Her hands were cool to the touch, almost icy. She sat looking at him with regretful eyes. She knew what he had to say to her, telling her about the life of a vampire would be interesting to say the least, but the way he looked at her calmed the nervousness coursing through her arctic veins and eased the erratic clatter in her heart…just a little bit.
He sat across from her, shifting anxiously, aching to touch her. She looked upon him with such trust, yet a hint of fear, and he knew at that moment that he would always want to take care of her, please her, and be the only one she would come to…or for.
Jason gazed into her soulful blue eyes and made a solemn vow to make sure she never feared anything or anyone for as long as he lived, as long as he was her protector. And he would be, forever her enforcer because they were now joined to one another in mind and body.
Elizabeth nervously twitched, fumbling with her fingers as she sat looking in the stoic but warm ocean depths of his steel blue eyes. Whatever he was going to say, she would never be prepared for. So, she thought to herself, she was just going to hear him out without any preconceived ideas about what her new life entailed.
He cast his gaze to her small frail hands and wondered how they would feel caressing the cold dead flesh that encased his body. He wanted to know for a fact how her naked form would feel under his overworked but talented hands. Would she be able to warm him, fill him with the deep seeded need to feel like he used to when he was human?
It had been ages since he thought about his old life. He had forgotten how to taste and feel anything other than death. From the moment Luke sired him, Jason made the conscious choice to never look back, never wonder what his life would have been like if the vampire lord didn't take him. He always had a hero complex, especially when it came to damsels in distress, but one bitterly cold winter night a lifetime ago he stopped living and became a monster. Life would never be the same.
Jason pondered what exactly he wanted to tell her. It had been quite a long time since he had to explain the ways of vampiredom to a new sire. The lifestyle and the responsibilities to the clan were taught and learned quickly without much time for thorough comprehension. The vampire life, the rules, the clans, the history was all too much for a new sire to appreciate, hence the reason 'on the job training' worked wonders.
For the past three days, Jason had argued heatedly with Johnny and Francis about Elizabeth. She could possibly be the catalyst to a clan war of epic proportions just because she happened to be fucking a vampire of another clan. Jason didn't consider the possible circumstances when he decided to save Elizabeth; he just reacted because what she faced was a slow, hellish death at the hands of his enemies and he couldn't live with that.
For days the endless verbal brawl among the men grew into shouting matches as they pondered how Lorenzo would attack. Of course none of them had known at the time of the embrace that the Ventru leader was madly in love with the wisp of a woman that lay dying in the back of their SUV. A shortcut through a dingy New York alley catapulted them all to the point of no return, the moment the beautiful stranger in red became a member of their clan.
Lorenzo Alcazar's fury spread through all five clans like wild fire. Although there was nothing The Council could do in terms of punishment for Jason, since Lorenzo did not stake claim to the woman until after the embrace, it didn't stop him from seeking his own form of vengeance. Elizabeth was his secret indulgence, a human woman who managed to crack through the hardened black shell that once housed Lorenzo's heart and restored life into the aging vampire. He sought retribution for her and for himself.
In looking at her demure but breathtaking disposition, Jason observed how this young woman tamed the beast. There was something strangely familiar and comforting about her. He had done his homework while she slept, needing to know all he could about the socialite.
Elizabeth Imogene Caldwell-Webber was a wild child. Born into privilege, she was a true force of nature. Her upbringing was less than stellar, forcing the debutante to act out, seeking attention wherever she could find it. Sometimes it was in bars, mob infested clubs, extravagant vacation getaways, but mainly in the arms of rich and powerful men who treated her like a prized possession.
In looking at her now, he saw her silent anguish and insecurities. She was shy around him, clearly nothing like the woman he read about. The woman who was staring at him with a hypnotic expression needed him to show her the way of her new life. She was lost, her emotions clouded, wondering if the woman she was three days prior would ever return.
He wanted to reassure her and banish the uncertainty that plagued her. Elizabeth did something to him that stirred a fierce desire to make her happy. Her eyes expressed every emotion she battled within and each time he matched her gaze, he knew he could spend an eternity never breaking their connection.
