4. Ivy

"No, my bite won't hurt you because I have painkiller in my saliva."

"Oh, good."

Justice drops his hand and puts an arm around my shoulders and pulls me in close. "Are you a virgin?" he abruptly questions.

I shrug. "I am."

"You are young," he nods.

"Mainly, just choosy. There's been opportunity, but I always wanted to wait for the right guy. I wanted my first time to be special."

"You want your first time to be with me?"

"I do."

"I am honored."

"Tell me more about what will happen."

"Korn share blood during the peak of the frenzy."

"Okay…will it matter that I can't drink your blood? Is that going to mess this up for you and leave you disappointed?"

"No. But I will need to ingest your blood for the frenzy to subside."

"When do you drink blood from another Korn during a frenzy? Right here, while we sit on the couch, or do we have to perform some kind of special ritual?"

He turns his head and his breath and lips brush against my ear as he talks, "I drink your blood when I am inside of you, fucking you hard. When I release, I will be compelled to sink my fangs into your neck and drink. At that moment it will make our mutual orgasms more intense."

"Oh wow." An instant rush of heat blossoms between my thighs.

I turn toward him and snuggle tight, placing a palm against his chest. The white fabric of his t shirt is the only barrier between me and his warm, bare skin. He smells so good, like sunshine, fresh rain and leather.

He reaches up and brushes his hand against the fall of my long hair. "There is more that you need to know."

"More? Isn't that enough? I'm still processing that when we have sex you're going to bite my neck and drink my blood."

"And if we have sex, you will become instantly pregnant and become a mother. This is important for you to consider, Ivy."

I sit up straight and meet his gaze. "But I'm on birth control. I have an IUD because I was having erratic periods. I can't get pregnant…"

He laughs. "That human birth control will not matter. Korn are very potent. You will instantly become pregnant."

"Can you fully explain Korn mating to me? I know you and your culture very well, but this part I don't really understand."

"I'm trying to explain all of this carefully to you up front. I cannot take your blood without your genuine consent, with you knowing all your options and what will happen. If you were to ever consent to having sex and sharing your blood with me, then you are not just a pleasure mate, but my true mate for life. I will be physically unable to mate with another for the rest of my life. My body will latch onto your pheromones and your blood and you will be my only match."

"You would never cheat on me?"

"No, I cannot be with another because I would be locked onto you for life and physically unable to mate with anyone else. This is why it is so important to me to know that you'd be able to make a commitment like that to me too. Normally when two Korn become mates after a blood frenzy both experience the physical lock, but for a human there is no physical change. And in your culture there is a thing you call divorce. There is no divorce with the Korn."

"I understand what you're saying and how important that is for you. If later I decide we're not right and want to invoke a human divorce this would be devastating for you because it's not that simple, you're physically locked onto me."

"Yes. Are you ready to become a mother? I am older than you so the thought of starting a family line causes nothing but joy. But you are much younger and starting your career and adult life. We cannot wait until later to have offspring though. The blood frenzy is mating."

I hide my face against his shoulder. My cheeks are hot because I can't believe I'm talking about having kids with Justice Bloodworth of the planet Korn. I take a deep breath then force myself to tell him the honest truth. "I don't know if I'm ready," I admit. "I have to think about that part a little more. I always wanted kids but I did envision that happening later."

He nods and kisses the top of my head. "Nothing will happen unless you are ready. I made a vow to your father. A Korn always keeps his vows. The only one who can break me from the vow is Joseph King. This would be another reason for me to go into Quarantine."

"The moment we have cell reception I am calling my dad and giving him a piece of my mind. This whole thing is ridiculous and you need to be let out of your vow."

He chuckles. "I will continue to drink my blood so that I won't do anything to muddy your genuine consent. If something unexpected occurs and Joseph breaks the vow while we are here together I will still give you time to freely decide. And if you decide you don't want to mate with me then I will call Hale when we have network service again and request pickup."

"Pickup? For what?"

"Quarantine. It will be necessary for you to live freely without me and for me to have time to let go of your pheromones. But do not concern yourself with this part. You are a human who needs time to give consent."

"What exactly would be happening right now if you didn't have the blood to calm down your symptoms? Would you be trying to…"

"I would be charming you into giving your consent, stripping and letting me between your thighs."

"That's all? Charm?"

He gives me a devastating smirk. "Korn males in blood frenzy are very persuasive."

"It's working on me already."

"I know."

I hold onto him tight and listen to the wind, the heavy rain hitting the roof and windows, as well as the crackle of the wood stove. We spoke for so long I almost forgot about the terrible rainstorm outside. Almost.

"So what are we going to do now? We"re at an impasse," I tell him. "You've said we can"t be together because of your vow. And now, what, we're friends while you suffer?"

