In the pitch of night: When He Finds You

Chapter 2

Materializing in front of his cabin he looked around to make sure they weren't followed. Once he was sure they weren't followed he released his hold on Thalia, and she stumbled almost falling to her knees so he grabbed her again.
"I am weak right now. I am sorry." Thalia said.
Picking her up he cradled her in his arms, "It is ok. I got you. And we are about to make you feel better once we are inside. Just promise you won't run. I promise I am here to help you."
When she didn't respond he looked down and her eyes were closed. He smoothed her hair out of her face. She was so beautiful. She looked like a fallen angel. With her jet black hair falling over his arm. When her eyes were open she had big uptilted fierce grey eyes, that looked like they could see into your soul. She felt so soft and small in his arms right now. How could he not want to protect her. She seemed so delicate like this. He knew she wasn't some wilting flower though. She had proved that over the last year.
Once inside he gently laid her on the couch. And gently ran his hand down her cheek bone to her lips trying to wake her. When she didn't wake up he decided he would have to bite his own wrist and put it to her mouth. He lifted her head and sat down onto the couch and put her head in the crook of his right arm and bit his left wrist then pressed it to her mouth. At first she wouldn't drink. Then she finally started to take gentle pulls and he sighed in relief that she was drinking. When she opened her eyes wide in shock it crushed him. Maybe she thought he was lying about feeding her. Hell maybe he should have just let her feed in the alley, he thought. He felt distraught about the fact that she was starving and he could have done something about it sooner. What would her parents think of his failure to help her sooner? Then he felt the sharp pain in his wrist when she finally bit him and took over. Leaning his head back he let her take her fill with his right hand wrapped around her.
Thank the goddess. Finally. Finally she would be full, she thought. The rush of blood going into her body felt amazing. He didn't lie to her Thalia thought dazedly. He was actually feeding her. It was like high octane fuel was pumping through her body.  His blood was so potent she was already starting to feel full. It was a marvelous feeling. Full. She hadn't felt full in what seemed like years. She would definitely show her gratitude. She just had to figure out how she could help him in return. Releasing her hold she said, "Thank you. Thank you Maxius." Then she licked up the last few drops from his wrist.
He thought she looked beautiful before, she looked even more so now that she was fed. Seeing her laying in his lap did something to him. She seemed to be glowing in bliss. She had a slight tinge of pink to her high cheekbones. Her grey eyes looked even brighter. If that was even possible. She had full pouty lips that looked made for his mouth. He wanted to nibble that slightly fuller bottom lip of hers. She was the epitome of beauty. All that long lush black hair. She was lovely.
"I told you I would let you have you fill. How are you feeling, Thalia?" Maxius asked.
"Marvelous. I feel absolutely marvelous. Thank you." Thalia said sitting up. "I can't thank you enough. I was starving. It hasn't been easy for me lately. I have felt like I have been watched from all sides lately. Like there wasn't just one person following me."
Looking up into his eyes she got a closer look at him. Now that she wasn't starving she could actually pay closer attention to his features and appreciate them. He was the sexiest man she had ever seen. He had a straight nose and chiseled features. In a rugged sort of way. He wasn't handsome in the normal sense. And those lips. Those lips were made for kissing. Reaching up she ran her finger over his bottom lip. While she bit lightly on hers. Imagining his lips on hers. His lips were full and firm and felt amazing against her fingers. She just had to kiss him one time. Just once. That was all she needed.
"Thalia." Maxius rasped.
"Hmm." Getting up on her knees she leaned closer to his mouth. "I just want to say thank you." Then she pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
Jesus christ he thought. Her lips. Her lips were warm and soft on his. He wanted to kiss her. Make it deeper this time, but right now wasn't the time. They really needed to talk. He needed to explain everything to her and have her understand what he was here for and why. He really hoped she took the news well. He didn't want to have to chase her again if she bolted.
"Thalia." Maxius said, putting his hand to her cheek and caressing her with his thumb. "Sweetling, we need to talk." Those were words he never thought he would say after kissing someone.
Breathlessly she said, "I know. I just had to feel your lips against mine just once." She had been alone for so long. She had thought she was getting used to it. Apparently that wasn't the case. She had just pushed the loneliness to the back of her mind and forgot about it. "I am sorry. I shouldn't have done that."
"There is no reason to be sorry. I liked it. I liked the way your lips felt against mine. Let me just say you have very lush lips." he said with a crooked smile. "I am sorry we had to stop."
