The Darkest Night

Chapter 9

My wide eyes stared into his as he pulled back slowly. What was that? Why did he kiss me? He said he didn't consort with humans.

"Are you calmer now?" His voice was calm, almost kind. A line of worry marred his forehead as he stared into my eyes. I nodded mutely, unsure of what to say. He sighed, leaning back away from me and covered his eyes with one hand. The movement made me acutely aware of how close we were to each other. I leaned back into my chair, slipping from his grasp.

"Why did you just kiss me?" My voice was hoarse. Confusion rushed through me. My breathing had evened out, and I was a lot calmer than I just was.

He scoffed at the perplexed expression on my face before responding. "It's not for any romantic notion, so you can relax. This isn't some romance novel. You were hysterical and besides slapping you, which I'm not sure if you would have survived my slap, it was the only way to shock your system enough to calm down." His explanation was logical, and I felt embarresment course through me. For one small moment, I actually thought the kiss might be romantic in nature. What was wrong with me? This man has kidnapped me. I shouldn't find him attractive at all. Burying my head into my hands to hide my embarrassment, I let out a small Oh sound in acknowledgment. "Now that you're calmer I will explain." He returned to his seat across the desk from me. His scent faded away as he moved and, much to my mortification, I realized I longed for his scent. "I gave you a few drops of my blood so that I will always be able to sense where you are and your emotional state." Crossing his legs, he regarded me with a calm steady gaze. "Think of it as a GPS tracker. I will be able to tell if you are planning on betraying the trust that we are forced to place in you."

"OK, well, if I have this tracker in me now, can't I go back to my sister?" My voice had a pleading element to it that my dignity, what was left of it anyway, balked at.

"No. As I said, you will remain here for the next few days. The blood takes a while to fully kick in, and I will have to give you some more over the next three days to make sure its permanent. As for your other hysterical questions. No, you will not turn into one of us. Turning someone is an entirely different process and a lot more involved." He laced his fingers together once more and watched me closely. Probably to make sure I wasn't going to dissolve into hysterical sobs once more. I straightened my spine and clenched my jaw. He already thought of me as weak. Well, to be fair, he probably thought all humans were weak. Determined to prove him wrong about me, I met his gaze and held it. He nodded approvingly.

"Well, this has been an eventful evening. I will leave you be to mull things over for the night. My son or I will bring you breakfast in the morning. We will answer whatever questions you come up with. As much as we can anyway. I will also let you know what I have decided to do with you tomorrow at some point as well." He stood up, gathering the tray together and strolled to the door, grabbing the handle, he said goodnight while looking back at me before exiting the room. The lock clicked into place firmly. The jail cell was secured, it seemed.

Being left alone in the room scared me more than facing a vampire did. Not knowing what else to do, and feeling the full exhaustion of the day hit me, I decided to crash for the rest of the night. Walking over to the couch, I grabbed my bag, rummaging in it for my toiletry bag and prepared for bed. After finishing up in the bathroom, I pulled out the bed from the couch and using my sweatshirt as a pillow, drifted off to a fitful sleep.

Nightmares plagued me all night long. Bloody teeth and flashing green eyes haunted my sleep. I tossed and turned, waking often in the unfamiliar dark room. It was impossible to tell how long I slept or what time it was. Maybe I should ask for a clock of some sort? I lay awake on the pullout couch just waiting for something to happen. Frustrated, I sat up and decided to at least get dressed, even if I couldn't leave I could still be presentable. Once dressed in a pair of cameo leggings and a long sleeved green v-neck shirt, I sat crisscrossed on the bed and waited. Waited for something, anything to happen. I was just so bored. The horrors and stress of the evening before had left me numb. No one had threatened me or treated me even badly. For some weird reason, I decided to believe that I would remain unharmed. Being tricked into consuming vampire blood was a bit alarming, but if Victor was telling the truth there were no adverse side effects. Or at least he hadn't mentioned any. I frowned thinking about that. Asking about that definitely bumped up to the top of the list. All I could do now was to convince Victor and the rest of the Jameson's that I was worth keeping alive. Well, I'm sure they don't have the need for a nurse, but not everyone that worked here were vampires. Right? Oh! I hadn't even considered that. What if everyone here was a vampire except Mrs. Jameson, Michael, and my sister? There's no way everyone could be one. Right?

The sound of the lock being opened pulled me out of my brooding. Another silver tray was the first thing I saw. It was followed quickly by dark hair and Darius' cinnamon eyes. The skin around his eyes crinkled into amusement as soon as he saw me. "Well, well, well. If it isn't the little human that knows too much." He walked in, closing the door behind him with his foot. He placed the silver tray that was almost identical in appearance to the one from last night except there was a steaming tea pot and an empty mug sitting on the side of the covered food. "You sure are special to be getting hand-delivered meals."

"Do you guys make it a habit of kidnapping humans then?" The question was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"My, my, you are a brave one, aren't you?" Darius' teeth flashed in a menacing smile. I instinctively knew that Darius was a lot more of a threat to myself than his father was. He flopped into the chair his father had inhabited the night before and waved to the tray. His gray sweatpants hung low on his hips and his olive green athletic tank top showed off his well-developed arms. My throat went dry as I got up from my place on the couch and walked over to the desk. Taking my seat, I silently admonished myself for now finding the son attractive as well. What the hell was wrong with me? "And to answer your question, little rabbit, no, we don't normally kidnap humans. Except when they are into it." His grin widened at his innuendo and I swallowed hard, trying not to stare at this gorgeous man, vampire?, creature in front of me. I seriously needed to get a grip. I lifted the tray to reveal toast, fried eggs and some bacon that was just a little floppy. All prepared exactly the way I liked. Huh. This was weird. How did they know my preferences?

"How do you guys know what I like to eat? And why did you call me little rabbit?" I started to eat, making sure to keep my eyes firmly on my plate. It seemed like the safest place for my eyes to be, considering I was definitely showing signs of Stockholm syndrome. That was the only explanation I could come up with for thinking that my captors were attractive.

"Well, little rabbit, we did some digging on you. That's how we know what you like to eat. As for the nickname..." He shrugged with both hands facing upwards before letting his arms drop. "You remind me of a little rabbit caught in the gaze of a big bad wolf." He said the last words with a sardonic grin that showed his fangs. "Now dad said I was to answer your questions honestly and fully, but I have to say I'm a tad disappointed."

"Disappointed? In what?" I swallowed my bite of food before asking. Curiosity once again got the better of me and I looked Darius full in the face. His jaw was square and strong and were off setted perfectly by his high cheek bones. His rich cinnamon eyes held amusement and a small glint of mischief, I think. He seemed the sort that would grace a gym magazine or something along those lines.

"Dad said you seemed intelligent, but from the questions you are asking, that doesn't seem to be the case." He was examining his nails as he said this. The warmth that spread through me at the mention of how his dad saw me chilled when Darius finished his sentence. Crap. I need to prove that I'm worth keeping around, or they just might decide to kill me after all.

"I do have some questions, if you don't mind answering them?" I caught his eyes and held his gaze. A slow smile spread across his face as he leaned forward, clasping his hands as he leaned on the desk.

"Ask away little rabbit. Ask away."