Re: All I want for Christmas is a VAMPIRE (Lamenting_Quill and Alexis Sapphire)

[Lamenting_Quill]

Gazing up to let the cold snowflakes to kiss her skin with pricks of icy chill, praying the cold of the snow would ward of the growing heat coiling in her stomach; Adrian was far too tempting.
His breath against the back of her neck filled her with a warmth she only experienced in a dream, was this coincidence?

"This is such a beautiful part of the Bayou, you were right when you said that not all of it was dangerous and ugly" Kiara replied, fighting to not feel the sensual stemming from the way Adrian held her as a man would hold his lover "You must ride this route often, it seems very relaxing"

It was strange, the way Adrian held her so close... It truly felt as though she was being embraced by a lover, strong possessive arms wrapping around her waist as if to make certain all near knew to whom she belonged.
That of course though was pure nonsense, she and Adrian had no such relationship. For all Kiara knew, Adrian was simply eccentric and meant nothing by his all encompassing embrace.

"I remember when my mom and dad would take me sledding on this really great hill, it was the time of my life" Kiara said, trying to distract herself and him as well so he wasn't encouraged in anything amorous "My dad would let me sled and sled until I was nearly blue, then we'd go home for some hot chocolate with marshmallows"

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's eyes fixed on the aubun strands before him as her remeniscient voice produced a tale from her childhood. He hadn't actually done anything overly committed yet which meant he couldn't really gage whether or not he could expect her to ask him to stop or engage him.

This was all so much easier in her dream land. When she had no concept of consequence, she was able to freely give in to her inner desires which gave her... on the surface, no real life consequence at all. Unfortunately, it did give her a very real consequence. Adrian now knew, unreservedly that she wanted him. If she could act fully on her inner desires, she would give herself to him and take him in turn.

The fact of knowing this was almost as critical as having taken her that night before would have been. Right now, it was just a matter of how long she could cling to the consequences. How long would she fight this inner feeling of hers before giving in. Was she resolved to not give in? He couldn't assume that. He had, after all, not presented a clear option to her that she could have what she would want, whether she'd admit to the wanting or not.

"I was always fond of the..." The word escaped him momentarily. In a bout of foolish amusement, he found himself throwing metaphorical examples around.

"... well, what father would always call the 'poor man's sleigh'. It was generally a blue or green sheet of plastic that skidded anywhere downhill with great speed."

He paused momentarily again as a chuckle parted his lips.

"It was more of a magic carpet than anything else I think. You had 2 holes in the front of the sheet to wrap your fingers around and your body down to about your knees was laid on it, stomach down. The only way for breaks was to drive your feet into the snow behind you trying to slow it down."

He gave up on the name for it after, seemingly satisfied with the magic carpet analogy.

"I was just a fan of going fast. The moment where you don't really have any control, you're just darting face first into a speedy slide and all you can do is enjoy the rush."

He allowed both his palms to take the reigns once again, giving them a rippling tug and a swift lash. With a tender neighing noise, the horse bounded forward after a low crouch and took to a double-paced gallop rather than the single hoof stride it had been making progress with.

It was now, in full gallop that the chill of the air livened even more.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Through her hair, Kiara could feel the chilled winter wind, blowing like a icy breath from the heavens. It was thrilling and filled Kiara with a great excitement, she was smiling brightly and her merry musical laughter filled the cold air.
"This is so much fun" Kiara laughed, her robins egg blue eyes wide with excitement and mirth.

It was odd though, with her hair obviously tickling Adrian's face, he did not seem to mind it at all. Some said that a lady's hair carried a certain lovely feminine scent when maintained properly, a scent that was delicate and everything woman.
She leaned her head back onto his shoulder, her sense of consequences gone with the wind that blew through her hair, she laughed merrily "Come on, Adrian, have fun! Laugh with me!"

She turned where she sat just enough that she could wrap her arms around his neck and before she knew, she'd kissed him. All the excitement and feeling so free, she just couldn't stop herself from acting on her impulses no matter how much she told herself that she had to resist.

[Alexis Sapphire]

He had been called out.

It was rare that people didn't find Adrian taking a keen laughter to almost anything. When he was younger, Adrian had a complete consequence-free view of the world. The list of things he'd do 'just because he could' was astonishing.

Months of the fast lane lifestyle turned into years. Years turned into decades... decades passed into a century before he knew it.

Now, 125 years into his life, Adrian simply examined many things. He was more reserved, though he acted on impulse greatly. He was much more methodical and 'responsible' if he had to judge a word.

His lips, as though commanded had begun to spread in order to laugh for... well, almost any reason. Even Adrian wasn't cold enough to ask why he should laugh unless it was in a blatant joke. Even then, having made such a blatant joke, he'd probably end up expressing some form of laughter. No... before he could think of something witty to say or some comment about how his lack of 'laughter' didn't mean he was lacking fun became stuck in his throat.

His mouth was occupied.

-... With Kiara's.

His eyes had widened slightly before dimming as though she were going to make some kind of teasingly coy remark while holding onto his neck, but it never came. A soundless action brought a vivid taste to his lips. He had imagined and generated a dreamworld where he had kissed Kiara... often and passionately. But this... this was something different.

This was all about the moment, the actual taste, the actual thrill, the actual locking of the lips which had been as short lived as anything he could imagine. It was there though, impactful as just about anything else.

"Mmmmmm..." he let his lips stiffle a mumble. He was officially speechless.

He let his left hand abandon the reign once more, securing her new arched position as though he were worried she might slide off the mare if it took another bounding leap.

Taking advantage of both swaying bodies, and her partially turned position, he leaned inwards, being intimately familiar with the process of riding the horse and knowing how her body would sway back and forth between each stomping of the hooves during the gallop.

His lips met hers one more time before the moment would have passed and he would have tested just how awkward she might find it.

"You're right..." he let his tone mingle with the chill as his breath would have offered some kind of short term warmth for the close quarter of their faces.

"... I should do this more often."

[Lamenting_Quill]

After her lips had left his she about about to attempt to apologize for being so forward and kissing him, but before she could, his lips descended back down upon hers again.

“You're right.... I should do this more often...”

Kiara's mind was completely numbed with dizzying pleasure as he gazed down at her and then despite that little voice at the back of mind mind protesting it, she wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to kiss him once more.