"What is it you want to know?" Thalia asked suspiciously.
"What are you running from?"
"How do I know I can trust you? That is a very dangerous question for me to answer." Thalia said sadly.
"I am here and I have done what I said I was going to do thus far. You are fed, right? You are in a safe place and I have not hurt you even though I could have easily. That is why you should trust me." Maxius said, trying to convince her to open up to him.
"There are some shifters that are after me. They have been after me since I was a teen. They think there is something special about me. But I can tell you I am just like every other vampire out there. It is the alpha from the pack in Texas that is coming for me. His name is Ezekiel. He is a very bad man. Their pack is not very large, but they are vicious."
"Do you know the reason they are after you? Someone must have told you something. You wouldn't have known to run if they hadn't." Maxius said.
"My, my parents are the ones that told me to stay clear of him. They never told me why. Just that I was to run and never look back if something happened to them. And that is exactly what I have done ever since. He killed my parents about a year ago."
"How did he get to your parents and not you?"
Did I really need to tell him all of this she thought. She hated reliving this. It hurt her to her soul knowing she would never see her parents again. The fact that it was her fault destroyed her. "Can we talk about something else? I really don't know if I can trust you fully. And what I have told you is the main thing you need to know. Let me keep my parents to myself for right now."
"I completely understand. I am sorry for being so intrusive." he said. "Is there anything you would like to know about me? Ask me some things that way I can prove to you that you can trust me." He needed her to trust him. For him to help her she would have to stay with him and not take off on him in the middle of the night. Hell he might have to lock her in a room to make sure she didn't go anywhere. But with her being able to teleport it probably wouldn't do any good. She could just poof out of the room.
"Why did you let me sneak up on you?" Thalia asked.
"I needed you to come to me. I have been trying to catch up to you for quite some months now."
She leapt off the couch and went for the front door so fast he felt dizzy. With her hand on the door knob she asked, "What do you mean catch up to me? Are you on Ezekiel's side? You're going to hurt me aren't you?" fuck maybe my instict lied to me about this man. This vampire. What was I thinking trusting someone? My parents told me to never stop running. Now look at me.
"Stop Thalia. It isn't like that Thalia. Just hear me out."
"Ok, but if I don't like what you say you have to let me leave."
"Ok. if you don't like what I have to say you can leave." I will never let you leave again he added to himself. "I am here to protect you. I was friends with your parents. They told me if anything ever happened to them I was supposed to look after you. As soon as I heard about their deaths I came for you, but you were already gone. I looked for you for months before I found you. Then when I finally found you in Colorado you slipped away before I could talk to you. Then finally I caught up with you in Salem. I saw you in the bar and hoped I would catch your attention."
"How the hell do I know you are telling the truth? What were my parents' names?" Thalia said suspiciously.
"Your dad's name was Trev and your mom's name was Casha. I had known them for years."
"Why haven't I ever met you then? Huh? Answer that one."
"I was to protect you. I was kept a secret because they didn't want Ezekiel or his goons to find out about me. If they did they would have come after me too. Then you would have been left alone with no one to help you." Maxius said softly. He needed her to calm back down and hear him out.
"Say I believe you, what are we going to do? What? Are you just going to run with me?" Please say yes. Please say yes. I can't stand being alone anymore, she thought.
"First off we won't be running anymore. I will protect you. I have a group of mercenaries that are going to help us. I know Ezekiel's pack is small. I think that is one of the reasons he wants you. Just imagine what he could accomplish with a pack of hybrids of vampire, werewolves. He would be unstoppable."
"Do you think that is why he wants me? You think he wants to breed with me. Ezekiel is a vicious man. I rather die than go to him. Do you understand me."
Such a fierce little woman. "I am going to do everything I can to make you safe again, Thalia. I can promise you that."
"I am going to trust you. If you betray me I will find a way to hurt you. I don't care how strong you are." She said, giving him the evil eye.
"You can trust me. I am going to protect you. So I need your trust."
"Why would you even want to help me?"
"Because that is what I am here for. Plus I need to help you. Just don't run."
Looking around his living room area it was sparsely decorated. There was just the couch they had been sitting on and a chair and one coffee table. All the walls in the living room were white Then through the doorway there was the kitchen with a small two seater kitchenette that she could see from the door.
"Where are we?" Thalia asked.
"We are in my cabin in Colorado." he said. He really hoped she liked it here. This was where they were going to be spending most of their time. He loved his cabin. Plus there was plenty of acreage. Which would help if Ezekiel decided he wanted to attack.
