A sigh rippled out of Ceria, then the tension poured away from her like an almost visible wave.
We were both still in our armor, hardly the right clothing for what came next. I told her to remove her jack. She slipped out of it while I removed my own armor. Without my asking, she then untied her tunic at the shoulders and slipped it off. I felt my fangs prepare to grow as she revealed herself.
I know doing this makes it difficult for mortals to believe that feeding isn’t about sex, or at least, not from the vampire’s point of view. I’ll admit, it does border on sex from the donor’s point of view. So I really do understand why mortals see it this way. And they have good reason to think it’s sexual for the vampire, after all.
Let’s review. I respond most readily to an attractive, nubile girl. I have the strongest reaction when she is physically exposed. It helps me grow something in order to stick it into her. She will feel very good while I do it. If all this isn’t in-your-face blatantly symbolic of something else, I do not know what the definition of blatant actually is.
So I will repeat this again. For a vampire, it’s that thing that chefs say; you eat first with your eyes. I will admit that thanks to Robert’s sensibilities being in the mix, part of me did think about taking advantage of it sexually, but that is a different need. To feed, I only needed to see and smell a meal worth partaking of. Robert’s desires did cause me to descend as far as her bosom for a short while this time, to add the smell there to that fetching sight, but then Tiana regained control of my actions and got the subject back to the task at hand, which did not require touching her there.
Well, the attraction to that area is in fact also vampiric. Because young vampires take their first meals at the breast the same way that young humans do, we usually take our first blood feedings there as well. Vampire mothers can afford to give up the tiny amount of stable mana required by an infant vampire, so they act as their baby’s first donors. We switch to the neck later, as a less erogenous spot for the donor, although I understand that those who have sexual relationships with their donors will return to feed there again.
Which is why Tiana stopped feeding there once puberty hit and Aunt Elianora explained the facts of life to her. She decided to be like her aunt and keep a firm division in her mind between what she was doing and what she was not doing. I understand that is the case for most vampires.
Despite Robert’s libido, I wanted to continue keeping that division, so I traveled very quickly up from Ceria’s bosom to her hair, and behind her ear, the places Tiana preferred to smell to grow her fangs.
Because I was still having deep misgivings about what I was trying to do, I was still having trouble getting ready, until Ceria gave out a moan, grabbed my hand and pressed it against her breast. She was telling me in clear non-verbal terms that she now wanted what was coming. Her desire put things over the top for me. My fangs grew quickly.
When I lost control with Melione, it had been my hunger in charge. I think it was because of that experience that a strange resolve came over me in that moment.
More than I had ever realized it before, I understood that I had to respect my meal. She had willingly given herself as my meal, and in return I had to annul my nature as her predator and become instead her acceptor. I had to gently and gratefully receive what she was giving.
Sinking my fangs into her neck brought out another moan from her. I let the blood run into my mouth, slowly drinking it in and enjoying the exquisite flavor, while ignoring the explorations her hands were making.
I only began paying attention to them when she discovered that the magic holding my ‘tunic’ to my bosom didn’t resist when she peeled the cloth away. But unlike with previous meals, I made myself allow the gentle squeezes.
It encouraged her to go for the next obvious target after I had fed a while. I decided this was more than I should allow. I only squeezed my thighs together to deny access, but that was sufficient. We stayed like that from then on, with her stroking my thigh as I savored her wonderful blood.
I deliberately fed longer than I ever did before, to insure the bond. When I finally released her, she was gazing with lust into my eyes, but I had the bracelet ready to go. I closed it around her wrist before she could try to move on to the next thing.
Unlike Melione’s instant transformation in that moment, Ceria just leaned back and gave a contented sigh. But then she looked at me with a broad smile, put her arms behind her head, stretched provocatively and said, “That was wonderful, Lady. I want to do it again.”
“That would be bad for you,” I stated, pressing her away by the shoulders as she tried to get her arms back around me.
She pursed her lips with a coquettish smile and tipped her head. “Then I know some other things we could do.”
With some concern, I used fairy sight on the bracelet, but it appeared to be working. I told her, “Ceria, no.”
“Not even a little snuggly?” she asked with mock disappointment. I had to intercept her hand as she tried to get back to my bosom for another grope. She outmaneuvered me with her left, but I peeled it off after one squeeze.
I sighed and repeated more deliberately as I held her wrists, “Ceria. No. Aren’t you feeling tired?”
“Mm,” she answered in a languid purr. “Feels like I haven’t slept in days. But in a good way. I want to curl up with you.”
“I’ll get your bedroll out.”
With a pout, she said, “I want your bedroll.”
“Seriously, is this thing working?” I asked, my voice rising a bit. I was still holding her wrists, so I raised that hand to looking more closely at the bracelet. Fairy sight said yes, but…
“It’s working, Lady,” she answered, a slight giggle in her voice. “I could feel the change when you put it on me. Before, it was like I was drunk, but I sobered up as soon as it closed. But Lady, you’re cute and you make it very fun to tease you, you know?”
She extricated herself from my grip and got up, then, without asking permission, untied my bedroll from my pack and laid it out. I pulled my tunic back up and carefully restored the coverage of my bosom, then got up and retrieved my armor.
Ceria stretched out on top of the blanket, face first. She drew in a deep breath.
“Mmm. It smells just like Lady.”
I just let out a groan and shook my head in resignation.
“Ceria,” Bruna suddenly, “You can’t go to sleep yet.”
“I thought you were sleeping!” I retorted, turning toward her.
“Nah. Watched the whole thing. That was really hot.”
I seem to have developed some kind of weird blushing disease lately. My face blazed immediately, as it had so many times since meeting these two.
To hide my embarrassment, I concentrated on putting my armor back on.
“I can’t believe you just stayed there and watched while I did that to your sister,” I groused.
“Lady, I hate you just a little for it right now, but you were right, so I chose not to interfere,” she responded. She then told her sister, “Get back up and fire off some magic. Lady said you have to use your magic for her to learn it, so you need get started.”
Just before the objection came out of my mouth– it really is best for a donor to rest after the feeding– I realized she was right. We didn’t have that luxury at the moment.
Ceria got up on all fours and stretched her body, her tail waving in the air– I kinda feel ashamed to say this, considering her race, but it gave new meaning to ‘lady panther pose’– then sat back up. I tore my eyes away from her bosom.
Carefully staying eye-level as I looked back, I told her, “Fix your tunic and put your armor back on.”
Her belt was keeping the lower half of her tunic in place, but the upper half was still bunched up around her waist. She grinned down at her toplessness, then put her arms behind her head and twisted back and forth a little. “Does it bother you?”
“Think about the situation, already!” I exploded.
She laughed and pulled the tunic back up, tying a shoulder while smirking at me.
“Seriously,” I grumbled. “The way you two acted in that tavern, I was sure you were both into guys.”
“Oh, we are very much into guys,” Ceria answered as she tied the second shoulder. “Guys are great. It’s just that girls are nice, too.”
“Well, I have a fiancé, so I wish to pass.”
She stopped mid-bend while picking up her armor. “What? You have a fiancé?”
“Yes. Why?”
Bruna supplied the answer. “You’re half fairy and half vampire, right? Neither species usually gets married, you know.”
It wasn’t common, but it wasn’t actually unheard of, for either species. But I simply answered, “That’s true, but I have obligations as a noblewoman.”
Ceria shook her head as she pulled the armor on. “A noblewoman. You really are a rich girl, just like we thought.”
