Pallo held me tight and I let him. The sound of someone crying filled my head. It was me. I was holding onto Pallo with both arms and crying. My cheek was pressed to his cool chest and I was letting him hold me, not wanting him to stop. I felt a cool breeze tickle the back of my shoulder. I pulled back from him, still letting him hold my hand.
Wind whistled and circled around us like a small tornado. We were standing in a room that was underground so I knew it was impossible for this to be happening. His grip tightened on my hand. The wind picked up. Our feet stood firm, yet everything else moved. The room spun. I wasn’t sure if that was his doing or mine. I saw Caradoc and James come running into the room.
Pallo closed his arms around me so quickly I had no time to protest. Not that I would have anyway. I buried my face in his hard chest. He smelled like a mixture of vanilla and Hugo Boss.
Caradoc and James tried to reach us, but the swirling wind kept them at bay. I tried to push away from Pallo, but he held tight.
"What’s happening?" I shouted.
It sounded as if a large train headed straight for us. The force of the wind made us sway.
"I thought this was your doing," he yelled.
I shook my head no and buried my face in his chest. All of the noise and pounding of the wind stopped abruptly. I lifted my head. Pallo’s arms tightened. I looked around the living room. Nothing was the same. Caradoc and James were gone.
We stood in a pale yellow bedroom with a large, four post bed in the center of it. The ceilings were high and white crown molding ran around the room. Thick, navy drapes hung to the floor on each side of a white fireplace. Picture frames were toppled over on the mantle, making it impossible to see who was in them from were we stood.
"Where are we?" I asked.
He loosened his grip on me and looked around the room. "In my bedroom."
"Slow down, boy. Why are we in your room? How the hell many bedrooms do you have--"
He cut me off. "No, not my room as it is today. This is my room as it once was."
I stepped away. Looking down, I saw that I wore a long white gown that reached the floor. I closed my eyes, wishing hard to be back in my own bed. Some part of me had secretly hoped that would work, and was disappointed when I opened them to see Pallo still standing there. I never thought in a million years that I would be bummed out to be standing in the arms of a gorgeous guy. I gave up.
"When you say once was, what exactly do you mean?"
"This is a place from my past."
"How far in the past?"
"Roughly two hundred and fifty years, give or take."
"Over two hundred years in the past?" Panic swept through my voice.
"That is correct."
"Does this sort of thing happen to you often? I mean, time travel, falling for girls you’ve known less than a week … getting them to fall for you too…?"
"No, this has never happened to me before." He ran his fingers through his hair in a nervous manner.
I walked to the bed and knelt by the side table. There was a folded note card sitting there with our names on it. I opened it, but could not read the writing. It was like no language I had ever seen before.
"Pallo?"
He came to me, and I handed him the card. A wide smile spread across his face.
"Well, what does it say?"
"It is from Lydia. She wishes us well."
"Lydia? Who, exactly, is Lydia?"
"Someone who cares very much for your well-being." He looked around the room in amazement as he spoke to me.
"I don’t know anyone named Lydia, so why would she care about me? And what language is that?"
"I suppose she has her reasons. Do you mean to tell me you cannot read this?" he said, holding the card up to me.
"No, why should I?"
"It is faerie, they have a dialect all their own."
"Well, obviously I’m not up on my faerie. So, let’s go find this Lydia and tell her that putting me in a bedroom with you is not really looking out for me, now is it?"
He frowned. "Do you really feel that way?"
"Pallo, what’s going on?"
He was close enough to touch me. I leaned back. "Why do you pull away from me? You just confessed your love for me?"
"I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about." I took a step back and tripped over the back of the long white nightgown. The bed broke my fall.
"May I join you?" he asked. The look on my face must have told him exactly what I thought he meant. "I would like to rest next to you. Daylight nears and I grow tired."
I looked at my wrist to check the time. "That can’t be right."
"What is the problem?" Pallo asked, voice hushed.
"My watch is gone," I said, shoving my wrist toward him. He took hold of it, his touch gentle. A man with his power and strength could have torn my arm from my body. I could tell he had spent centuries learning to control himself.
