It was the weekend, time away from school, so she had spent the evening sat in the chapel. She had stored a small stack of books within the building, just in case she could ever get five minutes to herself. Solitary time was a rarity these days, thanks to the six brothers who lived with her. Today, however, she had been alone for most of the night and had the time to finish a short novel. Yui shut the book and rested it in her lap, rolling her head back with a sigh. Rain was pelting the roof, creating a wonderful sound that echoed around the chapel. Peace, finally.

It had been a long day. Reiji was away on business, leaving the rest of the to run wild around the mansion. She had been woken by Kanato jumping on her bed, demanding that she play with him. 'Play-time' had turned out to be a vicious attack on her neck which had resulted in her having to throw away her bloodied night-gown and sheets. After breakfast, she had been intending to explore the rest of the house in the hopes of finding out more information on why her Father had sent her there, but bumped into Subaru in one of the upstairs corridors. He had pushed her roughly against the wall and drained her wrist until she screamed. Laito heard her cries for help and decided to join Subaru, pushing his fangs into a thick vein in her thigh. After moving their positions a number of times, littering her body with bite marks, they had dropped her to the floor and left her alone, light-headed and on the verge of being sick. Eventually, Shu walked past, eyes closed, music blaring from his headphones. Yui had raised a bloody hand and pleaded for his help, as she could barely stand and her vision was hazy. He simply walked past in silence. She couldn't believe the Sakamaki's lack of compassion. When she gathered enough strength to move, she had stumbled to the chapel straight away. She dreaded running into Ayato - his attacks were by far the most painful and she couldn't take anymore.

The brothers' treatment of her today was deplorable. She couldn't bear any more of this - for the first time in her life, anger was bubbling in her chest to the point of exploding.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the loud clang of the chapel clock. Midnight. Yui's heart pounded with the chimes. She was late for dinner! In the dark of the night it was near impossible to see any detail to the hulking black mass that was Sakamaki mansion but even from the shadowy outline, she knew it was gargantuan - a twisting maze of darkened corridors and expansive rooms. It was a short walk from the chapel to the porch but the sheer volume of rain falling from the sky caused Yui to be soaked to the skin by the time she arrived. Eager to get into the warmth of the house, she pushed on the ornate front door but found that it would not budge. This was not good at all! Nervously, she pressed her finger to the doorbell. A loud shriek echoed inside, yet, even after five minutes, no-one came to greet her. The brothers were definitely aware that she was on the estate, they had to be in! Eventually, Yui banged her fist against the shiny black door and found that it swung open upon impact.

Tentatively, she entered the hallway, finding it well lit and delightfully warm. After gently closing the door behind her, she walked further into the cavernous room. Two sweeping staircases lined the room, leading to a large landing that held three, dark green doors. To her left and right were two other rooms, one which looked like a sitting room, the other a large, open ballroom. The hallways stretched on and on in both directions, so far that she could only see darkness at either end. Straight in front of her was a small set of armchairs and numerous tables that were decorated with vases of lilies, whose scent lingered heavily in the air. The floor was a black and white chequered marble, and the majority of the walls were a deep emerald green, though a number were simply a shining mahogany - each was lined with paintings.

Yui closed the door gently behind her and began to wring the rainwater from her hair. As she removed her coat, she failed to notice the set of eyes that watched her from the darkness of the landing.

"Hey, Pancake."

Yui nearly jumped from her skin at the sound of another voice. She span back around to see a tall figure standing at the top of the staircase. Ayato Sakamaki, impeccably dressed in a dark jumper and dress trousers. His shock of messy red tendrils was even wilder than usual and his cat-like green eyes shone mischievously as he watched her. His trademark smirk was firmly set in place. He was leaning against the wooden bannister, bent at the waist with one hand stuck under his chin, as if he had been observing her for some time.

