That was another thing I didn’t understand about Arabella. She had a disastrous excuse for self-preservation and absolutely no fear, something that was unusual for a human. I’d been somewhat offended at first, only to realize that it wasn’t that she was hiding it, it was just simply… absent.
That alone shouldn’t have been sexy, but I found myself wanting to push her limits, seeing if there was a way to inspire terror. At the same time, the idea of her being scared of me struck an uncomfortable chord, so I was truly at a crossroads. One that didn’t seem to matter, because I was pretty sure the only thing that could inspire even a slight inkling of fear was concern over those other nightmares. Her nightmares. I scowled, wanting to be ‘hers’ also; I just didn’t know how exactly to go about becoming so.
I wanted her to feel for me that same level of possessiveness and protectiveness she clearly had for the others. I craved that. My body tensed, thinking about how easily she had been ripped away from me… not that I could blame them, frankly, because if I had any claim over Arabella, I would fight tooth and bone to keep it.
I knew now was my chance, since she was away from those other nightmares, to establish some claim over her, mark her… do something. But instead I found myself worried about how upset she looked. I would do my best to attempt to be comforting, at least until I could find a way to kidnap my precious Arabella and keep her all to myself.
As if they would allow that. I would probably end up slaughtered.
I shook away that thought process, my eyes running down her frame as she turned towards the Director McCroy. The man seemed unemotional and focused, something I could appreciate in a leader, and despite his lack of magical power, he seemed to have control over everything here. Although the person who seemed to hold the most control was Arabella. Even in the way he seemed to watch out for her, putting her at the top of everyone’s priority list. I was at least thankful for the others for that reason. I wanted her to be mine, but someone had been keeping her safe all these years, and that garnered a small amount of gratitude from me.
Fighting the urge to go to her, I stayed where I was, not wanting to interrupt a moment where the Director seemed to be acting in a somewhat comforting manner or reassuring her of something. Instead, my gaze moved down her curvy body that was dressed in clothes far tighter than I’d seen. Even the shoes she wore elongated her legs and made her seem a bit less small than she actually was.
Although there was no denying how delicate she was, despite the power she indisputably held. Arabella had magic. I didn’t understand it, but I did know that the way she held herself and acted had my body hardening in ways it hadn’t in hundreds of years, if not more.
I had the desperate urge to know what it would feel like to peel those dark clothes off her skin. Or to kiss the small drawn-on heart underneath the scar that crossed through her eye. Who had done that to her? I found myself both furious and curious, wanting to trace my fingers along it. In some ways, the slight imperfection made me feel better about my own. I mean, this woman was like a precious gemstone, and I was an ancient bastard that kept trying to get closer to her. There was no way I would ever measure up enough to keep her attention.
Which was why it would make sense to take her away and hide her.
She would probably hate me for a bit… but I could make her see reason. I may not have had a lot of recent experience, but I was betting that I could make her feel enough pleasure that she forgot about the others, even if only momentarily. Her innocence rolled off her, and I didn’t want to say I viewed that as a good thing, but considering I was probably a bit rusty, I wasn’t going to complain. Mostly because I knew if I ever slid my cock into her tight warmth, I would probably come in minutes.
I know. Absolutely pathetic.
Maybe I could find other ways to bind her to me.
“Are we good to go inside?” the Director asked. My eyes flickered from Arabella to him, my nod sharp and short as she offered a small happy noise at something. I only tensed slightly in surprise when she hooked arms with me, leaning into my side with a small sigh, her thoughts seemingly elsewhere. I knew she was probably only comfortable touching me like this because she did so with her nightmare team. She probably wasn’t considering how easy it would be for me to kill her. Completely drain her of life. Then again, she very much touched Death on a daily basis, so the ‘lack of self-preservation’ theory seemed a bit more accurate.
I did have the urge to also warn her.
Warn her that if she acted this familiar with anyone else besides me, I would bend her over my knee for putting herself at risk. My cock twitched at that thought, not making any of this easier. I may have trusted myself—and possibly the others—to an extent, but anyone else and I would probably lose it. Something that was actually fairly amusing, because the nightmares that she did surround herself with were dangerous, even by my standards.
As we walked through the impressive modern establishment, a comfortable silence between the two of us as she clearly got lost in thought, I found myself surprised by all the things that had changed in the time I’d slept. Even the materials to build had been altered, and this institute was actually quite impressive, even by modern standards.
Whenever we woke from our long sleeps, we fed our magic by draining humans and with it gained their cultural current knowledge, language ability, and mannerisms. It was an ability that allowed us to fit in, and in this case, act a bit more ‘normal’ than how I would have fresh off of sleeping for four hundred years. The ability to speak English was also rather helpful, and I was praising my good fortune to come across an American tourist before being captured.
It was a bit odd to understand the world around you in context and through their eyes, so still, seeing it for the very first time on your own was very different. Which was why, despite knowing what Arabella wore, for example, was actually rather conservative, it was a shock to my system. So much so that the longer I focused on it and the way it clung to her body, the more turned on I got.
“What do we do now?” I tried to clear my thoughts and focus on her voice, despite it also having a strong pull on me. Honestly, I just wanted her attention back on me.
“Now we wait until they land.” She let out a small huff as if the concept frustrated her and looked at her father, who was scrolling through his tablet. “Do you care if I run up to my room for a bit? You know how I get sitting around and waiting for them to start.”
“I understand.” Her father nodded and looked at me. “Amun, are you going to accompany her or come with me?”
Was this a trick question? I feel like most fathers would not be okay with any man, let alone a nightmare like myself, being alone with their daughter in her personal quarters. The mere concept turned me the fuck on. Luckily, I didn’t have to answer.
“I would like some company,” Arabella admitted quietly.
“I’ll have dinner ordered from the kitchen.” Her father offered me another speculative glance before parting ways. The man was smart to not fully trust me with his stunning daughter… alone in her bedroom…
Maybe this was a bad idea.
Arabella led me towards the end of the hallway as we entered back into the small metal contraption from before. Honestly, I thought these elevators were horrible, but when she explained them to me earlier, I had eaten up every word, loving her voice against my ears. The delicate nature infused with strength was absolutely amazing and rather addictive to listen to.