'I know I shouldn't do this' Kiara told herself, her lips caressing his ever so passionately 'But his lips are just pure heaven, this feels so incredible!'
As she pulled back, Kiara took a deep breath “I'm sorry, I couldn't stop myself. I guess I was caught in the moment... for what it's worth, you really are a great kisser”

She couldn't believe what she'd done, she totally felt like she had just stabbed Hayden in the back with a frost covered knife, he could never ever find out about this. It would really hurt poor Hayden's feelings.
“This is all so magical” Kiara said, removing her arms from around his neck “I'm not surprised that I was caught in the moment, your lands really are so beautiful. It will be sad to leave, I will try to visit when I can”

Kiara was kicking herself right now, she really hoped she hadn't made a huge mistake by kissing him and giving him accidental encouragement to pursue her...
“Anything else you want me to see?” Kiara asked, a sweet smile on her face. She was trying very hard right now to not want to kiss him again, she really needed the distraction.


*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

“Mr. Parker, was it?............. Ms. James's father gave you the number, I see” Molly asked into the receiver “Alright then, I will give Ms. James the message. She will be thrilled you called, she's rather sweet on you I think, she told me all about you.... Oh yes, she said she was considering to say yes......... Oh I think she would just love such a romantic surprise.............. Sure, I will talk to Master Adrian about it........... alright, goodbye for now”

Molly hung up the phone and smiled warmly, what a sweetheart Ms. James had, wanting to come here and surprise her for Christmas. Surely Master Adrian would not object to such a wonderful surprise, Ms. James deserved something as nice as that.
“Just have to wait for them to come from their ride” Molly said to herself as she returned to her chores.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Kiara's question could have brought an entire array of responses from the Immortal who's straightforward response couldn't really be avoided.

Anything else you want me to see?

"We could start with the world..." He spoke, almost too casually for the kind of absurd answer it would have sounded like. His mind had still been wrapped up in the subtle differences between the dream-produced romance and the actual pleasure that came from kissing this angel.

In fact, the more he delved on the remarks that she made about being 'caught in the moment'... the more he interpreted it to be a cop-out. When Adrian wanted something, he took it. If he felt opposed, he overcame it. There was a fine balance between paranoia and caution and as it was not in Adrian's nature to deny himself any pleasure, he decided to razz her a little more with his answer.

"... The pyramids of Egypt, the Colosseum of Rome, the ancient steppes of Eastern Asia."

He allowed his voice to trail off, as though anticipating his answer would no longer make sense. How could one person offer such things after all? What he did next, was call her on her momentary self-check.

"They say life all comes down to a few moments. You spend decades existing... but when you're laying on your deathbed, it's really only the crazy 'moments' that we're drawn to remember."

It wasn't long before the car fell into sight.

The car was an absolute wreck as was to be expected by Adrian while perhaps less so by Kiara. A window had been undone which caused the driver side of the car to be absolutely soaked by the snow and rain that had been allowed to permeate the vehicle ever since Adrian's interference.

The tires however, had received the worst of the abuse. They were flattened to levels of which words couldn't explain. The entire scene had given the illusion that some fly-away sturdy branch had likely clashed with the window while anything from debris to wild wolves could have been responsible for seemingly claw-like marks to the clustered rubber that were originally tires.

Adrian's eyes studied the vehicle as he slowed Ares down to a seemingly crawling pace. His head tilted to the side, fully selling the notion that it was his first time seeing the vehicle.

"Oh dear-..."

[Lamenting_Quill]

Upon seeing the car, Kiara gasped in sheer horror; There was so much damage! Had the storm truly done this much to it?
Her heart sank, at this rate she would never be able to make it home in time for Christmas Eve. Her poor mother was going to be so disappointed.

It seemed a branch had knocked in the window and the snow had drenched the seats, complete with a layer of sparkling frost. The tires however were the worst of it, it looked as though they'd had been savagely attacked by some sort of wild animal. Wolves most likely, finding the car to be an unfamiliar intrusion in their habitat.

"Oh Adrian!" Kiara gasped, finally accepting what had happened "What am I going to do? I will never make it for Christmas now, this car is in no shape at all to go anymore and it's stuck in the way for any other vehicles to come through! Who know how long until it can be moved!"
She honestly wanted to cry, she had been through so much and now everything was going to be for nothing. Her car was totally trashed and wouldn't be going anywhere any time soon.

"This is horrible" Kiara murmured softly, though loud enough for Adrian to hear "I suppose I will have to take you up on that offer to stay a little longer, if it's still on the table that is. I have no other option"

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian allowed a series of nods to meet each of her comments. His eyes studied the vehicle as though to find some kind of way to fix it... some kind of encouragement that it wasn't as bad as she thought. All acting aside, it was truly as bad as she figured and he was only to happy to offer his hospitality even further.

"You're always welcome down here... it'll be fine, don't you worry." It would have been inappropriate to wrap his arms around her for any kind of comforting, so his palms remained firmly fixed controlling the reigns.

"Is there anything you left in the car that you need before we head back?" he asked already beginning to turn Ares around.

x

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Is there anything you left in the car that you need before we head back?"

Thinking about it, Kiara placed her hand on Adrian's right wrist to stop him, she had left her cellphone in the back seat with hopes to come back for it later when the storm had passed and service wouldn't be zero bars.
"Actually, my cellphone is in the back seat, would you mind grabbing it for me?" Kiara asked sweetly, she didn't want to try jumping down from Ares without Adrian to help her get back up "I hope it isn't too wet, we can put in a bowl of dry rice if it is, that should suck the water out of it"

She had learned that little trick when her father had dumped his phone into their toilet by accident, her mother had suggested put into a bowl of dry rice and behold... it worked!
It would also give her a chance to breath if Adrian was parted from her body for a short time, the man was far too sensually intoxicating.

Kiara was sincerely worried that if she didn't leave soon, she could end sleeping with him and have one hell of a guilty conscience on her shoulders when she saw Hayden again.

x

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's eyes dimmed at the mention of her phone. His thoughts were already dipping into a time in the not-so-distant future when her guest status in his mansion would be more equatable to a prisoner. If she ever tried to use he phones from the mansion, he could interrupt them, but having a cell phone, it would just be a little tougher to track her calls.

It was with a small rolling of the eyes that he descended from his fine black mare. He was really putting too much thought into something like this so relatively early. Nonetheless, he approached the vehicle, the phone was, where she said it'd be and as he reached for it, a quick thought of crushing it between his fingers passed through his mind.

It was short lived however. It was very unlikely that something so small could have been so damaged given where it was in the vehicle. Handing it up to Kiara, he waited to re-mount his steed and turn for home once again.

