As soon as they carried their armload of shopping purchases into the suite, they freshened up, and Caleb collapsed into bed. Katrina lay beside him, lightly caressing his back while gazing out the large bedroom window into the night and out onto the city. Her mind recalled the events of their excursion, but also played back the brief discovery of the mysterious vampire observer. The stranger’s actions hadn’t seemed hostile, merely curious. Probably one from Alton’s cadre of employees. I’ll ask him about it tomorrow.
Caleb woke early on Sunday to find Katrina gazing upon him fondly as she lay beside him. A glance out the bedroom window revealed gray clouds and some light drizzle. However, it didn’t detract from his excitement of knowing that he was waking up in London.
“Morning, Kat,” he offered with a sleepy grin.
“Good morning, my love,” she replied warmly.
She started to kiss him, but he held up his hand to cover his mouth and shook his head.
“Oh, not yet,” he protested and quickly rolled out of bed to patter into the bathroom as she regarded him with a raised eyebrow.
A few moments later he returned to bed and offered her a minty fresh-breath kiss. She smirked following their kiss and shook her head. Always so thoughtful, she mused.
“Fresh breath for a fresh day in London,” he quipped. “What’s on today’s agenda?”
“Well, there’s a couple of museums located near the hotel that aren’t open in the evening, so perhaps you can visit those today. We’ll see other sites together this evening,” she offered.
He glanced outside again before returning his gaze to her. “I’m no meteorologist, but isn’t it safer for you on cloudy, misty days like today?”
She smirked. “Somebody needs to watch more Weather Channel. Despite the clouds, the sun projects very powerful ultraviolet radiation that penetrates them, and it would still damage me. It’s an easy misperception by most people. UV radiation isn’t in the visible spectrum for humans, but vampires can sense it quite readily in much the same way you can feel heat emanating from an oven.”
“Oh,” he replied sullenly. He hated the idea of spending the day without her, but he certainly didn’t want her to be injured, either.
She reached out to caress the side of his face with her fingers in soothing fashion. “It’s okay, my love. I don’t want you to be cooped up here in the hotel all day. Besides, I’m used to the limitation, and it will be evening before you know it. There’s a lot to see, and we’ll only be here a week. Please, go enjoy, okay?”
“Well, okay. But I won’t enjoy it as much without you.”
“You’re very sweet,” she acknowledged appreciatively.
He wished that he could do something nice for her before he left, but it wasn’t as if he could order breakfast in bed for her. An idea struck him, and he smiled slyly. She frowned at him with a curious expression as he lay back down onto the bed and turned his head slightly away from her.
“Hungry? How about a little nip before I get ready?” he offered.
She smiled at his thoughtful gesture. Her eyes briefly flashed, and she advanced upon him to kiss him deeply, warmly. I’m such a lucky woman. He’s so giving, especially of himself.
Her mouth moved from his lips to the side of his soft neck, and she kissed him ever so gently a number of times with appreciation. Her lips parted, her tongue pressing against his skin. He waited patiently as the numbing sensation spread throughout his neck.
“Thank you, my love,” she whispered. “You fulfill me in so many ways.”
She held her tongue against his skin for another brief moment, and then extended her fangs into him. A wave of ecstasy passed through her as his blood trickled past her lips, into her mouth, and down her throat. She caressed his scalp with her fingertips soothingly and deliberately controlled the rate at which she drew blood from him.
Knowing that he was preparing for a day of sightseeing, she made sure to take only a small amount from him, just enough to fulfill her morning craving. There were few words she could use to describe the satisfaction that partaking in him brought to her. Human blood was sweet, but all the sweeter when given freely and with love. The time passed all too quickly, and she carefully retracted her fangs and used her saliva both to seal and heal his bite marks so nobody would be the wiser.