Even Monsters Get Lonely

After giving André another kiss, Shannon looked around and asked, “Where are we?”

“We’re at an all-night shopping mart,” he told her. “I have a few things to pick up here, and I thought perhaps we could pick you up some clothes here.”

“Oh,” Shannon said softly. “I do need clothes, but André my dad took my check from me. I only have about thirty dollars, so maybe I should go get my clothes from home after all.”

“I will buy you some things, I have money,” he told her.

“Yes, but I don’t want you...”

He shushed her, placing a finger on her lips as he said, “I tell you what, I’ll give you three hundred dollars to spend as you like. Tomorrow evening I’ll show you around and you can look for work if you like. Then when you find a job you can pay me back. Deal?”

Shannon took a deep breath and nodded.

So, he removed his finger. He then opened his door and said, “Let’s go in then.”

Shannon carefully crawled out and straightened. She then took another deep breath, taking in the humidity filled air. Looking around at the still busy streets and the bright lights, she listened to the laughter of those coming out of the shops. She smiled, she decided she could come to like this place.

“Ready?”

Turning, Shannon looked at André. The lights gave his pale skin a glow and shimmered through his hair giving it a golden cast. She reached for his hand then because the need to touch him was strong.

André raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Shannon giggled and said, “Sorry, I was busy staring in awe of your beauty! But yes, I’m ready.”

André shook his head and chuckled. Then he tugged at her hand, turning them to walk into the store.

By the time she and André had finished their shopping, it was almost one in the morning.

Shannon groaned as she sat down in the seat of the car. “My feet hurt from walking miles in that store! I don’t think I even walked that much when I waitress for an eight-hour shift,” Shannon groaned as she sat down in the seat of the car. Leaning over the console, she grabbed André by the arm as she moaned, “and I’m starving, feed me!”

He laughed and told her, “Okay, I’ll feed you petite. Tell me what you would like.”

Shannon sat there for a moment, her forehead leaned on his arm, eyes closed as she thought. Groaning, she sat up straight to tell him, “I don’t know, it’s still weird to think of eating this time of... breakfast! Yeah, let’s have breakfast!”

“Alright, breakfast it is,” André murmured. He then cranked the car before pulling out of the parking lot and onto the road.

By the time they’d made it back to his house, Shannon’s eyes were drooping, and she couldn’t stop yawning.

André carried her bags inside the house and to her room as she slowly followed him.

“I’m going to take a quick shower,” she told him when they reached her room.

André gave Shannon a nod and headed back to his sitting room.

He flopped tiredly down on his couch and frowned as he looked around at the mess. Blowing out a sigh, he realized he’d now have to buy new furniture. Then he’d need to decide what to do about Rick’s betrayal.

With another sigh, he picked up his remote and turned on his sound system to some soft music. He hoped it would help keep him calm as he tried to figure out what he was going to do about Rick.

“Good music to relax to huh?”

He glanced up to find Shannon standing in the doorway. She had exchanged her jeans for cotton shorts, but still had one of his t-shirts on.

He gave her a slight smile, putting out his hand to make a “come here” motion.

Shannon walked over to where he was, but instead of sitting next to him, she crawled into his lap. She then yawned and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

Hugging her tight against him, he asked, “Sleepy petite?”

“Yeah, but I can’t seem to sleep. I have started to feel the need to be with you, touching you if possible. It’s kind of strange really because I’ve never felt that way about someone before. I don’t know what makes you so different.”

André gave a slight shrug as he ran his fingers through her hair. It was so long and soft that he couldn’t seem to keep his hands out of it, or off of her, for that matter. So, it would seem they were in the same boat with that feeling. This train of thought took him back to their conversation earlier about their mothers and holding onto each other.

“So, how come you listen to classical music?” Shannon asked.

Her question brought André from his musings, so he said, “The music reminds me of my younger days. With me being French, I think being charming, and flirting, is somehow bred into us. So, a slow dance is a good excuse to hold a young mademoiselle close and flirt a bit.”

Shannon giggled as she moved back to look at him. “Well then Mr. French Flirt, dance with me.”

André raised an eyebrow at her, which only made her giggle again. He smiled because he enjoyed the sound of her amusement, even if it was at his expense.

Then, placing her on the seat next to him, he stood. Clearing his throat, he held out his hand, giving a gentlemanly bow. Thickening his accent, he said, “Good evening mademoiselle Winters. It would give me great plaisir (pleasure) if you would dance with me.”

“Why monsieur, it would definitely be my pleasure to dance with you,” she told him as she placed her hand in his with a giggle.

He tugged her to her feet and placed her hands for her. He then showed her a simple dance that was popular during his time.

“Mm... I like this dance André, so much better then all that grinding the girls do. They look like a bunch of cats in heat most of the time,” she told him. Then she sighed before continuing. “Although I must admit, I did a bit of it myself as a teenager when I dated Luke.”

“Luke?” André questioned.

“Yeah, he was my boyfriend when I was sixteen,” she told him. She then added, “He was also my rebellion, so it wasn’t a really good relationship from the start.”

He needed to know what she meant by that statement. So, he asked, “What do you mean by rebellion?”