"This is difficult for me, but I do this for you. You need to decide if we do get the dispensation from Joseph, if you're ready to mate me for life, accept my fangs in your neck and my child in your womb."

"That's sweet of you to say because that is a lot for me to think about. I'm so sorry that you're going through all of this. It must be terrible, trying to fight your own instincts all this time."

"It has been very difficult."

"It makes me like you even more, knowing this whole time you've stayed away from me only because you told my dad you wouldn't touch me. It's a silly vow, but at least the problem wasn't me. I couldn't figure out why you didn't want to me near. And…it hurt my feelings, all that rejection."

"I apologize. But being near you starts the frenzy, which is what is happening on this trip."

"Why didn't you just tell my dad that this was too difficult for you? Ask him to keep me off your team?"

He tags me with a molten gaze, holding promises of dark nights and tangled sheets. "I couldn't be with you, but I also couldn't stand the idea of being apart from you either."

I bite my lip.

He takes a deep breath, let's go of me and stands from the couch. "I need more blood if I'm going to remain calm."

I watchas Justice drinks a bag of blood and it's kind of gross.

It looks thick, like milk, but dark red. The smaller bags are all lined up in his large, shiny bag which seems to have its own cooling unit. This is good considering we still don't have the power on and our refrigerator isn't working.

He lifts another plastic-looking individual bag and flicks a straw open at the top. Then he lifts the whole thing and sucks down the blood through that straw. He doesn't even pause and gets it all down, what looks like almost a gallon, in many large gulps. Then he gasps when he's done and wipes a few stray drops of blood off the corners of his lips and fangs with the back of his hand.

I do my best to not let on that I'm perturbed by him performing a task that's normal for his species.

He rolls up and ties the small bag and stuffs it into the same back as before. Then he washes his hands and face with soap and water at the sink, which I appreciate.

"I am going to change into comfy pajamas," I announce.

"I will do the same." Justice goes into the bathroom to change.

Meanwhile I do a quick change in the front room, slipping off the underwire bra I shouldn't have worn in the first place and tossing with a sigh of delight into the suitcase. I pull on a camisole with shelf bra, and a lighter cardigan that can fall off my shoulders in seconds. Sweatpants and socks complete the outfit. It's comfy but exposes my neck. I leave my strawberry blonde hair down in soft waves because he loves my hair.

My jaw drops open when Justice returns with a bare chest a pair of black pajama pants. He's so very handsome I want to lick him all over. And I think he's sporting an erection he's trying to hide. "I am very warm now that I've drank so much of the blood and the frenzy is in my veins. It will only get worse."

"You want to get some work done? I truly have a project I was planning on going over again today. If I could get an hour to look at it again, that would be great. It could keep our mind off this."

"Yes, that is acceptable."

I pull out a water bottle for each of us. We sit side by side again on the couch, this time the both of us with tablets in our hands. He uses his fancy Korn glass tablet with alien languages scrolling across that I can't possibly understand. He can't contact anyone because he uses our cell phone systems, which he grouses as "archaic." But we both have work we can complete that is downloaded. He answers messages in batches, ready to send later when a connection is made. I work on a proposal to submit to the UN council. It's all very cozy and I can see us working together like this in the future.

I glance over at him and smile.

"What?" he questions.

"I feel like we're friends now, which makes me happy."

"I've always cared about you Ivy. Don't forget that I also thought you were taken. But I apologize if in my haste to keep you away for what I saw as very valid reason if I hurt you emotionally. This was never my intention."

Tears start to well in my eyes because I didn't know I needed to hear this from him, but I did. I hug him and he hugs me back.

And then we return to work.

An hourlater my stomach growls with hunger.

He hears it too. "You must eat. And I'm going to have some more blood."

"Can you eat human food while you"re in a blood frenzy or do you need nothing but blood?"

"I can do both."

We put aside our screens and while he does indeed drink blood, I take out a whole bunch of snacks I brought along. The cabin is so small there isn't an actual dining table. Not even a coffee table. So I end up making a spread of snack food for us to both picnic on, on the bed. Crackers and cheese, grapes, salami, nuts, golden raisins, and chocolate candies. I think it looks yummy.

His eyes widen when he sees what I did. "It is risky for us to sit together on the bed."

"There isn"t a table. Let"s just sit on the bed and eat. We"ll keep the bed made, like a picnic spot. There really isn"t even room to sit on the floor."

I sit cross legged on the bed and he lounges next to me looking like a male model.

He has no idea of his effect on me or on other women in general which in fact is charming.

"I have a few bottles of wine. Do you want some?"

He shakes his head. "No thank you. Blood frenzy, synthetic blood and alcohol are a deadly mix."

"Do you mind if I have some?"

He gives me a brilliant smile, complete with crinkles at the corners of his eyes and a flash of white fang. "Go ahead."

