Bonnie was sitting on the banister of a large terrace, strenuously pretending to be very occupied by the notebook that once belonged to her distant cousin, when in fact she could not help her eyes from straying to Elijah every now and then. He was sitting casually in the shade of ivy intertwining the estate on the side. The man had collapsed in a wicker chair earlier and much like Bonnie was holding a book in an old worn cover, only, unlike the girl, he seemed to actually be reading, not reflecting on her personality. Next to the chair, on the decorative stone ledge, stood a glass of cognac. Bonnie bit into a delicious apple, one from the neglected garden of the home which seemed to be strewn with them, and once again tried to focus on reading.
She was tormented by each line, written in the sprawling handwriting of a long-dead witch, the words, having a mind of their own, did not seem to combine into understandable sentences. Bonnie knew that this was all happening due to overexertion and fatigue. Her eyelids were heavy and confusion clouded her mind, but she didn't want to admit it to this most obnoxious vampire. The girl turned over page after page, envying Elijah his lack of sensitivity to cold. He was sitting in a light suit jacket and looked fine, while she, wrapped in a coat, was completely numb.
Originally, the idea of reading in the fresh air seemed very appropriate because the house was literally suffocating her. But after an hour of the "reading" she realized that she just wanted to bury her head in the fireplace so her ears wouldn't fall off. The evening wind blew in earnest, breaking up the storm clouds on a gloomy autumn sky. At first, she even admired the dark gray skies, but now... Now she wanted to go back into the house and literally jump into the bathtub to soak in the hot water.
Bonnie hesitated for a moment, but dropped her feet from the rails and put them on marble tiled floor. Elijah immediately raised his cold look, confusing the girl. There was a barely noticeable and very faint tinge of something that was previously missing in the way he looked at her. A girl, who had prepared a whole speech a minute earlier just to escape to the house with dignity, suddenly lost her courage. She just stood there with her hands in the pockets, looking at him with her large green eyes before suddenly rushing to the open door leading into the house. She was struck by the slight interest in the man's eyes, although all this time she was holding herself ready that he would begin to harass her at any moment. But this was only in theory, in practice the witch suddenly understood that the vampire's interest was a little of a different kind. He was now looking at her like she was some mysterious, unknown to science little creature. As if he couldn't yet fully decide what to do with her. A chill ran down her spine, leaving a trail of gooseflesh over her sensitive skin, making her forget all about self-control and run into the house. But, as it usually happens when you make hasty decisions, her escape was not meant to end well.
Entangled in the flaps of the long coat, and caught on a ceramic pot with the dried stalk of some ugly, in her opinion, tree, Bonnie felt herself heading face-first toward the ground. She found her nose a few millimeters from the stone tiles as Elijah caught the collar of her coat. Wrapping his free arm around her waist and easy lifting her, he whipped her around to face him. He just stood there and looked at her, raising his eyebrows questioningly in such an unnerving and annoying manner. A normal person would have laughed and asked if I was all right, and this vampire just looks at me like I'm a worthless irritant! Bonnie thought angrily; she was so tired of these games.
"Now that the noble knight saved me from harm, can I go?" She asked, furrowing her brow.
Elijah was looking into her eyes as if trying to read something in their depth, but only nodded politely. Bonnie gave him an impish smile combined with an angry gaze, turned on the heels and showing disregard with her whole body stepped into the house. Trying to leave with her dignity intact, she managed to break a vase and stretch out on the stairs on her way to the second floor. Realizing that Elijah, thanks to his exceptional hearing abilities must have heard her shameful blunders, she felt shame begin to blaze on her cheeks. She ran into the bathroom, closed the door and leaned her back against it, trying to catch her breath. "Stop acting like an idiot, damn it!" Bonnie gave herself a mental slap. But it didn't help much.
She went to the bath, turned the hot water tap and walked back into the room. Taking off the damn coat and throwing it on the bed, the witch crouched down next to the bags filled with their earlier purchases and began to sort out her new clothes skeptically Nothing was good enough for the night in an abandoned house beside the living dead maniac, but for the lack of other alternatives Bonnie chose a beige combination. Anyhow, it had a relatively closed bodice and a decent length to the knee. Taking with her one of the notebooks and a clean towel that Bonnie found with a pleasant surprise on the bed when they returned from the city, the girl went to the bathroom and after some thought, locked the door on the latch. She knew it wasn't going to save her from Elijah's entry if he so wished, but it was still somewhat comforting.
