Archived December, 2002 ------------------------------------------------ Warning: This story is rated R. If you are under 18 years then please do not read any further ------------------------------------------------ "...with drifts up to six feet in some locations. If you don't have to be out on the roads tonight, stay in. Turning to sports..." Nat reached down and shut off the car radio. Shifting in her seat, she looked at Nick's profile as he struggled to see the road. "Nick, I'm starting to think that driving to Montreal in the middle of a blizzard was not one of our brighter ideas." Nat said, as she too tried to see past the end of the Caddy's hood. She could tell by his posture, that he was concerned, and thought that maybe a small joke would help him to relax. Nick sighed. He knew she was trying to make him feel better but she was right. They'd been talking just enjoying one another's company, when the storm began and had not realized how severe it was. Now, they were too far from Toronto to turn back and still many hours from Montreal. He shook his head, there had only been a light sprinkling of snow when they left Toronto. The blizzard they now found themselves in had not been forecast. 'I had to be the one to suggest that we take a scenic back road route.' He mentally chided himself. He knew that if they became stranded here, it might well be days before anyone found them. He hoped that wouldn't happen and that they could find some hotel to rest in before morning came. The way the roads were, he was having a difficult time keeping the Caddy from going into one of the many snowdrifts on the side of the road. An earlier rain had left a sheet of ice below the newly fallen snow and he didn't even want to think about Nat trying to drive in these conditions. He again cursed himself for having put her in such a dangerous position. The main roads might not be in any better shape, but at least on one of those there would have been some help available. "I know," he said, "keep an eye-out for a motel, a farm house, anyplace we can take shelter." Nick paused, then added, "It will be dawn soon." Nat nodded. She had been keeping an eye on the time. "I'll try, but it's hard to see anything in this weather." Nick turned to give her a reassuring smile. From the corner of his eye he suddenly saw a movement. A large doe bounded in front of the Caddy and Nick wrenched the wheel to one side to avoid hitting it. The car slid on the slick surface, throwing Nat first into the door on her side. She gasped in pain as the door handle dug into her breast. A moment later she was thrown up against Nick. She grabbed a hold of his coat, even as she felt his arm encircle her, holding her firmly against him. She watched silently, afraid of distracting him, as he concentrated on steering the Caddy with his other hand. She couldn't help the small cry that escaped her lips has the Caddy slipped off the shoulder of the road and plunged down the embankment. Nick struggled to keep from crashing into the many trees along the hillside. The scraping of tree branches against the sides of it and the sharper thunks of rocks sickened him. He knew that it was going to take a lot of bodywork to repair his car after this. Finally, with a muffled thud, the car came to a halt half buried in a snow bank and tilted toward the passenger side. Nick immediately turned to make sure that Nat was okay. As much as he loved the Caddy, it was only a piece of metal. "Nat! Are you hurt?" "No, I don't think so." She replied in a shaking voice. "Just some bumps." Nick released the wheel and gathered her in his arms. He could feel her trembling from the burst of adrenaline the wild ride down the hill had shot into her system. For several minutes he just held her, thankful that she had not been seriously harmed. At last he spoke. "The Caddy's not going anywhere for a while. We have to get out of here and find some sort of shelter. It's far too cold for you to spend the day here, and I need to find somewhere out of the sun." Nat nodded, she could already feel her teeth starting to chatter with cold. She waited as Nick forced open the driver's side door and then, with Nick's help, she managed to crawl out of the car. As she scrambled from it, she was dismayed to find that she was almost waist deep in the snow. "Nick, I'm not going to be able to go very far in this." She said, quietly. Already she could feel her feet and legs becoming numbed by the cold. She knew that finding shelter quickly was her only hope of avoiding hypothermia. She shivered and tried to pull her coat closer around her body. Nick looked at her with concern, while he, too, felt the cold, it wasn't the danger to him that it was to Nat. He had to get Nat someplace warm, and he had to find shelter from the approaching dawn. "Don't worry, Nat. I won't let anything happen to you," he promised. He looked at her trusting eyes and the smile she gave him. "I know, Nick." Nat could see that, as always, Nick was taking the entire blame for their predicament. She reached for his hand, and squeezed. When he pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly on the lips, she returned his embrace. "I guess we should try and climb back up to the road." She said after a minute. "I have a better way." Nick said in her ear. At her raised eyebrow, he smiled. "Feel like a little flying?" he asked. Not giving her a chance to reply, he lifted her in his arms and rose into the sky. Even with his enhanced vision, he could hardly see the ground below. Nick could feel Nat's arms as she clung to him. He liked the way she felt in his arms, and he couldn't help wondering how it would feel to have her naked skin against his own. 