"Your entire outfit is gone."
"Again … you with the obvious."
The top of his thighs brushed my knees. I had to fight the urge to reach up and grab hold of his waist band. It was already dangerously close to exposing him as it was. I could clearly see his hip bones.
"Pull up your pants," I said pulling free and covering my eyes.
"Why does my body bother you?" he asked, clearly amused.
I kept my eyes covered and felt myself relaxing on the bed. My legs were still bent at the knees. Pallo’s legs still pushed against mine while he stood before me.
"I didn’t sign up for a vampire peep show tonight, okay?"
"It is your loss," he said.
He plopped down beside me on the bed. I sat up on my elbows and looked at him.
"What do you think your doing?" I was not going to be shacking up with a vampire tonight, at least not if I had anything to say about it. I had agreed to stay in his home, not in his bed.
Pallo lay on his side, watching me. His arm was bent, holding his head up, and long, loose curls spilled over his bare shoulder and touched the bed. "I am merely getting comfortable. Is that a problem?"
"Well, yeah, I think it is. Can we, like, call someone or something? Because, I am not going to lay in this bed with you."
"How would you have me phone someone? Should I close my eyes and make a wish?"
"Are you always this big of an asshole, or do you save it up to impress the ladies?" I asked, glaring at him.
"Is your mood always this sour?" He gave me a grin that screamed mischief.
I wanted to have a snappy comeback, but nothing came to mind, so I just grunted.
"My sweet Gwyneth, I am only trying to get to know you."
"I am not your sweet anything, and I think I know enough about you to hold us both over."
"And what do you think you know about me?" Pallo asked, as he lifted his hand to touch me.
I smacked his hand away. "I know what you are, and I can only guess what you’ve done. There is no way in hell that you got to the position you have by being Mister Nice Guy. How many innocent people have you tortured, or worse, murdered to get your little place in the sun? Or should I say darkness? I know of at least two. I know what you are."
"What exactly am I? I’m curious to hear your perspective."
I couldn’t believe this guy. "You are a Vampire."
"Now who is stating the obvious?" he asked.
"God, forget it. There is no dealing with you, get away from me!"
"I am sorry. Forgive me." He was smiling. I knew the apology was fake, but I accepted it all the same.
"Pallo?"
"Yes."
"Why do we hurt each other so much?" It was a completely legitimate question. We had been dancing in circles since the moment I laid eyes on him. He moved himself closer to me. He sighed.
"I am sorry for the Brenda situation. I lost my temper."
I looked at him. What Brenda situation? Then it hit me. "You mean Sandra?"
He shrugged one shoulder. "Very we
ll, Sandra."
Well, she must have left some impression on the guy. He’d already forgotten her name. Seeing him with her had bothered me. I felt like he was mine, and I didn’t want to share. Kind of ironic, considering what I’d done with Caleb.
Thinking of Caleb again made my stomach tighten. I couldn’t believe how far I had let things go. Most of all, I just couldn’t believe how much I missed him. Pallo slid his hand down my arm and brought my thoughts back to him. I smiled, and he took this as a green light.
In a flash, he slid a leg over my thighs. The thin material of his pants couldn’t hide how turned on he was. I sucked in as his lips brushed past mine.
My mind clouded. I knew I had been angry with him, but I could not remember why. The only thing I was sure of was that I wanted him to be interested in me. I liked the attention he gave me. I needed to have him near me. My body ached to be touched again. Caleb had brought my desires back to life, and now he was gone. All the men I let into my life ended up failing me somehow. I needed to know if it was just me. Was I destined to bring down every guy I let close to me, or was there still hope? I knew that Pallo would have sex with me, but I didn’t want that. I wanted to be loved, the same way anyone else would want it, unconditionally. I had felt that from Caleb, and I knew that he was not able to give me that anymore.
I faced the fireplace, freeing myself from the drape of his body. Pallo was on top of the covers and I didn’t want to turn and ask him to move. I didn’t trust what I would say or do if I looked into his brown eyes.
