The Billionaire's Baby (Key to My Heart Book 3) (14 page)

He shrugged, smirking a bit, "I'm a master at all kinds of things, kid. ‘I spy’ included."

Rolling her eyes, Nia suddenly spotted her village in the distance, "I spy with my little eye…" pausing to give Ellis time to interrupt, which he surprisingly didn't, "something wooden!"

He stopped abruptly, twisting his head to stare at her, "Stupid, that's now how you play!"

She pouted, letting go of his neck to awkwardly to cross her arms, "Everything's green and brown here, I had to change it up! Besides, why would you care, you hate this game anyways!"

"I hate it even more when you go and change the rules!" He retorted with a smug snort.

He abruptly took his arm out from under her legs to cross them himself, letting her fall with a tiny squeal to the ground.

He turned, towering over her and glaring darkly, "Never change the rules again!" then turned and stormed off towards her village.

She winced, jumping to her feet with a slight touch to her throbbing stomach before chasing after him into her village as thunder clouds began to roll overhead, quietly whispering soft rumbles to those beneath.

Chapter Five

Nia watched from several yards away as Ellis came to an abrupt stop, pacing for several moments then turning around to wait for her, foot tapping in restless agitation.

"Hurry up you stupid, slow, tater tot, short-"

"What's up?" Nia asked breathlessly as soon as she was able to catch up, huffing just slightly in an attempt to catch her breath.

For a girl trotting around mysterious forests on a regular basis, Ellis observed, the redhead was certainly having some difficulty.

Ellis simply pointed with his free arm up towards the sky, where all Nia could see were some low, dark clouds. Potatoes, however, mewled in sympathetic understanding.

Ellis snuggled the kitty up under his chin, directing a short glare at the redhead, "You're the only one who really gets me, Potatoes." He whispered to cat with a pitiful sigh.

Nia groaned, rolling her eyes and striding past him towards where the village waited only a small sprint away.

Ellis, however, had other plans, grabbing her arm in a harsh hold, "I can't, stupid. The sun."

He gave another exaggerated motion with this pale hand towards the overcast sky.

She frowned, glancing around for a few moments, judging the distance to the village. The pair were settled at the edge of the forest, her village located just a few yards out in a clearing – however, for those yards there were no trees to block any incoming sunlight, and once they were in the village there was no place but her home to shield Ellis. The others, she figured, would be less welcoming of the pale egotistical vampire.

"The sun's not even out right now! It's all cloudy." Nia frowned, crossing her arms.

She was ready to be home, she needed to rest. Her head spun slightly, dizzy from all the commotion of the last few hours.

Ellis shook his head, "Kid, that doesn't matter. Just because it's cloudy doesn't mean that the sun's rays don't get through. I can still get burned. I'm getting burned now and we're blocked by the trees."

He pointed in urgent agitation at the pink swelling on his cheeks, thin lips still pouting childishly, "Hide me somewhere in the forest till evening, then we can go to your village, and I'll drop you off and head on my own way to find a new home without your annoying self."

Nia put her hands on her hips, arching an unsympathetic eyebrow, "You're leaving?"

"Uh, duh. Why would I stick around?"

Nia shifted her feet uncomfortably, staring at the ground before glancing up at him sheepishly, "But what about the prophecy?" She whispered, "What if you're that 'special person'?"

The vampire snorted in response and shrugged, "What do I care?"

Potatoes interrupted with an impatient meow, squirming in Ellis's arms until he reluctantly put her down, "Kid, come on, enough arguing! I need cover!"

"I'm really not feeling good and my village is right there! Just run really fast into the village. You can do that, right? Run super fast and stuff. Vampire perks?"

Ellis didn't answer, glaring even harder at the tiny girl who stamped her foot in response, "Come on!"

Potatoes, however, after wiggling her whiskers wisely and pacing for a moment, quite enjoying the feel of the breeze and faint heat of dim sun on her fur, took off into the village. Ellis glared after the cat, muttering under his breath about stupid kittens that didn't have to worry about being sunburned.