“I had so much on my plate at sixteen. I had school, worked a full-time job, and helped take care of my sick mother. It was a lot, so when I met Luke, he just... he was my way out of it all. He snuck me out to parties and showed me what it was to live a little I suppose.

“Then he introduced me to drugs. We smoked stuff, it made me forget, and it also allowed him to get me into his bed. Once he got me there, and I realized what I had done, I told him it was over. The drugs made me do things I wouldn’t have done lucid.

“It was a rough time in my life, but I learned a lot from it. After Luke, I straightened up and took my responsibilities more seriously,” she concluded as she stopped dancing.

Then, looking up at him she said, “André I think... no, I know I’m confused about what’s happening between us. It scares me in a way how safe I feel with you, even though I know very little about you. Feeling safe with you is a puzzle in its self because you’re a vampire, you’re supposed to be scary. I don’t think I’ve ever feared you though. Well, maybe a little bit when you went all Dracula on me, wanting my blood, but that feeling didn’t last long,” she said, then paused, taking a deep breath.

He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could she began speaking again.

“Then there’s this weird pull I feel toward you. It gets me all hot and bothered, and all I can think about is jumping your bones! I want you, André, you and your vampire,” she told him then. “Both of you just make me crazy with lust and let me tell you I’ve never felt that way about anyone, ever!”

André sat down, pulling her into his lap as he did. He honestly didn’t know what to say because he was just as confused as her. But he had to try, so he said, “Listen petite, I don’t know what has caused you to feel this way. What I can say, is that you also give me feelings I’ve never had before. I like them though, and I’d like to explore them further with you.”

She laid her head back on his shoulder, he felt her nod then as she yawned once more.

“Let’s get you to bed,” André whispered. Then standing up with her in his arms, he took her to her room and lay her down.

“Stay with me, please!” She begged as she tugged at him.

With a nod, André lay down until she slept. Then he stood and hurried to his room as he felt the pull of the sunrise and sleep.

Shannon awakened the next evening the same way as the evening before, feeling watched. The difference was, she knew this time it was André. Cracking her eyes open a bit she watched him watch her.

He was looking down, toward her body with a hungry look on his face.

So, glancing down she saw her shirt was pushed all the way up, and her whole stomach was bared to his gaze. Looking down further, she saw his hand where it hovered over her thigh as if he wanted to touch her but wasn’t sure he should.

“You can touch me, baby, I don’t mind,” she whispered. She began to feel a longing for his touch surge through her body along with the heat of arousal.

Then, as his hand slid from her knee up her leg to her thigh, she felt his need slam into her. This surge of feeling caused her to gasp lightly at the intensity of it.

André brought his eyes up to Shannon’s then. They were dark with arousal and his fangs were showing.

Shannon pulled his head down for a kiss. They were light, gentle kisses because of his fangs, but addicting all the same.

André let out a moan, as she ran her tongue along one of them. He then said, “Ma chérie, do you have any idea what you do to me when you do that?”

Shannon pulled back, breathless now, to look at him. She ran her hand up under his shirt as she asked, “Tell me, what does it do?”

He gave that low hissing growl that caused her stomach to clench. Then he moved his slow kisses down her neck, and she felt another surge of his desire shoot through her.

“How do you do that to me?” Shannon groaned.

“Do what?”

“Make me feel what you feel!” She exclaimed.

He pulled away from her then, causing her to whimper and make a grab for him as he jumped off the bed. He then moved swiftly across the room to stand and glare at her.

“André?” She whined as she propped up on an elbow.

“What I feel? How can I make you feel what I feel?” He questioned her.

Shannon felt her eyes widen as his emotions tumbled over her in waves. He was upset, confused, and angry?

“Why are you angry with me? I don’t know why I feel those emotions coming from you, I just know I do,” she told him.

Then, just as suddenly as she’d felt his emotions, she suddenly felt nothing. He had somehow blocked his emotions from her, now she felt cold, and lost as if he had left. It was a strange feeling, but it made her want to cry in the loss.

“How long Shannon? How long have you been able to feel my emotions from me? Why did you not tell me?”

Shannon could tell by looking at him he wasn’t angry now, just upset. He was upset that she would hide this from him. I didn’t purposely hide it from him though, I didn’t!

Sitting up straight, she pushed her hair away from her face. Then, looking at him, she said, “André, I’m sorry, sorry I didn’t tell you. I wasn’t hiding anything from you. I guess I was just... well, it confused me. At first, I really thought it was just my imagination. The first time it happened was right after you bit me. I suppose at that point, I thought it had something to do with the bite and would stop. Tonight though, tonight it was so strong, and you haven’t even fed from me. Have you?”

“Non, I was waiting for you to awaken and then my... desire for your body overrode my hunger for a moment,” he told her as he shook his head. He then began to pace, hands shoved deep in his pockets as he mumbled in French.

Shannon knew he was frustrated. So was she, if she were honest with herself, because she didn’t have any more of a clue then he did about what was going on. She also knew if he hadn’t eaten yet he had to be hungry.

“André you need to eat, this discussion can wait,” Shannon said gently.

He turned then with a hiss, his eyes black. André was gone and, in his place, stood Vampire.

Shannon whimpered, because this wasn’t just Vampire, it was a very angry vampire. She whimpered again, cringing back against the pillows because all that anger was directed straight at her.