"Whats it like to be human?" It was such a simple question, but one he had never asked in his life. He had been born this way, and when she'd looked at him like he was a monster, it hurt so much. He had never been anything else. All his life, he'd been told that he was superior, standing above the masses as a leader. Could he be jealous of what humans had? What even did they have? Vulnerability? Fragile lives? He wanted to know.

"It sounds silly, and I know it's not my place to ask, especially at a time like now. It's just... I touch you and think warmth, light, love. Which makes me feel like until now everything else has just been nothing, like stone." He looked back at her with genuine curiosity, as if she held the key to a wonder previously unseen.

"I don't know." She said honestly, enjoying the fact that he was as curious about her as she was about him. "I mean, I never thought about being anything else, but it is nice to just lay in the sun and feel the warm rays. They feel invigorating instead of draining. That's a major difference."

Natalia thought for a moment longer. "I get winded if I run too long. Or we kiss too long..." she blushed. "Oh! My cheeks get hot! I don't think you do that. I feel hot and cold. That can certainly be nice or extremely unpleasant."

"It's just... different, but it's all I've ever known." She looked away for a second. "I was taught to fear things that were different, but you—" her shining green eyes fell on him once more, "you don't seem like the monsters in stories. You seem... kind and passionate and loving." Her pale hand stroked his cheek. "And you're a very good kisser. Not that I have anything to compare you to, but against what I had imagined it might be like, you exceeded expectations." She blushed once more.

"Well, I am happy to have exceeded expectations," he chuckled softly, giving her hand a gentle kiss.

"And what about you? I mean—you've only ever been you. Still, haven't you had a lot of contact with humans? You are a prince. You must've been required to interact with others sometimes?"

Before he could answer, something flashed across her face that was akin to fear. "You...you said you could make people forget? And do what you wanted, right?" Her eyes bore into him as she asked, "You won't do that to me, right? You won't force me to forget or make me do something against my will... right?"

He had to think quickly. He already had, but how could he say that to her? The best he could do was undo what he had done. "You will ignore my previous commands. You are free to do as you please: run, hide, act as you want to. You will not remember we had this moment." He compelled her to be free.

Today was indeed a day for big firsts. She would remember none of his compulsions until or unless she turned. Then she might get flashes of the times she had been, but even that wasn't guaranteed.

He smiled, acting as if none of that taken place. "Natalia, I do not need to make you forget or make you act against your will. I wouldn't want to. You're perfect just the way you are. I would not wish to erase any of our experiences together." His smooth lie finished with a kiss. He knew that might come back to haunt him, but it was so far down the line, he wouldn't concern himself with it now.

As she relaxed against him, he circled back to the prior questions. "I can't tell if I feel warmth or the cold. I didn't believe I truly did, but when I'm with you, I feel something tingly and different. When I'm in the sun, it's more of a dull ache that turns into a blistering pain, but I don't think that's warmth."

"Warmth is comforting," Natalia told him. "It's like a hug."

"That is far closer to what I feel with you. You radiate it." His smile was broad as her perfect little cherub face stared up at him. "Perhaps that is also love, though."

He cleared his throat bashfully. "As for my interactions with humans, I've spent plenty of time with them. I still do, but I've never tried to relate to them. I never had a reason before. Father always said we were so far above them, they couldn't comprehend us. We shouldn't bother stooping to them. It was always other vampires that fascinated me." He paused again. Looking at her and giving her a quick peck, "you've changed that."

His words melted her heart. She was a puddle of love upon his lap, unable to escape the rushing of her heart. She reached up and touched his chest. "That's a difference. Mine beats so fast when I'm around you. Yours doesn't beat at all."

"If it could, it would beat for no one but you," Marcello responded, lifting her hand to his lips to place a gentle kiss upon it.

She blushed and the heat in her cheeks reminded her, "You know, I can burn in the sun too. It probably just takes a lot more." She laughed. "I spent the entire day out in the vineyards when I was a child under the blistering sun. My skin turned so red, I looked like an apple! Then blisters came up all over me. It was horrible!"

After a moment, her laughter died out, and she looked back into those smokey grey eyes. There was wisdom and calm in them, but his face looked so young. "How old are you—exactly?"

"Very forward to ask a man his age!" He joked, but he knew why she was asking. He couldn't be sure how she would take his answer. "I'm over 100. Only 100 mind you, still young! Maybe a bit more than that, but still under 200!" Age was so different when one had potentially thousands of years.

"We spend a long time growing up in secret. It gives us time to adapt to what we are, learning our world and yours. That way when we're finally freed to the world we can sit in the sun, blend in as we should." Their baby would be the same. A little secret that they could keep safe until the right time.

"So wait, humans actually burn too? Like an apple color? Next you'll be telling me you have your own way of making people do what you want! Some hidden art of persuasion I've never heard of." Maybe Natalia did. The way she pouted her lips, her big green eyes creating that 'warmth.' She was his biggest weakness.

"Well..." she giggled. "There's an entire course at school called 'the art of persuasion.' And it's basically how to use your womanly charms to... persuade...." Her eyes flashed at him as she bit down on her lower lip and her mouth slowly curled into a smile. She batted her lashes at him as her eyes held a sultry stare. Then she leaned forward, brushing her lips against his ear as she whispered, "like that..."

She drew back, giggling again, just as she'd been before. "See? I've got my own way of doing that. It's just... not a sure thing. It works better on some than others."

Her feminine wiles briefly hypnotised him, lying stock still as she whispered in his ear. There was a rush of want for her, to please her. Damn, that was one powerful class! They taught that to all the girls who went to these schools?!

