A Dark Night with a Dark Stranger Ch. 10

"Nice," Bell said.

She had felt Ragon behind her from the instant she had left. At first she was going to berate him for treating her like a child, but now as she stood facing him she felt sick with jealously.

"Wait..." Ragon yelled, watching Bell increase her pace as she searched the club for Ryder.

Bell held her hand up behind her head dismissing him, but instantly felt his hand grasp hers.

"Let go of me," she said, trying to shake him away.

He wouldn't give up that easily. He wanted to explain that he wasn't looking at the loose women around him, rather comparing Bell's virtue to theirs. But trying to find these words, with the music blaring in his ears and Bell's razor sharp eyes burning into him was impossible.

"I... It's just that... Your so..." he mumbled, unable to defend himself.

"Is there a problem here?" a man's voice asked.

Instantly Ragon released Bell. The man who was now standing in front of him was taller than he was, and looked as if he were addicted to a range of steroids. Every muscle in his body seemed to be hypertrophied, giving him the appearance of someone who'd had an allergic reaction to a bee attack.

"No," Ragon said.

He had to fight hard to keep the growl out of his voice. It angered him more than anything else; someone thinking that he was hurting Bell. It was so inconceivably frustrating to have this swollen mortal moron staring up at him, thinking that he had some chance of beating him in a fight. But Ragon had no intention of fighting tonight. He would not risk being separated from Bell for the temporary pleasure of teaching this baboon a lesson. The body building junkie made to move towards him, but Bell stepped between the two.

"It's ok," she said, placing one open palm against his chest and stopping him dead in his tracks.

The man stared down to Bell's hand. He seemed to contemplate resisting her. His eyes were screwed up and his lips were thin. For a few seconds he remained like this, torn, between his two options. Finally he walked away.

"So you're saving me now?" Ragon joked.

Bell was still too furious to speak to him, and she brushed past him searching for Ryder. Finally, after pacing the club twice she found Ryder and Patrick in a small intimate booth. She blushed as the two men sat whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears and kissing. It was probably the first time she had seen two men making out, and for a moment she watched, unable to hide her curiosity.

"Err... What's up Bell?" Ryder asked, breaking away from Patrick to stare up at her.

Bell was speechless. What the hell was she meant to say?

Ohh I just wanted to make sure that Patrick hadn't ripped your throat out and drunk your blood? Bell thought to herself. No! Defiantly too cabernet.

Suddenly Ragon's voice cut across Bell's stammering's, "actually we are heading back, and wondered if you were coming?" he asked.

Both Bell and Patrick stared at Ragon. Was he seriously bailing her out of this after she had been so rude to him?

"So soon?" Patrick asked, his voice failing to hide its serious tone.

Ragon nodded in reply.

"But I thought that you and Clyde were still hungry?" Patrick asked, his eyebrows narrowing on this last word, clearly hinting at something else.

Bell didn't miss the double meaning, but Ryder, who was now staring at Patrick in awe, didn't bash an eyelid at it.

"I've lost my appetite, and it won't kill Clyde to miss a meal," Ragon said flatly.

Patrick looked from Ragon and back to Bell, saying, "but the night is so young."

"Then stay out. Bell and I will head back with the others. Sameth and Clyde may remain," Ragon said. Patrick considered his words for a moment, brushing his hand over his charcoal vest in contemplation.

When Patrick didn't say anything after a moment Bell moved close to Ryder saying, "what's your cell number?"

She had thought of taking his number and phoning him later on tonight to make sure that nothing did happen to him. But the instant that she had asked, she remembered that she didn't have a phone. That had been one of the first things she had realised had been missing since the first night she had met Ragon.

"Here," Ragon said, retrieving a small black iphone from his pocket and handing it to her.

Bell blinked a few times. It had been ages since she had seen a cell phone. For a moment she held the small metallic object in her hands, as if reacquainting herself with technology.

"0413 456 879," Ryder said.

Bell quickly found the contact section, and punched in these numbers under Ryder's name.

She didn't immediately hand back his phone. For a moment she contemplated checking his contact list and seeing what messages he had sent and the phone calls he has made. But almost instantly she dismissed that. That was crazy girlfriend-101.

"What's going on?" a voice asked.

Bell turned around to see Clyde and the rest of the coven flanked behind him.

"Were leaving," Ragon said.

