Heavy in Your Arms

"That was absolutely delicious," Armand grinned in satisfaction, dropping his napkin onto the table. "You must send my regards to Jacques, as always."

Ethan nodded and agreed that he would. "I'm glad you enjoyed the meal." He avoided my eyes as he'd been doing all throughout dinner. "Shall we move to the library?"

Ophelia nodded her approval, "Of course." The vampires stood and followed one another out through the door to the hall. Ethan stayed behind once they had all gone and watched me attentively while I stood from my chair.

"You are not invited this time," he told me blankly. "You may return to the kitchen or wherever you please."

I rolled my eyes, averting them from the menacing shadows cast on his face under the dim light in the dining room. "That's actually a relief."

"What do you not understand about your position?" He growled in a low voice, suddenly striding towards me. His movements were practically a blur. "You continue to disrespect me, even in front of my guests."

I stepped back when my hands found the wall behind me and I pressed against it. "I would disrespect anyone who disrespected me or my friends," I shot back.

His hands reached out and gripped my arms near my shoulders tightly. His minty aroma whirled around me and the feeling of his cold skin against my arms gave me goose bumps. He was pushing me against the wall so hard that I thought I might break through the drywall, but he refused to release me even when I struggled.

"Let go of me," I demanded, holding my chin up stubbornly as Ethan stared down at me. The pain shooting through my arms was close to unbearable, but I wouldn't tell him that. His face was changing then. The anger was dripping off slowly as it was replaced by something even more fervent. Something dangerous.

His tight grip was releasing on my arms yet his hands still remained against my bare skin. The longer I stared into his swirling black orbs the closer he became. I could feel his cool breath caress my heated skin while I let my head lean back against the wall. I was positive that he could hear my heart pounding against my rib cage but I was no longer concerned as at the moment he was in very close proximity to multiple major veins and arteries.

"Your eyes…" I breathed, unsure how to phrase what I was actually trying to say.

He was so close now that his nose and cheek were actually touching my face and I imagined how close his lips were to my jaw. I shuddered at the thought. "I haven't fed in days," he explained quietly, his voice sounding distressed. He was trailing his face slowly down my neck now, his lips brushing against the skin there so delicately it was as if they weren't even there. I released a shallow breath as my eyelids fell closed.

"You are going to be the death of me," he groaned, his chest pressing against mine while he inhaled deeply.

My heart surged inside of me. I couldn't comprehend the number of emotions and thoughts and impulses that ran throughout my entire body. Everything felt white hot inside and out, and as Ethan's hands moved slowly from my arms to trail down my body and stop at my waist, the electric sensation grew overwhelming. I was no longer thinking about how arrogant he was or how he knew the direct path to get under my skin. I wasn't concerned with the group of vampires waiting for him in the library (and who would likely notice his absence very soon).

All I could think about was how impossibly good it felt to have him near me. He was still near my neck, only now his hard, immaculate body was pressed against mine and my hands had reached out to grip his upper arms. Keeping my eyes closed allowed me to focus on my other senses and how submerged they had all become. Under my grip his biceps felt firm and taught and his cool skin was a relief against my hands. By now I had started breathing heavier and my heart had found a steady rhythm, though still much faster than my heartbeat at rest.

He released a low growl, and then, in the next second, he was suddenly gone. I blinked breathlessly, scanning the room for any sign of him. The door to the hallway clicked closed just as the door to the kitchen was opening.

"You wanna help?" Hanna grinned, nodding her head toward the table covered in dirty dishes and linens. Her face changed when she let her eyes scan over me, taking in the sight of my heaving chest and windedness. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, "Yeah! I'm fine." I was still trying to figure out the strangeness of how perfectly timed his departure was. It dawned on me that the reason he'd left must have been because he knew she was coming. I was grateful and yet annoyed by it.

"You look really freaked out," she observed carefully. "What happened?"

"I don't really know," I answered truthfully, holding my hand over my racing heart. "I think Ethan was going to drink from me."

She was quiet for a few minutes and I stared back into her wide eyes. "Like, your blood?" She whispered.

I nodded, "We were fighting and then all of a sudden, I don't know, he was this close to me," I held my hand up in front of my face, remembering how his fresh scent rolled off of him in waves to crash against me.

"Woah," she said, as speechless as I was.

I nodded in agreement and began to stack the dishes in a daze. She mirrored my movements across the table as we undressed the dining room in silence. After we had finished, we brought the dirty dishes into the kitchen and threw them into the sink.

"Ugh," Hanna grimaced at the dishes. "I don't mind cleaning my own dishes, but cleaning dirty dishes that someone else has already used just grosses me out."

"Same here," I nodded, already rinsing off my hands under the faucet. I dried my hands on a clean towel and grabbed the dirty tablecloth.

"So are you sure you're alright?" Hanna asked again while she followed me out to the hallway.

I nodded quickly, "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." She gave me a look. "Really, Hanna, don't worry. I'll be okay."

"Well, if you need anything," she smiled, "you know where to find me."

Her warm smile was intoxicating, and I couldn't help but smile back. For a few moments I'd forgotten all of my troubles and my heart squeezed inside me at the thought of having a true friend. "Thanks. Really," I grinned, bumping my shoulder against her as we walked side by side through the hall.

"Don't mention it," she replied, bumping me back. We laughed at each other and continued down the hall until someone cleared their throat.

I twisted my neck to find Isaac standing with his arms behind his back watching us with one eyebrow raised. "Audra," he requested, keeping his eyes on me.

