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Chapter 12

Elizabeth groaned deep into the coverlets as she slowly came awake. Her hand reached out beside her, hoping to encounter the bare skin of her lover, but found nothing but the cool sheets. Mouth forming a slight pout that she was alone, yet again, she rolled over in bed…just as her servant and chaperone sailed unannounced into her bedroom.

She sat up, instinctively clutching the sheets around her, warily eyeing the older woman as she swept into her room.

“Good morning, mistress. Mrs. Rothworth said that we needed to wake you. We’ve a lot to do if we’re going to be leaving for London tonight. Would you like some breakfast?”

Elizabeth just shook her head in the negative.

“She’ll have a muffin and some tea, Heather, thank you. And, you can have some heated water sent up for your mistress’ bath.”

“But…” Elizabeth began, but cut herself off at the look from her chaperone. “Tea and a muffin will be fine.”

She sat in bed and watched as the younger woman quickly bobbed a curtsy and left the room. Turning, she glanced at the older woman – demon – whatever she was. What were they exactly?

When she saw the woman’s brow arch and a broad smile grace her fairly unlined face, Elizabeth clamped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment as her face flamed bright red.

Had she said that out loud?

“We’re vampires, dear,” she replied. “Has Lord Thornton not told you?”

“Uh…no…I didn’t think to ask….”

“Well, feel free to ask me anything you wish. You’ve a lot to learn in order to walk among the creatures of the night. Although, any misstep you might make will be attributed to the fact that you’re human, and so, not accustomed to our ways. Oh, child, there are so many things you’ll witness…experience…”

Again, Elizabeth’s face lit up. Seeing it, the vampiress tried to reassure the girl.

“Yes, sex is one of them…now, none of that…” she stated as her charge looked ready to die of mortification.

“You…you know?”

“Child, there’s not many scents that can get past me. And, well,” she tried to put it as delicately as she could, but even she wasn’t immune to the scent of the vampire that clung to the girl’s body like a second skin. She really needed to find herself a plaything!

At Elizabeth’s questioning look, she focused on the conversation and continued with her explanation.

“Vampires…they have an excellent sense of smell. And, I can smell him all over you. Second, he’s claimed you…something glaringly obvious that even the most inept of vampires would sense right away…And before you even ask, yes there are some out there. Because you’ve been claimed, it’s a given that you’d…he’d…renew it. So, blood and sex.”

“Wait…claimed?”

Mrs. Rothworth crossed the room and sat on the bed beside the confused girl. She lightly patted her knee, marveling to herself at her suddenly caring manner. But, this girl was a novelty, the first human she’d heard of to be claimed; yet not turned.

“Yes…that feeling that you belong to him, and only him. Can’t you feel it? Something deep inside your being that yearns for him…even now while you’re parted.”

“Yes…” she whispered. “And these feelings?”

“Feelings are different. True, they make it easier…but something has to be there to begin with…arousal, desire, lust…love. Feelings need something from which to manifest themselves from.”

“So, it’s not just this…claim that makes me feel this way?”

“Oh, no, child. If you have feelings for your vampire…they’re most decidedly your own. The claim just…I guess you could say…enhances them.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. The older woman called out for the men to enter – her vampiric hearing having detected the five males bearing heated buckets. The two women watched as the men quickly filled the tub near to the brim, before they soundlessly left the room.

“Come, let’s get you cleaned up and dressed. We do have a lot to accomplish if we plan on leaving here tonight.”

Elizabeth allowed herself to be pulled from her bed and over to where the tub beckoned invitingly.

~*~*~*~*~

True to her word, Mrs. Rothworth had the household staff running hither and yon. She wanted to get back to London as soon as possible to get plans set in motion for introducing Lord Thornton’s “ward” to the ton. And, this couldn’t be accomplished rusticating in the countryside.

The sun had just set when Lord Thornton, his ward, along with her chaperone and a few of the essential household staff descended the stairs to the waiting carriages. The cook, housekeeper and Elizabeth’s lady’s maid sat in the second carriage, leaving just William, Elizabeth, and Mrs. Rothworth in the lead carriage.

