Being Human is a UK TV series about a vampire (Mitchell), a werewolf (George) and a ghost (Annie) who share a house and are trying to live a normal life . . . just being human.

Inspired by Series 2 Episode 1. Annie has her job at the New Found Out pub and George is trying to resolve his relationship with Nina now she knows she's a werewolf. But what if Mitchell makes a connection with someone special?

BEING HUMAN - MITCHELL AND SUSIE

I followed Annie into her house, bumping gently against the door jamb, slightly tipsy from too many drinks at the pub, many of them given to me by Annie.

'Tea, coffee or more wine?' she called over her shoulder.

'Dear God, no more wine. Coffee, please. White, no sugar, if you've got . . . white. Otherwise, black, no sugar.'

'It's OK, we have milk. George has been shopping. Mitchell, this is Susie.'

A figure I hadn't noticed in the darkness waved a hand in my direction. I followed Annie into the kitchen. 'Boyfriend?' I asked nodding back towards the living room.

'God no,' she laughed. 'Flatmate. There's three of us, me, Mitchell and George. Oh, and sometimes George's girlfriend, Nina.'

As Annie filled the kettle I looked back to where Mitchell was sitting. He was very good looking in a brooding, Heathcliffian sort of way. 'So how are you enjoying working in the pub?' I asked Annie.

'It's fabulous! So many interesting people.'

'And so many interesting prices,' I muttered, but fortunately she didn't hear me. Anyway, I shouldn't really complain, she'd kept my wine glass topped up most of the evening.

Annie clattered mugs and spooned coffee into two. 'Go through,' she said. 'I'll bring it in.'

I sat down on the armchair next to where Mitchell was sitting on the sofa. 'Have you been living here long?'

'Just over a year. Annie was already here when George and I moved in.'

'It's very, err . . .' I looked round the badly furnished room, trying to find a word to describe it.

'Shit?' Mitchell suggested, helpfully.

I laughed out loud. 'I was going to say eclectic.'

'How tactful.' He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, looking at me properly. 'I've seen you somewhere before, haven't I?'

'Have you? I only live round the corner. The New Found Out's my local.'

'Hmm, maybe.' He shrugged and then smiled again. 'Susie, is it? And what do you do?'

'I'm a vampire.' He jerked his head up towards me. I smiled. 'I mean, I take people's blood. I'm a phlebotomist, but mostly work with the Blood Transfusion service.'

'I might have seen you at the hospital then. That's where I work.'

'Possibly.' Although I was pretty sure I'd remember if I'd seen him. 'Annie's a laugh, isn't she?'

'Dead funny. You've known her long?'

I shook my head. 'Only from the pub. She's got quite a following there.'

'Anything to do with her pricing policy?'

'She has one? Well, if she does, it certainly suited me tonight. After my friends went on to a club, I don't think I bought any more drinks.'

'You didn't want to go with them?'

I shrugged. 'Didn't fancy it, to be honest. And I was shattered. Anyway, I was the only single one there tonight and didn't fancy the idea of either being a gooseberry or cramping their style, so I dipped out.'

'You're single? I can't believe that.'

Was he flirting with me? If he was, it was very pleasant. In fact, even if he wasn't . . . 'Yeah, well, my last boyfriend told me I was too feisty for him. Like it was a bad thing! Just because he was too much of a wimp to dress up for the Rocky Horror Show.'

'And you did?'

'Of course! I refuse to Time Warp in anything other than 5" stilettos. It's not like I was asking him to dress up as a transvestite, he could have gone as Eddie. Or Rocky.'

'So, just wearing a pair of gold lamé Speedos?'

'Well, Eddie then. It was a bit chilly the night I went, he was probably worried about shrinkage in just a pair of Speedos. You know, you would have made a good Frank N Furter.'

'Is that a compliment?'

'A transvestite alien sex-maniac scientist? Could it be any better?'

'Well, now you put it like that . . . I have to say it's tempting,' and he ran his fingers through his hair.

'So, why the fingerless gloves?'

'Fashion statement?'

'Yeah, right,' I replied, and he laughed.

'OK, maybe not.' He paused and then looked directly at me. 'They're to cover some scars,' he said, waiting as though to judge my reaction.

I knew it was incredibly personal, but I still asked.'Can I see?'