Something bumped the back of my head. I turned to find Pallo laying flat on his back with his hands folded behind his head. His elbow had been what hit me.
"Excuse you," I said snippily.
"No, it is not I with the problem. It is you."
"I don’t have a problem. Oh, wait that’s right--I am only stuck in some godforsaken three hundred year old version of your love nest. Gee, why is it that I would have a problem? Hmm, I wonder?"
"Gwyneth, why do you fight your feelings for me?" He continued to stare at the ceiling.
"Whatever!" I wanted to push him off the bed. "You are so full of yourself. I’m going to sleep, don’t come near me or I’ll…." I couldn’t really think of what I’d do.
"You will what? Be honest with yourself?" He sounded so sure of himself. He made my blood boil.
"Pallo?"
"Yes."
"I miss Caleb," I said.
"As do I," Pallo said softly to me.
Chapter 14
I had to fight to fall asleep. I visualized the white light of peace moving up from my toes, over my legs, past my hips, up and over my breast, sliding over my face, and moving out the top of my head. My body felt completely relaxed. I had released the tension from the day and felt sleep come on me. It was glorious. I made a mental note to thank Nana for the tip.
My peaceful rest was interrupted. I felt my subconscious mind wandering. It was digging in deep crevices that often go unnoticed. It came up with something, and shared it with me in the form of a nightmare. I was running down a long corridor from something. I could hear it moving quickly behind me, but I couldn’t see it. I didn’t want to see it. I wore no shoes, and I could tell my feet were bleeding. I could feel the presence behind me closing in. I wanted to move faster, but I felt like I was wading through an invisible fog of molasses. I put my arms into it and pushed against the force slowing me down. There was a door ahead of me. I knew that was the way out. I knew that behind that door lay safety. When I reached it, I pulled on the knob. My hand was slick with sweat and it slipped off. I wiped it on the bottom of the long blue dress I wore. I pulled the trailing end of the sleeves into my hand and tried the knob again. I felt it turn, and I pulled it open a few inches when something slammed into me from behind. My body was pressed to the door--my fingers were closed in it. I knew they were broken. I could feel the throbbing pain shoot up my arm and into my neck.
Hot breath blew against the back of my head. Something snarled and drew air into its lungs.
"Look at me." The voice was very low and barely human.
"Don’t," I said, leaning against the door. "Please, don’t do this." Hot tears streamed down my checks.
"You smell of him," the demonic voice said. "I said look at me." An ice cold hand gripped my shoulder, pulling me free from the door. Its hand ran across my very swollen stomach. "I am gone from you only a few months, and you cannot even wait for me. Instead, you lie with him and you betray me with this." Its hands pressed hard against my stomach. Something moved inside me, I could feel the tiny life growing within. Two hands gripped my shoulders and pushed my back to the door, forceful but not painful.
"No, you have changed, you’re not the same, you are a--"
"Go ahead." Its breath was so hot against my cheek. I fought with all my might not to open my eyes and look at it. "I am a monster now. And you thought that you had freed yourself of demons."
I tried to slide away from it, but it was too strong. I swallowed hard. "Please don’t hurt us."
"Oh, that is good. Begging like a dog for your life." Its fingers wrapped tight around my arms. I cried. "Now you weep. Now you show that you have emotions. Tell me, did you weep so for me when you believed me gone?" I was reaching it. I knew that on some level I was appealing to whatever humanity it had left in it. "I do not think you mourned long. By the looks of you," --it pushed at my stomach again--, "you didn’t hesitate to seek the arms of another. Look at me when I speak to you, Gwyneth."
"I can’t." My voice was small. I could feel its face close to mine, too close. It pushed its mouth onto mine, forcing its tongue inside. Fangs nicked my tongue, and my mouth filled with blood.
I kicked awake in the bed, my heart pounding in my chest. I lifted my hand to my mouth and came away with blood. I had bitten through my bottom lip during the nightmare. Something touched my cheek, and I screamed.
