” Said Lance, glancing over at him. “You need to get it under control, we’re nearly there.”

He was right, if he walked into a club looking like this then he would not only alert the humans to the fact that he was something different, but would also scare off any women that he could potentially feed from.  

Lance parked down a side street, and they walked to their usual hunting ground, a club called Geo’s. It was poorly lit and loud, ideal for the kind of encounter that he was looking for. The queue outside was short, and Perin could see a few of the women in the line were already eyeing them with interest.

Looking at them he wondered how he was going to get through it. Not a single one of them held any appeal; they seemed obscene, clownish even, in their revealing clothes and caked on make-up.

Once inside, the brothers went to the bar and got a beer each, turning to lean against it in order to survey the room.

“Let’s try and make it quick tonight,” said Lance. “I don’t need to feed so I’ll tail you back to hers and wait to pick you up when you’re done.”

“Ok, thanks.” Said Perin, scanning the room for anyone that didn’t repulse him. He fixed on a brunette across the bar that for a moment had resembled Rowan in the tilt of her head when she smiled.

He took a deep breath, and went over to her. The old lines still worked, and a drink and a couple of dances later they were leaving.

The tilt of her head really was the only thing that resembled Rowan; her conversation was vacuous and he couldn’t help but dislike how quickly she was willing to leave with him.

They walked down the street outside and she shoved him into a deserted side street and started to kiss him hungrily. It was all he could do not to shove her away. She pressed her ample breasts into him and he knew that he couldn’t go through with it. There was no way that he would get aroused enough to have s*x with her; the very thought of it made him feel sick. With a terse apology, he pushed her away.

“What?!” demanded the girl with a frown.

“I’m sorry, I need to go.” Said Perin, turning from her and walking beck towards the club.

“Seriously?” cried the girl. He didn’t reply, and when she realised that he actually meant it, she yelled angrily “Well f**k you then!” at his departing back.

Charming, thought Perin, but his mind was already turning to other things. Namely what the hell he was going to do now! He felt rage boil up against Rowan; This was all her fault. She was selfish. He had been good to her and this was how she repaid him? Leaving him to scavenge like this?

His thoughts ran riot for a while until he became rational again. Aggression was a side effect of the thirst, and he realised that his face was pulled into a hideous snarl, so that to passers-by he would look terrifying.

He needed to get off the street before he exposed himself. Thank goodness he had brought Lance with him, who was already fetching the car to follow him. Perin struggled for composure until the black BMW pulled alongside him and he swiftly got in.

“What are you going to do now?” Lance asked. “Tonight is a bust; you are way too volatile right now to try and find another girl. Another day of this and you’re going to attack someone!”

“I don’t know, s**t, I really don’t.” Would he really get so out of control that he attacked someone? If his disjointed thoughts about Rowan earlier were anything to go by it was entirely possible. He dropped his head into his hands, clenching his jaw against the twisting pain in his gut.

“Let’s go home. We’ll have to try and figure out something else.” Lance drove them back to the compound in silence, face grim.

Perin barely noticed the walk back to his parents, his thoughts were spinning and he felt nauseated. Lance steered him into their parents’ home and straight into the kitchen to sit down.

“I’ll get mum and dad.” He was being surprisingly tactful, keeping him out of the way of Rowan. Perin looked up when he heard his mother enter the room.

“Perin!” she said, “look at the state of you!”

He knew that he would be looking feral and frightening and he tried to master himself.

“You need to command Rowan to let you feed.” She went on, “She will forgive you once she understands. I forgave your father.”

Perin warred internally; he should just command her, she’ll get over it. But then he would have broken his promise, and she may never trust him again.

“NO.” he decided.  “I can’t. I want her to trust me.”

“But you need to feed!” cried his mother in anguish. “If you won’t command your wife and you won’t take from another then what are you going to do?!”

Before he could even begin to try and work that out, there was a voice from the doorway;

“I’ll do it.”