His hand moved her silky hair back from her now serene face. Her name fit her perfectly. All she needed was a halo and wings. And he needed horns and a tail. This was so impossible, and yet he couldn’t deny it. It would literally kill him to leave her, her too now, it seemed. It had been many years since he’d held a woman like this, in a bed. Many more after this, he admitted unwillingly to himself, if ever. His anguish was something he’d have lived with for his entire existence, if it meant shielding her from hers. He stared at her for some time, letting the guilt wash over him.
She must have some fairy in her, because she was too tiny to be human. She was tucked perfectly below his chin; breathing evenly on his chest. Thank gods he was wearing a shirt. One of her arms was bent to her ample chest, while the other was loosely thrown over his arm.
Her skin brushed his arm causing chills. How long since someone had touched him like this? He gritted his teeth against the smell emanating from her. Sweet, like exotic flowers… some kind of bath product most likely. Angel's own smell was hard to describe… something akin to fruit maybe. Mouthwatering. The scent of her blood called just as equally, causing him pain. His fangs fought for release; to tear through the thin tissue of his gums. To pierce Angel’s equally thin neck, and suck the irresistible, and life-altering nectar that kept him, and his brethren, alive.
Aries could withstand this, abide by the rules he’d set. He would not hurt this perfect woman, who lay so fragile beside him.
Her luscious legs were pulled up, so that her knees touched his abdomen. When he breathed deeply, he could feel their warmth.
Standing Angel only reached his biceps, almost childlike, but definitely a woman. Her curves began fantasies he’d have to finish some other time. Her silk robe was hiked up to her hip, showing she either wore a thong or nothing. Aries checked that thought before he got carried away.
His miniature princess whimpered softly; Aries automatically tightened his grip and stroked her back. She smelled wonderful; he was fighting with everything he had not to reach out and taste, with tongue and teeth. He knew somehow her blood would be ambrosia. It called silently to him, begging him to find out. He stiffened and started to get out of the bed, but she muttered something incoherently and tightened her miniscule hold on his shirt. He sighed, hoping she would wake up soon. The last few seconds were hell.
“You’re awake...” He asked as consciousness flooded her eyes.
“What happened? Did I faint?” She asked confused. Pictures and emotions bombarded her senses.
“Yes.” He smiled at her innocence. She was so damn sexy, yet sex was not on his mind at this very second in time. It was true that blood lust often triggered other lusts. Not always with him. The thought was there, just not as important as her well-being.
I couldn't remember. My thoughts were all jumbled, and Aries was so warm. Apparently cold-blooded was, yet again, a false truth.
I snuggled closer, trying to figure out why being in his arms felt so good. How was it this man had made me come undone in twenty-four hours? She remembered something about crystals… oh well, it was gone now.
“What time...” I asked stretching. Realizing he was getting a good look at her thighs, one hip and part of her butt cheek. She blushed and yanked the robe down as far as it would go. The robe was bought short, only because no one ever saw me in it.
“About seven or so, at night,” He whispered gently.
“What?” I exclaimed jumping up on my knees. Looking out the window, I leaned over him to get a closer look.
He smiled at my reaction. Then he sat up and pulled me to him and kissed my forehead. It seemed like the most natural thing; like we’d been this way forever. I felt his discomfort, desire, and worry and wondered if he’d gotten anything to drink last night.
“What’s happening?” I asked quietly. Shivering in his tightening embrace.
“I have no clue; I’m not sure I like this either. It scares me too,” he admitted, whispering. A slight Cajun accent flitted in and out when he was nervous. His hand absentmindedly stroked my arm.
“Why?” I asked, timidly looking up at him.
“I have never disobeyed her.”
Kali, his goddess, I thought. Jealousy flared for the briefest second, before I realized she was mine too. If this was all true, anyways.
My body ached. It felt like I’d danced for days, instead of hours. Dancing was out tonight, I thought to myself.