"Goodness! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," she said, placing her coat on the stand next to the door. "Um, I'm sorry I'm late, please just let me-"

"Let you what?" the man replied, pushing himself off the bannister. He began to walk down the left staircase, never taking his eyes from her. He wore an odd expression - a friendly smile, with a strangely cold gaze. "You've already missed dinner, so you'll just have to go without tonight."

"I-I'm sorry, Ayato," Yui replied, frowning. She needed to eat, or else the brothers could do her serious damage - she would just have to sneak down to the kitchen later. The young man stood in front of her now, a little closer than she would have liked, in fact, his presence was a unnerving. "I suppose I will just go to my room, as dinner is over."

The man's smile seemed to widen and he caught hold of her arm as she tried to maneuver past him. "Not so fast, little girl. I'm thirsty."

"Get off me!" Yui snapped, tearing her arm away from him grasp. Ayato's mouth dropped open but she began to speak before he could. "Don't you dare touch me."

The red-head scowled and pushed her back against the front door. "How dare you speak to me like that? You have no right to deny me."

Yui glared at him as he caged her in between his arms. "I have every right to deny you. It's my blood, not yours."

"But-"

"No. No more of this," she said, voice low. She ducked under his arm and strode away from him, heading toward her room.

Ayato didn't move for a moment, still shocked by her sudden outburst. He shook his head and pushed himself away from the door, turning to watch her making her way up the stairs. "Yui! Get your ass back here now!"

The girl didn't reply, she ignored him completely and carried on up the stairs and down the hallway to her room. She let out an irritable sigh - blasted vampires! They assumed that because they were inhuman that they could be inhumane. Well not anymore, she had had enough!

As she opened the door to her room, she was not surprised to see Ayato standing in front of her bed. He was staring at her, eyes shining with anger and hands clenched at his side.

"Ayato, please, just go away," she said, bluntly.

His green eyes narrowed and he marched toward her, grabbing her shoulders in his hands. He leaned down to her level to look her dead in the eye. "Make me."

Yui flinched. She had never stood up for herself in this way before, but she was tired of being weak. Swiftly, she raised her hand and jabbed finger in his right eye. Immediately, he shot backward, hand flying to the assaulted area.

"Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his eye furiously. "What the fuck, Pancake?"

She moved around him and hurried to her dresser, quickly removing the knife gifted to her by Subaru. He had told her it would kill a vampire, so long as it was driven through the heart. She questioned her ability to kill Ayato, or any of the Sakamaki brothers, despite their mistreatment of her. Thou shalt not kill.

As her fingers clasped the silver knife, a low growl sounded behind her. Suddenly, an arm wound around her waist and she was flung to the bed, with Ayato's heavy weight straddling her middle. As he placed a cold hand around her throat, she raised the knife and leveled it at his chest, digging it in just enough to make him aware of its presence. The man stopped squeezing harder, but kept his hand in place. His gaze flicked down to the knife and he raised a brow in question.

"Now there's a surprise," he murmured, looking back at Yui. She stared back, eyes wide with fright. Her fingers were trembling, but she managed to keep a firm grip on the blade.

"Get off me," she ordered, voice shaking far more than she intended.

Ayato chuckled darkly and leaned forward. She gasped and quickly moved the blade back, frightened that he would pierce himself on its deadly point. He smirked at her reaction and cocked his head. "See. You would never be able to kill me, little girl."

"I-"

"Put the knife down," he demanded, smile dropping.

"What will happen if I do?" she whispered, terrified. If she let it go, he would surely do something dreadful, but he knew well that she could never kill him. Her courage was faltering.

Ayato grinned at her widely. He moved one of his hands toward the blade and gently pressed two fingers against the metal. Slowly, he pushed the knife down, until it rested flat on her stomach, at which point he clasped the handle and threw it to the floor.

"Now that's better, isn't it, Pancake?" he hissed, looking back at her. She raised her hands to push him off but he caught them swiftly in his own and pushed them either side of her head. "We always end up in this position, don't we?"

"Get off me Ayato," Yui replied, trying to twist her wrists out of his iron grip. "I mean it, get off!"

