20 20. The Tip of His Tongue

Once again, Triana looked forward and Mr. Vlador was still there, right in front of her.

"You… are not in the mirror," She uttered.

"By now, you should understand why you found no mirror in my castle. We don't appear in the mirror like you humans." Vlador explained.

Then, Vlador turned Triana's body so she was facing the mirror again. He pushed her back gently until they were both standing very close to the mirror.

Continuing to stare at the mirror, Triana felt like she was dreaming. She really just saw herself alone there - standing alone in this room as if no one was behind her. However, she could feel a hand touching her back and someone standing right behind her.

So far, Triana had never discovered the fact that vampires could not appear in mirrors. In fact, she had read many books and heard stories from elders. This was surprising and interesting at the same time. But, above all of this, she was more surprised at the appearance of her face that did not change. She was as beautiful as ever.

Turning her body back, Triana looked at Mr. Vlador with a frown. "Is that my real face? Or this mirror is magical?"

"This is an ordinary mirror," Vlador replied.

"So, that means I'm not cursed to be ugly, am I?" Triana asked.

"No, you are not," Vlador answered.

"Then why did you say that I became ugly? You even call me Gosling,"

A smile formed on the vampire's face. Triana could hear the faint muffled laughter behind it. Again, dimples formed on the pale face, and now the form was getting deeper.

Yes, now Triana could conclude, from the many handsome men she had met, it seemed that Mr. Vlador ranked in the top twenty. But, how shameless was she to secretly give men a handsome rating! After all, she had to hear an explanation from Mr. Vlador who had impudently tricked her.

Seeing that the vampire only chuckled, Triana's brow furrowed even more. She cleared her throat loudly, "Excuse me, Mr. Vlador!"

But quickly, the vampire turned Triana's waist until she looked back at the mirror. Triana's breath was held because her body was now being held from behind by Mr. Vlador. He wrapped one arm around her waist and crossed the other on her chest to grip her jaw.

"For the sake of maintaining your beauty, you got me caught in a curse again. I think making you believe that you're ugly is a piece of punishment that you deserve for making my life difficult," Vlador whispered right in Triana's ear.

Triana stared at herself in the mirror. She stood with a stiff body slightly sloping to the side. She appeared greatly weird because she couldn't see the figure of the vampire holding her now. She could feel Mr. Vlador, but was unable to see him.

"H-however, if I didn't come to you that time, you would still be in chains now. If I didn't give you the potion, you wouldn't have escaped from that dungeon, would you?" Triana asked, trying to be brave.

Of course she didn't accept taking all the blame like this. This vampire kept talking as if his life was being destroyed by her. In fact, from the start, his life was already ruined. Triana's arrival only changed the form of the disaster that befell his life.

"Ah… you're right," Vlador muttered. "Indeed, you freed me from that curse. However, shouldn't you think before you speak? Is what you freed a human? No. You have freed a vampire – a drinker of human blood – an eater of human flesh. You know the consequences of dealing with a devil's descendant,"

Vlador's whisper made Triana goosebumps. She took a hard gulp and stuttered, "Y-you will die if I die,"

"I know," Vlador answered with a whisper that was getting quieter until it only sent warm breath in Triana's ears.

Breathing heavily and heart pounding hard, Triana's eyes widened as she watched her long hair move on its own and slid from her shoulders to her back. Then, she saw and felt the upper part of her dress being pulled away from her shoulder.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Triana asked in a trembling voice.

"Did you know? Whenever you're scared, your heart beats so hard, pumping blood like a mad river that whistles in my ear," Vlador uttered.

"Ugh… Please let me go," Triana begged, trying to straighten her body.

However, she only made Vlador tighten his embrace and now warped one arm on her chest.

"I'm hungry and you smell so good. The longer, your smell is getting thicker that it pierces my nose," Vlador whispered, slowly lowering his face towards Triana's neck.

"Please don't kill me! You will die if I die. Come to your senses, Mr. Vlador! Do you wish to die?" Triana exclaimed with tears already welling up in her eyes.

"How many times do I have to tell you that I know? Don't worry, I won't kill you. I just… want to taste it a bit on the tip of my tongue," Vlador said before placing his mouth on Triana's neck.

Triana's eyes widened. When something wet and tender but a little rough-textured washed her neck, right on her bite wound, her hand reflexively grabbed the large arm that stretched across her body.

Seeing herself alone in the mirror but physically feeling her body being hugged tight and a big face pressed against her neck seemed to overwhelm her brain to conclude what was going on. She directed her hands to the vampire's face and pushed him away. But instead, she heard a thin, deep growl without being able to push it off at all.

"Mr. Vlador," Triana moaned without getting a response.

The tongue kept stroking her wound until it became sore. Then, she felt the object begin to rub hard while pressing on her wound, as if forcing it to open again and bleed.

"Hurts!" She winced as she kept trying to push the vampire's face away.

"You're fine," Vlador whispered as soon as he released his mouth from Triana's neck. "Don't fight. You only make my hunger turns worse – I might actually bite you again,"

Biting her lower lip, Triana let go of her hand that was trying to push the vampire's face away. She turned her face to find that his eyes had turned bright red.

"Just on the tip of my tongue. It will cure my hunger a little at least," Vlador said with a deep stare at the girl in his arms.

Triana's lips trembled and she held it with a bite. From the way he looked at her, she could tell how severely Mr. Valdor was feeling hungry. It was the same gaze when she had first met him in the dungeon.

Triana's gaze turned weak. "Please swear not to bite me,"

A smile that formed on Mr. Vlador's lips made Triana hold her breath. However, when she didn't have time to think about anything, the vampire carried her down to sit on the floor in his arms.

"As long as you don't fight," Vlador replied before burying his face in Triana's neck again.

The pain and throbbing in her wound made Triana have to bite her lower lip to hold back a moan. Mr. Vlador's tongue that kept on licking hard her neck brought not only pain in her wound, but a strange sensation within her body. She didn't understand why the pain from the bite wound had to radiate all over her stomach and chest.

The faint sound made by Mr. Vlador's throat and his wet tongue that kneaded with the skin of her neck made Triana's cheeks feel hot.

Triana gripped the vampire's hand that was clutching her body when he started to suck in between his tongue rub.

"Ah! Don't suck it," Triana complained, subconsciously moving her hand to grip Mr. Vlador's shoulder.

However, the vampire didn't listen and continued what he was doing. Despite the fear that her wound would bleed profusely again, Triana was surprised when she looked in the mirror and found a ripe tomato blush on her cheeks.