Chapter 26

I walked down the stairs, entranced by the faint sound of the piano. James had left me a few hours ago, beckoned by Sylas for a meeting, but hearing the piano's sounds, I assumed he was finished. The closer I got, the more clearly I could hear the keys. This song was terrifying, and the chill of death was felt at my core. 

I stopped at the entrance of the music room and saw that James was playing for Sylas. Sylas seemed possessed by the eerie song. My presence must have knocked him out of his trance because his eyes sharply cut in my direction. If looks could kill, I would have died right then and there.

As Sylas left in a huff, he acknowledged me with a subtle nod. I entered the room and wrapped my arms around James' shoulders. He placed his hand on my wrist and looked up at me. "I don't want to play anymore tonight.", he sighed. I nodded, understanding that Sylas had requested that song. It felt different, forced, unlike the songs he had chosen to play for me the other night. But in this moment, our physical closeness evoked a sense of romance and connection. 

"What do you want to do tonight?", I asked. James smiled and stood from the piano bench, swooping me up, "I want to lock ourselves up in our wing tonight." I looked deeply into his red eyes. They were a deeper shade of crimson currently, and I wasn't sure why. "Of course.", I stammered over my words. In a dash, James rushed us back into our wing. 

He sat me on the couch before asking, "Would you like to join me for a shower?" I smiled, "A bath?" "Okay, okay, a bath.", he replied before leaving me to run the water. He returned several minutes later and reached his hand out. I accepted it eagerly. James led me to the bathroom with the large porcelain clawfoot tub. He had several tealight candles lit, and the bubbles spilling over from the tub's edge smelled of honeysuckle.

I turned to James and delicately lifted his shirt up over his head. He followed suit and began to undress me as well. He got in the tub first and helped me ease myself in between his legs. The tub was large enough for us to fit comfortably, and I rested my back against his chest. He gently stroked my arms up and down with his hands, and I closed my eyes, fully relaxed with him by my side. 

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. I asked softly, "What's wrong, James?" He inhaled deeply before responding, "It's nothing, Love. Please don't worry." His answer did not instill confidence in me, so I sat up and turned to look him in the eyes. The candlelight enhanced his muscles as I traced my fingers from his exposed chest to his collarbone. "I can tell that something is off.", I said. James cupped my cheek, "I've been ordered to meet with Sylas every evening for a few hours; he wants to prepare me for battle before your true mate arrives."

I looked inquisitively into his eyes, "Are you sure that's all?" He felt distant, as if he was trying to hide something from me. He pulled me close, negating the emotional distance between us, "I just don't want to be away from you, but I don't have a choice." I rested my cheek on his collarbone and nuzzled into his neck as he traced his fingers across my spine. I lay there for several minutes, enjoying his embrace; the hot water made his skin feel warm rather than his usual cool feeling.

I was almost asleep when James shifted. I looked up in his direction, and he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "I love you.", my eyes widened at my confession, and I sat up, covering my mouth with one of my hands; I can't believe that just slipped out. James sat up and leaned toward me, "I love you, too." Then he held out his pinky finger to me. I looked at him, confused. "I pinky promise.", he said with a smile creeping across his face. I extended my pinky to his. "Now seal it.", he whispered. I brought our hands close to my mouth and kissed my thumb. James followed suit and then pressed his thumb against mine.

Sparks ran down my body from my hand as though I had just touched an electrical outlet. I smiled widely before pressing my lips against his. I snuggled back between his legs, resting my back on his chest again. He massaged my shoulders with his fingers, and I was suddenly envious of the piano. His expert fingers knew precisely when and where to press, and my body responded like a well-tuned instrument. 

I felt his hardness growing behind me and hadn't realized that my lower body had been gyrating against him. I was genuinely putty in his hands. I grabbed onto the edges of the tub and repositioned myself slightly. Pressing my ass firmly against his member, I guided my body up and down his shaft. I could feel his breath on my wet back, and I continued to grind against him. His fingers made their way to my breasts, and he played with my nipples before cupping and massaging my perky breasts. I let out a sensual moan, which only excited him more. He traced his fingers nimbly to my hips and assisted my movements. 

My body suddenly froze, "I want to use my dare now." James looked at me eagerly and licked his lips. "Oh, Love, you won't like what I'm about to do.", I whispered before tugging the bottom of his ear lobe. The horrified look on his face told me he knew what I was about to do. "No retaliation.", I said coyly as I stood up and wrapped myself in one of the big fluffy towels James had laid out for us. 

I left James in the bathtub just as dumbfounded as he had left me in the pool the other day. Now, he could experience the frustration I had felt. I went to my room and quickly changed. I returned to find James sitting in the tub, seemingly frozen in a stupor. "Come on, Love.", I teased. James pulled the drain and stood. I stared admiringly as his erection throbbed. He grabbed the other towel sitting there and combed his fingers through his hair before wrapping it lowly on his hips. I chuckled because the towel couldn't hide the fact that he was aroused. 

"Are you hungry?", I asked. James took a deep breath, "Give me a minute." James went to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. He returned erection-less with a look of unfulfillment about 15 minutes later. He took much longer than expected, and my stomach rumbled at his approach. 

"Ready to go?", I asked. He rolled his eyes and took my hand. We walked down to the kitchen so that he could get his blood bags. To my shock, he came out of the walk-in refrigerator with ten instead of six this time. I guessed that he was going to eat through his sexual frustrations. I offered to help him carry the bags, and he handed me half. I felt guilty even though my actions were justified. I had just repaid him for his cruelty from the other night. 

We walked silently back to our wing. I placed his blood bags on the dining room table and went to the kitchen to figure out what I was going to eat. I prepared a sizeable Cobb salad, using the rest of the vegetables before they spoiled. Instead of adding chicken to the salad, I decided to pan-sear a steak to accompany my meal. I brought my meal to the dining room and joined James. 

"Extra hungry tonight after your training?", I asked. James grunted, "Something like that." I started to eat my medium rare steak first as James took a big swig from his large black jug. I noticed that he wasn't able to fit all of the blood bags in it this time, and some of them remained full on the table. "You aren't mad at me, right?", I whispered. "Not at all, Love, all is fair in love and war.", he responded, "Besides, I started it; I should have known my actions would come to bite me." I took another bite of the tender steak, "Okay, just checking."

James smirked, "I will have to leave you tomorrow night for a bit longer than normal; after I train with Sylas, I need to feed on a human." My face twisted as my jealous side came forth. "I promise I'll find a man to drink from, Love, no need to get jealous.", James poked at me.

James drained the leftover blood bags into his jug as I moved on to my salad. "What do you want to do after we've finished eating?", I asked. "Hmm.", he sighed, "I want to spend the rest of our night apologizing to you." My eyes widened eagerly, "What did you have in mind?" He smiled connivingly, "You'll just have to wait and find out." I quickly scarfed my food as I couldn't contain my excitement.