Heey,
I finally have the next chapter for you, so sorry it took me so long!
Thanks a lot once again to Too Much Chocolate for editing, you're the best :)
Enjoy!
An unpleasant silence fell over the room as soon as Mr Thurgood had closed the door behind him.
This time, Mr Cullen remained standing, but came a little closer.
"I know that I lost control and frightened you, Isabella. That is unforgivable," he began. I noticed the cautious tone of his voice.
"And that is why I want to at least try to explain my behavior to you. Perhaps you'll understand a little then."
Since he looked at me as if waiting for an answer, I nodded. However, I avoided his gaze because I felt like I wouldn't be able to turn away if our eyes locked. I couldn't deny that his appearance attracted me.
"Since I . . . was turned, I have been able to read the minds of the people around me. I can hear their voices inside my head. This can be very handy at times, should I find myself searching for information, for example. It does, however, require an immense effort and increases my thirst, so I try not to do it too often."
It increased his thirst for . . . blood. I hesitated. That was how he knew my uncle had sold me. He had extracted that information from the minds of those disgusting creatures.
"Is your sister able to read minds too?" I asked.
Mr Cullen seemed astonished. He probably hadn't thought to hear me utter one word today. And I hadn't, either. But now a slow smile spread on his face. I had committed the mistake of giving in to the desire to look at him.
Someone should definitely chisel his face in stone, I thought. And if his statue was placed in front of a Roman temple, people would believe him the most beautiful god mankind had ever seen.
"No, she is not. Not every one of us possesses a special ability. That being said, she indeed has a very good instinct for the feelings of others. But it's not the abilities of my sister I want to discuss."
He held my gaze, still smiling. I groaned on the inside. Instead of keeping my distance from him, I didn't even manage to avert my gaze.
"It's different with you. When we found you that night, I thought it was due to your exhaustion that I couldn't read your mind. But nothing changed the day after or yesterday. This upset me and still does, because this is the first time that I cannot read a person's mind. And I was in disbelief that a helpless little girl – excuse me – deprived me of my abilities."
He paused again, and I seized the chance to take my eyes off his well-formed lips and blush, because he had probably noticed my glance. If so, he didn't let it show, though.
"And yesterday I was caught unawares as I could finally hear your voice in my head. Up until this point, I had thought that there had to be some kind of . . . mistake with your thoughts, but then it came to my mind that you might be making a fool of me. That's the reason for my extreme reaction, Isabella. The most confusing thing is that I didn't even need to try and read your mind, your thoughts just came to me. I heard them clearly in my head."
I stared at him, unbelieving. "But . . .", I began and then stopped, because I didn't know what else to say.
It was probably wiser not to question him about this topic anymore, since it seemed to irritate him immensely. And even though Mrs Cullen had just assured me that I could trust her brother, I couldn't forget the expression of wild rage on his face.
Mr Cullen gave me a pleading look.
"Please, go on. I don't want you to be afraid of me."
His last words sounded almost a little sad, the first ones all the more demanding. So I did what he wanted.
"I was only wondering why you were suddenly able to read my mind," I explained quietly and tried in vain to hold his smoldering gaze without losing myself completely in his red eyes.
Mr Cullen sighed.
"That is the one question that has occupied my mind since yesterday. Were you outraged when you thought you were my captive?"
He practically spat out the word "captive". Now, he stepped closer to my bed to stop a few inches from the edge. Was he even breathing?
My thoughts fought a duel inside my head. Of course, I had been outraged. But dared I tell him? Was he setting a trap for me to stumble into, or did he really only want to find out the reason for my outrage? I looked at him with uncertainty.
"Excuse me; I suppose that was an unnecessary question. Of course, you were outraged and probably still are. I have developed a theory. It could be that you are surrounded by some kind of protective wall which normally protects you from my mind reading abilities. However, in moments of rage or strong emotion this protective wall crumbles and I am able to catch a glimpse."
He watched me expectantly, as if he wanted my opinion on this assumption. To be sure that this was really what he wanted me to do, I waited several seconds during which he became more and more impatient. Then I spoke.
"That sounds very logical, sir." My voice was far too high, even to my ears.
"I did think about it for some time," Mr Cullen responded. Suddenly, he was again sitting next to me in the chair, which hadn't been that close to my bed before. I blinked a few times to make sure I wasn't imagining things. He must have moved unnaturally fast, just like the man who had suddenly appeared in front of me again in that horrible night . . .
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Mr Cullen murmured and extended his hand in my direction, apparently lost in thought. His eyes held mine captive and in this moment, I didn't even feel disturbed by their strange color.