Elizabeth tried to maintain a sense of propriety as she settled in beside the female…vampiress? as they began their long journey back to London. William hadn’t said anything, and a small part of her – a real small part, she told herself – wished he’d taken matters into his own hands and demanded that she sit next to him. That thought brought another to her mind, and she squirmed in her seat as images of her standing naked, facing her bedroom door, ran through her mind.

Suddenly recalling Mrs. Rothworth’s earlier words about their excellent sense of smell, Elizabeth furiously shoved those wicked thoughts aside and tried to recall the most boring memory she could think of…there. That would do quite nicely. With a soundless sigh, her weary body leaned against the carriage wall – visions of her Latin tutor reverberating in her head. It wasn’t long before she’d drifted off to sleep.

Spike, for his part, attempted to ignore the Slayer. It wouldn’t do for him to show the vampiress how much it bothered him that the girl had chosen to sit across from him, rather than next to him. His jaw worked as he tried to tamp down his frustration and he hoped fervently that someone would attempt a robbery on their journey to the city. He could do with a little violence right now. Oh, he’d smelled the brief flare of arousal from the Slayer, and mentally groaned as the scent had washed over him. Shoot, he’d seen the older woman scoot further away from the girl so as not to be even slightly tempted.

The damned bint just had no idea what she was doing to them. Hence, the need to take out his unfulfilled desire on some unsuspecting victim with a little rough and tumble. If he couldn’t have sex, he’d have to settle for mayhem.

~*~*~*~*~

The abrupt jarring of the carriage caused Elizabeth to groan in her sleep and almost disrupted her perch upon her seat. Seeing an excuse to hold her, Spike leaned over and clasped the young girl to him and settled her comfortably in his lap. His demon was slightly appeased to be cradling the Slayer, and almost purred in contentment when she burrowed closer and settled back into sleep.

He glanced up sharply to see if the vampiress was looking at him, but saw that she was wisely paying them no attention. He did, however, see the slight smile playing about her lips – as if she were secretly amused – and issued a warning growl. Placated when the grin slipped away, revealing the stoic features once more, Spike returned his attention to the girl he held in his lap.

A part of him wished she would get her memories back so that they could dance. But, another part – one he refused to acknowledge – liked this side of the Slayer…her unknowing. He liked the way she clung to him, even in sleep, as if she couldn’t get close enough.

Silly for a vampire to be having these feelings, yet it was true. A part of him blamed the claim for making him feel this way.

Another smaller part, one he refused to acknowledge, told him the claim had nothing to do with it…

~*~*~*~*~

When the carriage pulled up in front of his townhouse, Spike carefully woke the Slayer and set her down on the seat beside him. Then, frustrated with himself for being so gentle and trying desperately to escape the ghosts that were taunting him, he practically kicked open the door in his haste to exit the contraption.

“I’ll leave things in your capable hands,” he told the vampiress before storming off into the night, blatantly ignoring the hurt look that crossed the Slayer’s features.

He needed some destruction, some violence, a good kill. He didn’t need these conflicted feelings he was having towards the Slayer. She was his enemy, his opposite…her night to his day. He was evil and she was innocence personified.

Bloody hell.

He walked into Whitt’s fervently hoping that the rest of the night filled with drinking and gambling…and maybe some other sport, might take his mind off the hurt-filled pair of hazel eyes that had gazed at him in sleepy confusion just moments before he had stormed off.

~*~

Elizabeth looked over at the vampiress, not understanding what had just happened. Mrs. Rothworth didn’t know what to tell the girl to make her feel better, so instead tried to distract her.

“Come on, child, let’s get you inside. We’ve a lot to do in order to get you launched – at least among the elite ton – and we cannot waste time worrying about Lord Thornton.”

The two women swept down from the carriage, their bearing that worthy of a queen’s, as they sailed up the walk leading to the front door of Lord Thornton’s townhouse. They paid no mind to the other carriages along the lane whose occupants were gawking at the petite brunette and her apparent chaperone as the women entered the absentee Earl’s townhouse.

Mrs. Rothworth silently smiled; the brief glimpse of her charge by some of the lesser nobility went a long way towards increasing the mystique. If whispered rumors of Elizabeth weren’t circling the ton before nightfall tomorrow…well…she’d give up feeding.

