CHAPTER 13 - RED HAIR

The house is still and silent. Ophelia and Max are upstairs in bed. Fred and I sit on the sofa. He is reading a book and I lie with my head in his lap. The room is illuminated by a single lamp in the corner. It gives off a warm yellowy glow.

Bree and Diego have gone for a walk. I can't say I'm not worried. However, I trust them and Diego is very controlled. I know he won't let anything get out of hand. I think they became restless, being cooped up in the house. They're so used to having a large house to move around in, that Ophelia's must seem tiny.

It was great having Fred and the others meet Ophelia and Max. It all went smoothly and hadn't been long before Max was excitedly gesticulating about how interesting the vampire world was. He was so fascinated with every little detail Fred and Diego told him. I'm still puzzling over why he is so enthralled by vampires. Typically this goes against everything that history tells me about the relationship between our two species. I'm sure there's more to it.

Ophelia and Bree seemed to hit it off immediately. Before she went to bed, she pulled me to one side and told me how much Bree reminds her of me. She said she sees an excited twinkle in Bree's eyes that I had when Ophelia and I first met.

It is around one in the morning now. Fred has finished his book and places it on the coffee table. He begins to play with my hair. His fingers twist around the individual strands. He rolls my body over, so I am on my back, and pulls me up to his meet face.

His kisses start soft and gentle, on my neck and cheek. Then he reaches my lips and becomes more urgent. This is the first time we have been alone together properly. It's been so long. The aching pain in my stomach returns and all the feelings that have been building up rush out. My arms wrap around his neck and he wraps his around my waist. Fred pulls me in closer. The kiss deepens. His feelings reflect mine almost exactly.

I kiss down his neck and my hands go to the bottom of his shirt. The material rips easily under my fingers. He pulls away from my mouth and grins. I bite my lip. If I could blush, I would be.

"Sometimes I don't know my own strength," I say.

He laughs. "That was my favourite shirt."

"That was your only shirt," I smile.

I pull the remaining fabric from his body. His grip tightens on my waist. His hands begin to lift my shirt. My kisses continue down his neck onto his chest.

We are interrupted by a tremendous crash echoing through the house. We both freeze. I pull myself off of Fred. Cold wind rushes into the room. I pull my shirt down and run a hand through my hair nervously. Fred gets to his feet. "Stay behind me. I'll keep us safe." I place my palm on his back. If we're going to fight, we will fight together. A glow seems to envelop us. I have a feeling this is his power. Just as he's about to walk forward, a figure appears in the doorway of the living room. In the low light from the lamp, I see one thing and it's enough to identify who it is.

Red hair...

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