"Gwyneth, it is I," Pallo whispered. "What is wrong?"
He stared at me sleepily. I tried to relax. He was so sweet and genuine. I wanted to wrap myself around him and let him hold me until I fell back asleep. I wanted a lot of things in my life, but the fact remained that he was a vampire, so I sat still.
"I had a bad dream." I sounded like a child. "I…"
"You do not have to explain to me. Come, let me hold you." His arm slid around my back. "You are safe now, you are safe."
I leaned back in his arm and wanted to thank him for being so kind, even though I had treated him so badly.
"You’re warm," I said. Okay, it wasn’t ‘I’m sorry for being a jerk’, but it was the best I could come up with.
"So I am," he said, propping his head up with his hand. From the look on his face it surprised him too. "You bring out the best in me, what can I say?" He kissed me on the cheek, and when he pulled back, his face was flushed. I caressed his cheek, and he pressed a kiss to my wrist. A shiver ran down my spine. I didn’t want to have such a vulnerable spot near his mouth. I knew that he hadn’t fed since we’d been here, and I wasn’t planning on being breakfast.
"There is no need to fear me," he whispered between tiny kisses on my skin.
I wasn’t sure I wanted to take his word on that. It took every ounce of my willpower to turn away from him and climb out of the bed. His hands brushed along my back as I stood.
"What time do you think it is?" I asked, trying to keep myself from climbing back into the bed and straddling him.
"I would say it is probably close to six."
"Great. I can still make it into the office before Ken gets in. How do we get out of here?"
He looked up at me. "Six p.m."
"We slept all day long? I’ve got to go."
"We go nowhere until we are both ready."
"Where’s your kitchen?"
"Go out the door and down the staircase. You shall find it on the lower level. Third door on the right, although I am not sure what Lydia will have provided for us."
He was still lying on top o
f the covers.
"What, no personal tour?" I said, smiling.
"Forgive me, Gwyneth, but I am not feeling like myself."
"You need blood, don’t you?"
He closed his eyes a moment, and then looked to me. "Yes."
I started towards him. I really had no idea what I planned to do when I got there, but at that point I didn’t care.
Pallo’s stopped me. "No, you go and attend to your needs. I will be fine."
"But," I started to say. I figured a two hundred and seventy-five year old vampire ought to know what’s best for him. "Don’t fall asleep."
I headed out the door in the direction he had pointed me in. I walked out into the hall. It was grand. On the left side was a row of three doors. The right was open to the floor below. A large rounded banister ran along the side and curved to follow the staircase. I started downstairs and stopped dead in my tracks. A large oil painting hung on the wall above the landing. There was a woman and a man standing near the edge of a river. The woman wore a long white dress similar to the one I was wearing now, and the man wore a loose, silky white shirt and a pair of brown pants. They were standing face to face, holding hands. The man’s wavy brown hair was pulled back into a pony tail at the base of his neck. I looked at the profile harder and knew that I was staring at Pallo. I knew this was, or had been, his home at one time, so I wasn’t shocked. What did shock me, however, was the face of the woman he was holding hands with. It was me. Well, almost me. The woman’s face was identical to mine, except for the fact that she had the most beautiful violet-colored eyes. She stared up at Pallo’s face with so much love in her violet eyes that I could almost feel it sweep over me. I clutched the cold, hard railing to keep my footing, swallowing hard to keep from being sick.
"Gwyneth." Pallo’s voice came from the top of the staircase.
"Who did this?" I asked.
"Who did what?" He stood behind me, but I didn’t turn around.
"Did you do this? Is this your idea of a joke?"
"I do not know what you are taking about." He touched my shoulder.
"You planned this, didn’t you? You said you’d seen my name in the Nocturnal Journal. Did you see a picture, too? There’s no Lydia. This isn’t some house from your past. Mystical portal, my ass! What I want to know is how you managed to find someone to paint a picture of the two of us." I was so angry I could feel my jaw tightening. "I hope they didn’t charge you too much, because my eyes are blue."
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