Chapter 3 – Interested
After my shield training, Felix walked with me to my door. My head felt like it was spinning, but I knew it wasn't. Chelsea was very impressed in how quickly I was learning to use my shield and so was he. My shield felt like a tight band wrapped around me, for my own protection. To push it away, the band fought with me, not wanting to be stretched. In the beginning, it strained my mind to push my shield, but now, I was able to move the band away from me for a few feet. She believed I could push as far as covering the entire building, but she knew I would need more practice to do that.
Tonight, for a change, I was going out with Chelsea. Chelsea was one of the more active members. She enjoyed going out into the human world. Some members of the Guard just remained in the tower. The human world held no interest for them. Chelsea was regarded as the highest ranking guard member. Her ability to severe and create bonds was very powerful. Her ability had a lingering effect, so those she used her power on didn't need to be around her constantly for it to keep working.
Tonight, Chelsea and I were going to Rome. It would usually take three hours to get there, but Chelsea's driving was just as bad as Edward's. I waited for her in the receptionist area. Gianna had gone home for the night. Perching myself on the edge of the desk, I fiddled with putting on my earrings. Chelsea gave me one of the scariest outfits I'd ever seen; dangerously tight jeans, with a red mid-drift halter top. In the back of the halter top, a jeweled chain hung from my neck to the middle of my back. She gave me a pair of black heels that were at least six inches tall. These were shoes I avoided as a human. I would have twisted my ankle in one step.
Heavy footsteps were approaching the room. I was quickly done with my earrings as Felix came into the office, dressed in common everyday clothing; faded blue jeans, a tan button down shirt and a black leather jacket. His eyes swept over me in my risqué assemble. I looked back at him, until his eyes caught mine, "Chelsea told me you were going out with her." I smiled at him, "Going hunting or just making sure I don't go crazy?"
Felix enjoyed finding girls in the city and taking them back to his lair, just like a typical vampire. He chuckled, "Maybe both." He brushed his fingers down my arm, "You look lovely." Chelsea approached us. She wore a tight silver and black mini dress, "Oh, Felix's on the hunt again." I laughed and she glanced at me, "Bella, you're going to stop hearts. How many, is the real question." Felix chuckled and held the door open for us.
In the bright lights of Rome, Chelsea and Felix searched for their night's entertainment. Chelsea selected a seedy underground nightclub, which was very popular among the tourists, especially students traveling abroad. Felix smiled, looking at the entrance, "Good idea. I wasn't in the mood for Italian tonight." All of us laughed out loud. I only joined the laughter to not seem rude. They only saw humans as food, but I still saw them as people. It was still uncomfortable for me to hunt people, but Felix's wall trick was helping.
The club was dark and all the humans were crowded together. The music pumped loudly through the stereos, shaking the walls. Unbelievably, Chelsea was able to slink through the crowd to find her quarry. Felix and I stood to the side. The air was thick with the different scents. Chocolate, vanilla, moss, roses and so many more flooded my senses. It was driving me wild. People brushed pass me and they shuddered from my cold touch. A man with light brown hair was looking at me and smiling. "Lei si preoccuperebbe per ballare?" (Would you care to dance?) I took his hand and let him pull me onto the dance floor.
I was able to sway to the music with more ease, than I did when I was human. I had more confidence in my body movements. My admirer kept his hands on my waist, keeping me close to him, "Would you like something to drink?" My eyes looked at him, ready to take his offer. One vein in his neck pulsed, pumping the thick blood through it. My lips pulled back from my teeth, feeling the venom welling up, "No."
I walked away from him, trying to keep myself under control. I stood with Felix again, who hadn't moved. Another admirer asked me to dance. A growl came from Felix every time someone asked me to dance. "Felix, stop scaring them off." Felix was a bit protective of me. Well, I was a newborn and he was placed in charge of me. I couldn't lose control and expose our secret.
The burn in my throat was becoming too strong for me to ignore any longer. I needed to feed. I walked back through the crowd looking for my first admirer. He was leaning against the bar, speaking to the bartender. Tapping his shoulder and smiling, I began to build my wall. He looked back at me. His eyes lit up when he saw me. "I think I'd like to buy you a drink." Being a vampire, I lured him into my trap.
I took him to a secluded lounge, where Chelsea was already sitting with a man and he looked motionless. I went to sit with her with my admirer named Remy. Chelsea was finishing off her human. There was still a lingering scent of the blood. I wasn't so cut and dry with my hunts. Rounds of strong liquor were brought to our seat. "No more, bella. (beautiful) I cannot take anymore." "Who told you my name?" I coaxed him to drink more, "Oh, come on, I think you can handle it." I needed him to keep drinking until he was passed out. I wanted this as painless as possible.