"And what are you going to do if I don't?" he snapped back at her, near spitting in her face. "We both know you aren't going to kill me and what else can you do? You are nothing compared to a vampire, Yui!"

He released one of her hands and moved it into her hair, tugging roughly on the blonde curls until the girl cried out in pain. With a grin, he lowered his mouth to her neck but paused when he noted four sets of fresh bite marks on her skin. He frowned and gripped her hair tighter, forcing her to look back at him. "How many times have you been bitten today? And by who? And where?"

"Why do you care?" she replied, holding back tears.

"Answer me."

"I don't know how many times. And by everyone in the house except for Shu," she said. Yui knew what was coming - either Ayato would find somewhere unblemished and feed from her, or he would grow angry thay anyone would dare to touch 'his property' and punish her for it.

Ayato's features settled into an blank expression. He was quiet for a moment, then leaned back and looked at her intently. "Take your clothes off."

Yui gaped at him incredulously. "What? No."

"I'm not going to touch you. I just want to see the damage. You can leave your underwear on," he replied, shortly.

"I'm not going to-"

"Look, either you can do it or I will," he threatened, folding his arms across his chest. He smirked at her and winked. "Not that I would mind that."

"Okay, fine! Just get off me so I can do it," she retorted, pushing his chest away from her. He complied with a chuckle and rolled off her to the other side of the bed.

"As you wish, Pancake."

Yui got to her feet and turned away from him, face flushing red with embarrassment. No man had ever seen her without her clothes on before and the thought turned her stomach. There was something else, mixed in with her feelings of shame, though she couldn't pinpoint what it was. It caused her heart to flutter and her hands began to shake. She shed her clothes quickly, leaving her modest, blue underwear in place, then turned back to him. He was lounging on the bed, feet crossed at the ankles and head propped up on one arm.

"There," she said, looking down at the ground. She placed one arm across her tummy, as if it would cover her.

Ayato grabbed her arm and pulled her back down onto the bed, despite her protests. His eyes raked over her body slowly, brow furrowing slightly whenever he came across a new bite mark. There was five from Kanato on her neck - he could tell by the scratches around the edges. Kanato's frantic behaviour meant that he never made a clean bite. Her wrists were covered in more from Subaru and Laito. With a frown, he noted that there were several on her thighs and stomach from those two. Anger clouded his vision as he looked at the marks.

"Ayato, stop, you're hurting me!"

He looked back at Yui's face and noticed her features twisted in pain. Without realising, he had been squeezing her thigh with his left hand and he quickly withdrew it. Normally, he would punish the girl for allowing his brothers to feast on her, but-

From her outburst earlier she clearly hadn't invited them to - she didn't want vampires anywhere near her. Nor was she in any position to stop them, no mere mortal would be able to. He leaned back and rested a hand on her knee. No, this was not her fault. He could make her suffer further, the idea certainly appealed to him.

"What would you do if I drank your blood now, Yui? Would you struggle?"

Yui sighed and looked away from him, her eyes dulling. "No, I wouldn't struggle. There's little point."

Ayato frowned - he enjoyed her fighting. "Then what would you do?"

She looked back at him and bluntly stated, "I would hate you."

Her response confused him slightly. As much as the scent of her blood called to him, as much as it was his right to take it - did he want Yui to hate him? He was shocked to find that the answer was no.

Yui stiffened as Ayato lowered his head to her neck, preparing herself for his fangs to enter her skin. Instead she felt his tongue lap at the wounds and she gasped at the sensation. "W-what are you doing?"

Ayato raised his head. "Vampire saliva helps heal fang wounds quickly. My brothers clearly didn't bother this afternoon."

"Oh."

Yui was confused. Never before had Ayato shown any care toward her - what was he intending to do? Was he healing her so he could drain her without killing her? His tongue left a cooling sensation behind on her skin, soothing the raw marks around her neck, then her collarbone. Surely he just wanted to remove the marks so that he could claim her completely as his own? Selfish, possessive bastard. A thousand possibilities ran through her head until -

"Ah!" she gasped, as his tongue ran over the inside of her thigh.

