Title: Plain Evidence
Fandom: Forever Knight
Category: Romance/ Slash
Pairing: Nick/ Lacroix
Rating: Adult
Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belongs to me but to 
Sony/Tristar and TPTB.
I'm just borrowing them temporarily. No infringement intended. No profit is 
being made. 

Special thanks to Doris for beta reading.

This is the fourth part of my "Evidence"-Series that begins with "A Piece of 
Evidence" and continues with "Evidence of Love" and "Lack of Evidence".

Warning: I fear my imagination went a little wild with this one.



Plain Evidence
by PJ
September 2003


Nick entered the Raven and found his master sitting at the bar. It had been an 
uneventful night so far. He and Schanke had followed several leads to retrace 
the whereabouts of their latest victim but all their efforts had been in vain to 
bring them any closer to the killer.
The only thing that kept Nick in a light mood was the anticipation of another 
day spent in his master's company.
They had agreed to meet at the Raven. Lacroix had explained that he had promised 
to look after the club while Janette was in Paris on some fashion spree.

Seeing his son approach, Lacroix took a second glass from the rack and filled 
it.
"I was just about to examine the different varieties of Janette's stock", he 
announced passing the glass to Nicholas. "She has some rare treasures hidden in 
her cellar."
"I thought she asked you to look after her club and not to raid her cellar", 
Nick admonished him in an amusing tone.
"Of course. But I cannot offer drinks to my guests without checking the quality 
of the vintages first, can I?"
"I doubt she'd see it that way", Nick remarked smiling. He enjoyed the easy 
banter between them. It was so wonderful to just talk over a drink without the 
constant fear of an argument turning into a serious confrontation as it had 
become their routine in the past. After a pause he said: "She will be quite 
surprised when she returns."
At Lacroix's raised eyebrows he continued: "I mean about us."
"Your sister is a wise woman. She certainly expected this sooner or later", 
Lacroix stated with conviction.
"Then you think she will be OK with it?"
"But of course. She always has been in the past."
"At least as long as we don't ruin her rugs", they added in unison.
Nick chuckled. "In that case we better head somewhere else. You said something 
about your place being safe from intruding mortals?"
Lacroix regarded him with a look that Nick couldn't quite interpret but it 
caused his heart to beat twice in anticipation. 
"C'est vrai", he breathed into Nick's ear. 
Together they headed out into the night.

While Nick had visited his father's mansion on occasion, he had never been in 
his bedroom. Taking his hand, Lacroix led him up the stairwell. As Nick took in 
the bedroom, he did not believe his eyes. The room was dominated by a huge 
wooden bed out of the Louis Quartorze era. The headboard consisted of several 
exquisitely carved bars.
A memory suddenly sprang to his mind of a night long ago when he was cuffed to 
the same headboard while his master had taken hours to bring him to exquisite 
levels of arousal before finally granting him release.
"I didn't know you were dragging this along", Nick said swallowing.
"It's a replica", Lacroix informed him matter-of-factly. "The original was lost 
in a fire during the French Revolution."
"And have you ever tried it out?", Nick asked hesitantly. "I mean, if the wood 
has the appropriate endurance?"
"Not yet. Due to a certain lack of willing participants", the elder answered.
The memory of that night elicited a longing in Nick. He studied the headboard 
again. Then he became aware of his master's questioning glance.
He made his decision. "I want it", he whispered with conviction.
Eagerly he took off his clothes and lay down in the middle of the bed.
Lacroix had moved to a nearby drawer where he took out several black silk 
scarves. Then he set down beside his son. He was touched by the look of utter 
trust he found in his eyes. Never breaking eyecontact he wrapped one scarf 
around Nick's left wrist and fastened the other end to one of the wooden bars of 
the headboard. After repeating the procedure on the other wrist, he reached out 
and gently caressed the side of Nicholas' face. Then he leaned down and captured 
his lips in a passionate kiss before placing a blindfold over his eyes.

Being bereft of his eyesight caused the tiniest flicker of fear to appear in 
Nick's consciousness. He had known that by giving his consent, he had placed 
himself at his master's mercy until the elder felt inclined to end the game. He 
knew that a little fear would only sweeten the experience.
Straining his other senses, he tried to get a hint of what would come next.
He realized that Lacroix had left the room and heard him move about the house. 