"What?" Clyde asked.

His tone was angered, as if not feeding had left him hungry and mad. Ragon knew that when Clyde didn't eat, he got grumpy.

"I can take Bell back, you and Sameth can stay and..." Ragon said, quickly glancing at Ryder before adding, "enjoy yourselves."

Clyde seemed to consider his words for a moment.

"I'm staying," Clyde said, and Sameth nodded in agreement.

"Well we will head back with you sugar," Sandra said, looking at Larissa and Cambridge for agreement.

Before they could nod their heads however, Bell had moved over to the two girls, grabbed their arms and pulled them into a corner.

"What's wrong?" Larissa asked.

"I need you to do me a favour," Bell said.

Both girls exchanged worried looks, but allowed her to continue.

"Can you, err, stay here?" Bell asked.

Larissa looked knowingly at her, and Sandra smiled widely, stealing the fastest of peaks at Ragon, before nodding her head.

"I need you to make sure that Patrick doesn't bite Ryder," Bell said.

Larissa and Sandra were staring at Bell now. Both had thought that the girl had wanted alone time with Ragon, but they had been wrong.

"You want us to stop Patrick from feeding from him?" Larissa asked her eyebrow's raised.

Bell considered her words, "yep, that's pretty much the gist of it," she said.

"Bell, it's not really our custom to go around and berate other vamps from feeding from mortals. I mean, hell we all do it. It kind of makes us..." Larissa said, pausing while contemplating the right word.

"Hypocritical," Sandra replied.

Bell was staring at the two in disbelief.

"Please," she said imploringly, "I just don't want him to get hurt."

Sandra sighed, "I'll talk to Patrick. There are plenty of other guys in here that he can sink his teeth into."

Bell's face went white at her words.

"Don't worry honey," Sandra said, seeing the colour drain out of Bells cheeks, "Larissa and I can be very persuading."

Ragon and Bell drove home in silence after that. Bell was still mad at him, and Ragon tried desperately to think of a way to talk to her. As soon as the engine switched off, Ragon made to open Bell's door, but she had been expecting this and had jumped out almost as soon as the car had stopped. AS she did not have a key to the front door, she had to wait for him to unlock it before she could enter the house.

"I'm sorry," Ragon said once the pair had entered the house.

Bell turned to face him. She could tell that he meant what he said.

"Why?" Bell asked, "it's not like we are together. You don't have to do what I say."

The words had slipped out of her mouth before she even knew she was saying them. This was most probably attributed to the alcohol. Ragon was staring at her ashamed. What the hell was he supposed to say to that?

"Is that what you want?" Ragon asked, "for us to be together."

He had done it again; turned the conversation entirely back on her. She wasn't going to play this time.

"How about you tell me what you want for once" she replied.

In an instant he was next to her. His breathing was fast and erratic, while hers had completely stopped. She was afraid that if she did anything he might stop. Her eyes were plastered on his, and she felt him reach for her hand, and once again intertwine their fingers together. As soon as they were locked like this her eyes closed. It felt so wonderful, that even this most humble of gestures swept her off her feet. With her eyes still closed, she felt Ragon lean in close to her, taking the strains of hair that covered her left ear in his hand and brushing them behind her shoulder.

"What I want," he breathed into her ear, "is you."

Suddenly Bell's body was on fire. She felt as though she were being engulfed by flames, as tiny electric impulses surged in symphony from every neuron in her body. This spasm of excitement ran havoc all over her body; her sympathetic nervous system pushing her into fight or flight mode, while her body secreted copious amounts of adrenaline. Her toes curled in response to wave after wave of tingling sensations accosting her extremities. Her heart was pumping so erratically that for one horrifying moment, she thought she might have a heart attack. Ragon had felt this change in cardiac rhythm; had heard her heart race in her chest; faster than ever before; faster even than when she had been attacked the night he had saved, her all those weeks ago. He did the only thing he could think of; the only thing he wanted to... He kissed her.

Her heart hastened in response, and Ragon, hearing the sudden increase, his thought was to pull away. But then Bell's hands were in his hair, and she was dragging him closer. He moved obediently towards her, pressing his hard body up against her soft one and slamming her into the wall behind her. Rather than being hurt, Bell jumped up and wrapped her legs around his waist, and her arms around his neck. Ragon supported her like this easily. One of his hands was gripped tight around her neck, cupping her head so as to kiss her more fully. Their tongues were dancing in each other's mouths, and just when Bell thought that this couldn't possibly get any better, she felt his erection press against her stomach; throwing her into another wave of excitement.

