Crimson

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We sat in silence for a long time. A small part of me, one that still couldn't let go of my many years of hatred towards vampires, one that for some reason had the Priestess' voice, told me that Lamech was lying. But the rest of me, felt certain that he wasn't. 

He bore no responsibility for my parents' deaths and as far as vampires came, he was as good as they could come. As far as people came, he was among the good ones. He had gone against the way he had been taught to find a better way. He had rebelled against even his father for what he knew was right. He had worked hard to make things better. 

I got up from the bed and slowly walked over to the couch. Lamech looked completely bewildered as I approached. Even apprehensive. I guessed he wasn't sure if I trusted his story or not. But he remained seated. 

When I got to him, I sat down on his lap, facing him with one leg on either side. His hands automatically landed on my hips and I put my hands on his shoulders. 

Neither of us spoke. We just looked into each other's eyes. 

Then we both moved at the same time. Him slightly up, and me slightly down, so that our lips met. 

His taste, that was the same as his scent, spread in my mouth as our tongues played. The thunder was the strongest in that moment and maybe that should have made me slightly scared, but it only made me feel desired. 

We kissed for a long time. Just kissed and nothing else. My arms had gone around his neck and one of his had traveled up my back. 

We stayed close together when we pulled apart. Our foreheads connected. I kept my eyes closed and just listened to our heavy breathing as they mixed together. 

"I'll help you find whoever killed them, Crimson. I promise you that," he told me, but somehow that didn't seem all that important anymore. I knew it wasn't him and that felt good enough for me. 

His words did warm my heart though. They made me feel like he did care. That maybe, just maybe, he was actually interested in more than just my body and my blood. 

I kissed him again. Not knowing how to express anything of what I felt or thought with words. We stayed like that, entangled in each other for a while. My fingers ran through his hair. His hands caressed my cheeks. 

It felt very different from all of the kissing we had done before. There had always been a feeling of desperation, but that wasn't there. I could still feel my own and his desire, but it was much gentler, softer, more loving. 

Our kisses held more than just sexual tension. 

Suddenly I felt him freeze and as I moved away to see what was wrong, I noticed a slight fog in his eyes and knew what that meant. Someone was mind-linking him.

"Fuck," he mumbled as his eyes returned to normal. "It's almost time for dinner."

"Oh," was all I could say because what I really wanted to tell him was to skip it, to stay there with me. But he had responsibilities that I knew I couldn't keep him from.

"Will you join us?" he asked and kissed my cheek as if he was as unwilling to part as I was.

"Sure," I answered while his kisses travelled down to my neck and sent shivers through me.

"Good. Alair will take you down. I'll join in a little with the wolves," he said but made no movement of letting me go.

"Okay," I answered and also stayed put. I had my eyes closed and just kept enjoying the feeling of his lips on my skin and wondered, hoped even that he would pierce it.

Lamech let out a low growl that made me jump from him. He immediately caught my hand and his eyes filled with regret.

"I'm sorry. Alair was just being annoying and nosey," he explained and tried to pull me back, but I decided to stand firm.

"It's probably for the best. You don't want to be late," I pointed out.

"Just one more minute," he begged and pouted like a child.

I laughed lightly at him. Then reached out and brushed my thumb against his lips that had been stained by my black lipstick. "Would you be able to keep to just one more minute?"

He sighed, then caught my hand and gave it a kiss before he relented and got up. When he had reached the door, he stopped and turned back to look at me.

"Thank you for listening and for believing in me," he said before disappearing out of it.

For some reason his words made my heart ache a bit. But I didn't let myself dwell on it. Instead I looked down my body, at the clothes I wore. Lamech hadn't said anything about the formality of the dinner and I doubted he gave a damn what I wore. But I had a feeling the wolves might be expecting something and that they definitely wouldn't find my current clothes appropriate for dinner.

I knew that a dress would likely be the best option, but not one that was too fancy and for my own sake, I needed it to be comfortable. I thought through all of my clothes I had at home and remembered a dress that would work perfectly. It was really two parts, a black jumpsuit with long sleeves and almost no leg as well as a thin, see-through chiffon skirt that could be detached. I had only worn it once, the day Saida had sworn her allegiance to the coven. It was plain enough to not look overdressed, but the long skirt still made it work to more formal occasions. And the fact that it truly was a two piece, made it perfect in case anything would happen.

I summoned it to me and got dressed. Then refreshed my make-up. I had just decided on remaining barefoot as no option for shoes that I had would suit the dress, or my need for comfort, when there was a knock on the door. I opened it to find Alair on the other side. His clothes told me that I had made the right choice in changing clothes. Though his normal clothes would be classified as fancy by most modern people, he had obviously put in slightly more effort by adding a tail-coat but refrained from wearing a bowtie.

His eyes widen when he saw me. "Crimson! You look..."

I raised my eyebrows when he didn't continue. "I look?"

He cleared his throat. "I'm not sure I have any good words for it. Black definitely suits you, however."

He then held out his arm in a true gentlemanly fashion. I shook my head at his reaction, not completely understanding it, before taking his arm to let him led the way.

"Is everything still good with the wolves after my encounter with them?" I asked him. Though Lamech had said all was fine, I couldn't help but worry that he had only said so to not upset me.

"It is. The Alpha seems to be very good natured, and, just like Lamech, not one to hold onto unnecessary issues," he ensured me.

"That's good then," I said and let out a sigh.

"And you are feeling fine with them even after the Luna's comment?"

"Yes of course. I know her comment had nothing to do with me really."

Alair gave me a smile that almost seemed to hold respect. I couldn't help but feel surprised and confused, completely unable to understand what might have caused it.

We walked down to the first floor in silence. I hadn't set my foot there and couldn't help but be surprised as I looked around. It was completely different to the labyrinth of the fifth, fourth, and third floor. It felt much more open and welcoming. It also made me think of a castle a bit. It was high to the ceiling, candelabras and paintings hung on the walls. The floor seemed to be made of marble and the furniture was all old and wooden.

"This floor is specifically designed to entertain guests," Alair explained as he led me passed the first few doors and to one that stood wide open.

The room was large enough to be able to host hundreds of people for dinner. In it at the moment there was, however, only one table in the middle, though only about a quarter of the table had been arranged for dinner. The stone walls were covered in an intricate painting of a forest teeming with life and as I looked up at the ceiling, a stary night met me.

"It's beautiful," I whispered and walked over to the table. The cutlery looked to be copper as did the glasses, or rather goblets. There were vases with red roses along the table and between each vase candleholders that held one black candle each.

"Ah, you've arrived. Are the rest on their way?" I heard Kyle's voice behind me and spun around.

"They'll arrive shortly. We just wanted to come earlier to let you know that there'll be one more for the dinner," Alair said and looked meaningfully at me, but then turned to look at the table. A frown started to appear.

"Not to worry," Kyle said and beamed at me. "I already assumed as much. Everything is ready to be served as soon as you are."

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry over the fact that Lamech's staff seemed to be so completely aware of our relationship, to the point that they even included me in important things without being told to.