The Embrace (33 page)

“Get the hell off me.” I shouted, hoping my voice had enough venom to show him I was serious.

I felt like a weak little girl, reduced to human vulnerability again. It was frustrating more than anything else. There was nothing I hated more than feeling powerless.

He chuckled and leaned in closer. Feeling his body so close to mine was strange. It was a different sensation from Gabriel and Dahlia’s presence. Gabriel had once been sweet to me, but his love had become unreliable. Dahlia’s interaction with me had been short, but filled with taunts and jealousy. With my stalker, there seemed to be electricity passing between us. I had spent months thinking about him, and so I felt as if I already knew him.

He bent close to my ear, the automatic connection between us growing stronger as he did.

He nuzzled close to my skin and began to whisper. “Only if you promise not to run away.”

As he pulled away I saw that smile on his face again and I nodded. Against my better judgement, something made me trust him and as he pulled away from me I didn’t try to run. I ignored the niggling voice inside my head and decided to stay exactly where I was.

He leaned against the brick wall next to me in a nonchalant manner which was at odds with the situation. I don’t know what I expected from my follower but it certainly wasn’t this.

“What’s your name?” I asked him. I didn’t really know what to say, but it was a start.

He smiled again. This wasn’t Dahlia’s taunting smirk or Gabriel’s manipulative yet beautiful grin. My stalker’s smile changed every time he used it, and yet there seemed to be a similar strand running through each one. It was as if every expression held a facet of his personality and was picked specifically for that emotion.

With an undeniable French accent he replied, “Robert.”

We stood in silence for a while, sizing each other up. I had tried to bury it, but the hunger had started to gnaw at my insides. I knew I had to feed before I lost all control.

“Hungry?” He asked. I hadn’t said a word but Robert was a strong creature and detecting my feelings would be no problem for him.

I nodded, still too afraid to speak. His French accent seemed to come and go as he spoke, never quite as heavy as the time he said his name. Our name becomes part of our identity at a young age, around the same time as our accent, and so I imagined the two had been linked early in his human life. He must have been French during his first life.

“I have some blood back at my place, you can feed there. It won’t be as good as taking it fresh from a body but it’ll keep you going.” He said, moving away from the wall and stretching a hand out to me. Despite his initial attack, he seemed quite gentle now.

I put my hand in his and he ran through the streets, pulling me along with him. He moved at a speed that made even Gabriel seem slow and it took all my energy to keep up. Despite his pace, he moved with a poise I had never seen. He was running faster than I had ever seen anyone run but looking at his face he could have been relaxing on a sandy beach.

Finally we reached what I presumed was his nest. It wasn’t like the nest Gabriel and I shared. It was more basic, less ostentatious than the place we shared. It was a house, not a flat like our base. The old home gave off a feeling of experience which I had always admired in antique buildings.

He pulled me through the door after him and as I steadied myself I surveyed the decor. The interior blended with the beauty of the exterior. Every piece of furniture had been picked out perfectly. Nothing had been chosen simply for show or decadence, yet the room wasn’t bare or wanting. Some people would have found the building underwhelming, but I already adored it.

“Your home is beautiful.” I told him.

I had no idea why I was complimenting him after everything he’d done over the past few months but I couldn’t help myself. Everything about him, from his looks to his nest, seemed effortless.

He disappeared for a moment and reappeared with a blood bag in his hand. I had seen them hundreds of times on crime and medical dramas, and in movies about vampires who didn’t kill humans, but I had never used one. I preferred to drink straight from the source.

He passed it over to me and I tore it open, devouring it’s contents. There was a dull, sterile taste to it, nothing like the exquisite sensation created by Dahlia’s blood. It would have to do. My hunger was becoming unbearable, and I needed to feed before I was too weak to protect myself.

While I drank from this inferior source, Robert averted his eyes, pacing around the room and gently touching the furniture in the entrance hall. Gabriel had always watched me feed when we were together, so it felt odd to feed with another vampire without any pressure.

When I finished I let the bag drop to my feet, savouring the last drops as my strength climbed back to it’s normal level.

“Why do you have blood bags?” I asked him as he turned to join me again.

He shrugged. Even that tiny movement seemed perfectly thought out, as if he had performed the different combinations millions of times and selected the right one for every situation.

“I don’t really get much joy out of the hunt anymore. When you get to my age you can keep yourself going without feeding every day. I still have to drink blood every so often, but I don’t need as much as you. I  prefer to hunt more challenging prey.” He was clearly directing the last sentence at me. I didn’t want to think of myself as prey but I didn’t know Robert’s intentions, so for all I knew I was just another victim to him.

He left the large entrance hall and walked in to the living room. I followed him blindly, although I knew that I shouldn’t let myself trust him as much as I did. He made a soft patting motion on one of the recliners, beckoning me to sit on it.

“I imagine you have a lot of questions.” He said, the French accent slipping out again. It was a sweet touch to his polished speech, and I already found myself listening out for these little hints of his origins.

I had to agree with him there. I wanted to know why he had been following me,and  if he knew Gabriel. I had asked Gabriel if he knew any other vampires who were still alive but he had always dodged the question. I didn’t know Robert at all yet but I held out hope that he would finally give me the answers to some of my questions.

“You’ve been following me for months. I think I deserve some answers.” I said, my voice growing in strength. Robert had managed to disarm me without much effort, but I was slowly recovering my confidence.

He nodded and guilt flashed over his face, making him seem almost vulnerable. There was no falseness or facade to this expression, and I took it as a moment of honesty. It felt strange to see such a powerful figure exposed, but it warmed me to him even more.

