Adina was doubled over in her seat at the wooden table, her face scrunched into a tortured ball and arms tightly bound around her midsection.
“Nooooo,” she cried through pursed lips. “No more, Chester!” she whined.
She squealed as heat consumed her so ferociously that her tightly shut eyes began to water.
Her nose was crowded with wet snot, forcing her to breathe through her mouth. She panted through slightly parted lips. She needed more air, but did not dare spread her jaws further for fear of Chester taking advantage of the opening.
“Only two more bites, my loved, little one,” Chester cooed. “Open up, for me,” he sang smoothly with his cajoling, timber voice.
Adina shook her head. Death would consume her to have one more bite!
She shut her mouth with a snap when she felt the warm metal spoon prod her lips. The soup was too spicy! There was no way her weak body could handle any more.
Opening her watering eyes, she looked pleadingly into Chester’s face.
Please?
Although he said the food would help her to recover her strength and lose some of the fogginess that had been clouding her mind, Adina felt well enough - if not slightly worse. Surely two more bites of peppery soup weren’t necessary?
With the tilt of his head, Chester’s eyes warned Adina that she would not often get her way, but for this once, he would grant her request.
Chester moved the spoon away from her lips and into his own mouth. Groaning pleasurably, he swallowed the last remains of the hot meal.
Adina bit her lips with a smile before turning eagerly to the glass of water on the table. Desperate to cool off, she chugged and chugged the air warmed liquid, thankful for anything that contained no flavor. The sweat that slid down her forehead and down her back was unpleasant at first and reaching unbearable.
Adina heard Chester gather the dirty dishes and stand from the two-person table. Clinking of ceramic let her know he had placed the bowls into the kitchen sink while she continued to greedily drink the last from her cup.
Finally finished and no longer under pressure to eat, Adina let her gaze trace the outdoors through the paned window. The sun’s dark red rays were no longer painful to her eyes as the orb sank beneath the horizon. Trees swayed softly beyond the slightly fogged glass and inside Adina heard the low whirring of the stirring wind.
What time was it?
Adina had awoken a few hours earlier to the beautiful face of an angel, though, he preferred to be called Chester.
She had been so weak, so scared when she first awoke. Chester held her through it all, providing greater comfort than she could have asked for.
Unable to move when he placed her head upon his chest, she let the hum of his steady heartbeat sooth her. She must have imagined it, but she swore she felt her heart rate slowing to match his.
She had to have dreamt it, after all, her mind had taken much longer to wake than her body. Even now, memories were still lost to her. Reality was a foreign concept of which she held no comprehension.
“And what is my bride looking so intently at instead of me?” Chester asked as he came back to Adina’s side. He sat down on the seat beside her, but leaned forward until he was close enough to kiss the side of her still warm head.
Adina turned to him with a compromising smile. She did not understand why he continued to call her such names. Her heart kicked whenever she heard the confusing terms he called her: bride, captive, love.
Part of her felt electrified at the sound of his voice, but her mind was never at ease. She felt no peace, as if some hidden part was scared of, or dare she say repulsed by, his attention.
“Now that’s what I want to see,” Chester replied lowly when he realized Adina’s full attention was on him.
Keeping his hypnotic yellow-green eyes open and fixed upon Adina’s pearl blue gaze, he pressed his lips against the corner of her mouth. He lingered, reading her reaction. Her pupils widened, and Chester felt such pride. He had caused that.
Adina gasped. Had Chester’s pupils just narrowed slightly, like a cat in the light? She parted her lips and frowned, concern filling her body.
Chester let his lips ghost over hers, daring to slide his tongue out and swipe Adina’s top lip.
Startled, Adina jumped back and looked away. She felt her body burning again, this time in humiliation.
What just happened?
Her hand raised to press a nimble finger against her lip, remembering the foreign feeling. Fighting her racing heart, she bit her top lip and willed a new sensation to take over.
Her eyes darted frantically to Chester when he leaned further forward.
“Trust me,” he commanded, his gaze unyielding as he pressed on.
He again molded his lips to hers, before opening his mouth and revealing his teeth. He gently bit on the small, still available portion of Adina’s upper lip and tugged, pulling it free from her gnawing.
With a low, barely heard groan, he nibbled the warm flesh, wanting it to bare his mark. Not hers, not anyone else’s. His.
He watched in fascination as Adina’s eyes fluttered close. A soft murmur was heard from her throat, so soft he doubt she heard it. Not that it mattered, he had heard. He had caught it, just like he had caught her.
Adina groaned, her head feeling light. Were all kisses supposed to make one feel this way?
Chester reached his arm out, ready to slide it deep within the dark tresses of Adina’s soft hair. He found himself shoved away instead.
Eyes focusing furiously, Chester watched as Adina stumbled from her seat and skittered a few feet away. She stared back at him. With eyes widened in betrayal, she looked like frightened doe. Chester tried not to hiss at her, but he was incredibly displeased.
“You kissed me,” Adina whispered in shock, as if in denial. How had that happened? Her first kiss!
How could she give it to a stranger, especially when Daniel . . .
“Oh God,” Adina cried, this time the volume of her voice giving away her alarm. “Daniel,” she breathed, tears forming quickly.
