My body moved into overdrive the second I let the words leave my lips. “I trust you,” I said again, more clearly so that even I knew myself what I had decided. Aveline’s eyes softened with relief and she bent forward until her lips were just above mine. I held my breath in suspense.

“Good,” She breathed before pressing hers over mine faintly. I jerked away on instinct, surprised by the kiss. Xander was close behind me, which I found out when my movement landed me against him instead. The feel of his hard chest now aligned with my back sent a burning blush over my body. I wasn’t exactly a virgin, but I hadn’t done… anything experimental before. Not especially involving another woman.

“What exactly does this process involve?” I squeaked nervously as Xander ran the palm of his hand over my blood-dried arm affectionately. Aveline moved closer to meet me, a small smile playing on her lips as she moved her own hands over my thighs which were thankfully still covered by my flannel pajamas.

“Don’t worry, my little tiger, we won’t go all the way. Unless you want us to,” She said seductively, sending chills over my skin at the promise of pleasure in her tone. “If you recall, Xander and Vincent both were in the process with you before. It involves intimacy. It’s how we call to our spirit to bond with you. It involves flesh and in the end, blood.” Aveline was enjoying this all too much. It reminded me of her request when we first met. Obviously, she hadn’t been kidding and neither had Xander when he said she would like me. Apparently, he meant it in a physical way as well.

“Can we start?” Xander’s voice was deep and husky behind me. Wait, we hadn’t even started yet? My nerves were beginning to make me tremble again, not out of fear but out of… embarrassment perhaps. Anxiety, more like. My stomach was tight and burning.

Aveline was once again extremely close to me. “Can we?” She asked me sincerely, reminding me that they wouldn’t do anything without me being willing. She was lightly pulling on the bottom of my shirt, letting me know she intended to remove it soon. I felt like my skin would burn off from the heat now consuming my body. I couldn’t speak any longer, but a courageous part of me allowed me to nod in consent.

She pulled me towards her and away from Xander momentarily, lightly placing kisses among my brow and nose. Her soft warm lips made their way over my eyes and cheek, only tracing my lips briefly before moving to my jaw. It was obvious she was trying to keep me from being too uncomfortable, probably guessing by now that I’d never done anything like this. My breaths were already fast and shallow, and my heart was racing with adrenaline.

Aveline leaned back and removed her shirt without taking her eyes off of me, leaving her in a bra and short shorts. She then pulled up on my shirt and I lifted my arms obediently. I was left bare from the waist up, having been braless in my nightwear. By reflex, I crossed my arms over my breasts almost defensively and nobody moved to remove them so I remained that way.

Aveline moved away a bit, shifting her weight so that she was on her hands and knees in front of me. She looked like a tiger herself, ready to pounce, her eyes bright and almost dangerous. I reminded myself that I could trust her, that they were going to protect me. The fear of being hurt still planted in my anxiety, though I tried to have no doubt.

My thoughts were interrupted when Xander’s arms moved around mine to pull me back against him abruptly. I inhaled sharply in surprise, feeling the hot flesh of my back align with his now bare chest. He reached a hand up to my hair, tilting my head to the side and petting my strands softly while his cool breath teased along my ear. His other arm stayed around me protectively, not demanding but firm. He moved the hair from my neck and shoulder, tracing the skin lightly as though I would break beneath him. And then he pressed his lips against my flesh, starting just beneath my ear and trailing down my neck to my shoulder. He stopped there, his tongue darting out to taste my skin just for a moment.

I gasped again, a feeling of sharp pleasure striking through my veins and pooling in my stomach. As if on cue, I felt Aveline’s lips on my hip, delivering an assault of kisses across my navel and up towards my chest. I could feel her tongue occasionally daring to taste my flesh. She spread my legs in order for her to move closer to me, moving her hands to massage the inside of my thighs in the process. Now that I had both of their lips on me, sending shivers of ecstasy over me, I began relaxing under their affection and panting at the assaults. I released my grip over my breasts, reaching to grasp Xander’s arm and Aveline’s shoulder.

Aveline moved away suddenly. Xander took this time to grab my upper arm and begin turning me around to face him. Again, I felt myself tense up and nervous all over again. I moved awkwardly onto my knees, turning to face him and finding myself eye to eye with his bright blue-green orbs. They watched me hungrily, causing my heart to stutter momentarily at the passion in them. It was only a small taste of the looks he bestowed on Aveline.

His strong hands grasped the back of my thighs, kneading them affectionately before pulling them apart and towards him. I gasped and blushed when the maneuver caused me to straddle his lap in a very suggestive way. For a moment, his face softened familiarly. He reached for my cheek and brushed back the strands of my hair now painted to my face by sweat. Then he smiled that charming smile of his, reminding me again that they meant me no harm.

I felt Aveline’s soft breasts press against my back as she too decided to straddle Xander, essentially pushing me even more against him than before. I immediately felt his hard bulge pressing against the apex between my legs, perfectly aligned for a certain activity. Even though he still had his boxer’s on and I still had my pajama pants on, I felt extremely embarrassed, my face burning behind my harsh breath. Xander’s face was only inches from mine now, my breast pressed against his flesh and Aveline’s body aligned with mine behind me.

Out of nerves, I leaned my face forward to burrow just under Xander’s neck, closing my eyes tightly. I heard Aveline giggle most girlishly behind me, running her hand up my side teasingly. “She’s so bashful, my love,” she cooed, moving my hair so she could trail her tongue along my spine just between my shoulders and up my neck. Xander shifted at the same moment, sending a combining sensation between my legs and throughout my body. I moaned against his chest without meaning to.

“You’re testing me, Aveline,” I heard Xander growl suddenly.