"Is it okay-...?" He offered the question.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Is it okay-...?"

Kiara accepted the phone into her hands and smiled beautifully at Adrian for fetching it for her, she inspected and sighed.
"I am not quite sure, it is badly soaked" Kiara said "But we can try the rice trick and see if that works. Thank you so much for grabbing it for me, well thank you for everything really"

Clutching it to her chest, Kiara sighed and turned her face to look back again at Adrian "Well, shall we head back to the house?"
With Adrian back in the saddle behind her, pressed so intimately against her back, that sensual warmth had returned in full force... oh yes... she was in trouble, lots of it.

She considered leveling with him over this in order to prevent the two of them from end up in bed together for real, but then that meant admitting to him just how attracted she was to him and possibly accidentally encouraging him to seduce her with knowledge he'd succeed in the end.

Yea.... Best not do that....

x

[Alexis Sapphire]

"Oh anytime my dear... the pleasure really is all mine." Adrian's honesty came from his confidence in playing with and manipulating words constantly.

"Who knows-... maybe we'll make a few more moments to remember before you leave."

It was the first classic bold statement he had made, hinting that he felt more than confident in pursuing her. If she tried to refute him or refuse it, he would overcome her baser nature in spite of herself and, not being one to take no for an answer, would take it upon himself to make it very difficult for her to say no to her own inner desires.

What a beautiful thing it was when someone Adrian desired could only desire him back. In a global sense of self-righteousness, it provided all the justification in the world to overwhelm her sense of discipline and show her a world she might be determined to stay away from.

x

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Who knows-... maybe we'll make a few more moments to remember before you leave."

Kiara couldn't help but blush as she nodded, she dared not say anything right as his words could mean anything anything. It was not wise to assume that Adrian mean sex, he could mean horseback rides or something else of innocent recreation.

"It's too bad I'm leaving" Kiara replied, trying to feel Adrian out for whatever he was thinking in that beautiful head of his "You are quite a catch and you certainly do not lack charm or intelligence. I like that... remind to seriously congratulate your wife when the day comes that you get married. I doubt a man like you will stay single forever, you are too amazing in so many ways"

She merely meant to compliment him, but after she had time to shut up and think about what she'd said, she wanted to slap herself. Though she meant no harm, she may as well have told him to take her to bed this very evening and ravish her senseless.

Funny thing was, if she wasn't feeling so guilty over poor Hayden, she might have seriously considering jumping Adrian a while ago. The man was gorgeous, Adonis himself would feel threatened by Adrian.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's eyes would have been hard pressed not to find some kind of blush on Kiara's lively cheeks had he been facing her rather than seated behind her. Her answer, while perhaps prodding, seemed to be ever so slightly over the top. There was just a little too much enthusiasm in her remarks to ignore and he felt driven to continue the conversation with some prodding of his own.

"I don't know if I'd make for a very fitting husband." He let the words pass his lips with ease but tender thought given to them no less.

"You could say I'm a collector of great rarities. In the world I live in, weddings are often business-related. Heads of corporations marrying their children to the children of other heads of corporations. It's almost medieval really."

He let his eyes gaze back down to her neck.

"So while it's true that I've not found someone to share long term goals with, you could say it's also true that I enjoy the hunt of the world's greatest beauty too much to ever truly settle down."

He paused momentarily.

"How often do we deny ourselves our baser instincts simply because it would not be 'appropriate' in the eyes of society?"

His tone had changed to a huskier whisper as he had leaned in towards Kiara's ear. The simple intonation of his remark almost challenging her to deny it.

There were always rules for a reason, Adrian understood this fully. Being an immortal, there were 2 kinds of Vampires he often ran into. The first type, like himself, held themselves to a responsible code. They enjoyed life, but kept an eye on potential consequences for their actions. The 2nd type was the complete opposite. They focused 'solely' on enjoyment of life, and paid no regard to consequences of any type. These types of Vampires were no better than animals in Adrian's eyes. It was discipline that separated man from beast, and while discipline sometimes meant passing on pleasure, it was not always the case.

Vampires who displayed no discipline were often hunted, killed, stalked... even by their own kind because it set bad precedents for other vampires in the area. They were aggressive, lustful and had no care for their actions. They were addicted. They were dangerous beasts.

However, some rules were always meant to be broken. It almost seemed like their only reason for existing was to enhance the lives of the few who prospered from them.

"... Think of it this way. It's very sweet to think you could be jealous of a wife I might one day marry, but wouldn't you truly ... rather think that someday, she could be jealous of you instead?"

The tone was more sensitive than his last remark. He was calling attention to a conflict between Kiara's desires, and her discipline. Encouraged to feel that she truly wanted him, Adrian had great ease in toying with Kiara emotionally with these types of questions.

The house had quickly come into sight however and it was not long before they were ready to dismount Ares near the stable.

[Lamenting_Quill]

The ride back to the stable gave Kiara an awful lot to think about, she reflected on herself and her normal behavior. She did suppose that she was a bit overly proper than was necessary, it wasn't entirely wrong to enjoy a fling if she wasn't even in a commitment with Hayden yet. It wasn't as if she was cheating on Hayden, the man wasn't her boyfriend yet, they weren't even exactly dating.

From the sounds of things, Adrian wasn't really looking for permanent relationship, so what harm was a little fling? If only she knew how wrong she was...
As Adrian steered Ares into the stables and jumped down, she waited patiently for him to turn around and assist her down.
When he did, she extended her arms to him and let him lift her off the horse. Her feet met the earth and she almost missed the thundering excitement of riding the grand stallion.

“Adrian” Kiara said to properly gain his attention “Do me a favor, come to my room this evening. I want to talk to you in private, when we can just relax”
It was cold too, she didn't want to have any sort of lengthy discussion in the snow while she froze her little toes off. She hand no idea how Adrian could withstand the cold the way he seemed to, it didn't seem to bother him at all.

“Let's go inside now, eh?” Kiara encouraged with a smile “It's getting colder, I think we may be in for more snow”
Which would put another road block in Kiara's way, but whatever, at this rate she wasn't going to make it for Christmas anyway.
What a Christmas it would be though if she could spend it curled up in bed with a handsome stud-muffin like Adrian. The naughty thoughts easily brought a blush to her cheeks and she had to refrain from giggling girlishly.

This was certainly going to be something to remember...

If only Kiara truly knew the enormity of her situation..................