That was how confident she was that Elizabeth was going to take London by storm. And, that wasn’t even accounting for the even more select group of vampiric nobility. There, it was a given she would cause a sensation. The only humans that were allowed into the inner circle of Aurelius vampires were servants and food.

This slip of a girl was going to be the hit of the season. An original.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike almost fell flat on his face as the front door to the townhouse opened unannounced, the borrowed blood and alcohol made his mind fuzzy, and it took him a moment to realize that the butler had opened the damn thing on him. He pierced the elderly man with a look, but the man’s stoicism caused him to grumble under his breath – nonsensical words even he didn't understand – as he stomped up the stairs to his room.

His perverse mind didn’t care who he managed to wake along the way. Yet, the one person he wanted to wake…well, she wasn’t where she was supposed to be. The heartbeat, or lack thereof, cleared his mind somewhat and he ignored the sudden feelings of trepidation as he rushed into his room and dashed towards the joining door.

He pushed the door open, already knowing that the room was vacant. But still, he had to see, confirming with his eyes what his ears and nose had already told him.

She wasn’t there. There was no trace of her having been in the room. No scent, clothes…nothing.

And, he started to panic, unconsciously reaching out with his tethered bond to the slip of a girl he had claimed, as he raced from the room in his search of her.

The lingering effects of the alcohol disappeared without a trace as he hurried down the hall. His human features slid away as his demon sprang to the fore, wanting every advantage available as he searched for his girl.

Halfway down the hall, he caught a trace of her scent, and he breathed a sigh of relief. She was still here…yet, again…no heartbeat. Just where the hell had the Slayer gone? His agitation was getting the better of him and he once more tested the bond the two shared.

Hell, right now she should be practically zinging with the vibes he was giving her, yet all remained quiet in the pre-dawn household. Frustrated and worried because she was not where she should be, Spike allowed anger to take hold. Anger was better than this anxiety that was currently gripping him. Better to allow his displeasure to show, rather than the apprehension snaking its way into his being.

As he made his way to the ground floor – the slow, even beating of several heartbeats playing a soft cadence around him – Spike stopped at the foot of the staircase and breathed deeply for a trace of her scent. He turned left, away from the front door. Just a tiny amount of her lingered there – probably when she had first come inside. His feet made no sound as he moved deeper into the townhouse…and then he stopped.

There.

He turned his head slightly and inhaled deeply. Slayer. Just a little trace. What the bloody hell was she doing on the first floor anyway? She should be fast asleep in bed. Well, she was still fast asleep; the one accelerated heartbeat belonged to the butler that had recently let him in – and even now, his was starting to slow as slumber overtook him.

His pace increased until he was all but running down the hall, the whispering smell tickling his senses giving way to full bloom the closer he got to her. Spike stopped before his study when he felt that she resided within. His anger knew no bounds at the scare she had just given him, and he shoved open the door, intent on giving her an earful followed by a sound bit of punishment.

The sight that greeted him stopped him cold.

The Slayer was curled up on one of the chairs situated in front of the fire, her body clad in a frilly white nightgown that covered her from head to toe. Her fingers clutched a pillow – one apparently dragged from his room if the scent were any indication – as her head made a pillow out of the arm of the chair.

She had to be uncomfortable. Yet, the serene look upon her face told another story.

His demon subsided revealing the high cheekbones and penetrating blue gaze of his human mask. His anger drained away as he realized she’d instinctively sought out the one place she was allowed to go to be closer to him.

Spike walked over to her, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest for a moment before he scooped her pliant body up in his arms. She didn’t stir at his handling, just settled herself trustingly within his embrace as he left his study.

Holding his precious cargo close, he made his way back up to her room. Once inside, he settled her on the bed and pulled the down-turned covers up over her body. She whimpered in her sleep at the loss of contact, and Spike reached a hand out to trail the tips of his fingers along her cheek and jaw.

She sighed pleasurably in her sleep, burrowing into the covers.

He stood there watching her as she slept, amazed at his self-restraint. Since when did he care whether he woke her or not? Again he reminded himself that she was his to do with as he will, at least until he got back to his own time. Yet, he made no move to take her…just stood there for a moment more before he turned and left the room.

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