Love Bites (Book one)

Chapter thirty one

*Yasmin*

I woke up as the sun was setting. Even though it was nice to spend time with Angel last night, I wanted to get back to work. I felt like I had a purpose, or at least I did, and I needed to find out one way or the other if I still had a place here. I quickly showered and got dressed in my workout gear before walking to the Master’s office. I paced back and forth a few times, building up my courage before I finally knocked on the door.

I was expecting a gruff ‘come in’ but instead, the door was pulled open and there he stood. He looked like he had hardly slept, his hair not its usual sculpted style. “Yasmin.” He breathed out, taking a step towards me, making me take a step back. I couldn’t let him get too close. He was like a flame and I was the moth that kept flying too close, getting burned. He saw this, saw the pain I was sure showed in my eyes from having to back away from him, but he didn’t follow me. “I am glad you came to see me.”

I shook my head, his voice trying to lure me back in. “I need to know if I am still training the guards with you.” I asked, not looking into his blue eyes.

“Do you want to?” He pushed, his voice sounding strained, broken, just like I felt inside. I nodded my head, not trusting that I would be able to sound strong. “Then yes, we are still going to train the guards.” He let out a long breath, like he had been holding it since I first came here. “I want you to know that you will always have a place here, that I will always make sure that you have a place by my side.”

I looked down at the floor, not sure what his words meant. Did he mean that I had a place training the guard with him, or with him? I didn’t know which, but for now, I was not going to overthink things. “Come on, let’s head out.” He sighed, pushing past. For a moment, our hands touched, a gasp escaping me which I tried to hide. How did he have this hold over me? Why did his body call to me like nothing ever had before?

I was glad he didn’t stop, didn’t react. I needed to put the Master vampire out of my mind. I knew that he had needs and I respected that he was not going to kick me out because of my rejection of him, but I also needed to make sure I did not leave myself open to the same hurt that I felt last night.

We headed outside, finding a group already stood waiting. If I was not mistaken, a few of the guards actually seemed to smile at me, seeming much more relaxed for some reason, like they trusted me. It made me smile as well slightly as I stood a short distance away from the Master, not wanting to end up taking in his scent and that of whoever else he had been with instead of me last night.

The training session went well, Frankie was really improving given that she had been training every night. This was the last group, and I could tell that they were grateful now for how much we were pushing them, showing them how they could improve more. I don’t know what had happened last night, but I was hoping that the group would be just as dedicated as this one. Hell, they had all surprised me in one way or another and I was thankful that the fact I was a woman and a Sedvey seemed to be the last thing on everyone's minds.

As the session came to an end Frankie came over and pulled me into a tight hug. “I missed you last night.” She whispered.

“I missed you too.” I smiled, pulling back from her to see the biggest smile that I could not help but return.

“I was thinking, since you are not training people tomorrow, maybe we could have a night out, like before.”

I squirmed slightly, remembering the last time we went out, or more specifically, when we came home. I found my eyes wanting to look over to the Master vampire, but I refused, shaking my head instead and putting the smile that had fallen back on my face. “I am going to train myself tomorrow night. It is all well and good me watching you run around like a load of headless chickens, but I need to improve as well. How about another time?”

She nodded her head, not pushing me which I was thankful for. “I am going to hold you to that.” She said as she turned and walked away from the forest where we had just been training.

I felt it then, almost like my body had already become accustomed to his presence. The Master vampire came up behind me, the feeling of him so close that I could feel his breath against my skin. “We need to debrief.” He whispered, his voice making my whole body relax and stiffen at the same time. He moved away and I was sad for the loss. I was stronger than this, stronger than needing someone as a crutch to hold onto.

Walking into his office, the space felt so small, like the two of us were on top of one another. He moved around the desk, sitting down in his chair. His eyes landed on me and I felt for a moment like the whole world had stopped. I knew I should have carried on fighting it, I should have stuck to my guns and looked away from his eyes, but now I was stuck in them. I felt my breathing slow, everything fade away and then I managed to look away.