[Alexis Sapphire]

After assisting Kiara down from the steed, his attention had turned to the reigns, directing Ares back to his confinement. Adrian had truly enjoyed the ride and almost as though thanking Ares entirely, his hands automatically stroked the black mare comfortingly.

"That's a boy-... good stuff... good st-..." his words barely over a whisper. It was Kiara's voice however that called his attention as he locked in the enclosure. At first, his glance was swift and darting, as though he had forgotten something or had done something wrong. It was only with the follow-up commentary that he was sure he had done nothing wrong.

His lips couldn't help but twitch into a snide smile. Her room? He loved the confidence that radiated from Kiara's remark. She had been a guest for less than 2 nights and already she was inviting him back to her room. If he had to guess, he was fairly certain that his words had hit home... that he had unlocked something inside Kiara's thought process that would result in her giving herself to him.

Why to him?

Because she wanted it. Deep down, she knew it... and since he knew it, he was either one to crack a grin at the irony and let it slide, or, if so inclined, he would make the desire happen. In this case, her desires were so in sync with his own that he could not allow her to refuse herself, in so doing, she'd be refusing him-... and that just didn't happen often.

"I could ponder what would be more private than a 2 person horse ride in the bayou-..." he couldn't help but tease her about the remark.

"But hey-... just incase Ares here can understand us, I'm sure you're right."

The sheer thought that a staffed Mansion was more private than a 2 person horse ride along a more or less abandoned path almost gave away Kiara's intentions.

This was however in perfect harmony with Adrian's plan and as such, it would come to pass.

"-... Besides, you haven't lived unless you've had a snow-fight out here."

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara let out a breath of relief when he agreed to come to the privacy of her room this evening to talk to her, she would find out then if she had it in her to have a refreshing affair with the handsome and charming Adrian.
She turned to head out of the stables, a mug of warm hot chocolate in her mind when she heard Adrian speak to her.

"-... Besides, you haven't lived unless you've had a snow-fight out here."

She whipped around and grinned as she backed away, she was giggling softly as she spoke "Don't you even think about throwing a snow ball at me, Adrian"
This would be a great time though to handle her situation even sooner, nothing like a good snow ball fight and perhaps a bit of rolling around together in the snow, kissing like a pair of sex-starved teenagers... Oh, now it was thoughts like that made Kiara want to sport a giddy naughty grin.

"I call you on your challengem, sir" Kiara said with a big grin, kneeling down to gran a handful of snow. She balled it and before Adrian could blink, it hit him square in the face.
Then she ran away giggling, it was time now to make him chase her and by the time he got to her, she would have a pile of snow balls ready. It helped when snow ball fights were an activity you enjoyed with your father every winter of your whole childhood.

She breathed heavily with an enormous smile on her face and she sped across the grounds and found a spot in the bushes to hide and prepare her weapons.
When she finally saw him come into view, she jumped from the bushes and pelted another snow ball at his chest.
"Bring it, blondie!" Kiara challenged playfully, giggling the entire time.

[Alexis Sapphire]

For an impeccable hunter, Adrian's eyes had widened with the surprise of the powdery snow exploding over his face, his left cheek had taken the brunt of it. His jaw just seemed to drop. At first, she had told him not to throw anything at her, and then, when dismissing the thought, he had no time to prepare for the assault of her own.

Now, all he has was the time to react to it. She was off and moving, surprisingly fast in fact. It wasn't like she was in a ball dress or massively formal attire, she had dressed appropriately for the outdoors and for the horse-ride.

Adrian always found himself to be less susceptible to the cold, he could go out in the most casual of light fabrics and be extremely comfortable in any case. Right now, his feet took him methodically in the direction of her departure. There were a series of slopes and low-laying bushes or growths that made it difficult to oversee the whole area unless you were on the top plateau. While walking through flat ground, Adrian could only see to either end.

It was behind one of these bushed slopes that Kiara's voice earned another turning of his head. He could sense her excitement growing. It was really appealing, he had to admit. Another muffled thud came with impressive speed. His lips twitched into a playful grin.

His legs crouched, not really removing himself from her line of sight, he was still quite an open victim for another snowball or 2 if she had them, but as his fingertips raced along either side of him, they streaked into the light snow-fall, 8 thin linings had been imprinted into the snow accumulating into 8 small bundles near his fingertips just behind him.

His palms proceeded to rest over each of them for little more than a second each. Almost as though the cold nature of his body caused the snow to mould to his will, he now had 8 snowballs taking on a very reflective lighting.

"I don't know if you're ready for-..."

With a series of whipping motions, his fingers grasped 2 balls, then flung them towards Kiara, the right hand whipped a snowball towards her, then the left, then the right had moved onto the 2nd of four on his right side, then the left moved onto the 2nd of 4 on his left side.

Each hand emptied the pile of 4 on either side as he pelted 8 snowballs towards Kiara, his eyes studying her with a full-on playful smile as he watched to see how she'd react.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara yelped loudly as the snow balls pelted her along her midsection and her legs, she playfully pouted at him afterwords "No fair"
Oh Kiara knew all was fair when one declared war with full knowledge of the challenge they had just taken upon themselves, boy did she know and for once in her whole life, she was going to enjoy losing.

With a grin sexy grin, Kiara kneeled down and scooped up a big ball of snow, she sauntered towards him as his massive victory had never occured. She appeared a triumphant war goddess of old, the dim sunlight playing across the reddish hues of her auburn hair that hung in elegant waves down her back.

They were almost nose to nose when Kiara leaned in and grabbed the back of his neck with her free hand, capturing his mouth in a soul searing kiss before smearing the snow into his face and bolting off with a mirth filled giggle.

x

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian couldn't really believe what he was seeing as she approached him. She held snow... check. She had claimed no fair... check. What was she going to do? Tackle him to the-...

Before he could shake the puzzled grin from his own lips, she had done it for him. His own hands had dropped the 2 remaining snowballs they had formed and he allowed them to caress her back just before yet another snowball puffed into his face. His eyes winced shut, and in so doing, she had succeeded in evading his grip again.

She was gone. Moving in the direction of the house, as though somehow, once inside, she would have gotten away with this playful cheap shot.

With a bolt of his own, taking advantage of the fact that he was out of her sight, he moved with a little more speed than a human would possess, it was enough to bring him to within several feet of her fleeing form so that with the slightest loss of pace, his arms had latched around her.

