She told herself it didn't matter-he didn't matter, and every now and then she believed it. But in her dreams, she could not deny what was hidden in the darkest depths of her heart-she still loved Todd Manning.

In the grips of one of those dreams, she tossed and turned, trying to escape the image of his deceptively angelic face. If only it didn't seem so very real...

He walked toward her slowly, purposefully, his hypnotic eyes locked with hers, holding her captive in their murky depths. He was dressed in black from head to toe, and the smoky fog surrounding him made it appear as if he were floating effortlessly to her. When he was within a breath from her, he reached out his elegant hand to touch her cheek softly. His fingers were cool against the warmth of her skin, causing goosebumps to spread throughout her body. Still lost in his eyes, Téa merely stood there wordlessly as his fingers brushed over the fullness of her lips, parting them slightly.

Then, he lowered his head and took her mouth with his own-genly at first, then with increasing ardor. He kissed her as he never had before-as if he wanted to steal her very soul with his mouth; as if he were starving for the taste of her lips and tongue. She sighed and melted into him, pressing her body as close to his as she could, wrapping her arms around his neck-threading her fingers into his lush, golden mane...

As his lips left hers to trail with tantalizing agony across her face, down the side of her neck, she whispered his name raggedly..."Todd...."
His lips brushed her ear, sending chills down her spine. "Téa..." he whispered in response, something in his voice catching her attention. It was quickly forgotten as he eased the straps of her silken nightgown off her shoulders and continued blazing a trail of sensation with his lips. She moaned as she felt his lips soft and gentle against the creamy swell of her breasts. She clutched his shoulders to support herself as her legs threatened to give way.

Todd sweeps her up into his arms and carries her to her bed, laying her down gently. Taking her wrists into his hands, he secures her arms above her head, then leans down to kiss her once more. Aroused beyond imagining, Téa returns his kiss hungrily. With his free hand, Todd caresses her face gently, turning her head to the side as he does. His lips never losing contact with her skin, moves to her neck, where he begins to suck gently.

Téa's breath is coming in sighs and gasps, and as she thrusts her hips to him in invitation, he stops for one brief moment to look at her. Smiling, he lowers his head once more. A sharp gasp escapes from Téa's passion-swollen lips as she feels his teeth sinking deeply into her flesh. Shuddering at the gutteral moan coming from him, she closes her eyes and surrenders herself completely to his passion.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knows what is happening, but she is powerless to stop it.

His hands cup her bottom roughly as he slakes his thirst with her body. Téa can hear her own sounds of ecstacy as she feels her essence slipping into him little by little. Finally, when she thinks she can bear no more, Todd stops. He sits up, staying close beside her, and regards her thoughtfully. Téa doesn't know what to say as she takes in what he has become. Without thought she reaches up to run her finger over his crimson-stained lips, then brings her finger into her own mouth, tasting what he so eagerly drank from her...

His breathing hard, his finger moves to his own neck, and as it glides easily over his skin a crimson line appears. Téa looks at the line dazed, then looks at Todd once more in silent questioning. "Forever, Téa. We could be together forever..."

Weakly, she sits up and moves closer to him. Her hands once more thread into his hair, and she kisses him deeply. Mimicking his actions of moments before, she kisses her way to the cut on his neck, and with her eyes locked on his, she closes her lips over it and drinks. A little voice inside her asks "What do you think you're doing? Are you insane?" but she ignores it. All she knows is that this is the man that she loves; the man she wants to be with forever...

Téa awakens from her dream abruptly, sitting up in the total darkness of her room. Her heart is beating rapidly, her breath coming in short gasps. She laughs nervously. "It was just a dream. Just a dream."

She gets up and goes to the bathroom for a quick drink of water, shaking her head in disbelief as she walks. She can't believe how real that dream seemed to her. She half expected to find Todd in bed with her when she woke up. "Now that would be a dream..." she laughs derisively.

Filling the small paper cup with water, she lifts it to her lips, catching a glimpse of herself in her bathroom mirror. The cup falls into the sink, as her hands move to her neck. "Oh my God...." she whispers in disbelief as she stares at the two small holes in the side of her neck...in the same place where Todd had bitten her in her dream...

Suddenly, she feels hands on her shoulders, and she screams as they turn her around. "No, no, no....." she says, her screams stopping as she faces what she thought was only a dream...

He reaches out to touch her hair, then buries his hand in her chestnut waves, pulling her to him, his mouth headed for her neck. "Together forever, Téa...isn't that what you wanted?"

As she felt his teeth sink into her once more, a shudder ripped through her body. "Todd...." his name was both a question and an answer as she closed her eyes and gave herself completely to him.....forever......

The End.