Strange Love 38 Bedtime Story

It was early morning. Jos had picked at the bowl of takeout a few hours earlier, but in the end, hadn't eaten enough of it to fill a mouse. Xavier had searched his ma.s.sive kitchen until he found all the ingredients of his own favorite human food. The ring from his phone pulled his attention away from the batter he was mixing. He balanced the bowl in one arm as he propped his phone on his shoulder after hitting the receive b.u.t.ton with a batter-covered finger. "It's not a good time, why didn't you just text me back."

"Oh, but brother I much rather hear your soothing voice." Dante purred.

"Why do you always have to be like this?" he stirred the batter more aggressively.

"Fine, the truth is my hands are a bit full at the moment so texting isn't quite an option right now." Dante's words broke slightly over the receiver, Xavier could hear something moving around in the background.

"What exactly are you doing?" Xavier asked as he set the bowl down on the counter and bent to select a pan from under the counter.

"She was getting too many texts." His voice turned more into a grunt as he continued to struggle. "It's hard enough to keep her under mind-control without her d.a.m.n cell phone constantly going off." "That's enough, hold the f.u.c.k still!" Dante roared away from the phone.

"Leave the girl be, Dante." Xavier began pouring some of the batter onto the pan.

"Sorry brother, no can do. Besides seems like it has worked out to your advantage after all." Dante let out a strained laugh.

Xavier tried flipping the pancake put it was sticking to the pan. He replied irritation evident in his voice, "I really don't consider having a beaten, half-conscious girl in my bed a good thing." he sc.r.a.ped at the pancake harder with the spatchalla. 'd.a.m.nit…' he mumbled under his breath.

"She is in your bed though, isn't she? And at this point, unconscious seems like it would be a bonus as well." Dante yelled away from the phone again "Bite me and I swear to you I'll rip your pretty little throat out!"

Xavier sc.r.a.ped the ruined pancake into the garbage bin and retrieved spray oil from the cabinet. After spraying the pan he placed it back on the eye and poured more batter into the pan. "What exactly is going on over there?" he asked.

"I'm having trouble controlling her mind. I had your tech guy search for info on her but they ran into several blocks, which tells me our two little troublesome puppies are important in the Were community than I originally thought. I guess it is THE Boosillis wolves after all. I'm going to talk to the coven tomorrow."

Xavier sighed as he flipped the perfectly golden-brown pancake before asking, "Do you really think they are going to approve of you kidnapping a young girl? I'm saying no, even more so if she does happen to be someone of importance. And believe me, there is no doubt in my mind these are THE Bossillis wolves. The f.u.c.king brother is a G.o.d d.a.m.ned alpha who can already shift not only portions of his body at will but completely take on wolf form at will."

Dante chuckled, "Ya know brother, 'kidnap' is such a strong word…. More like…"

Xavier interrupted him, "No, I'm pretty sure 'kidnap' is the exact word for it." He flipped the pancakes into a plate, "Well I'm getting off here, consider what I've said. Not even you could take down a fully matured alpha..." He hung up without waiting for Dante to respond. He threw his phone onto the counter and poured a heavy stream syrup over the contents of the plate. When he was satisfied, he carried the plate back toward the guest room.

A pained grunt drew his attention to the attached bedroom as soon as he stepped into the guest sitting area. He quickly set the plate down onto the small coffee table and took off to the bedroom. He pushed the door open in a hurry. His eyes shot directly to the small figure sitting up on the bed, "Are you ok?"

"Ugg…" Joslyn set in the center of the bed her knees pulled up to her chest, her forehead rested on their tops and hands clutched to the back of her head. "I'm fine, I just thought I'd go to the bathroom before you got back… but my head… ah…"

He let out a relieved sigh and walked over to the bed, "Here let me help you." He slid one hand behind her back then the other under her bent knees. She jerked her head up in shock but cried out in pain at the movement. "Just relax, I'll carry you to the bathroom."

She glanced up at him, "Please don't, this is already embarra.s.sing enough."

He laughed, "It's fine. Let me help you." He sat her on her feet at the doorway of the insuite bathroom, "Can you stand?"

"I'll manage, thank you." She stepped carefully into the bathroom and shut the door. He was waiting outside the door when she stepped back out. She took his hand when he offered it. "I'm sorry to be such an inconvenience to you. I feel well enough to go home now, I believe."

A dark cloud fell over his beautiful green eyes, "We'll talk about you going home after you eat." He led her over to the seating area where the plate of pancakes awaited her. He gripped her tighter as she swayed on her feet. When her legs gave out he let out a huff of aggravation and lifted her again. "Yeah, You're feeling just fine aren't you…" He turned and carried her back into the bedroom. He shifted her in his arms as he slowed his pace; he brushed his cheek across the top of her head as he whispered, "Just rest, stop pushing yourself." He set her in the center of the bed then quickly walked back into the seating room to retrieve the plate. When he got back he crawled onto the bed beside her. He handed her the plate as he leaned against the padded headboard. "Yum, smells good. I should have made myself some too."

She looked from the bite on her fork then to him, "If you're hungry, you're welcome to it. I'm not all that hungry, the soap from earlier is still with me." She handed the fork to him.

He smiled down at her, "Don't mind if I do." He took the fork but instead of taking the bite that was on it he held it to her lips. His smile widened as her cheeks colored.

She looked up at him in surprise, "You don't have to feed me. I'm capable…" Before she could finish he shoved the bite into her mouth.

He laughed, "What kind of host would I be if I ate the meal I made for my guest?" He took the plate and cut off another bite and offered it to her. When she tried to take the fork out of his hands he pulled it away, "Nope, this is actually fun." He continued feeding her the pancakes until she was full, then he ate the rest. "Um... They taste better, I believe, because they are yours." He winked down at her as he licked the syrup off the fork. When he was finished he set the plate onto the nightstand and retrieved the remote from between them and began flipping through the channels. "What do you want to watch?"