In the yard near the house, less than 30 meters away, he managed to engulf Kiara into his arms and let himself slant to the ground in funny fall. His hold over Kiara resulted in a rolling tackle among the sounds of his laughter. His speed could have been something supernatural, or he could have simply taken off right after her rather than the few seconds he stayed there to think about what he had just fallen for.

Now however, since there seemed to be no rules regarding this little fight, he was going to take full advantage and make her regret using seduction to get a leg up.

With a series of rolling motions, Kiara was pulled on top of him, then her momentum was moved as he rolled over her, then she was over him again. Finally the rolling stopped as he extended his legs to either side in order to prevent himself from being moved off of her.

"Hmmm... No fair." He let his lips mumble as he leaned in, dangerously close to another kiss, but instead of kissing her outright, his palms readjusted, sliding out along her arms, her elbows, then finally, his palms firmly fixed themselves on her wrists pinning them to the snow just over her head.

"You're a bit of a wildcat I think. When close enough, I'd probably be wise to keep these hands of yours in check hey?"

His motions were entirely designed to prevent her from planting more snow in his face, and with that, he let his lips duck down to meet hers in another kiss if she'd be so willing...

and even if she wouldn't.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Hmmm... No fair."

She grinned at him as he repeated her earlier words, but her grin melted away to her nibbling her bottom lip as he leaned down as if to kiss her, but he didn't. Devious, simply devious!
His hands slid along her arms and elbows, his touching leaving trails of fiery desire in their wake, his hands once reaching her hands grasped her wrists and secured them above her head.\

"You're a bit of a wildcat I think. When close enough, I'd probably be wise to keep these hands of yours in check hey?"

She never had the chance to reply when his lips came crashing down to claim her own in passionate and possessive kiss, not that she could when the man was making her melt like ice cream under the hot sun, she was putty in his hands and for the present time, she accepted it.

Kiara could not store herself from moaning against his mouth as her kissed her oh so thoroughly, his kiss seemed reach all the way to the very bottom of her soul. He made her want more and she wasn't going to deny herself this anymore, there was no harm in having a harmless fling with this outrageously sexy man....

x

[Alexis Sapphire]

It was only after a few seconds passed that Adrian's hands moved, adjusting Kiara's wrists ever so slightly, now, with the one palm slightly larger, he was able to fix both her wrists just overhead and this allowed him to free up his left hand.

Said hand placed its fingers tenderly on Kiara's neck, as though to send a chill down her spine and encourage another moan that his lips seemed to quiver when receiving.

His left hand gently dabbed his fingertips along her neck, massaging her shoulder ever so slightly. It raked against the snow as he propped himself into a slightly easier-to-hold position. The kiss subsided when he felt that he could use a bit of an uninterrupted breath.

Damn... this woman knew how to work him. His breath enhanced, his heart seemed to beat faster, there was a flush colour that could come to his cheeks on rare occasions and this woman happened to bring that out in him every time they kissed.

No doubt, Kiara had a positive influence on Adrian. Kiara had to be his. There was no way to lose someone who could be this much of an instigator to his senses. He truly felt... as though his body were a living breathing, anxious element when he was with her. It wasn't so much a cold or callous existence finding ways to compare 'existing' to 'living'.

Kiara was truly a 'Rush' for Adrian and that was what life was all about sometimes. Finding a captivating rush to stimulate your existence.

His fingertips traced down to the center of her neck, dancing along the collar of the shirt she wore as though it were a delicate matter to remove it. They danced there for seconds as Adrian leaned in over his hand and gave Kiara's bottom lip a final suckle.

-... Then, with an evil grin, he let his left hand rake in a rather sizable ball of snow just to the right of her head. With his body positioned just right to prevent her from rolling to either side, and his right palm sturdily holding her wrists overhead, he grasped the snowball, but rather than planting it into her blushing cheek, he held it just overhead and began to rub and squeeze the ball with his fingers.

The snowball began to dissipate, cracking and eroding in his grip as it flooded down onto Kiara's face as though Adrian were holding a salt shaker overhead.

"-... Blondie... tsk tsk My dear Kiara." he scorned playfully as the snowball continued to decrease in size as it powdered down over her face. She could squint, try to arc her neck, try to do anything really, but Adrian had felt fairly proud in how he had turned the table.

It had been awhile since he had this much fun.

--------------

"Is everything alright-...?"

Molly's heart jumped with a small gasp as Geoffrey's voice echoed in the room behind her. She had turned to face him, turned to move to any part of the room really, but her attempt at deception was short lived.

"Oh yes. Of course sir. Sorry, I'm just-..."

There was nothing she could say. Nothing came to mind to deflect this.

Geoffrey approached enough that, through looking out the window, he could see what she saw. She had been standing there for about a minute now. A minute didn't seem long, she could have been daydreaming, not feeling well, or just deep in thought. Unfortunately, the spectacle of Adrian and Kiara outside was a dead giveaway to Geoffrey that Molly was bothered.

"He's quite taken with her." Geoffrey's tone was perfectly regulated, almost opinionated, as though he were speaking as Molly's professor or friend more so than her superior. Geoffrey was well aware that Kiara was an idol of Molly's and as such, Molly wasn't very likely to be completely emotionless about Adrian's apparent endeavour.

"It would seem..." Molly answered letting her eyes trace back to the scene outside simply because Geoffrey was already looking out there.

"But I -... he... I don't know." Her train of thought seemed to falter bringing Geoffrey's eyes to her once again. He himself had tried to talk Adrian out of this pursuit, but he knew Adrian very well. He knew there was a way to try to convince him to stop, if that way failed, nothing would stop him. Adrian would not stop.

Molly didn't know this about Adrian, Molly was relatively knew... and as her friend and superior, Geoffrey felt a need to try to keep Molly from making a bad decision.

"Look... they're adults." He almost allowed a smile as he spoke it, though a smile from Geoffrey was almost patronizing given just how 'proper' he always was.

"But Geoffrey-... Last night he-... she-... in her sleep she was-... something was wrong. Very wrong! I had to... I... The door was partially open so I just stepped in to wake-..."

The term of last night, with Molly's immediate brief panic widened Geoffrey's eyes. His hands remained firmly fixed by his sides. Last night, Adrian was in quite a perplexed state. It would have been naive of Geoffrey to believe Adrian had done nothing to Kiara... but it would also be most unwise to confront him about something.

"Before you-..." Geoffrey's voice remained frighteningly calm as Molly's frenzy was interrupted. Silent orbs now watched Geoffrey intently as though she had expected different from him.

