We arrived back at the castle very late into the night.
Daniel took the bag of folders and assured me he would leave it on Cain’s desk for me to look over in the morning.
As someone who hadn’t slept the night before, I was grateful for the opportunity to rest before digging into the mess I was sure to uncover.
I walked slowly back up all those flights of stairs, lugging my suitcase with me.
By the time I reached my room, I was more than exhausted I opened the door to see the fireplace lit and the bathroom door open with the light on inside.
Shit, I thought. I forgot this was Cain’s room.
He walked out of the bathroom, a towel hanging low on his hips. Clearly, he’d just gotten out of the shower.
“Sorry,” I said quickly.
“I’Il go find somewhere else to sleep.”
“I didn’t expect to see you again,” he said, stopping me as I turned to leave. I turned back around slowly, looking for a way to explain why I’d stayed.
I was silent.
No words would come to me.
I couldn’t tell if this was because I couldn’t think of anything to say or because I was too distracted by his naked, muscular chest.
“You owe me a plane ticket,” was all I could muster up.
Suddenly, Cain went from being twenty feet away at the bathroom door to being less than a few inches away, standing right in front of me.
His hand went around the back of my neck and he pulled me into him.
The next thing I knew, Cain kissed me.
My lips molded to his perfectly, like they were made for him. I found myself leaning into Cain, pressing my comparatively small frame against his broad, muscular one.
My hands were cold and placing them on his bare skin that was still warm from a hot shower, I could’ve sworn literal steam danced from underneath my fingertips.
Cain’s hand moved around my neck so his thumb could lift my jaw, allowing him leverage to deepen this kiss.
The moment my mouth opened and his tongue slipped between my lips, I had to keep myself from falling to the floor.
The taste of his kiss was euphoric.
Between the feeling in my stomach that was similar to a drop on a rollercoaster, and the fireworks that were going off in my brain, the adrenaline rush I got from the kiss was like nothing I’d ever experienced.
I was light-headed yet hyper-aware all at once.
I felt his other hand fall from my arm where he had initially pulled me into the kiss and it slid around my waist and pulled me flush against his chest. I was on my tiptoes to help accommodate the height difference between us, but it didn’t help much and left me wanting to jump into his arms.
Cain’s lips left mine, leaving me to immediately mourn the loss of his kiss. His mouth, however, began to kiss along my jaw and down my neck.
By the time I had closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling, he backed away and I found myself leaning against the bedpost to support my weak knees.
Cain let out a noise that sounded somewhat like a frustrated growl as he turned around to face away from me.
“I’m sorry,” he said through clenched teeth.
“For what?” I asked breathlessly.
I, for one, was extremely impressed with his kiss so I couldn’t understand why he felt the need to apologize.
“Nothing, it’s—” he stopped abruptly and shook his head as he began to rub his eyes with the palm of his hands.
“I need you to leave,” he said.
Despite his request, I steadied myself on my feet and walked towards him cautiously.
“Please go,” Cain pleaded, walking further away from me, although his back was still turned I again ignored his plea and slowly continued to step forward as he walked over to the fireplace.
He put a hand on the mantle and I saw the muscle in his back flex as he did so. I walked up behind him and placed my hand on his arm.
“Turn around,” I said gently.
“I’m asking you to leave.
“Turn around.”
He remained turned away and I removed my hand from his arm Stepping next to him, I reached out to grab his jaw quickly and turned him to face me.
What I saw will forever be engrained in my memory. His eyes were dark, but the firelight allowed me to notice that his irises and pupils were the same size. It looked as if the white parts of his eyes had been bleeding as they had been replaced by a deep red color that had spread to make the lavender in his
eyes a dark shade of burgundy.
The veins and arteries around his eyes, especially underneath them, held a prominence like none I had ever seen before. They stood out against his skin like a web of roads on a map.
The way I held his jaw caused his lips to part slightly, allowing me a glimpse of the extended canine teeth in his mouth.
As hard as it was to keep myself from gasping, I refused to let myself do so. As ghastly as the sight was, I refused to let him know that I thought so.
Cain hadn’t wanted me to know and he hadn’t wanted me to see.
He couldn’t be held responsible for what happened when I did.
“You weren’t lying about the vampire part,” I breathed out, trying my hardest not to stare at the fangs in his mouth
“I wasn’t lying about any of it,” he said as he reached up to pull my hand away from his jaw.
I let go, his hand now having a gentle, but firm, hold on my wrist.
“Why does that happen?” I asked him, referring to his eyes. He didn’t answer me, only stared at me intently trying to gauge my reaction.
“Did I do that to you?” I asked slowly.
“Yes” he answered, breathing out.
“Why?” I asked.
I was having a hard time looking at Cain while his eyes looked the way they did. I instead focused on his teeth, marveling at how they had extended out of his gum line. I knew it had to hurt when they did
“There’s a lot you don’t know,” he said.
“l’Il explain it to you, but I can’t do it right now. I really need you to leave.”
His hand slid down my arm as he let go of my wrist, allowing me to reach up to touch his face again.
My thumb pushed his top lip up gently so I could have a better view of his teeth.
“You’re fangs aren’t as long as I expected them to be,” I said truthfully.
When I heard ‘Vampire’, I immediately thought of two inch fangs that were pointed like toothpicks and couldn’t be hidden by lips.
But his weren’t very noticeable.
Cain took my hand in his and pulled it away from his mouth. “Go,” he said again.
His hand let go of mine and I backed away, looking at his darkened eyes and extended fangs in disbelief.
He hadn’t lied to me. I turned to leave and Cain stopped me.
“Ella.”
I turned back around and he sighed.
“We’ll talk in the morning.”
I nodded, giving him the smallest smile I could muster. I walked out of the room, dragging my suitcase behind me. Closing Cain’s bedroom door, I felt a wave of emotions rush over me. It was so powerful I had to lean against the wall for a
moment to gather myself.
I couldn’t tell if I wanted to cry or laugh. I was thrilled and in awe but I wanted to scream and run at the same time.
I placed a hand against my chest and felt my heart racing a hundred miles an hour.
One thing I did know for sure was that I couldn’t wait to talk in the morning.