Caius
In the blackness of my room, I held Isabella as she slept, cradled in my arms, my chin resting against her soft hair. Her breathing was slow and even, and she radiated heat even through the thick blanket wrapped around her. I thought back to the boat. It had only been a handful of hours ago, but it felt so much longer. I had been playing it back in my mind over and over again, trying to see if I had missed something, some sort of sign or cue, but every time the image played the same in my mind.
It was like kissing fire. It felt as though her flames were going to consume me, licking into every corner of my being. Her lips tasted of sea salt as they moved against mine. I pulled her closer, my hand trailing over her lower back, pressing her warm, soft body against my stone one. Her hands glided from my chest up around my neck. My other hand moved from her face to her hair, and I moved to pin her against the mast of the ship. My hand on her waist tightened, the action causing her hips to press into mine, and I let out a low growl at the sensation.
The kiss changed suddenly as her hands pushed against my chest, and I was so caught up that it took me a second to realize that she wanted me to stop. I released her, and she tried to step back, only to hit the mast. She was staring at the deck, her hands now shoved into her pants pockets and her shoulders slumped forwards. I looked at her, confused as to why she had suddenly stopped. My hand moved up towards her face as I went to push back the hair that had fallen into her eyes, but as I lifted the stray strand of hair she flinched away, almost as if I were to slap her.
"Why did you stop?" I asked, trying to keep my voice soft.
"So that's why you kept me alive huh?"
"What? What are you..."
"If I let you fuck me would you leave me alone? Would you set me free and leave me and let me and my family live? Because if that's all it takes..." The words caught in her throat as she tried, and failed to repress a sob.
"Isabella I..."
She was still looking at the deck, very obviously feeling nauseated by what she thought she had to do, as pushed the bra strap from her shoulder, tears streaming down her face.
"Isabella, stop," I said as I moved to replace the garment, "Please, just stop. It is not my intention to force you into my bed...not in the slightest."
"No, you were just sent here to kill me instead right?"
"You know why I was sent here."
"No, actually I don't. You failed to mention that before kidnapping me. So whatever you're going to do, let's get it over with!"
I didn't know how to respond, and for the first time in centuries, I didn't know what I was supposed to do. I didn't know what I wanted to do with the girl, but hurting her was definitely not it. I couldn't let her go off on her own, it would be a violation of the very law that I was trying to uphold, and I couldn't bring myself to kill her, and I didn't know weather that had to do with some sort of bond, or simply the novelty of having someone who was different, someone whom I was unknown to. Turning away from her, I began to steer the boat back towards the shore. There were no words between us as I guided the boat back into the dock and anchored it. I grabbed Isabella by the wrist and she put up no fight as I lead her back to the truck.
I Killed the engine as we pulled into the Cullen drive way, and spoke the first words since the boat.
"Go inside, and close the door behind you."
Silently she obeyed me. I saw her close the door and waited until I heard her footsteps move towards the living room. I put my head on the steering wheel. What was this girl doing to me? When I was kissing her it was like nothing I'd had felt before. When we were on the boat, I had wanted her. I had wished her bare and underneath me as the stars shone over head. But that look in her eyes? I had felt guilty for it. The idea of raping her had never even once been something I had considered. The arousal was gone as soon as I had seen that thought come to her eyes. This bond had been driving me mad from the start. As soon as I had laid eyes on her I was hooked. I had been kidding myself that it was about work, about duty, about honour. It wasn't. And here in the privacy of the truck, I could admit that, but in the house, to her? How could I do it? How could I say it in a way that she wouldn't want to run from? But it was the only idea that I could think of that would make sense. The girl deserved an explanation as to why I had been holding her captive. I knew that if I wanted any chance with her that I needed to let her off. I could not have her be my prisoner and my woman. Love cannot be love if it is not free.
Don't be a coward.
I closed the truck door behind me and locked it. If I didn't do it now, then I never would. I would sit in that truck for eternity waiting to muster enough fortitude to do it. Once inside the front door, I took a deep breath of musty air. I really must clean this house if I am to stay here for much longer. I went to the kitchen and began to rummage through the cupboards. I filled a mug with water, put it into the microwave, and continued searching. 'Not quite what I was looking for, but it would have to be close enough,' I thought as I pulled out a bag of chai tea out of the now empty box and placed it into the water to steep.
