Chapter 3 - Here Be Lust!

"Alright...I...I guess I accept then." I answer breathlessly, my voice cracking and my eyes feeling itchy for some unknown reason. 

Before I can say or do anything else, I am knocked over on the plush leather couch by a very excited pixie who hugs me almost painfully tight. 

"Oh, Samuel...Sammy! I will call you Sammy! You will not regret this. I will do everything I can to make you happy. I will wash away your bad memories with good ones until there is nothing but smiles left. I promise you, Sammy. You will be the happiest man in the world!"

I was frozen stiff. 

Never in my life had I experienced anything even remotely like this. 

Even my family had been the "Tough Love" type. I can only remember ever being hugged by my mother a couple of times, and even they were nowhere near as warm or nice as Alice's was. 

"Alice...You are crushing me..." I squeak out with several small coughs. 

"Oh!" She shouts with a chastised and ditsy laugh and sits up, pulling me up with her easily. She doesn't let go, however, just loosens her hold just a bit. 

"Sorry about that, Sammy. I was just so excited to finally have my mate...To finally have you in my life..." She says with an apologetic and sheepish smile up at me.

For some reason, that smile is affecting me.

I can feel my cheeks and ears grow warm as I look at that smile. 

'That can't be a good sign,' I think as I look everywhere else but at her.

"I see." I say, clearing my throat, "Well, I am quite happy to be accepted by you as well, Alice." I offer as I find a particularly interesting painting across from me and stare at that.  

"Are...Are you blushing?" She calls me out immediately as her apologetic smile widens by several factors, and her eyes sparkle with excitement when she sees my face. 

"Bah. Me? Blush? Nonsense. I am merely warm with you hugging me, is all." I say, turning my head - My head that seems to be spinning at the moment for some reason. 

"...We are all freezing cold, Samuel," Janet counters with a quirked eyebrow and a knowing smirk. 

"I...am resistant to cold as I can control ice, so she feels warm to me," I reply lamely, trying to come from another angle.

"You are totally blushing." Emily Agrees with a nod as she jumps on the teasing train. 

"Quite a lot, at that," Esme echos with a laugh. 

"Preposterous," I deny again. "Isn't...Isn't there other things that we should talk about right now? You mentioned other rules, Carlisle, perhaps we can talk of those." I quickly offer a different topic. 

I am feeling warm. Too Warm. Like my face is on fire. 

I am also grinning. 

I never grin! Stop grinning, dammit!

What the hell even is this?

'Probably just my emotions all being let out at once now that I know I am going to live.' I think, trying to put some logic to my sudden state. 'Calm down and act as a Noble White Court Vampire should!' I reprimand myself as I quickly school my expression and straighten up my posture - Going with what I know and what I've learned from a lifetime in such unfamiliar territory. 

"Holy shit..." Edwin says with wide eyes and a growing smile. 

"What's wrong?" Ross asks, narrowing his eyes at Edwin and then looking at me in accusation. He is the only one in the room who seems unhappy with the current events.

"He's...*Snort* He's a fucking Tsundere!" Edwin points at me with a giant laugh of pure mirth.

"W-What did you call me?" I demand, not entirely sure if I should be offended or not by the unfamiliar word. 

Janet rolls her eyes. "You have been watching too much Anime, Eddie." 

"No, he totally is! I wish Elenore were here, she could back me up with his thoughts! He gets embarrassed easily and isn't being honest about his true feelings. This is grade-A Tsundere material right here!" He laughs boisterously as the others roll their eyes at his antics. 

"Don't listen to him, Sammy. He is just a nerd pretending to be a jock." Alice says, sticking her tongue out at the school track star Edwin, who takes on a faux hurt expression. Alice turned back to me and ran her fingers down my face and cheeks reassuringly.

Surprisingly, I do find it quite a reassuring gesture.

Her beatific smile and calming and cooling touch do wonders on my quickly beating heart and burning face. 

It is like running an ice cube on your neck after a long, hot summer day. Very refreshing!

