Falling

Chapter 21: More Questions Than Answers

The next morning I woke up feeling very relaxed, after the best nights sleep I'd ever had. At some point in the night Blake had taken his suit off, and I'd ended up in nothing but his shirt and my undies. Our legs were tangled together and Blake's arms were tight around my waist. I felt safe and relaxed.

Blake was still asleep, but it didn't take long for him to wake up after me. "Good morning, sweetheart," he smiled sleepily.

"Morning," I blushed, remembering what I was wearing.

Smirking, as if knowing what I was thinking, he asked "How did you sleep?"

"Very well, thank you."

"Good, because you're sleeping here from now on," he said, squeezing my waist in a tight hug.

I smiled up at him, not complaining. Somehow I'd gone from hating the man to enjoying sharing his bed within a matter of weeks. It confused the hell out of me, but I loved it.

It was a few moments later when either of us spoke again. I knew I was going to ruin the moment, but the question was burning on the tip of my tongue. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course, anything."

"You snapped your father's neck last night... Did you...?" I trailed off, but he seemed to know where I was heading.

He sighed, sitting up and leaning against the headboard. He pulled me so I was sat up straddling him, his hands on my waist. "I didn't kill him, no. When a vampire's neck is snapped it just makes them fall unconscious for a couple of hours."

"Oh," I said, relieved. I would have felt terribly guilty had he killed his own father, sort of for me. "So where is he now?"

"I had one of the warriors take him out of here. If any other bastard did that to you I would have them tortured in the cells underneath the castle, but because it was a previous King there would be uproar. I have to be careful about how I handle this, but don't worry, he'll still be punished for what he did to you."

I shivered at the dark tone, reminding me of the power he had. He sounded every bit the strong king he was, and honestly, it made me feel kind of funny inside, half aflutter, half very turned on.

"Blake, last night you were so angry... you almost glowed, like you were lit up from within..." I trailed off, not knowing how to explain myself. Glowed was inaccurate by a long way. It made it seem more flouncy and fairylike. In reality, the glow was dark but electric, mighty and undefeatable.

It didn't matter that I didn't know how to describe it anyway, because soon enough he nodded and started to radiate energy. Power pulsed through his skin, lighting him up in a hauntingly beautiful and yet dangerously masculine way. My skin sizzled where I touched him, resting my hands on his stomach where I was sat, and my hair blew backwards in an unseen breeze.

My heartbeat was thumping crazily, the same way it did last night, except last night Blake's power was caused by anger. This time, his power seemed to flow out of his hands and through my waist, caressing my body in a sensual, intimate way. I had to hold back the moan that threatened to fall from my lips.

"It's a physical manifestation of my powers. The power of a vampire grows over time, but only to a certain point, which depends on that vampire's heritage. My mother isn't Claire. My real mother was a powerful witch. The vampire trait is the most dominant one, so that's why I am one, but that doesn't mean that my mother couldn't pass on her genetics too. I have a King's power through blood, but also a witch's power through magic."

I wanted to talk, ask him more questions but the last tendrils of his power were seeping back into him, until all the light had gone.

"After my mother had given birth, my father ran off with me. It was not forbidden, but certainly disapproved of for witches to be with vampires. So my father took me and my real mother hasn't been seen or heard of since." Blake didn't seem particularly sad about this, but he must have learnt to hide his feelings well. He had to, being King.