It's finally up, thank God, you all have no idea how hard this chapter was to write. Now I"m just worried about the next chapter. Relationship scenes are just awkward for me; especially from a guy's POV. But that's probably because I'm a girl and not a mind reader. :P
Chapter 6 Choices
I reached a new height on the idiot scale that night. Yet, I was probably the only moron who could have come out of this situation alive. Here I was in Camille's bedroom with Camille giving me 'just-fuck-me-now' eyes and a hairsbreadth away from her lips. And I had no intention of doing anything to her that night.
Camille seemed lost for words. She did not try to move away, but she did not try to get any closer either. I did consider going for it; it would not have been very hard. If she did have the same disposition for me as the other women in this hotel then Camille would comply very easily. Except, Camille was not like every women in this place; she was the leader and had the most authority. Even if what she said about the other's opinion of me was true, it would not be enough to save my life.
So I gave her a small, teasing smile and dropped my hands from her face and took a step back. Even I knew when a risk was not worth it. After all, I wanted to kill the bitch; not fuck her, well, maybe both.
Almost instantly Camille regained her usual sense of business and delicately straightened her shirt while avoiding my gaze. "So Paris," I started; Camille practically jumped when I spoke. Maybe Paris would be more fun that I thought; especially if I could get this reaction from Camille more often. "When are we leaving?" I turned for the door; I had to slow down to give her enough time to answer.
"What?" Camille looked up at me, and quickly regained focus. "Tomorrow night of course; I wouldn't want to give you enough time to make a run for it." Camille said in a demeaning manor. The bitch was back.
I was half way out the door when I looked back at her. She had her arms crossed and her face was expressionless except for her green eyes which radiated hate. "Yeah, because I'm the one who needs to be running." With having had the last word, I left Camille to ponder that as I made my way to my room. I was walking a fine line, but I had to admit: it could be worth keeping Camille around if I could screw with her mind every time I pleased.
I had never traveled overseas before and after two hours on the plane I was fed up. This sucked. We had ended up taking Camille's private jet and although she swore it would only be six hours instead of eight, I spent most of my time pacing the isle and trying to convince Camille's pet human to let me have the liquor in the small kitchenette.
We arrived at the hotel just before sunrise; which I'm not sure how we managed concerning the whole earth rotation-axis-day-and-night thing, but no one was bursting into flames so I couldn't complain.
We were staying at a hotel that catered to downworlders run by a few warlocks; although they did take a certain number of human guests. Generally the humans ended up as snacks for vampires but again, I couldn't complain. I also found out I had to share a room with Camille, which I could complain about. I argued with her, but she claimed it was so she could keep an eye on me 24/7. I claimed it was an excuse for her to try to sneak into my bed. Not the best thing to say when one is on 'probation'.
Turns out, the 'shared' room of ours was big enough to be shared with six people; so maybe it was big enough for Camille and me to share without going completely insane. There were three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a kitchen (which no one would use), a dining room, and a living room that served as an entrance room as well. Everything screamed expensive and don't touch me, which made me wonder how much money does Camille really have?
"I can take that myself." I said vaguely to Camille's pet as I grabbed my bag and chose a room at random. I was already fed up with the rich and luxurious and it had only been twenty seconds. Maybe Camille would drive me insane this week.
"Raphael, don't be so rude." Camille called after me, but I ignored her. Of course she followed. "He's only doing his job." She continued, I rolled my eyes but didn't give her any more attention than that.
"If I were still human, that'd probably be my job." I commented.
"If you were still human, you would have died on the streets long ago." Camille corrected me. Sure it was true, and yes, I realized that almost every day of my undead life. That didn't mean she had to rub it in my face every chance I got. After all, she had killed me and expected me to be dead and not come back. Irrationally I made my way over to her, stopping less than a foot from her, my fangs out, ready to bite.
"Listen, Camille, you fu-" I stopped dead in my tracks; Camille raised one eyebrow inquisitively at me, waiting for me to continue. But I was not that stupid. "Never mind," I said, my fangs retracting as I took a last glance at her before I turned to face the bed.
"You're not learning discretion now, are you, Raphael?" She taunted me; I waved my hand at her to shoo her away. Quietly she turned and left my room, her heels clicking against the wood floor, leaving the door wide open. I walked over quickly and slammed the door as hard as I could. I heard the wood splinter and it gave a slight groan under the force, but luckily it didn't break.
The first night we were to attend the 'dinner' of a friend of Camille's, which only meant that I spent the whole day in my room hiding from Camille. I was planning to spend as little time as possible with her this week; no matter how difficult it would be.
"Raphael, would you get up already?" Technically, I was already awake; I just put an abnormal amount of effort into trying to sleep, which seemed to be impossible around Camille. "We leave in two hours." She yelled; I heard her heels click against the floor and I stuffed the bottle of scotch under the pillow; too late, she saw. "Really?" She said exasperatedly.
