Chapter 35

Chris’ idea of a surprise date is a little bit more morbid than I expected.

“A cemetery?” I ask with a laugh.

He shrugs, a small smile on his face. After he asked me to go somewhere with him, he wouldn’t tell me where we were going. He said it was a surprise but that it was something very special to him. I dressed for the assignment in a thin black halter top and a high-waist, skin-tight leather skirt with a slit in the thigh. What he failed to mention was that we would be walking around at night, in the October chill, dressed like this. After he saw my outfit, Chris gave me his leather jacket to keep me warm, choosing to wander around the cold night in a plain black tee shirt and his usual black skinny jeans with holes in them. The weather does not affect Chris, the emo boy, whatsoever. I glance down at his perfectly ripped black jeans and roll my eyes. He has like a thousand pairs of the damn things; it’s sickening.

Chris chuckles, holding my hand as he guides me around headstones. “I wanted to show you something,” he says simply as we walk further into the graveyard, past mausoleums and obelisks casting unique shadows that I feel like I recognize.

“What could you possibly have to show me? That zombies are real too?” I flash him a sly grin as we pass a long line of tombstones surrounded by rose bushes, carnations, and orchids. I can’t shake the sense that this cemetery feels oddly familiar. But there’s no way I could have ever been here before. I’ve never even left New York, much less explored random cemeteries in Pennsylvania. I push the feeling away, paying it no mind, and let Chris keep guiding me to whatever he wants to show me.

“So impatient, kitten.” He picks up his pace, tugging me along behind him. “It’s just up ahead.” After about twenty feet, he stops so suddenly that I almost run into him. He steadies me before nodding to the ground next to where we stopped.

I glance down, and my heart stops inside my chest. The names on these headstones. Morselli.

“It’s my family. And my grave. Although, obviously, there isn’t a body down there.” I’m quiet for long enough that he breaks the silence, asking in a small voice, “Is it weird for me to bring you here?”

I shake my head as I walk up to his headstone. Christopher Alexander Morselli. I kneel and trace my hand over the letters etched into the stone. 1792-1818. Beloved son and brother. My breath hitches at the reality of his life, and death. I mean to say something sincere, heartfelt, but instead what pops out is, “You didn’t have to claw your way out of the grave, did you?”

A surprised snort bursts out of Chris. “No. No, kitten, fortunately, I never got the Return of the Living Dead experience.” His expression grows serious once more. “My parents just placed the headstone after they received the letter Todd sent informing them of my death after he turned me. I only learned that it was here after… what I did to them. After I found out about it, though, I made sure they were laid to rest next to me. So they would always be with me. Even if it is only in spirit.”

I stand up and look at the headstones beside his, reading the other names. Antonio and Maria Morselli. And Elizabeth Morselli. “I think they would be proud of the man you’ve become.”

Chris’ answering smile doesn’t meet his eyes. “I’d like to think that. I just hope they forgive me.”

“I’m sure of it.” Crap, I wish I had something to leave at his family’s graves. I scan around me for something, and, to my excitement, I notice there’s a rose bush to my left. I walk over to it, feeling Chris’ eyes following me as I do, and pluck a single perfect rose. I inhale its sweet scent and stride back to Elizabeth’s headstone. I lay the rose down on the earth in front of the stone. “A flower. Because she would bring you a flower every day when you got home safely. I hope she found her own way home and is surrounded by lots of beautiful flowers in the afterlife.”

“Thank you, kitten,” Chris whispers.

I look up to meet his gaze. His eyes are locked on me, glossy with tears. “She would have done it for me, I’m sure.” I reach for his hand, and he takes it, leading me to the tombstone directly across from his. Where we’re standing, just a little further away from his grave, triggers a strong flash memory, and I frown in confusion. I’ve never been to this place before, but it feels so familiar.

“We can do something else if you want?”

“No, I’d like to stay here with you for a while. Do you visit here often?” I ask.

Chris lets go of my hand and sits down on the soil, leaning against the headstone behind him. I tilt my head to read whose resting place this marks: Harry Bigby. “I would sit in this spot right here for hours. To think. Clear my head.”

