Crimson Winter

Anticipation

I ended up sleeping a full day before waking up again. I felt a bit guilty, but at the same time relieved. I knew that Leo was going to need to drink my blood soon, but I still felt reluctant. I was confused with my emotions, and feared that he had been toying with them. Whenever I was around him, I felt emotion. Happiness, worry, weariness, guilt, giddy... I wanted an explanation. He made me feel good.

He was no where to be found when I finally woke, so I decided to shower off. It had been two days since I last had a decent shower and with all that has happened I felt far more disgusting than I should have.

It was surprisingly easily to clean myself, even with the soreness in my hands. The cuts had healed significantly quicker than I'd have thought; I was able to take the bandages off yesterday, only a few hours after the incident had happened. Now they had reduced to small scratches.

After I had thoroughly scrubbed my skin with nearly a whole bar of soap, and washed my hair with some delicious-smelling mango shampoo and conditioner (which I ended up using twice because I felt too disgusting to stop the first time) I found clothing in a bed side dresser drawer, all my size. Slightly disturbed but thankful, I opened all the drawers to see what was where.

After finding them in the top drawer, I pulled on my undergarments. I picked a red long-sleeve shirt and black running shorts that complimented my figure nicely. I could feel all of the fabrics on my skin, contrasting to one another. Sliding a pair of white ankle socks on over my still wet feet, I hopped my way to the door while shaking my damp hair into a towel. Surprisingly, I hadn't fell. That was an achievement to my clumsy ass. Dropping my towel into a hand-made wooden hamper, I reached for the doorknob with a steadily.

Last time I had tried it it was locked. Would it be this time, too? My palms itched when I reached out to touch it. Five inches... Would I be in trouble for leaving my room? Three... Where even is Leo? Two... Why am I concerned about where he is? It's my room. Why would he have stayed anyway? Open.

I wasn't ready for it. I hadn't gotten to one yet. I heard a soft click (indicating that the door was locked anyway) and the door opened without a noise.

I felt my heart stop and heard my breathing hitch.

"Good morning, sweetness." Leo greeted me, dressed fairly casually. I allowed my eyes to wander and soak in his magnificence. He was dressed in a regular black t-shirt that looked incredible yummy on him, accentuating his toned core in all the right places, and loose blue jeans. I would bet that this would be one of the only times I would ever see him dressed so casually. I allowed my eyes to linger to his face, taking in that he was freshly showered as well (his hair seemed damp), confident and... Fatigued. Bags were beneath his normally bright eyes and his skin seemed paler. My eyebrows furrowed above my eyes and I reached to touch his cheek, not thinking straight. My worry overbearing my logic.

"Oh my goodness, Leo. You look awful." I ran my fingers over his grey-ed bags, feeling the eerie smoothness of his skin. "Are you alright?" I caressed his face, feeling his forehead, running my fingers all over. It seemed as if he had gotten into a fight, beat senseless. Another pang of worry hit my gut.

His mouth dropped open at my touch and I heard him draw in a breath. "Mm.. I'm sorry, Ophelia," he licked his slightly dried-out lips. "Come, come." His strong hand snapped up to mine, caressing my wrist softly. His frantic eyes searched through mine, waiting for approval. I nodded quickly.

"Okay. Where are we going?" He grasped my hand tighter and kissed my palm before moving it down to his side and tugging me down the winding halls. He glanced back at me, a soft smile gracing his features. Even when he seemed so weary, he was super handsome. I tried to keep my pace with him, practically running to keep up with his stride, but he was moving faster than I could manage. Gripping his wrist, my nails most liking cutting him a bit despite my efforts to relieve that, I tugged back softly. "Leo, you're moving too quick, I can barely keep up."

Instead of moving slower like I'd hoped he would, his pace only sped up. Running as fast as I could, I thanked myself for staying (mostly) in shape. Even as fast as I could go, he was still quicker. So when I was abruptly pulled into a pitch-black room after running for what seemed like minutes, I allowed a gasp to escape my lips.

The door shut with a dull thud and my hair whipped into my face at a sudden gust of wind. I looked around for any sign of light and found none. I took a step forward to balance myself. I could hear myself blink, it was so silent. "Leo?" My voice came out, barely above a whisper. "Leo..." I hugged my arms against my chest. "Can I have some light please? I feel I'm at a disadvantage." I felt small as my voice echoed through the unknown room.

I already knew why he brought me here, I was no idiot. Just slow sometimes. Fear caressed my mind and my gut, shaking me but not fully taking over. I couldn't see or hear Leon. I was in dangerous territory. He obviously has the upper hand in this situation. There was practically no way that I could make it out of this like I had when he chased me through my room. With pretty much two of my senses blocked, I didn't stand a chance and he and I both knew it. I couldn't even hear him breathing.

I could feel a panic attack whisking itself toward the bay of my mind, but as my breath started to speed up, a cool hand brushed against my arm. Instead of flinching, however, I felt myself lean into the cool touch. "Shh, shh," he whispered. I could feel he was trying to play his mind tricks on me. I wouldn't let it happen. "Calm down, il mio amore prezioso." He used a melodic voice, trying to hypnotize me. No. The cool sensation slid up my arm, and I felt a warm breath fan across my cheek. He was close.

My fear fueled itself and a small whimper escaped my lips when his hand brushed my damp hair from my shoulders. Quickly, the hands removed themselves. As soon as they were gone though, they were back. Leo's smooth skin was on either side of my face, caressing my cheeks. I stared openly into the darkness, noticing now that my eyes were damp. "Merda," his thumbs wiped at the water beneath my eyes. "Have I scared you, my dear?" His accented voice sounded worried.

I lifted my hands and gripped his wrists, swallowing my saliva not without difficulty. I could hear my heart pumping in my ears and was sure he could hear it too. I didn't want to be a coward. I didn't want him to be hurting. I didn't want to be weak. Bravery coursed through my veins like a tidal wave and I wasn't letting it go to waste.

Removing my hands from his, I flung my hair to one side of my shoulders. His hands moved off of my face as well and I heard him suck in a breath. I was prepared for this. I wasn't going to be reluctant, not while he was in need. He didn't use his voodoo, whatever you want to call it, on me. He didn't force himself upon me. This was my choice, I called the shots. So when two words slipped from between my lips, strong and wistful, I felt no regret. He needed this as much as I needed to give it to him.

"Bite me."

// Sorry that this chapter is so short, I'll make it up in the next one. ;) vote, comment, share! Tell me what you think.