The Vampire Vigilante
Chapter 17

I gasped for air as I stared into Malachi's cold, gray eyes. My feet were dangling off of the floor as I tried to hold onto his forearms to give myself some upward motion and catch a breath.

"You won't win," he growled, "And if I can't have you, nobody can."

"Get...off...," I said, struggling to form words. My windpipe felt like it was about to crush at any second.

Maybe this was how it was going to end and I wouldn't be put through a trial. The thought was almost nice; just having everything done and over with.

Don't you dare back down from him.

The words rang in my head as I closed my eyes, ready to give up. I went limp for a moment as my vision began to turn blurry before I felt my tattoo burn to life. I opened my eyes as I felt them starting to glow. Malachi looked at me in shock before I took my arms and grabbed his upper shoulders. I used his shoulders to push myself up a little to where I could get my legs between us. Then I kicked with every ounce of energy I had, sending him flying into the wall across the room.

I collapsed to the ground from the exertion of force I had used to get him away from me. I coughed and gagged, spitting out blood onto the floor.

"You did it this time," he growled, slowly getting up. I looked over at him to see that he was trying to come back at me. I looked at one of the chairs at the table and threw it against his body. The sound apparently alerted some guards who came rushing in with Erik not far behind.

They grabbed Malachi and escorted him outside as Erik helped me up. He tried to carry me but I refused.

"Mel are you okay?" he asked, rubbing my hair. I shook my head. "I'm fine, really." I coughed some more as I tried to get a big breath of air.

"Let's get you upstairs," he replied, holding my arm as he led me out of the room. Once we got to his bedroom I sat on the bed, rubbing my neck.

So much just happened in a short amount of time. Erik was pacing back and forth across the room, obviously pissed. I coughed a few more times before I looked up at him.

"You're going to make a track in the floor if you don't stop," I croaked out. He stopped and looked at me before he sighed and sat next to me. There was more space between us than I was comfortable with.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking at him with a worried expression. He ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't know Mel, maybe the fact that everyone is out to get you? Or that Malachi just almost killed you? Or that I don't know what to do to help you? I mean fuck, this shit is a lot."

"I know," I replied, "And I can leave if you don't want to deal with it anymore." I could tell this was getting too much for him to handle. I stood and began to walk toward the door, but Erik grabbed my arm. I looked behind me to see him staring at me sadly.

"That's not what I meant," he replied, pulling me back toward him. I sat in his lap sideways and wrapped my right arm around him. "Erik, I know you want to do everything you can to protect me. But you know I can defend myself now; I would have probably killed Malachi then and there if you had not came in." I stroked the side of his face with my left hand. "And I don't want you to get in over your head with my problems. I never asked you to do anything you have done for me. I appreciate every single moment of the time we have had together, but I do not want you to get hurt because of what I am about to go through. I care about you too much to let that happen."

He looked up at me with warm eyes and smiled. "You're incredible. Have I told you that?" I chuckled and smiled back. "Yes, you have."

He sighed and grabbed my hand that was on his face, holding it in place. We sat like that for what seemed like a long time, although it was only a few minutes.

If only life could be this simple and perfect all the time.

"How about some lunch?" Erik asked, "Since we never got breakfast this morning?"

Ah, yes. That was rudely interrupted this morning.

"Sounds good to me," I answered, stepping off of the bed. He didn't let go of my hand, however. I looked at him in confusion. "What is it?"

"I never want you to leave," he whispered, "And I will always keep my promise that I will keep you safe. No matter what I have to do." I smiled and kissed his hand. "And I'll keep you safe too."

We went down to the kitchen still hand-in-hand. I guess he wasn't worried about what people would think in the castle since they already had suspicions about our relationship.

And I'm sure someone noticed you walking from his room this morning.

When we got to the kitchen, the chefs were busy at work cooking. One of them turned around and cleared his throat before they all stopped and bowed to us.

"Good morning, your Majesties!" the head chef said, "What can we get for you this morning?"

"What do we have cooking?" Erik asked, letting go of my hand and walking over to the pots and pans on the stove that were simmering.

"Clam chowder, bread, pork roast, and vegetables," the chef answered, "It should be ready in about 10 minutes, your Majesty."

"Sounds wonderful," Erik replied, "Let's go wait at the table, Mel." The way he said my name still sent shivers throughout my body. We went and sat down at the dinner table across from each other on the far end. There were already plates fixed along with some wine in our glasses. I took a big drink, emptying the glass. I looked up at Erik who was smiling at me.

