The Holly and the Ivy - 10. One More Day

The Holly and the Ivy

Chapter Ten

Diarmad folded me into his arms. “I have been thinking… Seeing that being close to you has improved my condition unexpectedly, we could postpone the joining ritual, giving you more time to decide if you want this. Us.”

“What do you want?”

“What I want is irrelevant. I am Seraei. Your world was lifted off its hinges. I cannot imagine how it must be for you to learn of us, to come to terms with what is expected of you, but I can give you more time.”

I couldn’t decide if I was relieved or disappointed. “It would also give the McGills more time to sabotage you.”

“We’ve managed this far, we can do so a little longer.” A haughty reply fit for a king. It made me smile.

More time… Lately, I’d been feeling strangely exhausted. According to Landyn, after the joining, Luis and Tristan would be helping me balance Diarmad’s soul, and everything would become easier. Still…I could do this a while longer.

“Noël?”

I was torn. “I don’t know if…”

“Maybe we should end this here.” Diarmad stepped away from me. “I am much better. I can put my affairs in order before—”

“No!” Inwardly cursing myself for my choice of words, I snatched his hand, so he couldn’t get any further away. “No. I admit I’m afraid.” He tried to pull away but I didn’t let him. The thought of losing him was unbearable. “It’s not what you think. I’m afraid you’ll die because of me…because I’m not enough – when you drink my blood and I…and you…” I took in a deep breath. “Which is stupid. Right? Whether I go away or I poison you with my blood, you’ll die. The only chance we have is that my love is enough.” He stared at me and I realized what I had just said. I swallowed, but I didn’t take the words back. “We do it tomorrow after Midnight Mass, as planned.”

“Noël.” He leaned his forehead against mine, then whispered, “Are you sure?”

“I am.” And I was.

“You love me. Ever since I knew you were finally here, I hoped to hear these words one day. I hoped to be able to say them back at last. I love you too, Noël.” His kiss was a promise that everything would go well.

“Tomorrow after Midnight Mass, we will celebrate your birthday and our joining. You will be mine. And the McGills will hopefully back off after that.”

“Yeah?”

“Our bodies will change. Yours especially. Your healing rate will accelerate tremendously, your reaction time will be enhanced, your movement faster and your eyesight better. I can’t wait to see you becoming Seraei. You will also gain effective powers to protect yourself. I am not sure to what extent yet. We assume telekinesis, maybe precognition, which Landyn already told you is rare. As Seraei and the King’s Mate you will be extremely strong and not an easy target.”

“So, tomorrow I’m becoming a vampire.” Lame joke.

“I told you before, there are no such things as vampires.” He sounded annoyed and for once, I dropped the topic, not really in the mood to tease him anymore.

“From tomorrow on we will be safe?”

“Much safer, yes. It is why they resorted to fabricating proof of a premature mating. If they had succeeded, I would have had to resign.”

***

I was woken by a hand languidly brushing over the bare skin of my stomach and chest under my shirt. Warm breath tickled the hair of my neck. Still not fully awake, I instinctively curled against the solid body behind me, until I could feel its heart beating against my back. It was such a calming sensation. I was on the brink of falling asleep again and barely heard Diarmad. “How do you feel this morning, love?"

“’m okay.”

Nuzzling his face against my neck, he whispered, “Tomorrow morning, I will be holding you in my arms as my mate…”

Only if he survived drinking my blood. This woke me better than any alarm clock could have and my instinctive reaction was to bring distance between us.

He didn’t let me. His grip tightened on my hip. “Noël?”

I couldn’t help the sudden panic I felt, my heart beat faster, my throat tightened. “Yes, tomorrow I‘ll be your mate… I-I think I’m just… What if my feelings for you aren’t strong enough? What if I hurt you, what if you die because my blood poisons you? It’s been only four weeks… Diarmad, what if—”

He dropped his forehead against my shoulder. I think, for a moment, he had feared I would back out. “Shhh baby… it will be okay. We talked about this yesterday. Remember? Everything will turn out okay.” He then placed small kisses along my jaw, neck, and shoulder, slowly easing me on my back, so he could finally look into my eyes. There was no fear. I said I loved him. It had to be enough.

“Diarmad… they're silver...” I touched the corner of his eye with the tip of my finger.