He slipped off the left glove and turned his wrist towards me. I was expecting to see the straight lines of an, obviously, failed suicide attempt, but these were different. Indentations, gouges, perhaps bite marks. Not what I was expecting. I couldn't help it, his wrist looked so pale and vulnerable that I lowered my lips to his arm and kissed the scars. His hand initially tensed, but then he allowed his fingertips to stroke across my cheek as he withdrew his arm.

He was watching me closely, his eyes searching mine. I let my fingers rest on his arm, gently stroking the smooth skin as he drew me into his gaze as though he was looking for something within me. I became very aware of my body, my heartbeat slowing, my hair caressing my skin as it fell back into place.

We were interrupted by Annie arriving with the drinks. Annie handed me a cup. 'White coffee, no sugar. Black for you, Mitchell.' We clinked cups.

'Annie, did you know that Susie takes people's blood?'

'Nope, news to me.'

'It's not a problem, is it?' I asked, suddenly worried that I'd made a faux pas, but not sure why.

Mitchell leaned back in his chair. 'Not at all. How long have you been doing that?'

'Three years now. Although I'm wondering whether to go into clinical support. Sorry, that's very boring.'

'No, no, it sounds interesting.'

The front door banged open and another guy walked in, scowling.

'George?' Annie asked, rising a little from her chair. 'Are you OK?'

He glanced round the room, saw me, and took a deep breath. 'It's Nina. We had . . . a row.'

'Come on, I'll make you a cup of tea,' Annie said, and George followed her into the kitchen.

Mitchell switched on the TV. The screen was immediately filled by a bare male bottom and I choked on my coffee as I laughed. Mitchell flicked channels, but then realised I was still coughing and patted me forcefully on the back. I shuddered a deep breath and turned to thank him, but the words caught in my throat as I sank once more into that pair of dark eyes. They flicked between mine as my lips parted. Christ, I could just picture those eyes boring into mine as he entered me. Christ, I was pissed and my imagination was going into overdrive.

Except . . . except he wasn't moving away as he should have. He wasn't smiling and asking if I was OK. He was simply looking at me, his hand still resting on my back, and lust was drawing between my thighs. I wanted him.

'Mitchell,' I breathed.

'Susie . . .' and then his lips were on mine and I was freefalling into his kiss.

He slid his fingers around my neck and pressed my mouth harder onto his. As he leaned back, he gently pulled me with him onto the sofa until I was lying on top of him, hungrily devouring him as I ran my fingers over his chest and down over his stomach. He smoothed over my top, his hand catching my breast and gently massaging it.

'Susie . . .?'

'Aha?' I gasped.

'Shall we . . .?'

I drew back, brushing my hair away from my face. I flicked my eyes towards the stairs and he smiled. He took my hand and led me upstairs and into what appeared to be a typical male bedroom, untidy with a dishevelled bed.

'I'll just go to the . . .'

'Sure. I'm not going anywhere.'

I returned to the bedroom to find Mitchell hurriedly trying to tidy the room. 'Don't bother on my account,' I said. 'Now, where were we?' I pressed my body against his and started to kiss him, sinking delightfully into the softness of his lips, the feel of his tongue tentatively exploring my mouth as I ran my hands over the firm muscles of his chest. This guy was hot and I was feeling horny. Perfect.

I manoeuvred him towards the bed, unbuttoning his shirt. Foreplay? Plenty of time for that. Afterwards. I wanted him now. He tugged his shirt out of his jeans and undid the belt, letting them drop to the floor as I ran his fingers under his vest, feeling the smooth skin of his stomach and then his soft chest hair, shoving the material up his body and over his head until he stood in front of me in only his shorts, his jeans pooled around his ankles.

Christ, he was fit and I paused to take in the gorgeousness of him, biting my lip as my eyes travelled down his body and then back up to meet his. I smiled and he grinned back at me.

'This seems a little unfair,' he said as he stepped out of his jeans.

'So what do you intend to do about it?'

'Watch?'

I slapped him playfully, but he grabbed my wrist gently and drew me towards him. Leaning towards him, kissing him, I started to wriggle out of my top, only parting from him to draw it over my head. His fingers expertly undid my bra and I flicked it onto a nearby chair and then shrugged off my trousers, kicking them in the same general direction until we were both standing only in underwear.

'Wow,' he said, eyes flicking over my body. Unusually, I felt a sense of confidence that normally eluded me, but Mitchell was so appreciative that I felt gorgeous and desired. I suspected the wine had something to do with fuelling my self-confidence, but probably not as much as the way Mitchell was looking at me.