After what seemed an eternity, he rather felt than heard him return. Something 
like a tray was placed on the nightstand. He heard a rustling of clothes. 
Lacroix was probably undressing himself. Then there was nothing. No sound, no 
touch, absolutely nothing. 
Nick realized that his master was probably watching him. The imagination of 
being watched in his exposed state caused his body to tingle with anticipation.

Suddenly there was the slightest touch of silk on his upper torso. It vanished 
before he even realized that something had been there. After a minute of waiting 
for a repetition, he felt it again, this time on his inner thigh. He drew in a 
shuddering breath. The sensation was magnified by his lack of sight. The next 
touch occurred at his neck. Then another across his belly causing his hips to 
buck up to meet the touch. Lacroix continued to caress his body with a silk 
scarf, successfully sensitizing every nerve ending, yet never touching the same 
spot twice. Nick tried to anticipate his next touch but the mind of his master 
proved to be unreadable. He soon thought he was going crazy with need. He wanted 
to feel his master's hands on his body, especially on a part that had been left 
out so far. The light touches made him writhe with desire which caused the bonds 
to tighten around his wrists. Finally Lacroix drew the scarf across the centre 
of his craving.
"More", Nick growled through extended fangs. "Please, Lacroix, I need you to 
touch me!"
"Patience, mon fils. This was just the beginning", the elder stated.
He put the silk scarf aside and retrieved another item from the nightstand.

Nick felt a rough cloth, probably a massaging sponge being drawn across his 
torso. As it made contact with his sensitized nipples, it caused an almost 
painful sensation. He hissed in response. Yet he tried to press his body against 
the touch. The heat resulting from the friction quickened Nick's circulation. He 
thought his body was on fire. Lacroix drew the cloth in lazy circles across 
Nick's upper body, then he paused and began at the foot of one leg and worked 
his way up to the thigh until he reached the hips. Then he turned his attention 
to the second leg. After another dreadful pause that was filled by Nick's heavy 
breathing, Lacroix drew the cloth along the length of Nick's arousal. Nick let 
out a wild roar at the touch. He yanked at his bonds, but to no avail. The silk 
proved to be as endurable as the wooden bars of the headboard. Instead of 
breaking, the silk ropes only tightened more around his wrists, cutting off the 
circulation.

He heard a clanking noise as Lacroix retrieved another item from the nightstand 
and then something cold touched his heated body. Lacroix moved what Nick 
supposed was an ice cube across his torso, leaving a wet path on his skin. Then 
he felt the cold touch on his lips. As he licked at the refreshing coldness, he 
realized that it was no ordinary ice cube but frozen blood. He wanted more but 
Lacroix had already turned his attention back to his torso where he started to 
lick up the molten fluid. The image of his master licking his smeared body clean 
while he was denied the sustenance he so desperately needed for his release, was 
almost more than Nick could bear.

Meanwhile Lacroix had moved lower, alternating between applying more ice to the 
skin and lapping his tongue across the same spot.
Suddenly Nick noticed that Lacroix had taken a pause. From the weight on the 
mattress he gathered that his master must have taken a position between his 
legs. The anticipation of what he hoped would come next served only to heighten 
his arousal. Just as Nick thought Lacroix would never continue, he felt the cool 
touch at the centre of his craving, followed by his master's tongue licking 
along the same path. After another dreadful pause the manoeuvre was repeated. 
Lacroix continued for a while, always shortening the pause between his actions. 
Then he took all of him into his mouth and began his final attack. By this time 
Nick had lost all rational thought. He was thrashing wild against his master, 
paying no heed to the pain at his wrists. 

When Nick's thrusts took on a desperate frenzy, Lacroix ceased his actions. He 
covered Nick's body with his own and removed the blindfold. Feral red eyes met 
his gaze. Lacroix grabbed a knife from the nightstand and cut the silk ropes in 
one quick motion. His son was acting on pure instinct now. With a force that 
would have broken every mortal's neck, he yanked Lacroix's head to the side 
exposing the vein. He let out an unearthly roar as he buried his fangs into the 
neck. The blood rushing into his mouth triggered a release more forceful than 
ever experienced before. He continued to feed heavily from Lacroix and hardly 
felt his master's bite into his shoulder. Lacroix relived the whole experience 
through his son's blood which triggered his own climax. 

He smiled as his son finally released his neck and drifted into sleep from sheer 
exhaustion. He placed a gentle kiss on his brow. Oh, what a magnificent child he 
had created, he thought before allowing himself to drift into sleep.

