Sorry I haven't updated! School, school, & even more school! I'm lucky I even got on the computer on a school day! But I would do anything to make my readers happy! Enjoy & PLEASE review!

I had forgotten to shut the blinds, and the sunlight came in, crawling onto my legs and covering my body in warmth. That's when I noticed I didn't have a blanket on, and that I was curled up on Jonah. One of my arms were stretched out, hugging his sleeping body. One of his hands laid on top of my arm, and I could see Calypso's ring on his middle finger. He was breathing, and I could feel it. His chest heaved up and down, and I went with it, since I was cuddled all over him. I don't remember being in this position, though. But, I didn't care. I enjoyed being cuddled up next to Jonah. Ba-dum. When I heard that, I thought of a million things it could be. But it sounded familiar. A beating heart. Do vampires' hearts beat? I listened closer for another sound. But I couldn't hear anything. When I gave up, I heard it again. Ba-dum. I stayed like that, listening to Jonah's heart beating as if it was the sweetest melody in the world. I compared his heart beats to mine. Mine were obviously faster. But his were barely thirty beats per minute.

"Are you enjoying this?" he asked, startling me.

"I was j-"

"Listening to my heart beating?"

I nodded, feeling embarrassed. "I didn't know that vampires' hearts could beat."

"Some vampires have beating hearts. Only the kind ones. The other ones are literally cold and heartless. The heartless ones live off of blood, like all of us, but they have to have blood every day. Or else they'll die. The evil ones don't deserve to live, so that's why their curse is doubled."

"I didn't expect your heart to be beating."

"You wanna hear it again?" He smirked at me, and at first I didn't know what he was going to do, then he sat up, and pulled me in. I felt my ear resting on his chest and I heard a ba-dum sound. His heart was beating. I found myself holding onto him for dear life. I don't know why, but it felt right, being right there with him. I pried myself off of him, and before I knew it, his ear was on my chest. And my heart starting racing. It's a good thing he couldn't see my face, because I'm sure I was as red as a tomato. He curled his arms around me and made sure there wasn't any space between us. I was sure I was going to pass out because I was holding my breath.

"Yours is beating really fast," he stated, adjusting himself to be able to hear better. "Are you okay?"

"O-oh, believe me, I'm fine."

He pulled away from me, and I felt empty for a second, until his beautiful blue eyes stared right into mine. "We have three more days until we go to get your parents back. No matter what they do, give them the rings, and walk out with your parents."

"Wait . . . you're not adding yourself in here."

"I know. Solomon has a bone to pick with me, and I don't think I'll be leaving that place when you do."

"Jonah, I'm not leaving that place without you. Okay?"

"You have to or Solomon might change his mind. Plus, all of Solomon's henchmen are vampires. If you don't cooperate, they'll kill you. And believe me when I say this . . . but they won't think twice about drinking you and your parents dry."

I exhaled through my nose and gulped. "What if you turn me before all of th-"

"No! Elora, that's the craziest thing you've ever said. I'm not turning you into what I am."

"But if it came down to it, would you? Like, if I was dying, or something like that, would you?"

"I would have second thoughts about it, but that's the only time I would ever think about turning you into a vampire."

"Jonah, what are we doing in the next three days?"

"Well," he started, raising an eyebrow with a seductive smirk on his face. "We can explore New Orleans, and we can do some other stuff." He leaned in and crashed his lips onto mine, pushing me down. He started tracing my neck with his lips and I couldn't help my laugh a little, until I gently pushed him off.

"You're sexually frustrated," I said with a chuckle.

He looked at me and smiled. "I don't know why, but I just can't stay away from you."

"Hmm, maybe I gave you too much blood?"

"No, not that. Because I've drank another person's blood before and I didn't feel like this."

"Lust," I added, not knowing what else to say. "It's definitely lust."

Jonah and I drove around, and parked beside a nearby Walmart. From there, we walked around for a while. The sun was shining bright and Jonah was enjoying every second of it. I knew he wanted to be human. Not a humanoid cursed to be a blood-sucking creature. I didn't see what could be so wrong with being a vampire, until I remembered the reality. Jonah can't walk in the sun unless he has that magical hunk of gold on his finger. He has to drink blood to be immortal, and if he doesn't drink, his body will slowly wither away and he will become a leathery, wrinkled corpse. Jonah's always cold unless he has something warm in his system, like coffee or a warm meal. He drinks and eats warm foods everyday, so it's as if he wasn't even a vampire. And after a while, I actually believe that he wasn't. But when he was thirsty, reality bitch-slapped me across my face. Dumby, I said to myself. He's a vampire! Stop this! I must admit, my feelings for Jonah have grown, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Besides, he's a vampire. What happens after I get my parents back? Will that be it? Will we say goodbye? And if we do, how long will we not see each other? Because I know I will be with my parents for a long time. How long will we be separated? A week? A month? ... Forever?

Review!