I rested my hand on his shoulder and pushed him backwards towards the bed. He sat down and I straddled his legs, looking down at him as he started to kiss up my stomach.

I ran my fingers through his soft, messy hair, and then leaned forward, pushing him back onto the bed. I lowered myself onto his hardness, rubbing myself against him through our underwear. I could feel already how moist I was, so turned on by the feel of him. He reached up to cup my breasts in his hands, flicking his fingers over my nipples which responded immediately, hardening under his touch as I ground against him, catching my clitoris against his cock so that it sent bolts of sensation through my body until I could wait no longer.

'I want you,' I whispered. 'I want you inside me.'

'I want you too.' His voice was low and husky.

I stood and inched out of my knickers as he removed his shorts and then I knelt astride him again, this time, guiding him oh so slowly into me, revelling in the feel of him entering me. I realised I was holding my breath and released it as a sigh as I felt the length of him inside me and leaned forward, dropping my hands either side of his head. I started to move, slowly, undulating my hips so that he moved inside me. He rested his hands on my hips, drawing me harder onto him and I gasped, clenching my muscles around his cock so that he smiled up at me.

'Christ, Mitchell,' I muttered as he upped the pace. I lowered myself onto my elbows and pressed my breasts against his chest. I could feel his body surprisingly cool against mine as I pressed my face against his neck. I gently nibbled him and I felt him tense and then thrust harder and deeper into me, igniting my orgasm so that I groaned and reached out for something to anchor myself with. I grasped the sheets, twisting them in my hands as he bucked into me.

'Mitchell, Mitchell,' I gasped.

'Oh God, Susie,' but if he said anything else, it was lost as I thrust my head into the bedclothes and groaned my coming.

Collapsing onto him, he held me tight and I breathed in the warm rich scent of him. As my breathing calmed, I rolled to one side, stretching out luxuriantly, wallowing in the emotions that were still surging round my body. But Mitchell hadn't finished with me. He started to kiss up my body, across my stomach, and then up onto my breasts.

He started to lap at my nipple with his tongue before he took it between his lips and sucked at it, hard, sending bolts of electricity through my nerves. He started to tweak my other nipple with his fingertips and my breathing became ragged as he focused his attention on my breasts. My groin was calling for his touch and I squirmed, forcing my thighs together to put pressure on my clitoris. Echoes of my previous orgasm reignited. He swapped his mouth onto my other breast, leaning his body across mine and I could feel his erection pressing against my leg. I turned towards him and hooked my leg over his thigh, drawing his groin towards mine.

He took the hint and used his knee to part my legs and then knelt between them, still sucking and tweaking my nipples as he slid so slowly and exquisitely into me. He started to move inside me, kissing up my neck, loitering there, breathing heavily, nibbling and sucking at the skin before seeming to collect himself and draw back from me onto his hands. I raised my knees, forcing him deeper into me, and then wrapped my legs around his waist, angling myself so that every thrust reached into my depths, and I couldn't hold on, my orgasm forcing me to grip onto him, my nails scraping his skin as I forced him deeper into me, bucking my hips up at him to gain maximum satisfaction.

As I arched my back and groaned, I could feel him thrusting hard and fast into me and I responded, pushing back against him until my orgasm relaxed my muscles and I collapsed back onto the bed, sated.

Grabbing Mitchell's shirt and pulling it around me, I crept down the stairs, leaving the empty bed behind me. I could hear Mitchell and Annie talking in the kitchen.

'Well, you didn't hang around,' Annie was saying, a laugh in her voice.

'Don't. You know I'm not normally like that, but . . . '

'You fancied her?'

There was a silence and I thought he was going to deny it, but I heard him sigh. 'Annie, I came that close to . . .'

'But you didn't?'

'No. Hell no, but it was tough. She would have tasted so good. Anyway, there was something else . . .'

I frowned, puzzled. Did he have some hang up about oral sex? I mean, we hadn't indulged last night, but that was mainly because I'd not given him the chance.

'Mitchell, you didn't. That's the important thing. Take this coffee up to her. She'll be thinking you've done a runner.'

I trotted down the last few stairs, over the broken tile in the hallway, and into the kitchen, trying, and failing, to look embarrassed.

'Sorry, Annie, I kind of abandoned you last night.'

She grinned. 'Don't worry, I could sense the chemistry between you.'

'Annie,' Mitchell said warningly, but she giggled and slapped him playfully.

'Toast?' she offered and I nodded.

'I'll just go . . .' and Mitchell disappeared upstairs.

