Resistance

I should have known even the simplest thing, like riding bicycles, was a bad idea. Sure, the exercise felt nice, and the Hawaiian landscape was absolutely breathtaking…

But having to watch Ethan on a bicycle, his muscles practically rippling with every effort and his skin shimmering with a layer of sweat, well it was torture.

I stood in the hallway of the hotel waiting for Ethan to open the door with the key. He had a slight smile on his face as he pulled the key-card from the slot and pushed open the white door.

Immediately, I ran past him into the bathroom and locked the door behind me. I held my breath and leaned against the door, waiting to hear for any noise Ethan made.

"Audra?" His voice was just on the other side of the door. "What are you doing?"

"I'm just going to take a shower," I said to the door, trying my best to keep my voice from wavering. I couldn't be close to Ethan any longer; I was going to break.

Ethan didn't reply so I pulled open the glass door to the shower and stepped in. I turned the water on cold and stood there for a few minutes, just letting it seep into my clothes. I really needed to get a grip on myself. I'd never lost my head over a guy before.

But Ethan was so different. He awoke something in me that I'd never felt, never been. His proximity set my skin on fire, his voice commanded every bit of my attention, his eyes looked deep into the depths of me…

Despite the cold water, my body burned for him. I peeled my heavy clothes off and let them fall onto the floor of the shower. I could fight this feeling. I would have to.

Ethan still stood in front of the bathroom door, his hand raised against the wood as though it was a window that he could see Audra through.

He had no idea why she was hiding from him. The entire time they were supposed to be enjoying their bike ride she hardly made eye contact with him. It was starting to get under his skin. It seemed like every step forward brought him three steps back. Just when he was starting to think Audra was warming up to him, she completely shut down.

But what was he worried about anyways? He'd last resolved to leave her alone. Bringing her into his world, even more than she already was, would probably kill her. And at the very least, if it didn't, she would get hurt and that would kill him.

Ethan sighed and turned from the door. He walked to the single bed in the room and smirked as he remembered the fight she put up when she realized they'd have to sleep together. Thankfully, she'd been so tired after their flight yesterday that she had fallen into bed without another word. He hoped he'd be able to control himself in the bed with her again.

His throat ached painfully. It had been so long since he'd last fed. That whole fiasco with the human girl Jessica had just been a mistake. Ethan couldn't bring himself to touch her, not when thoughts of Audra plagued his mind. The only reason he'd let on that he did feed from her was because Audra was so busy with Charles, that meaningless little worm. He'd been forced to find a few animals, small things, with just enough blood to tide him over for a few hours. The things he was doing for Audra and she had no idea…

The door clicked open and Ethan's head shot up to the bathroom. He hadn't even realized he'd been in such deep thought. Audra stepped into the room wearing just a towel over her body and an innocent blush on her cheeks. Ethan swallowed, his eyes roaming her damp, ivory skin, now a bit sun kissed. Her hair looked darker now that it was wet which only made her eyes seem even brighter. Damn it, Ethan cursed.

How could I have been so stupid to not bring a change of clothes with me into the bathroom?! Ethan's eyes scorched a path over my body, a static awareness tingling everywhere they touched. I turned to the light switch and flicked it up and the room immediately brightened.

"I forgot my clothes," I said timidly, hoping that if he was shocked or disgusted he would pardon my forgetfulness.

For the next few seconds Ethan didn't move or speak. His hands rested at his sides curled into fists. It was when he finally met my eyes again that I noticed he looked hungry, in more than one way.

"You're thirsty?" I asked, the focus of my concern his well-being. Ethan didn't have to answer, as his dark eyes swirled with an intensity that made my heart skip a beat. "But, you had Jessica just three days ago…"

Ethan scowled as though she left a bad taste in his mouth. "I didn't have her," he grimaced.

I rolled my eyes, "Well, I didn't mean it like that."

Ethan walked toward me with a solemn expression. "I didn't have her in any way," he clarified.

My eyebrows furrowed, "But, your eyes weren't dark when you got back."

"I made do with something else," he said. He stood in front of me in his white t-shirt and dark hair, looking like a super model.

"Why?" I still couldn't understand. "You need to have something! From what I remember, she was more than willing," I mentally shuddered.

Ethan reached out for me but I took a step back. I knew he was trying to distract me, and I knew that if I succumbed I would never get any answers. His eyes bent in confusion for a moment when I refused him, but then he smirked.

"Ethan," I warned, grasping the towel tighter and holding my other hand out as if it would stop him.

"I didn't want her," he revealed, still moving toward me with that dangerous, mischievous sparkle in his dark eyes.

