By Moonlight: Vamp Rising Part 5

Brandon watched as they started towards the Training Center. Christoph's hand floated up to meet the small of Gwen's back as they walked. He knew it! That explained everything. It explained why a vampire would want to hang around the Cascades, live in the mountains, a.s.sociate with s.h.i.+fters, none of which suited Christoph in the least. Christoph was interested in Gwen. And it made Brandon's blood boil.

The sight of the vampire's hand bracing Gwen's back had him growling without realizing. His fangs elongated in an instant. The wolf in him felt like Gwen was his and it wanted to annihilate all threat to their relations.h.i.+p. But what was he going to do? Lunge at the vampire and tear his throat out? He would only be proving Christoph right if he pulled a stunt like that. So he turned his back to avoid further torture and focused on calming his heaving breaths. Then he told himself that if he wanted to win Gwen's heart he was going to have to appeal to the vampire in her. No more werewolf shenanigans. He was going to have to charm her before Christoph did. The only problem was that he had no idea how he would accomplish such a thing.

Just before they reached the entrance to the Training Center, Gwen looked over her shoulder. Brandon was standing where she'd left him, but now he was facing the other way. His hands were planted firmly on his hips, giving him the look of someone with heavy thoughts on his mind. He probably felt like he'd blown it, but really how serious could Brandon be about her? Did he actually like her? Sneaking into her bed seemed a reckless move for someone who was genuinely hoping to get to know her. And when confronted, he'd been much too playful about it, like the whole thing was a joke. Whether it was or wasn't, it was starting to dawn on her that Brandon really wasn't a man. He truly was an animal. And she wasn't sure if she should allow her attraction to him to cloud her judgment.

Christoph led her into a room that she had never been in before, the size of which couldn't have been more than three hundred square feet. The walls, ceiling, and floor were painted black. And though there was a window at the back wall, it let in very little light.

Christoph shut the door behind them and Gwen felt suddenly aware that she was alone with a man. His movements were exceptionally graceful. When he crossed the room to close the blinds, he didn't walk, he glided. Yet he was entirely masculine and there was something about being in his presence that made Gwen highly conscious of the fact that she was a woman.

With the blinds drawn shut behind him, Christoph stared at her for a long moment. There was something captivating about the way he was looking at her. It made her nervous and excited. Her dress felt suddenly tight, like it revealed too much of her. Every curve was bursting through the fabric, or at least that's how it felt. She nearly found the courage to ask him what he was planning on doing with her, but every arrangement of the words in her mind came off sounding s.e.xual, alluring, or otherwise suggestive. So she held her tongue, and surrendered to the incredible tension that was rising between them.

"Do you feel that?" He asked, eyeing her curiously, perhaps to get a sense of her answer before she spoke it. "You can say it. Don't be embarra.s.sed."

"The tension?" She asked hesitantly, omitting the adjective s.e.xual.

"Tension? Is that what it feels like to you?"

Gwen was beyond uncomfortable. Was he hitting on her? Who points out s.e.xual tension? Did he want this to get painfully awkward?

"What you're perceiving as tension is the vampire's glamour," he clarified. "What does it feel like?"

"Well, I mean it feels like tension, which is why I said tension," said Gwen awkwardly.

Christoph smiled to hold his composure. "Let me try this another way," he offered then gazed at her silently, but with intension.

The first few seconds were awkward as before, then Gwen found herself suddenly swept up in a wave of desire for him. He looked delicious. Her eyes traced the lines of his facial features, relis.h.i.+ng the straight swoop of his nose, the sensual curves of his lips, and the arch of each brow. She felt like she could take him right then and there. Or really that she hoped he would take her, but something was preventing that from happening and it wasn't Gwen, which caused her to realize all of a sudden that Christoph was doing this to her.

"Would you like me to touch you, Gwen?" He asked in a tone so smooth it seemed to melt over her.

"I think I get your point," she said through fluttering breaths.

In an instant the feeling was gone and its abrupt absence was jarring.

"That's glamour. It's imperative you understand it. You need to be able to recognize it, and you also need to be able to exude it. Now you try."

"You want me to seduce you?"

"It only feels like that because you're unfamiliar with it," he a.s.sured her.

"This feels inappropriate," Gwen said shyly. She didn't want to undermine his authority, but she also wasn't going to do something that made her uncomfortable. And at the moment she was beyond uncomfortable.

"Is eating inappropriate?" He asked.

"I don't see the connection."

"I'm teaching you how to eat," he told her. "Your blood thirst is going to rear its ugly head any day now, and when it does you need to understand that getting what you want depends entirely on your ability to influence others into giving it to you of their own volition. You can't force a human to let you drink their blood. They'll only fight you and essentially it's a big waste of time. But if you influence them, they'll fall into your glamour. They'll tilt their heads for you. They'll offer their necks. They'll be happy to let you drink."

