Matthew held up a dress, smiling to me as his eyes darted from me to it. “I think you’d look marvelous in this style.”
I looked at the short black dress before giving him a slightly put off look. “No way.”
He looked to the dress than back to me, his emerald eyes laced with disappointment. “You haven’t liked any of my suggestions.”
The hurt tone to his voice surprised me and I looked away from him, not wanting to give in. “Well they just aren’t practical,” I explained, not wanting to hurt his feelings either. “They look pretty, sure, but I can’t exactly wear that to class.”
“No, I suppose not.”
For a long moment he looked down at the dress, running the black fabric between his fingers. “Does your type wear these types of things often?” I found myself asking. I hadn’t realized that everything he’d picked out had been far from every day wear. Every shop we went to he was holding up dresses and skirts, vests and shawls, not to mention all sorts of gaudy jewelry.
“Sometimes, yes,” he answered, nodding before looking up at me. “Most get dolled up for the Games.”
The Games. The words rebounded in my head as I remembered what had occurred earlier with Francis. “We should get it then,” I instructed him, reaching out to set it in the basket.
I’d expected him to look pleased; instead a confused expression crossed his face. “What brought about this change of decision?”
“Well,” I started, my hand still hanging in midair, “if this is what is worn to the games it would be a good idea to get it. I don’t want to stick out too badly. Last thing I need is for more attention to be drawn to me, don’t you agree?”
“You plan on attending the games?”
His question confused me and I furrowed my brow, lowering my hand back to my side. Just what sort of a question was that? “Isn’t that what we told Francis?”
Matthew nodded, his eyes scanning me slowly before looking back down to the dress. “Well, yes admittedly I did,” he said, his fingers still running over the fabric. “However, I did not expect you to actually attend.”
“You didn’t?”
“No, I did not,” he responded with a small shake of his head and a sad smile. “As you can imagine, there are a lot of my kind at such an event and you seem to have a strong dislike for us.”
I couldn’t stop the guilt from creeping into me. “It’s not that I don’t like you,” I tried to explain, “it’s just that my body gets alarmed by you.” Matthew had just saved me no matter how I looked at it. Perhaps not my life, but my mind definitely. I don’t know what I would have done if Francis had continued in the direction he had seemed to be taking things. I would have had no choice but to call on Collin and risk getting him into huge trouble.
Matthew’s face softened as he nodded, stepping forward to brush my hair behind my ear as he smiled down towards me. “I know child.”
Even with the gratitude I owed him I couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable with him standing so close to me. It wasn’t that my body disagreed with him, for it didn’t anymore. I felt as comfortable around him as I did any human. Rather it was the soft sheen to his eyes that caused my mind to spark in warning. The compassion in his eyes was too great for my comfort. Francis had mentioned that Matthew liked to keep pets and I had no desire to become of so mentioned ‘pets.’ Whatever that meant exactly I wasn’t sure, but I was certain I didn’t care to become one.
“What would happen if I didn’t come with you?” I asked, wondering what would happen from Matthew’s lie to Francis becoming known. Surely he could get in trouble?
It appeared I had guessed right for his eyes lost some of their sheen and he stepped away from me, once more looking down to the dress. “It would cause some difficulties within my family.”
My eyes skimmed over him. The way he stood, with the dress held gingerly in his hands and his eyes staring at it so thoughtfully I realized that he was torn about the entire thing. “Knowing you could get in trouble you still didn’t intend on bringing me?”
“I would never intentionally put you into harm’s way,” he responded with another soft smile.
“The games are dangerous?”
He shook his head. “Oh no, not at all. At least,” he paused, looking to me thoughtfully, “at least not for guests.”
“I’d be all right if I went along with you then?”
“You’ll always be safe at my side,” he responded instantly, his voice taking on a hint of possessiveness. “I’m not one to let things I’m interested in get tampered with.”
I thought quickly back to how he’d stopped Francis from taking things further. It would have been quite easy for him to save me then take me for himself. I would have been absolutely helpless. Rather he helped me more than even he knew. In the process of getting me out of a precarious situation he enlightened me on the rules of his clan. “I’ll go with to the games,” I said slowly wondering as each word left my mouth if I was making the right decision.
It seemed to surprise Matthew just as much as it did myself. “Why would you do a thing like that Isadora?”
“You got me out of trouble,” I responded, telling myself the reason at the same time as I was telling him, “it would be an ill ‘thank you’ to get you into it.”
“There’s no need to thank me Isadora-“
I cut him off, not wanting to be talked out of it. “What’s the harm in going? You said I’ll be safe if I’m with you.”
A few seconds passed in silence as a woman scooted past us, giving a warm smile to Matthew. He returned it with his own, a few wrinkles forming around his eyes. When she was out of hearing range his eyes returned to me. The emerald in them softened as he took in my face, flitting around to cover every detail before finally giving a sigh. “I do suppose fulfilling my earlier promise of bringing you to the games would be a smart move on our part. I’d hate for your absence to draw even more attention to you.”
