Kyra
I wake up to Elijah pulling the curtain to the side. The sunlight streams inside of the room like an unwelcome guest, and the vampire laughs when I hiss. I drag the bedsheet over my head, and the vampire sits down at the edge of the bed.
"Please pull back the curtain..." I beg.
Elijah chuckles in amusement. "If I didn't know better, I would say you're acting more than a vampire than I do."
I speak from under the bedsheet. "Don't your kind like the sun?"
"Usually not," he exhales, seeming to drag his hands over his thighs."I love the sun, but the light burns my skin unless I wear a daylight ring. I'm an original vampire, one of the first. I won't die, but the sun still hurts."
Slowly, I uncover my face, meeting his red eyes. My mate smiles at me, and it hits me that Elijah must be bored. He watched me sleep for the entire duration of the night and probably can't wait to leave the bed behind.
Embarrassingly enough, I vaguely remember waking up at night and having him help me find the bathroom in the dark.
Hopefully, that part of my memory is part of a dream.
"You should get dressed."
I blink. "Are we going somewhere?"
"Well, the breakfast buffet is only open for one more hour, so I thought it would be a great idea to wake you since you probably wish to eat from it," Elijah climbs further into the bed, patting the area in front of him. "Come and sit over here."
My brows lift, and my heart skips a beat. "Why?"
Elijah gives me a sexy grin and pulls out a hairbrush from behind him. "No offense, but your hair looks like a bird's nest."
"Oh…"
Every part of my face burns in humiliation as I slide out from bed and take a seat on the bed. My breaths aren't steady, and I shudder when Elijah moves closer. I've not had another person brush my hair since my mother died.
"You have such a thick, long mane." Elijah's hands are gently sectioning my white hair with patient hands. "It's beautiful."
I blush. "Thank you."
Elijah hums and continues working.
Every move is thoughtful. I'm sitting there shuddering because Elijah is treating me like I'm delicate, and soon he carefully brushes my hair from the tips not to pull it.
"There, you're all done."
Elijah leads me down a couple of stairs heading to the buffet. His arm is crooked with mine, and I steal a glance at his face.
His skin is flawless, while his hair is in perfect order, and his cheekbones are sharper than knives, but although I find him enchantingly beautiful, the man himself doesn't seem to enjoy being a vampire.
"Alright, we are here," Elijah releases me. His eyes seek mine, and he points toward the food. "I would bring you a plate, but I have this notion you might want to pick everything for yourself."
I beam at the insane variety of food. Saliva is accumulating in my mouth, and I dry a thin line of drool onto my sleeve. "Shit, where do I even start? Everything looks amazing! And Jesus Christ, I don't have money for this!"
"Don't worry about what it costs—after having lived for decades, money hardly matters. Pick whatever you like. I already paid for the all-inclusive, which means the breakfast buffet is included."
My heart falters, and guilt eats me up alive. "I almost forgot you don't eat human food. I'm sorry, watching me eat must be torture."
"No," Elijah says. "I can eat, but most things don't taste well. Therefore, I choose not to eat," his lips form a smile. "But if you want to make me happy, then go all out and eat to your heart's content."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
I clap my hands. "Okay, I will take a little of everything!"
Elijah chuckles. "I will find us a table."
I spend the next five minutes fitting a feast for an entire family on my tray, but who can blame me? Food is the way into my heart, and I wear this big smile as I place it down on the table.
Two gorgeous women wearing high-heels and heavy makeup glance down at Elijah and smile as they pass our table. But their eyes sparkle with jealousy the moment they see me.
I don't mind.
I'm painfully aware that Elijah is entirely out of my league, but I comfort myself knowing that the tree of life picked us as mates. There must be a reason behind it.
I fork pancakes, and Elijah rests his chin in his palm, watching me with a half-smile covering his lips. "Is it any good?"
"Delicious!"
"Excellent," His smile widens. "Another thing—may I ask why you're sitting so far away from me?"
I gulp, hoping he doesn't notice. "What do you mean?"
He frowns. "You're sitting a mile away from me." Elijah pouts, and my eyes widen when he sniffs his armpits. "I mean, you can tell me if I stink or something."
I can't help the smile and laughter from breaking free.
"Yes," I play along by deadpanning. "You need a shower."
Elijah gives me a saucy wink. "Care to join me? You could rub soap all over my body and stroke my back."
The image of pretty-boy Elijah, standing under the shower stream with his abs and visible v-lines looking like two arrows pointing at his crotch, enters my head.