A small part of me blossomed at his confession, but I still remained worried. "It doesn't matter who it is, you need blood!"

Of course, my back hit the wall and I was trapped by Ethan's strong body. His grin widened and nearly turned me into a pool of mush. "I know what I need," he murmured as his hands finally gripped my waist and crushed me to him.

I wanted to protest, I really did. I was wearing nothing but a towel and Ethan had definitely realized that, but while I had been dreading this, I had also been looking forward to this all day.

Yet while I wanted to give in, to finally cave and let him do whatever wicked things he wished to do with me, I remembered the time he had crawled into my bed, in pain because of his thirst. I could see it then when his face was an inch away from mine just as I could see it now. I wasn't about to be selfish.

"Ethan, wait." The words came out before I could even think to stop them. I stood frozen as Ethan straightened and finally, when our eyes connected, I could see how important it was for him to feed. His usually caramel eyes were now completely black; colorless, and the whites of his eyes were slightly red. His once pearly, flawless skin lacked its luster and even the blank expression, his mask, I'd seen him wear so many times, looked ready to break and reveal the pain he tried to hide from me.

His lip picked up in a snarl and he hissed with venom in his voice, "Of course."

The next moment he was nowhere near me. I stepped toward him tentatively, "Of course, what?"

"You're so hot and cold," he exploded in frustration. "You're so difficult!"

I knew he was probably just irritable and uncomfortable, but a sudden anger welled up inside of me. He was accusing me of sending mixed signals? "And you aren't?! You have no idea what this is like for me," I argued back, though with a much more timid voice. "Can't you understand that it's hard to adjust to all of these changes?"

"It hasn't been a walk in the park for me, either." Ethan's normally blank face was filled with emotions. "Since you've come into my life, everything I've ever worked to build for myself has been shot to hell."

"What have I done to you?" I was exasperated at this point.

His hands flew to his head wildly. "Look at me! Can't you see what you're doing to me?" He asked in a voice filled with angry desperation. "I've adjusted my entire lifestyle to accommodate you! I fought with century old friends, fed from animals, fled thousands of miles away from my home, and I've done it all for you!" My voice caught in my throat at the broken look in his eyes. His eyebrows bent hopelessly while I struggled to find words to say. "You make it extremely difficult for me," he ran his hands through his already messy hair.

"What?" I asked. "I make what extremely difficult?"

He stepped toward me so quickly that I backed up in surprise. "Everything! You get angry with me for no apparent reason, and when I least expect it you finally warm up to me." Ethan's broad shoulders bent in exhaustion as he came within a few inches of me. My breathing hitched as my heart skipped a beat but I didn't retreat again. "And that," he pointed at me, at my chest, with eyes dark with hunger, "drives me insane."

I shook my head and placed a hand over my heart, trying to cover it up so that maybe he wouldn't hear it as clearly. I wanted to tell him that I didn't do anything on purpose to irritate him. I wanted to tell him how it was his fault my heartbeat was so erratic, and if he would stop coming to close to me I wouldn't have that problem. Yet I couldn't get a single sentence out of my mouth, and Ethan continued.

"You make it extremely difficult for me to control myself," he breathed out, his voice somewhat husky. It was as if he was trying to speak carefully, like he was desperately trying to keep himself from doing something he thought he would regret.

He was the most alive I'd ever seen him. His hair was in complete disarray, his chest rising and falling with each emotion that flashed through his eyes. He never looked away from me once, as if a hawk watching its prey. That static electricity between us kept my eyes locked on his, like I was in some sort of trance. My blood was racing through my veins and tingled like when I sometimes fell asleep on one of my arms. Heat was building up inside of me and it was getting harder to control.

"Why do you always have to be in control?" I looked up at him, square in the eye, with some new confidence, though from where it came I had no idea. My question was almost an echo of what I was asking myself.

Ethan looked back at me, his face unmoving. His dark eyes shifted back and forth from each of mine, as though he was searching vigilantly for something. "You underestimate me, Audra," he finally whispered, his gaze frozen on my face. "My self-control is strong, and I don't think you realize what I might be like without it." My lips parted of their own accord, his masculine scent now rolling in waves over me as he took another step forward. "What I might be hiding from you."

I hadn't even realized I'd been moving away from him until my back pressed against the cool surface of the wall for the second time. Startled, I looked down at my bare feet and Ethan's no more than a few inches away. When I looked back up at him through my lashes, I could have sworn I saw his pupils dilate.

There wasn't anything he had to hide from me. I wanted to know him in and out; I wanted to know the good and what he thought of as the bad. Such close proximity always clouded my judgment, but I knew what I wanted. That feeling in my gut, the pull towards him, was overpowering and there was no denying it.