I notice then just how cute and gorgeous she is as she smiles up at me within a couple of inches of my face. Her hands move from my cheeks to run through and curl into my long, wavy black hair.

I find myself smiling back at her and becoming lost in her smoldering golden eyes as she slowly bites her bottom lip.

"Uh oh...I know that look." Emily interrupts our moment with a laugh. "They are gonna need some 'Alone Time' real quick." 

"Think they will be anywhere near as loud as you and Ross were?" Janet teases right back, causing Ross to wince and Emily to smile even wider.

"You're one to talk, Janet...We thought Edwin was trying to kill you for a while there..." Esme jumps in on the bandwagon.

"I'm sorry," I interrupt, "but I am feeling quite lost. What look? Why do we need alone time, and why are you concerned about someone dying? What are you all talking about?" I ask in genuine confusion.

Despite the 7 blank stares I get looking back at me, I am not an idiot. I realize that this probably has something to do with a ritual or bonding ceremony for Alice and me to become "Mates." I do not know of the Red Court's traditions, but, seeing as my survival depends upon staying in their good graces, I am willing to go with the flow for now. 

"Well," Carlisle says with a clap of his hands to break the sudden awkward atmosphere (And pointedly not answering my question, I noticed), "Why don't we finish up here for the night? Alice, you can show Samuel your room and talk for a bit about things. Samuel, there is a guest room on the second floor just to the right of the staircase...should you need it. We will reconvene early tomorrow before school and work to discuss more of the rules and expectations we have of you."

I nod to him as Alice quickly pulls me to my feet. 

"Oh! Before I forget...you will probably need the durability your powers provide...I welcome you to our home from here on out, Samuel." Carlisle says with a gentle smile.

By this point, I am already at the stairs leading up to the second floor because of Alice's insistent tugging on my arm. At Carlisle's words, I feel the rush of my power returning to me and finally gain some semblance of control back. 

I could immediately fight off Alice's hold, but she is smiling so sweetly and happily that I decide to just let her do her thing. 

I turn to Carlisle and the rest just before we reach the top of the first flight of stairs.

"Thank you for your trust. I promise that I will not betray your- Alice, please let me finish speaking...A-Alice?" I try to give them a heartfelt thank you, but Alice doesn't stop for even a second. I am quickly pulled up and out of view as we head to the second-floor landing.  

There is loud, raucous laughter and wolf-whistles coming from the living room we just departed from as the excited smile on Alice's face only grows. 

I am not sure I know what is going on fully, but I can tell Alice is very interested in talking to me privately.

I suppose that makes sense. We have so much to discuss if we will be partners for...well, forever hereafter!

I haven't had a girlfriend in 41 years, so, I must admit, I am out of practice.

One night stands? Easy peasy. That is more instinct than skill. 

A real relationship of mutual respect and genuine feelings? Feelings I thought I would have to bury all of my life until my death? 

We were breaking new ground here people.

Still, I feel like I can do this whole courting thing properly. I have no idea how old Alice is, but I am sure she would appreciate being treated like a proper lady. 

To be honest...I am quite excited myself!

I have the opportunity to date such a beautiful and powerful woman!

I would say that this situation is like a dream come true, but I never even dared to dream of this possibility before today. 

If I did, I might have gotten indigestion.

As I have stated before, this house is massive and wonderfully luxurious. It consists of three floors and an attached lower garage. Alice gives me a rundown of the layout as we walk towards her room, much slower now that it is just the two of us. Instead of pulling me along as she did before, she locks her arm in mine and smiles up at me widely as she tells me all about the place. 

The house features a 4-car garage below the foundation level, resembling a basement. It is divided into spacious cubicles, each accommodating two cars side by side. Behind these are two doors opening into a hallway, with two more mirroring them across the hallway, with dark grey carpet and white walls. The leftmost of the hallway doors is a large laundry room, while the rightmost is a storage room. The hallway slopes gently upwards until it leads to the first floor through a door.