He turned his head, as if he wanted to hide. When he looked back at me, the silver shone even brighter. “I am… very strong emotions cause our eye color to change… Normally the difference isn’t as noticeable, but my eyes… I am sorry if it scares you. I know there is so much you still have to learn about us and I would wait longer, court you, let you get accustomed to all of this—”

“Stop!” I wasn't freaked. I was fascinated. Now it was my turn to remind him. “We talked about this. Remember?” That made him smile. “I’m not afraid. I know you’re different… Your eyes are beautiful... they intrigue me. Will mine change too?”

I could see his relief. He pressed his forehead against mine. “You’re perfect. You know this, right?” Starting with a small kiss at the corner of my mouth, he lapped and nibbled at my lips until I couldn’t resist any longer and opened up for his probing tongue. Groaning, he pushed himself almost on top of me. His grip tightened around my jaw and our mouths met in a clashing of lips, tongues, and teeth. I clutched his shoulders, pulled him closer, relished in the feeling of his larger body covering mine. Perfection.

His hands began to wander from my shoulders, over my chest and abdomen, until they reached the hem of my sleep shirt. “Lift your arms?”

He pulled the shirt over my head, threw it aside, and kissed me again. Gentle pecks rained down my face, throat, and collarbone. I closed my eyes. I knew where this could lead and I wanted it, more than anything, but I was afraid also. If he saw this, he would stop. I couldn’t have that.

An overwhelming need to touch and be touched, to taste and be tasted by this man came over me. I tugged impatiently at the annoying piece of clothing that still separated me from his skin and he finally got it. Reaching behind his head, he pulled his shirt up and off. And finally, finally I could let my hands run up and down his back, over smooth, bare skin, over hard ripples of muscle. God this feels so good… I wanted to make love to him, to Diarmad - my soon-to-be mate.

Thank God, we were on the same page. Nibbling at my pulse point, he gently pressed his erection against my hip, and whispered into my ear, “Noël… I want you.” His words sent shivers through my body… I knew this was right. Wrapping my arms tightly around his back, I rocked my hips against him, still too embarrassed to answer with the actual words… I want you too.

After leaning into me for a moment, he lifted himself on one arm and looked at me. “Noël… if you want to wait... Everything we do is up to you.”

The seriousness in his voice made me want him even more. I held the gaze of those swirling silver pools and nodded. “But I want us to… it’s just that I never—” I hated my stammering.

Tracing his fingertips down the sides of my face, he smiled. “I know, love, and I am very glad." He almost growled then, nipped at my throat sharply. "You are mine now. No man ever touched you and no man ever will."

"Um... okay?" What the hell?

Nuzzling his face into my shoulder as if he wanted to apologize for his bout of possessiveness, he assured me, "You are in absolute control. If you want us to stop, we will stop, I promise. Okay? Any time.”

"I don't want you to stop."

"Good." He kissed down my chest and then I felt something sharp scraping over my left nipple. His fangs! Shit! I flinched away from the slight pain, but he held me in place, soothed any lingering hurt with his tongue, before he sucked it into his mouth. The sudden jolt ran right to my groin. Fuck!

He did the same to my other nipple, then made his way down to the waistband of my boxers, where he gently gnawed at my throbbing erection. Slightly apprehensive I lifted my head only to see the idiot grinning mischievously at me, his canines clearly visible between his lips. Together with his light slanted eyes, he reminded me even more of a cat. A big playful cat. With fangs!

Thoroughly distracted, he surprised me when he yanked my boxers down in one swift move. I instinctively wanted to cover myself but he batted my hands away. “So beautiful, don’t hide.”

Leaning on his elbows, he silently watched me with hooded eyes, until I started to squirm. Finally, his tongue darted out and he licked the underside of my cock from base to the tip, then moaned, "Hmmm... delicious." He took the head in his mouth, and suckled it for a moment before he let g looking at me expectantly.

I couldn't stop myself from bucking my hips into his face. “My God.” I'd never felt anything like that before. “Shit!” He watched me intensely. “D. More. Please.”

Hearing this, his grin became almost feral. He opened his mouth wide, showing off his damned fangs again, and surrounded me with moist warmth that let me forget his teeth... and breathe!

I wanted to grab his head, but the thought of jostling his sharp teeth made me fist the sheets instead, because I needed something to put my hands on. The tingling at my spine came far too soon. "Too fast...ahh!" And his mouth was gone, replaced by his hand.

He nuzzled his face against my balls, breathing in my scent. When I thought I couldn't hold it any longer, he pushed himself up and swallowed me whole. My orgasm ripped through me with a force I had never felt before and I filled Diarmad’s mouth. A little bit dribbled down his chin and it made me strangely proud. Mine.

