IMPORTANT: I need a little help. I have edited this chapter and I need a little help. To those who can, may you please read the boat scene towards the end and tell me if it's too graphic and mature? I've personally never been an innocent person so I never know when I'm overstepping boundaries.

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"I don't know what to wear," Erinna said to Dracula, coming back into the bedroom after a rejuvenating evening shower.

Following their ride, they had returned to the castle so that she could change and they would go back to the human village again where she needed to continue healing those affected by the plague .

His eyes roamed up and down her figure, making her feel naked in the flimsy dressing gown she had on. It was a bit short but should have been decent yet his eyes were making her feel as if she had walked in there naked.

"You'll look beautiful in anything," he said.

Or nothing, his eyes seemed to convey. After the one thousand times he had complimented her, she still managed to blush. She shivered and turned to her closet.

"Does that mean I won't have to listen to you complain about how inappropriate the dress is?" She asked, opening the doors, knowing he was very particular about what she wore outdoors.

"We'll see Countess. "

At least she no longer had to deal with maids at every turn trying to dress her up or do her hair or help her bath as if she didn't have hands. This was the one privilege he had finally conceded to, allowing her to choose her own clothes.

It was a small step but nevertheless, one step closer to autonomy. Erinna chose gowns that seemed suitable for outdoors but was hugely disappointed to realise that like most of the clothing her wardrobe, it enhanced her bosom; leaving the crests of her breasts indecently exposed.

She was coming to think that it was mostly her own full breasts rather than the cutting of the dresses that enhanced her cleavage so much.

It was embarrassing at times, especially when Vlad noticed. Noticed and appreciated. He made sure she knew he was looking, and much to her own mortification, she actually liked the way his eyes seemed to devour her in the one searing gaze.

But still, she wasn't used to such revealing clothes, or maybe it was just the way he looked at her that made her feel like she had forgotten to put on some item of clothing.

With a sigh, Erinna discarded the dress and went for another one.

The second dress also had the cursed inbuilt corset that uplifted her already upthrust bosom.

Knowing Vlad would certainly have objections about this dress but knowing all the others would be no different, Erinna gave up hunting for something modest and decided he woud just have to deal. It was not like she was comfortable with walking around in such a provocative dress either.

The gown followed the indented curve of her waist and hips then flared out, almost reaching her feet. The design complemented her and would have been wonderful if not for how exposed she felt in the chest area. Maybe she would find a cape.

With that thought, Erinna combed her hair and let it flow past her shoulders down to her back.

"Hell no," Vlad said the moment he set eyes on her.

"But it's pretty."

"And who do you want to look pretty for in a human village?" He glared at her.

"Don't be ridiculous. It is not about looking pretty for anyone. I just want to be presentable."

"You know fully well they'll be leering at you. You want me to kill someone when we're supoosed to be healing them?"

"You're being really ridiculous right now," she told him honestly.

"Maybe, but you're still not wearing that dress."

"I'll wear what I want." She crossed her arms across her chest stubbornly.

His desire to control everything she did down to the clothes she wore was becoming more than she could bear.

"Don't test me Erinna, I'll rend that thing to shreds right this moment ."

She scowled.

"You wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't I?"

She sighed and stomped back to the closet dead set on wearing the ugliest thing she could find in there.

"Happy now?" She asked when she emerged.

He didn't look happy. What the hell did he want her to wear so he could be satisfied no one would look at her? Sackcloth?

"Take your cape," he conceded.

When they arrived at the village later on; Erinna went back into the quarantine houses, still shaken from the revelations of that afternoon.

"Are you coming in with me?" She asked.

She knew Dracula could heal, he had used his gift on her but that he would willingly extend such mercy to anyone else was too far out of the scope of imagination.

"Are you saying you'll miss me, angel?" He smirked, bringing out the dimple that was certainly going to be the early death of her ovaries.

"You always seek to twist my words," she complained.

"Because your reactions are priceless."

"I'm not a toy for your amusement."

"Hmm, maybe not a toy but you definitely amuse me and if you hurry up and finish here l'll show you how much."

Was he actually trying to flirt with her? The possibility was unnerving so Erinna quickly changed the subject.

"Don't forget to talk to River's son. "

"Sure, Countess. "

Dracula reluctantly left his bride and sent someone to fetch the human boy for him. When the child arrived, he posted four guards to watch over Erinna and threw a bow and arrow at the boy.

"We're going hunting?"

"No, we are going to sun bath, what do you think?" Vlad rolled his eyes as they went into the forest that bordered the human village.

"I think we should celebrate the fact that you have been able to leave the princess for five minutes and remember some of us exist." The words were said in sarcastic humor but the underlying bitterness was not lost on some well versed in human emotions as The Count.

"Countess," he corrected automatically.

"Huh?"

"You said princess, that's not her official title."

The boy grumbled and muttered under-the-tongue curses but remained generally silent. Only the sound of their feet, well Tristan's feet could be heard.

"You're scaring off the prey. Lighten your steps," The Count admonished after an hour of walking and seeing nothing.

"Are you sure it's my steps not your soul scaring them?"

That earned him a prod with the head of a sheathed sword.