I couldn't act against it; my pulse was suddenly accelerated and I couldn't do anything but stare at his hand coming closer to my face with each second. I already imagined feeling his soft touch on my cheek which sent little shocks through my whole body, but then he seemed to reconsider and put his hand back in his lap.
"You do not make it easy for me," he whispered. "But I won't break my promise."
I looked at him, wide-eyed. What promise? I lowered my gaze onto the blanket to make more sense of my thoughts.
"I promised not to touch you for as long as you don't want me to," Mr Cullen helped me remember. Then he smiled again in this incredible captivating way that made me tingle.
I gulped and felt my cheeks turn red. The irrevocable truth was that I wanted him to touch me. I longed for his touch. This realization frightened me so much that I had to resist the urge to seek cover under my blanket. Feeling this way was absolutely wrong.
To my great relief, Mr Cullen changed the topic.
"I want you to know that you are not my captive," he said with a sigh. "It's only that I don't want you to wander about the streets all alone. If you want to leave for a few hours, I will accompany you. I was planning on taking you to the market anyway. You can choose what food you'd like to buy."
This promise, so close to a threat, made me look at him again.
"Why . . . why are you keeping me here and are still so kind?" I blurted out. I couldn't even begin to understand his ambiguous behavior.
Mr Cullen's gaze was penetrating. His ability to change expressions in the blink of an eye was uncanny.
"I wish you'd consider it as something different than keeping or detaining you. I want to help you," he said plainly.
"You don't even know me!" I shouted. Immediately, I wished I hadn't opened my mouth at all. My voice had been much too loud and reproachful.
Nonetheless, I found that my interjection was justified for once. What right had he to hold me in his house? And more importantly: why did he do it? In the beginning, when I had still been thinking that his intentions resembled those of my aggressors, the reason had been obvious to me.
However, he didn't seem to have it in his mind to violate me. Apparently, he didn't have any reason to keep me here, and that made me suspicious.
"No, I don't," Mr Cullen responded calmly. I was surprised by the fact that he simply agreed and didn't reprimand me. Was it the demeanor of his sister that had made him that tolerant?
"This however, doesn't change the fact that I would like to get to know you."
His eyes seemed to burn holes into my own, and I forgot to breathe. He couldn't be serious! He, a filthy rich, beautiful man, wanted to get to know me, a poor drug runner of the lower class? I had to have misunderstood him. But I didn't dare ask.
"You're strangely composed in the face of my sister's revelations," Mr Cullen stated after having regarded me closely for a while.
I needed some time to remember my conversation with Mrs Cullen. His closeness confused my thoughts and I didn't know what to do about it.
"It wasn't that much of a shock for me, to be honest," I answered. "I suspected it."
Actually, I had been certain.
Mr Cullen nodded slowly. "Not all humans react so calmly when told what you just were. In fact, most start screaming and run off."
He looked at me in a way that made it clear that he was waiting for me to do the same.
"I'm not afraid," I claimed, and was astounded to notice that this was the truth.
There were only a few inches between us, and he was indeed a red-eyed vampire that potentially lusted after my blood. But I felt strangely safe and sound in his presence.
"I know," Mr Cullen sighed. Suddenly, he was standing.
"I still need to get some things done, Isabella. If you're in need of whatever, just tell me."
He pointed at his ear.
"All my senses are much better developed than those of humans. Consequently, you have only to say my name and I will be there," he promised and gave me a crooked smile.
As much as I felt ashamed for doing so, I gaped at him as if he was an attraction. He was breathtakingly beautiful. The worst part was, however, that he didn't scold me for looking at him – on the contrary. He let his gaze wander over my face, until he finally stopped at my lips. It felt like an insufficient amount of air found its way into my lungs and I knew that my face had just turned a deep shade of red. Feeling humiliated, I closed my eyes.
When I reopened them, Mr Cullen was gone.
My head pounding, I let myself sink deeper into the cushions and lay still for a few minutes to calm my raging heartbeat. He had probably noticed that too. What was he doing to me?
Every time he looked at me, my heart seemed to try to escape my ribcage and his mere presence made breathing difficult. I didn't know what to think of that.
A long time ago, as a little girl, I had often imagined situations like this. How one day I would meet someone, a suitor who evoked these reactions in me. But Mr Cullen was just too handsome to be real and to top it all he was a vampire. Why in God's name did he even show interest in me? I couldn't find the slightest explanation.
Also, I recalled Mr Thurgood's words. Who exactly was this other girl? Could I simply ask Mr Cullen about her?
Just then, my stomach growled. I hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday morning and my body had noticed. I was surprised by the fact that no one had thought to bring me something to eat. Was this a punishment for my escape attempt? But then Mr Cullen wouldn't have been that kind to me just now, would he?