I was still trying to catch my breath when he came up to me on his hands and knees, latched his mouth on my pulse point, and bit, nibbled and sucked, almost drawing blood, before he lapped over it. He had marked me.

“Mine.” His kiss was fierce, his full weight resting on me to stress the point.

I tasted myself in his mouth and spread my legs involuntary to give him more room. I ran my hands up and down over his firm back muscles, until my fingers bumped against his pajama pants. Slipping my hands under the waistband, I grabbed the taut muscles I found there. “I want… off.”

He snorted. “You want… off? What do you want off?”

“Ass!”

“Off. My ass?”

I growled, “Exactly…” grabbed him by his shoulders, and threw him on his back. The whole hand-to-hand training had to be useful for something. He didn’t expect that move; otherwise, this wouldn’t have been as easy. Sliding down his body with clawed hands, my fingernails raked over his skin, leaving pink lines. I took the waistband of his sleeping pants between my teeth and let it snap back, before I pulled them down entirely with my hands. He watched me with amused interest. Time to get my point across. I let myself fall on top of him, finally getting to feel his naked body under me. Closing my eyes for a moment I inhaled his scent deeply, before clamping my blunt teeth down on his neck at the same spot he had marked me. He growled and tried to throw me off but I didn’t let him. Instead, I lifted my head and caught his gaze. “Mine.”

He grabbed my head with both hands and gave me a bruising kiss, which distracted me enough so he could get the upper hand again. Then he looked down at me and confirmed, “Yes, yours… forever.” He kissed my neck more gently this time, running a hand over my thigh before he quietly inquired, “You still want this?”

“Yeah…”

Lips suckled at my Adam’s apple, fangs grazed over the sensitive skin under my ears and hands seemed trying to map out my entire body. I was totally lost, overpowered by all the sensations I felt and didn’t notice the wandering hand until its fingertips feathered over my opening the first time. I almost flinched back when he touched me there.

“Shhh amatan… try to relax.”

He continued to kiss me into distraction, at the same time massaging the tight ring of muscles until it relaxed and a well lubed finger slipped into me. “Ahhh…” Okay. That feels… weird.

Stopping for a moment to let me get used to the feeling, he then slowly started to move in and out of my entrance. Then he did something with his finger and a sudden jolt of pleasure surged through me. He pressed against a spot inside me, letting me forget every feeling of discomfort I might have had before. “Shit!” I arched my back to meet his finger. Encouraged by my reaction, he eventually added a second and then a third finger. He carefully loosened the muscles, massaged them, added more lube, curled his fingers inside me, distracted me with hot kisses from the pain and overstretched feeling.

I knew he wanted to be considerate, but at some point this wasn’t enough anymore and I growled impatiently. “Shit D! Get on with it already…”

He slowly withdrew his fingers, “Noël?”

I hissed, “Yes!”

Rubbing my thighs he eventually said, “Noël this will hurt at first. I will be careful, still... You’re sure you—”

“Fuck! Yes!”

“Okay, okay. But I want you to be in control of this, therefore you will ride me, this way it’s going to be at your pace. Okay?”

Without answering him I motioned for him to lie on his back and grabbed the lube that still lay on the bed beside him. After applying a generous amount on him and me, I knelt over him and he took my hips to steady me. I grabbed his cock and pointed the tip at my hole. I took in a deep breath and gradually lowered myself on him. On the second try I breached through, his thick head entered me and shit was he right; it hurt like a bitch.

“Bear down, try to push me out.”

I did as he said and continued at an even slower pace. The entire time he held me with one hand while letting the other wander soothingly up and down my sides. Once fully inside, I stopped and took some time to simply breathe. "Holy fuck!"

Holy fuck? What's a holy fuck anyway? Maybe because it's my first? It was just me being an idiot, but it made me crack up and he almost slipped out.

“Noël? Is everything okay?”

With tears in my eyes, I nodded. "Yes, sorry about this." I almost started to crack up again.

Then I began to move carefully, rolled my hips a few times, which earned me a loud groan. "God Noël, so tight..."

I felt full and stretched. Still keeping the pace slow and gentle, pain was slowly mixing with pleasure. His hips began to undulate under me until he found what he was obviously looking for; as he touched that sensitive spot again.

“Noël…I need to move.” His thrusts became harder, again and again he was brushing that spot. I could hardly breathe as tightness wound itself through me. I panted, “Diarmad I need…” I didn't know what I needed, I just needed something.