Another musty breath.
I could see Isabella as I made my way towards the living room, her hair splayed over the arm of the sofa as she lay chest up on the soft cushions. Placing the mug on the coffee stand beside her, I crouched down to rest on a knee beside her.
"Why did you kiss me?" she asked, still not meeting my gaze.
"I find myself to be...fascinated with you."
She rolled to her side to face me.
"Fascinated?" she said, raising her eyebrows.
"You didn't try to run or escape, but you questioned instead. No one ever dares to question a king now. They are all to scared, but not you. You're...different.
"Everyone now just thinks I'm boring. All I do is work and study. Even my friends at school don't think I'm interesting to hang around."
"Your friends are wrong."
"And who are you to say? You know nothing about me."
"I know that you're smart, and caring, and brave. That you draw better than most people can ever hope to. You like earl grey tea, and..."
She stared at me quizzically as my voice caught in my throat and my eyes dropped.
"...and that the Cullen boy was a fool."
There was a long moment of silence.
"So long as you agree to keep the knowledge of my kind secret as long as you live, you are no longer my captive. You are free to return to your life."
"I'll keep your secret."
I handed her back the truck key and I rose to take my leave.
"Caius..."
I turned back to face her as she stood from the sofa.
"Why are you really letting me go?"
"Because I am attracted to you. And my hope is that one day you may forgive me.
Her face flushed as she looked at her feet.
"What if I told you that I was attracted to you as well, but..." she paused
I was shocked at her forwardness. I had been certain that she would take leave as soon as those words of pardon left my mouth and the key was back her hand. Never had I thought that I would be lucky enough for her to reciprocate my feelings. I took a few tentative steps towards her.
"Then that would make me very happy," I responded, "But?"
"But I'm not ready for anything...physical."
"We won't do anything that you are not comfortable with. Like I said before, it is not my intention to force you into my bed."
She nodded.
"I think I should sleep here tonight," she said.
I looked at her questioningly.
"If I come home at three in the morning my dad will have a fit. I was just going to tell him that I was too tired to be behind the wheel, got a motel in Port Angeles, and drove out the next morning. "
"That makes sense. I suppose you'll be needing a bed then?"
"I don't mind the sofa..."
I rolled my eyes, "I'll find you a bed."
I made my way up the stairs. Should I have her sleep in the room which I had been staying in? I didn't want to suggest that she spend the night in the boy's room. The problem was I did not know which room belong to who. After grabbing clean sheets out of the closet, and moving my belongings off of the bed. I began to strip the sheets and remake the bed, being sure to add a few extra blankets on top.
I made my way down the stairs to retrieve Isabella only to find her asleep on the sofa.
"Isabella," I said stroking her hair, trying to rouse her. She moaned in protest as I went to shake her shoulder.
"What?" she asked in a sleepy voice.
"Come upstairs."
"No, I'm asleep."
"Come on, to bed with you."
After finally getting her off of the sofa and upstairs, she took off her belt, her flannel throw over, untied her hair, and flopped gracelessly onto the bed.
"You gonna stay?" she muttered.
Slowly, the dull light of the morning crept over the horizon, and shown through the window, Isabella began to stir. She groaned as the light peaked over the window sill, and curled closer into my blanket covered chest. The arm splayed over my chest tightened as she pulled herself closer, groaning again. Not thinking, I wrapped an arm around her waist, trying to pull her to lie more on top of me, when she jumped.
"Sorry."
"'S okay. Just startled me is all. What time is it?"
I rolled over to grab my cell phone from the nightstand, "It's 11:00," I said and rolled onto my back again.
"Really? I never sleep this late." She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and looked alarmingly at the screen, "Seven missed calls?!" She typed in a number. "Hey Dad...You saw my note right?...Yeah, I'm still in Port Angeles, I was too tired to drive so I stayed in motel...Yeah, I know I should have called...I'll probably spend some more time here, I didn't get all of my shopping done yesterday, and I'm already here anyways...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you so worried...Yeah I will...Okay, see you later...Bye."
She flopped back onto her back, "Why am I still tired?"
"You could always go back to sleep," I suggested.
"I'll waste the whole day if I do that."
"I'm assuming that we'll have a few hours to kill then. What would you like to do?"