"Umm," Hanna mumbled, "I can take these to the laundry," she offered, reaching for the used tablecloth and napkins in my arms.

"Thanks," I told her quietly, giving her a confused look that told her I had no more idea than she did as to what he wanted. She nodded and smiled to Isaac before turning the corner and out of sight.

"Your friend seemed very worried about you," Isaac observed, his hair messy around his face. "Why is that?"

I slid my hands into my back pockets and shrugged. "She's just checking up on me, I guess."

He chuckled, a raspy sound that came deep from his chest. "You're quite coy," he smiled amusedly. "It's very charming."

"Thanks," I mumbled, looking to the floor.

Isaac reached out for my arm, grabbing my muscle firmly to pull me over towards the wall.

"Ouch!" I hissed, reaching to pull his hand away. I didn't need to look at my arm to guess that there was already a bruise there from when Ethan had grabbed me. Isaac immediately looked alarmed and pulled his hand back. I rubbed my arm and he relaxed slightly, looking at me quizzically.

"What is this?" He asked, grabbing my elbow and examining my arm. "What happened?"

"Nothing," I shook my arm free of him. "I just bumped it, that's all."

He looked skeptical, but placed his hands in the pockets of his black slacks. "That's okay," he sighed. "You don't need to tell me; I can guess as much. It happens quite often between vampires and their servants."

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently, still trying to play off that I'd somehow bumped my arm so badly that it left a five inch bruise.

"C'mon," he scoffed with a smile, "you don't think I'm stupid, do you? That bruise is practically the shape of a hand."

"It really wasn't anything though. I mean, it's the first time…" I trailed off, wondering why I was making excuses, and sad ones at that. It wasn't all that bad though, being pinned against the wall by Ethan's hands and body.

"I've heard of stories much worse than this," he chuckled. "I won't tell, don't worry."

"Stories?" I pressed.

He nodded, turning his head away from me. His strong jaw was covered with the beginnings of stubble. "Servants being abused in every way possible by their masters. It's sad, really, to think about it."

"Do vampires feed from their servants?" I gulped, a wave of panic washing ashore inside my gut.

He nodded again, "Yes, typically. They must be very careful of course, not to drink too much too quickly. Otherwise," he paused, his eyes flashing to mine, "you know."

I grimaced and swallowed back the bad taste in my mouth. "Isaac, what happens if a vampire kills a human?" I questioned cautiously, watching his face intently.

"The murder of a human is an offence punishable by death." His face was calm and serious as he looked for my reaction, "Why do you ask?"

"It's just something I heard Ethan say once," I shrugged.

"He doesn't feed from you," he said, his question a statement once again. I shook my head. "You would have a mark by now. Though I am curious as to why he hasn't tasted you yet," he grinned. "You smell absolutely mouthwatering."

"I've heard that too many times," I groaned, stepping back away from him.

He laughed deeply, his eyes wrinkling and his teeth showing proudly behind his full lips. "Oh, I can imagine. But don't worry," he assured me, "I wouldn't take something of Ethan's, nor am I unbearably thirsty at the moment."

I ignored the fact that he referred to me as one of Ethan's possessions and smiled, "Well, thank you. That's reassuring."

"Just promise me," he reached out to take my hands into his, "that you'll watch your back."

I nodded nervously, glancing down at my hands in his. They looked small and fragile in comparison. "Yeah," I mumbled, looking back up into his warm eyes. They glittered with life and he squeezed my hands delicately.

"Isaac," a masculine voice echoed down the hallway. He stepped sideways and Ethan looked at us quizzically, his eyes darting between us and our clasped hands. I pulled them away quickly and brushed them off against my jeans.

"Ethan," Isaac welcomed happily, "I was just getting to know your newest servant."

"So I see," Ethan drawled, striding over to where we both stood. "Vivienne was wondering what happened to you."

Isaac rolled his eyes but still smiled. "Still following her orders, huh?" Ethan gave him a very surly look to which Isaac laughed even more. "Well," he turned to me, "I take this as my cue to leave. It was lovely to actually meet you, Audra."

"You too," I replied, smiling shyly back as he turned to walk down the hallway and into the library. Ethan didn't turn away immediately and instead stood as still as a statue. "What did Isaac mean, about taking orders from Vivienne?"

"Isaac likes to make jokes about things that are no longer relevant," he answered sourly. "What were you doing out here with him?"

"We were just talking," I told him, assuming he was angry with me for interacting with his guests without permission, though it was hard to ignore the jealous accusation in his deep voice. "Besides, he started the conversation. Did you want me to be rude?"

"Don't chastise me, I'm hardly in the mood for it," he dismissed, running his hand through his hair exasperatedly. His head tilted back and the shadows from the lights overhead highlighted every gorgeous feature on his face. My breath was caught in my throat at the mere sight of him.

"What's the matter?" I asked. "Thirsty?"

"Parched," he amended, finally bringing his heavenly face back down to look me in the eyes. "You have no idea how close I am to pinning you against that wall and drinking you for all you're worth."

I pursed my lips, my body going cold. His threat sent shivers down my spine and I was grateful that he couldn't hear my bones chattering. "I better go," I replied, stepping away in the opposite direction.

"Don't come back down tonight," he ordered in a warning tone. I nodded quickly and spun on my heels, walking as fast as I could to the stairs, though as soon as I touched the first step I ran all the way to my room and swung the door shut. I even turned the lock, just in case, but I doubted it would be much help against a raging, blood thirsty vampire with super strength.