“Of course,” I said and shook my head. “Calla, I would never…” I went to the side of the bed and stood beside it. “I’m just so cold. Nothing else will work. I won’t feed on you. I won’t touch you. Just let me lie with my body against yours so your heat will warm me.”
She nodded and pulled back the covers. She wore a tiny gown, her legs and arms bare.
On my part, I removed most of my clothes, watching her face as I did..
“Wait,” she said, holding up her hand. “You’re not going to get naked or anything, right?”
I smiled in spite of myself. “I’d like to, but I won’t. I’ll keep my undershirt and boxers on.”
“Okay,” she said and eyed me suspiciously while I continued to undress. Once undressed, I sat on the side of the bed and removed my socks.
Then, I stood at the side of the bed and held out my arms. “See? Boxers and undershirt.”
She glanced at my body, her eyes wide. I wondered if she had ever seen a man half-naked before.
“May I?” I asked and pointed to the bed beside her.
She nodded. “Yes, but no funny business,” she said, her brows furrowed.
“Funny business?” I crept into the bed beside me. “Whatever could you mean by that?” I tried not to smile.
“You know what I mean,” she said, creeping back under the covers, her back turned to me.
“I don’t have a clue what you mean, Miss Calla,” I said. “I’m a perfect gentleman and I can assure you that we do not engage in funny business.”
I snuggled close to her, my arm slipping around her waist and my feet touching hers.
“Oh, my God, your feet are like blocks of ice,” she said, giggling.
“I’m like a giant block of ice. I need you to melt me, sweet Calla.”
“You better not get too hot,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice.
I squeezed her but then did nothing more, my body nestled against hers, my face at the back of her head.
“Your hair smells nice,” I said, inhaling slowly. “Like jasmine and oranges.”
“It’s my shampoo.”
We lay together like that for some time, and I was uncomfortably aroused but tried to hold myself in check. Her warmth took away some of my pain, and soon, I was more comfortable.
“You breathe,” she said, sounding shocked.
“I do,” I replied, smiling to myself. “If I didn’t, I couldn’t speak.”
“Do you need to breathe? As in you need air?”
“Yes, my little scientist. I need air.”
She said nothing for a moment. “I thought you were dead. I mean, undead.”
“Undead is not the proper term," I replied. "It should be undying. Vampires are immortal. We won’t die of old age. We need blood to function and food to fuel our bodies, and air for our blood. If we don’t get a blood feed every day, we become weak and cold. The longer we go without blood, the weaker we get. Eventually, we’ll dry up like an old piece of leather. Only blood revives us.”
She nodded, but said nothing in reply. Finally, she spoke once more.
“Where did vampires come from? Is it a mutation?”
“Curious Calla,” I said, holding back a chuckle. “I don’t know what we are or where vampirism comes from. I suspect it’s a disease that makes you immortal and in need of blood. Vampires have been around for a very long time, and our history is as old as human’s. That’s all I know. Now, you should really go to sleep.”