This was a lot to think about. I settled back in my seat, silence filling the car again as the scenery flew by. I'd made the decision to believe him, but I knew now I had to decide if I was going to trust him.
Chapter Twenty-Four
We didn't go back into the city. Instead, we went towards an area just outside of the city, but it wasn't until we turned up a driveway that I realized where we were heading. Built around the same time Hollywood had become a town, the house was three stories high, well over ten thousand square feet, it had stunning architecture and, rumor had it, over forty acres of land—I'd looked up at that hill and daydreamed about that house, that absolutely beautiful piece of work, for years.
It had never been about jealousy, about me wanting to have that house rather than what I did have. I was grateful for everything I had, but there was something about that mansion that had always spoken to me. It was my equivalent of a fairy tale castle, and now I had a feeling I was going to find out that Elias had been the enchanted prince.
“How long have you lived here?” I asked as we pulled up to the house. I leaned forward and peered out the windshield. It was even bigger than I'd imagined.
“I built it.”
My jaw dropped and I stared at him. He had to be joking. I now believed that he had actually built that cabin, but this house? No way.
As if he could sense my disbelief, he continued, “Annalisa and I parted ways in the eighteen fifties and, after exploring the Canadian territories for a couple of decades, I moved out here in the seventies. The eighteen seventies, of course. It began small, but as the years passed, I added to it until it became what you see now.”
Okay, so maybe I was a bit dense, but something didn't occur to me until I was actually walking inside. Elias was rich. He had to be to still own this house. Property taxes on this thing must've been a bitch.
“Elias, can I ask you something?” I was looking all around as I spoke, trying to absorb it all. The interior was just as amazing as I'd dreamed. “If you have enough money for all of this, why are you working for me?”
What could only be described as a sheepish expression crossed his face as he led me into what I would normally call a living room if it hadn't been so lavish. “It seemed to be the best way to become acquainted with you.”
He crossed to the fireplace and crouched down in front of it. Someone had set up paper and wood so that all he needed to do was light the paper. The room was chilly, but not cold. I started to ask why a vampire over two centuries old would want to get to know me, but then I saw it. I really hoped that I wasn't right, because if I was, this was going to be a very awkward conversation.
Hanging above the massive stone fireplace was a portrait. It wasn't a picture or even a painting. This was a full out-and-out portrait, like something you'd see in a history museum with kings and queens and presidents. The woman in it was younger than me, probably eighteen or nineteen, and her cornsilk blond hair was long, pinned up behind her head in what I could only assume was the style of the times. Her eyes were a dark color, her features just a touch too strong to be delicate, but they still managed to be pretty. She wasn't identical to the reflection I saw in the mirror, but she was close enough that we could've passed for sisters—or mother and daughter.
“Elias, who is she?” I pointed. My voice was flat, which was good because I wasn't sure how I was supposed to feel at the moment.
“She is my late wife, Elizabeth,” Elias said softly.
“Your wife,” I echoed. I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. “She looks like me.” I expected him to deny it.
“Yes, she does.” He stood and faced me. “I was in Wales when I first saw you. It was three years ago. You were doing a press tour for the film Let It Fly and you had come to London. I have never become overly fond of television, but I did happen to see you on a talk show. I could not breathe.” He gave a small smile. “Though I do not need to, the description is still accurate. I could not understand how you looked so much like Elizabeth. Then you spoke, and your voice was different, but the same. You were obviously American, and had been born into a world where women are treated much differently than they were when I was born.”
The knot in my stomach grew tighter with every passing moment. Had he come to me because I looked like his dead wife? Or, even worse, was it possible that his child hadn't died with her and I was descended from her and him? I felt like I was going to be sick.
“I became obsessed, reading everything I could find about who you were, who your family was. The more I read, the more I saw how you possessed some of the same qualities I had loved in Elizabeth. Strength. Compassion. But there were differences too. Differences that I found compelling. Your sense of humor. The way you fought back, rather than walking away to keep the peace.” Elias took a step towards me.
“As there is no record of your parents, I can only make assumptions, but Elizabeth did have an older brother, Jeremiah, who was married and had two sons and a daughter. I know that at least one of his sons had four children before I lost track of him while I traveled with Annalisa. I believe that you are descended from Jeremiah's line.”
Part of me thought of how that knowledge could lead me to my biological parents, but the majority of me was focused on the burning question still unanswered. I didn't want to ask it because I feared the answer, but I had to know.
“Is that why you...” I couldn't ask it that way. It hurt too much. I changed my approach. “This attraction, then, is it because I look like her?”
“No.” The word was firm, genuine. Elias reached towards me. He hesitated, as if he wasn't sure that his touch was welcome. When I didn't pull away, he cupped my cheek. “I admit that the resemblance caught my attention, but you alone held it.”
The relief that flooded through me was almost overwhelming. Then he was bending his head towards me and I was tipping my face up to meet his. It started as something gentle, almost innocent. A press of lips, our bodies separated by a few inches, the only other contact his hand on my cheek. Then the tip of his tongue brushed against the corner of my mouth and I reached out to take the front of his shirt in my hands. I pulled him towards me even as I parted my lips.
