“So, your brother would try to hurt me to get to you?”
“Correct,” he answered.
“Wow… Umm okay… So my life’s at risk if I’m not near you every second. This is crazy!” I couldn’t believe what I was being told. It was a scary thought.
“I’m sorry for putting you in danger like this. I had no idea this would happen.”
I shook my head, “So… Is this the only reason you asked me to move in with you?” I asked.
“No. I meant everything I said. Even if this wasn’t to happen I would have asked the same providing you had plans to tell your mother.”
“Is there anything else you need to tell me?” I asked hoping there wasn’t much more. Things seemed to be getting worse by the minute. He nodded. “What someone else wants me dead?” I asked sarcastically.
“No, if anyone wanted you dead they would have to go through me.” He looked upset. “No one will harm you as long as I’m around.” His tone was different.
He sat down on the bed. “Look, you remember me telling you about being a gem?”
“Yeah,” I answered.
“Well there’s sort of a process we g through after finding our gem. It’s a little difficult to explain, but I'll try. He patted the bed beside him indicating he wanted me to sit down.
“We leap from our bodies letting our spirit into yours, which is called, unolding, this is so that no other Ill-suen male can take our gem away. And it also secures the bond between us, making it unbreakable. You no longer have a choice to leave. The bond is part of you after that. I would be part of you forever and you wouldn’t ever feel the need for another man again. But when we do this, you may or may not change into one of us. Only your inner spirit decides that. Before you say anything, no I haven’t done this process yet.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It seemed cruel in a way. What if the Ill-suen was a bad guy and beat his gem or was just really mean. She would still only want him and would be in hell for eternity.
“That’s just cruel!” I spit out.
He sighed. “I know what you’re thinking and in most cases, most of the women are very happy. There haven't been too many that were miserable or mistreated. We were raised differently. We are trained at an early age to respect our gem. Though some of us despise the idea we are given only one choice and don’t have any say in it. I hate to admit it, but I hated you before I knew you. And a little after.”
“You hated me when we first met? That hurts.”
“If you were given only one choice for a mate, Love and you didn’t know what romance or love felt like, knowing there’s nothing you could do to change it, you would feel a little bitter too. But when I met you, all these emotions surfaced at once. I did want to kill you but I also wanted to make love to you. Then I wanted to hold you. It changed quickly.”
“You wanted to kill me and make love to me?”
“Yes. Your blood, and your scent appealed to me. I couldn’t stand it and your beauty… Your… body… in addition to all of that made everything confusing.”
“Wait… you said yet… you didn’t want to do the process yet… Does that mean you're going to force this on me?”
“Love, this is part of what we do. I was going to wait for awhile before I did and I would tell you before I decided to do this. It doesn’t hurt or anything. It's more like me making love to your spirit inside of your body. We become one, bound together for eternity.”
“I had a dream about that before… awhile back, you were doing something like that to me in my dream.”
“Faith, these flashes and dreams you had are apart of this process as well. You gain abilities the longer you're close to me and you obtain special gifts as well.”
“This is making more sense now. But it's so much to take in. I mean, do I not have a choice? Or, are you just going to claim me like you’re supposed to?” I asked.
“I’ve thought about it a lot Faith. If you decide this is not what you want, then I will leave you alone and I wont do anything to you. You can go on your way like this never happened. But there is something else…”
I rubbed my temples.
“If you die, I die too. If I die, so do you.”
“What? This is crazy Daniel! I was just an innocent girl before all this. Going about my everyday life as anyone else, and come to find out this was all predetermined for us? So my life is meaningless? I’m here to serve you, die for you? Is my life worth nothing at all?” I felt overwhelmed and couldn’t take any more of this insanity. I grabbed my head, rocking back forth like a patient in a mental ward.
He put his arms around me. “I know this is a lot to take in Faith. But believe me when I say your life is more important than mine. I do not fear much, but losing you would be the worst.”
