Dream [h.s.]

fifteen

Katerina stares at him for a moment, her lips parting briefly and falling together a moment later because she's not sure how to respond. Any time that someone says 'we need to talk' it's not a good thing and she knows better than to push him when he's got that look on his face.

Harry practically slams the window shut and she tries not to flinch at the sound. She hasn't said anything and he's not really sure what to start with all of this. He had an idea when he came in, but it faded as soon as he saw her.

She's about to offer some sort of a response when he switches gears, the look on his face softening as he asks, "You cut your hair?"

Katerina smiles shyly as the blush rises to her cheeks. She wasn't expecting to say anything about it and she's a little self-conscious now that he's brought it up.

She carefully tugs on a strand as her eyes drop to his lips, "Yeah, I wanted to change something because everything's been the same for years. Does it look bad?"

Harry immediately shakes his head, "No! No, it looks...it looks really nice, Kat."

His eyes meet hers and she tries not to bite her lip. It's a bad habit of hers and she's trying to stop doing it if she can help it. But it's incredibly hard not to when he's looking at her like he wants to pin her against the wall and fuck her until she's screaming his name at the top of her lungs.

Katerina's lips part again and she bites her lip for a brief moment and speaks softly, "Don't call me Kat."

Filthy images have been running through his mind and he almost doesn't hear her. She says his name and he shakes his head to refocus his thoughts. "Sorry. Why can't I call you Kat?"

She smiles and shrugs her shoulders, "I don't like it."

The corners of his lips lift in a slight smile as he lifts his hand and carefully brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, "Not even for me?"

Her cheeks flush a deeper shade of red. Of course, she likes it when he says it. The only reason she doesn't like it in general is because she's not an animal and that's what she feels like when people call her Kat.

Katerina shakes her head, "No, I like it when you say it."

For a moment, he forgets what he came here for in the first place. She's so pretty and he's so fucking whipped. He doesn't even know how this happened or why he feels the way that he does about her, because all they've done is argue, share meaningless small talk, and fuck. The feelings that he has for her are unwarranted and it's fucking awful because he's put her in a position where she'll either die or become a monster like him.

He knows what the transformation feels like firsthand and it's absolute hell. If he could avoid passing on the pain and the bloodlust to her, he would because he doesn't wish that upon anyone, especially someone like her.

And he definitely doesn't want to kill her. His conscience can't handle that again and she doesn't deserve to die because he fucked up and fed from her for a little too long to keep his distance.

Harry's leaning in to kiss her and Katerina closes her eyes. Their lips brush and he hesitates as Alistair's options loop through his head. To each of their disappointment, Harry sighs and increases the space between them.

"I really need to talk to you."

Katerina frowns and places her hands on his chest, "Can we talk later?"

She takes a step forward and presses her lips to his softly. He's been keeping up his human qualities just for her and he's glad that he does because it calms her down. A while ago, he noticed that when he didn't focus on making his body warm it made her uncomfortable and she didn't want to be too close to him.