"You took me all the way to Colorado? Why so far away from Salem? I am glad you decided to teleport us instead of having me follow you. I probably wouldn't have made it this far. I was very weak earlier." Thalia said.
"We came here so that way I could keep you safer. What made you choose to go to Salem? You were all the way in Texas." Maxius asked.
"I heard there was a really powerful vampire there, and I was hoping maybe he would be willing to help me. You know that is where the leader of vampires lives. Plus I knew that Ezekiel and his people were already in Texas." Thalia replied.
"That was very smart of you. But you made it very difficult on me. I thought I would never be able to catch you." Maxius said.
While the conversation calmed down he felt relieved. He was relieved he finally got her into his care. He was also relieved that she wasn't just some damsel in distress. She knew what she needed to do. What she wanted to accomplish. Even if that meant she had to go hungry for a little while. That would be the last time she went hungry though. She wouldn't have to make sacrifices like that ever again if he had a choice in the matter. Now that she was fed he figured she needed to get some rest. There was no way that she got much rest on the run the way she was.
"Maxius, thank you again for all the help. I really appreciate you feeding me. And getting me somewhere safe for the night." She didn't want to bring his world down around his feet. She would have to leave tomorrow even if he wanted her to stay. She didn't want to be a burden to anyone. Especially to a sexy vampire like himself.
"Thalia, we already talked about this. You are staying with me. There won't be any ifs, ands, or buts about it. We will talk more about this in the morning. Just let me tell you, it is safer for the both of us if we stay together. But I think it is time for you to get some sleep. I will take you to the guest bedroom."
Down the hall on the left he led Thalia into another sparsely decorated room. All it had was a four poster bed in the middle of one wall, and a dresser with a tv set on top of it, and one night stand with a lamp. He lived very modestly. Almost like he liked being away from the world. Like a loaner. But at least the place was clean. She had stayed in a hell of a lot worse places since she had been on the run. Like old abandoned houses. One time she even stayed in a horse barn.
"This is where you will be staying. I will be down the hall on the right. In the morning we can talk. I don't have any clothes that will fit you, but in the dresser there are some large t-shirts you can change into. Then I will wash your clothes for you that way you can have them in the morning. I'll give you a second to change." Then he turned and walked out the door.
How sweet Thalia thought. He even does laundry. She could kind of get used to having the big vampire hanging around. She just didn't want him to get hurt because of the problems she would surely bring to his door.
Going over to the dresser she found a large black t-shirt. She picked it up and smelled it. It smelled clean, but it still had the faintest scent of Maxius on it. It must be one of his shirts. Stripping her boots off she sat them to the side. Next to go was her pants, then her shirt and bra. Then she slipped his shirt over her head. It was so big on her that it hung to her mid thigh. It really wouldn't be comfortable to wear leather pants without underwear so she slipped those off and tossed them to the pile of clothes.
Going back over to the dresser she went through the other draws. Hopefully she could find a pair of boxers or something to put on under the shirt. When she went through all the draws and didn't find anything that wouldn't fall off of her she decided to say fuck it and go comando. Hell all she was doing was going to bed anyways.
"I am dressed. You can come in now." Thalia said loudly.
She was leaning over the bed pulling the blankets down when he walked in. Holy hell the shirt was riding up and he could see the cleft of her pert ass. Damn it she wasn't wearing any underwear. Clearing his throat he adjusted himself and said, "Uh, did you find everything you needed?" What the hell was she thinking not wearing her underwear. Didn't she realize what she did to him. He was a male you know. His shaft was so hard that it hurt and pulsed in his pants. He might have to take care of that later.
She spun around and looked at him flushed. "Yes. Yes I did. Thank you for the shirt. I tried to find a pair of bottoms, but you didn't have anything small enough for me. Plus I am going to bed anyways. And I will need to have underwear for tomorrow. Have you ever tried to wear leather without them?"
Well, putting it that way he thought it made perfect sense. Hell he would only be uncomfortable for a few more minutes. Then he could go start her laundry and get himself something to replenish himself. He should have another pitcher of blood in the fridge. After that then he could take care of himself if need be.
"I will take your clothes and they will be clean by the time you wake up in the morning. Go ahead and get in bed." Turning away he went to her pile of clothes and picked them up that way he wouldn't watch her climb into bed. He really couldn't handle seeing another glimpse of that amazing ass of hers. "Goodnight Thalia."
"Goodnight Maxius."