* * *

The sun had already descended behind the horizon when Nick awoke, feeling 
utterly exhausted. His muscles were aching from exertion and he felt a numbness 
in his hands. The reason for the latter became obvious as he raised one arm to 
get a better look at it. The end of the scarf was still wrapped around his 
wrist, too tight to allow a healthy blood flow.

A commotion at the door made him look in that direction. He saw his master 
entering, carrying a bottle and two glasses. He was already dressed.
Lacroix placed the items on the nightstand and sat down beside his child. 
Nicholas smiled at him, a sheepish expression on his face.
Lacroix reached out and began to untie the scarves from Nick's wrists. Ugly 
black bruises became visible where the silk had cut into the flesh.
"I'm afraid this will take a while to heal", Lacroix informed him after a close 
examination. "How do you feel?"
Nick sighed. How did he feel? "I don't know", he answered in a raspy voice. 
"Wonderful, exhausted, and scared."
Lacroix raised his eyebrows. "Scared?", he asked with a hint of concern in his 
voice. Had he gone too far? If Nicholas was scared of him, that would be a huge 
setback in their relationship. This had not been his intention. 
"Yeah. You know, at one point I let go completely and the vampire took over. It 
was kind of scary to be so totally out of control. But I trusted you to be there 
for me at the right moment."
Lacroix was relieved. His child was not scared of him but of his own true 
nature. That was something he could deal with.
"Do not concern yourself with your fears, mon fils. I will always be there to 
watch over you."
He filled a glass and handed it to Nicholas.
"What time is it?", Nick asked pushing himself up to a sitting position and 
emptying the glass in one swallow.
"8 p.m.", Lacroix informed him while refilling the glass.
"Already? I'm late for work. I better get going before Schanke puts out an APB 
on me."
"Are you sure you are in a condition to go to work?", Lacroix asked in a serious 
tone.
"Of course I am", Nicholas stated with emphasis. "I'm just feeling a little 
sore, that's all."
He got up, grabbed his pile of clothes and limped into the bathroom.

* * *

Schanke looked up as Nick reached his desk.
"Boy, you look awfully pale today", he stated. "Are you all right?"
Nick slumped into his chair. He felt better than at the beginning of the night 
but his muscles were still aching all over. The bruises at his wrists had turned 
from black to deep purple and were still very evident. He just hoped that they 
remained well hidden under his shirt sleeves.
"I'm fine", he assured Schanke. "Just lack of sleep."
That moment Captain Cohen called from her door: "Knight, Schanke, we have 
another one. Harbourfront Park, ME is en route."
"OK, we are on it", Schanke called back.
"Detectives, solve this soon", she ordered.

* * *

Natalie had just finished her prelim as she saw Schanke approach with Nick 
slowly trailing behind. That was odd because usually Nick was the first one at 
the scene.
"Hi, Nat", Schanke greeted her. "What have we got?"
"Victim number three I'd say from what I gathered so far. Same MO, according to 
a gardener she couldn't have lain here longer than one hour."
"OK, I'm going to talk to the guy who found her", Schanke announced.

Nick crouched down beside the victim and inhaled deeply. The heavy blood scent 
made him dizzy for a moment. Before he realized what he was doing, he had dipped 
his finger into the pool of coagulating blood.
"Are you out of your mind? What do you think you are doing?", he heard Natalie 
whisper in an angry tone. 
"I'm trying to solve a murder", he stated and raised the coated finger to his 
mouth only to find his wrist firmly snatched by Natalie.
Nat noticed his slight flinch as she grabbed his wrist.
"What is it?", she asked.
"Nothing", he said trying to pull his arm free.
She shoved up his sleeve to take a closer look at his arm and gasped as she saw 
the dark bruise around his wrist.
"Oh my God, Nick, what happened?"
"It's nothing", he repeated, slightly embarrassed, for the memory stirred the 
first inklings of arousal in him. "It will heal."
Nat looked him straight in the face. He seemed uncomfortable about something. 
Suddenly a terrible suspicion rose in her.
"It was him, right? You were in a fight again. What did he do to you?"
Nick looked at her askance. She was totally wrong but how could he explain that 
to her?
"Nat, leave it, OK? No harm was done."
She let it go for now.
"Do you want to tell me then what you wanted with the victim's blood?", she 
asked instead.
Nick sighed. She was persistent.
"I never told you about the blood, did I?" At her confused look he continued: 
"Every drop of blood has your whole life in it. As long as it is fresh we can 
taste images and emotions in it. This blood is still relatively fresh. If the 
victim has seen who killed her, there is a chance that I might get a glimpse of 
the killer by tasting her blood."
Natalie didn't know if she should be fascinated or repulsed by his explanation. 
This was something he had never mentioned to her before. She wondered how often 
he had taken a sip without her noticing.
Suddenly a thought struck her. "You've done that before. That's how you knew 
about the razor blade."
"Yeah", he admitted. "But that victim had been grabbed from behind. She never 
saw who attacked her."
"I don't know, Nick. Doesn't sound to me like normal police procedure."
"Nat, we have no clue so far about who is killing these girls. Don't you think 
it's worth a try if it helps to catch a killer before he strikes again?"
He had a point there. She silently watched as he bent down again and dipped his 
finger into the pool. He quickly licked it off and retreated into the shadows.

