~Saphira~

I'm not sure how long I've been sleeping. This morning I woke with a dreadful thirst and a massive headache. I've been lying in bed with the covers off for the past hour, with my eyes closed. Although dark, I want it to be darker, like a typical vampire in a coffin.

How long have I been sleeping? It feels like years. I'm pretty sure everyone has forgotten about me. This lifestyle isn't good, I say to myself. I'd rather die than keep being someone else's prey. These threatened deaths only make my stay here insufferable.

My ears pound with voices, whispers and sinister lies. The louder the sounds, the tighter I bite down on my teeth and it makes my throbbing head worse.

I twist around the bed, groaning at the discomfort of my hunger with the accompaniment of overlapping voices in my head.

Just kill me. Kill me now.

Maybe this is a punishment for being so naive and wanting to seek the best in life. I can't think and it's getting hard to breathe. I stumble out of bed and onto my numb feet and I struggle to stand straight; it feels like there are pins in the floor with each step I take. I curse the damn vampire that stabbed me.

I can't open my eyes. I want to be in the darkness forever.

What happened? What have they done to me?

I walk out, letting my senses take over. I need blood and I need it now. I spot a human maid in the hallways and I should have had more decency to actually do it with poise, but I lunge at her in my supernatural speed. I don't care about the bite marks that riddled her skin or the scar tissue building on her neck. I bite down on slightly coarse skin and taste her sweet blood. I drink from her and her body convulses.

Her blood drips from my mouth and onto my clothes. I'm a mess, but I don't care. Deciding I've had enough of her nutrition deficit blood, I drop her on the floor and she hits the marble with a soft thud.

One body isn't even enough for an insatiable thirst like this. I didn't even bother checking my surroundings for other vampires as I prowl the hallways for another to prey on. Not even minutes pass and I leave multiple bodies of humans servants around the castle with no blood left in their system. My dress is wet with red and my skin spotted with dried blood.

"Saphira?" His soft voice smoothly travels from behind me.

"Val-" I leaned on the wall, out of breath. I feel completely overtaken. It was when I saw his face that my proper senses returned.

He walks closer to me and I flinch. I remember. I remember everything that has happened. Sebastian and the blasted knife he struck me with. The lying, murderous King could be anyone.  

"Don't come any closer," I threaten. I can't trust anyone anymore. 

His face contorts into confusion and I push myself farther from him but trip on my bare feet. 

"Saphira, it's me," he pleads. 

I stand and prepare myself for the worst. "Prove it."

He stares back a me, dumbfounded, as if there is nothing he could say or do to prove his worthiness. I scoff and take steps back with my hand trailing the wall. He slowly follows with each step, without so much as a single emotion or expression on his face. 

If he is who he says, then there should be a way to tell me that he is the true Valentine. "Well?"

I keep retreating until I hit a wall of covered windows. Even through the thick black drapes, I feel a warmth coming from the outside indicating that the sun is shining right over the castle. I guess that answers my questions of why there were only humans roaming the corridors and no one there stop me from feeding from them. I grab a big heap of fabric, parting it slightly to test the intense rays. 

A thin ray of sunlight slices through the darkness and displaying the dark contrast between the two dimensions. it dodges Valentine a mere few inches but instead of me splitting the curtains open, I leave them closed. 

 I glance down, repeatedly, at the curtains I have in my grasp and wait for the opportune moment to shine it right on him. I contemplate hard, the sunlight can be both a strength and a weakness. 

"There is nothing I can say that will make you believe me."

In a split second Valentine is inches from me, towering like a tall tree with eyes so bold and magnificent. I inhale a deep breath just before I make the first move.

"Try me," I challenge.

He reaches out to me and I flick his hand away. "Don't touch me."

He raises his hands, as if to surrender, but surprises me by quickly transporting behind me. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist," he whispers in my ear, making my nerves tingle.

"You're dead."

"Highly unlikely, but I'll play along." He chuckles with a hint of mischief glinting in his eyes. "Catch me if you can."

He disappears from my presence and I hear the faint sweeping of air as he breezes through the corridors. Should I follow him? I have to, or else he's going to kill everyone who is of importance. I must find him and restrict him from doing anything else. 

I cautiously walk into a room, glancing in all directions, wondering where the deceitful vampire is hiding. I round a corner but quickly turn back and press my back against the wall. I had to close my eyes in fear of me being disintegrated by the most vital element of the universe.  