Bonnie slowly undressed and got into hot water. Pleasant warmth spread throughout her body, wrapping her with a soothing calmness. She lay contently in the water, listening to the monotonous pounding of the rain outside the window. The stress of the last few days and the lack of normal sleep did the trick – in five minutes she had already closed her eyes and fallen asleep.
She opened her eyes as the door splintered into pieces and Elijah burst into the room. His eyes were filled with blood and she could feel the tension and anger in his body.
"You are mine, Bonnie Bennett." He snarled. "Don't you dare lock yourself away from me!"
She could do nothing but look at him anxiously, knowing what was coming next. Before she could even register his movement, she suddenly found his mouth on hers. His lips dug into hers in a fierce kiss, large cool hands eagerly studying her firm breasts. Bonnie's heart was pounding in her chest and she was horrified to realize that she liked his touch. The man had almost pulled her out of the water and pressed her to his clothed body, not afraid to leave bruises on the witch's fragile body. His skilled agile tongue confidently explored her mouth, forcing a gasp out of her open lips and she suddenly realized that his kiss was returned. His fingers slid into her wet hair, tugging on it a little harsher than was necessary. The girl moaned and suddenly bit his lip. It was not revenge, but simply her acceptance of his rules. He smiled, moving away from her face for a moment, and then began to cover her neck and chest with greedy kisses. The sensation seemed hazed as if her mind had no boundaries, no inhibitions and taboos. She just sat completely naked on top of Elijah, straddling his waist down and hugging it with her shapely thighs as she let him caress her. Was it affection? Bonnie couldn't answer such a loaded question at that moment precisely; the ferocity of his movements reminded her of wild animals; heated, uninhibited, raw.
She shivered, feeling his fingers on her back, sliding lower to her cheeks to squeeze them passionately. Bonnie arched toward him, exhausted with anticipation and desire, when suddenly something changed. The girl suddenly realized that once again she was in the water. She looked at Elijah a little defocused – he was knotting his tie as calmly as if nothing had just happened.
"What are you doing?" Bonnie asked, feeling completely puzzled and a little disappointed.
The vampire looked at her calmly and shrugged.
"I think, little one, I made the right decision..."
Suddenly he appeared beside her and grabbed her thin shoulders, pushing her into the water. He held her down as she tried to escape from his iron grip, a cold, almost sadistic smile gracing his handsome yet harsh face. She saw his icy glare from underneath the water line, her impending death clearly written in the depth of his dark eyes. The girl drew on her last force to fight for her life, but she was no match for him. She grew progressively weaker, and weaker...
With a deafening scream she sat up abruptly in the bath, released from his hold over her. She squealed so loud her eardrums almost burst, but suddenly stopped when the door opened and Elijah appeared in the door frame. The man looked at Bonnie perplexed, throwing his hair back with a slight movement of the head and asked:
"Well, what now?"
Bonnie looked in shock at Elijah's dry suit and impassive face, unable to understand what had just happened. Her hands clutched convulsively at the edge of the bath tub, while her eyes examined the vampire tenaciously for any scratches or bites she might have left. She suddenly noticed Elijah's wondering gaze and realized her own state of nudity. The girl hurried to cover her bare chest with a hand, though certainly he had already seen all that he wished.
"Nothing, just a nightmare... I must have fallen asleep..." the witch muttered, knowing that, after such a dream, another sleepless night was guaranteed.
The man shook his head and left her alone with her gloomy thoughts. Bonnie got out of the cool water, carefully dried herself and pulled on her panties and the clothes she picked out earlier. Throwing a towel over her shoulders, she went into the bedroom, not wanting to further torment herself with misgivings. She crawled silently under the heavy duvet and pretended that she didn't care about Elijah lying on the other side of the bed. He just lay there with his hands behind his head and looked at the ceiling. Bonnie, curled up with her back to him, asked quietly:
"Do ancient vampires ever need to sleep?"
"It doesn't really matter, we can go for days without sleep." Elijah said to her surprise.
"Lucky." Bonnie murmured enviously.
She heard a slight creak, as if the vampire has changed his position.
"Why?" He asked with interest.
Bonnie would sooner die a cruel death, writhing in agony before confessing her erotic nightmare, starring Mr. Maniac himself as the lead actor.
"I just feel like I'm "A Nightmare on Elm Street" heroine!"
Elijah paused, clearly not knowing what the witch was referring to, and she was fine with that. To her surprise, the tiredness enveloped her.
"Good night, Bonnie Bennett," Elijah's soft voice was the last thing she heard before finally falling asleep.