Sometime around two p.m., Marie woke up feeling stiff. The sun shed some light in the motel room as William clung to her, still as a log and sleeping heavily. No longer cold, Marie tried to move.
“William, get on your back for a second, will you?”
He groaned in his sleep. She gently pushed him off of her, but didn’t want to lose the warmth, so she clung to his body.
“I just want to stretch out my legs,” she said when he got onto his back. “Much better. You know, I haven’t been this close to a man in years. I had forgotten it had been so long.” She subconsciously caressed his stomach, feeling his muscular abs.
“I haven’t thought of myself as a man in years,” he said softly, his voice sleepy and deep.
“William, with this body of yours, you’re most definitely a man,” she said, complementing him as her head lay on his chest. She touched him some more, exploring his body without realizing she was turning him on. William let out a deep sigh, enjoying the way she was touching him.
Marie settled into her new spot on top of him, her legs stretched out across his body. Her thigh brushed against something unexpected. Her eyes widened at the thought of what is must be. She peeked under the blanket, her cheeks blushing when she realized what her leg was touching and that she had been right.
His erection was large and stiff underneath his brand-new boxers. “William, you can still have sex?” she asked, surprised as she moved her leg away from his manhood.
“Yeah,” he said, unfazed, his eyes still closed.
“You can still have sex and enjoy it?” she asked, curious.
“Yes, I can,” he said, finally opening his eyes. “Though, it’s been a really long time.”
“It’s been a long time for me, too. Something like ten years,” she said, putting her head back down on his chest, feeling conflicted.
“The last time for me was that time in the sixties. It didn’t end well for the woman, as you know, and I haven’t thought it worth trying since then.”
Marie looked up at him, afraid now to be so close to him. Her body acted as if it were the most natural thing in the world, but her brain was warning her. She retracted her legs from his body and took her hand back from his chest.
William opened his eyes and turned to her. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m not the same vampire I was then. I’m not going to hurt you,” he said, his eyes searching hers. He wanted her to trust him. Suddenly, he had an idea.
He turned on his side, placing a hand on her hip. “I won’t hurt you,” he whispered, his voice muffled by her hair as he placed his mouth on her ear. He kissed her on her cheek, then her forehead and all over her face with small and sweet pecks until he made it down to her neck. There, he stopped.
“This is the spot,” he said quietly, his eyes honing in on the spot as if it were an X on a treasure map. His lips lingered above her skin. He could see her vein throbbing, could almost taste the blood. Her heart started beating faster and so was his.
“William,” she said with fear in her voice. She was both terrified and turned on at the same time, a feeling which was new for Marie. She was feeling conflicted by this vampire and wasn’t sure how to manage her feelings for him.
“Sssh, trust me,” he said. He leaned in, closing the distance. She could feel his stubble lightly brush her cheek. He kissed her neck, his tongue exploring her soft tender skin. Marie closed her eyes and cursed the situation. She wanted him. She wanted him bad.
He continued to kiss her, pressing his groin into her as he did so. Marie let out a soft moan. William reigned himself in and kissed her on the mouth ever so gently, then cradled her back in his arms, resting on his back again. He had felt it, too. His body was aching for hers in ways that he had forgotten it could.
“I was just kissed by a vampire,” Marie said, her cheeks flushed with the slightest smile. She could still feel where his mouth had been.
“And it was not the kiss of death,” William replied. He wasn’t prepared for his body responding to her in that manner, and he had some thinking to do. “Go back to sleep. We still have a few hours before we need to be up,” he said, sounding a little distracted.
Marie knew he was right, and she was still tired. Besides, it’s not like she loved the idea of fornicating with a vampire. Still, it was William, and she could feel their connection. She cursed her situation and closed her eyes, trying to get the image of him on top of her out of her head.
Chapter Six
Marie stirred in bed. She heard bags rustling and opened her eyes to find William in his boxers rummaging through the purchases she had made.
He turned and noticed she had woken up. He pulled out a white long-sleeved thermal shirt with three buttons at the collar. “Is this one for you?” he asked, a confused look on his face.
She smiled. “No, it’s for you. Try it on.”
“No way. It looks too small.”
“It’s supposed to fit you just right.”
He shook his head but did as she asked. He looked at himself in the mirror and checked out his body, the shirt clinging to his torso. “Not bad.” William turned back around to Marie. “Did you buy this for me so that you could get a better look at my body?” he asked, smiling.
Marie shrugged as she got out of bed, already feeling the cold temperature in the room now that she was out of the blankets. “You wish.”
William only continued to smile as he took a pair of dark jeans out of the bag and slid them on. Meanwhile, Marie found an iron in their room and went to work on ironing her clothes from that morning so that they would be dry enough to wear.
William threw everything she had purchased onto the bed and starting arranging them. “You managed to get a lot of stuff in the short time you were in there.” He tried on a hoody she had purchased. He had seen a lot of men of all ages wear them in the past few years. As he looked himself in the mirror, he knew she was right to have gotten him new clothes. He would fit in better this way.
Marie found a dark red sweater she had purchased for William and put it on since her jacket was still wet.
“Cute,” he said, giving her a look from head to toe.
She gave him a cold, hard look.
William’s smile widened. “You’re pretty when you’re angry, you know that.”
Marie turned around and started to gather her belongings. The truth was, she didn’t want him to see her face, which was growing red at his compliment.
William finished packing his new clothes. “We should get going. I’ll go square away the room. Why don’t you make sure we don’t leave anything behind?” William checked out of the hotel while Marie gathered the rest of their belongings and later, helped him pack his car.
When they were finally back in Salem that evening, Halloween was in full swing. The weather had taken a turn for the better and while there was still snow on the ground, it wasn’t as cold as it had been previously.
Instead of going home to change first, they decided to stop at a diner and get something to eat first.
“I’m starving,” Marie admitted.
Marie ordered a coffee right away while William asked for an herbal tea. After ordering from the twenty-four-hour breakfast menu, Marie cradled her coffee cup in her hands for warmth.