Chapter Eight

It's Been a Long Night

Juliet paced around the drawing room, staring into the fire like it had said something rude to her. Mika and Kathy had been gone longer than she expected. Much longer. She was beginning to wonder if maybe Kathy had used her... feminine wiles...

'No!' she admonished herself. 'Kathy is my friend, she would never do that to me... I mean... it's not like I would care if she did, Mika and I... we really aren't dating but... I told her we were so she shouldn't even think about it, but still... Mika's eligible. He's a bachelor... well a Vampire bachelor but still... He likes women, he told me so! So if he and Kathy hit it off well... it's really none of my concern... I mean, he's his own man... vampire... and he can make his own decisions...'

The raven haired girl sighed loudly and threw herself on the couch. "AH! What does she have that I don't!" she shouted. "I mean... I'm not ugly..." she clutched a couch cushion to her chest and heaved an impatient sigh. "And she's not particularly beautiful. I mean, if I wore that much make-up I'm sure guys would be falling left and right for me, but I'm a natural person... they don't make make-up in my shade..." She looked down at her hands that were clutching the pillow to her slight body for dear life.

"I... is it... my skin?" She closed her eyes, afraid of the tears that were welling up behind them. It wasn't unheard of even in the small town Juliet lived in for people with her complexion to be treated differently. Some men preferred a darker skin tone, others… "Mika... never once did he... did he say... he-he's... not like that!" Juliet jumped to her feet abruptly. She ran her fingers through her hair.

"Mika's a gentleman, and he likes his women real." She glanced down at her body. "With real curves..." Though Juliet was slight of frame, she was surprisingly well endowed. "Kathy has nothing on this body!" She smiled. She had a wonderful hour-glass shape that men took notice of, well, when she wasn't wearing layers of clothing. Her dark hair fell to her shoulders and brushed the sides of her face. Her tan skin brought out her unusual blue-grey eyes. She was an exceptionally beautiful girl.

And Mika knew this; he stood in the doorway, watching Juliet rave about Kathy and what she 'presumed' Mika liked in a woman. Yes the General liked his women curvy, and he did enjoy dark hair, but a fair complexion was what really turned his head. Though there was something about Juliet that he couldn't help but be attracted to. Perhaps it was the fact that she was so... innocent.

The young Vampire shook his head at that thought. Innocent? Really? Perhaps not the correct word. The girl is obviously a virgin, he could smell it whenever her 'time of the month' rolled around, and he believed she knew as much because she would look at him nervously. She was inexperienced in a lot of 'adult' ways. She did not smoke, she hardly drank. Juliet had no adult friends with which to converse. None except Kathy. Kathy... With her blonde hair and crystal clear blue eyes, Kathy was definetley a man's dream. She was almost like a pin up. Mika could tell she knew her way around a bedroom, especially with the way she looked at him earlier that night. But even Kathy... could not draw his eyes away from Juliet. To compare the two would be to compare a rich, stately wine to a sip of fruit juice.

Juliet had layers to her sexuality. The way she bent over to pick up items, always at the waist, exposing her ample bottom to the view of others, without realizing she was striking such a sensual pose. Or how she wore her clothing tight above the waist, as if wanting to draw his eyes to her large breasts, at least twice the size of Kathy's. But really, Mika knew she just wore whatever she was comfortable in. Juliet was not like the women of her time. She was already fiercely independent, whereas they were still struggling to achieve their independence. Kathy could not go a week without a man gracing her presence. Mike could read that easily, whereas Juliet... she had been alone most her life. She was used to relying on herself. She knew exactly what she wanted and how to acquire it.

That, to Mika, was the sexiest thing about her. At that thought Juliet threw herself on the couch once more and let out a shaky sigh. Why was she so unsure of herself over this? It made the young Vampire uneasy to see her so shaken.

And as the General watched her from the shadowy doorway he wanted to rush to her and embrace her and explain to her that she was far better than Kathy and worship her body until she believed him. With his hands, and with his tongue he would start from her neck, his sharp teeth grazing the beautiful curve of it, licking a trail down to her lovely breasts. Here he would have to spend time, caressing and teasing and biting. Oh yes, biting. He would have her crying out his name with her release and he would look into her beautifully strange eyes and whisper his love and adoration for her... if only he could.