The first floor is extremely spacious, featuring an open layout with a windowed entrance and back. A 10-foot by 20-foot sliding glass door leads to the backyard directly across and to the left of the front door. The front left contains a large sunken living room that takes up two-thirds of the front half of the space and is filled with comfy couches and wing-backed chairs. Stairs leading up to the next floor can be found on the left wall just past the living room. Beneath the stairs is the door leading down into the garage, and a massive, luxurious bathroom is adjacent to that door. A raised wooden platform with a black grand piano sits in the space remaining between the stairs and the sliding glass door to the backyard at the midpoint.

To the right of the glass door is the kitchen, which is enclosed on the right but open on the left and front. Beyond the separating wall is a spacious dining area with a long oak table easily able to seat 12. Across from the sunken living room and 10 feet to the right of the entranceway path leading further into the house is a billiards table next to a long wooden bar with stools set beneath its overhanging ledge. The flooring for the first level is primarily golden hardwood, except for the carpeted living room, complemented by walls painted in light whites, blues, and greys.

The second floor features six spacious rooms akin to master bedrooms, lining a long hallway that extends across the floor. Each room is interspersed with smaller hallways leading to a wrap-around wooden balcony that extends from the front, around the right side, and to the back. The exterior is a mix of slate tiling and rich wooden accents, while the interior boasts hardwood floors and tranquil bluish-grey walls. The rooms are arranged as follows in a clockwise fashion: Ross and Emily's room at the back left closest to the stairs, a guest room in the back center, Janet and Edwin's room at the back right, Alice's room at the front right, a communal study at the front center, and the other guest room Carlisle mentioned to me at the front left. Each room includes an en-suite bathroom, closet, and ample living or workspace.

The third floor mirrors the layout below, with three rooms on the back half and a large, enclosed library taking the place of the three rooms on the front. A long hallway splits the space, leading to another smaller balcony on the right side of the house where Esme's flower garden is located. From the staircase to the left, the rooms are arranged as follows: Elenore's room on the back left, Carlisle's study in the back middle, and Carlisle and Esme's room on the back right.

The library features wall-to-wall bookshelves with huge windows above them and numerous skylights. Comfy couches and reclining chairs sit in the middle of the space, desks with top-of-the-line computers set up on them are in the far right corner, and a large enclosed entertainment room with a projector is in the far left corner. 

By the time Alice finished painting a complete picture of the house for me, we had entered her room on the second floor.  

"And this is my room! ...Maybe...Our room?" She says excitedly but finishes shyly.

Alice was a bit intense. Surprisingly, I found it cute rather than annoying.  

I'm in awe of her bedroom's vastness, dwarfing my entire current apartment. Inside, there's a large pink and white canopy California King bed in the back right corner, a sizable entertainment system with a red loveseat in the middle right, and a combined bookshelf and desk with a light blue laptop on the back left wall. Two doors on the left are divided by an end table with a lamp. The walls are a soft powder blue, and a nearly floor-to-ceiling window and patio door on the back wall offers a fantastic view of the front house, driveway, and forest beyond.

Alice pulls me in excitedly and shows me the first door on the left that leads to a large bathroom with a glass walk-in shower, 4 person jacuzzi tub, 2 side by side sinks and mirrors - though one is completely covered with containers, bottles, and makeup products - and another door that goes to the adjoining room. 

Before I can even take in the amazing marble-floored bathroom, Alice rushes to the other door and pulls it open with a "Ta-Da~~!"

I step quickly to her side and see the largest closet I have ever seen in my entire life. The thing was almost as big as her room and was lined on every wall with clothes in all styles, designs, and colors. In the center of the room was a 4-foot-tall circular, tiered, mirrored staircase topped with shoes of all kinds, from sandals to heels to sneakers to boots. Hell, I think I even saw a pair of clogs and tap shoes in there! One side of the closet had a floor-to-ceiling hook wall with dozens of purses attached, and the other side had a series of cabinets and cubbies filled with accessories along with a makeup desk, a standing mirror, and a nearly 6-foot temperature-controlled makeup storage cabinet. 

