"No, week before last." James smiled and shoved another handful of popcorn into his mouth. The first time I"d seen him eat, I almost fell over. I had no idea vampires could consume food. He laughed at my ignorance. Apparently, vampires could eat whatever they wanted. They craved blood and needed it to survive. Junk food was just a fringe benefit.
A shiver ran through me and I drew the blanket up around me. It slid back down a bit and I tugged on it again. This time it didn"t move. Glancing down at James, I caught him pulling it towards him. I tugged and he followed suit. This continued, the two of us playfully aggravating one another. I wiggled a bit, trying to get comfortable and froze. Having James" body directly behind mine hadn"t been an issue once in all the weeks we"d been doing it. Now, I could feel his clothed erection pushing against the back of my legs. He moved a smidge, and I got a "clear picture" of just what James was packin".
He tugged on the blanket again, drawing my attention away from the "third party" on the couch with us. A devilish grin stretched across his face.
Caradoc cleared his throat and we both looked over at him. His gaze wasfocused on James. And his look was anything but pleasant. "Perhaps it would be best if James moved from the sofa."
"We"re good, Caradoc. There"s plenty of room on here." I twisted a bit to better see him. This left the back of my legs pressed solidly against James" still hard member. I ignored it. Really, what else is a girl to do? Laugh and point? I think not. Well, not in this situation anyway.
Besides, from my size calculation, it was James who"d have the last laugh anyways. I did have a new respect for the women he dated. Somehow, they managed to walk the next morning.
Caradoc"s green gaze swept over me and his face softened a bit. I smiled.
"You know ... this folds out into a bed. We could all lay on it and watch the movie. You don"t have to sit by yourself in the chair. We don"t ...
scratch that ... I don"t bite."
"Hey, I take offense to that comment. Oh, wait you"ve got a point. I do bite, nibble, chomp and whatever else I can think to do. No worries though, I"ll not be bittin" him anytime soon. He"s bitter. Just look at that scowl."
"James, he is not bitter! He"s refined ... a gentleman." I tossed my hands in the air and shook my head. "Forget it! It"d be easier to describe color to the blind."
"Hey now! I"d watch yourself there. I"m likely to bite you if you keep it up." James pulled the blanket towards him and wrinkled his nose at me.
"You"d think after all these centuries, you"d be a little more mature," I said, laughing softly. Caradoc grunted and I focused my attention back on him. "So, wanna come hang out with us?"
His gaze locked on James, but he spoke to me. "I am fine here, but thank you for your kind offer."
I had one of those moments. The kind where you know something"s wrong, but you just don"t know what. The tension in the room dissipated before I had a chance to comment. Yanking the blanket away from James, I laughed softly and covered up.
James pushed gently on my back with his feet. He wiggled his toes and went for my sides. Giggling, I tried to push his feet away but hisvampire strength out matched mine twenty to one. Caradoc cleared his throat and James pulled his foot away. We lay silent for a while, watching the movie. The weird feeling was back, but I didn"t question them on it.
My stomach rumbled and I eyed the bowl of popcorn. It was on the coffee table, but more towards James" end. Leaning towards him, I put my hand in the bowl to get more popcorn. James must have had the same idea as me because he reached forward at the same time. My hand brushed over his and his hand stiffened. His pinky finger ran over the back of my hand softly, and I hesitated for a moment watching his face. His eyes never left the television screen.
It was an odd gesture. One I wasn"t too sure I wanted to a.n.a.lyze further, so I focused on the film. James had a habit of renting movies that involved vampires. He liked to see the way Hollywood was portraying "his people." This particular movie was most definitely a B-movie. It starred a busty blonde who, surprisingly enough, had to run around in her skivvies and high heels to avoid the big-bad-vampire. She, of course, finds herself trapped and falls for his hypnotic powers and devilish good looks.
From the corner of my eye, I caught a glimpse of Caradoc peering over the top if his book at the movie. He shook his head in disgust. Looks like I wasn"t the only one who found this flick tasteless. James was one hundred percent into it so I munched on my popcorn and watched it in silence. The longer I sat there, the worse I began to feel.
Out of the blue, I was cold again. Feeling like I was on the verge of going into a deep freeze was getting old fast. "I"m cold, guys. I"m going to go put some warmer clothes on."
James touched my leg tenderly. His hand felt warm. "You all right? I can get you another blanket."
"I"m fine," I said, reaching down and patting his hand. "I"ll just toss something warmer on. I"ll be right back. Take notes on the movie. I"d really hate to miss anything."