'Good night?' Annie asked and I could feel myself blush. She laughed. 'Good for you. And him.'

She seemed to be taking an interest in my neck, and I rubbed my fingers over where he'd nuzzled me, wondering if I had a love bite. I'd have to cover it with concealer if there was a mark.

'You working tonight?' I asked Annie.

'Yes, I'm starting at seven. So . . . you and Mitchell . . .?'

I shrugged. 'I doubt it. He won't be interested in me.'

'Why wouldn't he be?'

'Because he's gorgeous and I'm . . . '

'The first girl he's been with for ages.'

'Really? But . . . No, there's no way, no way . . . sadly.'

Annie grinned. 'Butter? Marmalade?'

'Both, please.'

Mitchell was placing my clothes on a chair when I returned to his bedroom.

'Thanks. Did you find everything?'

He dangled my bra from his finger and I tried to snatch it from him, but he held it above his head, teasing me. After one swipe for it, I simply grabbed him by the bollocks and squeezed until he doubled over.

'Hey, unfair,' he said, laughing.

'Well, if I don't get my clothes back, I'm going to be stuck here.'

'And that would be a bad thing because . . .?'

'Hey! But, seriously, I'll have a quick shower and then leave you in peace. You working today?'

'No. You?'

'Not today, back in on a late on Monday.'

'So I could see you later?'

'Er, yes, sure. Meet you in the pub?'

'Around 7 OK?'

'Great.'

I was kind of relieved that George was there with Mitchell when I arrived, and I was introduced to Nina. They seemed to have resolved their argument and were chatting with Annie at the bar as they waited patiently for our drinks. It looked like they could be a while.

'About last night,' I began awkwardly. 'Erm, I'm not usually so . . . '

'Good?' Mitchell prompted, breaking the atmosphere. 'I demand a rematch,' and I knew exactly where I'd be spending the night.

The rest of the evening was spent in delightful anticipation. Soft touches of fingers under the table, flashing smiles at shared jokes, a mercifully similar sense of humour, elongated eye contact. Mitchell was funny, him and George sparking off each other, Nina and I defending ourselves against them. There seemed to be a long-standing argument about who bought the loo rolls, and what type, and who did the washing up. Apparently not Mitchell. Alcohol, laughter and the attention of someone gorgeous. Perfect. We didn't hang around when we got back to the house, Mitchell leading me by the hand up to his bedroom.

'Clean sheets,' I commented. 'You were pretty sure you were on a promise.'

'Merely hoping,' he replied, sliding his arms around my waist.

I could feel his hardness pressing against me which triggered my response and I started to kiss him, slowly, so slowly, really getting to know him. We had all the time in the world and I was looking forward to using it indulging in sheer pleasure. Simply kissing him was so wonderful, exploring with fingertips as he stroked my skin with the lightest of touches. Until he released my lips with his and looked directly at me and the floodgates of hormones opened and I was dragging him towards the bed as though they'd just announced the four minute warning.

'God damn you, Mitchell,' I muttered as I tugged off his shirt.

'What? What have I done?'

'You're just too . . .' I kissed him hard and then frantically undid his belt, '. . . too . . .' I pulled off my own shirt and hurled it towards the chair, '. . . damn it, sexy!' I finished, dropping my jeans and glaring at him, dressed only in my underwear.

He started to laugh as he slowly stepped out of his jeans, his tight shorts clearly emphasising his erection. 'Come here,' he said, and slid the bra straps from me, kissing down my neck and onto my shoulder while I simply stood there, totally aware of every millimetre movement of his lips.

'Oh Mitchell,' I sighed as my body melted into his touch and my bra dropped to the floor.

'Susie . . . Susie,' he whispered between kisses. 'I want to touch you, I want to smell you and I want to taste you.'

My stomach went into freefall as he spoke, the rough rasp of his voice causing me to shiver.

'Cold?' he asked.

'No, don't stop talking, it's . . . Ohhhh . . .'

He was sliding his hands down my body, his fingers catching on the side of my breasts until they came to rest on my waist. He looked directly at me. 'Dear God, Susie, you're so amazingly sexy. Your skin is so soft, so warm, you're so alive, so vibrant, so . . .' but I interrupted him by kissing him hard and sinking onto the bed, pulling him with me.