He joined me on the sofa, his thigh gently brushing mine. I was still clad in only my silk nightgown and I suddenly felt the stab of embarrassment at my appearance.

He saw me pulling the hem of my dress down over my bare legs and averted his gaze, like a true gentlemen. He obviously came from a time where men were still instinctively protective of women. The longer I spent with Robert, the less I saw him as a menacing figure.

“I’m afraid I won’t be able to answer most of your questions yet. It’s not the right time.” He told me in his exotic voice. I was ready to interrupt but he carried on before I had the chance.

“Don’t worry. Soon all of your questions will be answered and everything will be out in the open ,but you aren’t ready yet. I know it’s frustrating but it’s just the way it has to be. I’m genuinely sorry I can’t help you more, Louisa.”

I tried to speak but his honesty and fragility made my voice catch in my throat.

“You know my name.” I whispered, finally managing to shake off his effect on me.

He nodded again. Nothing to be said, I suppose. He was a man of few words and it seemed as if every syllable he spoke had a deeper purpose. Nothing he said was accidental, and if speaking was unnecessary then he simply wouldn’t say a word. 

“I’ve been following you for a long time.” He said, as if he was admitting a shameful secret.

He leaned closer to me. “I’m sure you want to get changed after everything you’ve been through tonight. I think I have some garments in your size.”

That word, garments, said in his romantic accent, sent a shiver down my spine. I tried to shake it off. I had too much to think about with Gabriel and Dahlia, I didn’t need another complication to add to the heap.

Robert led me up a sweeping wooden staircase and towards a bedroom. The room was immaculately decorated, like the other rooms in the house, but it had an emptiness that the rest of the place lacked. It was clear no-one had lived in this room for a very long time.

Robert lead me over to a wardrobe and opened the doors, delicately pawing through the clothes inside while I hovered in the doorway. I didn’t want to disturb a room which was as neatly preserved as an old photograph.

Robert pulled a dress from the wardrobe. It was white and would reach to around my knees, with lace panels and small, delicate flowers dotted over it. It was beautiful, nothing like any of the outfits I had at home which were mostly red, expensive and seductive. This dress looked more like the innocent dress of a virginal youth.

He stood in the doorway while I dressed, but kept his back turned like the gentleman he was. I felt my skin prickle at the tension between us. We had spend months in each other’s lives without ever meeting, and it had built up an undeniable connection between us. Despite my better judgement I almost wanted him to look at me. I knew he could sense my attraction for him, so I didn’t even try to hide it.

There was a mirror on the back of the door and I looked at myself. It hadn’t taken me too long to accept that I still had a reflection, despite being a vampire, yet once again the image in the mirror shocked me. I looked so young and free, as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

In the reflection of the mirror I saw Robert turn and begin to approach me. Before I knew it, he was right behind me and slowly he stroked up and down my arms. Goose pimples popped up on my skin, marking a trail where his skin touched mine.

“You look beautiful.” He said.

It was all he needed to say. I had been told I was beautiful hundreds of times since the transformation, but most of the time it was from humans who were under my spell. Robert said it in a way that felt sincere, more genuine than anyone else. 

The room around me blurred as I turned to face him, our bodies just inches apart. He was much taller than me but he was looking down, and our faces matched perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle.

I knew I shouldn’t be doing it, but I had done a lot of things that night which I wasn’t supposed to do. I don’t think I could have stopped myself if I tried. My body had control now, not my mind, and so I kissed him.

Maybe it was the way the compliments sounded in his French accent, maybe it was the stress of Gabriel’s actions, or maybe it was a release of the tension which had been building between us for month. All I knew was that it felt predestined. It was as if every moment in my second life had been leading up to this kiss.

I became more passionate as the kiss went on, throwing my arms around his neck and gripping tightly so that he couldn’t leave me like so many others had throughout my life. Despite my enthusiasm, he seemed reluctant. For a moment he got lost in the kiss just as I had, but then he pulled away, holding me at arms length.

I was confused. I had sensed the attraction between us, something I knew he couldn’t deny. I had never known anyone but Gabriel to turn me down, and he had always had an alterior motive for manipulating me.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. I was hurt and I couldn’t hide it.

I could see the torment written over his face. He was wracked with guilt.

“I can’t. I would love to, but I can’t. It isn’t the right time. Not until you come here with a clear head.” He trailed off, but he didn’t need to say anything else. I knew what he was saying was right. If I had gone further with him I would have been filled with guilt. Robert was special but I still belonged to Gabriel, and I couldn’t erase the sire bond.

It was awkward between us, to say the least. We walked out together and didn’t say anything else but there was a definite frostiness which hadn’t been there before. Normally I would never have considered kissing another vampire but now here I was, practically offering myself to Robert and yet I knew nothing about him but his name.

“I can’t go home.” I whispered as we left. My voice was so timid, it didn’t even sound like me. I was exhausted and it had taken all my strength just to get the words out.

He nodded. He seemed to know everything that had happened between Gabriel and I, things no-one else knew. Right now it felt comforting to have someone who knew my background without me having to explain it all.

“I understand.” He said it with such honesty that I had to accept it. I genuinely believed that he understood my problems. “You can stay here for the day but you have to go back to him tomorrow.”

“I can’t. I can’t go back to him. I’ve done terrible things, you don’t understand. I’m scared of him.” It felt strange to finally say my feelings out loud. I didn’t understand why Robert would even suggest it.

He turned and took me in his arms. Although he had rejected my advances, this embrace didn’t feel sexual. It was like a hug from an old friend, a comforting gesture. I hadn’t had a friend in so long, and I realised just how lonely I had been feeling.