James caught my hand in his. A warm sensation ran up my arm. "Gwen, is somethin" a matter?""She said she is fine," Caradoc said, biting out each word.
I squeezed James" hand and smiled down at him. "I"m fine, Hon, really."
"Right then, give a call out if you need me ... us."
Nodding, I pulled my hand from his and mourned the loss of the warmth he"d provided. Yeah, things were bad--a dead guy seemed warm to me.
I walked past Caradoc who was now back to memorizing another line from his autobiography and shook my head. Crazy vamps. I went up to my bedroom, and put a sweatshirt on over my sweater and shirt.
Satisfied, I headed down towards the bas.e.m.e.nt, intent on checking the furnace. Caleb had sworn that he turned it on today, even though he"d put up such a fight about turning it on. He kept going on and on about the fact it was still sixty degrees outside. It didn"t matter--I was cold and wanted heat. He buckled, or at least I thought he did.
James stood at the bottom of the steps and stared up at me. "Gwen, are sure you"re all right?"
"I"m fine, why?"
He looked me over twice. "You expectin" a blizzard then?"
I headed down to the last step and stopped in front of James. Standing on the step put me eye level with him. It was nice, but a bit unnerving. His eyes were very, very blue. Why hadn"t I noticed how deep they were before? Lost for a moment in his eyes, I was surprised when I felt his hand on my cheek. It seemed even warmer that it had earlier. That scared me. He jerked his hand back. "Caradoc!"
Caradoc appeared next to him out of thin air. This, thankfully, was something I was growing accustomed to. "What is the problem?"
"She"s friggin" freezing. Touch her!"
Caradoc did. A shadow pa.s.sed over his face and he nodded towards the door. "Gwen, stay here." The two of them headed for the front door, leaving me standing there dressed for winter. I knew that they went outthere to discuss me. I didn"t really care. I was hungry again. I"d already had a big plate of pasta, then popcorn and that normally would have filled me up but it didn"t.
I headed out to the kitchen to get a snack. I settled on vanilla ice cream with bacon bits sprinkled on top. I"d never eaten them together before, but was craving something and that seemed to fit the bill. I heard Caradoc and James coming in the front door, they weren"t speaking.
I"m sure that they didn"t want to concern me. I was getting used to that, too. James walked into the kitchen first. His gaze darted to what I was eating. He crinkled his nose up like he smelled a rotten egg.
"Yuck! Are you barkin" mad? That"s disgustin", Gwen."
Smiling at him, I licked the spoon. It was good but didn"t hit the spot.
Caradoc came in next, carrying their blue cooler stocked full of blood.
He set it on the countertop and opened the lid. James walked over, grabbed two gla.s.ses off the shelf and handed them to Caradoc, who then in turn filled them to the rim. Watching them drink blood out of my gla.s.ses used to creep me out. I would run them through the dishwasher twice after they left, but tonight it was doing the exact opposite. Watching them drink made me hungry. James set his gla.s.s down on the table. I swept my hand out and picked it up. After all, it couldn"t be that bad, they drank it, right? Without thought, I slammed it. It was thick and cold and slid down my throat easily. It tasted so sweet and different than I thought it would be--it was delicious. I drained the gla.s.s and set it down on the table.
The room was quiet. For a moment, I thought I could actually hear the vampires hearts beating. Silly, right? James stood there looking at me as if I"d sprouted two heads. Caradoc didn"t look much different. I shrugged, unsure what the big deal was. "What?"
A knowing look pa.s.sed between them. Caradoc walked out into the hall and picked up the phone. I couldn"t hear who he was talking to, I didn"t care. I was drained, my body ached, and I was still colder than the d.a.m.n vamps that were baby-sitting me.
I smiled softly at James, not wanting to alarm him. "Could you help me up to bed?"He stood there staring at me. He bent his head down slightly, as if he was trying to figure out what was going on. I never asked him for help. I was independent and he knew it. I got sick of waiting for him to lend a hand, so I stood up to go it alone. Big mistake! My knees gave out, my body went limp and my side crashed into the table. James was next to me in an instant.
"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l!"
James lifted me into his arms effortlessly. His gelled blue hair never moved. "I love your individuality," I whispered, putting my head against his shoulder.
Chapter 5.
"Come," a man wearing a hooded brown robe said to me as I walked past him. I tried to make out his face but all I saw was darkness under his hood. The room we stood in was large and circular--with a stone altar in the center of it. Visions of sacrificing virgins ran through my head, causing me to laugh. If they were after virgins then I was safe that was for sure!