Startled by his abrupt tense form, I moved my face from his chest to look at him. Before I had leveled my face with his, Aveline gripped my hips and moved me over him in such a deep and intimate manner. I gasped at the contact, a pool of heat and lust gathering in my lower stomach.

“I am,” Aveline chuckled most dementedly. Her hands moved around me, tracing my bare stomach and grasping my breasts momentarily before trailing over Xander’s tense muscles seductively. My skin heated with her every touch and I struggled not to squirm over Xander in case it bothered him. He didn’t respond for a moment, his eyes closed and his face inches from mine.

Then his eyes opened, dark and hungry, and he grabbed a handful of my hair to pull me closer to him before his lips were claiming mine. Without hesitation, his tongue was swiping across my lips, forcing them open before crashing against mine. It was a hungry kiss that drew me to him, causing me to move against him almost just as hungrily.

Xander broke away from my lips and growled again. “Do you want me to fuck you?” He asked me huskily, moving suggestively against me to drive his point home. I considered it maybe a half second before that part of me with an inch of modesty scolded me. I was panting, feeling Aveline’s lips and touch greedy on my skin.

“No,” I breathed, surprised I was able to answer.

He didn’t look offended. Instead, he began trailing his kisses over my cheek and jaw. I felt Aveline on the other side, trailing her kisses on my upper arm and towards the edge of my shoulder. My body felt entirely on fire between them, like I might disintegrate into nothing if they continued. Aveline’s small hand reached lightly around my neck, holding me still as she moved closer to the meat on my right shoulder. Xander’s arm wrapped around my lower back, pulling me tighter against him as his lips landed on the flesh of my left shoulder.

I didn’t see their eyes blacken or their fangs extend. All I knew was that there must have been a song they were both listening to at the same time because as if hearing a cue note, they both opened their lips hungrily and plunged two pairs of fangs into my shoulders in unison. If I expected pain, I was wrong. Immediately, a fire of ecstasy burned through me, tearing a sharp cry from my throat and sending me over the edge completely. I lost my breath, my mind, and all my senses.

Over that ecstasy, I felt waves of power pushing over me, like vying for space inside my soul. Whatever it was, it wanted all of me, and I didn’t fight to stop it. The power blanketed over me, claiming me as a piece of its existence.

When the struggle ended, there was a sense of peace which washed over me. My body hummed with pleasure and I found I couldn’t even think much less move between the two vampires holding me. I hadn’t even noticed that they had removed their fangs from my flesh. I blinked hazily, feeling Aveline pet my face affectionately. Xander moved forward and brushed his lips over hers, my blood on their lips like wine. I felt my eyes flutter shut and a peaceful darkness took over me.

~…~

I cried out, sitting up in bed between two bodies. My nerves were like electricity, static and active to the touch. I was still topless and I knew Aveline and Xander were just as half-naked as I was. At my rude awakening, they both had opened their eyes in alarm.

“Elysia?” Aveline was bewildered. I didn’t look at her. I was breathing quickly, staring into the distance at nothing. Or perhaps it was everything. I was only awake for a moment before it happened. Only this time it was very different. I was cast violently from my body, my mind blending into the film which began showing an image so clear I was stunned with fear.

It was the woman from my dream. Only she was healthy and alive, vibrant almost. She was writing slowly on a piece of paper, her pen swirling loops around her letters with intense care. I tried to read what she was writing, but the paper wasn’t as clear as the image of her was.

I tried to look further, but she kept me focused on her hands twisting through the words I just couldn’t read. She suddenly stopped, bending the paper and putting it into an envelope before writing the word Cobi on top of it. Then she propped it on top of a wardrobe with etchings of sharp designs through it. She used a carved wooden figurine to block the envelope from unwanted attention; that of a phoenix falling into a flame. For some reason, I knew this was her favorite.

The images began to become jumbled. I tried to focus on her. I had to know what these images meant. But suddenly she was screaming before me, bound and terrified. Tell Cobi, she screamed wordlessly. She was cut off by a silver stake striking through her chest. A deeply pleased chuckled followed, crawling over my skin and into my bones.

The film dropped and I fell back into my body just as violently, gasping for air. Aveline was on top of me on the bed, pinning me down while Xander was gripping my face in deep concern. They had prevented me from sleepwalking. A part of me knew just exactly where I would have gone if they had allowed me to go on my merry way.

“I have to tell him,” I whispered, sounding and feeling a bit mad, “I have to tell him. I have to…” It was then that I realized I still didn’t know what she wanted me to tell him. Was it the letter? Did she actually write a letter or was that just part of my crazy? If she did, wouldn’t he have read it by now? She didn’t exactly hide it. From what I recognized, it was in his bedroom. Surely he would have seen it.

“Tell who what?” Xander asked me, petting my face slowly. When I didn’t answer, he said, “It’s okay, we’re here.”

“I don’t know,” I croaked, raising my hand to touch the back of his. I rolled my eyes from his face to Aveline, who looked pale and shaken up. I wondered if I had gone The Exorcist on them or something. I had always heard it was a bad thing to try to wake up someone from sleep walking.

“What happened?” Aveline asked, slowly moving off of me now that I appeared calm.

“It was just a dream,” I said with extreme exhaustion. “You probably kept me from sleepwalking. I’ve been doing this my entire life.” But never quite as vividly and violently as this time. Usually, it was just a blur of images and feelings that made no sense. Even then, I wasn’t ever cast from and to my body so… roughly.

“That didn’t seem like just a dream,” Xander removed his grip on my face carefully, looking at Aveline who appeared to agree with him.

I sighed, my eyes already fluttering close. “It was just a dream.” I fell back into a sleep where no one waited for me but peace.