'Right now I'd better concentrate of finding shelter or I'll never get the chance to find out.' He reminded himself. He turned his attention to the landscape beneath them. At first, the cold air felt like knives as it hit Natalie. She turned her head, burying her face in Nick's chest. She could feel herself becoming drowsy, and knew that her body's core temperature was falling due to the cold. 'At least I'm in Nick's arms.' She thought. "I love you, Nick." She said in a voice that was barely a whisper. Then, she lost consciousness. Below, there didn't seem to be any sort of habitation. He could feel Nat's grip loosening and he knew that she would not last much longer in this weather. Nick slowed and began searching the land for somewhere, anywhere that they could shelter. Just as he could feel his strength flagging with the first rays of the sun's approach, he spotted what looked to be an abandoned cabin. Nick landed beside it. A quick glance showed him that no one had occupied this place for a long time, but the roof was still in mostly one piece and there wasn't any other choice. The wooden shutters, that covered the windows, were a welcomed sight to Nick. He knew that they would serve to keep the sun's rays out. 'Nat?" He said softly. She was still and limp in his arms. "Nat, stay with me." He encouraged as he gently rubbed her cold face. At last she stirred and opened her eyes. "Um, Nick where are we?" Nat asked groggily. "I'm so cold." "Nat, we're at an old cabin. Try to stand while I get the door open." He saw her nod her head in agreement. Nick gently placed her on her feet, supporting her with one arm, as he forced open the door. To his relief, the inside of the cabin seemed to be in fairly good condition. In fact, it looked as if the owner had simply walked away one day. A large fireplace dominated one wall; a few wooden chairs, a table and an overstuffed armchair sat before it. Nick carried Nat over to the armchair and placed her on it. "I'm going to see if I can get a fire started Nat." Nat nodded and closed her eyes. Nick could hear her teeth chattering and see the shivers that racked her body. He removed the long, heavy black leather coat he was wearing and laid it over her for a blanket. Moving to the fireplace, he smiled when he saw that there was a large supply of dry wood in a pile on the hearth. Moving with vampiric speed, he soon had a fire started. He turned back and looked at Nat. It would take some time before the fire heated the room. He needed something to make a pallet in front of the fireplace, where Nat would get the most benefit of the heat. Nick decided to check out the rest of the cabin. He opened a door that led to a sleeping area and froze as he realized that the owner of the cabin had never left. The pitiful remains of a skeleton lay on the floor next the bed. In addition, the roof over this portion of the cabin and fallen in, and the early morning sun was already slanting through the opening. Nick focused on the bed, with several quilts piled on it. He also noted an old fashioned armoire on the side of the room across from the door. To reach either, he would have to risk some sun exposure. Nick stepped around remains of the cabin owner, and managed to get to the opposite side of the room with only a brief time in the sunlight. He snarled as the pain from that exposure coursed through his body, then stripped the quilts from the bed. Opening the armoire, he smiled as he removed several blankets, a set of sheets and some towels. Throwing one of the bed quilts over his head for protection he swiftly left the room, carrying the other items in his arms. Once outside the room, he carefully shut the door and returned to Nat. Nick arranged the quilts and blankets into a pallet on the floor, placed the pillows at one end, then moved to where Nat sat, still shivering. "Nat, you need to get out of those wet clothes." Nat opened her eyes, looked up at him, and started to protest when she realized that he was right. "Nick, I don't think I can manage them." She said, as her cold fingers fumbled with the buttons on her blouse. Nick placed his hands over hers. He could tell that she was feeling miserable and that she was close to tears. "Shhh, let me do that for you." He said softly. Nat nodded and relaxed as Nick tenderly removed her wet clothing. It felt so good to have Nick holding her and she felt safe knowing that he was with her. She could feel his care and concern as he gently stripped the sodden clothing from her. Nick tried to stay detached as he slowly, stripped first her blouse and bra, then her boots and socks off. His hands shook slightly as he undid the jeans she was wearing, and slid them over her hips, and he felt his heart jump as he saw that small lacy thong she wore beneath them. He didn't dare trust himself to touch that, as he knew that he would be unable to stop from caressing her mound. He had dreamed so many times of doing this, of seeing Nat's body. Now he was not only seeing her in all her beauty, but touching her as well. He reached for one of the towels, and began to tenderly dry her skin. Nat sighed as Nick's hands caressed