Serum

-Thirty-Four-

“I don’t think anyone’s doing anything with him that close to the door.” I choked out, and Conner relaxed slightly.

“Lil’ perv.” He shook his head. “Honestly at this point, I think he thinks more with his c**k than I do with mine, and I’m the one in Rut.” Conner stuttered to a halt as if just realizing what he’d said, which just made me laugh all the harder. It might have been a laugh brought on by the stress of things, but it felt good, and it relieved some of the tension between us, and seemed to make the situation a little less dire. When my laughter finally calmed, I groaned, letting my head fall into my hands.

“This whole thing is crazy. All of it. Just months ago I had no idea vampires were even real. Now I am one, and it’s all because your sister, who is the leader of the local ‘chapter’ of vampires decided to experiment on people and accidentally found some ‘magic potion’ that turns people into vamps, and then I get shot, and then Daniel gets hunted by some wanna be Helsing impersonators, and now..now this.” I waved between us. Conner winced again, but came over to kneel in front of me, taking my hands.

“I can never apologize enough for what has happened to you. For what Lana and I have done.” A growl built in his throat that he swallowed down. “But.. I hope you don’t take this the wrong way.. I’m so glad you’re in my life. That I met you. Even when you were still human, I was trying to think of ways to stay in your life, even if.. If we could never be together..” I met his eyes, trying to imagine the life he was describing. How painful that would have been on his end to watch me age and die, having to hide in the shadows after only a few short years of knowing me. I snorted.

“Stalker much.” I commented and Conner grinned.

“If I had to, yeah, I would have. But.. even though whatever gods may or may not exist know, I hate my sister, I have to thank her for one thing.” He waited for me to look into his eyes again. “She gave me you. Possibly forever.” I flinched slightly. I had still been hoping for a cure somewhere deep inside of me, but Conner’s words stung. Could I go back to my normal life after all of this? After knowing everything? After knowing it would mean I would have to say goodbye to Conner? My heart ached at the thought. Even when I had been human I’d started developing feelings for him, and now.. I tugged one of my hands free so I could play with his fingers.

“Thanks. I think.” I joked, and Conner mock-gasped.

“I bare my soul to you and this is how you react?!” He teased with faux outrage, but I leaned forward swiftly and planted my lips on his, silencing him. The kiss was less urgent, and more a gentle, persistent thing. My way of letting him know that I appreciated him, and, though I might not be ready to put it into words, had feelings for him. It wasn’t without heat though, and when I was done, I rolled my forehead against his, panting for breath.

“How are we gonna do this? Trying to juggle vampire hunters and this Rut thing? I thought it was bad enough dealing with Lana, now this on top of that..” I sighed, eyes closed as I pressed my forehead against his, like I could somehow borrow his strength. Conner chuckled.

“Wow. For a moment there, I thought you were asking me about the Rut and how we do that.” Conner chuckled again as my eyes flew open and I smacked his upper arm.

“Jerk. You’re not my first boyfriend.” The word popped out of my mouth before I could stop it, and we both froze, while I nervously bit my bottom lip. Conner reached up and tugged my lip free with his thumb.

“Is that what I am then?” He murmured, rubbing his thumb across my lip. It came away deep red with my blood, and Conner pressed his thumb back to my lips, encouraging me to open my mouth. I let him slip his thumb inside, sucking the blood from it even as he watched my mouth ravenously. The look on his face was enough to make me feel my pulse between my legs, which surprised me. He met my gaze and the need ramped up another notch. His eyes were full of so much fire. Had anyone ever looked at me like that? My first (and only) boyfriend hadn’t, that’s for sure. Conner’s eyes slid closed and his nostrils flared as he inhaled deeply. He groaned, placing his forehead against mine again and tugging his thumb free with an audible pop. His other hand released mine and fell to his waist. When my eyes followed the motion, I realized that no, it was a little lower than his waist, as he tried to adjust his suddenly very tight pants around a very obvious erection. I jerked my gaze back up to his face.

“What happens if we ignore the Rut?” I murmured, and Conner moaned.

“It gets worse. You would need to distance yourself from me so I could clear my senses of your pheromones for it to fade. But, that doesn’t always work. Sometimes the male vamps just chase after the females. Biological drive to reproduce and all that.” Conner waved a hand in the air as if swatting the idea away. “But it doesn’t matter. Because I’m never letting you out of my sight again. Look what happened when I did.” His eyes opened again, and I was met with a fierce expression. I knew he was talking about Lana and the Serum, and Lana and the biopsy, and well, just basically every time I was alone with Lana.

“Right.” I rubbed my forehead and Conner stood up stiffly. I tried to keep my eyes averted from his crotch, but it was difficult. “To tell you the truth, I don’t really want to go anywhere else either. I’m still pretty new to this whole vampire thing and the only other person I know is your sister, and there’s no way in Hell I’m going to stay with her.. She’d probably keep me locked up in a cage and experiment on me anyway.” I muttered. Conner’s light growl underscored my words. I grinned at him halfheartedly to let him know I was joking. Sort of. “And anyone she’d recommend would likely be the same, on her side and treacherous..” Conner’s fist hit the bathroom wall and I jerked. He was facing away from me now. “Uh, should I stop talking?” I could feel the rage roiling through our mental link.

“About my sister, yes. The Rut makes me.. Selfish. I want you all to myself.” He took a deep breath. “I could be all noble and say it makes me more protective or jealous, but that’s not it. It’s entirely self-motivated selfishness based on instinct. Don’t let another near your potential mate so that your seed is the one that fertilizes.” I giggled softly.

“You act like Lana is competition. You know, like she’s another guy.” I teased. Conner swung around, anger pouring from his eyes.

“She is competition. Not because of potential pregnancy, but she is a threat. She might take you from me, and I..” Conner was breathing so hard I thought he might pass out. I hopped up from the toilet and raced to his side.

“I’m not going anywhere, ok? Just relax. Breathe.” I put a hand on his chest, trying to steady him and some of the anger faded from his expression.

“Ok, what about condoms? Morning after pills? Other forms of birth control? I don’t think this is a good time for pregnancy. Honestly, I’m not even used to being a vampire yet, I don’t even think I can handle..” I gulped. “All that..” Conner was shaking his head.

“Our systems are too different for the hormonal pills and things, and as far as condoms.. Remember the Dart?” Conner waited for me to nod before continuing. “Let’s just say that it’s not real kind to condoms.” I crossed my arms, looking skeptical.

“This can’t be real. I mean honestly. Are you going to tell me that vampire guys are just like humans? ‘Oh honey I can’t because I’m too big’ only your excuse is some Dart?” I nearly bit my own tongue when Conner grabbed my hand, unzipping his pants and leading my hands straight to his erection, which had not gone down. He hissed when my fingers brushed him, but then he curled the tips of my fingers over the tip of him, and something hard brushed against my fingers. It felt like something embedded in the skin, like a piece of glass, ready to break free.

“You feel that?” Conner grit out through clenched teeth. “When exposed to the hormones in cervical mucus, the moorings soften and it breaks free. It doesn’t always happen the first time. Sometimes it takes several attempts. It’s sharp because it’s designed to burrow its way past your cervix and into your uterus where it functions like a reverse IUD. It’s going to secrete hormones that encourage you to ovulate, instead of telling your body not to.” Conner removed his hand from mine and I recoiled. “Are you satisfied?” The expression on his face was a mixture of embarrassment, pain and desire. I curled my fingers into my palm, holding my hand stiffly at my side. I could barely manage a nod in response.