He knelt astride me and kissed down my stomach and then kept going until his tongue was lapping between my legs, seeking out the nub of pleasure and I had no hesitation in letting him know when he found it as electric shocks pulsed through me and I pressed myself against him. It briefly occurred to me that he obviously didn't have a problem with oral sex, so what was that conversation with Annie about? But then his tongue probed deep into me and I raised my knees, my mind filled only with my reaction to his movements.
As his lips returned to my clitoris, my orgasm uncoiled itself inside me and flooded along my nerves. I twisted my fingers into the bed clothes, gripping them tightly as I moaned my release, my body undulating as emotions surged through it.

And then he kissed up my body, pausing at my breasts, before sliding slickly into me, pulsing very slowly, drawing gasps from me as I took pleasure in his languor, but willing him to increase the pace which he did deliciously slowly. I was clinging to him, holding him tightly in my arms, pressing his body against mine, savouring him. He nuzzled at my neck, nibbling the skin and I released a moan. His body was tensing, drawing me towards climax, upping the pace in time with my body's rhythm. As I came, I sank nails into his back and he thrust deeper and harder, pushing me up the bed against my resistance until I could bear the intensity no longer and, with a shuddering sigh, all the tension left my limbs and I whimpered with the emotional release.

He held me, stroking my hair, keeping me close against him as I drifted into sleep.

Over the next few weeks, we saw each other as often as we could. There was one weekend where he said he had plans with George, but other than that, we would snatch a few hours together, mainly in bed, between me finishing my early shift and him starting his night shift. He was becoming a part of my life. One that I hoped wouldn't disappear, despite his odd little foibles like always wearing sunglasses when we were out, and his inability to brush his hair. But I felt he was keeping something from me, and not just access to a mirror in his bedroom.

'John Mitchell, you've got to tell her!'

'How, Annie? It's not something you can just drop into conversation, is it?'

I sat on the stairs, my legs feeling suddenly wobbly. Tell me what? What was so important that he couldn't tell me?

'Mitchell, you can't not tell her!'

'I know.' There was a long pause. 'I know I have to. But that'll be it, won't it?'

'It wasn't for Nina.'

'It's different with George.'

'Well you've got two choices. You don't tell her and she finds out and that'll be it, or you tell her and give her the chance to make up her own mind.'

'About what?' I asked, entering the kitchen.

Annie gasped and Mitchell muttered 'Shit' under his breath.

I was shaking, holding onto the doorframe as I watched them both. Annie was frozen whereas Mitchell was shredding a piece of kitchen roll.

'Susie, we need to talk.'

'I'll make coffee,' Annie said, mobile once again.

I took a seat on the armchair and Mitchell sat on the sofa, turning towards me. 'I don't know how to tell you this,' he began, picking at his fingernails.

'You're married?'

'No. Nothing like that.' I waited, having no idea how this was going to progress. 'Susie, I'm sorry, I should never have kept this from you, but I didn't know I was going to feel this way about you.' I was shaking and he reached out his hand to take mine. 'Susie, I'm begging you to believe me. I'm . . . I'm a vampire.'

I laughed icily. 'Nice one. And I suppose Annie's a fairy and George is a . . . ninja turtle.'

'No, Annie's a ghost and George is a werewolf.'

'Oh, even better,' I said, grinning.

'I am,' Annie said, appearing with two cups of coffee. 'It's true.'

I shook my head. She was playing along. How convenient.

'Susie, look at me,' Mitchell said. And then his eyes turned black and he bared fanged teeth at me, hissing, before his face returned to the one I recognised.

My breath was coming in short gasps and I looked towards Annie for reassurance. She nodded at me. 'It's true.' And then she began to fade, shimmering in the daylight until she had almost disappeared, slowly returning to full visibility.

I stood, despite my legs wobbling, my gaze switching between the two of them. 'You're a vampire? I . . .' and then I could remember no more as the floor came hurtling towards me.

'She's coming round.' I could hear Annie, but it was Nina's face that I focused on. I tried to sit up, but nausea overcame me and I sank back onto the sofa.

'Susie, it's OK. You've just had a shock.'

'Nina? Are you . . .?'

She applied a fresh cold flannel to my forehead. 'I'm a nurse. That's the most important thing at the moment.'

'But you know about . . .?'

'George, and Annie, and Mitchell? Yes, I know.'

This couldn't be real. I must be dreaming. Or having a nightmare. Except my body was still aching from my lovemaking with Mitchell. I hadn't imagined that. But now . . .

'Mitchell?'

