Dawn of the Vampires

Chapter 22; One Door Closes

Memories of the previous night flooded Harley's mind as she was pulled into awake by the strong rays of sunlight that leaked through the windows; being out in the city, experiencing things that she'd thought impossible, dancing with Mason underneath the Brooklyn bridge. She could still feel his hands entangled in her hair, her legs around his waist, and the trail of kisses from her neck to her lips, phantoms of the way their evening had ended. She opened her eyes, bringing her hand up to shield them from the sunlight, and tilted her head up as they adjusted to see Mason laying awake, his arms still wrapped around her figure.

"I thought vampires didn't sleep?" She muttered amid a yawn.

He grinned. "We don't."

"Have you been laid there the whole night?"

"Pretty much, but before you protest that I shouldn't have, I wanted to. You fell asleep pretty quickly after everything and I didn't want to risk disturbing you."

A sleepy smile crept onto her face and she gently moved his head down to kiss him. He closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. "As much as I would love to lay here with you forever, I do think that we should get dressed before Julian barges in here."

"Ugh." She groaned, rolling her eyes as she forced herself up and out of bed, taking the white linen sheet to cover herself.

Mason pulled himself into a sitting position and put both arms behind his head against the pillow, watching with a wry smile as she pattered around, looking for her scattered clothes.

The opening of the bedroom door startled Harley, and she unconsciously let go of the sheet covering her, causing it to fall to the floor. Her eyes widened when saw Julian standing in the doorway, and she bent quickly to retrieve the sheet.

"My eyes!" He screeched, squinting them shut.

"It's okay, she's decent now." Mason chuckled. "Well, decent-ish."

"Sorry, no offense Harley but I think I would have gotten a beating if I'd have said anything else."

"Please, don't go there." She cringed.

"What is your business at this time of morning?" Mason asked, changing the subject.

"Well, I remembered what day it was and figured that Harley should probably make her decision…"

Harley's eyes widened as she too remembered what was happening; Zander's funeral. Each time she had been asked about it, she had avoided answering and then the weeks flew by, and the day was here. There was no more putting it off.

"It's okay, you don't have to go if you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. Sometimes we have to do things that we don't want to do." She sighed, bowing her head.

"Right, then I shall leave you both in peace. I'll be downstairs if you need anything, but I should mention that I won't be here long; I have some business to attend to."

"Business?" Mason questioned.

"A few of the guys from the coven told me they have some news, so I'm meeting them for coffee. Yes, before you ask, they are playing double agent."

Mason nodded, not bothering to ask any further questions, and Julian slipped silently out of the room. Harley exhaled in relief, and walked over the small wooden closet where she now kept a few of her clothes. After a few minutes spent digging through the messy pile, she settled on a simple black dress, a pair of black heels that weren't too high and some fresh undergarments. As Mason got up and dug for his own clothes, she made her way across the hall and into the bathroom to freshen up.