“I do.”
“Then do something about it. Or I will.”
“What does that mean?” I ask with dread.
“Nothing.” He turns back to me after several long seconds. “It means nothing. You have me painted neatly into a little corner. You hold all the power and I can’t do a damn thing about it.” He sighs and continues, “You want to talk about being a master manipulator? I think you win hands down.”
“You think I am manipulating you? All of you?” I ask, shocked that he would say that to my face. Although in all fairness, I can’t argue with it, as yes, I do sometimes manipulate others to get what I want. Who doesn’t around here? But I do try to be subtle about it.
“Maybe you don’t mean to on some level but, yes. You use us against each other to get what you want.”
“You are wrong,” I insist, not prepared to admit it to him.
“I wish I was,” he says sadly. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you. I’m sorry I said anything. I just love you so much. I want every night to be like tonight. Us together here. Is that too much to ask?”
“No,” I admit. “It isn’t. I wish you had said all of this a year ago.”
“Me too.”
We hold each other for a few moments, and I resolve to fix this, however I can. “I will speak to him. We will find a way, okay?”
He nods and doesn’t speak again until he has taken me several times over, the fire crackling in the fireplace, the wind howling outside as the rain lashes down. I fall into a doze on the hearth with his arms wrapped tightly around me, and he whispers, “I love you,” before I fall fast asleep.
I wake up the next morning in our bed, alone, except for the single perfect red rose on his pillow with the note underneath it that reads, “So sweet”. I pick it up, inhale deeply and sigh. It is already light out, but the weather is still atrocious. I have never known it to be this bad here. The clouds are rumbling overhead, and a steady stream of rain is falling. I am cold, even though CK has found a blanket from somewhere and thrown it over me. If I am going to live here, this damn place needs some heating. I put the rose back down and climb out of bed to run a nice hot bath, wrapping the blanket around me. My feet are like two blocks of ice and I wish for a nice pair of thick socks, which appear on my feet. That’s better, I think, as I make my way to the bathroom. It reminds me of when I woke up in her world. The servants had put slippers on her, on me. She must have also felt the cold, although I don’t remember feeling cold there. Maybe they had sorted out heating for her? I sink gratefully into the hot bubbly water right under the surface and relax. After a few minutes, I come back up feeling hungry. I decide to go in search of Edward and hastily dry myself off and get dressed. Nice warm clothes. I put the thick socks back on, pulling on a long pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt, my old Harvard sweatshirt that is a couple of sizes too big, and a hoodie. I feel highly ridiculous but at least I am warm. I tie my hair up into a high ponytail and forego make-up today, I really can’t be bothered. Catching a glimpse of myself in the bureau mirror, I blanch. I couldn’t look more like my sixteen years if I tried. Christ, CK will throw a shit fit when he sees me. I pull open the door, to find Edward standing there about to knock.
“Hi,” he says with his fist in the air.
“Hey,” I say and bump my own against his, much to his amusement.
“Check you out. You went to Harvard?”
“Yep. You?”
“Yale,” he says, and I wonder how on Earth he ended up here, doing this. It must be written all over my face as he says, “Long story. Maybe one day I will tell you.”
I nod and let him in. He sits at the dresser again, but I shake my head at him. “Turn around.”
“Why?” he asks.
“I always bite to the left. I bit you that side yesterday evening. Turn around so I get your other side. You are new to this, aren’t you?”
“Does it make a difference?” he asks, perplexed. “I’m healed.”
“It does long term. Just do it.”
He spins around.
“Long term? You plan on keeping me around then?”
“Have you not already been brought on long term?” I say as I settle myself on his lap to his surprise.
“Six-month contract. I’m just in it for the travel,” he jokes.
I snicker. “Well if that’s what you are after, you came to the right place. Would you consider a longer term?”
“Maybe,” he says slyly, and I smile as I drop my fangs and tilt his head to the side. He hisses as I bite him and can feel his pleasure as I drink from him. I leap off him as soon as I am finished, and he clears his throat.
“Thank you,” I say, and he blushes slightly.