Alea
Once I sat on the small couch, and our legs touched, a jolt of realization ran through me; we were very close. Elfrea didn't move away. When I turned to her, she rested her head in her hand, her red eyes searching my face, an unspoken question between us.
Then slowly, Elfrea lifts her right hand and brushes a loose strand of hair behind my ear. Her touch is unexpectedly gentle, making my breath hitch. My heart beats in my chest, each beat heavy with anticipation.
"I can help re-braid your hair if you like?" Elfrea offers.
I don't answer her; instead, I start to laugh.
"Sorry, I never imagined I would be surviving with a vampire and start braiding each other's hair. Though I'm happy it has worked out this way. If I didn't have help, those ferals would have torn me apart." The words tumbled from my mouth. I was starting to open up more and more to her, and I found that I didn't care if she knew.
She giggles, "Thank you for not killing me when I burst from the coffin."
I free my hair from its braid, shaking out the extra waviness that had accumulated from having it braided while wet.
"I'll take you up on the offer before I head to bed," I smile at her, then turn to face away.
Her hands are then tenderly combed through my hair for any knots. The feeling relaxes me, and I close my eyes, trying my hardest to keep from falling asleep. I notice as she combs my hair, Elfrea takes extra care of my healing head wound.
"Does it still hurt?" She asks me.
"No, it's healing up fast, so I don't think it's anything to worry about," I reassure her.
Elfrea goes back to my hair, feeling her begin to section the hair and form the braid. I then felt something tapping on my shoulder.
"The ribbon, please." I handed it over to her.
"All done. Whenever you would like me to rebraid your hair, just ask." Elfrea smiles big at me, her fangs poke over her bottom lip.
I toy with the braid end draped over my shoulder and tell her, "Thank you."
I then stand and stretch, not knowing what to say next. As I pulled my arms high, I was reminded of the large bruise on my side.
I hissed in pain, dropping my arms quickly. I look up to see Elfrea half-bent next to me with her hand set softly on my back. Her eyes were once again filled with worry.
"I'm fine, I just have a huge bruise where the feral hit me. I just need to get out of my corset." I say. I turn to go to my room, but Elfrea's hand is softly holding my wrist.
"Can I see?" Elfrea quietly asks.
My hands moved before my mind caught up to what I was doing. I unzipped the front of my corset and let it fall to the floor. Untucking my shirt, I pull up, showing her the bruise.
Elfrea's eyes grew even sadder as her gaze drifted over my naked side. She reached out and ran her fingers along the bruise. Her frown deepened, causing her perfect brow to crease. I remained still, holding my shirt up while she ran her hand along my side. The sight of me being hurt was truly affecting her.
I place my free hand on top of hers, and she looks away from the bruise on my side.
"Oh, sorry," she says, trying to pull her hand away. But I hold Elfrea's hand tight, not letting her go.
What am I doing? I suddenly ask myself.
I wasn't sure, but I knew I didn't want Elfrea's touch to stop. Before any of this, I always had disgust for vampires that kept human pets. The humans were living in a gilded cage if a vampire picked them as if they were a stray dog.
Why would you willingly offer yourself to one of them just to wear pretty things? I would think this every time I saw them out on the street, leading their pet human around on a leash.
It must be because Elfrea has not once treated me that way. She has tried her best to keep me happy and safe. She has even shown that she wants me to be safe. It was becoming much more than simple payback for helping her at the beginning. Elfrea seemed to want to be near me just as much as I wanted to be near her.
Let's hope I'm right and my actions don't ruin things between us.
I pull her towards me so close I have to look up at her. Elfrea takes her free hand and places it on my cheek, caressing with her thumb.
"Can I..." Elfrea starts to say something, but suddenly stops.
Elfrea never moves away; we only stand and look deeply into each other's eyes. I watched as she bit down on her bottom lip. I could tell she was thinking hard about what she wanted to say.
"I want to kiss you," I breathe out, breaking the silence.
I watch as Elfrea's smile becomes mischievous, the gap between us closes fast as our lips meet. We then became wrapped in one another as our lips danced. It feels like a wave of euphoria washes over me with each touch; my nose is filled with the smell of wildflowers.
Elfrea playfully begins to pull at the bottom of my shirt. I reached to pull the shirt off and over my head. The action caused the wound on my side to flare up. I drop my arms quickly, hissing in pain.
"You need to rest," Elfrea says, taking my hand and guiding me to my room.
Elfrea pulled me into the dark room, the only light blocked by the thick curtains blocking the only window. She guided me to the bed as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. I obeyed and let her help me sit down on the bed, the cold in the room sending me shivers down my spine. I wrap my arms around my naked torso to get away from the cold. I bend down to remove my boots to slide under the comfort of the covers, but Elfrea grabs my lifted foot.
"Let me," she says, unlacing the shoe and removing it, even removing my sock. She then does the same thing to the other.
It was so strange having someone take care of me this way. I found I enjoyed being taken care of. I would still have been hiding in the dilapidated manor, trying my best not to starve. Elfrea had become a welcome surprise in my life when she had burst from the coffin.
Elfrea pulls the bed covers back and nudges me under the covers. I obey her and wiggle under the heavy blankets. The dusty smell of the blankets didn't bother me. I was happy to have a real bed to lie in and even happier that I was going to share it with a beautiful woman. Though Elfrea didn't join me, she tucked the blanket over me. I grab her arm as she moves away, giving her a pout.
She gives me a smirk before leaning down to kiss me.
"I will return once I blow out the lanterns and check the fire. I don't want you to catch a cold." Elfrea kisses me once more and leaves the room.
I started to feel off with having my pants still on, so I quickly wiggled out of them. Elfrea suddenly appeared back in the dark room, moving under the covers. I feel goosebumps along my skin as she reaches her arms around me. Our noses touched as we wrapped around one another.
"Alea, you must wait until you're healed," Elfrea says.
I begin to pout, playfully pulling at the shirt she still had on.
"Sleep, Alea." Eflrea kisses me and pulls me close.
I rest my head on her arm, nuzzling into her neck. A strange urge went through my mind. Without thinking, I open my mouth and gently bite down on Elfreas' neck. I quickly let go, giggling when Elfrea lets out a playful growl.
"I'll behave for now," I steal one more kiss.
I settle back down, trying to get as close to Elfrea as I possibly could. I close my eyes and let the exhaustion of the day wash away as I fall asleep.