“How do I know these feelings I have for you are real? Or, if they are the work of some kind of magic or something else?
“Faith look at me. Look into my eyes.” He pulled my face level to his.
“I haven’t done anything to you for you not be yourself. No one in my family has ever offered his gem a choice. Understand this: why would I give you the option if I was tricking you? If you want this all to go away you just say the word and I’m gone, no questions asked. This is how much I love you Faith. You are my life, my gem, and my everything that makes me a better man.”
I started crying. Drained mentally and emotionally I cried myself to sleep in his arms.
I woke up in a huge bed. I couldn’t see anything besides the canopy draped over it. I pushed it to the side to look out and see my surroundings. The room looked familiar. I shivered when my foot touched the cold hardwood floor.
I saw a note on the dresser with my name on it.
Faith, I'll be downstairs preparing you and your mother dinner. Go to the bathroom. I have left you something to wear. Come down after you’ve showered and changed. I love you…
This was the house he bought… for us. The one I’d secretly loved. I still had a lot to think about but it was hard to not want this man forever the way he treated me. Like I was a queen whom he adored. I did as he asked. I went to take my shower and found the clothes he left for me. He left me a nice gray turtle neck and jeans draped over the towel rack. I put them on and headed down stairs. The aroma of steak and garlic, started my stomach growling. Classical music played as I looked around the house. It was completely furnished.
He’d put up some art work. Beautiful leather sofas and curtains. He knew how to decorate.
In the kitchen he was wearing an apron. He looked cute cooking. This dream man standing before me who knew how to do just about everything. Cook, decorate and win my heart. There was nothing he could be bad at. He turned and smiled at me. I sat across from him where the island stood between us. “How long was I out?” I asked.
“All day Babe. It’s six in the evening.”
Wow I slept all day. I must have needed the rest. I guess my mind shut down and decided it was time for it to stop working.
Watching him and understanding my feelings made me want this even more. I would give myself a few months to adjust to everything before I decided to have him leave or stay with him forever. But he had everything in his power if he wanted to take the choice out of my hands. But instead, left it up to me. As if my life had more value then his.
In my head, this was far from the truth. I couldn’t imagine him not being part of my world ever again. It felt like I was already in so deep, the feelings for him grew deeper everyday.
I got up and walked up behind him putting my arms around his body. Standing on tip toe I kissed the back of his neck. He twitched. I let my lips slide up and down the back of his neck moving around to the side. He turned , grabbing me and put me up on the island. Kissing me hard, he grabbed the back of my hair. Threw the stuff on the island to the floor. Laying me on the bar, he pressed his body to mine. He whispered in my ear, “You’re really making this difficult for me when you tease me the way you do.”
He seemed more intense as he kissed me. I couldn’t breathe. My body was on fire and he wouldn’t let up. I wrapped my legs around him. Picking me up, we were quickly upstairs on the bed. He pulled his shirt off and pulled mine off almost at the same time. His hand on the small of my back, he drew closer into him. I whispered in his ear, “I want you now.”
The words seemed to drive him into a frenzy. Clothes flew in the air. Then the door bell rang.
He jumped up and fell on the cold floor. Glancing up at me he shook his head and bit his lip. “That was close,” He said, pulling his clothes back on. Pulling me into him once more, he looked into my eyes. “Tell me you want me forever and your wish will come true as soon as your mom leaves. This is getting unbearable for me as much as you. Next time a door bell wont stop us.” He seemed to be waiting for an answer.
In that moment all I wanted was him. There was nothing more that I wanted than me and him together forever. But I just couldn’t get myself to say the words. It was too soon for me to commit to something so significant. I put my clothes back on without answering him. We headed downstairs to open the door for my mom.
He cooked us steak and vegetables. We sat at the glass dining table eating. He ate steak, it was nice and bloody for him. Mom was impressed with his cooking.
