/p>

"well, fleeing blindly into dark, foreign areas could be dangerous for anyone," she replied with a slight edge. he winced at the mild admonishment.

easy katrina, she warned herself. she was annoyed because she cared for his safety, and he'd acted somewhat recklessly that night.

"nevertheless, thanks for helping me from a possibly bad fall," he offered sincerely.

"you're welcome," she accepted in a more conciliatory tone. "and i'm sorry if you were handled a little roughly during the event." she had tried not to hurt him. she hoped he understood that she merely endeavored to calm him that night, never mind being nearly breathless with shock as he went over the edge of the ravine. glad that i was able to move quickly enough to grab his leg before he fell.

he rubbed absently at his right shoulder where she had pinned him that evening. "no problem. but i admit i've still got a sore shoulder from that."

"um, remember the tree branch?" katrina asked pointedly. in all her years, nobody ever tried to wallop her with a tree branch. still, she supposed it was amusing from a certain perspective.

he adopted a withering expression and sighed. he felt rather embarrassed by the chain of events in retrospect. "i'm really sorry about that," he insisted. "please understand. i'm not a violent guy. i was just -"

"scared?" she prompted gently. she easily recalled the intense fear in his eyes that night and regretted that she had been the source.

he shook his head slightly in resigned fashion and confessed, "exactly." following a silent pause, he asked, "how's your arm?"

"my arm?" katrina replied vaguely, before quickly adding: "oh, the tree branch. i'm fine, no problem at all."

"oh, good," he responded as his eyes widened a little with surprise. "but i swung really hard at you. you know, while hardly major league-worthy, i was a pretty good home run hitter in college. so, i imagined it must have been pretty jarring at least," he prompted.

"not really," she replied. "although my jacket sleeve was scuffed up a bit." i'm a tough little vampire, she silently congratulated herself.

he considered his evaluation of the tree branch and how it would have injured most anybody else under similar circumstances. "sorry about the jacket," he apologized. "i'll be happy to replace it."

"no need," she countered quickly.

a few silent moments passed as he mulled her responses over in his head. she maintained an amused expression, having anticipated the tree limb incident must have made an impression on him. let him think about that a minute or two, she mused.

"okay, so you're telling me you didn't even register the hit?" he pressed a little defensively.

"look, are you happy i'm not injured or not?" she retorted with a hint of annoyance. "because it sounds to me like you're more upset your 'little smack' was ineffective. it's going to take a lot more than a swinging branch to make an impact on someone like me."

now he's just being egotistical, she thought irritably.

a shiver went up caleb's spine briefly as he considered her reply. he held up his hands in a surrendering gesture, realizing his ego needed to take a back seat really quickly. "no, you're absolutely right. i'm sorry, that was way out of line," he conceded earnestly. "i'm very happy you weren't hurt and that you're so durable."

there was another lengthy pause. she smiled with increasing amusement, covering her mouth with her hand as she stared into his gentle eyes.

"something funny?" he inquired warily.

"oh sorry," she replied. "i was just thinking back to the shocked look on your face after you hit me with that tree branch and it broke in half."

his shoulders slumped forward, and he conceded, "maybe we should just try and forget the whole event."

"perhaps," she agreed good-naturedly, but with a smug expression.

he sat still for a moment and found he was once again staring into her beautiful green eyes. he looked away suddenly, awkwardly wondering what he should say next.

she considered him for a moment as he stared at her and frowned slightly when he looked away. katrina realized that she needed to lay her cards on the table so she would know how to proceed further with him.

"caleb," she began, noting his eyes darted to meet hers at the sound of her voice. "i'm sorry if i scared you, and i know you have a lot of questions for me, which i'll be happy to answer. but i need to know what happened last friday night. the degree of terror in your eyes looked overwhelming, and i can't think of what i could have done to scare you so badly."

he swallowed hard as the memory of friday night washed over him again. "it was your eyes. they glowed so brightly," he explained. "and something flashed in my mind, like a memory, but less tangible. only, i knew at that moment i needed to be afraid - no, terrified for my life. the emotions came over me like a lightning strike from nowhere, and all i could do was run as fast as possible. i couldn't even think clearly. everything was like a blur in my mind."

katrina considered his explanation, which rang true by his body language. she wondered if it were some bizarre reaction related to her hypnotic attempt on him as a child after she had killed his father right in front of him. "are you scared of me now?" she asked, although she wasn't sensing fear from him so much as nervousness.

"do i need to be?" he asked cautiously. he really wasn't sure what he was supposed to feel. all he knew was that he very much still cared for her.

"scared or afraid? no," she clarified. "careful? yes."

he nodded. "well, maybe i am still scared, a little bit. but what do you mean by needing to be careful?"

she considered him for a moment and reached out to touch his hand that rested on top of his knee. he flinched only slightly, but his reaction still saddened her. however, she proceeded to softly cover the top of his hand with hers.