Ethan's arms moved up so that his hands were against the wall on either side of me. "I think you were made for me," he whispered in confused amazement, his gaze falling from my face for the first time to roam over my body. His jaw clenched and his eyebrows furrowed as he struggled with his self-control.

I didn't want him to fight me anymore. I dragged my hands up the wall until I reached his, his skin smooth and cool. I closed my fingers around his wrists, their length too small to reach all the way around. Though I had prepared myself to use as much strength as I could muster, when I pulled his hands in the direction of my body, he easily let me control him.

His eyes tore back to mine as I pressed his palms to my waist. I looked back, silently begging him to give in. I didn't want him to deny me again. Ethan seemed to understand as his hands curled around my waist and his fingertips pressed into my skin. His face though was still set with determination, like he knew he shouldn't want what he did.

"Ethan," I sighed, my voice light and airy. I marveled at how the sound seemed to come out of me without any consent. My hands were still on his forearms, gripping tightly though I doubted he noticed. I released him only to place my hands against his chest, not to push him away but to feel that radiating vibration that seared through me. Somehow understanding the hidden meaning in the way I murmured his name, Ethan stepped closer, closing any distance between us altogether. "I want you to bite me."

His body froze the moment I said it. "No," he demanded, though it sounded like a plea.

"You need to drink blood," I tried to reason with him. "It's unhealthy for you to go so long without it."

"I won't do that," he narrowed his eyes, but I could see how much he needed me; wanted me.

I tried a different appeal: vulnerability. "Please Ethan," I begged. "I can't stand to see you like this. Just a little bit of my blood and then we can stop." He looked to be debating it so I cupped his face in my hands and stroked his smooth skin with my thumbs. "I trust you, Ethan."

"Why are you doing this to me?" He murmured brokenly.

I couldn't answer. The only answer that came to mind scared me into keeping my mouth shut. "Please," I whispered.

Ethan stared back at me for a very long time. He rarely blinked as his eyes roamed my face in silent debate. After much time had passed, Ethan sighed and I knew I had won. "I want you on the bed," he murmured.

Heat pooled in certain places of my body at the sound of his deep voice saying such dirty sentences. I nodded obediently, "I should probably put some clothes on."

Ethan seemed to remember that I was practically naked as he released me and cleared his throat. "Alright. I'm going to take a shower then."

"Just hurry up," I told him as I unzipped my suitcase and pulled out a pair of underwear. When I heard the bathroom door click shut, I tugged them on with the towel still wrapped around me and fumbled around my suitcase for a tank top. I threw the towel on the floor and pulled it on as fast as possible just in case Ethan came back out. I turned out the light and practically ran to the bed and buried myself beneath the covers.

I wished I had asked him what to expect. Was it going to hurt? Isaac had told me once that some people thought it felt good. I hoped I would be what Ethan needed.

After a while, I started to wonder if Ethan was trying to stall in the shower. Maybe he thought I'd fall asleep and he'd get out of having to bite me. Well, my heart was still hammering in my chest just thinking about it. There was no way I was going to forget.

Finally, the bathroom door opened and Ethan walked to his suitcase with just a towel wrapped around his hips. His torso was absolutely beautiful, certainly nothing like what I'd ever seen in real life. His muscles were defined and shapely, his arms strong as he reached down for his clothes. His back too, I noticed, was well-built, and I tugged the covers closer as if they could hold me back from rushing closer to get a better look.

Ethan turned and looked at me lying in the bed with the comforter pulled up to my neck. "Do you expect me to bite through the blankets, too?"

I blushed and shrugged, watching him carefully as his hands moved to his left hip where he tugged the corner of the towel and-

I squealed and covered my eyes. Ethan was naked! He was naked and laughing not three meters away from me and it was too much for me to handle. I kept my eyes covered until the bed bounced and I peeked between my fingers. "Are you dressed?"

"Partially," he smirked, and I could see he was wearing only a pair of black pants. I marveled at his body as he grabbed the comforter and pulled it back to climb in beside me. He paused for a moment as my body was revealed. "And so are you, apparently," he groaned as he looked over my bare legs. "Did you forget to pack pajamas?"

My cheeks were on fire at that point. "No," I grumbled, moving to get out of the bed and put on more clothes. A strong arm wrapped around my stomach and pulled me backward so sharply that I gasped. I ended up with my back to Ethan's front and his other hand grasping my naked thigh almost possessively.

"I wasn't complaining," he said in that deep, husky voice. His fingers danced on my very upper thigh and I squirmed beneath his feathery caresses.

"I don't know what to do," I blurted in a whisper, wondering if he meant to seduce me before biting me.