"Wow...Quite the collection, huh?" I ask dumbly as I look around the room, completely overwhelmed. 

Now, I was one for keeping up appearances. I never had to try that hard with my looks, sure, but I care quite a bit about the clothing I own and wear. At this moment, I felt humbled as if I was an apprentice seeing a master's craft for the first time. 

"Yes, Sammy, I love to dress up! I want to dress you up too! No offense...but we gotta work on your fashion choices..." Alice says with a laugh, then pulls me by my arm over to a tucked-away corner of the closet.

I grumble about my clothes being fine, but she ignores me. To be fair, I don't have a ton of money. I mostly buy cheap or second-hand clothing, but I do the best with what I have available, and I never thought I looked bad. Still, if she wants to buy me new clothes...I really wouldn't mind.

Once we reached the corner area, she does another "Ta-da!" as she presented me with two empty hanger racks, a 4-foot tall 6-drawer dresser, and a cubby space above the dresser that looked like it was meant to hold shoes.

"This is for all your stuff!" She exclaims as if it was something extra special that she gave me out of the goodness of her heart. "I always saved a space for you wherever we went...Just in case I met you there." She finishes her sentence shyly, and I give her a warm, encouraging smile in return.

'...Why does she make it sound like I am going to share this room with her, like, tomorrow? We literally just met! ...And, wait...'

I look to her, then to the massive space full of clothes, shoes, purses, and accessories, then back at the roughly 6-foot cubed area I was designated, then back at her with a raised eyebrow.

She smirked at me and stepped into my personal space, wrapping her arms around my head and pulling me down so my forehead rested on hers. "Don't be stingy. If you want more room..." She pauses to lick her lips seductively, "You gotta earn it, mister."

Blood rushes to my face, as well as another area, as I look at her wicked smirk. My eyes follow the progress of her tongue across her lips with rapt attention before I catch myself, clear my throat, and gently extract myself from her embrace. 

She allows me to do so, but her smirk stays right where it was the entire time.

Okay. Now might be a good time to mention this. I am not a virgin. In fact, not being a virgin is kind of a requirement for becoming a White Court Vampire, at least it is for Raith House. The problem is that I have done my best to avoid contact with anyone for the better part of 40 years because of my ability. I have had sex quite a few times, but in the last 20 years, once I got my ability fully under control, I have abstained as I thought it would be too risky. 

The addiction my kind causes can get out of hand quickly and draw attention to those looking for signs of it even quicker. Not to mention that my very first experience with sex was to unwillingly drain my partner to death. That is how our kind are made...and my parents never told me before it happened. That shit leaves some scars. 

So, no, I was not a virgin. I realized I was being flirted with, and usually, I can handle that fine. However, Alice's version of flirting seemed a bit more...intense than I was used to, and I kept finding myself flustered by her actions. 

'For the love of God, man. You are a fucking Raith. Pull yourself together!'

This whole day has been too much. 

"A-Anyway! We should probably discuss how this whole "Mate" thing will work." I say quickly, my voice slightly higher pitched than normal. 

"You are so adorable~! Yes! Let's discuss it thoroughly, and as soon as possible~~" She agrees with a purr as she pulls me out of the other door in the closet room that leads me back into her room proper. 

Once in her room, she swiftly picks me up off the ground with both hands on my waist, something I was in no way prepared for, and straight-up throws me onto her massive bed, which I find is some sort of memory foam mattress. 

I give a faint shriek at the sudden move and blink several times as I see her blur in front of me and start crawling on top of me on the bed until she is straddling my waist. 

'Oh.'

My eyes are wide in shock at the display as she slowly leans down in front of me, her eyes starting to lid slightly in a sultry way. She grabs my shirt from where the neckline of the V-neck plummets and rips it in two in one fluid motion, revealing my perfect pecks and abs...Well, perfect, in my humble opinion, anyway. 

'Holy shit. She ain't playing around...I guess I will have to treat her like a Lady later then...'