He'd been sitting behind me, but drew up his chair next to me looking worried. 'I'm sorry, Susie. I didn't mean you to find out like this. In fact, I never meant for "us" to happen at all.' At this point I burst into tears, but then his arms were around me and I was sobbing on his shoulder. And then he held me tighter and whispered, 'But I love you, Susie. I'm in love with you.'

It was a difficult day, the questions, the trying to understand. Looking in the bathroom mirror with Mitchell standing next to me in the "flesh" but a total absence of reflection. Talking to Annie and Nina, and then the long conversation with George, and finally back to Mitchell.

I couldn't leave until I was convinced one way or another. Either it was all an elaborate joke or he was telling the truth. But the truth was impossible. My head was hurting trying to understand it all, but Mitchell patiently explained how he had been turned, and how he now lived. And looking into those deep, sad eyes, I wanted to understand. I wanted to believe. I wanted to love him back.

In the early evening, we accompanied Annie to the pub, but it was so quiet, she sat with us. I nursed a brandy. 'So, Annie, you're a ghost because your fiancé pushed you down the stairs. But he's now with . . . Janey who's orange.'

'Yes,' Annie confirmed. 'Orange.' As though that was the most important piece of information in the summary.

'George, you're a werewolf. And you scratched Nina, so she's a werewolf too?' They both nodded. Mitchell was hunched next to me, looking tortured and pained. 'And you're a vampire.' He couldn't meet my eyes, simply nodded. 'But I'm not. You said I wasn't.'

'That's right,' Annie said. 'You need to be bitten by a vampire and then suck their blood. Isn't that right, Mitchell?' He nodded again.

'IF this is all real, and my head still feels like it's going to explode trying to take in any of this, well, what happens now?'

There was silence round the table. 'Obviously we'd rather you didn't tell anyone about what you know,' George said, quietly.

'I don't think that's likely. I don't want to be hauled off to the loony bin, thank you.'

'I suppose we should all be grateful for that,' George replied softly.

And then it dawned on me and I slammed the heel of my hand against my forehead. 'Of course! My job. How could I have not seen it before?'

'No!' Mitchell snapped. 'It doesn't work like that.'

'Oh, I suppose you needed to come up with a good excuse to get the first pint from me. Or maybe take you along to a blood donation session where you could help yourself when I wasn't looking. "Come this way, nice fresh donor. Welcome to the Blood Bank of Mitchell. Let me make a withdrawal." How could I have been so stupid?'

Mitchell glared ferociously at his tomato juice, a muscle twitching in his cheek.

'Mitchell?' He looked up at George. 'Aren't you going to say anything to Susie?'

He took a deep breath. 'I don't think anything I can say will make the slightest difference. Do you?'

'Well, that's that then,' and I stood to leave, picking up my bag. 'It's been . . . interesting.'

Part of me was hoping that Mitchell would come after me, part of me just wanting to get away to clear my head. I didn't go straight home. Instead I walked and walked in the darkness and, later, pouring rain. I was shivering, my hair plastered to my head, when I arrived home and started running a hot bath. Sinking into the bubbles with a glass of wine I started to laugh. Trust me to be the one to find a gorgeous and sexy bloke only for him to be a hundred year old vampire. How unlucky could I be? Except . . . except not only was he gorgeous and sexy, he was funny and vulnerable, brave and caring, kind and compassionate . . . and gorgeous and sexy.

This was ridiculous. Either he, and all his friends, were completely barking -- George and Nina literally - or they'd simply taken a stupid joke too far. But that didn't explain the lack of reflection in the mirror, unless that was some kind of magic trick. Where was Jonathan Creek when you needed him?

Even after the relaxing bath, I couldn't sleep, thoughts of Mitchell encroaching on my mind even though he was out of my life. Except that thought was too painful. Damn it. Damn him.

I dressed and waited at the bus stop for the last night bus heading in the direction of the hospital. In the early hours of a Sunday morning, the clientele were a mix of students who'd been out all night and early morning workers. I knew Mitchell finished at 8, but sometimes got away earlier if it was quiet. I bought a coffee from the machine, the cafe not yet open, and took a seat at a table where I could see the staff entrance and exit.

At 7.30, a familiar figure hunched his way out of the door, waving a fingerless-gloved hand at one of his colleagues. My drink long-since finished, I dropped the cup in the bin and trotted after him.

'Mitchell! Mitchell, wait.'

He turned and there was a fleeting look of hope on his face before his features closed and he looked at me warily.

'Did you leave some things at the house?' he asked.

