Inner Demons- ON HOLD

Chapter 7.

The next morning, the dimly lit room had a grey haze blanketing it from the storm clouds outside, slowly bringing me out of my whiskey-hazed dream. I'd replayed the conversation over and over in my head as I crawled into bed the night before. What they required of their bloodline families was insane, but I guess it wasn't much different than royals in history had always done. Only, they didn't mate into an unbreakable soul-tethering mate bond. I shook my head as the events began to roll through my memory and immediately stopped on Xander sitting across from me shirtless as the firelight danced across his muscular figure. Blood began to rush to my cheeks and I felt a warmth growing inside of me. I quickly pushed the thought away and sat up, running my hands over my sleepy face.

Get it together Hastings. He basically just told you he's been waiting for his mate. He does not want me for anything other than what's moving through my veins. That's all that is drawing him. He practically said so himself.

I shook my head, hoping that wasn't true, but knowing it was. I gently stood and tiptoed out of the library, heading to my room. I opened the closet to see two new outfits hanging.

He must have brought them in while I was asleep.

My heart fluttered as I thought of him being near me while I slept. I pushed the feeling down and my fingers ran through the material of the first one. It was a simple dress, but instead of rigid lines, it was softly draped. It was a pale blue dress with a bateau neck. I rolled my eyes, but turned to see that the back actually dropped about four inches into a "V" and buttons ran down to the hem. I slipped it on and it floated down over my body. The sleeves draped just below my shoulders and the waistline pinched in at my waist, fitting snugly just below before falling over my hips. I smiled and nodded at the improvement.

My eyes fell to the second garment and saw that it was considerably dressier. It was a beautiful sleeveless black silk gown. It had beads cascading down the waist and pooling at the hemline. It was definitely a more slim cut dress, and a row of beaded fringe settled across the lower hip. I turned to see the back cut down to a very deep V, with illusion lace filling the space up to about three inches below my shoulders. It was stunning.

I can't wait to ask where in the world I'm supposed to wear this little beauty.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth before running my hands through my wavy blonde hair. As I walked out, I listened for any sign of movement. The house was silent. I made my way to the kitchen before letting out a surprised yelp to see Xander standing facing the window. He turned to me and threw his hands up with a smile.

"Oh my God! You scared me. I didn't hear anyone so I assumed you'd be out. I wasn't expecting you to be in here." My hand settled on my chest as I tried to slow my breathing.

He laughed as I tried to calm my nerves, smoothing my hands down over my dress. His eyes lingered as he took in my appearance and then met my eyes in surprise.

"What? Do I have something on my face?"

He let out a laugh and shook his head. "It's just, your eyes were an incredible emerald green before, and now they look almost blue. It's strange."

I smiled and felt the heat rising in my cheeks. "Oh. Sometimes, they change depending on what I wear, or how I feel. I've even been told they were light grey before, which I'm not sure is even possible."

I giggled and walked over to the fridge, pulling out eggs and some tomatoes. He reached to take them from me but I held firm to the containers, staring intently back up at him. "You really can't keep cooking for me. I promise, I can take care of myself."