Music Recommendation: Sinking in - Before You Exit

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  Who would have thought that Roman Moltenore would know about such a beautiful place, asked Julie to herself.

  She stared at the fireflies that flew around the forest. Some were on the trees and some in the air, and it looked like Christmas had come early this time. The firefly that had come to sit on her palm flew away.

  Never before had she come across something so beautiful. Everything around her felt breathtaking, and she made a circle where she stood before her eyes fell on Roman, who walked towards her.

  "I never knew something so beautiful could exist until now," Julie let him know, her eyes looking away from Roman when a firefly came to fly right near her.

  Roman, who was staring at Julie, said, "Sometimes it takes a while, before you find and learn that something so beautiful exists." He watched the faint smile and fascination like a child on Julie's while looking at the fireflies. "I have another place to take you to."

  Julie's gaze returned to look at Roman, wondering what other surprises he had for her. She asked him, "Are you going to show me more magical things?"

  "Better than that," responded Roman, and he said, "Follow me."

  Julie started to walk with him while turning back to look at the fireflies that were mostly concentrated around the place where she and Roman had been standing a few seconds ago. The more they walked, the amount of fireflies reduced, and so did the insects' light. She was made to jump on the broken log of wood that had blocked their way, ducking her head, where there were branches grown low before she straightened her back.

  She was in her shorts and shirt, which was covered by Roman's jacket. Moving her head to the side, she took a quick sniff at the jacket and smelt him and his cologne on it.

  "Careful here, there are thorns here," Roman informed her. Using his hands, he pushed the branch to the side. Julie smelt the heavy fragrance of roses that came from the place where she was walking through.

  Julie caught hold of Roman's hand, which he had used to push the thorny branch away from her. She noticed the small dots on his palm because of the pricks he had received from the thorns. But as he was a vampire, the skin was quick to heal.

  They continued to walk for a minute more, Julie heard the sound of gushing water, and she looked at Roman.

  "W-we aren't taking a dip in the water, are we?" Julie asked, a little worried, because of the ice-cold water at this hour.

  Roman's eyes looked at Julie, his face not giving away anything, and she realized something like that was going to happen. He said, "Everything is only a moment of fear before you learn to adjust and push through it. Trust me on this, you will enjoy it more than what you expect."

  Julie could already feel the bite from the cold water, and she shivered. She pointed, "But, Rome. We didn't bring extra clothes to change into later."

  "You can take off your pj's," came the direct answer from him, and Julie smiled with a blush.

  "How simple. Wonder why I didn't think about it," replied Julie, and she noticed a hint of a smirk on Roman's lips.

  "I am here to remind you about such things," remarked Roman, and he said, "If you want, you can keep your shirt on and wear my jacket later."

  "But what about you?" asked Julie before she added, "Do vampires fall sick?"

  "Only on rare occasions, but mostly if they consume something harmful like the Silverwater. Sometimes too much loss of blood from their body can turn them into a corpse, making them weak. But that doesn't mean they aren't alive. Never try to get near the caskets, Winters," Roman warned her, looking at her with a serious look in his eyes. "It takes less than a few seconds for a vampire to drain out every single drop of blood from a human's body."

  "That is something I have been very much worried about," muttered Julie. "Do you think I can use something to protect myself?" she asked him.

  "I would rather you don't," said Roman, bringing her to a more open space that had fewer trees. Julie noticed the shimmer on the ground because of the water that flowed on the ground. "The humans have been killed only when they couldn't be compelled, so that they don't open their mouths. Keeping weapons to protect yourself from the vampires, would only bring more attention to you."

  "But there have been deaths every year, hasn't it?"

  "Sometimes newly turned vampires don't understand the rules similar to the humans," replied Roman. "At those times, when a human is found dead, and because of a rule broken inside Veteris, it leads to the vampire being punished by being killed."

