16th chapter
An extensive yawn could be heard from Caroline as she stretched her tired limbs. The sun rose slowly into the sky and a few birds chirped in the distance. A satisfied and wide smile was on her face and she just relaxed on her comfortable bed. She held her eyes shut and snuggled into the soft mattress. She sighed deeply and thought about the day she spent with Heidi. It was as enjoyable as it was still strange. Heidi might have told her, why she took her to those places, but Caroline still wondered if that was really all. So far, she had never met anyone who would do such things just for the nice gesture, but a deeper, more selfish, meaning. Could it really be, that Heidi was just nice, no bad intentions? Just an attempt to get to know each other and enjoy the day?
It was in the early afternoon, when Caroline stood in front of the window in her living room. She watched the scenery outside with a small smile. The sun shone into her room and warmed her body and soul. She felt at peace, when a knock on the door quickly got her attention. She went to the door to open it, her head tilted in the slightest. Her facial expression stayed as she saw Demetri, but only for a moment. He stood there like a perfectly built statue, no twitching muscle, no movement of his head, not the usual smirk on his face, but his piercing red eyes that seemed to stare into her soul.
Caroline's smile faltered a bit, her eyes narrowed at his serious demeanor. "Want to come in?", she said in a low voice and moved to the side. He eyed her every step, before he walked in and turned his attention away from her. Not a single word came out of his mouth, as he came to a hold not too far into the room. Caroline closed the door again and turned to the man; not quite sure what was going on. She stroked with her right hand over her left arm to comfort herself in that awkward situation. "How can I," she started but he quickly turned to her, his eyes narrowed at her smaller form. And slowly but steadily, she felt fear running through every cell of her body. "Did you enjoy your trip with Heidi?" His voice was low and cold, the way he spoke made it clear to the woman, that he demanded an answer.
"Yes, I did," she said but couldn't add anything to it. A low suppressed growl could be heard and Caroline twitched immediately at that dangerous and animalistic sound. "And none of you even intended to inform me?" He made the smallest of steps in her direction and she followed suit to make one back. She frowned at his words and a wave of confidence washed over her. "What is it to you?" She held his gaze; her lips were in a thin line and she straightened her posture to appear taller. Demetri looked at her challenging behavior and in any other circumstance, he might have laughed at that. He took another small step in her direction; his eyes piercing into her frame. He clenched his jaw at her words. "You are of importance to the masters, if you were gone, I'd have to drag you back." His voice got a littler darker to an almost growling sound at the last part.
Caroline felt a pang in her chest at his words, why she didn't know though. But she didn't want to show him that; she felt the uncomfortable cold stones of the wall close to her back. "Are you stalking me?", she asked and almost made a step forward. Demetri scoffed at her words and shook his head in disbelief. With his inhuman speed, he stepped closer until he appeared right in front of her. Her shocked gasp at his actions was like music to his ears. "I don't have to; I always know where to find you." Caroline could hardly keep her eyes up, she was frightened, but by then she trusted her 'little gift'. "Then why should we have informed you, when you always know where I am?" She couldn't help her slightly mocking tone. It was some sort of self-preservation to protect her body and soul from the heavy tension.
Demetri growled lowly, he got ever so slightly closer to her, without their bodies touching. He had to immensely control himself at that very moment. Her challenging behavior wasn't helpful at all. But what she did next, honestly surprised him. Caroline softened her gaze, a reassuring smile formed on her lips but she didn't move her eyes away. "You won't hurt me." She trusted her gift, if he intended to really hurt her, she would have been warned. Demetri's expression turned into confusion, her actions seemed so irrational to him, that it took him completely off-guard. He just looked at her, unable to form words, as his body got to a more relaxed stance. It took him a moment to process and he finally stepped back; his senses calmed down and his eyes trailed from her face, over her body and lastly off of her completely.
The silence that filled the room was hard to describe. Caroline noticed his inner struggle, though she still wondered why that was. She realized, that her body slowly started to relax as well. She kept her eyes on him, but didn't dare to move yet. Her words might seem true, but she didn't believe them to the fullest. She just hoped, that it would be enough to ease the situation.
After a few more minutes, Demetri sighed deeply and closed his eyes. He turned to the woman, that still stood at the door. He examined her tense posture and his jaw twitched slightly. "I'm sorry," he said and turned away. Aimlessly, he walked through the room and Caroline started to move as well. She walked carefully to the wooden table; she didn't sit down but stayed next to it. The furniture brought a little more space between the two of them and her body relaxed even more. A bit more time passed, until Demetri turned to her again. "That is the first time I get such an opportunity and responsibility equally. It's much to take in. I overreacted and I apologize for that," he said way calmer than before. He looked truly sorry and Caroline nodded at him. "It's okay, it's a lot for both of us." She forced a smile on her face and he mirrored it.