“I need to sit up and stretch. I think my daily routine flew out the door, with all our reasoning.”
“Routine?” He asked, letting me go, reluctantly.
“I practice my martial arts, jog, and stretch every morning, at dawn.”
He stood up and looked confused. He glanced at my nearly naked body, instantly regretting it, but understanding flared in his eyes.
“You can wait for me in the living room, I need a moment.” Apparently he remembered mortals had functions.
Aries nodded and went, and I uncontrollably checked out his derrière.
I felt the distance keenly, albeit tolerably. I hurried through the motions; brushing my teeth, using the toilet, and combing my hair… not in that order. I felt like some silly teenager, crushing on the lead quarterback. Why did I have to become like those airheaded teenagers when it came to Aries.
Makeup was rushed, but adequate, seeing as I was going clubbing shortly.
I nearly ran back, only slowing when I could see he was still there. Although I knew he was, my heart was still worried. I’ve never reacted to any boy or man in my life. This wasn't normal. I knew it, but I couldn't stop it. We felt genuine anguish when we were apart. I knew emotions. I had experienced every one. For crying out loud, I wasn’t a teenager, and yet I was acting just like one. Would I survive this?
“Energy drink? You seem to have quite a few in the fridge,” Aries asked.
“Thank you. Did you um, feed last night?”
“I tried, but I just couldn’t. I tried again this afternoon, but you called me as I was enthralling… never mind.”
Enthralling? Whatever, there were more important questions to be asked.
“In the daylight? Don’t answer that. How could you hold me, and not… try?”
“I care more for you than how hungry I am, strangely enough, considering we’re nearly strangers. I’m the only one I know of who can be out during the day. I tend not to, and drinking at night lessens peoples fear. If I go too many weeks without feeding, I’ll become a monster hell-bent on consuming every living thing around me. I can go up to two weeks, before I forget who I am.”
“So I must either watch you drink some person’s blood, or share mine?” Both of those ideas worried me; one caused more feelings than the other.
“It seems so, I could leave you long enough and cause you pain, or cause myself pain. When I feed, the person falls under my siren call and actually enjoys the feedings. I cannot control the slow seepage of my siren powers; that may be what calls you to me.”
This wasn’t some sirens call. This had to be what he talked about last night, the whole theory. Otherwise, he’d leave a string of women behind like me. Would the anguish we felt get worse? I couldn’t handle that again; much less if it got worse. It would literally tear me apart.
He must have been thinking along the same lines, because he looked right at me.
“I hope not. We have to be wrong. Why would she allow this? When she said I could never love, or have sex?” His face contorted with agony before he once more had control of his emotions. Of course, I felt the brief flare of his jealousy, which increased my own, and I couldn’t control mine, at least that fast.
“Unless you were right all along, and one of you is destined to be my mate. Why not you, when you can walk in sunlight. Have you ever wondered why you could, and they couldn't? Wouldn‘t her mate need to be with her all the time, to protect her when no one else can.”
“Yes... so this could mean that you are her,” he said drifting closer.
“And you are he,” I said moving towards him. It seemed as if our bodies moved towards the other all on their own; without us even realizing. To me, it seemed that we were so aware of each other. That our bodies demanded the closeness all the more, like instinct. I whimpered in the back of my mind before that too was overcome by all the intense feelings. So much made sense while, on the other hand, there were even more questions. It took a moment before I found myself again.
This had gotten out of control in such a short time. I was not this needy, emotional, and definitely not one who whimpers.
He held his arms out as I began to cry. I never cried. I was strong emotionally. I had to be to handle everyone else’s emotions, on top of mine. I did not want to be some whimpering, needy, broken creature. I had to be strong.
“I know. I’m sorry, I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. To be stuck with a creature as pitiful as me.” I felt his disgust at himself, his self-hatred. I was a broken creature, and he the pitiful one, what a pair… what a broken, pitiful pair.