He took my cock in his hand, and after just a few strokes my body shook with the power of my release and the sensations I felt. Muscles deep within me I didn’t even know existed tightened around him. Diarmad hissed, pressing himself further against me; my heart hammered in my chest as I stared into his silver eyes. I was only vaguely aware of the warmth filling me as he groaned loudly.

Still breathing heavily I collapsed on top of him. I never wanted to get up again. Finally, I rolled beside him and when he slipped out, my ass hurt and maybe I should have felt grossed out when his seed was running out of me, but instead I was insanely happy. I felt owned, marked and it was all good. Until I could do the same to him.

***

When I woke the next time, the red bed curtains on the window side were open. It had started to snow. For a moment, I curled back into the warmth of the covers to watch big white flakes tumbling down from thick clouds. I had to get up, but I didn’t want to face the day just yet. Awareness was lingering in the back of my mind. I couldn’t put a finger on it, but it grew and made me too restless to stay in bed.

The shower was running in the distance. Diarmad. I needed to see him. My hand was hovering over the knob of the bathroom door, when he came out, enveloped in a cloud of damp air. “Good morning, love. How do you feel?” Then he pressed a kiss on my nose.

I pushed him away. “Eww!” How do I feel? I hurt in places I never thought I could… and I'm happy. “I’m good.” I wrapped my arms around his waist. His skin was still warm from his shower. “Really good,” I grinned. “As long as I don't walk too much.” There was this nagging feeling again. I almost shouted to myself, What? Maybe it was because Diarmad and I had slept with each other before the joining. It wasn’t forbidden exactly, as long as we didn’t exchange blood, but they didn’t encourage it either. Fuck this! “Oh, and it has started to snow.”

“Well tomorrow is Christmas Day, it was about time." He patted my butt lovingly. "Do you want me to draw you a bath before I go?”

“Nah, I’m good. I won’t take long.”

It was late when I entered the dining room. Everyone was still sitting around the table though, chatting animatedly. Didn’t they have anything better to do on Christmas Eve morning? The moment Becca giggled, it became clear what they had been waiting for. Shit! They know! Not knowing what else to do, I mumbled, “Morning.”

“Well, well, well, good morning to you too, little brother.” Simon grinned broadly and the others snickered.

I could have smacked him in his smug face. “What?” I asked irritated.

“Nothing. Um… Is one cushion sufficient, or do you want me to fetch you another one?”

“Huh?” Only then did I notice the red and green Christmas-themed cushion that was on my chair. The others still sat on plain, hard chairs. “Why would I want a…” I blushed furiously and I hated him for that. “Haha, very funny. Fat ass.”

“I’m not a fat ass.”

“You are.”

“Am not.”

“Yes you are! The only reason you don’t need a cushion all the time, is because of all the cookies you eat.” I waggled my eyebrows and looked to Landyn for approval. He only grinned and shook his head.

“Hey! Don’t get cheeky with your older brother!”

“You’re not my older brother Si, thank you very much. I already have two of those.”

“Pass me the eggs, fat ass.” Becca whacked Simon on the arm and the others laughed and then proceeded to tell him about love handles. Thank you Becca.

When breakfast was almost finished, Diarmad took my hand. “We have to talk about what is going to happen tonight, Noël.”

“But we already did.” For some reason I didn’t want to talk about it.

He squeezed my hand. “Because I am King, this will be a little more formal than I prefer.”

“What do you mean?”

“The Council has to be present to witness our joining. They have to confirm your age also—”

“But—”

“Just a formality, Noël. After we come home from Midnight Mass...”

There was that feeling again. I didn’t want to go out. “Do we have to go? Can’t we just stay here until midnight?”

“No. I can’t break tradition. We cannot appear afraid. We would lose face.”

“I have this feeling…Landyn said I should listen to it.”

“And he was right. We will be extra careful, Noël, but we have to go.”

I knew when a decision had been made. I didn’t need to like it.

“I could persuade the Council to perform the joining ritual here instead of the council chamber. Security will be much easier to maintain."

I sighed. “Which is why we should stay here.”

“I am sorry, Noël. Believe me, if I could, we would be having a small, private ceremony like everyone else, and not go to church." He squeezed my hand. "My position does not allow me to take liberties like this."

"Okay. Explain the ritual to me."

"The room will be dark. We will stand in the middle of a triangle, formed from three lights. The witnesses will stand in a circle around us. We will remove each other’s shirts. Then I will take your left hand and place it over my heart. You will feel its beat while I drink your blood—”

“How?”