her. The heat from the fire was reviving her and she was rapidly becoming aware of an inner heat, as well. She supposed that she ought to feel somewhat embarrassed, but she had longed to be in this sort of position with Nick stripping her of her clothes, and then making love to her. She turned in Nick's arms, and slid her hands over the front of his shirt. "Nick, please..." she whispered to him. She started to press against him and stopped. "Nick you're clothes are soaking wet, too." Nick realized that she was right, and with a smile began to remove first his shirt, then his boots and socks. He felt himself becoming very aroused when Nat reached out and undid his belt. He swiftly undid his jeans and stepped out of them. When Nick unzipped his jeans and let them fall to the floor, Nat was excited to realized that he wasn't wearing anything under them. She looked at his firm, naked body and felt her self start to tremble again, this time with desire, not cold. Nick stepped back over to her, and pulled her into his arms. "Is this better?" he asked as he rubbed his cheek against her hair. Nat pressed against him, she could feel his penis hardening as his erection grew. "Better, but we need to get a lot warmer than this." She whispered back. Nick looked into her eyes, and lowered his mouth to hers. As he felt her lips part, he began to explore her mouth with his tongue. Nat reached up and pulled him closer to her, meeting his tongue with her own. She let her other hand drift down his back and along the firm curve of his butt. Nick sighed as she cupped first one of his cheeks, then the other with her hand. He let his hands play along her body and then lifted her and laid her on the pallet before the fire. Nat lay on her back looking into Nick's vivid blue eyes. She sighed with contentment and then gasped as Nick began to knead her breasts, teasing her nipples and sending waves of warmth, and pleasure through her body. She let her hands find his manhood, now fully erect, and began to stroke him with one hand, while softly cupping and squeezing his scrotum with the other. Nick made a small moan of pleasure and dropped his mouth to her breasts. He began to suck on first one then the other. He could hear the pounding of Nat's heart as she responded to his ministrations, and the scent of her blood called to him. Fear of what could happen, if he gave into his urge to taste her blood, caused him to suddenly lift his head from her breast and pull slightly away from her. "Nat, if we go on, I may hurt you." He said huskily. "I love you and I would die if I ever harmed you." The pain of denial was clear in his voice. "You won't hurt me, Nick," Nat told him in a confident voice. "I've wanted you for too long, I'm not going to let you use that as an excuse!" Nick looked at her passion filled eyes, and saw the trust and love that shone in them. It gave him the strength to trust himself. With a swift movement he pulled the thong from her, and drank in her nakedness. He felt like a man who, having given up all hope, had stumbled onto a hidden oasis. The flickering light of the fire danced over her body casting glints of red in her hair and sparkling off the tousled curls of her pubic hair. He lowered his body to cover hers, and slipped between her legs. He shuddered with anticipation as he felt her hand close around his pulsating member. He trembled as she guided him to her opening and he eased the tip of his penis into her moist warmth. Nat felt him enter, and wrapping her legs around his waist, thrust her hips upward to take more of him inside her. She loved the feel of his hard, cool member inside her and wiggled and squirmed against him, seeking to take him even deeper. Nick held still for a moment, kissing Nat's jaw and throat then began to slowly move. He had waited so long to feel this, that he wanted to prolong the pleasure as much as possible. Nat met each of Nick's thrusts with her own, and felt her body slowly begin to tense as their actions carried her upward on a spiral of sensations. She moaned and urged him faster, seeking fulfillment. Just when she thought that her bones would snap from the tension of her muscles, she reached her climax. Screaming out Nick's name she dug her fingernails into his back as she tried to pull him ever closer to her. As she felt Nick's fangs in her throat she climaxed again. Nick could no longer resist the call of Nat's blood; his body was demanding its own release. As she rode the waves of her orgasm, he sank his fangs into her throat. His body shuddered as his climax ripped through him, and the taste of Nat's blood, filled with her love and trust, enabled him to stop drinking after only a few mouthfuls. Even though he had only taken a small amount of her blood, Nick felt a sense of satisfaction that he had never before known. He looked into her eyes, and saw her smile as the strong, steady sound of her heart "I told you that you wouldn't hurt me, my love." She said as she snuggled against him. In a matter of moments, she was in a deep slumber. Nick kissed her, his heart and soul lighter than they had been for centuries. Reaching down, he pulled the quilt over them. The Caddy could wait, Montreal could wait, LaCroix could wait, and the entire world could wait so far as Nick was concerned. For now, the only thing that mattered was holding the woman he loved, and had been able to love, in his arms while she slept. The End