The day had passed just as slow as Charlotte thought it would. She had lazed around the house, avoiding the windows as much as possible, especially the one in her bedroom. She knew she was being a little overdramatic, but whenever she had to cross it she would get on all fours and crawl across the floor.
Her day would have gone by easily, if not for the fact that something kept bugging her. It was just the way he looked at her, even if it was only for a split second, it sent a shiver down her spine. Trying her best to ignore it, she ate some Ben and Jerry's ice cream and watched reruns of Friends while lying in bed. Glancing over to the bedside table, she realized that it was already passed midnight.
Throwing the now empty carton of ice cream away, she flipped off the overhead light and burrowed under the comforter.
XXXXXXX
Charlotte was always known for being a light sleeper; she could hear anything and everything happening around her. So she could, without a doubt, hear the steady breathing above her. Her eyes shot open and saw the dark figure looming above her. Reacting instantly, her hand shot out to take a hold of the metal baseball bat she kept handy by the bed. But the stranger reacted quicker than she did, and she gasped as a strong, warm hand gripped her wrist with almost bruising force.
The stranger's other hand did the same to her other wrist, bringing them parallel with her head against the mattress. There was a pregnant pause before either one moved. Her eyes were still trying to adjust to the darkness; she inwardly cursed herself for liking to sleep in pitch black, but that thought was pushed away as fear started to seep into her mind. A stranger was on top of her, pinning her arms down, and his knees were on either side of her hips tightly, making it nearly impossible to even twitch.
Her eyes moved to the quick flash of light that streaked above man's head and suddenly her bedside lamp flickered on. She sat there blinking at the lamp. Charlotte knew very well that neither of them had leaned over to flip the switch. Ever so slowly, she moved her eyes back over to her captor, her heart skipping a beat as realization hit her like a brick to the head.
"I believe I caught you spying on me earlier today." Her new neighbor had a small smirk on his face.
"W-what are you talking about?" She tried to speak in an innocent tone, but her shaky voice was betraying her. It was hard to keep eye contact with him, it wasn't because of the fact that he was obviously missing one; it was because the longer she kept his gaze, the hotter she became. Her woman side had to admit that he was extremely handsome, and that side in particular was cheering loudly, but the rational side of her won since he did break into her home and is now holding her down.
Now she could really tell that his pupil was thinner than usual. She was rapidly pulled out of her thoughts when he suddenly lowered his head to nuzzle her neck, her face paling instantly. She shivered when he took a long inhale and audibly groaned. Okay, that wasn't normal either. He didn't pull his head back, and as he spoke, his warm breath skated across her skin. "How old are you?"
"Why?" She responded defensively, now this was getting strange. She never gave in easily.
"Answer me." His voice was low as he raised his head and demanded her to speak, squeezing her wrists tighter.
She never gave in easily, unless she was forced. "… Nineteen."
"For how much longer?"
"Half a year."
"Are you alone?"
"What is this, twenty questions? Get off of me already!" She started thrashing, trying to shake him off of her hips, but it was like fighting an ox. Her wrists were becoming uncomfortably warm under his hands. She watched his eye flicker over to the pillow resting next to her head and his nose twitched again. Her eyes widened slightly as his pupil seemed to elongate and his brow furrowed as he stared at the spot next to her.
His attention was brought back to her as she spoke "Um…"
"You may speak."
She narrowed her eyes at him, who was he to give her permission to talk? Not wanting to provoke the man currently holding her captive, she decided to hold her tongue.
She saw a vein visibly tick in his jaw. "It's common courtesy to answer when someone speaks to you."
Her eyes narrowed even further, "And it's common courtesy not to sneak into someone's house and hold them captive." The slight venom in her voice was clearly obvious. She saw him grin for the first time and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of his dimples.
She tried in vain to push herself further into the mattress as he lowered his head down until their faces were nearly inches apart. Meaning that his lips her dangerously close to hers.
"You've got some fire in you. I like a girl that can stand up for herself, and judging by your looks, you'd make a perfect Bride."
"I beg your pardon?" She had heard him, but didn't want to believe that she had heard him correctly.
"I said I'm going to make you my Bride."
"No, I had heard what you said; I was just making sure that you had heard what you said."
By the look on his placid face he didn't seem amused.
"Isn't there a courting process which takes place before the big leap?"
"For humans."
She let out a shaky laugh, "What, are you saying you're not human?"
He didn't respond, keeping a serious expression. Her blood ran cold, "I think it's time for you to leave."
He gave a throaty laugh, his grin remaining, "Yeah, that's not going to happen. Not until I have claimed what's mine."
This conversation was getting weirder and weirder by the second, "I'm pretty sure I don't have anything that belongs to you in my house."
His grin disappeared and his eye clouded over with annoyance, "This ignorant act is getting old."
"This isn't an act! I don't know who you are, or why you're here!" Her voice was beginning to crack and sound desperate. He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped short. It seemed as though he had an epiphany.
"Unless… He hasn't told you."
She squinted up at him, "Who hasn't told me what?"
He shrugged, "It's nothing that concerns me. Now, it's time for me to initiate the bond."
"What b-" Her words were cut off as his lips crashed down onto hers. She gasped in surprise as he bit down onto her lower lip and took the gasp as an invitation to invade her mouth with his tongue. He easily dominated her since she was still shocked, but as the kiss progressed, she felt herself getting coaxed into submitting to the man above her. It was as if a door opened in her mind and a bundle of charges shot through her, she had never been this affected by just a kiss before in her life.
Her mind felt groggy as she broke off the kiss and inhaled sharply. She felt something relating electricity coursing throughout her veins, and instead of frightening her, it only peaked her interest in him.
"W-what was that?"
He raised an eyebrow in question.
"There was this… Thing!" As she spoke, she looked off to the side.
"Look at me."
The tone in his voice chilled her, even more so than it did before the kiss. He held her gaze, and she watched as his pupil thinned and every electronic device in her room turned on. The lamps, the television, the iPod speakers, fan, even the lights in the adjacent bathroom turned on.
Okay, now she knew for sure that she wasn't seeing things. "How… What?"
He had a cocky grin on his face as he lowered his head to nuzzle her neck again. She felt his warm breath dance against her exposed skin. She felt something sharp make contact with her skin and before he could sink his teeth into her neck, she screamed and shot off the bed.
Panting heavily, she looked around her room to see that he was nowhere to be seen, and sunlight was streaming through the window. She did a quick pat down of her body and determined that nothing was out of the ordinary, except for her racing heart. Charlotte's hand flew up to her neck to check for any sensitivity, but there was nothing there either.
Was it just a dream?