“It’s not you. I’m just, well, and I’m scared. We have no control in this, and that scares the hell out of me. I have to be in control of my life. I swore no man would ever touch me, unless I said so,” I moved closer to him, nonetheless. I only felt sane when I was touching him, clinging to him.
“Why?”
Thinking for a bit, I finally realized why.
“Everyone has left me from day one.” Ugh, abandonment issues, like he wanted to know that. I hid my face with shame in his arm. He only gently caressed my back sending shivers down my spine.
“I’d never leave you. You can feel it too, it’s impossible. I have to say though, with all the women in the world I have met, I’m glad it’s you. There’s something in the way you are that makes me think. I’m happy it’s her.”
“Part of me feels the same.” I replied looking up into his glowing eyes. His emotions told me he spoke the truth.
I could not believe this was real. It would not make sense in a book, much less real life.
The man I was falling madly for pulled me to the couch and into his lap. Like a child, I bawled into his chest. He held me tight and gently rocked me. Most men would begin sucking on various body parts, starting with your ear lobes but not Aries. He was nothing like them. He truly wanted to comfort me.
I got up when my stomach growled, and we went to the kitchen.
“Hungry?” I asked.
I popped bagels in the toaster and rinsed some green grapes off and put them in a bowl. I grabbed two plates and set the table. Aries watched me quietly. The bagels popped up, just as he said sure why not.
“I don’t usually eat. In fact, I don’t have to. It smells pretty good for once though,” he replied, looking thoughtfully at me. I guess he was assuming I was the cause of his new food cravings.
“It must be all this crazy Emo stuff going on inside us...” I said, adding fat-free cream cheese to mine.
“I think being around you is bad for my appetite,” he grinned, showing the tip of a fang, something I hadn’t noticed yet. Did I make them drop, my scent, or the scent of the food? And that’s when I realized his double meaning. I wasn’t sure how I felt about the fangs yet.
Aries was so beautiful that I wondered how it was fair. I was not vain in that sense, but it broke my heart to see him looking back at me knowing I was not his equal in this, and yet he still wanted me.
I was average compared to him. Yet waves of attraction and lust rolled off him, along with confusion, and could that possibly be love? Oh no, this couldn’t get any worse... but this was impossible. I had to be wrong. I’d made mistakes before. Emotions tended to overlap. There was a lot of gray area. Some were mixtures, so hard to think about. No Empath was perfect, if there were even others like me, and neither was I. Maybe I was mistaken.
It had been so long since I’d felt anyone love me that I felt raw and unsure. To love another, truly, this was odd now that I thought about it.
“Are you going with me to the club?” he asked.
“Sure. I don’t want to make the band mad by kidnapping you.” I told him looking at my food.
Aries smiled and finished his plate.
He washed the dishes to my utter amazement. He wouldn’t let me near the sink.
“I got this, go dress,” he said, cutting time sure, but wow.
My jaw dropped. Who was this man? We didn't know each other, and he was taking care of me. If the feelings coming off him were true, I’d have to doubt my ability if they weren't, then I knew why he was doing this. He really loved me. It had to be this fate thing. No human could fall in love this quickly, could they? Even if I believed in love at first sight then in that case it would take days to even realize you were or even weeks. There’s no doubt I wanted this god-like creature, but love? Intense feelings yeah, but I wasn't sure about love. I had my heartbroken plenty. I wasn't going to open the door to love willingly, even with this magnificent man. I obviously couldn't fight it. He’d paused at my expression and was waiting for me to move, I guess.
I walked back into my room and put on another of my new outfits.
As I finished dressing, I thought about what I’d felt. You’d think with me being an empath I’d know love anywhere, surprisingly it was the one emotion most people had never really felt. Couples felt strong desires of lust and longing, and genuine happiness but never those of love, feelings of bliss. Humans walked around through life content that the person that they are with cares enough for them to be faithful and kind, and that was enough. Love was not even one emotion. It even differed with each person. Some felt really protective, some jealous, and some felt complete trust. Love was several layers.