Yup, in hindsight, much of the last hour makes more sense if I view it from the eyes of a lust-crazed vampiress. 

"Before we start, I need to know how durable your powers make you. I have a lot of pent-up stress I intend to work out tonight...and we only have 8 hours to do it." She whispers seductively in my ear, and the action sends a shiver down my body. 

A spark that had been kindling since I met this spunky, adorable pixie ignited, and the Demon of Lust within me bared its teeth in a smile.

A confident grin makes its way onto my face, and it is decidedly devilish. 

"Alice, I am a Demon of lust-" I start, only to be interrupted by her with a finger on my lips.

"We are not Demons, Samuel. We are vampires, but that does not make us demonic beings or monsters by itself. Carlisle always says the choices one makes prove good or evil, not the origin of one's kind." Alice says this in a firm but caring tone. 

"Uh...right," I answer, not really sure how to respond. I am not ashamed of being what I am, I simply am what I am. If I was born a Demon, then I am a Demon. That has never been a cause of concern for me...but seeing how negatively they seem to feel about the word, I figured I would keep that opinion to myself. 

"White Court Vampires from House Raith are called Demons of Lust for a very important reason." I continue, more cautiously this time. She doesn't seem to mind that wording. Seeing her nod for me to go on, I do so, "Do you know what the other name for a Demon of Lust is?" I question with a knowing smile. 

"What?" She asks with a smile of her own forming on her lips. 

"A Succubus; We are the origins of the Succubus myth. So when you ask me about my durability, and possibly my stamina, when it comes to sex, my answer is: Yes."

"Yes?" She snorts and covers her mouth as she giggles, amusement dancing in her eyes. 

I just smile at her confidently. 

"You do realize that I will never get tired, right? That I could literally go for weeks or months without stopping?" Alice asks, fighting her snickers. 

My smile becomes a bit more brittle. I was not aware of that. 

Still, I am not one to back down from a challenge. 

"I guess we will have to see who gives in first." I offer with a smirk. 

"Ughhh...8 hours isn't going to be enough time..." Alice groans as she works her hands up and down my chest. 

"Wait," I ask suddenly, realization of the situation I am in and today's events coming back to me. Her lust was pouring out in waves and it was quite...distracting. And delicious, if you were wondering. "Shouldn't we be talking about this whole 'Mates' thing and what that entails?" I ask, trying to focus on something other than the way her shirt rode up to her waist exposing her midriff or the feeling of her cold body on mine. 

"We can and will...tomorrow." She says, and takes that moment to remove her shirt, revealing that she had taken off her bra at some point as two wonderful handful-sized breasts greet me eagerly. She pulls one of my hands up to them with a knowing smile. "You like them?"

I nod and start to lose myself in the moment, surprising her with some expert hand movements that were just as much experience as they were instinct. 

She lets out a moan and then collapses on top of me, shivering slightly, which was odd considering she was freezing cold. 

"I...I've waited for this for so long, Sammy." She whispers quietly into my chest. "But I am suddenly feeling a bit more nervous than I thought I would...Do you know any sex magic to help me out?" She asks with a laugh, not expecting me to say yes. 

"I doubt it would work on you," I answer instead, and she quickly looks up at me with wide eyes. 

"You actually know sex magic!?!" She demands, no small amount of anticipation in her tone. 

"Not exactly. I can enhance the feelings and emotions my partner experiences. I can make you more sensitive to my touch, more vulnerable to my words, and more enflamed by my body. I can release pheromones that will draw you to me like a drug as I feed on you. Normally, you would have already been addicted based on how much you have touched me, but it looks like you are immune to them. At least according to what you saw in your...vision?"

Technically, people should become addicted to me whenever I feed on them, but because of my ability, I can limit it almost to nothing as long as they aren't physically touching me. She would have already been within my thrall if she was human.

"Can...Can you try it on me anyway?" Alice asks hopefully.   