When he finally worked up the courage to speak, he found himself standing then walking towards the window giving him some much needed distance away from her…scent. He knew moments ago as she drank the blood to calm the hunger, that she wanted him. He could smell her sweet essence escape through every pore in her body. He could hear the blood she drank flow like a raging flood through her veins. He could taste the delicious flavor of vanilla that seared her skin.
The distance between them allowed him time to compose himself. If he was any closer he'd have to take her and that was not an option because there were more pressing matters that needed his full attention.
He stood motionless in front of the picturesque window overlooking Hudson Bay, while she squirmed under the darkened scrutiny of the two men off to her left. They glared at her with disdain. She was the reason they were fighting with their leader, she was the reason Alcazar wanted a war and she was the reason Jason seemed so damn preoccupied.
"Jason?" she called out to him. "What do you need to tell me?"
Her melodic voice sang through the jumbled voices he heard in his head. He paused slightly when Francis mumbled something under his breath calling attention to the unique situation that was laid out before him.
She cast her eyes downward when the men mumbled incoherently and they continued to bear down on her like vultures. She was uncomfortable, he saw it.
"Leave us," he ordered. Johnny and Francis didn't move until he shifted his attention back to them. He dared them to defy him, but instead they quickly conceded and departed swiftly.
"I am the leader of the Gangrel clan, known within the clan as the Primogen," he said as he slowly turned to face her. "You are now bound to this clan Elizabeth. You are one of us."
Briefly the look of panic ravaged her sullen face before it disappeared.
"Wha…what does that mean exactly?"
Her nerves were on overdrive. She began to gnaw on the already battered flesh of her bottom lip. He couldn't help but focus all of his attention on the action. It was endearing and he mentally pictured what it would be like for him to suck on it…tasting her. Elizabeth's hands trembled as she massaged her fingers mercilessly.
He walked over to her, sat down and placed a healing hand over hers. Although his skin was cold, there was warmth emitting from his touch that eased her anxiety. She glanced at his monstrous hand then raked her eyes upward until she encountered the familiar shade of blue that seemed to comfort her soul.
"I don't want you to worry ok? No one will hurt you."
She shook slightly from the intensity of his glare. While one large all encompassing hand began to rub hers, the other gently wiped a single tear she hadn't realized she shed.
"I'm not afraid Jason," she whispered turning her head into the hand that stilled against her cheek. "So…does this mean I'm staying here with you?" Water filled her shining orbs as another drop fled down her face.
"It means you are now my responsibility Elizabeth."
She pulled away, releasing herself from his touch. She needed answers and he wasn't offering them as quickly as she'd like. Elizabeth knew there was much more, Lorenzo being a large part and she was determined to know it all, no matter how much it may hurt.
She was still very much in love with Lorenzo, that didn't seem to die when she did. Actually, the need for him grew stronger. There was more, she could feel him holding back. It wasn't as simple as her just being his responsibility.
"Dammit Jason," she growled in frustration while rising to her feet, a bit unsteady. "Just tell me what all of this means. Do I belong to you?"
"No," he answered a little too quickly, "Not in the way you think."
Her frustration turned to anger. He was doing it again, stalling, giving her only bits and pieces.
"STOP!" She threw her hand up in defiance. Her eyes softened when she saw this own frustration. "Please Jason," she quietly pleaded. "Just tell me everything." She stepped closer to him, lifted her palm and rested it on his broad chest. His muscles pulsed from her touch.
"What does this have to do with Lorenzo?"
Her plush red mouth was situated in a frown and when she spoke Alcazar's name, it triggered something primal and beastly from deep within him. Jason tightly gripped her wrist and his eyes blackened with rage.
"Alcazar means nothing to you anymore Elizabeth." The words bled through her like a puncture wound. She not only sensed his fury, but she felt it as if it were her own.
"How…How do you know Lorenzo?"
Again his unyielding hold constricted around her frail wrist, causing the pale skin to bruise an ugly shade of blue. His nails dug into her flesh as his stormy eyes burrowed down on her as if she were his prey.
