The vampire and the assassin

Chapter 26

I'll admit it felt like forever for the sun to set, and I had really grown tired of Dorian and understood why Xander at times seemed to keep him distant from him, as he could be annoying when you were around him for a long period of time. I had tried once or twice to sneak off for a little walk, but Dorian had been adament that I wasn't leaving his sight, so I couldn't vanish or turn up at the main house without him.

When Dorian said it was safe to leave, we left, and he walked at my pace as if he were enjoying

a break from his usual rushing around, but sadly, he still never shut up talking to me about silly things, so I just nodded and gave the occasional agreement sound to him.

I wasn't sure how long it had taken, but soon the main house had come into view, and my heart had begun to feel lighter at the fact that I was now home. I cuddled into Dorian's jacket a little more for warmth as I looked across at Dorian, who seemed to also be relieved that he was back.

"By the way, this rescue isn't free." He told me as we got to the back door of the house. "You now have a favor to give me, and when the time comes, I'll expect you to pay this back." He warned me seriously.

"Of course." I laughed a little, even though my heart hammered hard against my chest. Just what was he planning when he said he wanted me to pay back my debt to him?

"Don't worry; it won't be anything drastic, I promise." He grinned in a knowing manner, as if he'd planned on keeping his favor until he had something he really needed. "Let's get in." He muttered as he opened the door and gestured for me to go inside.

We walked into the kitchen. I found it pretty strange to think that the house had a kitchen with all things considered, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that if Xander had bought the house, then it would make sense to have a kitchen as the kitchen would have been built in with it, and I also found it hard to picture Xander talking to a builder about building the house and asking for the house to be built with no kitchen.

"Come on, I'm pretty sure that there's someone who wants to see you." He grinned as he put his arm across my shoulder and kept me close to him. "Ummm, if I'm right, he's probably pacing around his room and hasn't realized I brought you home." Dorian grinned as if pleased that a plan was falling into place.

Dorian led me up the all-too-familiar stairway and up to Xander's room. It was strange being here so early before the humans got in and cleaned everything up. I wondered if I'd see Sarah, and I wondered if she was worried about me or not.

Dorian knocked once and then opened the door and shooed me inside Xander's room as if telling me he wasn't getting involved in what was going to happen. I let out a slow sigh and headed inside, feeling a little like a sheep about to be led to the slaughterhouse. I walked in to find Xander had stopped dead in the middle of his room as I had walked in.

"Rosa." As he said my name, I could see the tension seem to roll off of him as a smile crossed his face. "You gave me a scare." He didn't move and seemed to be fixed in place.

"I'm sorry, Lord Xander; I honestly hadn't meant to scare you like that." I'd wanted to go to Xander, but I felt self-conscious because of how badly I smelled and probably how badly I looked.

"You're back and safe now; that is all that matters." He seemed to have relief that washed across his face, and it seemed to stay fixed in place the whole time. "Did you want to go and get washed up? You look like you've had a rough day or so."

I bit my lip as I held back a sarcastic comment, but Xander must have seen what I had done, and he must have known what I had been thinking.

"After all, you have spent the day with Dorian, and he has returned alive, so I commend you on your patience. I do not think he would have come back alive if I had to spend the day with him." Both Xander and I laughed quietly together as I quickly dropped my gaze.

I heard his footsteps as he came over and lifted my chin up, so we were looking into each other's eyes.

"I have a few things I need to sort out. I will ask for your roommate to bring your clothes up here so you can use my shower. Take as long as you need. I will make sure everything takes me a while." He touched my cheek lightly, as if he were making sure I was really there. He then pulled away, headed out of his door, and shut the door.

As he left, my heart began to hammer hard against my chest. Harder than normal. What had that been all about? It had felt so intermate with him at that moment. I lowered my head and took a couple of deep breaths to calm my racing heart. Surely it had been simply because he was glad I was back; there had been nothing else in the touch or the way he looked at me. After all, he had his soul mate.

I shook my head quickly before I could read too much more into it, and then I headed to his bathroom. I couldn't remember if I'd ever been in Xander's bathroom or not, but I'll say one thing: it was massive and it was beautiful. It felt very cold, but with Xander being a vampire, he didn't feel the heat or the cold.

The walls were all lined in white marbled tiles, and the floor matched too. In one corner was a large corner bath, and fixed against the wall opposite was the shower. Near the sink, a large circle mirror was fixed to the wall, and next to that was what I thought was a wardrobe. I went and opened it and found it wasn't actually a wardrobe but a cupboard that had towels, shampoo, and body wash in it. I was about to look around when I heard a knock on the door in the bedroom, so I walked back out as the door opened.

Sarah walked in with a bag in her hand. She went to run towards me, but I held out my hand to stop her.

"Don't. I smell really bad, and I'm muddy to hell." I told her, but a smile danced on my lips.

"You owe me a hug when you're clean." Sarah grinned back as she looked around Xander's room.

"What happened?"

I'd known that this moment was going to happen, but I didn't think I had been as ready to tell her about it as I knew that the warning would soon go around the house to keep Dan away; that wasn't if he'd made himself out to be the victim of it all. I took a deep breath and looked at her.

"You can only tell the other two, okay? I don't want any trouble to come. You all need to be careful around Dan from now on. Don't go alone anywhere with him." I told her seriously, as Sarah's eyes seemed to widen.

"So it was true then... I mean, not what happened to you..." Sarah went and sat down on a chair, as she seemed shaken slightly. " A young girl a few years ago only stayed for a couple of months and she said that Dan tried to take advantage of her... He then said that nothing had happened and that he'd been with Lady Helena."

"Nothing was ever done?" I asked with a frown.

"No, at the time, Lord Xander... was away, and Lady Helena was in charge. She went to Lady Helena about it, but she had none of it. That was why she left."