I peek behind me to properly asses what I'm about to deal with. All curtains were drawn with the sunlight streaming in, creating rectangular spaces of light. Although beautiful, I must be careful, if I stand in the sun I risk turning into nothing but dust. In the middle, standing in the only dark space, is Valentine. He stands confidently with glowing eyes and a devilish smile. I couldn't help but become flustered, if I didn't think much about it, there is not a single difference between the real Valentine and the fake. 

"What's wrong, darling, not going to follow me in?" 

I step on the only available panel of untouched marble and slink myself into the room, dodging every ray of light. "You're despicable."

"Am I? I thought you liked games, don't you like this one?"

"This is a terrible game." 

 "Why not take a risk?" 

I roll my eyes and shake my head. "You already tried to kill me once, I won't let you do it again."

I wipe my sweating forehead with the back of my hand. The more I enter the heart of the room, the more I become tired. There is a pressure building behind my ears, forcing me to close my eyes every few seconds. 

In just a few more steps I find myself in a the same panel of darkness across from the deceitful impostor. It's a wide area, surrounded by blinding light - as if the light is just a wall of glass. 

I study the way the vampire moves and the way he conducts himself - he is an exact replica of Valentine -  from the arch of his brow to the curve of his devilish grin. With the last bit of strength I have, I rush over to him and initiate a fight with a punch to his face. 

The impact is hard enough to cause him to crouch and grab his face. I smirk at him and prepare to kick him into his death, but he swiftly rises and blocks my leg from hitting his face again. Valentine grunts as I twist out of his grasp and and start swiping at him. I make a mistake of punching him too early and I lose my balance. 

Valentine pulls me into an embrace just before I could fall to my death. 

"Careful, sweetheart, you might catch fire."

I growl and elbow him in the chest. It doesn't seem to affect him because all of a sudden, I am pinned to the wall with Valentine's body pressed against mine. My fangs extend from his provoking manner and the closeness of our bodies. Somehow, I had forgotten who I was fighting. He is fighting back, but not in the ruthless way a killer would, he is fighting in a way a lover would, with reluctance and gentleness. 

How could I be so foolish? How could I have not thought of it sooner? The sunlight is the perfect way for me to tell who is who. He's been telling me all along but being cryptic and just plain ridiculous. There is one way be sure though. 

Without even thinking or giving it a second thought I take his hand in mine and extend it into the direct brightness of day. "Ah!" I scream as the rays bite and gnaw at every unseen cell in my skin. The pain is intense, travelling even down to my bones. 

"Fuck," Valentine curses and pulls our hands back. I smile as I notice his unaffected flawless hand carefully handle my own. His strong arms wraps around me and I instantly fall limp, letting him carry my weight. "I'm here, I have you."

I have no energy left, not even enough energy to lift my head or open my eyes. Vampires are supposed to be strong. 

Valentine cradles me in his arms and walks me back into my room. He takes me into the bathroom, sets me down on the counter and starts running a steamy bath. The fresh smell of lavender overpowered the smell of soap and chemicals but it didn't do anything to the new intimate feeling that started as he tended to me.

"What's happening to me? I'm so hungry."

"I know," he mutters under his breath. I touch my wounded hand and hiss at the sting it causes.  "Stop, you'll make it worse."

I scoff and try to speak, but it only comes out in broken whispers. "What's worse is that I'm still alive, I don't deserve this. I don't need to keep dying just to live again."

"Do you care about no one but yourself?" His mouth was very close to my ear and I shiver.

"I'm the only one that ever cared about me. I was created to fulfill a wish of death and that's all I'll ever be."

"No, you aren't." I open my eyes and our gazes meet. I felt somewhat euphoric - it feels as if I haven't see him in years. It feels good to be in his presence again. His majestic eyes travel around my face but linger on my eyes. "I care about you."

Again, I shiver, and it wasn't because of the cold air, but because of his voice, his eyes, and his confessed love. I'm attracted, I admit. It's him, though, and his past that causes me to hesitate. "You don't care about me, Valentine, you care about the body I'm in."

He remains quiet and doesn't react to what I said; instead, he takes his shirt off and my core twists into lustful desire. I breathe in sharply as my fangs retract. I trace his muscles and edges with wanton eyes, biting my lip to prevent myself from lunging at him.

He pulls himself closer, placing himself between my thighs. A shock of pleasure shoots through my entire body as his hands linger on my skin.