Chris keeps talking, but I can’t hear what he’s saying. The feeling of deja vu that has settled over me from the moment we walked into the cemetery overwhelms me. I look around at the funeral structures surrounding us. My breathing becomes uneven, and I can distantly hear Chris ask, “Dani.” But I don’t respond. I can’t respond, because I’ve just realized where I know this place from.

This is my dream. I’m in my dream right now, but this is no dream. It’s my reality. This whole time, I’ve been dreaming about my future—about Chris—right here at this exact moment, as if fate truly brought me here. Tears well behind my eyelids as my jaw drops slightly. Is this because of our bond? How is it possible that I’ve been dreaming of this exact moment for two years before I ever even met Chris?

The stars are aligning, that invisible cord in my chest sparking anew—our bond—my sanguis. And just like that, I realize I’m home. Chris is my home. With him, I am safe and protected. I’m loved. Feelings surge through me, ones that I recognize from my dream. I’ve always belonged here, I was always meant to be here. With him. It’s always been him. I know this now.

I experience a moment of confusion—how could I not see it? He’s been in front of me this whole time. In my dream, I’ve been looking at his tombstone–but I push it away quickly, in light of the man sitting in front of me. Christopher Morselli. My Chris. I see you now. It’s all so clear. I kneel in front of Chris.

He notices my stricken face and cocks his head to the side, giving me a puzzled look.

“It’s you,” I whisper. A tear falls from my face into the grass in front of me.

“What’s me, little kitten? What’s the matter?” He starts to lean forward.

I place my hand against his chest to stop his forward motion. Without saying another word, I inch slowly between his legs, resting against his chest and drawing in a shaky breath. My stare is locked on Chris’ tombstone straight ahead of me. This is it. My actual dream come to life. Another tear falls down my face. Epiphany washes over me, hitting me like a ton of bricks, and for the first time in weeks, I’m not conflicted or uncertain. “You’re the one I’ve been dreaming about. All this time, it’s been you.”

Chris stills completely against my back, the only movement his chest rising and falling with his breaths. We’re breathing at the same pace. Hearts beating as one.

“For two years, I had this same dream. We were here, in this cemetery, in this same position. I never saw your face, though. What does this mean?” Another tear escapes me.

Chris exhales slowly. “I had dreams of you too, but it was never here, and I never saw your face either. For over a century, I’ve dreamed of you, kitten. I told you vampires don’t need sleep, and we don’t. But when I would come here, sometimes I would doze off to kill time. My never-ending fucking time. And whenever I dozed, I would dream of you. Of us. We were never doing anything special—it was just the two of us happy together. But I heard your laugh. I knew you had blonde hair. Just small things. But, even with those tiny details, I still knew you were mine. My sanguise. I just had to find you. I didn’t know it would take over 150 years to finally find you. But you were worth the wait.” Chris drapes his right arm over my stomach and pulls me closer to him. “Two years ago, when Oliver disappeared, I saw you on the news. Your picture. I knew who you were right away. I knew you would be mine one day. I wrote the song Sanguise for you, and you were all I could think about since the day I saw your picture—when I learned who you were.” He pauses, and when he speaks again, his voice shakes. “I hadn’t cried since the day I lost my family. Until I saw your picture. If I had to guess, that’s probably why your dreams started manifesting then.”

With a muffled sob, I ask, “Why didn’t you come for me then?”

His thumb rubs along my breastbone right over my heart. “It wasn’t the right time. I’d already waited this long. I could wait a little longer. The night I met you, I told Todd to find you somehow and invite you to the concert. Get you there any way it took. He found Elijah instead. And when I saw you in that audience, I felt you. Our connection. Everything you were feeling. And I fell in love with you while I was up on that stage.”

My breathing is shaking and uneven. “You’re mine. My sanguise?” I stumble over the unfamiliar word, and it comes out sounding like a question.

Chris chuckles. “I’m your sanguis. You’re my sanguise. Masculine and feminine declensions, but it means the same thing either way. Just like I told you. I’m yours, and you’re mine. Eternally.”

“Oh.” I breathe softly.

Chris strokes my hair gently. “How does this dream play out, little kitten.”

“You place your hand around my throat and give me back my power like you did in the mirror. But now, I realize that I only have that power when I’m with you. Together as one.” I’m barely making sense, even to myself, but fortunately, Chris understands me.

Chris lifts his left hand to span my throat and gently tightens his grip. “Like this?” His voice is low and sultry.