Nick sorted through the images: A day at the lake shore, meeting a new 
acquaintance, going home, dressing up for a date, returning to Harbourfront 
Park, waiting for the date, suddenly hearing a noise from behind, turning 
around, seeing the face of the afternoon acquaintance, the shock of noticing the 
blade, a futile attempt to escape, then blackness.
Nick focused on the image of the man and committed it to memory. Then he turned 
around, casting a triumphant glance towards Natalie and went in search for 
Schanke.
While waiting for his partner to finish the interview with the gardener, he let 
his gaze wander across the crowd of bystanders who had been attracted by the 
commotion in the Park. Suddenly he recognized the face of the man he had seen in 
the vision.
As he focused on him, the man suddenly turned and escaped into the Park. 
"Schanke, I think we found our guy", Nick shouted to his perplexed partner and 
ran after the fugitive. As he reached the shadows, he took to the air. 

* * *

Lacroix paused in his broadcast. He had received all kinds of various emotions 
from his son tonight. The exhilarating feeling he projected now meant only one 
thing: Nicholas was hunting. What if last night's actions had brought instincts 
to the surface his son couldn't control? He better looked after him before he 
did something he would regret later on.
He quickly ended the call he was receiving right now and took to the air, 
heading in the direction of the lake shore.

* * *

Nick was totally caught up in the hunt. The rapid heartbeat of his intended prey 
made his senses tingle with anticipation. He grabbed him from behind and bent 
the head to the side exposing the neck. With a roar he bared his fangs.
Before he could strike, he felt a presence behind him.
"Nicholas, no!" Lacroix commanded. As delighted as he was to see his child 
committing to his nature, he was sure that Nicholas would only immerse himself 
in his guilt when he realized what he was doing. He couldn't afford to let him 
slip into that mood again.
Gently but distinctly he pulled Nicholas from the mortal who fainted to the 
ground and offered him his own throat. With the swiftness of an experienced 
hunter Nicholas buried his fangs into his neck and began to drink hungrily.

After a while Nick came back to his senses. "What are you doing here?", he asked 
slightly confused. Then he noticed the mortal on the ground. "Oh no, did I?", he 
asked horrified.
"No, you did not, Nicholas. But you wanted to. I told you you were probably in 
no condition to go to work tonight", Lacroix admonished him.
"I didn't realize", Nick whispered. "Thanks for holding me back."
They heard approaching footsteps. "Nick, are you there?", Schanke's voice 
sounded close.
"Over here, Schanke", Nick called back, then he turned to Lacroix: "You need to 
go. I'm all right now."
"I'll see you later then", the elder replied and dropped a kiss onto his son's 
brow. Then he vanished into the sky.
"I love you", Nick whispered to the empty spot.

Schanke came to a halt, breathing heavy from the run. He found his partner 
staring into the sky, an odd expression on his face.
"Nick?", he asked.
"That's our guy. He must have stumbled", Nick said pointing at the unconscious 
man on the ground.
"Do you want to tell me how you know that this is our guy?", Schanke asked.
"Let's call it 'suspicious behaviour at the crime scene' for now", Nick 
supplied.




* * *

"Detective Schanke tells me you arrested this man because he tried to flee from 
the crime scene. I hope you have more evidence to connect him to the killings?", 
Captain Cohen asked Nick in the observation room. 
Nick studied the man through the observation glass. He knew that he was guilty 
but how could he convince his fellow officers?
"Let's hear what he has to say", Nick suggested.
"Nothing reasonable, if you ask me", Schanke said. "Kept screaming about red 
eyed demons as he woke up." 
They entered the interview room.