Geoffrey however, did not stop.

"-... continue. Before you continue, I want you to only tell me something you want me to know."

His tone was now enigmatic. A riddle. A clue. He was Adrian's most loyal servant. He could sometimes be caught between a rock and hard place when it came to loyalty to his master, and friendship of a staff member who might not agree with the master.

"We need to remember..." Geoffrey inserted 'we' as a way to keep Molly from being paranoid or anxious. Using 'We' rather than 'You' just kept her from being defensive or feeling attacked.

"-... that this is a very isolated location. There is not a city as far as the eye can see. We are a day's travel away from any other destination and so most of the time, anyone who comes here has done so by accident... or by invite. If I cannot tranquilize a bear, I am not going to wake it up."

There was a momentary silence. Adrian could do anything he wanted, Adrian always did whatever he wanted. There was really no way of controlling or stopping him so what purpose was there to angering him or siding with a 'losing' side?

Molly, like Geoffrey might not agree with this pursuit, but Molly was much less likely to survive if she crossed Adrian. What would it serve? She could be dead or worse, and Kiara would still be in the same danger she was in before.

Geoffrey expected it to take a good minute or 2 for Molly to digest this... and in the meantime, did not want to be put in a situation where he would be the reason Adrian turned on Molly.

"So-... were you going to tell me that you stepped into her room to see if she was okay? The slightly open door made you question it? And that you left when you saw she was okay?"

"I-... Yes sir. I did shut the door afterwards."

"Excellent." Geoffrey let a small exhale out with the word. His eyes turned back towards the doorway.

"Now-... I believe we have work to do." He stated as though encouraging Molly not to be caught spying on Adrian and Kiara.

"Geoffrey-..." She called out after him as she stepped out vividly.

"Yes?" He asked, this time not turning around to see her, instead he continued down the staircase as she followed.

"Uh, Hayden will be coming to surprise Kiara. Tomorrow evening I believe. I just thought you should, uh... know that."

Geoffrey's eyes slid shut as he refused to move over any stairs.

"Oh." he stated... "... dear!" he thought to himself. Of all the guests Adrian might be irritated by receiving, Hayden was most likely one of them who would absolutely trigger violence.

His steps resumed, and at the base of the staircase, he turned back to Molly with a perplexed gaze...

"Would I be right in assuming that he was directed here by Kiara's family or even possibly herself?"

The look of confusion on Molly's face caused Geoffrey to interrupt any possible answer.

"-... Silly me. Of course. Of course he would have been given the address by Kiara's family or the handful of people who would know where she is. It's not like staff from here would take it upon themselves to invite guests... am I right? Tell me I'm right."

"Well, it is against policy to invite friends over..." Molly volunteered, uncomfortable with the concept of lying, but clearly more than willing to avoid giving full truths.

"Exactly. Totally against policy. I'm glad I'm right." Geoffrey concluded as he turned and carried on with his duties. His eyes rolled skeptically. Molly was playing a very dangerous game. Hopefully she knew what she was doing.

[Lamenting_Quill]

Kiara sputtered and shook her face to avoid the cold flakes being sifted onto her face, she laughed and attempted to kick at him “Agh! You fiend!”
When she felt his grip on her loosen to the point she could move him without too much effort, she rolled him over onto his back and gave him a good kiss “Let's go on inside, hm? I'm freezing and some hot chocolate sounds simply divine”
Never before had Kiara ever felt so free and so deliciously in control of her own life, the feeling was intoxicating and she owed it all to him.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

By tomorrow evening he would finally reach Lousiana, that horribly long plane ride from New York to Mississppi would be more than worth it when he finally saw Kiara's beautiful face.
Hayden had to sigh wistfully as he thought of Kiara, the woman had enchanted him from the moment he first met her. She was so spirited, so vibrant; She was endearingly warm and sweet, but when crossed she could be as fierce as a Lioness. He loved each and every one of those things about her, he planned to spill every ounce of his guts to her once he saw her again.
Unfortunately for him was the fact that there was another man whom felt the exact same way about Kiara James. Though what was most unfortunate was the ignorance of this fact and the terrible danger that awaited him in his quest for love.

Beside him in the passenger seat of his rental car was music sheets, a song Hayden had composed specially for Kiara and her voice. He couldn't wait to present her with his gift of love.
Hayden just couldn't wait to hear Kiara sing again, to hear that ethereal voice echo around him in the opera house as if the most divine voiced angel was singing down from heaven.
Though to Hayden, Kiara was exactly that. It was true that in the beginning he had been a bit of rake when he'd flirted with her, but she had turned his world upside down in just a few short weeks of knowing her.
It really was quite near impossible to not be enchanted by this beautiful auburn haired angel.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^

After Geoffrey had departed from the room, Molly felt her stomach do a complete flip flop and for a moment she felt she might be ill.
Poor Kiara, they really were not giving her any choice in this at all; Adrian was bound and determined to persuade Kiara to stay here in this isolated mansion forever... as his mate.
Oh yes, Molly was absolutely certain that the master intended to turn Kiara eventually into one of the undead like himself.

Molly shivered with fear, the master in his own way was falling in love with Kiara and the poor unsuspecting girl was going to eventually find out just how dangerous it was for a vampire to be in love with you...
“Hayden Parker...” Molly whispered softly as she nibbled her bottom lip, if she could warn him shortly after arriving... then he and Kiara could escape when the master was taking that required sleep of the dead. It would be their best shot, the master couldn't put that off, it was necessary to maintain his immortality.
Vampires truly were frightening creatures, Molly would have left long ago if she could have. Though when Master Adrian paid all of her debts just when her life seemed like it was going to hit rock bottom, Molly knew she could not leave his service with a clear conscience.
Kiara though... she still had a chance... Molly would do her best to see that she got it too.
Her resolve strong, Molly turned to the kitchen sink and began to wash the waiting dirty dishes.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian couldn't help but feel unusually festive as he re-entered the house. His dark pants hadn't been notably changed but his white collar shirt with the 3 undone buttons had been rather ruffled. The rolling around and tussling in the snow had resulted in an uneven slew of damp moisture along the fabric.

"I'm going to head upstairs for a few minutes, no longer than a shower really, I'll have Bertrand put together a couple of hot chocolates."