"i won't intentionally seek to hurt you, caleb," she assured him, "except in the case of a couple of rare instances."

"such as?" he asked carefully as his pulse increased.

she still gently held her hand atop his and explained, "there are a few important rules if you're really serious about any long-term relationship with me, caleb. a couple of them are 'deal breakers,' in a manner of speaking."

he thought seriously about her explanation and ventured, "like when you told me not to tell anybody about you."

katrina nodded affirmatively. "that's the biggest rule of all, yes," she stated firmly but with gentleness in her eyes.

he took a deep breath. "i suppose i can appreciate the importance of a rule like that," he conceded.

"good," she explained. "because that rule is what protects me from humanity."

they fell silent for a brief time before she returned to a previous topic. "this won't work between us if you're always afraid of me," she ventured quietly. "do you understand?"

he considered her statement carefully. as he gazed at her face, so soft and lovely, he had a hard time imaging being afraid of her, despite his actual feelings.

"yes," he nodded slowly. "i understand."

"that's good," she said with a hopeful smile.

he considered the statement a moment longer. "but you need to explain things so i'm not afraid. information defeats fear of the unknown."

she nodded, impressed with his mature assessment. the evening was going about as well as she could have hoped, so far.

"what do you need for me to do or say to help inform you better?"

"well, i have a few questions, you see," he ventured hesitantly. "if that's not a problem, of course."

okay, here come the questions, she thought with resignation. on the few occasions during her lengthy existence when the few men she revealed herself to wanted to understand her better, they all presented a host of questions, some intelligent, others outrageous. she sighed and nodded. "ask your questions."

but he sensed something resigned, or perhaps melancholy in her reaction to him. it bothered him, and he realized he didn't want to be a source of unpleasantness to her.

"never mind, katrina," he offered gently. "i'll just find out over time. you'll tell me when, or if you're ready."

her eyebrow arched high. nobody's ever responded like that before, she recalled. they all had insistent, sometimes insulting, questions in the past. how oddly refreshing.

caleb rose, abruptly deciding that he should leave. their meeting had gone well, but he didn't want to press his luck. besides, he wasn't sure he could keep from asking a litany questions if he stayed much longer.

"wait," she said with concern as she rose to stand before him. "where are you going?"

"well, home," he replied. "maybe we could see a movie later tomorrow night or something?"

her eyes widened slightly and she adopted a slightly confused expression. she was suddenly feeling compelled by some very strong emotions.

"no," she insisted in a non-threatening tone. she was somewhat shocked by the depth of strong feelings washing over her at that moment. she didn't want him to go and suddenly didn't care about his potential questions. she just knew that she wanted him to stay.

"so then, you're busy tomorrow? how about saturday then?" he persisted.

katrina blinked and slowly but deliberately stepped towards him.

his eyes widened with surprise, and he asked, "what's wrong, katrina?" his pulse quickened, and he found an anxious tension rising inside him.

"don't go, caleb," she whispered to him softly. "ask me anything, but don't go yet." she just wanted him to stay with her. she'd been so worried that he wouldn't have wanted even to see her again, but was relieved that he was finally there.

her left hand reached out to caress his cheek lightly with her fingertips. her right arm subtly wrapped around the small of his back, and she moved in a fluid blur as her soft lips lightly brushed his.

he drew in a breath from the feeling of her warm lips tenderly touching his skin. he pressed his lips against hers gently, but with more force than she had, and kissed her passionately. the next thing he knew the room spun slightly, and he was lying on the couch with her on top of him. they continued to kiss for a time, and she ran the slim fingers of one hand through his hair and across his scalp, causing him to shiver slightly with appreciation.

she nestled her lips in the small of his soft neck and kissed him there. he murmured with satisfaction as she kissed him again. she felt strong desire rise in her, and her fangs began to extend slightly. the scent of his skin and the underlying blood beneath called to her, and she could feel his strong pulse against her lips as she kissed him.

she abruptly stopped, and her entire body froze in place.

"what's wrong?" he whispered as he turned his head quickly to gaze at her. he saw her eyes glowing green back at him, and he jolted slightly.

"i'm sorry, but it's not safe for you, caleb," katrina insisted. it was so long since her last intimate encounter with a man. her body was suddenly so alive with desire for both his body and his blood, and the dual urges in her threatened to overwhelm her like a tidal wave. it was all too much to process at once, and she feared for his life at that moment, afraid she would lose control.

caleb's mind raced with confusion. one minute, they were sharing a passionate moment together, and the next minute she suddenly stopped. and what's with her eyes? he wondered.

she sensed his confusion and began to push away from him, but he reached out and pulled her against him in a strong embrace.

