Chapter Five

Chapter Five.

Mirah

I buried my head deeper into the sheets. My body was numb, and so was my heart. I stifled a wince when I touched a part of my neck.

The part where he'd-

My body went on high alert, and I sat up when the door suddenly pushed open. When I saw who it was, I visibly relaxed.

But almost immediately my brows knitted into a frown. Like every other day, he'd disappeared before I woke up. And I wondered why he was suddenly back.

It had been days since the ball. Days since he'd avoided me.

He silently studied me, as he went over to take a seat. The originally wide room suddenly seemed stuffy. Filled with his presence at every corner.

I swallowed hard, as I avoided looking at him. I hadn't even come to terms with the fact that he really was a-

An odd person. I couldn't bring myself to address him as a…vampire.

“Get ready.” He finally said, leaning back on the chair. His eyes glinted in the semi-illuminated room.

I hugged myself, conscious of his hard stare at my body. That made me wonder if he'd felt the same electricity which had sparked between us that night.

When I finally found my voice, I asked, “And where are you taking me to?” I drawled, pretending to be unaffected by his cold stare.

He flicked a lighter on and off, as he crossed his legs. “Put on something-” He cocked his head to the side. “-simple.”

I found myself nodding to his words, as I clambered down the bed, and headed to the walk-in closet. Days ago, three maids had brought lots of shopping bags over. And boy, had I been awed when I opened them.

From designer clothes, down to sexy lingeries. When I'd seen the bag which contained my favorite kind of panties, my cheeks had colored.

My legs wobbled as his stare accompanied me to the closet. After twenty minutes of selecting a dress and dropping it back, I finally settled for a red dress. It was short down to the knees, and was bespectacled with glittering pearls on the neckline.

Its back was split down to my waist. It was the only simple dress I could choose from the hundreds of beauties in my closet.

When I finally came out with a triumphant look, Zeke was still seated on the couch. He hadn't even moved.

But when his eyes met mine, I felt the world whirl to a stop. The butterflies in my belly went haywire as he roamed his eyes over my body.

My nipple jutted hard against my dress, and heat pooled between my legs.

Focus, Mirah.

But that might have been an illusion too. 'Cause when he finally looked into my eyes, he was back to his cold self.

“Ready?” He asked, rising to his feet.

I nodded.

“Let's go,” he said, leading the way towards the door.

***

My mouth hung open as we passed what I'd like to term the glittering city.

Illuminated by blue and red lights instead of the usual white and gold I was used to, it was breathtaking.

“Wow,” I breathed, as we passed a large tower. Oddly enough, Zeke hadn't spoken to me since we set out of the castle.

And I hadn't attempted to strike up a conversation.

I hugged myself as my skin pebbled from the cool breeze. My eyes widened when he suddenly pulled me against him. I inhaled his unique intoxicating scent, while trying to ignore the effect his body had on me.

Passersby littered all over the streets, and some of them barely spared us glances. But I couldn't help but feel there was something odd about them.

“You like milkshakes?” His deep voice broke my train of thought.

I looked at him through the corner of my eyes. His eyes were trained forwards as we walked. I spotted a tensed bulge of his vein, but that might have been my illusion as well.

He was waiting for an answer. I cleared my throat awkwardly, and nodded. “Yes.”

He pulled his hand away from my shoulder, and clasped my hand as he pulled me along. I stiffened at his touch, and I could've sworn he did too.

But I simply turned away, pretending it was nothing. Like the throbbing between my legs was nothing. Like I wasn't picturing him pinning me to a nearby wall, and fucking me senseless.

I shook my head in alarm. My thoughts were getting crazier than I was comfortable with. I blamed it on my long abstinence.

It's definitely been a while since I got laid-

I got a rein on my thoughts when we finally stopped in front of a diner. It looked simple at first sight, but when we walked into it, my jaw unhinged.

There weren't many people present. The floors made of marble sparkled from the beams of blue lights on it.

Tables arranged for four were placed at every corner of the diner. It wasn't stuffy, but I felt like it was. Zeke had the uncanny ability to fill up every place he stepped into, with his presence.

The serving lady burst into smiles, but it wiped off when her gaze rested on me.