I nod slowly and arch my back, pressing into his touch, resting my head back against his shoulder. Each motion is a mirror of what I do in my dream. I know how this is going to play out. But it’s different because I know whose tattooed hand is wrapped around my throat, and it’s all very real this time. My body thrums with anticipation and desire. God, it’s real. My Chris. My sanguis. I rest my hands on his legs, digging my nails into his skin through the holes in his jeans.

Chris lowers his head to my ear, his hot breath brushing over my skin, bringing with it a hint of the scent of whiskey. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for you to come to me, Danica. Do you trust me?” His question drips with seduction and a promise—our promise to each other.

I shiver as my heart clenches inside my chest. His other hand trails down my abdomen, reaching lower towards my skirt. I nod slowly, that invisible cord in my chest thrumming. Igniting. Coming to life. The final forging of our bond.

I stare down at the tattoos on the arm trailing down my stomach. In my dream, I couldn’t see them clearly, but I can now. I’m determined to memorize each one and burn it into my memory. Chris is my home, my sanguis, and my love.

He tightens his grip on my throat slightly as he lifts my skirt and slips two fingers in between my legs. A breathy moan escapes me. I want him desperately. Everywhere. All at once. I crave him.

“Is this what you dreamed about, little kitten? Your sanguis making you come in a cemetery?” he groans into my ear, rocking his hips against my ass slightly.

I feel his hard length against my back. “Yes.” I breathe. “But I want more. I want all of you. I want everything.” I arch into him, as Chris starts swirling my clit in slow, tight circular strokes. I feel his power humming through his fingertips, speeding up my need for him and ramping up my climax.

He quickens his pace, his fingers working their magic against my throbbing bundle of nerves. “Do you see me now?” Chris asks with a soul-deep passion.

I’m staring at his tombstone when I come undone. “I see you, Chris!” I cry out without caring about the noise I’m making. There’s no one around to hear me but the dead. I scream his name at the sky as desire burns through every inch of my body.

The cord hums and vibrates inside of me as I come down from the intense orgasm. No, that isn’t all. I want more. I need more. That fingerfucking, amazing as it was, is not enough to sate my overwhelming desire for him. I want all of him. This is the moment when the shattered pieces of my soul are forged anew. Piece by piece, Chris is rebuilding me until I’m whole again, and with him, eternally.

Like a woman possessed, I turn, lifting myself to my knees just enough that I can straddle him. Face to face, our breaths uneven. I trace his bottom lip with my fingers, that familiar shock of touching him coursing through me. I don’t think that feeling will ever go away.

“Tell me something true,” Chris murmurs against my fingertips.

My truth spills out of me without any hesitation or doubt. “I love you. It’s always been you,” I whisper.

Chris lets out a strangled, “Finally” as he threads his hands into my hair and brings my lips to his. He kisses me, for real this time. It’s earth-shattering, the invisible cord in my chest vibrating harder and harder inside of me, electricity crackling and sparking through my entire body. Our lips part. We’re exploring each other’s mouths with our tongues, claiming each other. Each drugging kiss forges our bond stronger, burning brighter.

I bite and nibble on his lips as he does the same to mine. My core is dripping for him, soaked from the pleasure he brought me earlier and the feeling of our passion-driven kisses. I grind my hips, rubbing my pussy along the swell in his jeans. “Make love to me. I want all of you. Every part of you,” I plead against his lips through kisses.

I don’t care about the chilly fall air or that my bare legs are exposed to its bite. I couldn’t care less about Oliver or Balor or Amanda. All I care about, all I can see, is Chris. Only Chris. Only him forever.

Chris reaches down to unzip his jeans, the pull of the zipper loud in the quiet of the cemetery. I drag my skirt up to around my waist so my panties and ass are exposed, and I push my panties to the side. We’re frantic, fumbling for each other, never breaking our kiss as we hurriedly try to find each other and join as one. I feel him pull his cock free before he raises me slightly to align his tip against my entrance.

I pull back, breaking our kiss. I want to watch his face, see him as I take him inside me for the first time.

His lips are swollen from my claiming kisses, his eyes wide as he watches me so intensely that I grow wetter just from his gaze alone.

