It Had To Be You

Chapter 9

Copyright © 2023 Cassey9

Third Person P.O.V

Jillian's senses were on alert the moment Lea crossed over her bedroom’s threshold. Her body went still under the comforter as she wished for her body to sink through the mattress and disappear.

"Aunt Jillian?" Lea called out excitedly as she got under the covers and embraced the still vampire from behind, "How are you?" The days away from the woman had made long for this moment with a fury like none other.

Jillian's throat constricted, the longing coursing through her being intensifying every moment she spent close to her beautiful angel. If only Lea knew of the torture her nearness inflicted. If she only knew the truth, of how intertwined their fates were. Maybe then, she'd keep her distance. But she didn't. The truth would only serve to confuse her.

"Aunt Jillian!" Lea called to the woman more loudly as her first attempt had gone unanswered. Leaning over the woman, Lea kissed her aunt on the cheek and playfully bit her on her earlobe. She was worried, was the woman still at odds with her after their little mishap. "Come on, wake up! I know you're not really asleep. I missed you."

Holding out on Lea could prove dangerous to the vampire's self-restraint. Jillian fully knew so. She couldn't withstand Lea's allure, not with her hot breath like a caress to her ear. Also, Lea was as stubborn as they came and would continue pestering her until she finally got what she wanted.

Taking an inaudible breath, Jillian switched on the bedside lamp and turned to look at Lea. Her niece. Just the thought of their familial relationship made the vampire's heart clench up in despair.

"Hey there Lea?" Jillian groaned out in an exaggerated, tired voice.

Lea's eyes widened in alarm and the vampire found herself gazing towards her angel with worry at the sound of Lea's furiously pounding heart.

"What's wrong?"

"Are you still mad at me?"

"Why would you think that?" Jillian asked, pushing her upper body up to recline on her elbows.

"You never call me Lea. Aren't I your little angel?" Lea questioned, pushing closer to her aunt. "You just called me Lea."

"Well, that is your name, isn't it?" Jillian playfully asked, but stopped as more sadness seeped into Lea's beautiful features. "Come here."

Lea didn't have to be told twice as she quickly fell into her aunt's open arms. It was unexplainable, the pull she felt towards her Aunt Jillian. She always craved the vampire's company and wanted to bask in her attention each and every second they got together. Lea didn't understand why, but she always terribly missed her aunt when she was gone. Every time Aunt Jillian went on her work trips, Lea always found herself gloomy and constantly checking her phone, counting down the day and minutes till she came back.

"How was your work trip?"

"Good. Everything panned out as it should," Jillian summarized her week away in the shortest and in the best possible way she could. A lot had happened, in fact she'd been back a day ago and had gone to see the apartment she had chosen and her assistant, Terry had successfully secured for her in her absence. The grand opening of the project she'd been spearheading down at the coast had been completed and the opening a big success.

"I don't... I don't like it when you... when you go away, Aunt Jillian," Lea whispered against the vampire's chest. "I get... I get really sad. Is it weird? That... that I always want to be around you?"

The vampire's heart stopped at the question. Lea was always direct in her path to finding answers for things she didn’t understand. But, the vampire fully knew that some issues were best left alone and unanswered. The truth, at times, could be ugly. Painful. "That's okay my little angel. I mean, I am your favorite aunt after all. Aren't I?"

Lea laughed and wiggled against the vampire’s body as her Aunt Jillian tickled her. "Stop," Lea begged in between giggles. The vampire relented and unconsciously embraced the girl whose breathing was slowly pacifying. "You, Aunt Selene, Aunt Amelia and Aunty Gray are the best."

"Ouch. I thought I was your number one."

"You are very special to me, Aunt Jillian" Lea whispered in a small voice. "I love you very much."

Jillian took a deep breath, fighting back the urge to cry at Lea's sweet yet innocent heartfelt declaration. Why did the fates have to bring them to each other in such a way? How would the world even perceive them? Would they be understood? Accepted? "How? How was your week?"

"Good. It mostly involved a lot of studying. I also went to a pool party. Can I show you the pictures?" Lea excitedly asked. She had fun at the party after a rather grueling exam week together with her friend at Josh's house.

"Wait, mothers let you go?" Jillian asked in surprise. Lenora, despite having a soft spot for her daughter, was like a mother hen, always cooing and doting on Lea and their son. The two siblings were the apples of her sister's eyes. Hazel was far stricter but even she did eventually bend to Lea's charms when push came to shove.

"Yes. Here," Lea said as she adjusted her position to see her phone's screen as well. "This is me and my friends. You know Maddie, Van, that’s Tate and Sam in the end.”

It was hard to look at anyone else with Lea so striking in her two-piece blue swimsuit. Her beauty and radiant smile outshone those around her. With every swiped image, Jillian's eyes only sought for Lea. "Who is that?" Jillian questioned, but in her mind the words felt more like a demand.

"Oh?" Lea murmured, going back to the previous picture in question. "That's just Sam. Sam Cameron."

From the way the tall, curly-haired boy had rested his head on her niece’s shoulder and his arms wrapped around Lea's waist, you'd think the two were a couple. "Is he your boyfriend?" Jillian asked calmly. Her tone was a great contrast to the vicious thoughts her mind was formulating concerning the boy.

Lea broke out in laughter at the question. "No way. No, Aunt Jillian? Cameron has asked me out a couple of times but I always say no."

Great relief washed over the vampire as her thoughts and heart settled at once after Lea's revelation, "Why? Why do you always turn him down?"

"He's not the one I want," Lea calmly answered, as if it were the most obvious reason known to all humankind.

"Who do you want?"