"Anything's fine." She said settling into the pillows.

"Except the news?" He laughed looking down at her.

Joslyn couldn't help but stare at him when he looked at her. He was directly beside her in a pair of gym shorts and a tight, thin tee shirt. She could swear his eyes were actually sparkling through the lightly tented reading gla.s.ses he wore when he smiled at her. She blushed and looked away from him. "I really should be going home tonight."

His smile faded, "Joslyn, look at you. You can barely sit here without being in pain, let along walk... or ride..." His voice softened. "I know you don't what to hear this, but he's no good for you."

She didn't turn back toward him, "And what do you suggest? I stay here with you forever?"

He laughed, "Well ideally, yes."

She turned toward him ready to tell him off but a sharp pain shot through her head, "Ugg…" She gripped both sides of her head with her hands.

Xavier grabbed her shoulders and guided her back onto the pillows. "Let's not argue about this tonight, it's after 5am you should get some rest."

Once her head stopped pounding, she glanced up at him. "What about you?"

He grabbed the remote and went back to flipping through channels before answering her, "I'll leave once you fall asleep. Until then, let me keep you company."

She didn't argue with him, instead, she turned her attention toward the TV. She was a bit surprised when her eyes struggled to focus on the picture. {How hard did I hit my head anyway? Well if he will leave once I fall asleep I just as well try to sleep.} She let her body sink deeper into the softness of the pillows and closed her eyes.

He chuckled lightly, "Faking sleep just to get rid of me?"

She peeked up from a lashed vailed eye at him, "No it just hurts my head to try focusing on the TV right now."

"Oh ok." He looked down at her with a sympathetic look, "Here how about music instead." He switched the TV over to the built-in music app and turned down the volume. "Is this better?"

"If there's something on you want to watch it's fine." She responded.

"No, it's ok. Besides this gives us a chance to talk a bit doesn't it?" He smiled down at her but she had already closed her eyes again. "I could tell you about myself… my kind… If you like…"

"hmmm, that would be nice. Your voice is very soothing." She purred, sleep heavy in her voice.

"Well, let's see… where should I start?" He asked really not expecting her to answer.

A soft near whisper came from her, "The beginning, of course."

"The beginning, well I'm really not sure where that would be; I'll do my best." Xavier slid down farther into the bed. "Well, my father was a lot like my brother… You see vampire women can't give birth unless they are natural born vampires, but natural born vampires are very rare. Instead in the older days and occasionally even now a vampire would capture and **** a female, once they were sure the female was pregnant they would hold them captive until the child was born."

"That's horrible." Her soft voice came out somewhat m.u.f.fled by the pillows she was snuggled into.

"You have no idea…" He said a sad expression turning down the corners of his full lips. "You see the worst part was, most of the mothers didn't live through the birth especially the humans." He felt her hand brush lightly against his arm. He glanced down at her and met sad aqua eyes.

"I'm sorry to hear that, was your mother one of the ones who died?"

Her voice was barely a whisper, but somehow it made him feel warm all over. He used the arm she had touched and slid it under her pillow carefully pulling her and it more snuggly against his side. "Yes, she was but not during birth." A tiny hand brushed against his side but when she hesitated he captured it and placed it on his chest. "This is fine, right? It makes it easier to talk about such dark things when I know you are listening and comforting me."

She glanced from her hand now resting on his chest to his bright green eyes staring intensely down at her. She thought about pulling it back but couldn't bring herself to do it when she could read the pain behind his gentle smile so easily.

He stroked her hand with his index finger, "She was beautiful, a member of a well respected fey family." He glanced down at her, "That's why my eyes glow so much more than most vampires." He smiled a little wider, "I have her eye color, you know. Hers also illuminated like stars in the night sky."

Jos stared up into them, "They are beautiful. Did you get to spend much time with her before she pa.s.sed?" His smile faded some as he seemed to look out through her. "I was somewhere around 12 years old…" He smiled down at her, "When you're as old as I am, the years sometimes run together… My father had her killed…" He used his index finger to trace small shapes onto the top of her hand he let his eyes follow the movements of his finger as he continued, "He said she was raising me to be too weak and that weakness would not be tolerated within his walls." His smile completely disappeared, "Later that year Dante was born. Father raised him in his image. I left before he turned three… maybe if I had stuck around he wouldn't have turned out the way he did. I truly am sorry for all the trouble he has caused you." When he glanced down at her this time her eyes were closed again and she was breathing in a light, steady rhythm. He lifted her hand to his mouth and pressed a light kiss to it. "You really are something else." He set her hand down on his peck as he pulled her closer, he shifted the pillow out from between them so that her head rested snuggly against his chest. He lightly kissed the top of her head, "I know I shouldn't but I can't help caring for you." He chuckled lightly, "Is it cheating to wait until I know you won't remember this to say it?" He stared up at the ceiling as he continued to talk to her sleeping form until the sun began to break through the curtain over the sliding doors of the bedroom. He placed another light kiss to her head before he shifted out from under her and quietly left the bedroom.

Joslyn peeked through one eye as he closed the door behind him. She had heard everything he had said. She tried lifting her head, but pain shot through her again. {How have things gotten so out of hand. Is it wrong to want him as a friend? He's so kind... but he obviously doesn't see me as a friend. The things he said after he thought I was asleep... the way he held me... They weren't in a s.e.xual way like Russ, but it was still as more than a friend...} She sighed heavily, finding pain it that as well before finally gave up and slowly drifted off to sleep.