The room was well lit but I could see no source of light. Many men spoke, but I saw only one. Shivers ran over my body as I listened to their voices pull together in unison. They chanted in harmony, saying words I could not understand. I still saw only one man, yet heard hundreds.
Growing bolder, I walked closer to the hooded man. I reached out to touch him, and he dropped onto the stone floor on his knees, raising his hands up in the air.
"You are the vessel, you are the one," many voices said from this one ent.i.ty. "The time is near, the time is near, the time is near...."I was officially creeped out and had no desire to stand around while it continued on its multi-voiced spiel. My heart raced and the temperature in the room began to drop. It was so cold in there--so very cold. I turned to run but was blocked by another man in a brown robe, identical to the other. I looked back to make sure that they weren"t one and the same. The first man was still bent over on the ground.
"What do you want?" I was weirded out by them, but still curious. If I was about to die, I wanted to know what I was going to die for. He motioned to the wall. I glanced at it then back at him, waiting for the lemming to be a fountain of wisdom. "I don"t get it."
"You are the vessel, you are the one," he said.
How original!
His hand rose towards the wall. I looked in that direction again and could vaguely make out some form of hieroglyphics. They faded away befor e I was able to get a better look at them. Not that it would have mattered.
I didn"t have a scientist in my back pocket or an ancient Egyptian decoder ring on me at the moment.
"Yeah, right then ... it"s been ... err ... fun." I turned to run but another appeared before me. I turned again--another appeared and another and another. They reached out to me, their hands touching my body, groping me, pulling me. They were like ice. I was like ice. I screamed out and pushed at them to get them away.
"Touch the vessel, the time is near, touch the vessel." Their chanting grew louder and louder, forcing me to cover my ears. "Gwyneth, Gwyneth, Gwyneth." They grabbed my face and jerked my head back. They began grabbing my b.r.e.a.s.t.s, pulling on my legs, and yanking on my hair. They weren"t gentle. Being ripped apart in a dream was the last thing I wanted. I tried to wake myself up, but it didn"t work.
"Shackle her and he will come."
Shackle me? Fear clutched hold of me. This was so real--too real. They lifted me high in the air.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" I screamed out, waking with a start. I bolted upright in my bed, touching my face, my neck, anything I could get my hands on. I was okay. It was only a dream. But it seemed so real.
"Gwen," James said, his sudden appearance scared me. I jumped and he touched my cheek gently, soothing my fears. Quickly, I cupped my hand over his. He climbed into the bed next to me, and wrapped his arms around me. "It"s okay. I"ve got you ... I"ve got you." He rocked me gently and I slid my arms around his waist. "That"s it--hold on to me, love. I"ll not let anything happen to you."
The fact that James had a nurturing side should have surprised me. It didn"t. I clung to him for dear life. "Hey," he said drawing back slightly to touch my face. When he wiped my cheeks with the pad of his thumb, I realized I was crying. I wanted to thank him for being so kind, but the words escaped me. Instead, I pulled on the back of his head and drew him to me. Our foreheads touched and I let out a small sob. Looking up through wet lashes, I locked gazes with him. At that moment I knew, that this vampire with a pension for mischief and odd hair colors had become my best friend. And I had never been more thankful for anything in my life. He knew me better than anyone else and not counting my last go round on earth, had only known me a short period of time.
A tickle started in the back of my mind, and I continued to stare into his dark blue eyes. It was odd, I felt as though we were connected on a level greater than either one of us could fathom. It was clear to see how much James cared for me, and I him. James treated me like an equal.
Someone he could bounce ideas off of, joke with and still respect in a stressful situation. The best part of it all was that he didn"t make demands on me like Pallo and Caleb. No, James accepted me for me--unconditionally.
"James ... thank you," I whispered.
"Gwen, its okay, it"s all right now. I"ve got you, you"re fine." He pulled me closer to him, leaving my head resting on his chest. His fingers ran through my hair as he rocked me in his arms like a child. He whispered quietly against the top of my head, "I"ve got you, love. I"ll always be here for you ... and yes, what I offer is unconditional."
I hadn"t remembered saying that aloud but I also didn"t realize I wascrying until after the fact so my opinion was worth squat. I gave into the shelter of James" large arms and tried to shake away the uneasy feeling from the nightmare.
The door to my room swung open. Startled, I looked up to see Pallo, James" master, and my ex-lover standing there. He looked so very ominous in his black silk shirt and black jeans. His dark brown hair broke up the monochromatic look he"d been going for, but did little in the way of softening his image. His eyes, which were normally a rich chocolate brown, were black holes. That happened to him when his demon pushed through and was never a good sign. I got the feeling this was about to become very ugly.
