AJ rested his head on Rhiannon's chest, trying to collect himself. He was coming down off the most amazing orgasm of his life. What the hell happened there?

"It's the blood," Rhiannon said, laughing lightly and stroking his head.

"Huh?"

"It's the blood. My blood in your body. That's what made it so different for you. It's been a long time since I've shared that secret with anybody. When you take the blood of your lover at the moment of orgasm, it makes your pleasure almost unbearable."

AJ smiled. "You never shared that with Kevin?" he asked, still feeling giddy from the orgasm, as well as the blood from Eric and Rhiannon.

"No," she replied. "But you can't do that with a mortal. Remember that. As much as you want to do it, don't. Sometimes you get carried away, and you could hurt or even kill them. See, I have the strength to fight you off if you lose your mind. They don't."

AJ nodded. "Can we still have sex with mortals?"

"Of course. Just be careful," she said, smiling. "You don't know your own strength."

"So I could have overpowered Eric?" AJ asked, curious.

"Sure. Easily. I just wanted to show you that you don't have to use physical strength to take your victims. Anyway, it's a much more pleasurable experience if they're not fighting you. Only use your physical strength if you absolutely have to. Speaking of Eric, I guess we need to get rid of him, don't we?" Rhiannon glanced over at Eric, who was still passed out on the couch.

"I guess so. Is he ok?" AJ asked, looking over his shoulder at Eric.

"He's fine. Just sleeping. I'll take care of him," she said, gently pushing AJ off of her. She pulled on AJ's shirt and her pants.

"Don't you need to... um... feed?" AJ asked.

"Nah. I can go days without it. Sometimes up to a week."

"Can I go with you?" AJ asked, sitting up. "I'm hungry."

Rhiannon laughed. AJ's mortal instincts were taking much longer than usual to go away. He still craved real food. She couldn't remember the last time she sat down and ate a real meal, even though she could do it if she wanted. She had never divulged to any of her creations, but she could also tolerate a little sunlight if she desired. She didn't enjoy it, but if it was necessary, she could do it.

"AJ, you shouldn't eat too much, honey. You'll make yourself sick," she laughed.

"I don't care. I want McDonalds. Please!"

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you. And you're sleeping alone today. I won't have you throwing up on me."

"I won't throw up," AJ said, smiling.

"Yeah. Whatever."

They took Eric back to LeChat Noir and Rhiannon drove AJ through the McDonalds drive thru. She laughed to herself as she watched him shoveling fries into his mouth and gulping down the Mountain Dew he had bought at a convenience store.

"AJ, I'm serious," she said, turning to him, "You're gonna make yourself sick."

"I don't care. This is the first time I've eaten in days," he responded, taking a bite of his burger. Rhiannon felt her stomach turn, thinking of how sick he was going to be.

As soon as he finished his meal, he sat back in the passenger seat and closed his eyes. He had a serene smile on his face. Suddenly, he sat up and grabbed his stomach in pain.

"Oh shit!" he yelled. "Holy mother of... pull over!"

"I told you," Rhiannon sing-songed, as she pulled over on the side of the road. AJ jumped out and threw up. Everything. Rhiannon shook her head. Damn it. Why didn't they ever listen to her? He climbed back into the car weakly, and moaned.

"I don't wanna hear it," he groaned.

"I told you so," she whispered, then giggled. "Maybe now you'll listen to me, huh?"

"Yes. I promise I will. PLEASE get me some Rolaids."

**********************************************

For the next two weeks, Kathleen and Kevin spent nearly every night together. Each night, they would go somewhere different. One night, it would be the beach. The next night, miniature golf. The next, maybe they would go to dinner and a movie, then walk on the beach. Kevin found himself actually feeling attached to Kathleen. As wrong as he knew it was, he couldn't help it. She was just so much fun. She made him feel alive again... literally. He was going to miss her so much when he finally had to go home. And he knew that day would be coming soon. He only had a few more days.

Kevin dropped Kathleen off at the house she was renting. It was only about 3am, and he was starving. He had tried to eat a little food that night... steak... extra rare. It just didn't do the trick, and now his stomach was hurting. He wasn't sure if it was from the meat or from hunger. He had to get something to tide him over until the next night. He pulled into a state park on the beach. As he walked into a gazebo, he saw his victim. It was a young man, no more than nineteen or twenty, sitting on the railing, smoking a cigarette. Kevin glanced around to make sure no one was watching. It was dark, and Kevin moved silently behind the man. Without hesitating, he took him. Kevin's spell was strong, and the man didn't even fight. Kevin drank deeply from him, feeling the warmth and relaxation overtaking his body. But the relaxation and warmth kept getting stronger. Kevin felt lightheaded and tingly all over, but it wasn't the normal blood intoxication that came with feeding.

"What the hell?" he muttered, dropping the man to the floor. Kevin stumbled back to the car and sat in the driver seat. What was happening to him? Oh shit. The guy was high on something. Rhiannon had warned him about this. Whatever was in the bloodstream of his victims would affect him, if only for a short period of time. God, what did this guy take? Heroin? Kevin could barely keep his eyes open. He drove slowly back to his hotel and dragged himself up to his room. He stripped off his shirt, fell down onto the bed, and immediately fell asleep. In his stupor, he forgot to do two very, very important things... ************************************ Rose, the maid, pushed her cart along the hall. She stopped at room 1208 and checked her list. This was the first time in nearly three weeks that this room didn't have a Do Not Disturb sign hanging on the doorknob. The guy must have checked out, she thought. She used her pass key and pushed the door open. The morning sunlight flooded the room, and a bright beam fell across Kevin's exposed back. Kevin awoke, screaming, and in the most pain he had ever felt in his life.

"HOLY SHIT!!" Kevin screamed, jumping up. The maid screamed and threw the armload of towels into the air.

"Shut the door! Oh God! Get the fuck out!" Kevin yelled, turning his back to her. She ran out, still screaming, and Kevin locked the deadbolt. He leaned his forehead against the cool metal of the door, waiting for the horrible pain coming from his back to subside. But it didn't. He sat down on the bed, tears streaming down his face. He had never felt anything like this pain. It was a burning that felt like a red hot poker lying across his back. He was shaking. The horrible burning sensation was sending aching chills through his body. He thought he was going to die. He was so afraid. He walked slowly to the mirror above the dresser and tried to look at his back. The only thing he could see was an angry red slash mark that looked like someone had slapped him with a whip. He fell back onto the bed.

"RHIANNON!!" he screamed inside his head. The pain was overwhelming, and he thankfully passed out.

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