Inhumane Seduction (Vampire Romance-on hiatus)

nineteen

Nineteen - Grim Reaper

Elijah's mansion was equally as beautiful as Xander's. The only thing that was different was that while Xander's mansion was mostly built with wood, Elijah's was a little more modern. Most of the floor and furniture was marble.

I didn't feel at all comfortable when I stepped in with Xander right in front of me. Elijah had greeted us with his usual smile and then told one of his servants to bring my duffel bags into the room I was going to stay in.

As Xander was about to leave to go back to Deathfall I quickly told him I wanted to talk. He reluctantly accepted and escorted me out to the front yard. We stood beside a tree that blocked us from anyone that could be looking from the house.

I crossed my arms. "I don't see the difference with me staying with Lord Redwater rather than staying with you. Charon can still take me away, you realize that, right?"

"We had this talk before." His tone was cold and unforgiving, not giving me enough room to say anything else, but I did anyway.

"You never answered me properly."

"Lord Redwater does not have a strong alliance with the Pirros. With you here, it will be harder for Charon to take you away."

I huffed. "So you gave me away for the sake of not breaking your alliance with the Pirros? Besides, don't you think I'm in danger here more than anywhere else? He's not going to be afraid of taking me from Lord Redwater because they don't have an alliance in the first place."

He shook his head. "I have to go, Ophelia." He started walking toward his car.

"Please don't leave me here," I pleaded. I didn't know why but I didn't want to be away from Xander. By this point, he was the one person I was closest to in the vampire world. Besides, it would only mean I wouldn't see Genevieve anytime soon and I missed her already.

He stopped in his track and turned halfway to look at me. I stood there, my eyes silently begging for him to change his mind and take me back to Deathfall with him. I longed for the warm library and the scent of his office after he had just drunk his ichor scotch.

He unexpectedly reached a hand toward my face, pushing away a piece of stray hair that had come undone from my ponytail back behind my ear. His fingers had caressed my face just barely and I immediately shivered at the contact.

I remembered back to the moment I woke up on his bed just the morning before. He was nowhere to be found but I remembered specifically being extremely relieved that my back was already clean of injuries except for the occasional bruises.

He pulled his hand away a little too quickly for my liking and cleared his throat awkwardly. "All I'm asking from you is for you to trust me. Be safe for me." He gave me one last strained smile before walking away, his back facing me. He didn't even glance at me once when he entered the car. I couldn't see inside the car because the window was tinted but I stayed on my spot, watching as the car drove away from the mansion.

I stayed even when the gates to the mansion closed. I stayed even when the car had driven out of sight and even when my nose started to sting unbearably the more I breathed in the cold air. I felt the loneliest I had ever been. I knew Deathfall was not that far from Redwater, but I didn't know when I would see Xander next. It could be weeks, even months.

I didn't know when Charon was going to come back for me and how far he would go to make sure I married him. He didn't really love me, and I knew that. He was in love with the idea of finally being able to touch someone, and I couldn't exactly blame him. If I lived my whole life burning everyone I touched and then finally found someone who was immune to me, I might just go mad.