Chapter 40

Holly awoke, her body aching, but not as bad as she had expected. She was relieved that nightmares hadn't plagued her during her sleep. She actually slept well. She could feel her body getting stronger and healing thanks to Aiden's strong blood.

She had actually drank from a male of her race. The implications scared her and made her a little giddy. Aiden had said that she was his female. She opened her eyes and reached over to find him. The bed was empty.

Disappointment moved in, and she curled up in a ball and pulled the covers up to her chin. Had he not come back, after he promised he would? Had he taken one of the most sacred traditions of their race and made a total farce out of it?

She felt like crying, and closed her eyes and buried her head under the covers.

Just as the tears began to streak down her face, she heard a soft click.

"Holly?" A deep voice said quietly.

She peeked out from under the covers to see Aiden standing in the middle of the room with a tray of food dressed in gray sweats and a blue t-shirt.

His warm eyes met hers. A small smile crossed his face until it registered that she was crying. He set the tray down on the bureau, went to the bed, and sat down.

"What is it, Holly?" he asked, his face a mask of worry. "Are you hurting somewhere? I think the doctor is still here. Do you want me to get him?"

Holly sniffed and wiped her cheeks. "No. No. I'm doing better today."

"Then why are you crying?"

She hated the fact that she was feeling like such a needy female. She wanted to be with Aiden so badly, wanted him to take care of her, to love her. When he wasn't here when she woke, she had been certain he had bolted. Again. She felt so fragile and vulnerable, as if anything could be the one thing to break her. If Aiden bailed again, she didn't think she would be able to handle it like she had last time.

She remembered when she had lived in Georgia a few years back and moved in with a human girl in her 20's. Her boyfriend had broken up with her, and Holly had watched her consume large amounts of wine, ice cream, and used a few boxes of Kleenex while she watched talk shows on TV. After a few days, the girl seemed to be feeling better. Holly thought that if Aiden hadn't returned, then she would go the same route. She had never had to before as her relationship experience was so limited, but it seemed like the thing to do.

"I . . . I just am, Aiden."

He looked over her face again, obviously not buying her line.

"Holly, you don't cry just because. There's a reason. If you don't want to talk about now, fine. But know that I'm here, okay?"

Holly felt the tears start back up again. She sat up slowly, clinging the sheet to her breasts. She buried her head in his chest, once again gripping the t-shirt that covered his huge body. His arms circled her, and she cried harder.

"Holly, what can I do to help you?"

"You're doing it, Aiden."

After a couple minutes Holly finally stopped sobbing and looked up at Aiden. She could see in his face that he was still concerned, and she felt silly for her little outburst. She wasn't much of a crier. But then again, she had been through a lot, and her nerves were beyond frayed.

Their eyes locked, and Holly felt the air leave the room, just as it always did when she was with Aiden. She could feel the heat radiating from his eyes and body.

"Did you come back here last night?"

"Yes."

"Are you lying to me?

"Have I lied to you yet?"

Holly thought about that for a minute, and came up with a big fat no. Apparently she was not going to have to throw herself into the tub of ice cream and bottle of wine.

"Kiss me," she whispered.

A brief smile played on his lips, and then they met hers.

The kiss was gentle. Holly had a gash in her lip, and Aiden kept the kiss light, yet it nearly knocked her to the floor. The room spun and heat licked through her body. Aiden pulled away and Holly saw the lust in his eyes.

He cleared his throat. "I brought you food. You should try to eat."

She nodded. She wanted so badly to be with Aiden, but she knew why he had stopped. She was battered and still sore. A session of sex would most likely re-bruise her and open cuts that needed to knit. She sat back and willed her body to hurry up and heal, for God's sake.

Holly slowly ate the leftover turkey, mashed potatoes and salad. As she ate, she thought about Myla being dead, and the picture I.D.

She cleared her plate, and Aiden took the tray to the bureau.

"I want to see the picture, Aiden," she said quietly.

"Why don't we wait until you're a bit stronger?"

Holly shook her head. "No, Aiden. I want to do it now. I want to work on closure."

Aiden sighed and pulled his phone out of his sweats. He flipped it open, hit a few buttons and the picture came up on the screen.

Holly stared at the picture. Myla's pale face was framed by tangled brown hair. Her eyes were closed, and it looked like there was a coat or something pulled up to her neck. Holly shivered as she wondered what the coat was hiding.

Holly nodded. "That's her." She waited for the tears, but none came. Her dear friend was gone, and there wasn't anything to do about it. Holly only wished that she knew what Myla had been up to the past hundred years, and she hoped she had been happy.

The pain would be there for a while, Holly guessed, but the best way to honor Myla, or the Myla she remembered, was to live.

"I want to get out of this room," she said, looking around. Sure, it was pretty, but she needed to get up and about, see some new walls for a while. "Maybe we can go to that big room at the front of the house? The one with the floor to ceiling windows?" she asked.

Aiden smiled. "That's my favorite room in the house," he said.