I moved closer to him, knowing his eyes were closed. From a distance, it would look like we were kissing. My teeth cut into his skin and my desiccated throat was saturated with the warm blood that was flavored with the alcohol. The lounge we sat at was never used. It was reserved for the Guard members.
Heidi knew the owner, who was a vampire and a feature designed into this particular lounge. Behind the padding of the seats, there was a chute that led to a furnace underground. Chelsea was wiping her mouth when I was done with my prey. She was smiling approvingly at me, "Very good, Bella. You're learning fast." I feigned a smile, reflecting in the fact that I hadn't feel guilty for killing Remy. Felix was nowhere in sight with his prey. Concern washed through me when we couldn't find him.
"He must have found someone," Chelsea speculated. The emotion of jealousy washed through me. He was with someone else. Ugh, this was strange. I don't even know Felix and I cared about him. Chelsea continued to dance all night and I watched the people. While she danced, Chelsea drew in more admirers.
The sun was rising in the distance, so Chelsea and I had to leave. Back in the tower, I walked passed Felix's room and there was the sound of a woman moaning. Jealous burst through my chest. I wanted to find her and kill her. I tried to deny it, but I hated the fact that Felix was with some woman. Another thought hit me and I shook my head at the thought of that poor girl. She would be gone soon. As bad as that was, I found myself smiling at the thought of her life being cut short.
After taking a shower, which I knew it wasn't necessary, but it felt routine, I changed into normal clothes. Jeans and a cotton blouse. While changing at a tedious pace, I fought every urge within me. I wanted to see if Felix was free. I didn't want to train at this moment, but I could say I wanted to. Why was that? Why did I want to be close to this man? He was nice to look at; it was true, but he was so brash and arrogant. He reminded me of Edward in that sense, but there was more to him. It was just beneath the surface. Being around him, Felix made me nervous, but in a good way. He knew that.
I was losing this fight as I paced my room. With chagrin, I knocked on his door. There was no noise, nothing indicating there was a human inside. The door opened, "Bella, come in." Felix's vast chest was exposed as he stood aside. My eyes glanced over the planes of his chest as I walked by him. The smell of blood lingered in the air, but there was no sound of a heartbeat. A devious smile came on my lips.
The lack of a heartbeat was making me smile. I shook my head, trying to make sense of this, "Where's the girl?" I looked back at him as he put on a shirt, "Already gone." From his bedroom door, there was the smell of smoke. Her body went down to the furnace. Part of me felt bad that a human had to die, but I was glad she was gone.
Felix walked past me to his bedroom and I followed. The sheets on the bed were ruffled and disheveled. I didn't want to imagine what went on here, but it was hard to deny. On the white linen sheet, there was a spot of blood, "Uh-oh, you have to change this," I said jokingly. He chuckled behind me, "It can wait. You came here to train?" My teeth were on edge. Why did I come here? Why did I want to see him? At least now, I could lie convincingly, if I wanted to.
"I'm bored with doing that." That was the truth. I leaned out of his window, looking at the ancient, yet modern city. I wanted to see more of it. "There isn't much out there," he commented nonchalantly. I looked back at him in disbelief, "How can you say that? I mean," I looked out the window, "It's Italy. How can you believe 'it's nothing much?' I've always wanted to come here." Felix glanced out the window, leaning on a straightened arm. The tendons tightened, defining the muscles his arm, "Bella, I'm over 400 years old. All this," he gestured to the buildings, "is nothing new to me."
I rolled my eyes, "I don't care how old I am, if I'm in Italy, I would admire it every day I'm here." Felix chuckled, "You're still a bit human. This may come to bore you." I looked at him scathingly. He shook his head, "But it could be different for you. I'll ask you again in 200 years." Felix straightened up and stood over me, "Since we have to wait until night for you to see the city and you're not in the mood to train, what do you want to do then?" I thought about his question. The tower was lovely, but it was getting boring. Going to Rome was a lot of fun. "I don't know. What about you? What did you have planned for today?"
His crimson eyes looked at me, as though the question caught him by surprise. Electricity charged between us as we were close to each other. Felix was much taller than me, so our faces were still separated by the length of his chest. I had to admit, his body was quite impressive. The definition of his shoulders and arms were an eyeful alone. Looking closely, the lines drew up one arm, across his chest and down the other arm.
Pass Felix's intimidation; he had a dazzling smile that could blind you. He still looked down at me, "I have an idea." There was an underlining meaning in his words. He stood closer to me, our bodies almost touching.