According to his papers the man's name was Ted Wilkins and he worked for a boat 
rental service at the lake. He tensed as he saw Nick enter. Schanke sat down at 
the table opposite the man while Nick remained standing with his back to the 
wall. 
After starting the tape, Schanke began the questioning: "Mr. Wilkins, why did 
you run from the crime scene?"
"When I noticed this detective staring at me I got nervous", Wilkins said.
"Was there a reason?", Schanke inquired further.
"If you had seen that look, you would have run, too. No matter if you had 
something to hide or not."
Schanke had to admit that he had a point there. His partner was capable of 
scaring the hell out of people by simply looking at them. However, Nick was 
seldom wrong when he played one of his hunches.
"That did not answer my question", Schanke pointed out. "Perhaps you should tell 
us what you did at the crime scene." 
"I was curious. There were other bystanders as well. Why did you pick me, 
anyway?" He sounded irritable.
Nick had enough of the slow progress of the interview. He left his position at 
the wall. "You are not being very co-operative, Mr. Wilkins", he said. "If you 
are the innocent you claim to be, you could shorten your stay here with us by 
giving plain and open answers. Understood?" he asked, leaning closer to the 
arrested who shrank away. Satisfied with the reaction he continued: "So, why 
were you in the Park? The boat rental had closed hours before."
"I was on an evening stroll."
"You were waiting for someone", Nick said, focusing on the heartbeat.
"Yes", came the monotonous answer.
"You had a date with the dead girl."
"Yes."
"Where did you meet her?"
"I met her in the afternoon. She had rented a boat at my station."
"And you asked her for a date in the evening?"
"Yes."
"Why her?"
"She reminded me of my fiancée."
"As did the other girls?"
"Yes."
"Why did you kill them?"
"My fiancée had left me. As I saw them waiting for me, all dressed up, I was 
reminded of the night she left. I did not want that to happen again. It was so 
humiliating. So I had to stop her. It was the only way to break the cycle." 
Nick released him from his control and retreated to his former position at the 
wall.
Schanke shook his head. Sometimes his partner's conclusions were a little too 
weird for him to follow. He was not quite sure how his partner had done it but 
they obviously had a confession on tape.
Wilkins broke out into sobs: "I did not want to harm anyone. I only wanted her 
to stay with me."

* * *

Nick and Schanke met Captain Cohen and Natalie in the observation room. Nick 
noticed the dark glance Nat shot at him. She had obviously followed the 
interview through the screen.
"He confessed", Schanke announced.
"Good work, Detectives", Cohen stated. "Dr. Lambert tells me there was enough 
skin under the victim's nails for a DNA test. That and his testimony should be 
sufficient to keep him off the streets for a long time."

Nick was detained by Natalie from following Schanke and his Captain out of the 
room.
"I don't want to criticize you, Nick, but don't you think you are pushing it a 
little too far?"
"Nat, I knew he was guilty. Why wait until he conjures up a tale of fiction when 
there is a straighter way?"
"But you were pretty obvious in there, hypnotising him right in front of 
Schanke."
"It was obvious only to you because you knew what I was doing. I assure you 
nobody else suspected anything."
"I don't know, Nick. I can't say I like this attitude. This guy never had a 
chance."
Nick looked at her, incredulous. "Why should he have a chance? He is guilty. 
Does it really matter by what kind of procedure he is convicted? I assure you 
the DNA test will be positive if that makes you feel better."
Not waiting for a reply, he opened the door and proceeded towards his desk.

It hit him without warning. A burning sensation in his chest caused him to 
double over before he could reach his desk. The pain was so intense that he 
thought he would lose consciousness. And then there was nothing. Nothing but a 
terrible void where the presence of his master used to linger. 
A crowd had gathered around him, the beating hearts clearly distracting him as 
he tried to get his bearings. Then Natalie was beside him while Schanke tried to 
shoo the onlookers away.
"OK folks, give the doctor some room here, will ya?" 
As the heartbeats retreated except for two, Nick tried to focus on what had just 
happened. 
"Nick, can you hear me?", Nat asked very concerned.
He pulled himself up to a sitting position. "Lacroix", he whispered. "Something 
happened to Lacroix."
"What is he talking about, Nat?", Schanke asked, confused.
"I need to get out of here", Nick said and rose, still shaking, from the floor.
The same moment the desk sergeant called across the bullpen: "Captain, there's 
been an explosion at the CERK radio station. Several squad cars are on their 
way. They suspect that there is at least one person dead."
Nick rushed out of the precinct and took to the air.