Hence my theory why most couples fell apart, because it was not love, but something else altogether.
Not me that’s for sure as I’ve said many times so far. I was waiting for love, for a hero to claim me. Here, was a hero, well maybe, but if it wasn't love could I hold true to my self-sacrificing promises? Were these strong feelings going to make me break and screw him like there was no tomorrow? Would Aries loving me be enough to allow that?
These questions floated aimlessly through my mind. I think he was waiting for me to panic or go into shock. I mean, I’d just found out I may be some hero-goddess woman out to slay the bad guys and protect the good ones. Had a man who claimed that he was some twisted version of the mythic vampire, and I was fighting these undeniable spikes of longing, desire, attachment, and fear of abandonment. Hell, I think I may’ve been in shock to think of it that way. What mortal woman wouldn’t be? I had to be this foretold warrior, or I was just plain crazy, right? Ah, hell.
I sighed, which ended in a groan. Dressed, I wandered back to the kitchen and was shocked. Well, he was five hundred odd years old. He’d probably done everything, from cleaning, hard labor, to, well, rock star... My kitchen was absolutely spotless.
Did I want this? I had dreamed all my life that some great man would charge along on his white steed and save me from something, and make me have mind-blowing feelings. Well here he was , and I was questioning it. I guess that was what made me sane. I felt relief at that thought and closed my eyes briefly.
Aries eyes swept up and down me , and the powerful feelings of desire and lust blasting me, causing me to look up at him. Guess I looked good in this outfit. Gay guy was right. It enhanced my sexy, hee hee.
My thoughts were twisted and perplexed. I needed several moments to comprehend it all, and I very seriously doubted I was going to get that, no matter how much I really wanted to. My life just went from busy and fulfilling, to chaotic and confounding, in a space of twelve hours or so.
Aries noticed the distraught look on my face and gently pulled me to him. Normally, I wasn’t this touchy feely with people, and would sucker punch anyone who got this close.
Just then there was an adamant knock on my door. I couldn't immediately think of whom it could be; no one ever knocked on my door. I gave a particularly menacing growl and rolled my ey
es. Aries chuckled as I stomped to my door. The feelings from the other side were conflicted. Okay, now I really was stupefied.
“Who is it?” I snapped a little too harshly. I was instantly contrite when I heard his voice. Ah, shit. I was always letting my temper and sudden impulsions rule my actions, leaving me in sticky situations such as this. I really needed to control it, before I did something really idiotic.
“Michael.” Oh, damn, among other cuss words that flitted through my head.
CHAPTER EIGHT
I slowly cracked open my door, thanking myself for putting the couch out of sight when I last rearranged the living room. I knew Michael couldn’t see Aries from there.
I slipped into the tiny L shaped hall.
“Hey.”
He looked at me funny and noticed the darkening circles under my eyes, the paleness of my face, and the way I held myself. It was like I was keeping myself in one piece with my arms wrapped around my middle. I knew he noticed the outfit , but his eyes only saw my distress. He was such a good friend, even if I found him sort of annoying at times.
“It’s almost eight. You don’t look so good... I didn’t know what to think when Frank said you had left...” He stuttered. He had not believed me at first. Yep there it was the disbelief. I stopped being offended at others more than human responses when I was still a teenager.
There were times Michael reminded me of a little boy. I had to find an excuse even if I hated doing so, but maybe if he saw Aries he would get the point and finally move on. How to do this, without hurting him too badly though...
“Well, I was speaking to Frank and started feeling dizzy and not myself, Aries came over to say something to Frank when I almost hit the floor. He caught me and Frank told him to walk me home. He said I didn't need to walk alone. I really didn't want to ruin your night Michael, so I agreed. I’m not much of a friend by not coming and telling you myself. Frank said he'd handle it.”