He was leaning closer to me. My body locked down, preparing for anything. "Felix, what are you doing?" He smiled, his lips close to mine, "I just thought we could have some fun." I scoffed, pulling away from him, "Yeah right." His fingers trailed down my face, making me look back at him, "I'm very serious." He leaned closer, "I couldn't. I'm not…." "You're going to move on with your life," he finished my sentence.
My head shook as he kissed my cheek, "I can't." His lips were gentle as they touched my skin. My body waited for the blush. "You can," he said between kisses. His lips pressed into the hollow at my neck and pressed his body to mine, keeping me against the wall. My head was just below his shoulder. "I won't," I protested weakly. "You will." He kissed along my jaw line. "I can't do this." Without my conscious consent, my hand curved around his arm, as they wrapped around me, "You are." Felix pressed his lips to mine, refusing to release me.
Felix lifted me off the floor, straightening his own body. He held me close, my feet far off the floor. I wanted to push away, but it felt so nice to be with someone who wanted me. My fingers pressed into the nape of his neck, feeling the strands of his hair. He moved us quickly, lowering me onto the bed. Felix wanted me and, despite my resisting, I wanted him, but was I ready? His hands grazed down my body, ripping away at my shirt. He was moving further than I ever went. In my mind, I did what Felix taught me. I built a wall around my inhibitions.
His hands and mine searched each other's bodies, until there was nothing there. There was nothing keeping us from each other. He pulled away and looked at me. Felix smiled and so was I. He moved an arm from around my body and I took the advantage. He looked around the room, while I leaned against the door. He found me and his eyes narrowed. Taking the challenge, he moved across the room and held me, crushing my lips with his.
Felix broke our kiss and I moved again. He whirled around to find me sitting in the center of the bed, with a large decorative pillow covering my body. Being immortal, fast and strong made this more interesting. I waved at him, smiling coyly. I wasn't going to let him think this was going to be easy. He dashed, landing on the bed and pinning me with one arm.
He kissed down my chest, my stomach, the inside of my thigh and back up. My legs were parted and around his waist. I gasped as he made us one. My eyes widened and I moaned from the pleasurable pressure. He moved slowly with my body, letting me get used to him. My fingers pressed into his white skin, marveling at the indentations I was able to make. Felix was everywhere. He was everything right now. I did care for him and he cared about me. He wanted me and I wanted him, even when I wasn't ready to admit it to myself.
We laid together for a while. He kissed me again and again, not letting me out of his hold. This was nice and it was what I needed to really begin letting go, but that was all this was, a distraction. I couldn't afford to get emotionally involved with someone. I wasn't whole, no matter what anyone said. After his last kiss, I moved to get out of the bed and began to put my clothes back on. The sun was setting and I wanted to hunt, then explore the city. Felix stood behind me. His hard body pressed against my back, "Where are you going?" His voice was like honey.
I looked around the room, reminding myself that this was only a distraction. With his body against mine, I could feel every part of him, "You know I wanted to see the city." He hugged me closer, "I wasn't done with you." He kissed my shoulder, then up my neck. He turned me to face him. He saw the hesitance in my eyes, "What's wrong?" I bit my lip, "This was fun. But let's not drag it out." He stepped back, "What?" He looked at me, his eyes scanning my expression, "You think this was a one-time thing?"
I shrugged, "Wasn't it?" Felix really looked at me and saw the nervousness on my face. He groaned annoyed, "Bella, did Edward hurt you so much that you can't be with someone else?" His words hit me right to my core. Felix saw through everything, my walls and lies, and found the heart of the truth. "Well, fine," he walked pass me, "You want to be like that, because I don't believe you want to be." He turned to look at me, "I want to be with you. And I don't care what he did, because I can make you feel better."
I looked at him, waiting for the tears. "I bet you say that to all the girls." This was too tense. Felix's eyes were still serious. "I may never forget him," I admitted. He sighed and pulled me into his chest, "Fine. But, Bella, if you're going to be with me, you have to be with me." His lips pressed into the top of my head, "I want us to have a chance and that's it. No more moping. We're going to be together."
I couldn't fight the smile that was coming onto my face. No one ever spoke to me like that and I liked it. "Then why don't you try asking me if I want to be with you?" Felix leered at me, "I don't need to. You were already mine" and he pointed to the bed. I made a face, "Do you do that for everyone?" Felix held my chin, "No, just you." I laughed under the kiss, "Where did this come from?" Felix brushed both sides of my head, "From the moment you woke up in this life." Before I could ask him another question, Felix pressed his lips to mine and pulled me back to bed.