Gwen grimaced at the thought.

"Have you felt the blood thirst yet?" He asked, approaching her to encourage honesty.

"The cafeteria food made me nauseous," she offered.

"Naturally," he said dryly. "But that's because werewolves don't know how to cook."

Gwen smiled, realizing Christoph had a sense of humor. "Last night I was standing very close to Brandon and I think I could smell his blood. It made me hungry," she confessed.

Christoph frowned at that. "Why were you standing so close?"

"No reason," said Gwen, backpedaling.

"Human blood is best," Christoph said matter-of-factly to avoid prying into her personal life. "But we'll work up to that. Animals are the easiest to influence. We'll start simple with small game, work our way up the food chain to the dangerous species, then graduate on to humans." He studied her for a moment then added, "It takes a great deal of skill to do what we do, Gwen. Vampires exercise a tremendous amount of mind control over their prey and they leave them with virtually no recollection that they were ever there. There's much for you to learn. And it all starts with strengthening your glamour. So please, give it a try."

Having a better understanding of all this s.e.xual influence stuff, Gwen was able to rise above the overwhelming self-consciousness that had her paralyzed, and gave it a shot. But as she prepared to begin, she quickly realized she had no idea how to begin. "What do I do?"

"Turn yourself on."

"Excuse me?"

"Do you find me attractive?"

She burst into uncomfortable laughter.

"You asked. I'm answering."

"Well pardon me," she said sobering up.

"I'm only guiding you to feel something for me since I happen to be the subject of this exercise, but if you prefer just think of an old boyfriend. Recall the feelings he gave you when he leaned in to kiss you." Christoph leaned into Gwen's ear to simulate the experience then whispered, "Conjure the arousal you felt for him."

"Ok, got it," she said in hopes of silencing him, as she urged his body back.

"Go ahead," he instructed. "Then will me to do something. Anything that will prove to you, that in fact it was you who made me respond."

"Ok," said Gwen, slipping into deep concentration. She knew exactly what she wanted to make Christoph do and he wasn't going to like it.

"Why are you smirking?" He asked, annoyed.

"Sorry," she said, twisting her mouth downward to fight the giggles.

Gwen dipped into the bank of her past romps, but realized there wasn't much there to draw from. She hadn't necessarily met a man who did it for her in that way. Most of her romantic endeavors amounted to tension laid negotiations where neither party wound up satisfied. So she tried to think about the bubble baths she'd taken alone, the experimenting she'd done privately, but that also didn't seem evocative enough to get her in the mood. Frustrated with herself that this was taking too long, and figuring Christoph would surely have something to say about it, Gwen pictured Brandon, though it irked her to do so. She didn't want to admit to herself that he kind of did it for her. She was attracted enough to wonder, that is. But something about picturing him filled her with unease, none-the-less, so she reminded herself he'd never have to know. Once she convinced herself of that, she was able to let the memory of his muscular body wash over her: his strong arms holding her tightly, the warmth of his cheek against hers, his incredible skill leaping from the tree...

Soon a feeling of smooth warmth stirred between her legs. "I got it," she whispered, training her mind on the sensation so as not to lose it. "What now?"

"Cast it over me," he said softly.

"I don't know what that means," she admitted, as she continued to focus as hard as she could, worried she'd lose it and have to start all over. She closed her eyes and imagined Brandon's body, his hips, the way he'd aligned her perfectly to him as he'd rescued her from the tree.

"Draw me in like how you would if you were catching a man's eye from across a crowded room. You don't have to do the work, just send out the invitation," he suggested.

Gwen's eyes drifted open and locked onto Christoph, as the heat of her desire rolled through her. She gazed at him, but was unsure if this was working, so she tried his suggestion and concentrated on staying in a state of antic.i.p.ation, as though her arousal would pull him in.

It did.

His hands were on her, wrapping her torso, grazing the undersides of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and pulling her against him.

Before she knew what she was doing, Gwen slapped Christoph hard across the face and the glamour was dead between them.

"What the h.e.l.l was that?" She exclaimed.

He graciously backed away, giving her s.p.a.ce then said, "You were doing quite well, but you fell out of control."

"Um, I think you abandoned the exercise!"

"You can't simply fire a cannon, Ms. Keller. You first must aim it towards the target."

"And what might that be?" She demanded.

"I have no idea. I told you to make me do something only you'd know about."

Gwen had forgotten that part and felt instantly terrible, though she was still furious.

"No need to apologize," he said dryly.

Gwen sighed unsure of who she was more mad at, Christoph or herself.