"Someone special," Lea confided in a low voice. In all honesty, Lea wanted to be in a relationship similar to the one her parents shared. The two had set a great example for her. It made her realize what she wanted for herself for a long time now. Lea wanted her soul mate and wouldn't settle for less.

"How special?" Jillian softly asked.

"I want someone who steals my breath away when they are close to..."

"Wait, if this ‘special someone’ always stole your breath away, you would be unconscious whenever they were close to you," Jillian jested, which made Lea adorably pout at her. “Does passing out excite you?”

"You know what I mean. Now let me finish, Aunt Jillian. Also, this person has to make me feel safe and loved endlessly. Someone who makes me happy. Listens and is always there. We should also…” Lea halted at the intense look from her aunt. “Come to think of it, my list is very long, Aunt Jillian. We could be up all night if I continued."

Jillian laughed at Lea’s cockiness, “All night you say?” the vampire asked her niece, who confidently shook her head. Rubbing Lea's arm affectionately, the vampire released a soift sigh. "It is good to know what you want," Jillian commented with pride in her voice. "It helps narrow down your choices."

"You could say that," Lea murmured in a low voice. "Aunt Jillian, what do you look for in a partner?"

"Well, I only want my soul mate too," the vampire truthfully stated.

Lea's head peaked at her aunt's words. "Really?" she questioned, unable to hide her excitement.

"Mm hmm."

"I know what you mean, Aunt Jillian. It’s amazing, finding that single person that was solely made for you. More like a single soul inhabiting two bodies that are finally brought together by fate. Mommy always says my Mamma is that one person for her," Lea spoke, the hope in her voice of someday finding that one person blossoming brightly.

“That’s beautiful,” the vampire commented. Lea had described what they could never be so magnificently. It broke Jillian’s heart.

"Have you found him, Aunt Jillian? Your soul mate I mean?" Lea questioned. Her chest constricted with anticipation of the answer. Lea closed her eyes and sucked in a deep breath, hoping to alleviate some of the stress the question had brought.

Jillian was aware of her niece's open reaction and the vampire hated she couldn't do anything to take away her anxiety.

"Aunt Jillian? Have you?" Lea pressed the silence, not sitting well with her.

"I can't tell you that. What about you, my angel? Have you found yours?"

"Yes and..."

"Who is it?" Jillian knew she was playing with fire but she couldn’t stop the overwhelming urge to know. Was it one of Lea’s friends? Did she know them?

"It's complicated," Lea truthfully stated. Which it was. Lea knew nothing about her feelings were normal. In fact, Lea felt weird, like a freak, the longer she contemplated them. What would people think of her? Was she sick, that she entertained these feelings?

"Do I know them?"

"I can't tell you that," Lea whispered, mirroring her aunt's words with a serious tone.

"Touche, I guess,"

"I understand, Aunt Jillian," Lea said into the silence, "I understand why you didn't take my blood. I'm sorry for the way I acted. For the way I am at times. And, I'm sorry for putting you in such a position. I'm sorry and I love you."

"You don't have to apologize," the vampire assured her mate. The 'work' trip had been the escape she needed to escape the caging situation she and her mate had found themselves in.

"Aunt Jillian, can I sleep here with you tonight?" Lea asked sweetly. “Yes? Can I?” Lea knew her mom would be cross if she found out she had bothered her aunt who was supposed to be resting from her trip, but it didn’t matter. In her heart, Lea knew she was right where she needed to be. With her most favorite person in the entire world. Her elusive aunt.

The vampire laughed at the question. Her niece was sneaky in getting her way. In fact, Lea wasn’t simply asking to stay, she was merely informing the vampire of her set intention of sleeping over the night with her. "Of course. What about your friend's?"

"They'll be fine," Lea shrugged nonchalantly. Their evening study session had evolved into a movie one. The highlight of the evening had been finalizing and fine-tuning the paper that she was working on with Jake. That too had been overshadowed by the sound of her aunt's door opening and closing, a door down from her bedroom had jolted her from her bored trance. Lea had eagerly encouraged her friends to call it a night and had diligently waited for Maddie and Vanessa to deeply fall asleep before sneaking out of the bed and rushing to her aunt's room. The need to see her aunt was so irresistible that Lea had imagined herself exploding from the inside if she had to wait to see her the next day.

"Sure."

"You give the best cuddles."

"I do?" Jillian asked, feigning surprise. Her niece never failed to express her delight every time she held her close.

"Uh huh. I love them," Lea whispered, shifting to her favorite snuggling position.

"I love them too," the vampire conceded. She secretly cherished these moments and the memories of them like this, alone in their own world, got her through her hardest days. Jillian lay still as her niece shifted till she partially lay atop of her. Lea had loved this cuddling position ever since she was little. Her niece would always lie on top of her and fall asleep that way.

"I never want you to leave,"Lea softly confessed.

Jillian swallowed heavily, at some point, Lea would discover about her apartment and realize something was off. The proximity would eventually break herself restraint.

"Aunt Jillian?"

after a while, her voice heavy with sleep. The lulling silence around them and the feeling of the strong body underneath hers was very comforting and becoming an addictive trait.

"Yes."

"I really missed you," Lea mumbled as her lips blindly took to kiss her aunt good night. The caress found the curve of Jillian's neck and the vampire released a low shudder at the velvety feel of Lea's lips. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight my Angel," Jillian whispered back, despite being fully aware of how impossible it would be for her to get any rest. Not that she needed or wanted to. Despite the exhaustion her hectic week had brought upon her, the vampire couldn't simply doze off, not with Lea feeling this divine as she lay in her arms.

The entire bedroom was engulfed in total darkness at the clap of the vampire’s hands. Jillian pulled the covers over them and wrapped her arms tenderly around Lea.

Her little angel.