“Welcome, Prince-” She began saying, when he cut her off with a cold voice.

“A cup of milkshake and a glass of wine.” he said.

My mind was already at work with the way she'd addressed him. Prince? He was royalty?

That explained-

“What kind of milkshake?” She asked, making my brows knit in confusion.

“Human standards.” His voice didn't crack.

With the same bright smile, she handed us our orders a few moments later. As I tailed Zeke over to a vacant table at the far end of the diner, my heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

I wanted to consider this as our date. But I knew that'd only be my foolish imagination.

“What are you thinking about?”

I almost gasped, and threw my cup away when his hand waved in front of me. I hadn't even noticed that I hadn't taken a sip of the milkshake at all.

Not thinking of anything to say at that moment, I blurted, “Are you really a vam…” The words trailed off.

I couldn't bring myself to say it.

“Vampire.” He finished off. The word rolled out of his mouth in that sweet silken voice of his, caressing my skin and painting steamy scenes in my mind.

I nodded, and sucked hard on my straw. The cool taste of the milkshake calmed my racing nerves.

I blinked when he leaned towards me, and twirled the glass in his hand. “Do you still have doubts?” He asked, not taking his eyes away from me.

My mouth dried up, and my hands went numb. I wanted to say something, anything. But the damned words weren't coming.

He grabbed my wrists, and placed the glass of wine into my hand.

My lips parted. “What are you doing?”

I turned towards the counter in time to see the lady turning away with a guilty expression on her face.

“Take a sip.” He simply said, and leaned back on his chair.

My eyes darted between his stoic face and the glass of wine. I wasn't heavy on drinking alcohol, since my tolerance was low. But this wine had a rich scent to it.

White-colored, it sat beautifully on the cup. Taking his order as a challenge, I threw my head back, and took a gulp.

“Fuck,” I grunted, placing the cup back on the table.

“A sip, I said. Seems you like drinking blood that much, Mirah.” He chuckled.

I felt lightheaded, from his words and the sound of my name on his lips. My vision turned blurry.

Blood?

This white colored drink was…blood?

He leaned towards me and threw something into my mouth. Whatever it was, melted and left a cool sensation in my mouth.

Moments later, everything turned back to normal again. When I looked up at him, he was still sitting in the same position, twirling his glass of wine- blood.

“Over the years, our world evolved. We came up with a new way to drink blood. Especially for young bloods. Raw untainted blood can unleash our powers, and when that happens-” He paused and looked straight into my eyes.

“When that happens?” I prompted him. I was caught by his abrupt stare that my hands turned clammy with sweat.

“Never mind. Let's go.” He rose to his feet, and I followed suit.

If there was any reason he'd brought me out here, it worked.

The cool breeze made me inhale deeply, as we stepped into the open. People were still bustling around, and down the streets, faint sounds of speakers from a club could be heard.

I tailed Zeke from a safe distance, partly because I was still frightened, and partly because I didn't want to be caught in the cocoon of his scent.

But that turned out to be my worst decision. And I realized it the next minute.

“Zeke,” The words didn't fully make it out of my mouth, when a hand grabbed me into the shadows.

I couldn't see his face, but he was putting on a cloak. His touch was cold, but not as much as Zeke's.

“A human?” His cynical chuckle made my stomach churn. My back was pressed against the hard wall in the alley, and I closed my eyes tightly.

This was the second time.

Zeke wouldn't even notice I was gone. I uttered a quick prayer, and resigned to my fate.

“Mirabella?” I could never mistake that voice for anyone else. It was deep and butterflies inducing. Zeke.

Over here.

By a wicked twist of fate, his figure suddenly loomed at the entrance of the alley. And only then did I breathe in relief.

“Let her go, Master Damien.” He simply said, and my stomach did another flip.

Considering the way he addressed the man holding me hostage, he was an important person himself.

The man's eyes turned cold, but he moved away from me.

“Prince Zeke? Is she with you?” He asked, his eyes gawking at me like a predator.

I swallowed. Silence reigned for a moment, and just when I thought Zeke would decline, I heard a calm,

“Yes, she's my woman.”