Our breathing is matched and ragged. His jaw drops as I start to lower myself onto his length, sinking slowly over his long, thick cock. We both moan softly, never once breaking our stare.

God, I want to feel every inch of him stretching me and molding me to him. Every inch of him claiming me as his. I cry out as I finally fit all of him inside of me.

“I love you, Dani,” Chris says with a breathy moan, his fingers tightening on my thighs before sliding up to my hips. His grip on them is firm with needy desperation.

“I love you too, Chris.” And that was it. The cord snaps into place. Our bond is accepted, and our love is eternal. We are one. My sanguis, his sanguise. I am his. He is mine. And I know he feels it, too. Electricity surges through us as our bodies tremble, and he brings his lips to mine once more with a passion and hunger, unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.

I slowly move my hips back and forth, feeling every inch of him filling me. It’s like he was made for me, and I for him.

Beneath me, he’s becoming needier, his hands at my hips, helping me into a faster pace that lets me take him harder and with all the urgency I’m feeling. We’re moaning against each other’s lips, my hips rolling desperately up and down his cock. Chris slides a hand between us to rub my overstimulated clit.

I shake my head at him and draw his hands away. “No, I only want to come by your cock this time. God, Chris, I’m so close. Grab onto the headstone, baby.” I moan into his mouth.

Without question, he reaches over and grasps the top edges of the headstone, breaking our kiss as his head falls back against the grave.

Whipping my hips over him, I chase my release that’s so close I can taste it, his dick rubbing along my g-spot. Black spots of pleasure fill my vision.

“Fuck, your pussy feels so good, kitten,” Chris groans, his voice laced with pleasure as he follows my pace, his hips thrusting up into me.

His voice is my undoing. I cry out, clenching his black shirt in my fist as I come so hard I’m seeing stars. My muscles clamp around his cock, my body shaking and trembling as I try to keep my pace. “God, Chris!” I scream to the starlit sky above us.

Chris loses control at the sight of me coming, his fists clenching around the headstone. Just then, barely audible over our moans of pleasure, comes the sound of stone cracking and breaking. Chris tumbles back slightly as the headstone crumbles underneath his grip.

“Fuck, you broke Harry Bigby,” I gasp with a sultry smile.

Chris smirks, flashing his sexy dimple at me, and leans up to kiss me. “Do you see what you do to me?”

“Yes.” My voice sounds torn from my screams, but determined nonetheless. “And I want more.”

We’re moving before I even recognize that Chris has stood with me, still straddling him. With his increased speed and his wavering control, we slam into the side of a tall monument. Pain radiates through my back, but I’m still so lost in pleasure that the pain is temporary. Fleeting. I welcome it, especially when Chris is between my thighs and looking at me like I’m the answer to every wish he has ever made.

When Chris speaks again, his voice is so low it’s almost distorted. “I’m going to fuck you until you can’t walk anymore, kitten. You’re mine. This pussy is mine. And I’m going to be buried deep inside of you for eternity.” A loud moan passes from my lips as he thrusts inside of me again in one swift movement, going as deep as he can in this position.

“Please, don’t stop,” I whimper.

Chris tangles his hand in my hair, using his grip to force my head to the side, exposing my neck. Eyes flashing yellow, he brings his teeth to my flesh; his fangs sink deep into my skin, the now familiar stabbing pain barely registering. Chris drives into me faster, harder, a quick steady pace that has pleasure overtaking the pain as another release coils low in my belly.

His groans of pleasure against my skin surround us, as he drinks deeply from my neck. My breathing is faster, moans pouring out of me with each breath, with each thrust as he pounds into me ferociously. Skin slapping against skin is all that can be heard over our grunts of pure desire and love.

Finally, he lifts his mouth from my neck and cups my cheeks with his hands, his eyes narrowed on mine.

I bring my lips to his, tasting the metallic tang of my blood on his lips before I part his lips, slipping my tongue into his mouth.

Chris drops his hands to raise my ass, my back forced into the monument wall, holding me firmly in place so he can keep up his violent pace. His pupils are dilated, his hold on my ass is just this side of too tight, and I can feel him growing inside me with each thrust. God, he’s close to his release, and I’m just seconds away from coming a third time.

“I want to watch as you cum inside of me, puppy,” I moan against his lips.