Thanking him she put her dish in the sink. He played footsies with me under the table, and stared at me the entire time. I found it hard to concentrate on the conversation we were having. I got up, slapping him on the back of the head as I walked past. He pinched my thigh and I couldn’t get away fast enough. I let out an “ow” and Mom turned around. I told her I was getting a leg cramp, she turned back to wash her dish.
Mom and Daniel talked for hours. She was taking to him quickly. He told her about his family and also about being raised in London. She was interested in knowing what his family did for a living. He told her his dad owned hotels and has real-estate around the world.
“So how old are you Daniel?” He glanced at me, searching for an answer. So I told mentally. “I didn’t tell her your age Daniel.”
“I’m twenty-one,” he said, smiling back at me.
She explained my plans for a career and didn’t want anything interfering with that. He agreed and promised her he wouldn’t interrupt my studies.
“So, why did you move all the way out here? For my daughter?” She asked.
“MOM!” I shouted.
She had begun to get on my nerves.
“It's okay Faith, she has a right to know. She’s your mother,” Daniel said smiling. I shook my head and crossed my arms.
“Yes, that’s a big part of why I came here. The more time Faith and I spend together, the harder I find it to be away from her. I love your daughter Mrs. White and would do anything and everything in my power to make her happy. I won’t leave her side unless she wishes.”
“Wow…” Mom said not knowing what else to say. “Well, if she’s happy and you treat her good I guess that’s all that matters.”
I smiled approvingly. Since she was already there and seemed to be in a good mood I told her I was staying the night with him. She was fine with it and hugging me at the door before she left she leaned in whispering, “Protect yourself.” I pushed her away, “Come on Mom. Gross,” I whispered back embarrassed. I shook my head in disbelief that she had said that in front of Daniel. She laughed and hugged Daniel.
He held back a smile. I knew he could hear everything, his ears were like super sonic microphones. Just one of his many traits imposing on my private conversation. I closed my eyes hoping the words would leave my head quickly. We walked her outside and wished her a goodnight.
We sat down on the black leather sofa holding hands. He smiled at me looking as if ready to break into a laugh.
“Please,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m trying to get that out of my head. it's embarrassing enough.” He held his laughter, picked up the remote and started channel surfing. Finally settling on a surgery channel. I took the remote from him, changing it. He raised a brow looking at me sideways. I ignored the look and started flipping though channels.
“I can't watch that crap, I have a weak stomach.”
Putting his arm around me I picked a movie for us to watch. I started falling asleep in the middle of the movie. I felt myself falling into my dream and jumped. I woke up cradled in his arms climbing the stairs. He laid me on the bed to sleep and shut the door behind him.
Nightmares plagued my dreams. I dreamed I was cooking something downstairs in the kitchen and Daniel came in behind me, started kissing me. Returning is kisses he seemed different. Pinning me against the wall roughly suddenly his teeth were ripping through my skin. Another Daniel walked in staring in horror. He ran over and pulled him off of me throwing him into the wall. Falling to my knees I noticed I was covered in blood. Afraid for my life, I tried getting up but stumbled and collapsed. Darkness surrounded me. I woke up screaming. Daniel tried to calm me down but I fought him, yelling, “You're not him!”
Holding me down he looked into my eyes.
“I’m here Faith. It’s me Daniel. I’m here.” His hand went to my head and I calmed. I knew done something to me to bring me back to reality. My head burned where his hand sat. My breathing became steady again and I apologized for hitting him. “It's okay,” he said. “Tell me about your dream.” I didn’t want to talk about it, but asked him to stay with me. He held me as I fell asleep in his arms.
I woke with a clear head but the things I dreamed about were still bothering me. I had to push it away, so I could concentrate on school. I also thought I needed some distance from Daniel. He dropped me off at school and I headed for class.
