Leticia (28 page)

“Jackson I
...
.”

“Please
?
”

“
O
h for
god’s
sake, I swear if you
ever...”

He silenced me
with another kiss, n
ot a full blown
one
, but it did last a fair few seconds. It seemed his confidence was growing already.
             
Afterwards we both sat back
o
n the sofa but then Jackson decided he wasn’t comfortable enough, so we ended up
lying
across it, facing each other.

“I didn't think I’d ever be this close to you
,
” he said, stroking the side of my face
.

“Well, you thought wrong, I’ve liked you since the first day we met
.
”

“Even though I piss you off?”

“Yeah
,
” I smiled
.
“There’s a lot of love in you, you just need to open your heart again
.
”

“I was just so frightened after what happened last time, you know with Clara. I can’t describe how it felt, I was besotted with her
.
”

“
Are you sure you weren’t
in love with her?”

“I’m not sure, I don’t think I was
in
love with her, but I cared for her a great deal. If I’d stayed with her a little longer
then I probably would have fallen for her completely
.
”

“Love is
a
strange thing
.
”

“I know. I haven’t even given a girl the time of day since... until I met you. I found myself thinking about you all the time, I always wanted to be around you, but I was scared of the same thing happening again
;
then I
realize
d something that frightened me even more...”

“Tell
me,
” I said, holding him closer to me
.

“I
realize
d my feelings
for you
were stronger than they were for
her.
In fact, if you want the honest truth, I’ve never felt so strongly for someone
.
”

“Never?”

“No, I’ve dated a few women in my
time;
all of them seemed to want my money...”

“Because you give it to them too easily
.
”

“I know
,
” he
nodded
.
“I just like the woman I’m with to be happy, to have nice things.”

“Money can buy nice things Jackson, but it can’t by health or happiness
.
”

“I know
.
”

“You need to keep your money and spend it on you
.
”

“You’re the first person to ever say that to me
.
”

“I’m sure I won’t be the last
.
”

“I hope you are
.”

“Why?”

“I... I don’t want anyone else
.
”

I didn't respond I just smiled and kissed him.

“Leticia I know you’ve had a lot of upset in the past, with Luke I mean
.
I would never do that to you, I would never hurt you
.
I know what you are and I love it, you fascinate me
. Anyway
, I just want you to know you can trust me... always
.
”

“I know
,
” I smiled
.
“That’s something you don’t have to tell me
.
”

We heard the front door open and Nancy shouting ‘
Hello
’
. We didn't respond, and to my surprise, Jackson didn't move. I’d expected him to sit up quickly and act all cool, but he didn't budge.

“Oh my god
,
” she cried in excitement when she walked in the room
.
“Ha ha, brilliant!”

Tristan walked in to see what all the shouting was about
.
When
he saw us together he smiled and clapped his hands. “About time
,
” he said looking at Jackson
.
“Told you didn't I?”

“I know
.
”

“I’m pleased for you both. I’m assuming you’re a couple now?”

Jackson looked at me with hope in his eyes.

“I think so
,
” I told him
.

“I’
m
hoping so
,
” Jackson kinda sighed
.

“Well that means you are
,
” Nancy confirmed, getting excited again
.
“Oh I’m so so happy. Leticia we
sooo
need girl time later so you can tell me
absolutely
everything
that happened
.
”

“
O
K
,
” I laughed
.

“Nancy my love
,
” Tristan said, taking her hand
.
“Maybe we can give them some time
alone
.
”

“Oh yeah, sorry of course, see you later
,
” she smiled again
.

Th
ey walked out
and Tristan shut the door behind them.

We stayed on our own another half an hour or so before begrudgingly getting up. We hadn’t spoken much, all we’d done
wa
s hold, kiss and star
e
at each other. We went into the study and found Tristan.

“So did you see anyone
lurking
around?” I asked him
.

“We didn’t see a soul
.
”

“Great, maybe they’ve
realize
d we’re more than they can handle
.
”

“It would be nice to think that
.”

“But you don’t?”

