The vampire standing across the room from me had to be no more than ten years of human age. She had bright red hair and bright red eyes the size of an anime character. "Hiya! My name's Olivia. You, you smell amazing."

Derek stepped back in front of me. "Alright, you met each other. Now up to your room."

"Why does she smell like that, Derek? Can I taste her? I bet she tastes amazing." She kept advancing forward.

"No. Room, now." Derek grabbed a hold of my forearm and began to lead me to a set of white carpeted stairs.

Olivia appeared in between us and our pathway. "Just a bite."

"No!" Derek yelled.

She lunged forward, and Derek used all of his strength to shove me out of the way. I went airborne and collided with a coffee table that was adorned with a single vase. It shattered into my arm and the table broke under my weight. I landed with a crash and my vision went black for a split second. A whimper escaped my lips.

"Brandon! Downstairs, now!" Derek yelled. He was holding Olivia's arms at her sides against the fall wall of the entry room. She looked like a rabid animal, trashing against Derek's grasp.

In the blink of an eye a boy was standing at the edge of the stairs. He was wearing a red lifeguard jacket and gray sweat pants. His hair was sandy blonde and was messily done up. Dark golden eyes met my stare, "I'll grab the girl. You take care of Olivia. Meet you in the basement." He murmured.

I was suddenly in his arms and being carried down a narrow set of unlit steps. "You must be the Pureblood. I'm Brandon." His teeth were so white they could have lit up the stairway.

For whatever reason, I couldn't look away from his eyes. I was lost in them and I didn't mind in the slightest. "Yes, sir. I'm Jessica."

"What a lovely name for a lovely girl." He opened the basement door and stepped inside. The basement was relatively small, well, smaller than I was used to. A beat up old mattress, two double door cabinets and a single light bulb swinging from the low hanging ceiling. It was what basements were supposed to look like. Not torture chambers like Finnigan and Tanner's were.

Brandon set me down on the mattress and took a seat next to me. His eyes looked me over thoroughly and the left corner of his mouth came up in a heart-melting smirk. "I cannot wait until Derek lets me play with you."

"I, uh, um," I scrambled to respond. Jesus, Jess, you haven't been this tongue tied talking to a boy since you first met Tanner in school. Stop acting so psycho and calm yourself.

"That's quite the shard of glass you have in your arm there. Let me help you with that." He sped to one of the cabinets and started digging through it. I was so caught up in his features I completely forgot that I had just been shoved against a table and ruined a (probably very expensive) vase. I glanced down at my right arm. A triangular piece of class about the size of an index card was lodged into it. I had also acquired several other scratches from other shards. My stomach started to churn. It was like when a bruise doesn't start to hurt until you notice it. My arm hadn't hurt until I saw how big the shard was. Brandon returned with gauze, a towel, and medical tape. "I can't lie to you, babe. This is going to hurt a lot, but I'll go as quick as I can. Ready?"

I nodded, "Yes, sir. I can take it." My eyes didn't leave my arm. He was going to pull the glass out. I shivered just thinking about it.

Brandon laughed softly, "you sure are a polite little one. Take a deep breath."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath in. Just as I was about to exhale I felt the bitter sweet burning of the glass leaving my arm. Every muscle in my body clenched and I bit down on my bottom lip. Holy hell did that hurt! My eyes shot open and looked at the gaping hole now in my arm. Blood poured out of it and onto the towel Brandon had laid under it. I felt faint; I was losing a lot of blood. He lifted my arm to his mouth. We locked eyes as he licked up my arm. His tongue on my skin gave me chills. He licked all of the blood from on and around my cut before quickly pressing the gauze into the wound and wrapping it in tape. "I'm impressed, you didn't make a sound." Brandon let go of my arm and I let it fall onto my lap.

"Thank you, sir. I have a high pain tolerance."

The door opened behind us and Derek came rushing in. "I'm so sorry. She was supposed to be in her room and far away from you. Are you okay?"

I starred up at him, his eyes held such worry. It was strange to see in a stranger I had met mere hours ago. "I'm okay."

Derek held his hand out and helped me off the bed. His hand lingered in mine as he examined my wrapped up arm.

"Thankfully for her, I was there to save the day," Brandon added. The two exchanged knowing glances before Derek turned back to me. "Now that all of that excitement is over, let's go get you cleaned up. I glanced down at my black cocktail dress I had been stuck in for the past three days. My feet ached from the heals they had been crammed in too. God, I was a hot mess. It would feel so nice to be able to take a shower or at least get a change of clothes.

"Do you need anything else? I'd be more than happy to assist our new friend." Brandon's stare felt like it was going under my clothes. I felt naked in his eyes. The burning feeling in my cheeks returned and I looked to the ground.

Derek led me forward, "no, thanks. I can take care of her from here on in." His tone held something in it. It wasn't vigor but it was far from sincerity either.

Once upstairs Derek pointed out each of the five rooms on the second floor. He started with the one furthest left, "that's Olivia's room which used to be our guest room. Never go near it under any circumstances." Her door was closed and the light was off. I wonder how he had calmed her down. "Next," right next to Olivia's, "is my staff's room. Their are carries over into the next room." Once of those doors were open and the light was on. I heard low murmurs coming from it but nothing I could distinctly make out. Derek must own a lot of humans if they take up two rooms. "That room is Brandon's," he pointed to a door decorated with various stickers. "Finally," he walked to the last do and twisted the handle, "my room."

The majority of Derek's room was made up of his massive king sized bed. It sat perched on a gorgeous dark mahogany bed frame. Each of the four post looked hand carved and the headboard entailed a meticulous woodland design. His sheets were a dark blue, which contrasted with the light blue and white walls. To the left of the room were two floor to ceiling mirrors that rolled on tracks to reveal a walk in closet. On the right was an open door I assumed let to a personal bathroom. "You have a lovely room." I commented.

Derek looked back at me with a sincere smile. "Why, thank you. I'm glad you like I because you'll be spending the majority of your time here." He continued to walk into the bathroom and I followed.

"I thought I'd stay down in the basement. I figured that's why the mattress was there." Was he really going to force me to sleep in his room with him? That was uncomfortable on a number of levels.

He shook his head, "there's no way I'm letting you more than a few feet away from me while you're here. You're way too valuable, love." I frowned. Great, there goes any chance I had of attempting escape.

The bathroom was twice the size of my old bedroom at least. It had his and hers sinks, a giant shower with a frosted glass door and a bathtub that could easily be mistaken for a jacuzzi. If this were my bathroom, I would never leave it. Derek opened the shower door and turned the water on. "Everything you should need is in there. Hop in, don't worry, I won't look." He turned his body to face the wall. I stood there, frozen. What was this gentleman nonsense? Finnigan wasn't even that reserved. I thought he was supposed to be like Jared?

"Wow. Thank you," I finally stated. I slipped off my dress and heals and climbed in. My eyes rolled back in my head. It honestly took everything I had not to moan as the warm water rolled down my skin. In hiengnsight, it was depressing that something as simple as showering could become so treasured and euphoric but I didn't care. I was in heaven.

"I don't think I'll ever get used those American manners of yours. You act as if I had the option not to let you do something as necessary as showering."

I jumped. Everything had felt so good I forgot he hadn't left the room. "I'm sorry. I'll try my hardest to stop it but it's what I was taught for years and years."

"Don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong. Enjoy your shower. I'll be on the other side of the door if you need anything at all. Come out when you're done. I left you fresh clothes on the counter top."