Chester no longer felt like holding back. In a fluid motion, he stood and slid to Adina in smooth steps.
“What Daniel?” he ground out.
He could barely hear past the blood and venom flushing furiously through his body.
No male need exist in her life anymore. None. No soul need be occupying her mind while Chester was engaged with his female. She would forget this ‘Daniel’. He would make her or he would take care of him, whoever the meat was.
“I’m so sorry,” Adina replied, shaking her head. She could barely make eye contact. “I have to go.”
How could she forget her boyfriend, the guy she claimed to love! How dare she kiss another man, memory loss or not. Adina ought to know better and her guilt lectured her harshly and without relief.
In an attempt to escape her horror, Adina made to move around Chester but his large hand latched onto her arm. In one swift motion, she was backed against the hard planes of the wooden wall while Chester’s chest pressed against her front, feeling much like an immoveable force himself.
Adina’s head felt more woozy, and the sudden, strong scent of burning wood and raw meat overpowered her still recovering senses. What caused it; was something coming through the window?
As Chester moved forward, the scent grew in intensity, and Adina felt like she was drowning in it. Had he not been supporting her weight, she was sure she would have fallen.
“What . . . Daniel?” Chester hissed in Adina’s face.
He was angered that she would not look at him, her eyes were tightly shut. He would not let her escape; he would force her to feel him. Chester leaned his head against the column of her neck. He exposed his teeth and dragged them across her skin, mocking biting the flesh.
“Oh God, I don’t know.”
Adina couldn’t think. There was a fire in her veins, and she felt like she was going to faint. Something moist teased the side of her neck, and the icy feel jolted her to life.
Chester caught her again as she tried to leave. With one hand holding dangerously to her chin, he forced her eyes to meet his.
“You do know you’re mine, right, Adina?”
Adina’s eyes widened. She would have shook her head, but Chester’s grip was too tight.
“W-what?”
Chester hissed in the confines of his chest, leaning forward until his nose and forehead rest against hers.
“I saved you, therefore I get to keep you. Not him, not anyone else. Am I understood?”
Adina was shaking, her eyes watering. She did not understand a word. What was going on? What did he want with her? How did he save her? When?
Tears fell as Adina realized how completely lost she was. She could not remember where she was, or how she had gotten into Chester’s bed. He had refused to tell her, but now he was saying he saved her? Just what had happened? Did someone slip her a date-rape pill at the party? Had it been Chester?
“Shh,” Chester consoled, bringing his hands to hold her cheeks steadily. “Accept it, my little one. Let everything else go, and accept me.” His voice changed to a authoritative whisper. “Accept me.”
Chester pressed his lips to hers again, coaxing, acquiring, but Adina wouldn’t have any of it. With a quick jab, she raised her knee and slammed him between his legs.
When he jerked and fell to the ground with a injured, angered groan, Adina bolted. She did not understand why she kicked him. She was not one to act instinctually, but intellectually, having thought consequences through. And she always resolved any conflicts with as much grace and gentleness as possible. She never harmed anyone. Not one!
“Oh no no no,” she cried.
“ADINA!” Chester roared.
One hand was braced on the floor to support his weight while his other clutched his bruising pride. His eyes were slits as he watched her continue to run away. His back curled as his spine became increasingly flexible.
“Adina,” he purred scornfully, his voice much deeper than a human could manage. He was warning her, she should be grateful, but a door slammed shut was all he received.
Chester struck his fist on the floor and crawled toward his bedroom door. Giving a look of death to the door knob, he raised his hand to turn it only to find it locked.
Cracking his neck, he ran his tongue over an exposed fang. Pricking his tongue, he drank. There was just enough of Adina’s blood in his to calm him down. He would need to feed from her soon, but he could wait at the moment.
First, he would go find another creature to satisfy his hunger. Then . . . then he would come back for his captive, his bride. And no amount of pleading would be able to stop him for claiming what was rightfully his.
Adina bit her lip and shook violently within the near black room. Most of the light was blocked by the old, plaid curtains. The stiff still room set an atmosphere of danger. What was Chester doing? What was he planning?
When silence met her ears, Adina leaned against the door to hear Chester’s ragged breathing on the other side.
“You survived to be mine,” he whispered so softly Adina was unsure if she heard correctly or not. She pressed her ear against the hard wood. “And I will have you - no matter the cost.”
Adina jerked back at a pained, gurgled hiss. Staring at the bedroom door in shock, she flinched a moment later at the harsh noise of a different door cracking to a close.
****
00xxAUTHOR’SxxNOTExx00
:( Do you have any idea how long this took to write? Try all evening, like, seriously. A LONG TIME. I mean I REALLY TRIED on this one. I tried to put more detail, and give ya’ll some good Adina and Chester “quality” time.
What do you guys think? If you can tell a difference of greatness between this chapter and my other ones, please comment and tell me! This will motivate me to put forth the same effort for the rest of the chapters. Is this awful? Too descriptive? Please, let me know. I don’t want to waste my time on something that bores you or something. Help me to make eM a better story for you. :)
Byeeeeeee and love. xoxo ndn