"He is a vampire, or did you not know?" Jason spat the words as if they were venom. A sinister smirk quirked on the side of his mouth as he appreciated the look of utter shock on her face. She stood frozen in place, clearly not expecting the revelation.
"What's the matter Elizabeth? You didn't know you were fucking one of us all along?"
As the words leapt from his sardonic mouth he immediately regretted them. His misplaced anger toward her past relationship with his rival clouded his common sense. She was not to blame for loving a man that lied to her. She was unknowing of his deception and Jason hated the way he reacted.
Elizabeth forcibly yanked her arm from his hold, tentatively stepping backward. He was being cruel to her and she didn't understand why. She couldn't begin to deal with Jason at the moment as her attention shifted to the information he offered. Lorenzo, her wonderfully amazing Lorenzo was a vampire. How could she not have known?
She was a fool, a stupid, naïve, completely ignorant fool.
Jason saw the realization play out and he felt sorrow. He reached for her in a silent request for her forgiveness. His eyes changed returning to the shade that drew her to him, willing her to follow them wherever they would lead. She fought the urge to go to him and have his thick arms secure her to his body and allow her body to meld with his. Every neuron in her body throbbed with electricity, pleading with her to take his hand and accept the security he offered.
"I'm sorry," he conceded in defeat when she did not come to him. Dropping his hand to his side, he continued, "I shouldn't have said it like that."
Now she was pissed. He had no right to react the way he did .She had a life, a beautiful life with the man she loved until he decided to change it.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" she berated as her thin index finger slammed into his hardened chest. "I did not ask for any of this. How dare you even insinuate that I should have known about him? How the FUCK could I have known?"
Her icy skin burned with each fiery word that screamed from her mouth. "Do you think this is easy for me Master Jason?"
He caught the offending hand that had struck him repeatedly in the chest. His touch once again sent a rush of warmth that pooled somewhere she ached for him to touch. She didn't know what it actually was, the pull, but it consumed her every single time their skin made contact.
"I know," he began coolly in an attempt to control his anger, "This isn't easy for you Elizabeth. I know." The slow and deliberate delivery of his final two words splintered the furious wave that raged in her tiny frame. She took it for what it was, an apology.
"I…I'm sorry for what I said." A burst of heat traveled from his robust lips and swept along hers. She didn't know exactly when they had closed the distance between them and stood mere inches away from each other.
He still held her hand, intertwining their fingers to physically make the connection, allowing the energy to flow through their bodies.
"Lorenzo Alcazar leads a rival clan. He knows what I have done to you."
She never took her eyes off of him. He tried to prevent the movement, but failed as he captured an errant silky strand of hair between his fingers. Mesmerized by the soft texture and completely taken by the tender moment, Jason turned his gaze to her mouth as the strand breezed by her full lips when he tucked it behind her ear.
On pure instinct, she closed her eyes. The simple gesture sent shockwaves of want channeling down to her now moistened womanhood. God, why did she feel this way every time he touched her? What was it about him that made her crave to have his long fingers stroke every inch of her until he filled her full.
'I need to keep you safe Elizabeth, at least until I have handled the situation."
The pull grew stronger with each breath she took. Another step closer and his mouth would only be a whisper away from hers; close enough for her to taste him like she desperately wanted to do.
"Jason…"his focus trained on her soft pouty lips as his head descended lazily towards her awaiting mouth. He licked his lips, wetting them for her. He could feel his blood boil from the anticipation of tasting her sweet as honey lips. How he managed to fend off the hunger to have Elizabeth in his arms, in his mouth for this long, he did not know.
The arduous movement brought him closer and closer to home. She still watched him as he crept toward the heaven he dreamt of since the embrace. Her hot breath fanned across his now parted lips. He inhaled her scent, loving how it filtered into his cold body, warming him.
Just as his lips were about to take hers and the journey to the long awaited kiss coming to an end, Elizabeth chimed five words that crushed him instantly.
"I want to see Lorenzo."