"You drove me to it." I answered; and instantly regretted. I sat up against the head board and looked back at her. She did not say anything, only stalked over so she was standing right beside me, hands on her hips, glaring down at me.
I gave her a half smile in a feeble attempt to charm her. In return she reached under the pillow and took out the bottle of scotch. She looked at it for a few seconds, probably judging how expensive it was, and it wasn't, before she popped the lid off. She held it there for a second as if she was going to take a drink, then she raised it up and before I realized it, she tilted the bottle of my head and doused me in alcohol.
"What the fuck?" I jumped off the bed and yelled, along with many other profanities, as Camille watched me silently from where she stood. I took one look at her and I swear I saw a faint smile on her red lips. I was in front of her in less than a second and wrenched the bottle out of her hand, her smile did not fade.
"You drove me to it." She said softly in answer to my previous question. Her smile grew a fraction before she slipped by me, a little too closely, and headed for the door; I caught her arm and spun her around. To my delight, there was a look of shock on her face, but it quickly faded and was replaced with a look of superiority. "We leave in two hours," she repeated, "I suggest you get ready and also take a shower why you're at it." She said; before she moved out of my grasp and then out the door; leaving me covered in alcohol and fuming mad.
The so called 'dinner' that I was to 'escort' Camille to turned out to be more of slinky cocktail party where I was bound to get myself into some kind of trouble, probably with one of the elegant (slutty) women attending.
I had managed to get rid of the alcohol smell, which was not easy considering vampire sense, and also managed to clean up to what Camille called 'semi-presentable' I didn't care what she threatened, I would not wear a damned suit and I would not take off the thin, gold chain around my neck. I had figured the black slacks with the long-sleeved white shirt would be enough to appease Camille. (I didn't know that would become normal attire for me then)
Camille herself was decked out in a floor length, sleeveless, back dress that invited the eyes of too many on lookers, me included. Her blonde hair was twisted up into some complicated fashion revealing the pale arch of her neck and below that the curve of her breasts which were put on perfect display. Many of the other attendees were wearing similar attire. To my surprise, and distaste, there were a few Nephilim here as well. "Hay una razon para beber." I muttered under my breath. Camille turned quickly towards me.
"What was that?" She inquired. She had a glass of champagne held closely to her chest and I could not help but look, if only to piss her off.
"I said, you look beautiful." I lied, hiding the sarcasm to the best of my ability. Apparently Camille still hadn't picked up any Spanish since I joined the coven because she smiled and stepped away to chat with a dark haired vampire. I had to contain myself to a tight-lipped grin to keep myself from outright laughing at Camille's naivety.
"You look like someone who's up to no good." A voice said to my right and I turned to face a short, dark haired girl. Her eyes were a light blue that matched the short dress that she wore; her high heels brought her up to almost the same height as my shoulders. Her right hand was gripped around a slim glass of something that I'm sure was doused with alcohol. However, the detail that caught my eye was the black lines that curved around her arms in an intricate pattern that I had learned to hate.
"And you look like one of those damned Nephilim." I threw back at her; she did not seem offended, only more intrigued, which of course intrigued me in return. "Shouldn't you be out saving the world or murdering my kind? Something like that right?" I asked; she gave me a smile, her lips a shade of pink that made me wonder if it was natural or not.
"I'm on vacation," she replied, taking a sip of her drink, her full lips leaving no trace of color on the glass. "In fact I've never been out of Idris before." She added. I had heard of the Nephilim's country located somewhere in Europe. I was not sure where or who I recalled hearing about it from, but I knew enough about it that I also knew there were some Nephilim that had never been outside that country. Which meant this girl was young, if not very young.
"How old are you?" I asked; not that it mattered, if I wanted to have some fun with the girl then age certainly was not going to bother me; to an extent, of course.
"Seventeen," She replied, a thought occurred to me about how she had even gotten in here at her age but I quickly dismissed it. "I've never seen a vampire before." She commented; I raised an eyebrow at her.
"Then how do you know I am one?" I turned to face her directly; she was closer than I had anticipated, maybe three or four inches in between us, definitely closer than acquaintances should be. She smiled up at me, her eyes bright against her hair, which unlike Camille's, was loose and flowed around her face, ending just below her breasts.
"Because you're not breathing." She replied, her voice softer than it needed to be. All the conversations here were hushed, no doubt a result of the intimate setting surrounding us. But what the hell, I decided to play the Nephilim's game, if not to my own amusement. I leaned in a fraction, forcing the girl to look up at me to keep eye contact.
"Really?" I saw doubt cross her face for a second, her train of thought confused by the breath of air that passed through my lips as I spoke. The girl straightened and looked me in the eye defiantly, however her lower lip quivered slightly.
"Yes, your fangs are showing." She said; her voice strong yet hushed. I gave her a smile, revealing my fangs even more and the girl let out a small gasp of surprise. The little Nephilim really hadn't seen a vampire before.
I glanced around for Camille, I was not sure why, but I figured it would be best if Camille did not see what I was up to. Looking back at the girl, she gave me a tentative smile. I gave a small consideration to wondering how much she had had to drink before I spoke. "You're scared of me." I stated simply.