He could have done more, but at the moment, he wanted Kiara to feel a little more comfortable roaming around his mansion. Heaven help her, soon enough, she wouldn't be able to leave it. Best to keep that 'home' type atmosphere alive as long as possible before she somehow started comparing it to a prison.

Outside of the forbidden 3rd floor, there was nothing she couldn't help herself to. A library of books... a television, a fireplace, there was even an in-house gym area for fencing. The dinning room, the ball room on the 2nd floor, it was really a hotel inside of a home. For Adrian, this resort offered him all the benefits of isolated privacy, without lacking any needs he could possibly long for.

He began undoing the remaining 6 buttons of his shirt as he disappeared over the stairs to the clacking of a shut door. Within 7 minutes, a towel had been set to task, ruffling the blond's hair. He had dumped his white collar shirt into the bucket just inside his door, laundry would be picked up eventually he was sure, but it never really took him more than a glance to see if anything was piling up.

He approached his dresser where a good 30 similar shirts with slight variations in colour were available. A light blue shirt caught his eye before being removed from it's hanger and draped over Adrian's bare back. His eyes scanned the room as he approached his mirror, his buttons over halfway done by the time he got there. Whenever guests were over, Adrian always glanced at his eyes in a mirror. It was another very common misconception, that vampires didn't have reflections.

The truth was, in a mirror, a vampire could see a variety of paranormal substance in their own existence. Perhaps you've noticed, when looking at someone's eyes in a picture, the lens captures this unholy red dot in either eye? Whenever Adrian looked at himself in the mirror, his eyes always presented a very similar searing red ring.

To a mortal, it would go unnoticed unless they were being victimized by the immortal's power, for instance, a conscious paralysis, a puppet-style control of the victim's body where you controlled their motions, but they retained complete sanity and objective thought. They would feel as though they were guests in their own bodies, unable to control it's movements while, frustratingly still being able to see, hear, smell, taste and feel everything.

During such times, the victim might, if close enough see the radiating scorching circle within the depths of the vampire's eyes. It really was quite something. Vampires, evolving like many others as their powers enhanced and grew with time. These glaring flame-like orbs shimmered and grew in density as years, decades and centuries progressed. Each immortal's eyes were slightly different.

It was in such an observation, that Adrian's fingers reached out to collect a post-it note. It appeared Geoffrey had to go into town but for the time being, Adrian had to talk to Molly about...

"-... the arrival of Hayden Parker."

His lips uttered the words with a dull whisper. His tone was nonexistent but had it been any louder, it could have been received as perplexed. One could easily assume that Adrian would be wondering what the hell Hayden would be doing coming to his house.

The post-it was held by his right hand's thumb and index finger, then dabbed between the left hand's thumb and index finger. A second later, the post-it was crumpled up and allowed to fall into the nearby garbage can.

He would have called out to see Molly but chances are, she could have been anywhere in the house. This was where being a vampire just proved to be practical. Molly was aware of everything Adrian was. She was aware of his strength, his speed, his power, there was no shock or fear of the unexpected when it came to finding her. That being said, Adrian never made it a policy to recklessly flaunt his power throwing it about in every which way.

He moved through the halls swiftly, soundlessly over staircases and through rooms. His goal at the moment was to question Molly about the post-it. It was a bit of luck that he happened to come across her in one of the less visited rooms of the house. There was a swift advance towards her as she had been doing dishes.

Soundlessly Adrian's form appeared in the door-way, his shadow interrupting the flow of light into the room was the only hint to Molly of his appearance behind her.

"I think we need to talk." His voice announced his presence, and a mere second later, the room they both occupied was flooded with a violently twirling dark mist. This was similar to the type of mist that was heavily used in Kiara's dream. This was the type of mist that Adrian's alternate means of transportation produced.

"... Somewhere a little more private."


His voice remained dark and steady, though his body had dissipated completely into the dark mist which now twirled like a small twister. A miniature tornado swallowed both bodies but there was no sense of movement. No sense of falling, travel, or transport of any kind was felt. The smoke simply flooded the room barring everything from sight and feel.

When the smoke dissipated, the room that both Molly and Adrian stood in was one of the rooms from the forbidden 3rd floor. It was dark, with only a few candles to light it. The room had a much more ancient feel to it. Wooden items and furniture from Roman times decorated the area. There were shackle chains, torture chairs, even a waist-high replica of one of the lions that had been notable for fierce brutality during Gladiator events. An open coffin rested against the far wall, dark purple luxury padding gave the crass metallic 'box' a light, smooth and elegant appearance. 3 of these were placed in the room, 2 were laid down onto either side, out of view behind the statue of the lion.

The door would have never been opened or shut, they would have simply been 'beamed' into some kind of ancient attic of the house. The room had been soundproofed, highly restricted and treated as 'forbidden' to any guests for near a century now. This was where Adrian maintained the prized possessions of his late father. He had no place for them in his life, but could never do away with them. If out of no other reason than sheer respect, he kept this forbidden attic as a symbolic temple to his father.

"Is there something we need to talk about Molly-...?"

[Lamenting_Quill]

"Is there something we need to talk about Molly-...?"

Molly stared upon her master in sheer terror, she knew the danger she faced right now and if her cards were not played correctly... she knew he would kill her. Adrian was not someone you would want to make angry and she had placed a potentially dangerous wrench into his plans.
"I... I'm not particularly certain as to what you mean, sir" Molly replied, forcing herself to remain calm "Is something wrong?"

Playing stupid right now was the best thing Molly could think of and as his questions were asked, she would answer him with the appropriate answers as to avoid suspicion of treachery.
She was currently Kiara and Hayden's only hope, she was the only one whom was willing to warn them and protect them from the lethal danger that waited for them in this house.

"If I have done anything wrong, sir, please tell me" Molly replied "I am as grateful as ever for my job, you were so kind to hire me after paying my debts"
Molly forced herself not to gaze about the attic, she knew very few ever ventured here aside from master Adrian. She needed to tread very softly right now, it would be incredibly stupid to irritate the master; Molly was in over her head as it was.

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's lips pursed together as he allowed himself to close the gap between himself and Molly. His pace was almost sovereign as though he expected her to take a step back as he approached. His presence dominating in and of itself, and clearly he was aware of it. He allowed his left hand to trail along the surface of the replica lion until he approached her and bypassed, her, stepping behind.

"Molly, do you know anything about Hayden Parker's arrival."