“
Not
until I have it confirmed. Things aren’t always what they seem to be
,
” he warned
.

Nancy didn't let us talk much longer
.
She
grabbed my hand and led me back into the living
room
. She closed the door and threw her arms around me.

“I’m so happy
,
” she almost cried
.
“I haven’t seen him like that with someone in
decades;
you must tell me everything that happened
.
”

When she eventually let go of me I told her what she wanted to know, from the fail
ed
kiss attempt upstairs, to when they walked in. Not once did she take the smile of her face.

Later that evening I stood in the back garden admiring the views. I felt
someone’s
arms wrap around my waist just before Jackson put his head next to mine.

“This is going to take some getting used to
,
” I laughed
.

“Really?”

“Yeah, but I’ll do it quickly
.
”

“Do you fancy going for a walk?” he asked
.

“Why
not.
”

We told Nancy we were going out and quickly left. We didn't want them tagging along. That’s not meant to sound as awful as it does, but we wanted time on our
own
, uninterrupted
.
We
wanted to get to know the loving side of each other.

We walked hand in hand deeper into the hills, and didn't stop talking for even a second. Neither of us cared where we ended up, it’s not like we could get lost. We talked about everything and anything, from what we were like when we were children, to what our
favor
ite foods were. It felt so strange being like this with him, but I admit I loved it. He rarely let go of me, he kissed me every few minutes. He really had pulled
down that wall around his heart and believe
me;
his heart was proving to be even bigger than I imagined it could be.

After a couple of hours we decided to head back
. The weather was turning, the wind was picking up and rather menacing looking clouds were quickly heading in our direction. Neither of us had our coats on, so when the rain caught up with us we had to run. It was a u
se
less attempt at trying to stay dry though, by the time we reached the house we were soaked to the bone. We stood on the porch laughing and kicking our
muddy
shoes off. We went straight into the downstairs bathroom and rubbed our hair with the towels.

“Wow
,
” he laughed at me
.
“
Your
hair is just a mass of curls
.
”

“Shut up, I can’t help it
.
”

“Actually it looks
nice;
you should have it like that more often
.
”

“I don’t think so, anyway, I’m going to get changed
.
”

I threw the towel at him and went upstairs. I pulled a pair of comfy jeans on and a tank top
and
decided to make us both a hot chocolate.

I walked into the
kitchen;
the clouds were now so thick that the kitchen was almost in complete darkness. I flicked the light on. I wasn’t prepared for what I saw.

“JACKSON!” I yelled
.

The table was in pieces scattered across the room, only one chair remained,
lying
in the
center
of the floor. Two cups were smashed and had sent their contents of coffee half way up some of the cupboards. The curtains were torn, the counter had been cleared and the few ornaments and plates that were normally neatly set out
,
were now shattered.

“What’s wrong?” Jackson panicked, appearing beside me
.
“
O
h my....”
H
e ran into the hallway and started checking the other rooms
.
“NANCY! TRISTAN
!
” He shouted frantically
.

We searched the whole house, the cars, the surrounding grounds, but they
were
nowhere to be seen. What had happened? How the hell could a few human
s
take a
century’s
old powerful vampire
and
a
shape shifter
?

“SHIT
!
”
H
e punched the living room door
.
“I don’t know what to do
!
I don’t know where to start
!
Where
do we even look
?
”

“Jackson
,
take a breath, they couldn’t have gone far
.
It
wouldn’t have been easy to take them
.
”

“I swear to god if anything happens to them I’ll hunt every single one of these bastards down and rip them apart with my bare hands
.
”

“I know, I know
,
” I tried to comfort him
.
“We’ll find them
.
”

I went to put my arm around him, but he pushed me away. I didn't say anything to
him;
I just stood there in silence. A moment later he wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his head in my neck.

“I’m sorry
,
” he whispered
.

“It’s
OK
, I understand
.
”

We heard banging near the front door, we let go of each other and got
to
the hallway just as Nancy literally
fell
through the door. She was bruised, bloody, and tear stained.