"I'm doing this for you. Personally, I have no problem of forfeiting this journey and just letting you be my dinner. You're the one that likes your meat hairy and on four legs so shut up and focus."

Mercifully, the child was quiet after that. It gave Vlad the silence to think of the beautiful woman he had left a few miles behind them. What was she doing? Did he cross her mind every second like she did his?

His hands ached from wanting to touch again and his nose craved her scent again. He could still smell it from when he had last held her and the combination of her sweet vanilla scent and that of the jasmine she used with her bathing water made him groan in memory. He needed to go back to her soon.

"I heard you haven't been staying home," he said to the boy, deciding to get everything over and done with so he could go back to Erinna and hold her lushly feminine, succulent body in his arms.

"She told you?" The boy scoffed with a blatant disrespect that grated in Vlad's nerves.

Growing up, he had respected his mother and she had not even been half as nice as River was.

"I wasn't under the impression that she wasn't supposed to," he said, stopping to frown at the seventeen year old.

"It's none of her business."

"I'm surprised she hasn't used the belt on you if you talk to her like that. Unlike your mother, I don't possess such patience, so out with it, I don't have all day. Have you been drinking?"

The boy's eyes widened.

"What? No. I'll never be like that maggot," he denied vehemently.

The Count nodded, glad the two brain cells in the boy's head were rubbing together. Having grown up with an abusive drunkard for a father, it was a relief to see the child was not following in the bastard's footsteps.

"So it's a girl then," he said matter of factly since he couldn't imagine him being involved in gambling or criminal activity.

At the accusation, the boy turned an unmanly pink. Vlad pursed his lips, there was only one person's blush that he found charming.

"What's her name?"

"Anna."

"Anna Godiva?"

"Yes."

He nodded his head in approval. The girl was from a good family.

"Are you going to tell her?" The boy asked nervously.

"Why would I get involved in your pathetic wooing?" Vlad frowned.

"Not that," Stan groaned, his face flushing deeper. "I meant Mama, will you report me to her?"

"As you said, it's none of her business."

The younger man smiled gratefully.

"But my business is seeing to it that you do not give her unnecessary headaches. Everyone falls in love at some point, not our best moments but it happens and I'm not going to talk about that. When you let love blind you and cloud your thinking however, people are going to complain."

"It's not clouding my thinking," he protested.

"You have been rude to your mother and haven't been coming home. Now you know me, if you impregnate that girl or do anything to disgrace your mother, I'll hang you and your little girlfriend by your entrails. It won't take five minutes off my day."

"I haven't-we haven't-" He stumbled over his words but The Count raised his hand.

"Good, it'll stay like that. You are both too young for that."

Vlad could not believe he was being subjected to this talk when his own father had never given him it to him. No one had ever talked to him when he had transitioned from boyhood to manhood and damn River and Erinna for making him do this.

"And what is the right age? Four thousand?" Stan retorted.

Yeah, he was going to carve that rudeness right out of him, Vlad thought. Next time the little bastard would think twice about mouthing off too him.

He had just the right threat at the edge of his tongue but because of how deeply Erinna had rooted herself into his veins, the thing that came out of his mouth was:

"Shut up and go get your mother that deer."

The child smirked and did as instructed or tried to anyway. His archery skills made Vlad rethink his whole decision of putting humans under his protection.

They spent the rest of the night hunting, with Vlad finally stepping in when it became clear they would go back home without even a hare to show for their efforts if the hunting was left to Tristan.

When he had procured enough game to last all the humans at least a week, he left the boy to distribute whilst he went back to check on Erinna. He found her on a table mixing questionable looking herbs and fluids.

He wrapped his arms around her and bit her shoulder gently when she yelped, dropping her stirring her rod.

"Just me, angel," he assured her.

"Can you stop being creepy? We're in public."

"So?"

She hated being sneaked up on and because she did, he was never going to stop.

Erinna seemed to realize this also because she rolled her eyes and dropped the issue.

"Did you talk to River's son?" She asked instead.

"Yeah, it's all good now. I put the fear of God in him. What about you? How is everything going?"

"I'm almost done now. I've treated everyone affected and now I'm making this elixir to help them if anyone else develops symptoms."

His brilliant, brilliant bride. She was so beautiful but also so intelligent. Medicine making was not a craft to be underestimated, especially if one possessed the skill to look at a disease and be able to come up with a cure or vaccine from scratch.

"Thank you," he kissed her shoulder, enjoying the scent wafting off her smooth skin.

He was fiercely proud to call her his. Well maybe not yet, but soon if he had anything to do it.

"Anyone would have done the same," she shrugged.

"Not everyone, I have a horde of medical experts staying away because they're afraid of contacting the disease. It's just you."

He felt her shy smile before she returned to her task. He wished he was in front of her instead of hugging her from behind. He wanted to see her skin blush and her eyes darken the way they did when they responded to him.

"How long do you need to finish?"

"Half an hour, I think."

"Good, because I need to do this," he said, kissing her neck.

He turned her around and put his hands at her waist, spanning her lower back.

"And this," he whispered, kissing the side of her lips.