"What?" I chuckled, "It's been a rough morning." The chef brought out our food and I had to make myself look proper while eating so that I would not look like a ravenous animal since I was so hungry.

"What's on your agenda for today?" Erik asked once we finished eating. I shrugged my shoulders. "Not sure. I was thinking about heading up to the library to catch up on some reading. What about you?"

"I was going to take the jeep out," he said, taking a drink of wine, "If you might want to join me."

An opportunity alone again? Yes please.

"Hmm," I said, putting my finger on my chin, "I'm not sure. I have a lot to get done this afternoon."

"Meet me out front at 6," he replied, getting up from the table with a wink.

That wasn't a suggestion.

The rest of the afternoon I spent in the library reading. I decided to immerse myself in the stories of others to get everything off of my mind that happened this morning.

What would happen if the council somehow found me guilty of something I didn't do? It couldn't be worse than what I had already been through with Malachi, but I didn't know if I could bear being away from Erik. I could tell I was falling for him-hard.

After reading for about 3 hours I leaned my head against the back of the chair and looked out of the window. The sunlight was starting to dip down below the tree line, radiating shades of pink and yellow across the sky. I flashed back to the days of being in the cell at Malachi's and remembered every day I would look at the sunset and think it would be the last one I would see. I thought about everything that went through my mind those days when I would wish that it would be the last sunset I would see.

Now I looked forward to seeing Erik every day, whether it was just a glance in the hallway or wrapped in his arms. Last night was incredible, and this morning would have been even better if it would not have been interrupted by the chaos that followed. I wanted to wake up next to him every day, look in those golden eyes, and know everything was going to be okay. I had never in my life felt about someone the way I felt about him, and I had to know if he felt the same.

You love him.

The words crept up in my mind and I couldn't help but believe that they might be true. The only people I had loved in my life were my mother and father, so this kind of connection with Erik was new to me. I didn't know what true love felt like, but I knew that he had swept me off my feet from the moment I saw him.

He told you last night how he felt.

Yes, he had said that I drove him fucking crazy. But was that the same feeling that I had? Of course I wanted to make love to him all night and day, but what woman wouldn't look at him and think the same thing?

I looked over at the clock and saw that it was 5:00. I shook all of the thoughts out of my head and put the book back on the shelf before I left the room, locking it behind me. I went to my bedroom and turned on the shower. I looked in the mirror as the water heated up and noticed that there was bruising starting to form at the base of my neck where Malachi's hands were. I sighed, not even phased by it because I was used to the look of it. I stepped in the shower and tried to wash my neck with every ounce of force I had, attempting to erase the marks. I decided to use some lotion called Fantasy that Maya had let me borrow to let Erik get a good smell tonight.

Maybe you will get to finish what you started this morning.

The thought made my insides quiver and my underwear instantly wet. I decided to wear something a little outside of my comfort zone tonight: a black tennis skort and a pullover with some high-top sneakers. I brushed my hair out and decided to use the straightener to show it's full length, which was about to my mid-back now that I was getting adequate nutrition. I put some concealer on my neck and face, added some black eyeliner on the top to give my eyes some dimension, and topped it off with some mascara. I lined my lips with a light pink liner and rubbed a touch of cherry chapstick on them.

Oh, you look good.

I smiled at myself in the mirror and noticed it was a little after 6. Maybe he was waiting on me and didn't leave me behind. I opened the door to my bedroom to almost run into Maya, who instantly smiled ear to ear when she saw me.

"Oh, and where are you off to?" she asked, giggling between her words. I chuckled. "Erik and I are going for a ride."

"I heard you took a ride to pound town last night," she replied, causing me to burst into laughter.

"Actually, no," I said, "We just spent the night together." I got closer to her and whispered in her ear. "We almost did it this morning, but we were cut short. I'm hoping tonight is the night." She squealed and clapped her hands together. "Good! We can chat about our amazing adventures together tonight then."

"Wait," I said as we walked down the steps to the ballroom, "Don't tell me you banged that guy I saw you talking to last night?"

"All night and all morning," she answered, smiling, "And it was gooood." I laughed as I opened the doors to outside. I took one look at Erik and my mouth went dry.

He was wearing dark jeans, a light t-shirt, his ray bans, and looked absolutely delicious. I wanted to take a bite here and now. He looked at me and slid his sunglasses to the edge of his nose, taking a better look over the top of them. He licked his lips and I thought I was going to lose my control.

"Get in," he said in a husky voice while he adjusted himself. I turned around and smiled at Maya, who was waving back before she bounced off.

I can already tell tonight is going to be great.

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