I raise my eyebrow at her and question, "Are you sure? If it works, you might literally become addicted to my body. Are you positive it doesn't affect you? Like, 100%? The last thing I want is for my life partner to become a mindless sex slave."

"From what I saw of our future, I don't think it works on me that way. Just like how you won't ever feel pain from my touch despite my love...but even if it did work on me...That doesn't sound so bad...?" Alice admits demurely, looking up at me from where she lays on my chest with hopeful, lidded eyes.

Well, fuck. Guess I have to try now.

She said her future self was fine, and the pain really didn't come when she touched me. I guess Reds are immune to my venom? 

I flip her onto her back, pinning her to the bed with her wrists above her head. For the first time in a very, very long time, I intentionally pull on my power, The Hunger, and feast upon the lust she radiates.

Normally, I pull in a small passive amount of lust from people. It is one of the reasons I choose High Schools and Colleges. There are always people having sexual fantasies in class...mostly dudes, if I am being honest.

This time, I pull fully and work an internal muscle of my kind that I have done my best to suppress for years. To my surprise, it not only comes easily but much, much more powerfully than I have ever felt before. I am a bit stunned for a moment as I am flooded with energy, the likes of which I have not felt since I was a teenager. No...This was more than that...and it was still growing!

Seeing as there was so much of it, I pulled even harder, grabbing more and more of the lust in the air and taking me far past any thresholds I may have once held when I was not on the run. Still, the amount I took in increased. 

How? Why?

I had been doing nothing but suppressing The Hunger for the better part of 20 years! This made no sense! I expected to be nearly crippled, but instead, it was as if I was trying to fill a dump truck with rainwater. 

More and more lust flooded into me. I was still pulling from Alice, but as absorbed as I was in how my powers had not declined but somehow even seemed to have improved, I didn't realize I was pulling from a wider range than usual until I felt a new source of lust.

10 meters or 30 feet was my limit, and it always has been since I first discovered this ability. Now, however, I was shocked and thrilled to see that my range is improving rapidly. 

50 feet.

80 feet.

150 feet.

240 feet.

Before I realized it, I was reaching out 120 meters or 400 feet in all directions, pulling and bringing whatever lust I found into me.

And, oh boy, was there a lot of it. 

All of this happened within the span of about 10 seconds, and I had kept my eyes closed the entire time. When I opened them again, my glowing silver eyes pierced Alice's stunned golden ones. 

I smirked down at her, tracing my thumb over her cheeks and dragging it across her lips sensually. 

Then I slammed her with the most powerful "Whammy" I have ever produced. "Whammy" is my word for the physical act of pushing my Succubus magic onto another person to ensorcell their minds and bodies. 

To my surprise, it worked. 

On everyone.

Every single person in the house. 

All of a sudden, the only thing that could be thought about in the Cullen household was mating. 

*Crash*

I was startled for a moment as I heard the sound of something breaking from downstairs. 

*Thud* *Thud* *Thud* *Thud*

More sounds from above us.

"Ah~!" A moan from out back.

Before I had a chance to realize what I had just done, I had to deal with a writhing Alice below me. 

She looked damn near insane with lust. She radiated such a powerful wave pf it that I felt like I was standing right behind a jet's engine at take off. 

She struggled to get out of my handhold—not in a joking manner, but really, truly struggled. 

I blinked in surprise. 

I was stronger than her—at least at this moment. That realization boggled my mind.

This shouldn't be possible. 

Curiously, I called upon my ice magic, and it came with barely a thought. Not only that, but I felt like I had a nearly unlimited pool of it at my fingertips. 

A smile split my face as I realized that living with the Cullens would not be hard at all! In fact, this was great! Better than great!

Wishing to share my happiness with Alice below me, who was whining piteously, I say, "Alice, I think I am going to like Forks."

Then, I kissed her passionately, enjoying the desperate yearning from every touch. 

'Maybe this will all work out after all...?' I wondered to myself as I let her wrists go, and she wrapped them around me as we kissed.

Whatever the case may be, I was looking forward to trying. 

And then, we fucked.