"God, Ellis, it's about to rain!" Nia interrupted in exasperation.

"So find me a place to hide!" He retorted, gazing down at the blisters that were beginning to pucker on his arms. This was not good, not good at all.

Frazzled, Nia finally gave in, grabbing his ear and hauling him off back into the forest, ignoring his cries for her to release him.

"There's a place I used to play as a kid-" Nia cut off with a shrill shriek that made Ellis wince as rain suddenly pounded mercilessly on the pair – quickly soaking them through with water.

Ellis, blinded by spraying water, red hair, and tan skin, could only follow Nia as she took off into the forest, practically dragging her taller, hunched over partner by the ear.

Before he knew what was happening he was shoved up against a cold stone wall, curled into such an awkward position that he swore his knee was tucked nearly behind his head. For several long moments he couldn't see where he was, what he was shoved up against, his arms were pinned painfully against his side, a large, rough rock shoved up against his back, arching it at an excruciating angle.

He shifted, squinting and squirming in an attempt to see, when he became suddenly aware of the very warm little body pressed against him, and the fact that his face buried in Nia's stomach. Had she been this warm earlier? Perhaps it was just the coolness of the rain that made her seem more like a furnace this afternoon.

He let his head slowly tilt backwards, listening to gentle thrumming of the rain and Nia's heart against his shoulder, until he found the green eyed gaze that he had been searching for.

Nia was as at an equally awkward angle, hands pressed against the stone at either side of his face, dangerously close to her own, scrawny legs bent and pressed against his own legs. She didn’t pay attention to his stare, looking out through the rocks at the torrent of raindrops.

Ellis glanced around momentarily, unable to move his head anymore, and realized that they were in a tiny enclave looking thing, barely wide enough to contain their bodies, a sheet of rain spilling off the roof just inches away.

"I remembered it being bigger." Nia explained sheepishly, "When I used to play hide and seek and stuff I always hid here. Used to be an altar or something."

Ellis glared up into her wide eyes, which stared back in almost exaggerated innocence, and was struck with the sharp shock of déjà vu. He was positive that he had seen those same eyes somewhere else besides on Nia's childish face, but for the life of him, he could not recall exactly where.

He turned his face away from Nia's, agitated at his failing memory, and found his face buried in the tan flesh at the base of her neck.

Caught off guard, he found himself quickly enjoying being so close to her neck, breathing in the subtle scent of lemongrass in her hair and blood rising off her skin.

Nia seemed completely unaware of the circumstances, giving a lethargic yawn and settling down against him, "Wake me up when you finally feel like getting out of here." She muttered, just a hint of bitter agitation dripping off her words.

It was the vampire’s fault that they hadn't gotten in the village in time to avoid the rain after all, according to her anyways.

He gave half a grunt, letting his arms sneak up slowly around her waist, trapping her stealthily against his body. His eyes caught on a tiny freckle resting right over her vein, swaying just slightly with every pulse of the vein as blood rushed through it. He parted his lips, slowly bringing his mouth closer to the softness of her skin.

She suddenly began speaking, and Ellis, thinking he'd been caught, jerked backwards so hard that he banged his head against the stone wall.

"You know, there's something that's been bothering me." Nia whispered, and the way her voice dipped and the way her eyes lowered away from him made him anxious enough that he momentarily forgot his hunger and the scent of her throat.

She stayed silent for some time while Ellis simply stared at her, occasional rainy spray leaving glittery specks of dampness on her cheeks, red hair in a mop of dripping mess around her circular face.

"The tunnel that we escaped from…it was made-"

A sudden boom of thunder made Nia jump and shove herself against Ellis in shock, wrapping her arms around his neck and clinging as though her life depended on it.

Once again, Ellis found his face against her neck, irresistible temptation just centimeters from his mouth.

How was he supposed to help himself? He was vampire, he was basically pure survival instinct wrapped in a deadly package. A deadly handsome package, he would reckon smugly.

His arms, already around her, suddenly tightened into a vice grip, though Nia didn't argue, she was probably cold.