In my daydream, he smirks at me before grabbing his massive cock. He squeezes it while holding my gaze and gives me this little wink before proceeding to jerk off.
"Hm, interesting daydream—tell me, should I ask you to join me in the shower, or do you want to wash me jerk off?"
I smile dreamingly. "I want to watch you-..." Wait a minute. "Oh-my-god, can you read a person's mind?"
Elijah snorts laughter and holds up his hands in surrender. "In my defense, you zoned out, and I got worried. I thought you might have things on your mind you weren't confident enough to share." His lips twitch into a full-blown grin. "It seems I was right—who knew you had such a dirty mind."
I gasp, and I swear to god my heart collides with my rib cage. Elijah is such an ass, and I grab dry cereal with my hand, throwing it at him. He laughs in amusement.
"No, not the cereal!"
"Oh, yes! You can's escape the cereal—this is for reading my thoughts without my permission!"
Elijah covers his face with his arm, still laughing even though I'm making a scene inside the hotel's restaurant. "I'm sorry! I won't do it again—please stop throwing food at me!"
"Do you promise to behave?"
Elijah sits straighter with his lips curling up in one corner. "But I thought you preferred me untamed and naked... In the shower."
I gasp and grab more cereal, throwing it out like birdseed over the vampire, who cracks up. "You're so violent, Kyra!"
I'm heaving, flaring my nostrils, and exhaling until the two women from earlier snap my attention. They look me up and down, and I hear one of them mock me.
"What is she, twelve?" The woman rolls her eyes. "I can't believe such a beautiful man would spend his time dating someone who can't even behave inside a restaurant at that age."
"Agreed," her friend sighs. "If that man can afford a Stuart Hughes diamond edition suit, then he is wasted on a savage like her. He is much more suited for someone like us."
Their unkind words destroy my smile, and I slump my shoulders, feeling like the ugliest person in the world.
"Elijah?"
"Mm?"
"You're rich, aren't you?"
"Is that a problem?"
I shake my head. "No, I'm... You're gorgeous and wealthy, and those women-..."
"Are jealous bitches."
A surprised laugh leaves my lips. "What did you just say?"
Elijah shrugs. "I'm trying to use more modern terms, and I believe the best sentence to describe those two is the one I used," the vampire scoots his chair closer. "And since they are staring at us—let's give them something to talk about."
"What do you mean?"
Right then, Elijah seizes my wrist and kisses me hard against my lips. He moves my arms to his neck and rests his hand on the small of my back, pressing me into him.
All reason and logic disappear until his soft lips are the only thing I can focus on, and much too soon, the vampire leans back. He fans my face with his warm breath and his nose inches from mine.
"You shouldn't care about what other people think—chances are they have nothing nice to say."
His tone is gentle, and I exhale, knowing the weight of the words I'm about to say. "I'm beginning to like you. A lot."
Elijah smiles, but he doesn't give me a love declaration. I get the impression it's too soon—he loved another mate before me and still hasn't let go. There is grief in his heart while there is a new love in mine.
"After you've finished your food, I have to get back to Maya and Finn. I've pledged my loyalty to Maya and will help her defeat her sister in the upcoming battle for the alpha position."
I stare at him, but then I collect myself, trying not to appear hurt about him changing the subject. Elijah has been nothing but pleasant to me. I can wait for him, but I don't understand the things he just told me.
"Battle?" I question. "Alpha?"
Elijah laughs. "I can explain later..." He pays attention to me with a thoughtful expression, then takes a deep breath. "Say, would you mind joining a werewolf pack?"
"Are you a member of it?"
"Yes."
"Where do I sign up?"
Elijah laughs again. "I must say your honesty amuses me," his face softens, and he peers deeply into my eyes. "Oh, and be patient with me, Kyra—I promise to make it up to you. I'm -..." Elijah rakes a hand through his hair. "Afraid of falling in love again."
My heart squeezes, and I take his hand, shocking him. Elijah stares at me, and I try to calm my heart by breathing slow. It's easier said than done. Elijah has those eyes that make my heart beat a thousand miles a second. It makes me nervous, yet I won't look away.
"Take all the time you need," I tell him, smiling, although my skin is burning like a newly lit bonfire. "We can go slow."
Elijah's eyes roam my face, and then he dips his head. "Screw slow."
And like that, he kisses me again. Harder and way wilder than he did before. It's like a cage has been opened and a beast has been let out, one hungry to claim me.