Flames as hot as those crackling in the fireplace spilled over us, igniting something fierce and deep. Our kisses became greedy, our hands tugging at each other's clothes in our desperate need to feel bare skin beneath our fingers. Dimly, I heard seams and cloth rip, whether from my clothes or his, I didn't know or care. Louder was the rush of blood in my ears, the sounds coming from Elias as my hands roamed his muscular chest. His heart was thudding beneath my palm and I knew that, no matter what anyone else would tell me, he was alive.
His hands gripped my waist and lifted me off the ground enough to move us both back to the couch and sit me down on it. He went to his knees in front of me, his eyes darkening to an impossible shade. My mouth went dry as he gently pulled my legs apart, the little smirk on his full lips confirming his intentions. He lowered his head and I gasped as I felt his mouth on me, deeper than before.
The gasp became a cry as Elias thoroughly explored every inch of my most intimate parts, his tongue delving into my core, then dancing up to that throbbing bundle of nerves. His lack of oxygen was definitely proving to be an asset as my first orgasm crashed over me. One rolled into two, then three, until I was nearly sobbing. I couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Every cell in my body was vibrating so fast that I was sure I would explode. I fisted my hands in his hair and tugged, unable to articulate my need any other way. The only way I'd feel complete would be once he was inside me.
Elias straightened, his hands sliding up my legs to my hips. His eyes locked with mine as he pulled me to the edge of the couch. He sat back on his heels as he positioned my body over his. I wanted to close my eyes as he guided me down on him, but I found that I couldn't break his gaze. I supposed it could have been the whole vampire compulsion slash hypnotism thing, but I didn't really think that was it, and I didn't t
hink it was wishful thinking on my part. He seemed just as mesmerized as I was, his expression one of awe as he filled me.
He stretched one arm up along my spine, holding me against him as our lower bodies moved together. I'd heard people refer to sex as a dance, but I had never fully understood it until now. We moved to a music that only we could hear, the sound of an ancient rite that transformed us from two individuals into one being. We chased after our pleasure, but there was no feeling of a need to rush or a competition, only the beat of the song to guide us. It went on and on as time lost all meaning. Years could have passed and I wouldn't have known it. I had no thoughts of anything else in the world; it was as if the two of us were all that existed.
We came together, crying out into each other's mouths as our bodies tightened around each other in an attempt to merge. He held me against him as my breathing slowed and I could feel his heartbeat steady against my chest. The hand on my back moved up and down my spine, sliding over sweat-slicked skin.
“Before you make an inquiry, you are safe.” Elias's voice was low in my ear. “You do not need to worry about any sort of protection. Vampires cannot contract or transmit any disease, save vampirism and then only by other means.”
It showed just how much I trusted him that I hadn't even thought of the fact that we'd had sex twice with the only protection being my birth control pills. Still, I was glad he'd told me.
“That is one of the benefits of my condition.” Elias lifted me off of his lap and set me on unsteady legs. He kept his hands on my waist as he stood. “I shall show you another if you would follow me upstairs.”
“What's upstairs?”
“My bedroom.”
The smile Elias gave me made me throb in still sensitive places. I threaded my fingers through his.
“Do you remember what I said about how certain vampires are powerful enough to keep their hearts beating and blood circulating?”
I nodded, remembering my previous revelation about how he was able to have sex. I'd always wondered that about fictional vampires. Very few writers, whether in books or on screen, addressed the fact that if a vampire's heart didn't beat, they would be impotent.
Elias continued. “One of the benefits of that particular ability is that, within a twenty-four to forty-eight hour time period of having consumed a fair amount of blood, one of these vampires would be able to maintain and regain his ability to have intercourse much more than the average human.”
Was he saying what I thought he was saying? I looked up at him as we went up the stairs, our clothes forgotten on the floor behind us.
Again displaying his uncanny ability to know what I was thinking, Elias answered my unasked question. “Before we were attacked back at the cabin, I had consumed my usual forty-eight hour ration of blood.” He led me down the hallway. “Shall we test the limits of my abilities?”
Of course, I said the only thing I could say to that. “Hell, yes.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
When I woke up, I had no idea was time it was or even if it was day or night. Elias's bedroom had thick, heavy curtains that blocked out any light that may have been outside. Also contributing to my complete loss of time was the fact that I hadn't really fallen asleep so much as passed out. If I'd been the least bit skeptical before of Elias's truthfulness about what he was, everything we'd done tonight—or was it today?—would've convinced me.
I had climaxed more times since he'd taken me to bed than I had in most of my other relationships put together. I'd stopped counting his orgasms after the sixth one and that had been just a little over halfway through. Every muscle in my body ached as if I'd spent the night running a marathon, or playing a soccer double header. I had some aches in places where I'd never known I had muscles. The juncture between my legs was throbbing, mostly in a good way, but I could tell that it was sensitive enough that the slightest movement would be intense. I really hoped that the plan for the day was to stay in bed, because I didn't think I could manage anything else.