Demetri walked over to the window and let his eyes roam over the gardens. The sun was behind some clouds and he put his right hand on the window sill; his thoughts troubled and chaotic. Caroline observed the man; she had put so many thoughts on how difficult this whole situation was for her, that she completely forgot that it was something new to him as well. Truth be told, for her there was far more on the line, than for him, but that didn't lessen the impact it had on him. Without realizing, Caroline moved a little closer to him, she passed two chairs but stayed next to the table. Her right hand rested on one of the chairs as she looked at him. She wanted to say something, when the sun broke through the clouds and fell directly on the vampire at the window. He wasn't bothered at all; he didn't even move as his skin began to reflect the incoming light. Caroline couldn't move, her mouth hung open in shock at the sight of him. She couldn't form a proper word and her mind couldn't make a clear thought. Maybe, in another situation, she would have laughed at that fact. Imagining, a vampire, a god-damned bloodsucker, a perfect killing machine, sparkling in the sun like some diamond.
As if Demetri heard her inner monologue, he turned to face the woman. His form retreated from the sunlight and into the darkness of the room. He lifted an eyebrow at her dumbfounded expression. When she didn't move or say anything, he cleared his throat and that seemed to bring the woman back to consciousness. Caroline blinked a few times, before she was able to speak. "How? What? Your skin, I mean," she stuttered, her mind still not fully back to normal over what she just witnessed. He chuckled lightly at her attempt to form a sentence. "I thought you were informed of our kind," he said amused and held his hand into the sunbeam. The wonder he saw in Caroline's eyes were a sight to behold, it intrigued him heavily and he couldn't help but smile.
Like a moth to light, Caroline walked slowly closer, her eyes fully focused on the sparkling skin of his hand. The smile on Demetri's face widened at her childish curiosity and he waited patiently for her to discover something completely new to her world. When she stood directly in front of him, her hand automatically moved to his, but before she could reach him, she got control over her body again. In a quick motion, she pulled her hand to her chest and her face flushed in a deep red. "I'm sorry, I," she started but didn't meet his gaze. She looked at the ground in total embarrassment. Demetri just laughed at her behavior and took his hand out of the sun. "Corin only told me, that the sun couldn't harm you, but that it would be easy to tell you apart from humans," Caroline tried to explain as she retreated slowly, trying to get more distance between her and the man once more.
"I have no idea how or why, myself. It is what it is and the main reason we don't walk around in the sun." Demetri looked at her and she glanced shyly up to him. "You want to take a closer look?", he asked with a knowing smile and Caroline's cheeks grew a little hotter. She nodded and smiled. "If that's okay with you," she added to her action, but he just waved her over to the window. The sun was behind a small cloud, when Caroline stood next to him. All of a sudden, she felt small, she didn't know why but her insecurities got the better of her for a moment. She tried to get her confidence back, but the proximity of the man next to her, made it an almost impossible task.
In a moment of complete silence, Demetri held his hand out to her and she looked wide-eyed at him. Surprise was written all over her face. She placed her hand in his cold one, but it didn't bother her in that situation. Caroline looked from their joined hands to his face. He used the slightest bit of force to pull her a little closer; his thumb stroked almost tenderly over her knuckles and she couldn't help but shiver. Whenever he was this close to her, she seemed to lose control completely and a part of her hated it, the other part would tell a whole different story, though.
Finally, the sun got through the clouds again and besides the warmth, she felt on the skin of her hand; she saw the sparkling reflection his skin made instead. She switched her attention immediately to his hand, while his eyes stayed on her face. Caroline was in a state of awe again and in a trance-like way, she moved her index finger to trace softly over his cold and hard skin. At her movement, Demetri twitched slightly and held her hand a little firmer, but without hurting her. Caroline immediately stopped and looked apologetically at him. "Sorry," she murmured and her cheeks reddened once more. She wanted to take her hand back, but his grasp was firm. "It's alright." He looked at her, but his inner fight was clear to be seen in his dark red eyes.