"No I'm not." She replied, she looked slightly taken aback, then she took a calming breathe and looked me directly in the eye.
"Then are you trying to gather the courage to stake me?" I asked calmly, I watched her gasp, flustered; she took a quick sip of her drink.
"Of course not." She responded.
"Then why are you here?" I asked; and leaned in closer. Her pupils were dilated.
"I told you, I'm on vacation."
"What kind of vacation?"
"The kind that offers many new experiences," at that point, her lips were millimeters away from mine and I couldn't help myself but close the distance and kiss her. It was only a teasing kiss meant to entice and it did just that. The moment I began to pull away, I felt her hands gripping my shirt, pulling me back towards her. I played along with her, teasing her, always giving her small, fleeting kisses that left her wanting more. That is, before I bit down on her lower lip; not hard enough to draw blood, although I craved it at the moment, but hard enough to draw a sigh from her lips. I pulled back a fraction.
I had one arm wrapped around her waist and the other cupped her cheek as I spoke softly so no one else could hear, "What kind of experiences are you looking for?" I asked because I still was not sure if she wanted the same thing as I did. She was young enough to just want to fool around at a party, but I sincerely hoped she wanted more.
"The kind that a guy like you can offer." She replied, and raised her lips to meet mine. I was partially conscious of the not-so-discrete looks we were getting from people across the room. But like any other previous time, I did not care. That is, until someone yanked on my shoulder ripping me away from the Nephilim's grasp only to be faced with a seriously pissed off Camille.
"Shit," I muttered. My eyes darted to the Nephilim, but one look from Camille and the girl skirted off. I looked back to Camille, I had never seen so much hatred radiating off her at once.
"I think it might be time for us to leave." She said, her words where ice, her demeanor even frostier. I said nothing. For some strange reason, I felt like the boyfriend who just got caught cheating. Why? I had no clue. The last monogamous relationship I had had was as a mundane in middle school. I was not exactly an advocate for devotion.
"What makes you say that? I thought we were all getting along just fine." I said, and then mentally slapped myself for speaking. Camille turned to face me, her fangs were out, and her eyes could have probably staked me themselves. Camille did not give me anymore of an answer, she grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the room and then out of the building dragging me all the way back to the hotel like some three year old. At the least, I was offended.
By the time Camille slammed the door to our room, I had a pretty good idea of why she was pissed. It was pretty amusing to think of, and my smile just pissed her off more.
"What the hell is wrong with you? You think you can just go sleep with anyone? And a Nephilim for a Christ's sakes! Are you trying to get us all killed, that girl couldn't have been more than fifteen!"
"She was seventeen," I corrected, that did not stop Camille from ranting.
"I'm sure that's what she told you, not that you would care. Do you have any care about the consequences? About your life or the lives of others? No! Of course not, because all you care about is your fucking self and I think you've proven to night to be too much of liability to the coven." Camille was fuming, but she did not make any move to kill me. I had the subconscious feeling that she didn't want to and I felt some strange urge to comfort her but I really had no clue how.
I waited a few moments for anything else she had to say. She was standing a few feet from the door, blocking my exit, and I was a few feet in front of her, arms crossed, eyes adverted. "You're jealous." I stated bluntly. If she was going to kill me, then I minus well put all the cards on the table. Camille's eyes darted to mine, and I'm pretty sure I flinched at her death glare. Her hands were fisted; her red lips looked more deadly than inviting.
"You think," She started, and then blew out a breath of air; she gave a short laugh then started again. "You think I'm jealous of that stupid little bitch back there?" She asked referring to the Nephilim girl. I was pretty sure that was rhetorical question.
"You're acting like it." I said; uncrossing my arms and putting my hands in my pockets, giving her the most bored expression possible. "You did call her a bitch." I added.
"That doesn't prove anything, all the Nephilim can go to hell for all I care." She threw the words back at me and crossed her arms. Although she failed to realize she hadn't revoke my statement. I took the few steps forward that separated us and looked down at her. There were wisps of blond hair that had found their way out of her obnoxious up-do; her eyes were a bright green which contrasted her red lips in such a way, that even if she was pissed at me I found it attractive. Her hands were fisted at her side, her jaw ridged.
I gave her a small, half smile; but the way she looked at me did not change. I had to give a small thought to if it was worth it or not, there was a possibility of losing my life and all, but then again I had never been much for acting through a logical process. "Then why not let her sleep with me? If anything, the aftermath would have scarred her for life." I said, a smile playing at my lips, I watched as Camille's ferocity lessened a bit, her hands unclenched, and her fangs retracted a fraction.
When Camille did not say anything, I leaned in a fraction, my lips a hairsbreadth away from hers now. I waited another fraction of a second; her green eyed gaze never broken eye contract with me. One of my hands came up to rest on her waist, the silky fabric cool beneath my touch; my other hand rose to her jaw, my fingers bringing her lips to mine.