"Well, I can tell you up and down that he did try last night with me, and he didn't like the fact that I fought back," I told Sarah. "So promise me, you'll tell the other two, but don't let it slip to anyone else, as I don't want to cause rumors and I don't want him trying to lie about it."

"But if you don't talk about it..."

"He won't get away with it, I promise." I rubbed my eyes a little. "I'm sorry, Sarah; I really need to take a shower and get changed."

"Of course." She got up, gave me the bag, and tried not to gag. "My god, you do stink." We both laughed quietly. "Rosa, just be careful, ok?"

"I will," I told her softly as Sarah left quickly and I returned to the bathroom. I grabbed a towel out of the cupboard, grabbed some shampoo and body wash, and then turned on the water. I looked around to find a laundry basket, threw my clothes in it, and then stepped into the hot, steamy shower.

I didn't think it was possible to feel clean, but just by stepping in and feeling the hot water trickle over my skin, I certainly began to feel clean. I let myself enjoy the heat against my skin. At first, it burned, so I turned it down and then turned it up. I grabbed the shampoo and scrubbed my hair as my memory recalled just how dirty the house had been and how muddy the woods had been. I then scrubbed my whole body from top to bottom. Once I was happy I was clean, I turned off the shower and went and got dried in the bathroom.

I rummaged through the bag that Sarah had brought, and she'd brought my toothbrush and toothpaste along with clean clothes, my own wash stuff, and my hair brush. I set my wash stuff on the top next to the sink, put some toothpaste on the brush, and decided to brush my teeth. As I stood watching my reflection in the mirror, I found myself frowning a little, wondering why Xander had a mirror. I had honestly thought that vampires didn't have reflections. I shook my head to clear the thought away as I carried on brushing my teeth.

Once I was done, I got dressed in whatever Sarah had brought me. It had been my thick white jumper she'd put in the bag along with my blue jeans, my thick socks, and my underwear. I made a mental note to myself to thank her for bringing my thick socks and my thick jumper. I wasn't ready to let the warmth from Xander's shower leave me just yet. Once I was done getting dressed, I towel-dried my hair quickly and then brushed it through. I pulled out my shoes that she'd put into the bag too, and then shoved everything back in and took it into Xander's room and put it next to his desk. I wasn't sure what Xander had expected me to do while I waited for him, so I began to look around.

As I looked at his desk, I noticed that sitting on top was the little red dragon ornament that I'd bought him. My heart fluttered a little at him having it on his desk. There wasn't much else to really look at, as I already knew that his room lacked anything that made it feel like home, so I sat on the edge of his bed.

As I sat waiting for Xander, I began to yawn. No, no, no, not yet. I couldn't fall asleep until after I'd spoken to Xander. I shook my head a little to try and clear away the sleepy haze that was fast coming for me now that I was relaxed and warmed up. I bit my lip, then went and sat in the chair and watched the fire crackle and dance in the fireplace.

Before I knew what had happened, the sleep haze took over as my eyes couldn't stay open anymore. I snuggled into the chair and decided on a nap until Xander was done. I figured ten minutes or so wouldn't hurt.

I jumped in my sleep, and it startled me awake. I blinked several times and then looked at the chair next to me to find Xander sitting there reading.

"Oh, my god. I am so sorry." I rubbed my eyes and shifted so I was sitting right in the chair as I looked at Xander, blushing deeply.

"You have nothing to apologize for," Xander answered casually as he put the book over the arm of the chair with the pages facing down. "I thought you might have been exhausted, as I couldn't picture you actually getting any sleep in the woods." Xander shifted forward as his elbows were tucked on his knees, and his hands clasped together as he watched me intently. "What happened?" He asked. His tone was light. "I've heard one story, but I wouldn't be inclined to believe it."

"I thought Dorian would have told you," I answered, feeling a little ashamed of myself.

"He tried to tell me; however, I asked him not to, as I wanted to hear it from you." Xander leaned back in his chair, still looking at me intently.

I closed my eyes and took a couple of deep breaths to center myself and calm my head; however, my voice started telling Xander what had happened with my eyes still closed. I could feel a tear escaping down my cheek. I lowered my head as I finished and opened my eyes. I didn't want to see the look in his eyes. I was scared of seeing pity or even anger.

"I thought it might be as much." Xander's tone sounded cool and collected, so I raised my head a little to see his gaze on me, but his face was like a stone block with no emotions again. "All I can do, Rosa, is apologize that I could not protect you from this."

"You didn't know," I whispered.

"I should have pieced it together, as it is not the first time he has done this, and I get the feeling that someone else was involved in the events." Xander put his fingers all together in front of his face as he looked at the fire.

"What will happen?" I asked softly.

"You do not need to worry about it. I promise. He has two choices." He looked away from the fire and towards me. "You smell lovely now."

I couldn't help but blush a little as I lowered my head again. "Thank you," I murmured and then looked up at Xander from under my eyelashes.

"Are you hungry?" He asked, tilting his head

"I never ate last night, so yeah, I'm famished."

Xander got up with a smile plastered across his face. "Good." He held out his hand for me to take it. "You're not too exhausted to entertain my whim tonight, are you?"

"Entertain your..."

"Whim. A sudden desire to do something." He laughed.

Before I could even think about it, I took his hand and stood up. With my new shoes on, I was a little taller than I had been without them, and I realized this as before, I'd come to Xander's chin with my flat shoes on; now, with my heeled boots on, I'd come to his top lip. "What is this whim, then?" I asked him.

"You'll see." He grinned as he simply stood looking at me. At that moment, my heart seemed to go into overdrive at just what his plan was for tonight. Please, whatever god or goddess was listening, please let it include food, my brain and stomach screamed.