I nodded in agreement, watching as he set the black dress into our otherwise empty basket. “When do they start?”
“Quite soon,” he answered, taking the cart from me with a little smile, “so we should be on our way if we wish to make a timely appearance.”
I followed a step behind him all the way to his car, my mind dancing around. What had I just agreed to? More like what had I just suggested? It’d been unnecessary for me to even bring up the games at all, whatever they were. Matthew hadn’t made any indication that he actually expected me to go. Even worse; after being told I didn’t need to go I insisted that I should. Just what was I thinking?
No, it’d been for the best. Matthew had come to my aid. It would have been against my conscious to not thank him in some form. I couldn’t go and cause problems for him when he went out of his way to help.
My eyes darted over to him as he pulled out of the parking complex, his midnight blue car humming ever so softly as its engine revved. “Can I ask you something?”
He looked to me as he drove, giving one of his soft smiles. “Of course dear. I’ll always answer any questions that you have, granted I know the answer of course.”
“Why was Francis-“ I hesitated unsure what to call what he’d been doing. Sexual harassment seemed to fit the bill, but I felt uncomfortable just thinking it. If I said it I’d only go back to wondering what could have happened if Matthew hadn’t stepped in. “well,” I paused, reconstructing my thoughts to from a sentence that better asked my question, “why was he using that approach on me?”
“Because he wished to accelerate your heartbeat,” he responded simply. Then, after a second he looked to me and read my confused expression. “You weren’t aware of that?”
“Of what?” I questioned, unsure why my heart rate would matter.
Matthew’s emerald eyes scanned my face, lingering for a few moments on my hazel eyes. “No, you wouldn’t know, would you?” he muttered, more to himself than to me. For a moment he stared forward through the windshield, not chancing a glance towards me. Finally, after a slight gritting of his teeth he let out a low sigh. “My kind has rather specific eating habits.”
“Eating habits?” I repeated back to him, my eyes tracing along the side of his face. He still hadn’t looked back towards me.
Whatever it was that he was trying to decide to tell me seemed to be pressing on his nerves. I noticed the small twitch in the corner of his mouth as he stared fixedly at the road. “Yes. Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as partaking from a neck. There is the position of the bite to get the best bloodflow. Of course,” he paused for a moment as he took a turn, “we must also make sure not to waste any precious blood. It’s imperative to have a clean precise entry.”
“What does that have to do with my heart beat?”
“You see, no matter how perfect of a technique one has it will not improve the quality of the blood if they don’t take heart rate into account. The faster the flow the more improved the taste,” he explained, his eyes slowly drifting back to meet mine. “There are three easy ways to achieve this; anger, fear or pleasure.”
“You play with people before biting them?” I asked, my eyes widening in surprise. “That’s terrible!”
Matthew sighed again with a little nod. “Indeed, it is. There was a reason for humans making us the subject of many horror films.”
“I’ll say,” I muttered, looking away from him. Just how many people had to go through what I had to back there in that hallway? How many times a day did someone get terrified out of their wits just to add a dash of flavor to their blood? Suddenly the idea of vampirism didn’t seem as attractive to me. Just how could someone live with themselves after that? And Collin. . . how could he do that?
Matthew must have realized my distressed appearance for his hand resting on my thigh snapped me from the train of negative thoughts I’d been having. “Isadora, dear, not all of us are monsters. Some, such as myself and Evans, use the approach of pleasure.” He squeezed my thigh gently before withdrawing his hand and replacing it on the wheel, his emerald eyes holding mine captive. “I only feed once my partner is at the height of ecstasy and never take enough to do any lasting harm. They never even realize what has occurred.”
This didn’t calm the disgust that had risen in me however, it only heightened it. “That’s just as bad,” I said, my tone low and cold as I stared at him in disbelief. “You can’t just feed on people without them knowing. That’s not right.”
“Tell me then, what would be fair of us to do? We need blood to survive just as you need food. You do not see me slaughtering helpless animals just to be content for a few hours.”
“That’s different,” I responded instantly.
“How is that?” he asked.
I couldn’t even come up with a response. I’d never been a vegetarian or a vegan in my life, I’d always enjoyed eating meat. Yet comparing it to eating people just didn’t seem fair. I didn’t quite know how. It just was. “I-“ I faltered, not sure what to say.
His gaze softened and he gave a gentle sigh. “That’s an unfair question to ask of you,” he said looking back to the road.
“It doesn’t change the fact that what you do isn’t right. It’s just-“ I sucked in an air of breath trying to find the right word, “it’s just not forgiveable.”
