Over the next few months he fell in love with her, and somehow she became part of his life. He’d been alone for far too long, and the thought of having a constant companion he could trust appealed to him. All his friends assured him how great they thought the two of them were together, all except Amaury who kept his feelings to himself.
Their sex life was excellent, they had the same circle of friends, the same standing in society. They were the perfect match.
It was only a matter of time until rumors of an impending blood-bond were circulating, and the thought of forming a permanent bond between them excited him. Something was missing in his life, and she could fill that void, so he’d made up his mind.
Samson pushed away the thoughts of that fateful night when his world had come crashing down in one sweep. The past had no place in his life now. Only the present did.
He wondered whether the fact that Delilah was human had something to do with how he reacted to her. While he’d certainly had sex with human women before, back in the day when he was still a little wilder and more untamed, none of those had really interested him, so little so, that he gave up sex with humans altogether.
Sex with humans always presented itself with more danger than the payoff was worth. Amaury didn’t share his opinion on this subject. But Samson felt that he’d always had to hold back and had never been able to truly unleash his power and strength on them without potentially injuring them. In the end it had felt like too much of a chore to continue with. Vampire females were easier to deal with when it came to sex. They could keep up with the strength and ferocity of their sexual partners and didn’t break easily.
Samson knew it was madness to pursue the human woman, but he was desperate. He needed sex, and he needed it soon, otherwise he’d turn into a dangerous beast whose moods could no longer be controlled. He would become a liability not only to himself but also to those around him. He had worked too hard in the last two centuries to let all his achievements go to pot because of sexual frustration.
Less than half an hour after he’d left his home, he reached his shrink’s office and stormed in. Time was of the essence. He’d never felt this kind of urgency before.
“Thank you for seeing me on such short notice.”
Dr. Drake raised an eyebrow. “What’s so important that you couldn’t wait till tomorrow?”
“Something’s happened.”
He looked at him and the shrink’s eyes flickered. “Oh. Tell me who she is and what she did.”
“That’s just it. I have no idea.” Samson let himself fall into the coffin, stretching out his full length on the soft cushion.
His doctor stared at him in disbelief. Samson had never in all his sessions used the coffin and always insisted on sitting in the chair. Or paced impatiently about the room.
As Samson recalled the incident with Delilah blow by blow, Drake listened intently, taking in every word. At the same time he observed his patient’s demeanor, breathing, and movements.
“What does it mean?” Samson asked eagerly.
“Interesting. And you said the stripper left you cold after that woman aroused you?”
“Like I said. As if I’d stepped into a freezer.”
“Interesting.” He steepled his fingers in front of his face with his elbows resting on his armrests. “In our session last week you mentioned something about missing something. Can you elaborate on that?”
“Now?” Samson shot him an exasperated look.
“I think it’s important in relation to this event.”
Samson huffed. “Fine. I just—I can’t really put my finger on it. There was this void, no matter what I did, how much I achieved. It always felt as if I wasn’t complete, as if an important part of me was missing.”
“In what way?”
“Emotionally.” Samson let out a sigh. “There was this yearning for something that would finally complete me. I believed that the blood-bond would have filled that emptiness. It had to.”
“The blood-bond with Ilona? I doubt it.”
“What makes you say that, doc?”
“A blood-bond is but a formal culmination of what’s already there. The bond already exists. The ritual only formalizes it. The ritual can’t complete you, if you haven’t already found this completion in your mate.”
“I don’t get it. The ritual creates the bond. That’s what I’ve been taught.”
Drake shook his head. “A common misconception amongst our kind.”
“I didn’t feel the bond with Ilona, not like you describe it. I thought it would be obvious later, after the ritual.”
“Trust me; you’re not the only one who believes it. But if you didn’t feel the connection to her before, then you weren’t meant to blood-bond with her. It’s not something you can force. In any case, I now understand better why you reacted the way you did when things fell apart with Ilona. It all makes sense now.”
Drake got up and walked to the coffin.
“Comfortable?”
Samson’s head jerked around, and suddenly he realized where he was. He instantly jumped up, putting distance between him and the offending coffin. “What the…?” He was losing it, definitely losing it. Not only did he not understand Drake’s cryptic explanation, nothing in his life made sense right now.
“Uh huh.”
“What? Damn it, what?” Samson needed an answer. What was he paying the quack for?
“I think I know what might have happened. By being confronted with a vulnerable human, you’ve allowed yourself to become vulnerable again and stripped away your layer of protection. And as soon as you were with the vampire female, that wall went right back up, and your dick went down.”
“Thanks for the colorful illustration. I suppose you’re charging me for this insight?” As if he needed a mental picture of his limp dick.
“Hmh, a mortal. I mean, it could work. It’s entirely possible. Many of our kind have sex with humans. Of course, it would be dangerous—for her, at least, but if you were careful … Well, yes, it could work.”
Dumbfounded, Samson looked at him. What was the quack waffling about? Was he talking to himself? “Damn it, doc, what the fuck do I do now?”
“Listen, and just once do what I suggest. Just once. Find that woman again and have sex with her. Get it out of your system. I promise you: once you’ve had her, your body will remember what it was like and go back to normal. Trust me on this.”
“But she’s a mortal. Don’t you understand?” The good doctor couldn’t have forgotten this small detail that easily.
“I fully understand the implications, trust me. I understand the danger she’ll be in.”
“I’m not so sure you do. If I lose control, I could seriously maim her, possibly kill her. In the heat of passion, caution is my least concern. There’s no telling what I’ll do. Bite her? Suck her dry? Kill her?” The very thought was revolting. “After such a long abstinence, how can I be sure I can control my body?”
“What is she to you? Nothing, just a mortal, a human. Take what you need from her, and get on with your life. You need to have sex with her as soon as possible; otherwise, this window of opportunity might close again. Don’t you see? It’s like she was sent to you to help you. Do it, and stop worrying about the consequences. Heck, she might even enjoy it, considering your reputation …” Drake had the audacity to chuckle.
Samson nodded. Maybe he could do that. He knew what he was capable of in bed. He’d always lived up to his reputation. He would be careful, try to be gentle so she would enjoy it. He’d have to make sure of it. That was the least he could do, give her a night of ultimate pleasure, a nice memory. And if his doctor thought it was that simple, maybe it was. For once he had to agree with his shrink. Damn, he wanted nothing more than to fuck her senseless, and now he had the doctor’s order to do so.