Chapter 7: In My Veins

Ashton took a deep unneeded breath as he raised his fist to knock on Kimberly's door. He had worked over everything in his head hundreds of times in hopes that things would come out right, but she had a way of making him stumble on his words. He smiled to himself as he heard her heartbeat pick up at his knock as she made her way to the door.

Kimberly sat in her apartment in one of the three dresses Ashton had sent over to her, each fitting her body beautifully. They had all been so beautiful she'd had a horrible time trying to pick which one to wear but in the end the teal one shoulder satin floor length dress won out. The color was gorgeous and the fabric itself felt like heaven on her skin. She had no idea what the date was about but had woken up to a delivery service at her door with the dresses and a note.

'I have made special plans for tonight that I hope you will enjoy. I've picked out a few dresses that I feel would be beautiful on you. I hope they please you. I will pick you up this evening at 7 o'clock. I look very much forward to seeing you tonight. Ashton'

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As she opened the door he stood before her in his pressed black slacks and matching jacket over a white button down shirt. He looked handsome as ever and her heart was fluttering in her chest and knowing he could hear she blushed. God how she loved this man.

"Kimberly," he breathed her name as she stood before him in a dress he had picked out. "Your beauty is beyond words," he pulled out a single yellow tulip from behind his back and handed it to her as he took her hand in his and kissed it softly.

"Thank you," she spoke so softly she wasn't sure if it came out.

Pulling the door shut and locking it Kimberly held her clutch and her flower as he took her arm and led her to the elevator. He helped her into the limo he had waiting and walked around to get in on the other side. "Thank you for joining me this evening," he smiled at her as he felt his undead heart fill.

She smiled softly then as she ran her fingers over her dress she looked at him, "The dresses were beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," he answered quickly. "I hope you do not mind that I had them sent to you…I did not mean that I do not enjoy what you have worn…I just wanted…"

Kimberly's face lit up as she laughed, "I understand Ashton. They were all beautiful, it was a hard job deciding which to wear tonight."

Feeling like a babbling fool Ashton took a steadying breath before speaking again. "I hope you won't mind the dinner arrangements I've made for us. I had something set for us on the balcony of my suite, I wanted to speak with you privately."

Her pulse picked up as she thought about going to his suite again dressed like this on a romantic date. She unconsciously ran her fingers over her lips remembering their last kiss.

As they pulled up to his hotel they made their way up to his suite in silence, his hand on the small of her back which sent sparks through her body. In the suite she noticed it looked as it had the other times she'd been inside only the balcony doors were open and the stage was set beautifully with candles and flowers. She walked that way her mouth open in amazement, "You…did all of this?"

"Dose it please you?" He asked keeping his eyes on her face.

"It's…perfect." She turned to look at him, "You shouldn't have went through all this trouble."

Ashton shook his head, "It was no trouble at all, not for you. Please sit, dinner is coming down the hall now."

After helping her to her seat Ashton sat across from her and watched as she was served by the waiter he had found to cater. The dinner was crab ravioli her favorite he remembered. The waiter disappeared as soon as he was finished leaving a tray with another covered dish for them. Ashton poured them both a glass of wine and watched as she savored every bite eating in comfortable silence.

As she set her fork down and blotted her lips with her napkin she looked around at the view from his suite. He had done all of this for her, an event she would remember for sure but part of her was waiting for the bad news. She loved him so much it hurt sometimes. He was so wonderful and he had been so sweet with her, he'd been his usual charming self she fell in love with but never making any move to have her in his bed as before. She wanted things to work out, she wanted it so much her heart ached but seeing his suite again she was brought back to how short-term this could be. He had a home but it wasn't in LA, as much as she wished it was.

"What are you thinking about?" Ashton asked seeing the far away look in her eyes. As she looked at him he caught the slightest bit of sadness and his undead heart constricted.

The look vanished and she smiled, "Just that this is a beautiful view of LA. You have a wonderful suite here. How long will you be staying in LA?"

"I don't know. I never meant to stay here this long but…I've found things worth staying for."

She smiled, "Yes how is your relationship with David coming along?"

.com/watch?v=RKHk97YmkVA In My Veins" by Andrew Belle

Ashton stood from his seat and pulled a small remote from his pocket and started some music. Moving to stand beside her he held out his hand for hers and helped her to stand. As they began to sway to the music he kept his eyes on hers, "Things with David are going well. Candice I dare say is even warming to me." Kimberly giggled softly knowing all about how Candice had threatened him.

His hand on her back began to move slowly up and down her spine, "Repairing my relationship with David and those he cares for whom I've hurt is not the only reason I stay here." Seeing her eyes move in thought he leans his head down until they are as close as possible, her breathing picking up, "You, Kimberly. You are a reason for staying."

A tear rolled down her cheek as she closed her eyes and took in shaky breaths, "Ashton…"

"Please let me finish," he moves his hand to wipe her cheek clean. "I told you before that I cared for you more than any other woman I've ever known. I didn't know if I was capable of love because I'd never felt it before, it was a foreign concept to me."

She still hadn't opened her eyes again but he needed her to, "Please open your eyes Kimberly." She did so after a breath and he could see they were watery with more tears and his heart broke. He didn't want to make her cry. "I'm not doing this right…this isn't what I'd planned. I didn't want to make you cry. I wanted to show you how much you mean to me…that I do love you but I've gone and made a mess of it. Please forgive me."

His words stopped her in her tracks and her swaying her eyes focused on him. "You love me?"

"Yes," he breathed. "I do. This is my first experience with it but you are all I think about. I want to be near you all the time, I want to hear your voice, to see your smile. My heart…it feels tight when you are unhappy…you've even invaded my dreams. Vampires don't normally dream but you found a way to make it into mine. You're in my veins. All of this…I can't think of anything else to call it but love."

Tears spilled down her eyes as he spoke. "Please don't cry Kimberly. I didn't mean to make you sad."

She shook her head pulling her hand from his to wipe them away and use her own eyes, "I'm not sad." She managed the words through shaky breaths, "I love you so much…I never thought you'd love me back."

"I never thought I could," he answered honestly. "If you aren't sad why are you crying," he pulled out handkerchief and handed it to her to dry her tears.

"Because I'm overwhelmed…because I'm so happy." She wrapped her arms around him and held him close feeling his arms wrap around her.

"That makes no sense," he said against her hair.

She laughed turning her face to his, "I know…just tell me this isn't a dream."

"This is not a dream my sweet beach angel." With that he took her lips in his claiming them as he'd longed to since he'd come to realize how much she meant to him. He pulled back and looked down into her glistening eyes, "Please stay."

To Be Continued…

Evilous