She flushed and pushed him away from her.

"We are in public, have some decency."

He laughed and inspected the people she had healed. None of them were watching and those who had been, quickly closed their eyes or began emitting fake groans of pain.

"Wrap it up love, I want to take you somewhere when you're done."

"Where?"

"Somewhere you can scream my name until your throat is raw."

Wirh that, Vlad left and went to talk to Rupert about the situation with the humans and the werewolf attacks whilst his bride finished. When he returned, Erinna was packing.

"Ready?" He asked.

She nodded, a pink flush covering her cheeks.

Erinna wanted to say her goodbyes but Vlad was not having any of it, claiming they were already behind schedule as it was. He grabbed her and left at vampire speed, a blur of colours none of the humans could make out.

Caught completely offguard, Erinna could not contain her squeal of surprise.

"Vlad!"

She couldn't see anything at the speed he was moving at. She tried to look at where they were going but everything was just moving too fast, making her head spin and her stomach upset.

So to avoid throwing up on The Count, she buried her face in his chest. Besides, she was not in the mood to watch herself become mincemeat and tree-splutter.

Before she could realise what she was doing, Erinna was inhaling the clean, refreshing, darkly seductive and masculine smell that was all Dracula. It seemed to be winter and night wrapped into one and she couldn't get enough of it.

Realising she was on her way to becoming a creep; the elf princess forced herself to forget how good he smelled and chanced a look at where they were going but seeing they were headed straight for a tree, she buried her face in his chest again .

With her eyes closed, she found the experience was not so bad. The speed was thrilling and invigorating and she knew she could trust him not to let her bash her head; he was too selfish for that. If he was going to have her then he was going to have her in perfect condition.

When he finally stopped, she was woozy and lightheaded.

"I should kill you for that," she scolded as he put her down but gasped when she stumbled. He held her until she was steady.

"Because you didn't like it and were not giggling into my chest right?" He mocked her with his eyes.

Fighting the blush off her face was a physical chore.

"Oh hush please, where are we?"

He moved out of the way letting her get a perfect view.

She gasped.

"Oh my God Vlad, is this an ocean?"

Or maybe sea?

She hadn't even know his home was close to an ocean. She was overwhelmed, she didn't know what to say. All her life, she had been locked up, with the most interesting thing in her life being the visions of the man who now stood before her.

But there she was, looking at one of nature's most wonderful miracles, her who had never imagined she would ever escape the four walls of her tower.

A calm breeze drifted by and lifted her hair away from her head. It caressed her skin and brought colour to her cheeks but nothing would ever compare to what she felt inside.

"It's- it's so beautiful," she breathed taking a step closer.

The water stretched before her, a never-ending blanket of blue reflecting the starlit sky. It was so calm with the only disturbance being the light breeze brushing by, even the waves seemed to have calmed down in respect to the serene moment.

"I thought you might love to come," he said, pulling her into his arm and kissing her forehead.

"I love it, this is so beautiful. Can we walk? Oh Vlad, please! I read there are shells and crabs and---"

"Angel."

His eyes were sparkling with wicked humor. She had a feeling it was at her expense.

"What?"

"You're gushing," he pursed his lips to withhold his laughter.

"Stop laughing at me," she hit his chest playfully.

Vlad's eyes flashed and he caught that hand.

"Don't put your hands on me."

His tone was calm and gentle but the warning was there all the same.

"You put yours on me," she challenged.

Vlad groaned

"You're never going to let me live that one down, are you?"

"No," she grinned cheekily.

"Sometimes I just want to take you across my knee."

She laughed even though the idea did not repel her as much as it should have.

"Stop being perveted, I want to enjoy my first walk on the beach," she said primly.

"I'm being perverted? Countess you're the one getting excited at the thought of me spanking your sweet little b-"

Her hand flew up and covered his mouth. He winked at her and bit her palm.

"Vlad!" She squealed, retracting her arm.

Vlad was amused at her reactions.

"So you do not want me to spank you?"

"Yes, I mean no!"

"Baby you're dripping of pheromones and your heart rate has just skyrocketed," he teased her knowing she'd be a tomato soon if he kept at it long enough.

"Please stop!" She pleaded, putting her hand over his mouth.

He laughed.

"Alright, we'll walk if you promise me something."

"What?" She asked suspiciously, knowing it was going to be something dirty.

"Hold that thought for me," he winked.

"God you're impossible, I do not want to be beaten."

"Spanked."

"Yes that! I do not want it now let's go," she took his hand and dragged him behind her.

Erinna knew he was allowing himself to be moved, Vlad was not a man who would be dragged anywhere he didn't want to go.

"We should have brought Alex, he would have loved it here," she said, admiring the golden sand.

"Did you miss the part where I said I'm not letting you go until your throat is raw from screaming my name? I don't need an audience for that, especially not Alex, he's more prude than Alexander."

She laughed and rolled her eyes deciding to ignore his dirty comment. She was getting to know playful Vlad came with dirty Vlad.

She picked so many shells that she lost count. Vlad was complaining since he was the one who was left with the burden of carrying them.

"Shut up, you're the one who refused to bring Alex."