His thumb made calming circles on the back of my hand. “I… will bite on your neck. I will not take much, I promise. Then we will wait a few minutes to see how your blood affects me." I looked at him alarmed and he cupped my cheek with his other hand. "Of course nothing bad will happen.”

I wished I had his confidence.

“Because you do not have your fangs yet—”

“Yet? So I really get fangs?” I'm becoming a vampire after all...

“One of your physical changes will be that you grow fangs. Noël, does this… trouble you?” He turned my face and I could see the worry in his eyes.

“Um… I guess I just didn’t think about this… properly. They don’t show all the time, right? I only saw yours—”

He actually grinned at that, the fucker. “No, they only come out when you need them." His thumb lifted the corner of my lips and rubbed over my blunt human eyetooth. "I will bite into my wrist, and you will drink my blood from there.”

“Okay. That doesn’t sound complicated.”

“We still need to exchange our marks.”

“Our marks?”

“Your mark will be a combination of Luis’ and Tristan’s mark and something new, which represents only you. It will appear when I put my hand on the spot I want you to have.”

“What will be your mark?”

“You can think of something while we attend church. It will distract you from your worries.”

“So, when the time comes I just think of a dainty violet flower and it appears wherever I put my hand?”

He growled, and Landyn snickered in the background. “A violet flower?”

I shrugged. “Just a thought.”

“Normally we would consummate our joining afterwards, but because of… this morning, we are mated as soon as we ingest each other’s blood and exchange our marks.”

“Wow.”

“The council members will probably want to celebrate therefore Keith and Lionel have a buffet prepared. We only have to attend for a short while before we can retreat to our room. Everyone will understand.”

I knew where I would put his mark: directly over his heart. I could practically see it already before my eyes. This should happen in private, with no gawkers around.

“Are the witnesses necessary for the ritual to work?”

“No, it could be just you and me. Many couples do a private ceremony, only the two of them, maybe some friends, but because of my rank it’s not possible for us.”

“Oh.” I still didn't like it.

“Aww, do you remember our ceremony Ronny?” Becca suddenly asked with dreamy eyes.

This reminded me of a question I had wanted to ask for weeks. “How come you two are the only couple I’ve seen so far that’s of mixed gender…”

Diarmad smiled. “It took you long enough to ask this question. Only a very few of us find their mates in the opposite sex and therefore can have children. There might have been other ways to prevent an excess of population, but with our people this is what nature came up with.”

During the rest of the day, tension accelerated. When evening approached, I was a nervous wreck. At one point, I even begged not to have to go to Midnight Mass, but Diarmad insisted we had to go. He reminded me I always wanted to say good-bye to Nana one last time. And, of course, we had to demonstrate strength.

I still thought we shouldn’t go, reputation be damned.

***

“Noël stop dreaming. Mass is about to begin any time now.” Right on cue the choir starts with, ‘O Little Town of Bethlehem’. I can already feel tears prickling behind my eyelids. This was Nana’s favorite Christmas song.

The rest of Mass is a blur. I stand, kneel, stand and sit down again, without really noticing what I’m doing. At one time, I can feel Diarmad’s gloved finger wiping away a single tear running down my face, before he takes my hand into his. However, it isn’t only the thought of Nana that unsettles me. I have the constant feeling of being watched by malicious eyes. When I look around, nobody is watching me. Still, the uneasiness is growing and I'm ready to bolt.

I finally ask Diarmad if he can feel something similar, he only shakes his head. I think he is lying to me. His body is much too tense to be at ease.

I’m beyond relieved when mass is finally over and I want nothing more than to run the minute the last note of, ‘It Came upon the Midnight Clear’, dies away. I tug at Diarmad's arm, but he makes me wait until most of the churchgoers are gone, before we finally follow the last stragglers outside.

Right in front of the church portal, I feel a sudden cold and it has nothing to do with the weather. Assessing my surroundings, I can see that Diarmad has become rigid, staring at me with glassy eyes. He looks as if he’s listening to something only he can hear. Then his eyes turn silver, he grabs me by my shoulders, tears the collar of my coat and sweater away and I feel a sharp sting at my neck. Fuck! He bit me! I hear him sucking my blood, before somebody pushes me hard from behind, ripping Diarmad's fangs out of me. I stumble down the steps and the concrete comes nearer. Somebody pushed me. I'm falling. I land on my hands and knees. Fuck! What the hell… Then something hits my temple… I can’t see … Wait, was that a gunshot?

So, I guess we had fun with this one.   Thank you, Lisa, Val and Zombie. :)
If you have questions, or want to share some thoughts: Discussion thread.