The Vampire King's Possession-Chapter 38 - . Books

Jael heard Mauve's door open and immediately sat upright. The sun was out, and the temperature rise was enough indication. He sat still as he listened to her movements. They were quite faint compared to the last time she left the room, it confirmed his fears, she was avoiding him.

Jael didn't move until he couldn't hear her footsteps anymore. He could guess where she was headed. He picked a robe and threw it over his shoulders but didn't tie it. He let the sides hang, leaving his chest exposed.

He opened the door and walked with purpose, he got to the front of the library and stopped. He frowned contemplating if this was a good idea or if he should let this drag out and see how long she would keep ignoring him.

He had all his meals in the dining room expecting her to join him for the last meal at least and was quite disappointed when she didn't. He had asked Mill more than once if Mauve would be joining him, just twice but it seemed like a lot to him.

He touched the handle, he wanted to see her, to make sure she was fine and apologize. She wasn't his blood slave, he should have been more considerate about his actions.

He opened the door and walked in. He couldn't find her. He frowned and scanned the area. The candles were lit so she was here. He walked further in and turned, walking in between two shelves.

Jael immediately noticed the light at the top of the shelf. He looked up to see Mauve barely hanging on. "What do you think you are doing?"

Wasn't she afraid of falling? His mind screamed.

At her jerk, Jael knew had made a mistake. She slipped and started to fall. She let go of the lamp and she started to scream. He was moving before he knew it.

Jael swore and jumped, catching her in mid-air before landing. "Are you out of your mind?" He yelled.

Silence.

Jael swore again as he realized she was shaking. He tightened his grip around her and just held her for a couple of seconds. Her shaking soon subsided and she relaxed in his hands.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

She nodded.

"Can you stand?"

"Yes," she said softly.

He dropped her but still held onto her hand. She staggered as her feet touched the ground. Jael held onto her until she regained her balance then she slowly let go.

"Didn't I tell you to not climb the ladder?"

Mauve shrank away from him and the smell of her fear changed. This fear was because of him.

Jael ran his hands through his hair as he tried to calm himself down. He wasn't here to scare her but for a second he thought about what would happen if he didn't catch her.

Humans were fragile but that wasn't the only worry, there was no way to treat her. She wouldn't die from the wounds but she would be severely injured. To get her to a doctor would take over five days, to get a doctor to her was relatively the same.

He took a step forward and she took a step backward. Jael stopped, they were back to this. Not that he had been expecting otherwise.

"I am sorry," she blurted out. She kept her head bent.

"Do you know what could have happened if you fell?" He kept going. "After I told you not to, you went against my order." He wasn't even worried about this.

"I-I know." She stuttered. "I-I just…" She paused and twirled her fingers.

"Just what?!" He yelled and she jerked again. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, "You better have a good enough explanation."

Her shoulders fell as soon as the words left his mouth and she began to shake her head. "I-I…"

"I am listening."

Silence.

"Mauve," he called.

She jerked but quickly recovered. "I am sorry, it won't happen again." She clasped her hands together.

He glared at her. "Good thing you're not hurt. The next time you disobey my orders, you won't get off this easily."

"Thank you," she smiled and raised her head. "I was afraid you would ban me from the library."

Jael looked at her oddly, for someone who had been shaking like a chick in the cold earlier, she recovered a little too quickly in his opinion.

"I wouldn't do that. Nobody reads it. Now, what book did you want to get?"

"I don't know, I just wanted something other than the books I read earlier. One was in a strange language with no author's name and the other was gibberish. I thought it was about herbs but no such herbs exist."

Jael frowned, "How would you know?"

"Well," Mauve arched her head to the side. She looked lost in thought. "You're right. I-I probably just haven't heard about it. It just didn't make sense at the time. Besides, why do you have books about human herbs and illnesses?"

"What makes you so sure they are human herbs?"

"Well, I know vampires don't fall sick."

"Hmm, true." Jael tried to keep his gaze on her face but he kept staring at her night robe.

It wasn't transparent but it might as well be as he could see her entire outline. The tips of her bosom pushed against it. A flash of him rubbing his fingers over them made him grind his teeth.

"So?" She stood on her toes as she tried to peer at his face.

Jael swallowed, she was leaning forward, and all he could see and smell was her. He had expected some sort of distance from her but that wasn't the case.

"I told you, my mother was a collector. She liked to be surrounded by books irrespective of what the contents of the book were." He was the one who took a step back.

"What book would you like to read?" He asked. "I will get it for you."

She paused and then sped off. He followed after her without question. She bent as she picked a book from the shelf, completely exposing the back of her neck.

Jael looked away, he wasn't hungry but it didn't make her less enticing and he knew it wasn't just the blood. All he could see when he stared at her neck was something else.

He couldn't stop thinking about what it would feel like if he impaled her simultaneously. It didn't help that she had one side of her neck constantly exposed. It was getting harder to remember why he was here.

"This book," she spun around. He barely moved out of the way in time.

He took the book from her hands. He recognized the title. "Okay," he said and handed it back to her. "Read."

She glared at him, "You know I can't."

He looked shocked, "Really? The language is very simple."

"You know I can't, wait, does that mean you can?" Her eyes lit up immediately. She looked as if to ask something but immediately changed her mind.

"Probably," he answered.

Her excitement returned. "Is this vampire language?"

Jael frowned, "What makes you think this language we are both using right now isn't vampire language?"

It was Mauve's turn to frown. "I am sure it isn't."

"Okay."

Her eyes turned to slits, "What are you not telling me?"

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"Is this the book you want to read? Even though you don't understand the language."

"What does the title say?" She asked.

"I am not fluent in the language but the title is Down the Riverbank."

Mauve spun the book in awe as she took a closer look at it. "What is it about?"

"Aren't you curious? Take another book, one you can read this time."

Mauve sighed, "Do you have any recommendations?"

"No."

Mauve sighed again, "It is a huge library, picking out what I want is a bit…"

Mauve's words trailed and Jael realized he was the cause of it. He had reached out for a strand of hair that was obstructing her face. Mauve froze as his hands stretched out to touch her face but she didn't take a step back.

He took the strand of her and tucked it behind her ears. He could tell she was not breathing. He studied her face while he still held on to her ear. His eyes fell to her lips and Jael didn't think, he just moved.

As their lips touched, her lips quivered against his and Jael hesitated but only for a second before he completely covered her lips with his.

He gently pushed his tongue into her mouth as if asking for permission. She gave him access and kissed his back matching his energy.

Her tongue invaded his mouth without respite. He heard the book fall to the ground as his hands went around her waist. She grabbed his hair and tugged a little.

Jael smiled in between their kiss and that broke the spell. She pulled away from him, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath. She was flushed and it wasn't just her face.

She fled, a full-out run as she made her way out of the library. He didn't chase after her, instead, he picked up the book and returned it to its place.