He pulls back, his gaze heated and possessive as he fucks me with such force that I’m pushed into my climax only seconds before he’s lost to his own, filling me with his seed. I feel him pulsing inside of me as I tighten around him, our moans filling the air as I milk every last drop of his spend from him.

He kisses me softly and tenderly before drawing away to rest his forehead against mine. We stay in this position, lost in one another. As we make love for the first time, I feel a sense of belonging that I’ve never felt before. Chris is my home. I could spend the rest of my life like this with him, adrift in this moment, completely lost in him, and never miss the rest of the world. I love him with my whole heart, body, and soul.

“You’re so fucking amazing, baby,” Chris breathes as he pulls away to look at my face.

“You’re pretty fucking amazing yourself,” I quip, a smirk tilting the corners of my lips. “God, I’m so mad we waited so long to do that.”

“Me too.” Chris chuckles. “I just… I wanted you to really see me and fall in love with me naturally. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t tell you about the sanguise bond, kitten. I wanted this, us, to be real for you, not something you felt you had no choice in.”

“It always has been.” I huff out a laugh. “I’ve been in love with you for some time. It just took me a little while to see it for what it was. I know that now.”

“Fuck, you’re making me hard again.” I feel his cock hardening inside me.

I moan and wriggle against him. “Then fuck me ’til I can’t walk anymore. Just like you promised,” I demand with a provocative edge, clenching my internal muscles tight around him. “I love how you feel inside of me.”

“Oh my god, I love you so much. That was so sexy. You’re so goddamn sexy, kitten.” Chris crashes his lips over mine as he starts slowly thrusting inside of me again. With a firm grip on my ass, he moves us away from the monument I’m leaning against and starts walking us toward a nearby mausoleum. “Ride me as I walk, baby,” Chris orders, breaking our kiss.

I grind my hips against him, using my arms wrapped around his neck to get the leverage I need. I’m already gasping by the time Chris tries the handle of the door and finds it locked. “Hold on,” he grunts, holding me tightly and kicking in the door. He strides in confidently, almost like we’re not about to desecrate a tomb with the best sex we’ve ever had, and lays me down on top of a large stone casket. His fingers are quick as he removes my clothes, tugging them from me gently, even though I can sense how badly he wants to rip the fabric off my body before making short work of his own clothing, tossing them into a dark corner.

“Now lay down and spread those pretty legs wide so I can see that perfect pussy,” Chris demands.

I do as I’m told. I melt at his command and his feral grin of victory when I obey him without question. God, I can’t get enough of him.

Chris slides one finger inside of me, thrusting in and out of me slowly. “I love seeing my cum on your pussy.”

I let out a strangled moan as he drags that same finger out of my slit and onto my clit, making fast circles around the sensitive area. It’s overwhelming, and my head kicks back on the casket, a broken cry emerging from my mouth.

He draws his hand away, not touching me for long enough that I whimper in frustration at him before driving his entire length back inside me hard and deep. I wrap my legs around his waist; his slow, steady pace is an agonizing pleasure. He slides over that spot deep inside me, and I arch my back on a moan and grab my breasts, one in each hand, rolling my nipples between my own fingers. “You’re so beautiful, fuck, baby, I need you so bad,” Chris groans.

“Chris, “ I moan raspily. His eyes move from where I’m playing with my breasts to my eyes, but his pace doesn’t slow. “I need you to fuck me so hard that I can’t breathe,” I beg.

Chris growls deep in his chest. The only warning I have before he pounds into me at a brutal pace, is the tightening of his grip on my hips. My legs shake at the hard, fast pace he sets; I’m crying out, reaching down and stroking my swollen clit in sync with his powerful thrusts into me. My inner thighs are going to be bruised and sore from the impact, and I don’t care. The pain feels incredible.

I’m rubbing my clit faster and faster, trying to match the intensity of his strokes, when, an overwhelming sense of euphoria hits, as my orgasm rages through me. My breath explodes out on a cry, screaming his name over and over again.

Chris comes inside of me once more with a shout of pleasure, filling me with his seed.

We spend the rest of the night inside the mausoleum, making love to each other. I never want to stop. I would have to be ripped away from him to ever allow that, and even then, I would fight and claw my way back to him. Chris is my home, the other piece of my soul. He is my sanguis, mine, for as long as we both shall live.