Ragon's hands were still intertwined in Bell's hair, pulling her head back, so as to angle her mouth and expose her neck, bitting hard on her lip as he did so. For a moment she had moved one of her hands from around his neck, and made to place it on his back but Ragon had reached for it and thrown it above her head, pinning it to the wall behind her. Just then he began kissing softly down from her lips and to her neck. The feel of his lips at the crook of her neck was amazing.

Oh God, she thought to herself, feeling an uncontrollable desire to tear his clothes from him.

Her unrestrained hand made to undo the black tie of her dress, but Ragon took the hand that fumbled for the strings, and threw it behind her to join her other hand. He had no trouble at all restraining both her hands with only one of his, and took this opportunity to kiss her hard again on the lips, while one hand dragged her dress upwards, revealing a thigh. His fingers were pressed hard against her leg, almost too hard. Once again he was kissing her neck, and lovingly prying her legs further apart, so that she straddled him more fully, his erection pressed up hard against her crotch her molten core. She felt her body move in a rhythmic riding motion, pressing herself into him hard, and feeling herself become wetter and wetter. His hand had made to dive in between her legs, but suddenly he stopped. For a moment his whole body went rigid and then he threw Bell to the ground.

"Stop!" Ragon yelled.

"Wh... What?" Bell stammered.

Her eyes were wide in horror. His words had been more of a growl than a sentence, but Bell obeyed his command instantly frozen in place on the floor below him; her chest still heaving with the excitement. Suddenly she gasped; her eyes locked on Ragon's fangs. They were protruding from his mouth. She tried to blink but couldn't; simply stared up at him, his white fangs stealing centre stage. It seemed her mortal body would not let her look away, and so she stared horrified at him.

"I have to go," Ragon said, and ran from the house, out onto the veranda, and into the night.

***

It was only fifteen minutes or so, before the rest of the coven arrived home. A car had skidded into the driveway followed by four very fast doors slamming. Patrick was singing loudly to himself and the rest of the group were clearly trying to shut him up, while hurrying to get inside.

"Aren't you the one who tried to hurt me with your lies, you think I'll crumble..." Patrick sung.

"Enough," Sameth said, moving over to Patrick who had just walked through the front door and placing some gaffe tape over his mouth.

"Now where did you get that?" Sandra asked smiling.

"You never know when such things are going to come in handy," he replied smiling; his hands blurring as he continued to wind the tape around Patrick's mouth.

"Is the host still out?" Clyde asked, seeing Bell on the couch.

Bell looked up at the 7 coven members in surprise. "But how did you know?" she asked.

"Honey, you don't think that Ragon was going to leave you alone for too long did you?" Sandra replied.

Bell continued to look confused.

"He called us as soon as he left. Explained that he... er... needed to get some blood in himself and that he didn't trust himself around you. Asked us to get home as soon as we could" Larissa explained.

"We rushed home after he called," Cambridge added.

"Sameth offered to come home and check on you, but we had all," her eyes met Patrick, "well most of us, had had enough," Sandra said.

"Right," Bell said, and seeing Patrick working the gaffe tape off his mouth asked, "how's Ryder?"

"Amazing," Patrick said, finally freeing himself. He looked at Bell's shocked face and added, "don't worry, Sandra and Larissa cornered me after you left. I didn't touch him. Besides he was too cute to bite."

Bell was about to say thank you, when Sandra moved over to her and sat next to her on the couch, saying in a whisper, "are you alright honey? Ragon told me what happened."

Bell glanced nervously back at the rest of the coven, hoping that their supernatural hearing would somehow miss this conversation. Bell was just about to reply however, when Clyde jumped into the air, and landed next to her on the couch.

"I wouldn't worry about it," he said, before smiling mischievously and adding, "he will find someone else to get his rocks off with."

Sandra hissed loudly, before turning to Bell, taking her by the hand, and saying, "he was just hungry, he didn't want to hurt you. He will just be hunting. God knows he should have fed tonight."

Bell thought about how hot and heavy her and Ragon had been less than half an hour ago and shuddered. Was Clyde right? Was he getting more from his next victim than a simple meal?