He paused and looked up at her, quirking an eyebrow. "What's the matter, Pancake? Did I hit a sensitive spot?"

"N-no, not at all, I was just surprised," she replied, steadying her breathing.

Ayato chuckled darkly and moved back down to her legs, sliding his tongue from her knee to mid-thigh. His hand gently stroked the other and he noted how she began to tremble. "Are you sure? Your skin is getting so heated. And I can hear your heart beating faster. Are you nervous?"

"Of course I'm nervous!' she replied, indignantly. "You're a vampire and-"

"It's not that though, is it Yui?" he smiled, voice smooth and sultry. The way he emphasized her name made butterflies rise in her stomach and she squirmed. He laughed again and moved up her leg to lap at the final bite mark, placed high on her inner thigh.

The girl could barely breathe as he lapped gently at the wound. Her mind was railing at the sensations Ayato was causing and her body relished in them. This wasn't right, he was her captor, her main tormentor - surely she should make him stop. But as much as she tried to push the words from her mouth, all that left was a guttural moan.

Immediately, she clapped a hand over her mouth, horrified. Ayato smirked into her skin and softly kissed the area he had just been licking.

"Do you want me to stop?" he asked, leaning back onto his heels.

"No!" she cried out, not wanting the feeling to disappear. As the vampire began to laugh, she shook her head and began to protest, ashamed of her reaction. "No, I mean, yes, I want you to-"

"Too late," he chirped, pulling her closer to him by hooking his hands under her knees. She started to speak, but was quickly silenced when he licked her lower stomach and trailed it down to her right hip.

"Ayato, what are you-"

"Just relax," he hummed against her skin.

Relax? Her muscles were tense - she was still ready to run from him if she needed to. Yui's heart pounded hard against her chest as he crawled up her body and laid down beside her. She turned her head to look at him and suddenly felt his lips press against hers. His lips were cold, but soft to the touch and he was uncharacteristically gentle. She relaxed, letting the pleasant feeling overtake her rationale.

Ayato pulled back and she could see his green eyes were hazy with desire. The butterflies in Yui's stomach threatened to burst from her skin when he leaned forward and began to place small kisses on her ear.

"I'm going to try something you won't have experienced before," he whispered, lips curving into a smirk. "I promise you'll enjoy it."

He captured her lips in a kiss again and raised one hand to her shoulder. Carefully, he stroked across her collarbone, eliciting a small sigh from Yui. She couldn't deny that she was enjoying the feeling of him stroking her body - each touch removed more tension from her body. His hand ran over her stomach and paused at the waistband of her underwear.

"You know," he began, tilting his head down. "These are far too plain."

"They are?" Yui replied. She let out a gasp as she felt his hand dip below the hem and smooth over the outside of her cunt. He moved his hand lower and slowly sunk his fingertip inside of her.

"Oh my," he chuckled, darkly, pressing his lips against her neck. "You are so wet for me."

Yui closed her eyes as he removed his finger and trailed it further upward, lightly grazing her clit. She let out a cry and couldn't stop her hips from jerking upwards. It was as if an electric current was running between his fingers and her skin and she couldn't help her body's reaction. Ayato began to draw lazy circles around her clit, whilst pressing rougher kisses against her neck. Her eyes opened when she felt his hand clasp around her chin. He turned her head to look at him and fixed her gaze.

"I want you to look at me when you come," he hissed, pressing his forehead against hers.

"I-I-" Yui stammered, unable to form words as pleasure tightened in her abdomen.

One hand moved to her hair, the other began moving faster and harder against her clit. "And say my name. I want you to say my name when you come for the first time."