"I loved Scarlett with all my heart but she wasn't like you. There was always something missing in our relationship and it wasn't until I met you that I realized that it was you that was missing. She got herself in a mess of hearts and lies." He takes my chin between his thumb and index finger. "You are Scarlett and more. You were the Scarlett that I longed for - the Scarlett that wasn't easily provoked."

"But you still love her?" The words come out with a croak. It's a question I have always wanted to ask but never had the opportunity to.

"In a way," he says with a frown. "I see her in you everyday, but forget about her as we continue."

I don't know what to say, and I couldn't really talk, he's too close for me to think clearly. "Are you still hungry?"

I nod and my mouth waters at the sight of his throbbing neck. I can feel his blood call out to me, begging me to drink him in. He pushes himself closer, my lips just inches from the crook of his neck. I inhale his musky and masculine scent and watch as his eyes slowly close and wait for me. I've been waiting for this for a long time.

I weave my hands into his hair and prepare myself to sink my teeth into the soft skin. My fangs elongate but instead of biting, I trail my tongue from the base of his neck to his ear. He gives back a delectable groan and I smile against his ear. I love that sound - I could listen to it all day. I trail soft but seductive kisses right under his ear and he moans in ecstasy.

"You're never leaving this room if you keep going," his deep voice penetrated my ears and sent chills down my spine. It has me want more and more of him. His grip tightens around my waist and he aggressively pulls me right up to him - chest to chest.

"I don't plan to," I reply and surprise him by sinking my teeth deep into his neck.

I do feel for him. He has weaved into my life with his coarse character and ambitions, infiltrating my mind with his thoughts on life and balance. I keep sucking from him and he pulls me even closer, so that there is not even a breath of air between us. His moans are enough to turn me on and make my eyes roll to the back of my head.

His blood is like melted chocolate trickling down my throat. Its sweet and rich taste is enough to satisfy the last bit of my craving. Maybe, he's all I need.  Just with his blood my energy and my libido increased to its Max. The deep hunger I had in my body was not for blood but for him.

Valentine pulls my face away from his neck and replaces it with his lips and there's an explosion of emotions and a rampage of passion that burst from our actions. The kiss was rough at first and very eager but it soon turned into an affectionate tangle of lips.

I want to say something, tell him how I really felt about him, but I'm just going to let our lips and our hands do the work. A lot can be said through physical contact.

His kisses are soft with his hands caressing my arms and neck, like he is handling the most delicate flower. I reciprocate his kisses my own, and trail my hands over his hard abdomen. His hands push my dress upward, trailing his fingertips right on my navel, triggering and immense heat to build between my walls. He deepens the kiss and deepens my desire.

He breaks the passionate kiss and a warm and tinted blush crawls quickly up my cheeks. His eyes, burning with desire, gaze deeply into mine as he grumbles so huskily, "You have no idea what you do to me. There are so many things I want to do to you right now."

I bite my lip and he advances toward my neck, trailing his tongue and fangs over my throbbing veins. "Like what?" It was a breathy question due to his naughty and skillful tongue.

"Taste you." His baritone caused me to loose all soberness. I let out a soft moan as he hits a soft spot right under my earlobe.

"But you'll die." I gasp, referring to my own blood. Even though he meant otherwise, he played along.

"Then I'll die with the sweet taste of your blood on my lips," he whispers in my ear, making the hairs on my arms to rise.

"Then what are you waiting for?"

His mouth travels from the base of my neck and back to my lips. This time instead of soft kisses of devotion, they are fiery kisses of want. 

He intertwines his hands in mine and I take in a sharp intake of great at the sting  on the burn on my skin but I ignore it. Valentine lifts my thighs and aggressively pushes me into the wall adjacent to us, keeping my hands captured above my head. My bare legs wrap around his waist as he rocks his body against mine.

A low, seductive growl escapes from the back of his throat as his mouth trails farther down my neck, nibbling and teasing my skin.

"You're mine, sweetheart," he whispers in my ear, making me shudder. He just lit a blazing fire within me, strong enough that I can't resist. 

Valentine's darkened gaze made my core melt in greed. His groans and soft growls drip into my ears like the smoothest honey. In a second, all barriers were ripped from our bodies to delve into a deeper connection. I want him and I want him now.

***
A/N:

Okay, I don't write smut or sex scenes. If you want one, I'll probably host a contest or something in the near future to compensate. Anyway, I'll just leave it to your imagination. ;)

Don't forget to Vote, Comment and Share! It would mean the world to me! ;)