"no, caleb," she insisted more forcefully as she began to exert her extraordinary strength to disengage from him. "you don't understand. you're in danger right now. it's too much for me."

but he held on with all of his might and kissed the top of her head. "then make it safe for me, katrina," he urged with sudden resolve. "you said that you didn't want to hurt me, so mean it now." his heart was racing at that moment as he wondered if he were about to die or not. he just knew he didn't want to let her go, ever.

she concentrated intently on calming her hunger. at similar moments in her past with other men, a number of them had suffered because of it. for them, it had been the consequence of being with her. with her passion came the desire for blood, and one was rarely relinquished without partaking of the other. but caleb was different. she needed to protect him.

with him holding her tightly to his body, her face was pressed against his neck, and she could feel his pulse throbbing through his skin. she realized it was so painfully long since she had rested in a man's arms. "i want you so badly," she rasped as her lips found the soft skin of his neck again. "i want you in so many ways."

he held on to her tightly and whispered into her hair, "i want you, and i want you to have me too, katrina."

she shut her eyes tightly as she tried to focus on remaining calm. he doesn't realize what he's saying to me. he has no idea!

"stop," she protested.

"no," he insisted. "i'm yours."

oh caleb, she thought powerfully. so trusting, so foolish.

yet his sense of trust in her merely added to her desire for him, and katrina made the decision to find the balance necessary to be with him safely. she struggled with the bloodlust in her body, fighting to control the feral emotions and urges within her. the self-discipline that served her so well in the past began to reassert itself, and she felt her body respond accordingly. the future was so uncertain, and he might someday die, but not at her hands that night.

"hold very still," she whispered with resignation as she kissed the soft skin of his neck. "try to relax, but don't move unless i direct you to."

he swallowed hard and felt her lips move to the opposite side of his neck. she kissed him again on his soft skin. he felt her tongue as it sensually touched his skin, and wanted so very much to please her, to trust her implicitly and totally.

a new sensation occurred, although it was also somehow familiar. it was a numbness that spread on the area of his neck where she kissed him and where her tongue was pressed. he remained very still as she instructed him, and her right hand began to caress him. a satisfying shiver rolled through his body, and the numbness grew in his neck until he couldn't feel her tongue against his skin anymore.

"now freeze," she whispered into his neck.

he felt a slight prick in his neck, not terribly painful. her hand continued to caress and massage his body as she ran the fingers of her other hand gently through his hair in a soothing fashion. he felt himself grow slightly light-headed and thought he heard soft slurping sounds. he closed his eyes and patiently waited, while also appreciating the closeness they were finally sharing.

katrina was in ecstasy. his blood was delicious to her as it flowed down her throat, but she was careful to draw on him gently. she felt so intimately connected with him, having created a life bond between them. she was partaking in much more than mere feeding. it was a form of consummation.

moments later, he felt the numbness increase against his throat again, and she was once more kissing at his neck. he heard a subtle smacking sound and slowly opened his eyes to find her green gaze illuminated slightly as her tongue ran lightly across her lips.

"oh, caleb," she cooed. "i do love you."

she was so very pleased with him. he was so generous, so giving to allow her to do that. she had sensed his reservation, and she had even tried to warn him. but he had persisted, and despite the fact he was unsure of his fate, he still wanted to please her. that meant more to her than anything that evening. she laid claim to him, and in a singular moment of complete clarity she decided that he was to be her mate.

he smiled with a lopsided grin, and she bent to kiss him. he noticed a slightly metallic taste to her kiss. "i'm falling in love with you too," he offered.

he knew that, despite the brief time they had known each other, he meant every word of his statement. he was so happy to have her in his life and didn't care if she were a vampire or not. and most of all, he truly believed she meant him no harm. everything she had done since he first met her was nothing but caring and considerate towards him. the feelings he felt for her were so much stronger than for anyone else before, and he realized it must be nothing short of love.

"and no need for worry," katrina offered softly with an amused grin. "you can't be turned into a vampire from what we shared."

she rose from the couch, and he started to join her, but she pressed her hand against his chest. "stay," she ordered as she slipped out of her shoes. "i'll be right back."

he settled back onto the couch, and she seemed to disappear from view. it startled him, and he saw lights in the hallway and entryway go out one by one.

caleb heard a quick noise across the room, and the lights all suddenly went out. only the glow of the outdoor lights filtered in through the windows in the room.

suddenly, she was standing there before him. however, she was wearing only her silvery bra and panties, and her eyes were glowing slightly. her hair was undone and hung like a mantle around her head. her pale skin gave her a somewhat ethereal appearance in the dim light. like an angel, he silently marveled, but perhaps edgier.

"now it's your turn, caleb," she purred with satisfaction while moving to the couch and reaching to undo the buttons of his shirt. her eyes narrowed slyly with anticipation.

in the end, she was a beautiful, sexy, green-eyed, red-haired demon that took him on a heavenly, erotic journey for the remainder of the evening.