Any previous gentleness had dissipated. His hand tugged on her hair until pain mixed with pleasure. His nimble fingers quickened. His mouth sucked and bit down on her skin, though never hard enough to tear. Eventually, the feeling growing inside of her escalated until -

"Oh, God," she cried, body trembling as an initial wave of pleasure rolled over her body. He tightened the hand in her hair.

"Say my name," he growled, close to her ear. "Say it!"

Yui opened her eyes and weakly stammered out, "A-Ayato!"

"Good girl," he murmured, as he pressed a rough kiss to her lips. His touch grew softer and eventually he pulled away from her, letting her fall to the pillow, exhausted.

Ayato removed his hand from her underwear and noisily licked his fingers. "This might be even better than your blood, Pancake."

Yui rolled her eyes and let out a breath. She was still reeling from the alien sensation she had just felt. Ayato observed her silently for a moment, eyes moving up and down her body.

"What?" she asked, feeling a little embarrassed under his hawk-like gaze.

"Nothing. I just wanted to-" he paused. "Actually, we'll save that for another day."

"Save what?" she replied, curiously. He grinned back at her.

"It's a surprise. By the way, you may want to change your underwear," he said, gripping her cunt in his hand and squeezing. "You're soaked."

Yui batted his hand away and pushed herself into a sitting position. As she looked away from him, guilt began to wash over her. What had she done? Why hadn't she pushed him away - had she enjoyed it?

"Urgh," he muttered from behind her.

"What?" she answered, picking her clothes up from the floor and shielding her body with them.

"Stop thinking so much."

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" she retorted, crossing the room toward the en-suite shower room. She turned to see him laying on the bed with his arms folded over his eyes, as if blocking out the light.

"You think so loudly, Pancake. You're so obvious. Stop fucking worrying," he stood then, and took a few steps toward her. "And, next time my brothers corner you, call out for me. I'll hear and I can get them off you."

Yui smiled softly and tilted her head. He was so strange. Had something changed between them, or was this merely a show for tonight? "Thank you, Ayato."

"Don't thank me. I'm only doing it because I want your blood to myself," he snapped, turning back to the bed. "Now hurry up and do what you need to do. I want to sleep."

"You don't have to wait for me, you can go back to your room whene-"

Ayato span on his heel and rushed toward her, backing her into the door which led to the bathroom. He grinned widely, showing off his fangs. "I'm staying here tonight."

Yui furrowed her brow, confused. Her body was exhausted, she just wanted to sleep. She could not lose any more blood today, so what did he want? He didn't expect her to continue with what they had been doing- did he? "Ayato, I'm really tired. I-"

"Oh shut up, Pancake," he chided, cupping her chin in his hand. "I'm not going to drink your blood tonight."

"Then why-?"

He leaned forward to speak in her ear. "And I'm not going to fuck you tonight. I just want to sleep."

"Oh, um, okay," she replied.

"Good girl," he said, with a smile. He span her around and slapped her bottom hard, jolting her in the direction of the bathroom. "Now, hurry up."

-0-

Yui shut the door to the bathroom behind her and headed toward the bed. She felt so tired after a hot shower and couldn't wait to get some rest. After dropping her wash-bag on her dressing table, she turned back to the four-poster and observed the red-haired vampire who now lay under the covers. His shirt and trousers were flung on the floor near her feet and she could see his bare chest peeking out from the duvet. Her pulse quickened slightly as she nervously slipped under the covers next to him. She scooted as far to the other side as she could, though was quickly tugged back into the middle by Ayato. He flipped the light-switch and wrapped a cold arm around her waist. She felt his lips touch the back of her neck.

For the first time, she didn't feel afraid of him, or of the darkness surrounding them. His arm felt almost comforting. Yui frowned into her pillow - she could not think of him in this way. He was still a Sakamaki vampire. He had no soul. He had thrown her in a pool just to prove a point, for Heaven's sake! She would be careful, she would not be seduced his touch so easily in the future. She would not be seduced at all!

She closed her eyes and tried to ignore the scene playing over in her head and the butterflies rising in her stomach.