"It's just the dress." Whispered Yurika blushing. "No, it's you who's beautiful." He held out his hand for her to come down. She took it, trying to calm the beating of her heart, while a single question kept coming up in her head. Why all this? Why had he decided to organize such a different evening? Had she forgotten something?

The vampire led her downstairs, where the dinner table was waiting. Yurika laughed. "Why did you set the table for yourself?" And she pulled away from Ferid's hand, ready to sit down, but he was quicker than she was. He moved her chair. "Would you like to sit down?" The girl smiled. "With pleasure." "We've never really eaten together, Yurika, I thought you might be interested." She observed the goblet in front of the vampire's plate, blood red. "I'm assuming that's not wine though." "Perspicacious." "I thought you only drank mine." She said with a streak of disappointment. The vampire reached out a hand caressing the girl's fingers on the table. "I can't risk bleeding you dry, you know. Rather. Do you like that idea?" Yurika smiled and clasped her fingers in the vampire's. "Very much, we could do this more often, couldn't we?" "Of course." Ferid replied, perhaps without due conviction, which Yurika didn't fail to notice. Yet he had arranged this. "Why are you not convinced?" Ferid looked the girl straight in the eye. "No, Yurika, don't worry. I was just thinking. You know, it's been a month since our kiss, since our first real kiss." "Already..." She whispered. Ferid took her hand bringing it to his lips and leaving a light kiss on her skin. "It's been a beautiful month, really." Yurika smiled at him, but before she could retort anything the vampire decided to start their half-dinner. Half because he was just sipping from the goblet and tasting, rather than really eating, but that was enough for Yurika. It was the date she had never had.

"Did you make the cake too?" "Of course I did it. I must have some weapons with which to seduce my prey, don't you think?" "You don't need those tricks." Ferid smiled. "I know, I'm too charming and charismatic. It's impossible to resist me." The girl laughed. The vampire stood up. "Yurika, would you like to dance? It would be magical with that dress." She nodded and stood up, joining him. Ferid's hand moved to her waist and with the other he squeezed her hand, Yurika's hand rested gently on Ferid's shoulder. The two looked into each other's eyes, enjoying the moment, then began to dance. The vampire's eyes were magnetically focused on the girl, his new unquestionable and inexhaustible source of life. He remembered despite himself that this was not how it was supposed to go, these were not his plans. Yet he could do nothing about it, having the girl in his life had become his priority, perhaps also for this reason what he was preparing to tell her was not simple. Yurika on her part felt like a real princess, maybe she could think that it was the dress that gave her more emotions, but it wasn't like that. Ferid was the real trigger, he was the one who made her so special.

Suddenly her prince stopped the dancing. He broke away from Yurika and went to sit down. "Come here." He said softly. The girl hesitantly approached, but a wave of Ferid's hand convinced her to settle on his lap. "Are you going to tell me why you arranged this?" She asked. "Yes," the vampire sentenced. A moment of silence fell. He gathered his courage. "As I mentioned earlier it's now been a month since our first official kiss and almost two since you've been here with me. You see Yurika, I'm not used to holding my victims in such high regard. And do you know why? Because you're not. Not anymore. You have become something much more than just a game to me." He intertwined the fingers of his hand in the girl's. "You've become the most important thing. Having you with me every day, seeing you fill my days. I couldn't wish for anything better." He took a deep breath. "I kidnapped you. I stole your life away from your loved ones. I... I don't want you to be forced to stay here, your happiness and serenity comes first, so, what I'm trying to say is that you're free to come home whenever you want. Even right now. I'll let you go if that's what you want." And he pointed his gaze into Yurika's in eager anticipation of an answer.

It seemed as if his heart could start beating again at any moment, so much anxiety was gripping him, he could not probe Yurika's soul, he only sensed surprise, but he did not understand how he could interpret it. The girl released her hand from the vampire's and moved it to his neck, gently stroking his skin. Ferid shuddered, she was finally the one pushing herself towards him. To his immense surprise, the girl bent her head over his and their lips joined in a kiss. The vampire allowed himself to be led by her lips almost ecstatically, how much he had wanted her to take the initiative for once? Another thought crossed his mind. Was this a goodbye kiss? That she had decided to leave him?

Yurika's lips parted from his. "Ferid I..." He closed his eyes. "No one has ever shown love for me before, I.... I've never felt loved. Home is that place where you feel loved, where you know you are loved, where you are happy. Over there I never felt these things, there was only coldness, competition, the frost, whereas now... Now everything is different. For once I feel that I am loved." She smiled and took a deep breath. "I don't need to come back. I am already home, Ferid. You are my home. I love you." Two words that seemed to electrocute the vampire's cold heart. He remained motionless as if he wanted to crystallize that moment in his memory. Then his hands were on Yurika's body and his lips on hers, as passionate as they had ever been. "I love you too Yurika. You can't understand how much."

Ferid let the moment wash over him and lifted her into his arms, mindful of the first time he had held her like this. So much had changed since then, by now Yurika was no longer pushing him away. "Is it time to wrap it up yet?" She asked noticing that the vampire was leading her back to the room. "Why?"

Soon the girl felt the mattress under her back, the vampire's body on top of hers and their lips together. The vampire began to move down her neck and Yurika moved her head to the side, ready to offer him her blood. She knew immediately that Ferid was aiming for something else to end the night. Oh God. Her heartbeats began to increase. Calm down. She told himself. She needed to avoid showing her agitation. She focused on the gentle kisses the vampire was leaving on her skin as he pushed himself further and further down her neckline. She closed her eyes, sensing shivers in her lower abdomen. Was this what she wanted? Did she really want to cross that threshold?

With one hand he caressed her waist, moving to her breasts. "Ferid..." But her voice sounded almost inaudible. Then Yurika tried to move the vampire's hand away from her body. "What is it Yurika?" She whispered, lifting from her body. The girl blushed. What now? "I-I don't know if..." "Don't worry. It'll be better than any other time. Trust me. I'll make you try things..." The hunter's seductive tone only made her even more embarrassed. What did he mean by any other time? Did he really think she had done certain things before? Oh dear. Panic began to take over her. She moved her hands to the vampire's chest, trying again to push him away. "I don't want it." She whispered almost mortified. Ferid looked at her in puzzlement. "Yurika..." He stroked her face with one hand. "Is it because I'm a monster? Is that why you don't want to?"

Yurika felt a hard blow to her heart. How could he think such a thing? "No, Ferid, how can you..." "I want to show you how much I love you, Yurika." The girl was breathless for a moment. She moved her head to the side, unable to look him in the eye. "I've never..." The sentence died in her throat. And for once Ferid was actually surprised. He could finally explain a whole range of her behavior. 'Cause no one had ever touched her. "And you wouldn't like to try?" His fingers caressed her neck, then moved to her face forcing her to look at him. "I don't feel like it... I don't... I'm sorry I don't..." "Sssh." He leaned over her kissing her softly, Yurika let go, hesitant. Ferid pulled away from her lips. "I'll have to be good then, resisting you isn't that easy." "Is it not a problem?" "If you promise never to leave me anything won't be a problem, my little one. I can wait. As long as it takes. I'll never force you to do anything against your will, and then... It will be even more exciting... Waiting to make you completely mine." The girl lifted her hands to Ferid's face and their lips came out together again. Then he broke the kiss laughing. "Enough or I won't be able to keep my words." "S-sorry..." "Yurika?" "What?" "This is the second time in the same evening that you've kissed me, please. Do it more often. It drives me crazy."

15/05/2021