Chapter 6
The deer quickly jumped out of the way, but I lost control of my snowmobile and all I saw were blurs of black and dim white when suddenly I felt like I rammed straight into a marble wall. The wind got knocked out of me as my whole body jarred from the impact. Suddenly a cold iron grip coiled itself around my waist gently as I saw a pale hand stop my snowmobile as if it were nothing more than a toy car. The hand stopped the snowmobile quickly and expertly after the grip removed me from it and placed me on wobbly legs. The hand then joined the other in steadying me before swiftly letting go. He spoke in a voice that had my heart racing for a much different reason.
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" His voice was soft as sunlight and slightly rough with concern. As I took a deep breath, I inhaled the rich scent of an ocean breeze and warm sunlight. I looked up into the golden eyes of my savior and my breath stopped. His face took my breath away; though it was riddled with crescent scars, visible even in the weak moonlight, his face was smooth as marble his nose hooked and perfectly balanced with his solemn face, his eyebrows knit in obvious concern. He was a god. He was good. I immediately felt guilty for ever thinking of this particular vampire as a monster as I let my love for him grow exponentially inside me, hate no longer restricting it.I know him, all of him; I love him.As if he knew what I felt his eyes widened a little in amazed wonder at my strong gaze before turning into a cold fire that made my spine tingle. His finger twitched as if he were thinking of raising it, but thought better of it. He broke our intense stare and started to turn away when I unthinkingly grabbed his sleeve.
"Wait!" He froze at the sound of my voice and turned in shock. I blushed at the fact that my voice broke when I spoke. "Uh-um, wait..." I released his sleeve and clenched my hand to my chest. I stared up at him, looking at him with the limited light. It pained me that I couldn't see him clearly. It pained me even more that he was trying to leave. I turned away, unable to speak at the sudden pain I felt at his leaving me. My heart skipped haphazardly when I felt Jasper's cold hand slide gently on my cheek, turning my face back to his. I saw my eyes in his and saw that we looked at each other with the same expression. "You...love me too?" I whispered this as a question, afraid of what he would answer. My fear intensified as the seconds crept by when he answered me so quickly that I almost couldn't make it out.
"Yes, yes I love you, but I don't want you to be with me. I'm dangerous, a monster. I don't deserve this. You shouldn't even feel the way you do. You only just met me, how can you love me so deeply already?" I listened with understanding and embarrassment as I recalled that his gift was the ability to know and manipulate feelings.
"Then why don't you change my feelings? Make me hate you?" I knew he could do that. He looked away, pain clear on his handsome face.
"It-it would be wrong of me to tamper too greatly with your feelings. I didn't think your love would just...explode like that if you saw me again." His hand went over his mouth in human-like disbelief. I slowly placed my palm on his cold marble chest, keeping it there even after he stiffened.
"Then why not accept my feelings if we share them? Is it too hard to be around me because I'm human...?" I hesitantly removed my hand only to have it snatched invisibly by his pale marble hands.
"No! No, I haven't even thought of-I wouldn't-no CAN'T think of you that way...as prey. I can't think of hurting you in any way. I can't..." He seemed to have trouble just thinking about it as he squeezed my hand gently. I let the silence drag for a little longer before speaking.
"Jasper," a thrill went through me as I said his name and as I watched his eyes, I saw that he felt it too, "come home with me. Stay with me, at least tonight." I spoke the last desperately as I looked up through my lashes at his shocked face. My desperation and sorrow grew stronger as he failed to respond. I tried one last time. "Please..." This time my efforts seemed to get more than I asked, not that I minded all that much. Jasper roughly pulled me into his cold embrace, as if he tried to be gentle, but still used a little too much strength.
"You're not playing fair. You know I can't say no without hurting you." His voice was rough as he whispered in my ear. I smiled warmly and lightly, hesitantly rest my arms on his chest.
"'The rules of fairplay do not apply in love and war.' " Jasper chuckled once then sighed, making goose bumps of cold prickle on my neck before he gently put me at arms length.
"John Lyly, 'Euphues'," He brushed his fingers along my cold neck, making me shiver, "fine, let's go to your home." As he said so, he straightened and he became stiff. In an instant, he straightened my snow bike, turned it on, and playfully yanked me on it, securing me between his arms, before taking off at full speed. I simply let my surroundings blur as I gently rest my head against Jasper's chest, hearing his deep rhythmic breathing instead of the human heart I should have been able to hear with any other living creature. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, enjoying the puffs of white that came out then disappeared as soon as they came because of the unnatural speed.