I drink a glass of wine pretty quickly while eating some cheese and crackers. I'm already extremely tipsy. So of course I begin to overshare. "You are much more charming when you're in blood frenzy."

"This is what happens to a Korn male. We become this way in order to convince our mate to breed with us."

"I'm basically a sure thing though. You don't have to convince me of much."

"I do though, I still don't believe you understand all the ramifications of what can happen if we sleep here together tonight."

"Oh, I understand. And for some strange reason the whole idea of having a baby in this decade instead of the next, is starting to grow on me."

"And why is that?"

"Well, the more I think about it, I wouldn't mind being a younger mother. And…and I know that you would be a great father."

"You do?"

"Yep."

"I bet you'd even be that type of guy who actually changes diapers and takes care of the baby as much if not more than the mother does."

His voice deepens. "I would be that type of father."

"See," I pop another candy in my mouth, then take another sip of wine. "I was right. And it's good we're talking so much. It shows that we can get along."

"I know that we can get along. I already know everything about you."

"You did research on me?"

He grins. "I did."

I toss my hair over my shoulder. "Well, I know everything about you too. As much as a person can know about someone who was born and raised on another planet." I narrow my eyes at him. "You know everything about me. Okay, I say let me see. Where was I born? What year was I born? What day? What is my birthday?"

And he rattles off my birthday, my birthplace and even the name of the hospital. My jaw drops open. "I can"t believe."

"I even know where your birth mother is. If you"d like to know."

"No, no," I tell him. "Keep that to yourself. I don"t ever want to know."

I watch him try some of the candy and smile and eat some more. Then I ask him a new question. "Why is that vow you made with my dad so serious? Why can't you just shrug it off because you know now that I wasn't ever actually engaged to Kris?"

"Because it's a Korn blood vow."

"Did you share blood with my dad when he made that vow?"

"Yes. He cut his finger and I cut mine with a fang. Then we touched fingers and merged blood together."

"That"s why it"s such a serious vow because it wasn't just about words."

"Yes, the blood made it legal among the Korn."

I'm determined to let him know that he can have me. I'm easy. But at the same time he values his ethics and his friendship with dad, which I have to admit is darling.

And then he asks a question that surprises me. "Do I look too old for you? Most of my species has very little hair, but the Korn on the part of the planet where I was born and raised are known for their thick facial and chest hair. Not all females appreciate this."

"I love your beard. And your fangs. And the hair on your chest. I love everything about you. What do you think of how I look? Are you bothered that you are attracted to someone who isn't Korn?"

"I think you are the most beautiful female I have ever met."

I pause, mid bite and put down a chunk of cheese. "Are you serious?"

"Yes. Your hair is the color of golden sunrise. Your eyes are as bright as spring grass. And you smell amazing, like a field of flowers. I cannot wait to taste your blood."

I twirl my hair, trying again to hide the heat in my cheeks. "The first moment I met you I couldn"t keep my eyes off you either. Yes, you're older. Yes, you're born on an entirely different planet. You'd think we wouldn't have much in common, but I feel like you're the one."

"Have you had pleasure mates?"

"Not anyone I was serious about. I dated a guy when I was a senior in high school but I caught him making out with one of my friends. There was another guy my freshman year in college I liked and we went on a few dates and right when I was ready to make it more real, again I caught him making out with another girl at a party. After that I just said forget it. I haven"t even had a boyfriend for a couple of years. Not even single date. I"ve been asked but I always say no, thank you. It"s not like I have to get with some guy and we have to be married immediately. But you know, maybe no cheating. Your word is your bond. When you say you"re with someone you really mean it. You know? So anyways, I just concentrated on graduating with my degree in International Relations and gaining an internship."

He pops another grape into his mouth and gives me another smile.

I wink at him. "And then I met you."

I pour a second glass of wine and continue to overshare. "I feel lucky to be able to work with the Korn delegation and also the Voltares. I'm just a lowly intern, but I still feel like I'm part of something important that will help people far into the future. Just so you know, I didn't trick my way into being on this trip. Tae really is sick. I'm here accidentally. I don't care what my dad says about this, I want to be with you."

"I hope you will consider me as someone you can form a serious relationship with."

"You are so good at this. You are being very charming, aren't you? Asking me about myself and walking around without your shirt on."

He laughs. "And you are being charming too, walking around with your neck exposed, drinking wine and asking me so many questions about myself."

I lift a glass and give him a toast. "You know humans consider the Korn to be basically vampires," I comment, changing the subject.

He snorts. "I've heard this. Hale and your father both explained to me what this word meant. I even watched a "vampire" movie with Sabrina and Hale and it was very comical. The Korn are nothing like these make-believe creatures."

"This last Halloween lots of people dressed up as Korn Vampires. It was the most popular costume this last year."

He rolls his eyes.