He allowed his voice to remain calm. Molly's anxiety was palpable, almost impossible not to taste. Certainly she was nervous about something.

x

[Lamenting_Quill]

Molly bit her bottom lip hard and sighed "Yes, sir. Mr. Parker called the other night about Ms. James. He got the number from Ms. James's father, I didn't know that I'd done anything wrong. I figured Mr. Parker would be able to assist Ms. James in returning to her parents. I sincerely apologize if I have upset you"
Her suspicions were correct, Adrian was indeed falling in love with Kiara, that much was obvious in Adrian's actions and expressions. He felt cheated.

"Please forgive me, sir" Molly whispered softly, almost pleading.

*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*

After returning to her room, Kiara decided that while she waited on Adrian those hot chocolates, she would indulge in a nice hot shower.
As she stepped out of the shower stall, she reached for a towel and dried herself off before she slipped into a fluffy scarlet robe.
Making sure the belt was tied tightly around her waist, Kiara emerged from the bathroom to the bedroom to where her full length mirror stood in its stand.

She was surprised when she looked into the mirror at her appearance, she looked incredibly sexy right now.
The scarlet robe ended just beneath her pleasantly rounded bottom and her long waist length auburn hair was still damp and tousled.
With a smile, Kiara decided that she wouldn't change after all, she wanted to see Adrian's face when he entered to see her like this.

It wouldn't be very long now either until Adrian arrived and Kiara was more than ready to allow herself this oh so delicious indulgence.

[Alexis Sapphire]

"Molly-... Molly... Molly..." Adrian's tone was patronizing. In fact it was designed to be irritatingly so. There was something addicting about being such a power figure. Anything he wanted to achieve, he could, anything he wanted to do to others, he could. This made it so that he could feel justified in asking anything of anyone and if they denied him well... they were fair game.

In Adrian's eyes, Molly might have been little more than cattle. She was not beyond his objectifying her and while it was not something he was fond of admitting, it was often true about society. People strive to be compassionate and caring, but in the end, it's easy to love and care for some than others. Sometimes, you just aren't motivated to hurt if someone else is hurt.

Right now, Molly's fear, anxiety, nervousness or confusion didn't cause Adrian to blink in dislike. In fact, he enjoyed it. There were times when you just had to allow yourself to enjoy the perks of your power.

This being one of those times-... he allowed his palm to gently press onto Molly's left shoulder as he stood behind her. His right hand seemed to hover over her back, fingertips gently grazing the fabric of her maid's attire. With only fractions of space itself, those fingertips could have a real chance of entangling themselves with the bow-tied linen which just might make it tougher for the outer layer of the luxury satin french maid attire to have as much give as it was designed to.

"... Do you think me so heartless?" He whispered huskily.

[Lamenting_Quill]

"N-no" Molly murmured, shaking her head vigorously "But Ms. James... She... She has a life... a man who adores her..."
Oh god! She should not have said that, she never should have mentioned Hayden in terms of a romantic possibility for Kiara. Molly had accidentally just signed Hayden's death warrant.

"I mean, you could have any woman you wanted as a mate, you barely know Ms. James! Think about it, what about all of those fancy vampires ladies that come by sometimes!"
It was useless now to play stupid with Adrian, she knew what he desired with Kiara and he knew that she knew "Sir, I will never question you again if you just tell me one thing... do you love her? Are you in love with Kiara James?"

She prayed to all that was holy that Adrian would say no, that she could guiltlessly help Kiara to escape with Hayden.
Though right now part of her was really wishing she had listened to Geoffrey when he told her to just stay out of Adrian's business, that Adrian would do as he pleased and there was nothing anyone else could do about it. To try was stupid and potentially suicidal, Molly was starting to realize that now.
"If Ms. James were to remain here..." Molly said, trying to reason with her master "Then the world would never be able to enjoy her beautiful voice on stage anymore..."

[Alexis Sapphire]

Adrian's lips were now free to twitch into a grin, his palms set to new purpose. One from behind her back moved to wrap itself around the Maid's waist. The 2nd, from her shoulder proceeded to rub down towards her chest, but stopped just short, instead, his fingers cupping her neck firmly as he stood behind her.

Adrian held the maid close to him, letting the firm chest and stomach warm her back while giving her little to no choice in the matter. His palm around the front of her neck seemed to send a very strong message though he made no real squeezing motion.

"I can feel your pulse..."

His voice deep and dark, as always, but much less casual than normal. There was an eerie nature to his tone, much like that of any predator toying with their prey.

His hand that wrapped around Molly's waist made it impossible for her to turn any which way. He almost seemed reluctant to actually answer her concerns, and that in itself was an answer in a funny sort of way.

"You're not necessarily wrong my dear. In fact, you could be very right. Unfortunately, those who have the power make the rules."

There was no one to truly hold Adrian accountable and that was what Molly failed to acknowledge. Her fear clearly stated that she understood it, it was just that she held Adrian to a standard of mortal men. Yes... Kiara's well being and her free will would be cherished by anyone else... but to Adrian, Kiara was a pursuit. Maybe she would be happier with him, maybe not, but when the alternative was that her life could end outside of these walls, well... Adrian decided to voice the end of that thought process.

"Kiara's life-... like yours, is what I decide it will be."

With a swift motion, Adrian let his tongue seep out, gently tracing a thin trail as he trapped Molly's ear lobe between his lips and gave it a suckling kiss. Upon releasing it, his grin subsided.

His arms released her with a small shove. Her body would have rotated slightly, but no sooner had she managed to maintain her baring had his orbs seared into her soul. With a light ring of red appearing in the dark brown orbs, Molly would have found herself too late to escape the immortal's power.

Right now... she had been cast under Adrian's puppet technique. It allowed his grin to return with a polite tip of the head. She could speak, think, argue, try to fight it... but at the moment, her body would move just as Adrian mentally directed...

And he mentally directed her to walk towards his open coffin.

He walked beside her, as though flaunting his power. She could try to fight it, but would only succeed in slowing her pace, it was as though Adrian's mind controlled her body and she were merely a critiquing observer.

"Now-... I'd like to not ruin my appetite but I will be back shortly. You rest my dear Molly."

As Molly would have been frustrated and scared, perhaps even angry, it would not have prevented her from stepping into the open casket. With a tilt of his head, Adrian shut the lid from the outside.

"Allow me-..."

With that, he made his way out the door, any sounds Molly might have made could only be heard thanks to his enhanced abilities. As he locked the door behind him, he made his way towards Kiara's door. He took a few seconds to adjust his collar and clear his throat before knocking three times on the door.

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