The Master cleared his throat looking anywhere but at me as we went through each of the guards, what they could do, how to improve. But the atmosphere didn’t fade. It felt like the air was filled with static, like every breath I took he was slipping inside me, filling me with what he was, who he was. I don’t know when we stopped talking, but I stopped paying attention before that. I don’t know what it was, I don’t know if it was the fact that his scent was everywhere, or that my body still felt his touch, his closeness.

My eyes moved over to the door, remembering how he held me against it like I dreamed he would, his kiss more than anything I would have ever have expected. “Yasmin.” The Master gritted out, his voice strained, pained. “I need to speak to you about something else.”

I turned and looked at him, those blue eyes sucking me back in. “What about?” I breathed out, my voice a little more than a whisper.

“I sent them away.” He said, my brow furrowing in confusion. “I don’t need a harem, I don’t need a legion of women that mean nothing to me. All I need out of this life is you and I should have never cheapened you like I did by asking for anything less.”

I shook my head, looking away from him. “You shouldn’t have done that.”

“But I did. It does not mean that I am expecting you to change your mind, but I wanted to be the one to tell you.”

I nodded my head, thankful that he didn’t think that I would just throw myself into his arms, even though every cell in my body was screaming at me to do just that. “I need time. Time to trust you, to know you.” I told him, stealing myself before looking back at him again. “I don’t know anything about you except that you seem to call out to me like no one else in this life does.” I saw his mouth open slightly, but he didn’t say anything. I pushed to my feet, walking over to the door before I stopped. “I am training tomorrow, I need to make sure that I am up to scratch as well. Maybe you could join me and we could talk.”

“I’d like that.” He smiled, nodding his head. “Until then.”

I had to force myself to open the door and walk through it, but I couldn't help but smile like a love sick teenager. I headed back to my room, unsurprised to find Angel there with a blood bag. “You seem happier tonight.”

“I am.” I told him as I opened the door and we headed into my room. I sat on my bed and Angel walked over, sitting on the chair at my desk, looking at me expectantly. “I talked to the Master vampire. I am not getting kicked out and he disbanded his harem.”

Angel froze, his blood bag halfway to his mouth, his eyes looking at me like I was joking. “What?” He gritted out. “Did you sleep with him?”

“No!” I yelled. “Is that what you think of me?”

“I don’t know what to think. I thought you were over him after the other night.” Angel snapped.

“What is your problem? I thought we were friends.” I yelled back, not sure what the hell was going on.

“Are you really so f*****g blind?” Angel asked, getting to his feet and walking over to me. “I want you Yasmin. That is why I took the night off to take you to the gardens.” I looked away from him, hurt by the look of anger in his eyes. “I am a good man Yasmin. I don’t treat people like I own them, and I don’t need a f*****g harem of women to keep me saciated. Do you really think he has changed? Do you honestly believe that he is going to be happy with just you?”

I felt a tear roll down my cheek, knowing that he was probably right and that it would only be a matter of time before he called back all those that he had sent away. The thought that when, if I ever gave myself to him, that it would only be for the short term, was almost more than I could bear. I looked back at Angel, his face showing only concern as he looked back at me. “Why say all that if you like me Angel?”

“Because I need you to see, I need you to understand.” He took another step towards me, cupping my face. “Because I would neer hurt you the way he already has.” He leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “At least you know that you have options, and I am a big f*****g option for you to take.”

I didn’t know what to say. I mean yes, Angel had been here for me since I got here, but I did not think that he felt that way. Is that the only reason why he was nice to me? Instead of instilling me with the confidence I knew he wanted to give me, it brought back all my insecurities. He let out a long breath, kissing my forehead before he walked out of my room, closing the door behind him.

My body sagged, tired beyond anything I had felt in my life. I was tired of being wanted and rejected. Mad at my body for not reacting to Angel the way it did to the Master vampire. If I had any sense, I knew that Angel was probably a safer bet than the Master, but for some reason he was not the one I wanted. I let out a frustrated groan, wishing that for once, things in my life were simple, easy. But they weren’t.