I was far from the most sexually experienced person in the world, and when compared to most of my peers in my particular profession, I was practically a novice, but I knew that no human could do what Elias had done. It was physically impossible. The arm draped over me tightened, pulling me even closer to him. He was still asleep, or at least doing a very good impression of a sleeping human. I hadn't asked him if vampires needed to sleep. Unless he was faking, it seemed like they did need their rest. After that marathon, he more than deserved it.
This was nice, I thought, waking up in his arms. While I'd never been one to have one night stands or completely casual sex, I also wasn't a spend-the-night kind of girl. I would only sleep with men that I trusted to some degree, but there had never been any that I had trusted implicitly enough to literally sleep with them. Most of the men with whom I'd had sex—not that there were very many—might have fallen asleep after sex, but it was generally just for a couple of hours, and then they were gone.
Even then, it wasn't really an after sex cuddle thing. On the odd occasion when I had woken up with an arm around me, I'd always wiggled out of it to avoid the embarrassment on both our parts. It had always felt awkward and forced to me, like that's what the guy thought was expected. Not with Elias, though. Having his arm over me, his body perfectly spooning mine, it all just felt so right and natural.
I almost laughed at that. Who'd have thought that the first time in my life when something felt this natural, when I found someone I could trust without reservation, it would be with a vampire? Sometimes destiny had a bizarre sense of humor.
I was still contemplating the weirdness of this situation when, suddenly, the warmth in my stomach hardened and froze into a ball of ice. Something was wrong.
Elias must have felt me stiffen, because one moment he was asleep and then next he was awake and whispering in my ear. “What is it?”
“I don't know how or why I know it, but they're here.” Even though I was whispering, my voice sounded loud to my ears.
Elias was up and out of bed before I could even sit up. He pulled open a dresser drawer and found a pair of pants. As he pulled them up, he tossed me a pair of boxers and a t-shirt, both too large for me, but they were better than being naked. I didn't even need him to explain why he'd given me shorts and short sleeves. His clothes were going to be big on me, so a pair of pants or a sweatshirt would get in the way if I needed to move fast. Sometimes working action sequences taught you important information, like what you didn't want to be wearing if you were running for your life.
I pulled on the clothes as quickly as possible, silently cursing the fact that I didn't have either bra or panties. I really hoped my whole sixth sense thing was wrong. At the rate I was losing clothes each time they found us, the next time I'd end up having to run naked. While that may have been a horror film staple, I really didn't have any desire to make it a reality.
“We shall go down the hall to the stairs.” Elias wasn't whispering, but he also wasn't speaking in a normal voice.
I didn't know if vampires had super senses and he'd heard the intruders inside, but I was more than willing to follow his example. “Then what?”
“I built a secure room on the first floor. We will go down the stairs and you will go to your right. Turn the corner around to the back of the stairs and place your hand on the panel at the base of the stairs. It will open and you will hide there until I am sure that you are safe.”
“Fuck that.” I kept my voice down, but the intensity was there. “If you're going, then so am I.”
Elias glared at me.
“Look,” I whispered as fiercely as I could. “You said you read everything you could about me. If that was true, then you would know how completely pointless it is to argue with me.”
The expression on Elias's face told me that I'd made my point, but he wasn't willing to concede just yet.
I continued, “We can either stand here arguing until you see that you can't win, or you can just give in and
realize that I'm coming with you, whether you like it or not.”
Elias scowled, but I could tell that his resolve was weakening. Finally, he sighed. “All right, but stay close behind me, do not do anything rash and I shall find you a weapon.” He started to turn, then stopped and turned back. “You are only to use it as a last resort.”
I nodded. I would only use it as a last resort, though I doubted that my definition of a last resort would match with Elias's. There was no need to tell him that though. I figured this was one of those occasions where it would be better to ask forgiveness rather than permission, especially if it involved saving his life.
I followed him out of the room and down the hall, every muscle in my body tense, coiled and ready for sudden movement. We made it to the stairs without incident and Elias paused there. He peered into the shadows, then started down the stairs. The house was strangely silent and that did nothing to soothe my nerves. Something was coming, I could feel it. I'd never thought of myself as psychic or whatever, but there was a certainty to this feeling that I couldn't describe. I only knew that something was going to happen and soon.
“With what sort of weapon are you comfortable?” Elias whispered as we started towards one of the doorways that lead off to a different section of the house. “Gun? Knife? Sword?”
I had the sudden image of me swinging a broadsword and I had to stifle a nervous laugh. The sad thing was, with all of my stunt training, I was probably more qualified to use a sword than a gun.
Before I could give Elias an answer, however, the door crashed open and four masked figures, all dressed in black, rushed in. This time, they entered with their weapons drawn. They'd opted for something a bit different, I saw. Two had swords. Honest to goodness swords. A centuries old vampire offering me a sword was one thing. This was something else. The other two had crossbows with lethal looking arrows. When I saw that the arrows didn't have metal arrowheads, I realized that whoever these intruders were, they knew what Elias was.
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