The look of disgust that I shot Matthew seemed to sink straight into his pores for a look of immense guilt crossed his face. “What would you have me do Isadora?” he asked softly, his voice almost pleading. “I have to drink blood to survive and I try to use the least barbaric method that I can.”
There was no reason for him to care about my opinion on him, yet the lost look in his eyes made me wish I could change my view on him. “Can’t you take it from a bloodbank?” I offered weakly. They always seemed to do that in movies. “I know it wouldn’t taste as good but at least that way. . .” I trailed off not even wanting to think about all of the obscene ways that vampires may try to get people’s hearts beating.
“And take much needed aid from the injured and ill?” he asked, his eyes searching mine as though for an answer.
“Well-“ I stuttered, not sure of a comeback to that question.
“I may be an abomination in your eyes but I do strive to go about my lifestyle in the least cruel way possible. I only take from those who are healthy and can spare the blood without harming them, I make sure that they experience great pleasure in exchange for the sustenance I need to survive, and unlike Francis I never force myself unto anyone. All of my hosts are willing in some sense.” The emerald of his eyes met mine as the car shut off. He’d parked as we must have arrived at our destination. Instead of getting out however he reached forward, his hand grasping mine before I could pull it away. “I would never attempt what Francis did today, and I will not allow anyone else to either.”
“How do you intend to do that?” I asked, my gaze shifting down to his warm hand around mine. I had no idea why I felt such a strong sensation of safety around him. Yet there it hung in the air as if he were shielding me from any danger.
His free hand reached out, cupping my chin as he tilted my head so I could look him in the eyes once more. “Allow me to accomplish two tasks at once,” he said with a gentle smile. “I will remove the marking that Francis made on your neck in such a crude manner and form a bond with you as well.”
My hand darted up to my neck, my eyes widening and my checks searing red in embarrassment. I’d forgotten how Francis had sucked at my neck. I’d forgotten how vulnerable I’d been. “How?” I asked, wishing nothing more than to be rid of the hickey that remained as proof of what had happened.
“If you allow me to bite your neck I shall heal over the skin. It will remove the marking. I promise that I will only break the skin as much as is necessary to remove the mark and create the bond.”
“What do you mean by bond?” I asked as his hand lowered from my chin and instead moved to turn the key, stopping the beeping that had been signaling that his seatbelt was undone.
“I had thought you would know, having made one with Evans already as it were?”
I shook my head, my dark curls shifting across my shoulders. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“The bond is what called him to you when you said his name aloud. It alerted his senses that you were in need of him.”
“How?” I asked, trying to think back on anything unusual we’d done that could have formed whatever bond he was talking about. As far as I knew we’d never done anything out of the ordinary with each other.
Matthew must have realized my puzzled look as I thought it over for he gave my hand a small squeeze. “It’s nothing difficult to achieve. All you must do is willingly present me with your blood. As long as you have no worry or hesitation while doing so I am allowed to taste your blood at your purest. Seeing as all blood is unique it works as a sort of fingerprint for me to recognize you by. That way when you call my name it alerts my senses of your location, allowing me to follow your scent and heart pattern from greater distances.”
“You can do that?” I asked, bewildered by the idea of it all.
He nodded, smiling once more, the corners of his eyes wrinkling slightly. “Yes, and it will greater ensure your safety.”
Normally I would have vetoed the idea straight away. The only reason I didn’t was because I was thinking of Collin. I was his now and I wanted that to last as long as possible. There was no way we could make it if I died, nor if I got him into too much trouble with his clan. So as I nodded my head and said, “I’ll allow you to create the bond,” the only thing that I was thinking of was Collin and I lasting.
I tilted my head to the side, exposing the side of my neck with the hickey on it for him. He took his time, slowly leaning forward as his hand tightened slightly around mine. His free hand slid up my neck and gently tangled itself in my hair as he held my head steady. It wasn’t necessary however. I was completely calm and peace with it all as I closed my eyes and let out a confident breath. Having a bond with Matthew would mean I could call on him for help and never endanger Collin again.
Even as he sunk his teeth into my skin I felt no remorse at the fact I as only using him to protect not me, but Collin as well.
[[ Grawrrrrrrgle! ~ Yeah I have no idea what that means. But it's mine. So NO TAKING IT! xD I'm in a good mood right now. Gummy worms, pringles and freeze dried snap peas. Weird combination? Blame Eric! He helped me pick them! Oh and he's currently playing a game which was oddly part of the inspiration for part of this chapter. How and what that is, youll never know. Anyways enjoy. And I have a random question just to see what you guys can guess of the next chapter which will be all about the games!
What do you think these mysterious games are?
Answer in the comment box below. You may guess as many times as you so wish! Answer will be onviously given in the next chapter, but I may very well include a special bonus for anyone who gets it right. Thanks for reading. Stay Awesome! ~ Jade ]]