It Had To Be You

Chapter 5

Copyright © 2023 Cassey9

Third Person P.O.V

Scrolling through the Lawanson realtor page, Jillian closely studied the different images and descriptions captioned beneath them. The localities, sizes and prices ranged from picture to picture, though none had captured her attention. Money didn’t matter as long as she had a perfect, quiet place that would offer her an escape space.

The manor was her home, and had been for countless decades now. Though, recently, the homely feel the vampire always got about the manor was replaced by a heavy sense of disquiet, near constant torture and a burning longing that only intensified with her mate always home . Lea’s scent was distinct and it tortured the vampire with every corner she turned in the manor, not to add to the most important fact that her mate was only a door down from her room. Hence, the vampire's burning need for the apartment. She had to get away. No, she needed to get away before the breaking control she held got swept high and away from her.

The vampire relaxed back in her seat and mulled over the pending decision. She wouldn’t indefinitely move out of the manor and alienate herself from her mate completely. The apartment would be her haven where she could reign in her beast instead of prowling the streets aimlessly. Jillian’s bar-hopping days had significantly stopped just as her urge for s*x with the random quests she met. No one could compare to her mate. She was transcendent. Her heart, body, soul and mind had gone on strike, taken a stand. If it wasn’t their mate they were sharing themselves with, then there would be no one.

Jillian’s mindless perusing was cut short when the vampire accidently pressed the ‘x’ button at the top right side of her laptop’s screen. The realtor page disappeared and before the vampire’s eyes was the screen saver that instantly made her heart skip a beat and pulled a smile from the corner of her lips.

The buzz was almost palpable and it made the hairs on the vampire’s body stand in alert. Jillian looked up from her laptop and stared at her office’s door. The familiar sensations picked up and the vampire tingled with anticipation the more the feeling grew. Jillian reached for her office phone, unable to wait any longer. With her mate, patience seemed to be a forte she couldn’t possess.

“Terry.”

“Ma’am,” the gentle voice of her PA answered her call. “I’ll be right there Ma’am.”

“No. Is my niece here to see me?” Jillian asked, the eagerness in her voice making her blush.

“Not that I’m aware of Ma’am,” the assistant answered, her tone showing surprise. “No one is here.” Jillian’s shoulders slumped at the words. “Maybe she’s around. I could go and get her for…”

“No, Terry. That’s all,” Jillian set down the phone, ending the call a little upset. Lea was there at the office. Her angel was here, the vampire could feel her. Sense her mate’s presence. Lea had probably dropped by to see her mother.

Unable to sit still, Jillian got up from her chair and wandered towards her office’s balcony. A fortnight had passed since Lea’s twenty-third birthday. Aside from text messages and short phone calls, Jillian hadn’t seen her niece since. Work kept her busy and travelling. As project manager, it was her job to oversee the company's ongoing developments and ensure that everything was working well.

The need to abandon her office and go in search of her mate was searing. Jillian gripped the balcony’s bar, using it as an anchor to hold herself in place. The vampire closed her eyes and let the gentle hum of the afternoon breeze caress her face. The feel of the sun on her skin was gratifying and it eased up some of her pains.

Controlling her urges was something the vampire hadn’t been accustomed to, at least that was how things had been before Lea. Jillian always took whatever her heart desired but now, the tides had changed against her. Her mate, the one person in the universe that completed her existence, was out of bounds. Lea was the forbidden fruit that Jillian would forever lusted over for day and night.

The space, the distance that the vampire had managed to erect between them when Lea became of age wasn’t working in her favor. Jillian’s desire and heart only grew fonder the more she stayed away from her mate. Jillian let out a pained groan and rested her head against the cool railing, her stomach was in knots from hunger and yearning. Tonight, as much as she disliked it, she had to feed.

The ringing of the office phone pulled Jillian from her wallowing depths and she moved blindingly fast towards it. The vampire answered the call, her senses now erratic with her mate so close.

“Yes, Terry.”

“Ma’am, your niece is here to see you.”

“Tell her to come in,” Jillian said, her voice uninhibited and rough. The vampire set her phone down and took the few seconds alone to tamper down her vampire side. Her beast was growing impatient and obstinate with the passing of time. They had found their mate and wanted nothing else but to claim Lea for themselves, but Jillian’s hesitance only made things strained and hard. Her sisters would never understand their union.

The knock on the door ushered in a sight that always left Jillian floored. The vampire openly stared at the beauty that always and easily robbed her of her breath. Her angel. Jillian rounded her desk and eagerly took her mate into her arms. Pulling the smaller frame snuggly against hers, Jillian held Lea close with her arms, erasing even the smallest of gaps between them. The vampire buried her face in the blonde locks, drawing in her mate’s unique, enthralling scent.

“No,” Jillian hoarsely murmured when Lea started to pull away from their embrace. “Not yet. Let me hold you. I want to hold you.”

The words from her aunt were so surreal and they lit a fire within a soul that warmed her up instantly. “Mm hmm,” Lea hummed, not trusting the sanity of her voice. There was no place in the entire world she would rather be than where she currently was. Lea closed her eyes, losing herself in the embrace, she snuggled her face against the vampire's neck.

Lea tenderly placed a kiss against the smooth curve before her lips. Fascination washing upon her at the slight shudder her caress elicited from the woman holding her. Unable to contain herself, Lea further tested the waters and placed another kiss slightly above the previous one.

This time, though, she was the one to break. A low moan pushed past her lips from the hand squeezing her hips. Heat slid through her body from the touch and Lea could hear her own sense of breathlessness. She was going crazy and losing her mind, which was dangerous. As much as Lea wanted to continue, she stopped her lips' pursuit. This was a dangerous game she was playing.

“Aunt Jillian,” Lea murmured. Her throat felt dry, parched, like the desert ground. Her fingers found and stroked the hair at the back of her aunt’s neck as they both started to pull apart.

“Lea.” Jillian let go, a little satisfied from their intimate moment. The sound of Lea’s hard breathing, wildly beating heart and her rapidly pulsing blood were a dangerous combination to her self countenance. Her gums agonizingly throbbed from restraining her fangs.

“Hi,” Lea shyly greeted, kissing her aunt on the cheek.

Jillian was tongue-tied at the lips lingering on her right cheek. The touch created a buzz so electric it almost short circuited the vampire’s mind. Even the chaste kiss was mind numbing, how was she to survive with the dangerous temptation her alluring mate presented. “Hey,” Jillian managed to utter when the touch and it's toe-curling effects lessened a little. The ghost of Lea’s lips against her skin stayed on, torturing her with the desire to feel them moving against her own mouth.

“How are you, Aunt Jillian?” Lea questioned as she walked past her aunt and headed for the guest chairs where she dropped her tote bag on one of the seats. She ran her hand through her hair and took this few seconds away from her aunt’s gaze to pull herself together. Lea plopped down and stared at anywhere away from the approaching woman.

“I’m doing okay,” Jillian answered, taking the seat opposite her mate’s. She knew it was best to put some distance between them but the vampire chose not to. She lived for such moment, the talks that she and Lea had when they were together, “How’s your day, my angel?”