"Gwen, if I wanted to have s.e.x with you, I wouldn't paw at you like a wild animal. I'd influence you. You'd think it was your idea and it would be the best s.e.x of your life. That's not what's happening right now. Please don't hit me to control me, just control me."

"Are you alright?" She asked, genuinely concerned.

"I've been shot in the head, my Dear. A smack to the cheek is nothing. Please proceed."

It took her a moment to overcome the deep sense of embarra.s.sment that was stemming from her faux pas. It helped remind her that all of this was new to her, and city Gwen, Old Gwen, marketing a.s.sociate Gwen was right to defend herself against his sudden bout of s.e.xual hara.s.sment. Accepting that fact calmed her. Then she reminded herself that this was a unique environment and trusting Christoph was imperative. She took a deep breath and prepared herself to try again.

Ready for her second attempt, Gwen focused her mind and found the sweet spot of her arousal then used it to draw Christoph in. She focused keenly on sensing his state as well, antic.i.p.ating that there would be a tipping point, a fine line between drawing him in and the moment he would become ravenous. As soon as he seemed to edge over the line, indicated when he lunged for her, Gwen la.s.soed his interest and threaded it firmly between her the fingers of her intent, so-to-speak.

He stopped dead in his tracks, hands outstretched, then dropped to all fours and barked like a dog.

Shocked by her own success, Gwen jumped, clapping for herself and laughing, as Christoph sprung to his feet to dust off the knees of his crisply pressed slacks.

"Very funny," he congratulated her. "You have a thing for dogs, I see."

"I had to pick something you'd never in a million years do, or else how would I know it'd worked?" She said, performing the innocence she lacked.

"Well I'm glad we're getting somewhere. Again," he commanded. "I'd like you to feel comfortable with this by lunch."

It was well into the afternoon by the time Christoph released Gwen from her morning session of training and as she left the building she was feeling quite accomplished. It was only her first day of learning how to be a vampire, but already she was feeling confident she would gain the control she would need to make this life work. There was so much more to learn. Christoph hadn't even touched upon hunting and avoiding the sun, nor had he gone over the basic history of vampires and all the bloodlines, but Gwen didn't want to get ahead of herself and become overwhelmed by all that. She was pleased enough that she'd learned how to do something. And it wasn't lost on her that Brandon had a lot to do with that.

As she walked along the path that flanked the Training Center on her way to the cafeteria, she looked through the cla.s.sroom windows. The students were seated in their desks and taking notes., As her gaze traveled to the front of the room, she saw Brandon slip over to the teacher and tell him something.

She paused, observing him and couldn't help but compare him to Christoph. They were polar opposites. Brandon dripped with rugged s.e.xuality, and Christoph had a refined sensuality, yet both were drop dead gorgeous. Who would have thought the undead would be so attractive? The human men she'd met over the years couldn't possibly compete and realizing this Gwen felt somewhat lucky to be undead herself.

She shook out of her reverie to discover that Brandon was no longer at the front of the cla.s.sroom, so she continued on her way, then realized he was standing down by the far end of the path.

"How'd it go?" He asked calling out to her.

As Gwen approached she felt suddenly strange. This was the man she'd pictured to get herself going, and now that he was standing before her all of his most attractive attributes seemed to pop. She was tongue tied, but managed to say, "Fine."

"Just fine?"

"It was helpful," she admitted.

"What'd you learn?"

"Um..." She stammered. If she'd thought Christoph's unconventional methods had come across as inappropriate, it would certainly seem that way if she described them to Brandon. "Vampire stuff," she said vaguely.

"You know I was going to teach you a thing or two," he said as an impish smile spread across his face.

"I doubt you could've taught me what I learned today," she challenged.

"It was that good, huh?"

She shrugged. "You're not a vampire."

"Hey, look, this morning I crossed a line," he started, but Gwen cut him off.

"There's a lot of that going around."

"Meaning what? Did Christoph try something with you?" Asked Brandon, suddenly angered.

"No, please, don't worry about it," she said, though it was nice to see him a bit riled up.

"Ok well I have to get out to my territories, but if you feel like getting some air tonight I could swing by Little Bear after I check in for call," he said then when her expression registered that she didn't know what call was he clarified, "I have to report to Joseph at about 6:30 pm, so after that we could go for a hike. The sun will be down. I'm not sure if it's affecting you yet, but-"

"Sure," she said without hesitation.

Brandon smiled. "Alright," he said, as he a.s.sessed her. "You look good, like you're glowing or something."

"Thanks," she said, blus.h.i.+ng. Then she continued on her way towards the cafeteria.

Brandon called after her, "See you then."

To which she waved without turning back.

Tonight.