"Relax," he breathed softly into my ear, and as his mouth pressed against my neck in a gentle kiss, I did just that.

Isaac walked through the marble halls of the mansion he'd visited many times to see his best friend. He sought out the parlor room and pushed the doors open effortlessly.

His determined stare landed on the young, yet ancient, woman and he bowed. "Ophelia; my queen," he added, "I need to speak with you urgently. It's about Ethan."

Ophelia looked up from her book calmly to take in Isaac's sudden appearance. "Isaac, what is it?"

Isaac walked into the room and stood before her as though a soldier to his king. "You know he's taken Audra away into hiding," he prompted. Ophelia nodded. "I promised I would look into an important matter for him while he was gone, and I thought to turn to you first."

This time, Ophelia closed her book and set it down on the couch beside her, completely forgotten. "It concerns Audra as well, am I correct?"

Isaac nodded once. "She does… something to him. I'm sure you've seen it too."

A beautiful smile grew on Ophelia's pink lips. "I have."

Isaac waited for her to continue, but when she remained silent, he had to ask, "What is it?"

The female vampire took a breath and motioned for Isaac to sit beside her. "Well, it's rare, first and foremost. Not much can be known about the link between vampires and their Muse, as it goes beyond the physical, mental, and emotional. It may lie somewhere in the blood."

"What does that mean for Ethan?" Isaac asked, concerned.

"He can't resist her. He can try with every power he possesses, but he'll fail."

"And what about Audra? Does the Muse feel the same way for their vampire?"

"In some cases."

Ethan's breath tickled the skin on my neck. I held back a shiver and relaxed into the mattress. Ethan's arms wound around my waist and he pressed my back to his front so that not an in inch of space was between us. My skin burned for his touch as I pressed back into him further.

"Are you certain this is what you what?" Ethan breathed into my ear. His hands skimmed across my stomach and sides to my thighs and the lace of my panties around my hips.

Ethan's lips pressed a kiss just below my jaw and I let my head tilt back for him. "Yes," I answered, my voice breathless, and I felt him smile. He tugged on my side so that I rolled over to face him in the bed.

His eyes were swirling intensity. The deep, ominous color of his irises reminded me how thirsty he was, but the way he stared, transfixed, hinted at a different hunger that pulled at something deep inside of me. "It may hurt," he warned while his hand trailed up my back and behind my head.

I nodded but didn't deny him and his hand wound in my hair. He pulled back gently and covered my mouth with his in a searing kiss. I put my hands against his chest, not to push him away but to anchor myself somewhere in reality. His skin felt smooth beneath my fingers as I brushed them down over his muscles. Ethan groaned and his tongue entwined with mine, tasting everything.

My head was swimming. Was this supposed to happen? Did Ethan always do this with the girls he fed from? Oh, but it felt so good. I stopped caring and brought my hands back to his chest, our legs tangling beneath the blankets. His bare skin against mine made my heart race.

Ethan pulled his lips from mine and looked into my eyes. "Lay back," he commanded, and I obeyed immediately. The mattress sunk as I lay on my back and Ethan moved to hover over me, his elbows on either side of me. He went back to pressing kisses along my neck and down to my collarbone, his hands just barely grazing my skin. I was aching for his touch, practically writhing beneath him. "Relax," he told me for the second time, and I tried to push my emotions away. I steadied my breathing while Ethan kissed his way back up to the side of my throat. "That's right, baby," he cooed in his deep voice just before I felt a sharp prick on my skin.

I jumped when I felt it. My blood went cold and I froze. The sensation was like nothing I'd ever felt before, but it wasn't entirely painful. Soon enough, any discomfort faded completely and I grasped Ethan's shoulders frantically as my blood coursed like fiery magma through my body. I gasped and when Ethan's hands finally grasped my waist, I moaned.

He groaned against me and pressed impossibly closer to me, his chest crushing against mine. My body ached all over, not in pain but from desire. I needed to be closer to him.

My arms wrapped around his broad shoulders as I pulled him to me. I wanted to tear my stupid shirt off so that I could touch his cool skin with mine. I didn't want any barriers between us. I pressed my hips against his and smiled in ecstasy when his hands moved to my bottom and squeezed me even more tightly to him. I could feel his arousal against me but I wasn't deterred. I fumbled for the waist of his pants and tried to slip my hand beneath, but found I was suddenly too dizzy. Everything around me was spinning and I fell back against the pillow in silent wonder. What was happening?

When Ethan spoke it sounded as though he was across the room instead of right above me. "Audra?" He sounded worried. A hand pressed against my cheek and forced me to look into a pair of beautiful, tormented, golden eyes. "Audra? Fuck!"

I saw black.