"Do you know how a human becomes a vampire?", he asked calmly. His eyes focused on their joined hands. "Yes," Caroline muttered barely audible. "Heidi told me." With that, realization hit her again and Heidi's words haunted her mind. "A bite to the neck, so that our venom will be pumped throughout the human's system at its fastest rate," he continued, despite her answer. Caroline's heartbeat quickened with every passing second and with her bright red face, she looked up at the man. Demetri looked back at her and both gazes held a slight bit of concern and fear. He continued to stroke over her soft skin, which only led her body to produce goosebumps all over.
"We should get accustomed to each other's presence," he mused and Caroline could only nod. "There is not much time left," he continued and finally let go of her hand. The loss of his cold skin against her warm hand felt strange and Caroline quickly pulled her hand against her chest. They didn't move for another few minutes. That the sun already started to descend behind the horizon wasn't noticed by Caroline. She had completely lost track of time.
A few more minutes passed and she finally managed to move. She cleared her throat and walked over to the couch, she took a sip from the water bottle and sat down with a deep sigh. Demetri followed and took a seat on the chair. They eyed each other, asking a million questions without saying a word. "So," Caroline started a little while later. "How do we do this? Getting used to each other's presence, I mean?" Demetri tilted his head lightly, he knew how to charm women to get what he wanted, to spend a night together most intimately, but that was different. He wasn't here to seduce the woman, to have his fun, or play one of his favorite hunting games. She would be his first newborn creation, his responsibility to train and educate properly and his opportunity to show his worth to the masters. But they would be bound to each other for eternity. A special bond that couldn't be broken, as Marcus told him. The knowledge of all of that, made the answer to her question even more complicated.
"We'll figure something out," Demetri answered still deep in his thoughts. Caroline hummed slightly, when suddenly an idea popped up in her mind. It was a stupid idea, that was for sure, but she would try it. That thought didn't stop the faintest pink to color her cheeks, though. "Do you watch movies, by any chance?" Her voice was low and unsure, she truly didn't know if those vampires where into hobbies of nowadays' people. Demetri cocked his eyebrows at her words and after a split second a smirk spread on his face. He leant a little forward and watched her intensely. "Sometimes. I can be persuaded depending on the movie," he answered. His voice was back to his playfully, dark tone and a smile spread on Caroline's face. "Well, I wanted to watch a movie this evening and if the masters don't need you, you could stay," she offered and looked at him. "Choice is yours," she added and smiled playfully. "Intriguing," he said and leant back on his seat. "I'm off-duty for the time being to put my whole concentration on my soon-to-be responsibility." Demetri started to play with his voice again, letting it grow more alluring with every word. Caroline tried to ignore his way of speaking and pouted instead. "I'm a human being, I'm not some responsibility, I'm no pet." She looked directly into his red eyes, which suddenly gleamed with mischief. "Oh, are you sure about that, darling?", he questioned, while stretching out the pet-name. He stood up and started to stroll around. "We feed you," he started, pointing in the direction of the kitchen. "We give you a home to live in," he continued as he walked from the kitchen, behind her to the other side of the room. Her narrowed eyes followed his every move and every word, while he kept his playful demeanor. He finally got closer from that side and stopped right next to her sitting form. "We keep you entertained," he said and pointed at the TV on the wall in front of her. She looked at the TV and back to the man, who knelt down to get on her level. The enjoyment he got from his actions was clear to be seen in his eyes. He lifted his left hand to cup her cheek and his smirk widened even more. "I could be wrong, but that does sound like a pet to me."
If she could, Caroline would have thrown daggers at him. Of course, they did all of that, but she knew full-well that he only talked like that because he wanted to tease her. "Enjoying yourself, aren't you," she said as he stood back up again to get to the chair. "Very much, thank you, my dear." He laughed lightly and Caroline couldn't help but smile as well. "Any way how I can embarrass you?", she asked more to herself. "I'm afraid, but no," he answered nonchalantly.
Caroline's face lit up in realization and she smirked at him. "Oh, just you wait. When I'm a vampire, I will make you regret your teasing," she said and looked into his equally smirking face. His eyes almost gleamed at her words. "Promises, promises," he started and sat down in the chair. "But I'd love to see you try."
They looked challengingly at each other, but the smiles on both of their faces only showed the playful meaning to it. "Regarding the movie," Caroline said after a while. "Any ideas? I'm open-minded, as long as it isn't some sort of crime movie." Ten minutes later, they finally started an older action movie. It was nothing special, Caroline occasionally sipped on her white wine, she took from the refrigerator. The atmosphere was relaxing, it was undeniably one of the best ideas for them to get used to each other. Even though, they were sitting fairly far apart, they could still feel and see and the other person. Once the movie was over, Demetri left Caroline to rest. It was already late and she had to work the next day, after all.