Pallo"s icy gaze raked over James and me. A tick started in his jaw and he clenched his fists. James gave me a quick squeeze before moving me behind him on the bed. All I managed to catch was a blur before Pallo was on us. He s.n.a.t.c.hed hold of my arm and yanked me clear of James. My feet barely touched the floor.
"Ahh ... Pallo, stop!" I cried out, as he dug his nails deep into my arm.
James stood quickly, but Pallo was ready for him. He threw his hand up in the air, striking James hard across his chin. I heard it, h.e.l.l I felt it--he hit him hard. I had a difficult time taking in everything that was going on. It was all happening so fast. Pallo made another move to strike James and I grabbed hold of his upper arm. "Pallo stop! Don"t hurt him!"
He turned his attention to me and yanked me towards him. He snarled and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end. Knowing his demon was in control should have terrified me enough to keep my mouth shut--while it did scare the h.e.l.l out of me, the thought of him hurting James scared me more. I tugged harder on him, and he in turn tightened his grip on my arm past the point of pain. "Ahh!"
James reached for him, and he let go of me long enough to deliver an awesome blow to James, sending him airborne.
"James!" I tried to pull my arm free from Pallo, causing him to tighten his grip on me even more. Pallo glared at me with his black swirling pits, and I struggled harder to get away.
"They summoned me here. They said you needed help. I leave everything and run here to find you in bed with him," he said, motioning to James on the floor. "Have you not had enough fun with your little Caleb, now you must seduce one of my own? I thought a fellow Si was just what you needed. If I had known you would go for a vampire I would have gotten back in line, although you may need ropes and a ticket taker soon with the amount of men you have ready to f.u.c.k you! You have not changed. Have you, donnaccia?" His fangs showed as he talked, and a sinister smile crept over his face.
That did for me. My fear switched to anger alarmingly fast. Who the h.e.l.l did he think he was? He was pushing around the wrong girl. I didn"t ask him to come here I didn"t need him here. And, I didn"t want him here!
"Let go of me NOW! You"ve no right to be here and don"t call me that ever again!"
"That is what you are and will always be, is it not? Are you not a wh.o.r.e, Gwyneth? Please enlighten me. I do so wish to hear your side of it," he said, sardonically.
Staring up at him, I knew he was and would always be bitter. He held me in so much contempt that it was amazing he spoke to me at all. I was able to look past it most of the time, but Pallo had a way of not letting me forget what he was--a vampire. Somehow, he seemed to take great pleasure in reminding me of the tragic events that unfolded hundreds of years ago.
Part of him blamed me for what he now was, I was sure of it. If it had been within my power to erase his pain, I would have, but I seriously doubted he"d accept that from me.
The pain in my arm worsened. Tears streamed down my face. Pallo saw the m and let go of my arm. He glanced down at his hand. It was covered in my blood. I watched, in a bizarre state of fascination, a drop of it fell to the floor. It was symbolic in so many ways. If I wouldn"t have known better I could have sworn that I heard it hit the hardwood floor.
Pallo looked up at me and then to my arm again. Something registered in him. The part of him that was good and decent took hold. He staggered backwards and fell into the wall.
James came running to me. He grabbed me and tried to pull me towards the door. I dug my feet into the ground. He dragged me anyways. "James ... no... ouch, stop," I said to him, he looked down at my arm, his eyes wide.
"f.u.c.k, Pallo ... look at her!"
"Don"t draw his attention back to you. Go! I couldn"t bear the thought of you being hurt over me."
"I"m not leaving you alone with him. If you"d been human he"d have torn your arm off!" Standing up to his master was not only foolish--it was deadly.
"Go, please ... he"s got a slight hold on himself and he"s less likely to kill me than you."
James c.o.c.ked an eyebrow. "Willin" to bet your life on that one, are you?"
"Yes."
"Right then, how"s about I stand here for a moment--just to be on the safe side."
"Fine, if you want to get yourself killed, be my guest. Oooh, you"re ...
you"re ... stubborn!"
He grinned and winked. "Be that as it may, I"m comfy here, love. And I"m not movin"."
Getting something through James" thick skull was next to impossible. I gave up and turned my attention to Pallo. He slid slowly down the wall, covering his face with his hands. If I didn"t know better I would have said he was crying. Seeing his six foot tall, two hundred pound muscular frame there made my heart ache. He wasn"t one to give in to the sentimental side of things--no he was a hard-a.s.s and everyone knew it.
I glanced down at my arm, it was fine, except for four tiny half moon cuts that were now dripping with blood. I knew the marks were from Pallo"s hand, and that was very sobering.