I shrugged. 'Dunno. Maybe. Probably. But I wanted to see you.' He was squinting slightly in the morning light. 'Can we talk?' He nodded. 'Shall we go back to the house?'

We walked in silence although I was very aware of his presence. He opened the front door onto a seemingly empty house.

'Coffee?' he asked.

'No thanks. What the . . .?' Written, well, smeared on the living room wall in foot high letters was "MITCHELL IS A STUPID BASTRD". The first four and a half words were in red, the final three letters a kind of muddy brown. 'Who did that?'

'Annie. She was a bit annoyed with me.'

'Is that . . . blood?'

'Erm, no, ketchup. A whole squeezy bottle. When she ran out she resorted to brown sauce. George won't be happy.'

'But why did she write it?'

'Because of you.' I pulled an embarrassed face. 'She thought I should have come after you last night so she went all poltergeist on my ass. As they'd say in America. Stupid thing is, she was right.' He flung himself loose-limbed onto the sofa. 'Susie, I'm sorry.'

'For . . .?'

'For not being honest with you from the start.' He leaned forward, elbows on knees. 'But it's not exactly a good opening line, is it? Hi, I'm John Mitchell and I'm a vampire.'

'To be fair, it's not one I ever thought I'd hear. Mitchell, about last night. I'm sorry I walked out.'

'Understandable, under the circumstances.'

He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers. I desperately wanted to reach out and touch him, stroke away the tension.

'Have you had a human girlfriend before?' I asked.

He nodded. 'Josie. It was . . . 40 years ago now.'

'Did she become a . . . one of you?'

'No. She wouldn't.'

'What happened to her?'

'She . . . died.' His face was completely closed to me.

'I'm sorry.'

'It was what she wanted. Her choice. But I can't do this again. Not to you.'

I knelt on the floor in front of him. 'Mitchell, help me. Help me understand.'

He cupped my face with his hands, stroking his thumbs over my cheeks, looking directly into my eyes. 'You really want to know?'

'I need to understand. And if I can't . . . if I can't deal with it, then at least I'll have tried.'

We lay on his bed, curtains closed against the daylight.

'Mitchell, why me?'

'Why you what?'

'Why did you choose me? Good veins, right blood group?'

'Don't take the piss.'

'Sorry. But really, why me?'

'Because I know you saved a vampire.'

'I did? When? How?'

'Her name was Julia. She helped me when I first decided I wanted to give up blood because she'd done the same. Do you remember about a year ago? Something that happened outside a club?'

'Well, there was a girl . . . Was she called Julia? I not sure she even told me her name. I'd, er, been thrown out of the club because I gave a guy who was hassling my friend a bit of a mouthful. Unfortunately he was one of the bouncers and chucked me out the back door into an alley. There was a girl there trying to escape from a group of men. I got between her and them and, erm, well, I wasn't in a very good mood by then and I think I must have threatened them a bit. A lot. Of course, it was a stupid thing to do at the time, there were at least three of them, but I was having a very bad evening. So you're telling me they were vampires?'

'Oh yes.'

'But they could have . . . Shit!'

'You must have scared them.'

'Well, me and the group of guys who got thrown out just after me, perhaps. I checked to see if the girl was OK and when I turned back, they'd gone. I thought she'd been attacked. She was covered in blood and it was all over her face and in her hair. She wouldn't go to A&E so I took her home with me and gave her a bath. Strange thing was that I couldn't find any cuts.'

'It was Herrick's mob. They'd been trying to make her drink blood and she wouldn't. They were going to destroy her if they couldn't convert her back to killing.'

'Is she OK?'

'Yes, she's moved away somewhere safe. She was very grateful for what you did.'

'I didn't do much, just put her to bed on the sofa, but in the morning she'd gone. I was just glad she hadn't robbed me or murdered me in my bed.'

'She wouldn't have done that. She's one of the good vampires.'

'I didn't know that. I thought she was human!'

'Anyway, she came to me for a while and told me what had happened, although I never thought I'd ever meet you.'

'But how did you know it was me?'

'She left a mark on you.'

'She did? Where?'

'Oh, you won't be able to see it, it's not physical, more . . . spiritual. But it's there. I could feel it when . . . when you kissed my scars the night we met. There was a connection.'

'George said you couldn't get scarred, but . . .'

He rubbed at his wrist. 'I'd been without human blood for a long time, but a . . . friend needed feeding.'

'Did it hurt?'

'That time, yes.' He looked brooding. 'I thought then that I might be becoming human at last. But . . .' he sighed.