"Are you scared, Ellis?" She asked, voice muffled against the side of his head, “I didn’t think vampires were afraid of thunder.”

When he didn't answer she repeated her question, confusion betraying the permanently cocky lilt of her too high pitched voice.

"Kid," He hissed hoarsely, the word so acidic and harsh that it caused Nia to jump, "I'm sorry."

She grabbed his shoulders, bewildered, and tried to shove away as much as was able in their tiny, cramped space, only to find his hold unrelinquishing.

"S-sorry for what?" She sputtered, still awkwardly squirming and yanking away, surprisingly, however, no plants attacked the vampire.

Clearly, Nia didn't feel that she was in that much danger. She was confused, that much was sure, and a little apprehensive, but trusting. Too trusting, it would shortly prove.

Unfortunately, her trust in the vampire was misguided.

His large hand forcefully grabbed the back of her head, fingers knitting in the messy, damp curls, forcing her to be still as his teeth sank into her neck without a second’s more hesitation.

She cried out sharply from the pain, clenching her hands hard onto his shoulders and trying to shove him away, whimpers muffled against the sopping chaos that was his own dark hair.

Finally, after what seemed to be days and days of crying and pain and limp struggling, Ellis slowly lifted his fangs away, staring at the red trails of liquid that slowly dripped down her neck and blossomed into tiny red flowers on the neckline of her white blouse.

His eyes hesitantly lifted to meet Nia's, only to find them vacant and heavy lidded, confusion laden, and somewhat empty.

Had he stolen that much? He’d been sure, so sure, that even through the delicious meal that was her blood, he’d been careful. Of course, accidents and miss-measures happen rather frequently in the bloodthirsty world of a vampire.

Guilt instantly flooded him, he grabbed her closer, giving her a gentle shake in an attempt to steady her gaze, "Hey, tater tot, talk to me."

She opened her mouth slowly, only to close it again, green eyes drifting sleepily shut.

He'd put so much effort into saving her and keeping her alive when they were held captive, she was 
not
 allowed to die by his own hand. The shame that would bring him. All of his other vampire friends would mock him forever.

If he had other vampire friends.

He gave her another rough shake, glaring into her blank face, "I said to talk, stupid!"

"…don't feel…good…" She whispered, before passing out limp in his arms.

Ellis panicked, then flew awkwardly out of the broken down altar, Nia bundled up tight in his arms. He ran towards the village, still sheltered by the trees, cradling the tiny redhead close in her arms, shielding her from the downpour and holding her as though she were a fragile baby in a most un-deadly vampire-like way.

All too soon, Ellis had reached the crest of the forest, giving a tentative glance towards the sunless sky and another glance towards the village, then took an unsteady step forward onto the unshaded ground, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.

He did not run, he carefully put one unsteady foot in front of the other, face directed towards the village, Nia still cuddled close into his chest. He continued cautiously moving towards the village, focusing as deeply as possible.

Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe.

His front toes bumped up against the slightly elevated feel of packed dirt, signaling to him that he had successfully entered the village. All he could hear was the trill of pattering rain, there were no voices on the roads today.

Now what? He had no clue where to go.

Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe.

He could feel the heat of the sun against the back of his neck, slowly searing and burning against the pale pinkness of his skin. Fortunately, thanks to Nia’s crimson blood, he would heal quickly once inside.

If he ever reached the inside.

Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe.

When had the rain stopped? He only just noticed that they were no longer being soaked to the bone. All that was left were the remnants of freezing water clinging to their clothes and hair and eyelashes.

Nia was shivering in his arms.

Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe.

Ellis was nearly positive he heard the whisper of a friendly meow and the brush of a certain calico cat against his ankles.

Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe. Step. Breathe.

"Is…is that….Nia?" A sudden voice, slightly deep and very tired, called out, causing Ellis to jump.

He stumbled quite ungracefully and hesitated, flinching and concentrating on breathing.

Was he trembling?

"Why don't you come in?" The voice was closer now, right next to him, a tiny hand resting abruptly on Ellis's elbow. Ellis was sure it was a woman now.