The Black God

"Just breathe," he said quietly. The cool ocean breeze swept by both of them. His sense were alert, his ability to spot potential danger before it reached them in full effect. He listened to Ashley's breathing stabilize and sensed her testing her balance.

"What did you … do?" she whispered finally. "I'll kill myself before becoming a vamp!"

"I didn't vamp you," he replied. "I stopped the seizure."

"How?"

"Manipulating someone's body is one of my talents. Keeps my meals from fighting back."

Her breath hitched. Ashley tried to pull away. Still weak from her seizure, she was easy to subdue, and Jonny nuzzled her neck once more.

"Don't!" she gasped and gripped his arm with both hands.

"You gonna stop fucking with my vamps?" he replied.

Ashley said nothing.

"I take it that's a no," he said, not surprised. "I'm going to start considering every confrontation you have with them a personal invitation to pay you a visit."

"Xander -"

"Xander doesn't know what you're doing. If you want to tell him, I'm happy to tell him who rescued you tonight." Jonny kept his tone even, his voice calm and firm. He wasn't about to let her know just how much he didn't want to have that conversation with Xander.

"Let me go," she said quietly.

"Do you understand me, Ashley?"

She squirmed.

"Wrong answer." Jonny bit her again, this time harder, letting her feel what it was like to have three inch incisors slicing into her neck.

Ashley gasped and clawed at his arm. He dwelt on her flavor. As usual, he mentally deciphered the complex taste unique to each person he'd drunk from. Ashley was sweet, heady, a mouth full of nectar mixed with the saucy tang of an unknown spice. It was addicting and ensnared every one of his senses. She was complicated and delicious bouquet, a combination arousing more than his hunger, especially when coupled with her shapely body squirming against his.

He drank long enough to prove his point she wasn't going to escape if he didn't want her to then lifted his head. His tongue flickered over the puncture wounds to heal them.

"Do you understand?" he whispered again.

"Yes," she managed.

Jonny released her. Ashley hurried away and faced him, paler than usual after her seizure. She didn't try to retrieve the knife she'd dropped when her episode hit and instead, glared up at him. He met her gaze, uncertain why the ocean breeze felt so much colder when her warmth was gone from him.

"You killed your vamps to save me. Why?" she asked suspiciously.

"They weren't mine," he replied.

She lifted an eyebrow.