A/N: This is actually kind of a short chapter, but I went ahead and posted it as a quickie on what's going on with Bella before I cut to the Cullens. Hope you like... it's a little...different. (If you want to see a photo of Bella's captor "Lord Dagon" you can check him out on my profile!)
Musical Inspiration: Wolf Moon - Type O Negative
Chapter 16 – Taste of Temptation
I showered quickly and dressed in a long blue satin gown before crawling under the full, plush coverlets on the lavishly laid out bed. I noticed that while I showered, the covers had been turned down as had the lights. I assumed it was the beautiful woman who had led me here and there this very day.
As I lay in the dim light, not daring to be alone in the darkness, here, I wondered if Edward knew that I was missing yet. Oddly I felt no threat for my life… not yet; if I had learned one thing from the Cullens, especially Alice, it was that vampires were not rash actors like humans tended to be. Why would they be? They had so much more time to bide… I was sure that my captor would keep his promise… he would wait a week before killing me… if, that is what I decided.
I do not remember whether my thoughts drifted further or if I fell asleep, but the next thing I remember was my eyes opening abruptly to a sound. I blinked twice to focus, afraid to move, I clutched my pillow to me silently. I was laying, face down, half buried in the feather and satin rectangles that covered the bed. Slowly I looked up from my fluffy sanctuary, at first with my eyes only, then, slightly, as my bravery grew, my head.
At first I saw nothing, and as my heart slowed and my muscles relaxed I assumed it had been only a creak of the house, a noise at night that had startled me. As I drew in a deep cleansing breath and turned slightly, the sound that had woken me made its presence known once again.
My breath caught in my throat. Out of the darkness of the room, which seemed much dimmer than I had left it, came a deep, velvety voice whispering in the night.
"You needn't fear… I swore you no harm and my promise I always keep."
I gasped, despite the calmness of his voice.
He walked closer to the bed, the dim light playing on his very angular features. They at once were severe and beautiful; he was inexplicably strong in both looks and presence.
"I have rendered you speechless I see. Forgive me… as you must know, we do not sleep… I came to look in on you… your mind…fascinates me." He said thoughtfully.
"Because it is silent to you?" I asked, expecting the same problem as from Edward.
He frowned slightly. "Of course not… why do suggest such a thing? Think you that I lie about my abilities?"
I was taken aback… with Edward's unending frustration with my mind, I could only assume that it was so with all vampires.
"No, it's just… I've had that problem before." I stammered, not wishing to give away any more… nothing that could help him against the Cullens.
"Truly? With your Edward, the mind-reader?" he asked, his face breaking into a grin.
"Edward, at barely over a century, a mere whelp of children of the darkness; he is immature and his talent has not yet fully bloomed… or… perhaps he does not operate on a cellular level that I do, but on a wave-length." He said ponderously to himself.
He sat gently beside me on the bed. I could not deny that he was charming… this, my would-be murderer in less than seven days… that is… unless I did not refuse him.
His crimson eyes found mine. "You think me evil…" he said. It was not a question.
"I do not yet know what to think of you. The fact that you kidnapped me from Alice would lead me to believe that you did not have good intentions; despite your offer, of course." I said carefully, not wishing to offend the very being that could take my life in mere seconds if he so chose.
He frowned slightly at first, "I took you from her, because my dear, I know well of the Cullens, though they may not know of me. They will not kill you… they will not turn you… they do such a thing only at the imminence of the death of one they deem worthy. In the last century they have made only four blood children. They do not hunt like we do… they are… an anomaly among our kind.
If you have hopes of becoming one of them, you are to be greatly disappointed, yet they will leave you to become fare for the Volturi. I cannot allow that, unless, that is your wish.
Still… you do not trust me… I have not yet given you any cause to, but this will change tonight… I will not have it said of me that I was ungenerous in any possible way to my guest. Ask what you will of me, and the answer will be yours."
I thought for a moment. "Who are you?"
He smiled slightly. "I am Lord Dagon, which is all you need know me by for now."
"You… sound different. You are not from here, are you?" I ventured.
"Your ears do not deceive you; I am from Wallachia."
"How…..uh…how old are …" I stammered, wondering if it was rude to ask a vampire their age. The Cullens had given me theirs without my asking, so I was unsure of proper etiquette on the matter.
A boisterous laugh filled my seemingly cavernous room. "I am very, very old to your mind, little one. In human years I am nearly thirteen hundred years old. If you are asking about my age in appearance… I was about twenty two at the time of my transformation.
Being as old as I am allows me many advantages that are all but unknown to the vampires you have kept company with lately."
"Advantages?" I asked.
"Yes." He answered; a knowing smile crossed his lips. "There are certain benefits to being able to exist for such a long time."
"Such as?" I ventured.
"Such as…the fact that your blood is one of the more potent and desirable aromas I have smelt in all my years, I can resist you with but little thought. You are one in millions… sweet, yes; but after so long to practice control… there are many things I could do near you and not lose my senses."
I frowned. Feeling as if he knew more than I assumed he knew.
He was shaper than I had imagined; he read my frown as easily as if I had voiced my question aloud.
"I tapped into every sight, sound, taste and smell you have ever had earlier today, my dear… along with all of your thoughts… your instincts are not incorrect as to your gentleman… for that is what he is ever striving to be with you. He would not be able to keep himself from taking you if he got too close… it matters not how much he cares for you; he would not be able resist your blood and he knows it."
I kept silent, surprised and dismayed, knowing he spoke only the truth about Edward.
"I, however, can do so much more…" he said as he gently grabbed my hand pulling it toward his face. He inhaled at my wrist as if appreciating a new perfume on my skin.
He produced a champagne flute and a small letter opener.
"I swear to you, this will not hurt." He said as he gently raked the tiny blade across my wrist.
To my great surprise, I felt nothing at all but a warm rush as the blood spilled into the crystal flute until it reached the half way mark. I felt pressure on my wrist as he squeezed gently above the cut and the bleeding stopped.
If I had been in any normal state of mind, the sight of blood…any blood, would have made me pass out immediately, but I was mesmerized.
He lifted the glass to his lips and drank.
"Your blood is sweet, youthful, like honey and cinnamon…floral; beautiful." He said and placed the glass on my night table.
"I… I thought vampires went into a kind of frenzy… how can you keep from…?" I asked, stammering, bewildered, dazzled.
"As I said, Bella… with age comes many advantages… and with this I will bid you good night." He said, leaning down, placing a light kiss on my lips before disappearing so fast I had no idea he was gone until I heard the door latch and all was quiet.
I tasted the blood on my lips faintly as I fell, still dazed, into a restless sleep.
A/N: OKay, please Review... I like to know what your thinking. It really helps inspire me to write more and more.