'So this mark Julia left, that was the only reason you chose me?'

'Hell no. You're gorgeous. And funny. And feisty. And yes, that is a good thing. But Julia's mark proved you were, well, different. That maybe you'd understand. And the mark is also a protection against vampires.'

'Except you.'

I sat up on the bed, looking at him, trying to imagine what life would be like with him. I'd get old, he wouldn't. No kids, no holidays in the sun, no normal, comfortable, stable life. Actually, the kids thing wasn't a problem. I had four nieces and nephews and was only too relieved to hand them back after a visit. I wasn't one of life's natural mothers. And holidays in the sun I could always take without him. But what about him? He'd see me getting older, less attractive, and eventually die. If he hadn't already disappeared with someone else. It hardly took being a vampire for that to happen.

'How long have we got together?' I asked him.

'Until what?'

'Until you leave me.'

'Until you die.'

He looked so serious, but still I laughed, even though it was rather hollow. 'I don't believe you.'

'I daresay you didn't believe in vampires, werewolves and ghosts this time last year.'

'True. But you'll move on when I'm old and wrinkled. Can I still eat garlic?'

'What?'

'Look, I'm basing my knowledge of vampires on reading Dracula and watching old horror movies. So far, you're not being very compliant. You go out in daylight, you don't drink blood, George's Star of David doesn't faze you, you don't sleep in a coffin, you don't wear a cape and you've not once turned into a bat.'

'Sorry.'

'What for? Being a dull vampire?'

He laughed. 'Yes. And yes, you can eat garlic.'

'Thank God. I'm quite prepared to give up kids and beaches, but there's no way I'm foregoing garlic bread and chicken Kiev.'

'Kids and beaches?' I blushed and he pulled me closer to him. 'Does that mean you're willing to give us a try? After all, you already saved one vampire. Perhaps you could try again with this one.'

'I could be Susie the Vampire Saver. It would be easy compared with what you, Annie and George have done.'

'It's just what any other vampire, ghost and werewolf would have done.'

I laughed, the tension dissipating from my body, and I relaxed against him, his arm protectively around my shoulder.

'OK?' he asked, softly stroking my skin. It felt so good.

'Getting there. It's still a bit . . . new.'

'Yeah, well, I suppose I've had a lot longer to get used to it. But we can get through this together.' He started to kiss me. Softly. Gently. Beautifully. I couldn't resist him. Maybe it wouldn't last, but at this precise moment there was nowhere else I wanted to be other than in his arms, his lips moulding against mine, the taste and smell of him at once familiar and erotic. His fingers tightened on my arms, holding me closer against him, drawing me tight against him so I could feel the strength of his muscles.

This time we really did take it slowly, because he deliberately stopped me upping the pace, building up my trust in him, getting to know him as John Mitchell, the vampire. My vampire. He delicately slipped my bra straps from my shoulders, kissing down my neck and along my collar bone before his fingers stroked over my breasts and my body arched up towards him. The gentle stroking of his fingers became firmer as he traversed the contours of my body, my nerves tingling with anticipation of his touch.

He started to caress my breasts and then his mouth followed his fingers and I could feel my breathing deepen. He stroked down my body, parting my legs with his fingers, finding my warmth, my wetness, drawing it from me and using it to rub across my clitoris. It felt heavenly as he stroked and strafed me, triggering the uncoiling of my orgasm which wound through my body causing me to cling to him as I moaned my release, pressing myself hard against his fingers. And then slowly, exquisitely slowly, he withdrew his fingers from me and entered me, pulsing to my rhythm as I began to up the pace, feeling him moving within me, triggering the start of my next orgasm. As he moved his body against mine, he whispered my name and it felt so right that I was there with him. I wrapped my arms tight around him as he held me and my orgasm flooded through me with the intensity of an ocean wave, making my body shudder with sheer ecstasy.

I was gasping his name, clinging to his lithe, firm body, wanting to feel his skin against mine. No heartbeat, I knew that, but perhaps for a moment, he shared my existence. He'd be alive a lot longer than me, but I wasn't scared of death, only of life without Mitchell. He needed me, needed human contact, needed love.

I warmed him with the heat of my body, love and lust flowing between us. Perhaps I could never be enough for him, but I would try.

'Mitchell,' I whispered as he held me close. 'I never realised it would be so tough.'

'What, Susie? Whatever it is, we can work it out together.'

'Just . . . being human.'