It was early enough that he felt comfortable taking a short nap before setting up within the tavern and somehow dragging himself through another night. It didn't sound at all appealing but at least he'd get to see Hannah. She'd been rather scarce over the past week, only appearing at night and often retreating to her room before the sun rose. He didn't know if she was avoiding him on purpose, but it sure felt like it. He forced one foot in front of the other up the steps as he tiredly rubbed at the back of his neck.
Reaching the second floor landing, he stepped off the steps and made his way to his room. He was almost there when the door at the end of the hall opened. He froze as Hannah stepped into the hall and closed the door on her bedroom. She turned and froze, her eyes widened, her hand instinctively went back to the knob of her door.
Jack forgot all about how tired he was. She was avoiding him. He didn't know what to make of that realization but he wasn't going to let it continue. There had been an uncomfortable itch in his skin over the past few days, an itch he was certain that only she could scratch. Before she could get the door open again he was standing beside her. A small squeak escaped her; she took a startled step back as his hand curled around hers on the knob and he maneuvered her so that they were both inside the sparsely decorated room.
"Jack, I have to get downstairs!" she protested as she tried to jerk her hand away from his.
"Then why were you trying to escape back into your room?"
Her shoulders squared as she scowled at him. "I forgot something."
"What?"
"What does that matter to you?"
He couldn't help but smile as he leaned closer to her. "Because you're avoiding me."
"I am not," she told him as she folded her arms over her chest.
He pressed closer but she didn't retreat as his chest brushed up against her arms. Even this casual of a touch between them was enough to make his skin stop crawling and the pressure in his chest ease. "You are."
He might have been angrier about this fact if he hadn't felt the tension ease from her as well. She leaned toward him and her jaw unclenched. She smelled of soap with a faint hint of apple blossoms that reminded him of spring in the forest. Her face turned into him as he ran his knuckle over her pale cheek toward the hollow of her throat.
Brushing back the hair falling over her neck, he was disappointed to see that his marks had faded, but then they would have by now. A small sound escaped her as he pressed his fingers over the place where he had taken her blood from her. The green of her eyes darkened as they focused upon him, her lips parted.
Wrapping his hand around the nape of her neck, he drew her closer to him but instead of kissing her like he longed to do; he rested his cheek against hers. A small tremor worked its way through her, her hands curled into his shirt as she pulled him closer. Jack ran his hands over her shoulders and down her back, the movement caused her lips to brush over his neck.
His hands tensed upon her, he pulled her a step closer as excitement hammered through him. He felt the press of her fangs against his skin; a low moan escaped her as her fingers curled into his back. The muscles in her body shook as she resisted the urge to sink her fangs into him. He'd never wanted anything more in his lengthy life, but even still he clasped hold of her face and gently pulled her away from him.
He knew what they would be getting into if she drank from him, she didn't. Her reddened eyes met his; she'd bitten into her own lip hard enough to cause a trickle of blood to flow down her chin. It was the most tempting thing he'd ever seen as the scent of it entangled itself around him and tried to lure him closer.
"I don't understand this," she whispered forlornly.
He wiped the blood from her chin and rubbed it on his pants before he lost the fight with himself and tasted her again. "You will, we have to talk." Her eyes flashed between green and red as they met his. "It's ok Hannah; just take some time to regain control of yourself."
She closed her eyes as another shudder made its way through her willowy frame. It took all he had not to pull her close again, but that wouldn't be good for either one of them. When she opened her eyes they were haunted and troubled but they remained a pure green. Taking her hand within both of his, he led her over to the bed.
Her head bowed as she sat on the bed and folded her hands before her. The chair was still beside the bed but he thought it was better if he stayed as far from her as possible right now. Though the innate pull he felt toward her was as persistent as the flow of the tide, he wasn't about to create and seal the bloodlink between them without her knowing about it first. If a bloodlink was indeed what this connection between them was.
She finally lifted her head and met his gaze. "I'm sorry; I don't know what came over me."
He rested his arm on the bureau as he focused on her. "I think I do."
"You do?"
He couldn't help but smile at the skeptical tone of her voice. "Have you ever heard of something called a bloodlink?" He wasn't surprised when she shook her head no, not many vampires did know about the mystical bond that sometimes ensnared two of them. "It's something that rarely happens between two vampires and even more rarely between a vampire and a human, like it did with Braith and Aria."
"Ok," she said slowly.
"It's an extremely intense bond, one that nearly drove my brother mad when he was separated from Aria. When I separated him from Aria."
"Why would you do that?"
Jack tugged at his hair as he shook his head. "I had to get her out of that palace. No matter how much Braith loved her, no matter how powerful he was, my father and Caleb would have eventually seen to it that she was killed. They would have killed Braith too as he never would have allowed such a thing to happen to her. When I took her from there I didn't realize how intense their bond was or I would have done things differently, but I couldn't stand to see her lost. She's been like a little sister to me for seven years; I protected her and I love her."