He landed on the roof of the CERK building. The explosion must have been 
restricted to the studio. He entered through a broken window and searched 
frantically through the rubble, lifting debris, not caring if anyone saw him. He 
could feel something very faint. That gave him hope that he was not too late. 

Finally he found him. The body badly burned and a piece of wood protruding from 
his chest, obviously splintered from some furniture by the explosion. Nick 
yanked the piece free. Then he bit deeply into his wrist and let the blood drip 
into Lacroix's mouth. 
He waited anxiously but there was no reaction.
"No, Lacroix, please, don't leave me!", he pleaded.
He had to get him out of there before the search crews found them. Carefully 
picking up the battered form of his master, he flew to the loft, reaching it at 
the same time as Natalie stepped out of the elevator.
"Oh my God, Nick, what happened?"
"He caught a piece of wood in his chest. I removed it but he is not waking up."
After placing his master gently on the rug before the fireplace, he retrieved a 
knife from the kitchen and sliced first his wrist and then Lacroix's. He pressed 
their wounds together. 
"Come back to me, Lucien", he whispered urgently.
Still no reaction. 
"Something is wrong. Why isn't he waking up?", he asked with a hint of 
desperation in his voice.
Natalie was astounded at the increasing panic that registered on Nick's face.
"Let me take a look at the wound", she suggested.
Nick unbuttoned what was left of Lacroix's shirt while Natalie searched in her 
bag for the appropriate instruments.
The chest wound had not healed at all. It was very close to the heart. Natalie 
carefully probed into the wound. All the while Nick was stroking Lacroix's head 
in gentle caresses.

After a while Nat announced: "There is still a splinter inside. It is touching 
the heart."
Nick started to panic. This was not good. "Remove it!", he ordered. "But be 
careful not to shove it further in", he added, his tone almost threatening.
"Calm down, Nick! You are making me nervous. I'll try, OK?"
She took a pair of tweezers and carefully probed the wound again. Finally she 
was able to pull the splinter out. Nick let out a sigh of relief. He knew that a 
wound to the heart would take time to heal but at least now his master had a 
chance. He fervently hoped it was not too late.
The thought of losing him was unbearable. He realized that Lacroix had been the 
only constant in his long life. To go on without him seemed to be impossible. He 
felt as if a part of himself had been ripped out.
If this was how Lacroix had felt each time he had tried out another cure...
Tears slid down his face. He slung his arms around Lacroix's body and silently 
sobbed until exhaustion caused him to drift into sleep.

Natalie was stunned. She had thought that hate was the predominant emotion in 
the relationship between Nick and Lacroix. But judging from his behaviour there 
was no denial that Nick cared deeply for his father.
She was a little unsure if she should stay but she didn't want to leave Nick 
alone in his desperate state. So she settled on the couch and waited in case her 
medical abilities were required again.

* * *

The first thing Lacroix felt was a frantic desperation. He realized that the 
emotion was coming from his son. He needed to console him but he couldn't move. 
His body was caught in a tight embrace. There was a face almost touching his 
own. Lacroix noticed that it was covered with blood tears. He opened his mouth 
and began to lick at the strains.

Nick awoke when he felt a tongue licking along his cheeks.
"Lucien?", he asked, suddenly wide awake. "Oh God, I thought I had lost you." He 
bit into his wrist again and placed it over his master's mouth. This time he was 
rewarded with a sucking sensation. Then somewhat unexpectedly his arm was shoved 
away. Strong hands pulled his neck to the hungry mouth and he felt Lacroix's 
fangs enter his vein.

Natalie woke on the couch as she heard a commotion in front of the fireplace. 
She glanced to the pair on the floor and gasped as she saw Lacroix sink his 
fangs into Nick's neck. Her first instinct was to rescue Nick from the attack 
but the look of sheer ecstasy on Nick's face made her stop dead in her tracks. 

A feeling of total bliss settled in Nick as Lacroix continued to drink from him. 
He felt whole again. His master took quite an amount but Nick did not pull back. 
He would have given him everything now. Finally his neck was released, leaving 
him a little dizzy. He raised his head and looked deep into Lacroix's eyes. Then 
he bent down and captured Lacroix's lips with his own. Lacroix returned the kiss 
with ardour before exhaustion caused both of them to pause.

The last thing that Nick's consciousness registered before drifting into sleep 
was the closing of the lift door.

FIN