"Did you get full marks in that class? Who am I kidding, you got top marks in every class, didn't you? My little proper lady." From the way she spoke of her education, he got the impression she had been the best at everything. A perfectionist.

She blushed deeper. "I mean, you have that effect on me, too. When you kiss me, my knees go weak. My head spins..."

"So you're saying so long as I kiss you, you'll do whatever I ask?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly, tauntingly. "What happens if I do more than kiss?" He moved closer to her, only a few inches away from her lips, letting his hand wander down her back to her butt and gently gripped. He knew at this distance she could smell him and feel the tension crackle between them. Looking over her lips and then back to her eyes with an intense stare.

"As a matter of fact..." she started to answer as he came closer, but his tease stopped her. Her heart raced wildly as he hovered over her. For a moment she was speechless as the breath caught in her throat.

"You can sense that, can't you?" She asked as his hands roamed over her. "You can feel my heart pumping at twice the rate it should... the blood rushing through my body... can't you?" She wondered if that made him want her more or just hunger to feed.

Her words felt teasing. He had to close his eyes and nuzzle the crook of her neck, breathing in her scent. "I can hear your heart pumping when I'm this close. My body just knows that if I bite now, it'll gush out just that bit faster. If I lay my hands on your bare skin, I could feel it rush through your body when you're excited like this." His hands did just that, roaming up and down her arms.

"Do you..." she was trying to keep her mind straight while he was groping at her. "Do you still drink from people? Or just the decanters?"

She suddenly wondered what that felt like... to have him bite her. To have him drink from her. She knew she would have to become accustomed to drinking it as well, but there was a certain intimacy in her mind of willingly giving herself over to him in that way. Would he want that?

"I try not to drink directly from people too often. It's mostly because of the risk that someone will see their injuries. That raises questions. It's the sort of evidence you can't hide, but ultimately, yes, I drink from the living still. Fresh blood is just so much more..." He made a sound of satisfaction, not being able to put into words how intense the sensation was.

"Fresh blood breathes life into my body, improving everything from my abilities to my mood. I usually only get to snack at special occasions or if a member of staff hurts themselves..." He spoke like a man possessed, craving it so much he sounded poetic. He took another whiff of her scent before pulling away a little. He did not want to lose his self-control.

"I wish you could feel the same rush when you have to drink it, or get to experience something akin to the satisfaction." She had not mentioned wanting to turn, and he did not want to assume it of her. It was a topic best left to her until she was ready to talk about it.

"But... would it hurt if I let you?" She asked curiously. "No one would see. I'm here, away from the world, and I'll have to remain hidden away here since there are so many things you now can't explain about me." She left it at that, opening the topic but leaving him in full control.

Her words had done nothing but re-entice him as his face plunged back to her shoulder. He kissed up and down her neck in a poor effort to resist his craving. This was a horrible idea.

"It might hurt a bit at first, but by the end, if you mix in a little pleasure, I've been told everything gets heightened." He was so close he could taste it. He did not want to upset her or hurt her, but his clouded head felt like she wanted this.

All he could focus on was the softness of her skin. How easy it would be to drain the lifeblood within. He licked her neck, trying to taste it, frowning as it obviously did not work. Had she been trying to talk him into it? It almost sounded like it. Did she mind? Was she all but asking for it?

As he licked her throat, she closed her eyes and waited, but he did not proceed. "You can." She assured him. "It's alright. I have shared myself in every other way, and I do not mind sharing myself this way. I want you to experience me in every way possible." Natalia couldn't believe the words were coming out of her mouth, but at that moment, she wasn't afraid.

Perhaps his honesty had made her bolder, or perhaps the thing growing inside her had opened up her mind to this. Or maybe she just loved him enough to give every bit of herself to him. She had more questions, but she wanted to be present in this moment. She wanted his focus to be on nothing but her, and vice versa.

"Tell me when it becomes too much. Just in case." Without a moment's hesitation, he began kissing her neck furiously. Building up the pleasure she might feel before taking the plunge. Then he drew back a few of inches before opening his mouth wider and biting down. The first few moments would be a stinging pain, like a wasp sting but sharper. Then, as he punctured the skin and the blood began to flow, he simply sucked off the wound. It pumped out her body quickly.

He drew it in nice and slow, not wanting to risk draining her to where she might pass out or cause damage to the baby. That thought soon left him as the rush of fresh blood took over. It smelled divine, and it tasted better. The more he tasted, he drank with more enthusiasm, and his hands roamed her body with a mind of their own. He felt her trembling beneath him and couldn't identify if it was pleasure or pain.

She drew in a sharp breath as he plunged down, the feeling definitely painful, but as soon as the fangs withdrew, the pain subsided. As he sucked at the wound, it felt odd, but it didn't hurt. It felt good. His mouth was upon her, sucking at her neck. His hands were roaming freely across her body. She felt chills go down her spine and shivered beneath him.
She kept her eyes closed and let him continue, but as he seemed to pick up the pace, she felt lightheaded. She thought perhaps he would stop soon and did not want to ruin his enjoyment, but she could feel the life draining out of her, and she felt cold. Her body was shivering now, not from pleasure but blood loss. She made a small whining noise, breathing harder, her eyes now clenched shut.

Then the pain in her abdomen returned. "Oww..." she cried, grabbing where she had before. Clearly the baby did not appreciate the blood that was being taken from her. She wanted to pull away, but she felt too weak. Her body laid limply in his arms, her face drained of all color.