"I just shook the book and the words... They started moving!"
Gabriel crouched low and fetched the book from the carpet. The once blank cover had some words inscribed on it, and the words he had tried to read his entire life were now visible to him! But... how?
He watched her closely. She was just a frail human, scared by moving words. How then!? Their eyes locked and the alien feeling came again. He had felt it the moment he first drowned in her blue ones. The spark that sent his dead heart rhyming again. It was these fleeting seconds that made him vulnerable, whenever he looked at her. Did she feel the same?
It wasn't easier for Elena, still. Especially with only a towel wrapped around Gabriel's masculine and towering figure, she couldn't take her eyes off him. Those very eyes she had sworn never to look at. But he always had his way of getting what he wanted.
'You have to get out of this daydream,' she screamed at her conscience, and only then was she able to mumble some words.
"The book..."
"What about it?" He asked as quick as she had struggled to choke out the words. He wasn't making it easier for her!
"Where did you get it?" She asked whatever came into her mind. In truth, she wanted to ask what it was about.
Gabriel seemed taken aback by her question, and she was glad because he took his eyes from her. He let his fingers caress the rough cover, his eyes admiring the craftsmanship.
"I was a little foolish boy that day. I walked into father's study, my face red in anger. Brandon had bullied me as usual." His eyes now looked longingly at the book and Elena could tell it was a story he never liked to share. He lifted his face slightly.
"I asked father why Bran always hated me. Was it because I didn't have a mother? And for the first time, father embraced me, walked to an old rusty shelf and picked out a leather book. Keep it safe, he said. It was the only thing that I have of your mother."
He looked at her and saw a tear drop from her eyes. She was crying! Was it because she was human!?
"You're crying," he pointed.
Elena sniffled and wiped the tear. "I just remembered something about my parents too! I'm sorry you had to go through a rough childhood."
Gabriel placed the book on the dresser and walked close to Elena. This time, she didn't flinch nor did her heart race. She just stood there, her eyes teary but never leaving his.
He wiped the tears with his thumb. "Don't cry little bunny. I'm used to it. This... This is my life. A life of a bastard."
"I'm sorry I..." She cast her eyes down. "Brandon told me things... Bad things about you and I believed him. Now I know what he was trying to achieve."
Gabriel embraced her, his hand caressing her small figure that leaned on his chest. This small human girl was the only person who had shed a tear for him as much as he could remember. And this bunny was his wife!
He inhaled her scent and it was just as he could remember. He sniffed her hair and gathered strands of it in his hands. Lord! She smelt intoxicatingly sweet.
And before he knew it, his eyes landed on her neck. How would she... The word was in his mind yet thinking of it seemed like a taboo. How would it feel like to sink his fangs on her slender flesh?
His fangs had elongated yet he had the tiniest clue about it. His nails were long, and a stationary Elena felt something sharp graze her skin. Surprised, she pushed him off but the look on his eyes brought her horror. Memories of the previous incident flooded!
"Gabriel?" She called, still caged between his hands. He looked like a vampire, except for a pale skin. Did he want to bite her? The idea alone made Elena weak in the knees.
"Gab?" She called again, but did he hear her in the first place? His eyes were still golden with a faint glow of red, longingly looking at her as if she was his next meal!
What could she do to wake him from this unprecedented dream? Slap was the first idea that came into her mind but she was quick to discard it.
He was leaning close, so close she was certain he'd sink his fangs on her. She had to act quick.
And in that moment of despair, she did what she could to save herself. Her hands cupped his face and sealed her lips with his in a soft kiss that left Gabriel pausing mid air.
Elena opened her eyes and found Gabriel staring at her. But his eyes were different. In place of what she'd term as thirst for blood was now an insatiable hunger she had been the very cause of.
"You shouldn't have done that!" He said, his voice low but loud enough for her to hear. And before she could process what he meant, he caged her with his hands, her back now on the solid walls.
Her chest was heaving fast he could see her supple peaches through the thin fabric she wore. It only acted to fuel his hunger.
He leaned closer and she closed her eyes as if she had the idea of what he wanted to do. He had promised himself to behave but not when he had a taste of her. She was like a euphoric drug, an addictive one, that he'd sell his soul to have.
His lips brushed against hers softly before he found her tongue. He pried her open and entwined his tongue with hers, knocking the air out of her. Gods! His hands found their way on her back and before he knew it, he had lost count of the time he had kissed her until he felt something warm in his mouth. Her blood!