I concentrated as much as I could in classes, but Daniel consumed my thoughts. I found myself day dreaming about him, coming back to reality when someone coughed or sneezed around me. After third period Kate and I went to lunch in the cafeteria. We had made up and went on as if nothing had happened. Soon the others followed. Mike, Drew, and Melissa. We were all sitting around the lunch table eating and talking when Chris walked up. We hadn’t talked since our fight and I felt uncomfortable.
Everyone got quiet when he sat next to me. Mike gave him a look and Chris nodded as if they had a silent exchange. Mike and Melissa got up to leave and Kate touched my shoulder saying she’d see me later. Soon after Drew followed.
Picking up my tray I stood.
“Please stay,” Chris said, touching my hand.
I shook my head, “Why should I?” I asked glaring at him.
He looked down. “You got this all wrong. Kate told me what you thought I was capable of, and I would never…”
His eyes pleaded with me and wanted to believe him. I sat my tray back down on the table and took my seat.
“Alright, I'll hear you out, but it doesn’t mean anything will change.”
He smiled. “I admit I was wrong by the way I acted and the things I said were uncalled for. And yes, for a split second, I lost it and I’m sorry. But I don’t hit girls.”
“But you thought about it?” I asked curious.
He sighed. “I don’t really know what I was thinking. I mean, I was so hurt and angry and everything was happening so fast, but believe me when I say this Faith, I would never ever hurt you. I would never think about harming you in that way.”
I wasn't sure how to respond. I knew if I were in his shoes and he did that to me, I would probably feel the same way. And I would have probably slapped him or punched him. “Alright,” I said, playing with my food. His eyes widened.
“So you forgive me?” He asked, hopeful.
“Yeah I guess. But Chris, You know…”
“Don’t worry, I wont interfere.”
“Thanks,” I mumbled.
I punched him in the shoulder and got up. The bell rang and he hurried to give me a one-armed hug. “See you…” I said. He smiled as we parted ways. I was scared to tell Daniel that I forgave Chris because I didn’t want him to think Chris was competition and I knew he already
hated him. But I didn’t want to lie either and he would eventually find out. I would tell him when I felt the time was right.
Mom picked me up after school and wanted to take me out to dinner and to some book stores. In Fayetteville we ate at a Mexican restaurant. Talked about a guy she met at work and that she was going on a date with. I was excited and proud of her for trying to be more social. She didn’t give much thought to dating after my ex-step father and her divorced. I was just happy she was giving it an effort.
After dinner we went to Hastings. They had books, movies and music in one store. I decided to pick out a movie to watch and figured I would spend a few nights at my moms for distance from Daniel. In the drama section I found the movie I wanted. Nosferatu, an old silent vampire movie Daniel had mentioned. Turning the corner, I bumped into someone dropping my movie. I scrambled to pick my movie up and looked up.
“Chris… what are you doing?”
“Obviously the same as you,” He said, reaching for my hand to help me up.
“Thanks,” I said, surprised to see him.
“You’re following me now?” I asked.
He shook his head and laughed. “Nah. You give yourself too much credit. You could be following me for all I know.”
“Yeah… Right,” I said, shaking my head.
“So what did you find?” He asked, trying to peek at my movie.
I held it closer to my chest. “Oh it’s nothing…”
“So where’s your boyfriend?” He asked sarcastically. I tried to walk away, but he grabbed my arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to piss you off again,” He said. “Its fine, I just…” I had seen him looking over my shoulder at something. “Darla, how are you?” I turned around to look. Mom hugged Chris and I shot her a look. She ignored me. “Chris we haven’t seen you in awhile, where have you been hiding?” She asked, smiling. “Oh you know… I’ve been hiding in the usual places. Cemeteries, oh and not to mention stalking young, helpless girls in the night,” He said laughing, while giving me an awkward look. I cringed inwardly. Mom noticed my annoyance but I didn't really care. It seemed she still liked Chris, almost more then Daniel. She had mentioned a few prior that she wanted me to have time away from Daniel. She told me it was unhealthy and to hang out with friends and have fun without him by my side constantly.
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