Zone Zero (Book 1 of 3)

Chapter 18

Inhaling deeply I begin to stretch and flutter my eyes, taking in the very small amount of light being shed from inside the bathroom.

I look around the room and notice the plastic bucket is now lying empty on the floor next to my shirt and jeans. I sleepily roll over and am greeted by a very good looking, sleeping vampire. I almost gasp at the mere sight of him. What is he doing in my bed?

I try to be extremely quiet and study him in his entirety. He is lying on his side facing me with his hand tangled through my hair. What is his fascination with playing with my hair?

His own hair lays messy around his face half covering his eyes so I gently push it away to reveal more of him. I take in the bold curves and contours of his face and follow them down to his neck and watch as they continue on to his chest.

He is muscular in a way I have never seen in a man. But then again I have only ever seen four men without their shirts and two of which were my brothers. One also being Jeremy, Sage's little brother when he hurt himself two years ago and the fourth being Scott; I guess you could say my ex-boyfriend. So I guess I don't have a hell of a lot to compare with.

The sheets are only half covering him as he breathes deeply in his own state of sleep. I want to reach out and touch him but that causes a risk of him waking which means then we will have the awkward moment of how the hell did that kiss happen last night.

I lay on my back and choose to stare at the ceiling. We both had a lot to drink last night and I know that alcohol certainly makes me feel brave, so maybe it has the same effect on vampires. Last night was a mistake. Be it a very amazing and passionate mistake that I would love to relive over and over, but a mistake none the less.

When Alex wakes up it will probably be like nothing even happened and I'm sure that he will just continue to take me where ever the hell he is taking me and that will be that. This will be all behind us with neither of us looking back.

My eyes wander over to his angelic face once more and he stirs a little and rolls to lie on his back. I watch as the breath escapes his body and more gets sucked in. I see his chest rise and fall in perfect movement and I feel the ache from last night return to my body.

I slowly rise from the bed being sure not to make any noise and duck straight into the bathroom to find some toothpaste to get rid of this awful taste of stale alcohol and vomit from my mouth.

I find some mouthwash and gargle until I almost choke and then I begin to smell my hair and clothes. Damn, I even smell like vomit. I am such a lightweight.

I slip what's left of my clothes off and hop into the shower and begin to scrub away the odor of last night.

I replay the evening in my head and try and think of how this all transpired. One minute I am happy and content with my life on the right side of the wall and suddenly everything is turned upside down because I fall for a stupid trap. Next thing I know I am shacked up with a moody, but amazingly handsome, vampire as he takes me on a road trip to god knows where. I would not have thought this could happen to me two weeks ago.

I try to add up the time frame in my head and work out what day it is or how long I have been held captive but come up a blank due to the lack of even knowing the time being underground.

I try so hard to think of things other than last night but my mind circles back to the seconds leading up to that moment.

What was with last night? Why did Alex kiss me and why did I like it so much? He is my captor and it has not been anywhere near long enough for Stockholm syndrome to take effect. I don't understand the effect that he is having on me and I am scared of what it might be doing to my judgment.

I wash the last bit of body wash off my body and turn off the water and step out and into a dry, fluffy towel. I dry myself quickly and wrap the towel around my body and quietly step into the bedroom again but Alex is nowhere to be seen.

He is obviously awake now because the bed is empty and another pair of clean jeans and a tank top is waiting for me.

I don the clothes and make my way to the stairs. I hear Alex's voice floating up from the lounge as, I can only guess, he talks with Amelia.

"Why are you taking her to him? You said you already know all there is to know from her." Definitely Amelia.

"I do, but he asked for her specifically when he found out I had her. I'm just not sure what he intends to do with her."

Are they talking about me?

"Nothing good ever happens to humans that man wants to see in the flesh, so I hope you know what you are doing." Amelia almost sounds worried but the question remains for who; me or Alex.

"Actually, I haven't the slightest idea anymore."

A door closes and footsteps start to head my way, I pretend that I have just come from the bedroom and that I haven't heard anything when Alex rounds the corner. I try to keep my jaw from dropping as he stands before me still shirtless and with nothing but tight fitting boxer shorts to hide his manhood.

There it is again, the dull pang of desire. Why do I want him so much after just one kiss? I mean it was by far the best kiss of my entire life but there is no reason that he should have such an influence on me.

I run my fingers through my damp hair and try to brush out some tangles as he steps closer. A smile creeps on his face when he catches me glimpse down and I know that it was his intent of his wardrobe choice.

I keep my stance on the step I chose and wait for him to come to me.

"Good Evening." He speaks matter-of-factly and I hide a coy smile.

"What time is it?"

"It's after 8. We will head off in a little bit. There is some food downstairs if you like." He stops the step lower than me so that we are almost eye level and studies my face. He is waiting to see if I give anything away on what I am feeling but I have learnt never to be the one that shows any sign of weakness with anything.

"Thanks." I make sure that my voice is grateful yet distant as I keep my words to a minimum. I don't want him to think he now has me wrapped around his little finger.

I go to walk past him and head to the kitchen when I feel his hand at my elbow begging me to stay. I look up at him and wait for him to say something but he is rendered silent. I go to open my own mouth and say anything that may change the atmosphere, but I hesitate and choose to look away letting out an inaudible sigh and continuing on my way to the kitchen. He stopped me, so surely he should be the one to tell me why.

I feel his eyes watch every step I take until I turn the corner and am no longer in his sight. My mind is spinning at the thought of his actions. What does he want from me and will he ever tell me?