Though he could not clearly remember the walk he and Kathy had taken, Mika had come back with a renewed sense of protecting his young friend. His young... sensual... female friend. He thought about their 'lie' of him teaching her self-defense, and it sounded like a feasible, and actually quite wonderful idea. Juliet needed a way to protect herself. Though if anyone ever saw her angry... Mika smiled. Perhaps she knew a little already?

Juliet let out another annoyed sigh before once again, throwing herself onto her sofa. "What in the world is taking him so long!" Surely, she thought, he could knock Kathy out with is magic Vampire powers and sneak her into her room before returning. Wouldn't that be faster? Honestly the man has no respect for others. Keeping her waiting. The girl rolled her eyes and sat up, coming face to face with Mika.

Juliet narrowed her eyes. "Finally back, I see."

Mika raised an ebony eyebrow. "Sorry to keep you waiting, darling."

Juliet grimaced. "Ah... Look... Can't we... Drop that?" Mika shook his head with a smirk and Juliet frowned. "Please?" At the word Mika laughed, loud and sharp and strong. Almost like the General himself.

Mika smiled as his laughter subsided and gazed into Juliets' eyes. "I was thinking about you on the way back." At his intense gaze Juliet blushed.

"About me?" She whispered, a smile tugging on the corners of her lips. Juliet sat up straighter, repositioning herself on the couch so that she was eye level with the handsome Vampire.

'Wait, handsome?' She mentally shook her head.

Mika nodded. "And how you really do need help." At his words, Juliet let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Really." It was a statement, not a question. Her smile was gone. Mika noticed this, and smirked.

"Oh yes, Juliet. You're simply clueless."

Juliet huffed and crossed her arms, shooting Mika a look that said 'Continue, Lord knows I have nothing better to do'.

Mika straightened and stood. He took a step over to stand towering over Juliet. "Tomorrow night, you start training. With me." She shot him a strange look at his words. Juliet moved to speak but he rose a hand to silence her.

"Like I said Juliet, you're simply clueless. You find bloody daggers in a box in your attic. You've been told they belong to you. Wouldn't you think that learning to use them would bring back some old memories?" Juliet opened her mouth to speak again, then shut it, waiting for him to continue.

Mika bent down and placed a hand on Juliet's knee. "I know you were happy here once." He looked into her eyes, but she averted her gaze. "But now you aren't."

"I am."

Mika shook his head. "You are clueless Juliet Andères. I know you better than that." He sighed and stood up. "But we will discuss more tomorrow night."

He made to leave and Juliet frowned, moving to stand. But before she could she was pinned down to the couch by a panting Mika, whose gaze was fixed on her eyes. One hand supporting his body from falling on hers, and the other was flexing open, and fist, open and fist, as if he didn't know what to do. Before she could speak his lips descended on hers in an intense kiss. Juliet was inexperienced indeed, not knowing how to react to his lips pressed to hers. Mika's hand moved to caress her cheek and Juliet sighed, giving the General the access he wanted as he slipped his tongue into her mouth, causing the girl to moan and respond to his kiss with fervor and wild abandon.

Mika moved his hand lower, sliding down the side of Juliet's body and Juliet arched her back in response to the stimulation, pressing her chest to his, and Mika growled, gripping at the fabric of her shirt, lost in the sensation of this petite woman pressed against his body. But before he could take it any further he withdrew, panting and aroused. He gazed down at Juliet, her hair splayed out around her flushed face, her lips bruised from his kisses and her eyes half-lidded and cloudy with... arousal.

The Vampire let out a shaky sigh to calm himself and growled low in his chest. "Clueless Juliet, for you think that you understand the affairs of a mans heart."

At his words Juliet moved to sit up and speak, but by the time she had, Mika was already gone. Leaving Juliet alone in her giant mansion with a fire in her body that she had never experienced before. And she smiled as she cursed him and his wickedly delicious mouth.