"I can carry something, you know. My arms aren't broken," I insist, scurrying to keep up with Elias's long strides down the hall from my room to his.
"I am aware of that, Cordelia. Just because you can doesn't mean you're going to. You had a traumatic experience tonight; you should exert yourself as little as possible so that you don't end up having an asthma attack," he says without looking back at me, and I have the urge to kick him in the back of the leg and hug him around the waist at the same time.
I do neither and when I finally catch up with him, we are already at his door. "But you can help me by reaching in my pocket and grabbing my room key."
I raise an eyebrow and slide my fingers into the front pocket of his board shorts. He stiffens and glances down at me with an amused expression. "My back pocket, Cordelia."
My cheeks heat and I yank my fingers from his shorts, cringing at my mistake. "Oh, shit. Sorry." I pluck the key from where it is clearly hanging out of his back pocket and slide it into the lock, pushing open the door. "Be more specific next time and maybe you won't get groped."
He releases a long breath, and his eyes shoot to the side to give me a warning glare. I might have shied away and felt my face burn with embarrassment if it weren't for the slight upturn of one side of his mouth. I think my grouchy new roommate enjoyed my touch.
I step aside so Elias can enter the room first. He heads down a hallway with my suitcases as I remain stunned in place in the doorway. I thought my room was beautiful with its antique furnishings, but this... Elias has been living like a king.
His four-post bed is a monstrosity of hand-carved ebony wood and lush black bedding. Elaborate silver filagree is embroidered along the edge of his comforter and pillowcases. The two towering windows along the far wall look like something out of a gothic church, framed in thick black curtains. French doors sit between them, leading to a balcony beyond. I drop my purse on one of the two velvet chairs in front of the fireplace and crane my head back to admire the wrought iron chandelier above.
"I'd hate to know what you did to get this room?" I say, spinning in a slow circle.
"I sacrificed a virgin and sold my soul to the dark king," he says, joining me again.
My jaw drops and I feign shock. "The Dark King? I think I read a book about that once. It was really spicy. Any chance you got some action on your end of that deal? Or was the room the only perk?" I ask, walking to him and bumping him with my hip.
"No, just a damned soul. But it is worth it for one summer of comfort while I'm in the most uncomfortable situation I can imagine." He meets my gaze. "Not that I include you in my discomfort."
I swallow and give him a tight-lipped smile. "You didn't really sacrifice a virgin, did you? Or sell your soul to some other entity? That's kinda creepy. I don't know if I can live with a creepy guy for the rest of the summer. I thought that's why I moved in. To stay away from the creepy people." I pause, wondering if I should tack a real question onto my jokes, and ultimately decide that I might as well; this night can't get any weirder. "Why is this the most uncomfortable situation you can imagine, if it's not because of the practical stranger living in your room with you?"
"I already told you that it was Lorelai who insisted I come. I just..." He shakes his head. "I've come to terms that I'm not cut out to be with someone. My lifestyle, what I am, I'm one of those beings who is meant to exist as the eternal bachelor." Elias holds out his arm toward the hallway. "I've placed your bags in the walk-in closet to the left and the bathroom is at the end of the hall. Let me know if there is anything you need."
I blink at his unexpected change in demeanor. I hate that I pressed him for details; clearly that is a sore subject that he didn't want to discuss any further and I just couldn't leave it alone. I want to salvage what's remaining of this night, so I smile and say, "I think I'll go change into my pajamas, and then do you want to watch a movie or something? Lorelai mentioned you were binging something earlier today."
He opens his mouth and promptly closes it again, breaking eye contact with me. I get the feeling that binging shows is not what he was doing all day. And when he does speak, my assumption is confirmed. "I'd like to watch whatever you would like."
"Okay," I say with a tight smile and head for the bathroom.
I set to work on my nightly routine of cleaning my face and brushing my teeth. The entire time I mull over the tidbits that Elias has let me learn about him so far. It surprises me that it isn't what he is that fascinates me the most, but the tiny bits of information I've gathered about him. Like the fact that he isn't holed up in his room all day watching some janky version of Netflix. He is avoiding the group gatherings during the day. Something tells me that it has little to do with his reaction to the sun.
When I return to the room, Elias is seated in front of the fire with a book in his lap. He has exchanged his swimming shorts for worn-in joggers and a t-shirt. It is a little jarring to see a vampire look so...normal.
I straighten my short silk pajama shorts and tank top before getting his attention. I really wish I had a little forethought before leaving and packed something else to sleep in.
"Hey," I say in a soft voice, not wanting to scare him. I am definitely getting the vibe that he's used to being alone a lot.
That makes me unexpectedly sad.
His gaze drifts from the page and scales up my body. He shifts in his seat before closing the book. "How..." He clears his throat and starts again. "How do you want to do this? I've never watched television with another person in a bedroom."
I shrug one shoulder and hop into his bed on top of the cover, pulling both my legs underneath me. "Well, I have, and usually, we just get in bed together and watch TV. I'm assuming there's only one bed in this room, right?"
He moves to the foot of the bed and folds his arms over his chest. His shoulder meets one of the bed posts and he stares down at me. It's hard to figure out if he is comfortable with me in his bed or questioning his offer. Either way, he remains fixated on me.
"Would you rather we sit in the chairs?" I ask.
He shakes his head, keeping his unreadable expression. "It's been a while since I had a woman in my space like this."
"Oh. Does it make you uncomfortable? I swear to you, I won't do anything weird, like drool all over your pillows or eat potato chips under the blankets. But I do wonder...if you don't even want to sit with me and watch TV...how will we ever sleep together?" My face heats as I realize what I've said. "I mean, like, sleep next to each other."
He licks his lips and pushes off the bedframe. Like he is approaching his prey, Elias closes the distance between us. "You play an innocent game, Cordelia, a very intentional innocent game. I swear you have hand chosen every thought that slides into my head and ensured that it has me imagining the wickedest things." He leans down, bracing himself with his hands next to my hips. His lips are close enough that if I stretched my neck, I would know what it is like to kiss a vampire. "Be careful. My tastes run dark, dolce tentazione."
I gulp and even though I try to make it not so obvious that he's affecting me, his eyes snap directly to my throat. I guess Italian is one of those nine languages Lorelai mentioned, and I know enough to infer that he called me sweet something.
And I know that even though the sleeping together thing actually was a slip of the tongue, I am pushing the envelope with him. I also realize why I'm doing it.
I want him to lose control with me. If whatever that was hadn't dragged me under the water in the pool, we'd probably still be making out right now.
Damnit, I want Elias Dagon, vampire or not, to show me just how dark his tastes are.
"Game? I don't know what you mean, Elias," I say, blinking up at him through my lashes as I unfold my legs and spread them between where his arms are caging me in, leaving them dangling off the edge of the mattress. "Just get in bed so we can pick a movie."
"Bossy," he whispers, releasing me from the cage of his arms and turning away, walking to the other side of the bed. He lowers himself to the mattress, back resting against the headboard, folding his hands in his lap and lifting an eyebrow. "Go on. Pick your show."
I smirk and swing my legsback onto the bed and settle beside him. "Thank you." Picking up the remote, I choose a streaming service from the plethora that are offered on the television and stifle a snort. "You ever watched True Blood?"