  Remembering what the Corvin said, Julie wondered if this was the right time to speak about it. But before she could, she heard the sound of gushing water and saw water rushing towards the edge before it fell.? Roman had brought her to a small waterfall, where the water joined in a small and closed water body below it that was surrounded by trees.

  "Welcome to the private bath," stated Roman, stepping to the side so that she could take a better look at it.

  "You know, there are some movies in which the ghosts live under the water and then they drag the person to the bottom of the lake or river, to never be found by anyone alive," Julie made up a reason, while her eyes looked at the glistening water under the moonlight.

  "Then it must be nice that you have a dead boyfriend who can find you, if the alive can't," replied Roman, and she watched him place his hand behind his back before pulling out his black T-shirt and placing it on the branch of a tree that was next to them.

  Julie turned distracted by Roman's chiselled and toned body. She sucked her breath while watching his broad shoulders and the way his upper body tapered to his jeans that hung on his waist. She removed the jacket that she had worn, placing it next to his T-shirt.

  She had never stood in front of him naked before, and though he had suggested that she keep her shirt on, she didn't want to get it wet. Because she would like to wear dry clothes apart from his jacket when she was going to return to her dorm. Removing her shoes, she placed them next to where Roman had placed.

  Julie noticed Roman looking at her, standing in the same place without making an attempt to remove his ripped jeans. The softness he had shown her in his eyes a while ago had disappeared as if a gust of wind had blown and taken it away with it. There was a challenge in the way he looked at her, and it was enough to push her to take her shirt off her body.

  It was like there was a silent striptease challenge going on between them, without a word being exchanged except staring at each other. When Roman's hands went to the button of his jeans, Julie wasn't too brave, and she looked in the opposite direction.

  She heard the harsh sound of the zip on his jeans, and she gulped.

  Julie was in a relationship with the bad boy, and they had already kissed many times, where Roman had also pleasured her with his fingers between her legs. But there was still that hint of innocence that stayed with her, that made the person in front of her adore her.

  Though she wasn't looking at Roman, Julie heard the rustle of his jeans and felt him bend before his jeans joined the other clothes on the branch.

  This was it, thought Julie to herself before pulling down her shorts, and she quickly placed it with the rest of the clothes.

  Julie praised herself for the choice of the underwear and bra that she had worn tonight, where both matched and weren't old. It was no Victoria's Secret, but it was decent.

  Deciding to take a quick look at him before they would get into the cold water, Julie's brown eyes stealthily moved to look at Roman's toned body. His legs looked firm because of running on the football field. And if her memory served right, he always had toned legs. For a brief second, her eyes fell on his boxers before she realized that Roman was looking at her.

  "Time to take a dip," stated Roman, who had already taken a look at her delicate frame in her inner clothing. Noticing the small bow on the front of her underwear. How cute, thought Roman.

  They walked towards the edge, feeling the water rapidly flowing near their feet. Julie could feel her heart beating loudly in her ears, the excitement of doing something new and daring, tingling her skin. Within a few seconds, both of them jumped into the pool of water.

  The shock of the fall and the cold water around her body had Julie curse, and she moved her hands to resurface from the water surface.

  Her hair was all over her face, and she took another dip in the water while bringing her hands in front of her head and pushed her hair backwards when she came up once again. She shivered, looking around and noticed Roman resurface from the water not too far away from her, running his hand through his wet hair.

  "How are you doing there, Winters?" questioned Roman from where he was, with a distance between them.

  Julie sent a small glare in Roman's direction while her teeth chattered out of cold. She said, "I think I am going to pass out."

  "I will pull you out of the water if that happens," assured Roman, and Julie swam to the other side of where the water was falling so that the water wouldn't splash on her much.

  She saw Roman dip his body in the water.

  A few seconds passed, but he didn't come out, and Julie, who had come to the quieter side of the water, trying to keep herself afloat, turned worried. When she was about to run back, her body touched another body as cold as hers. A soft gasp escaped from her lips, and she turned around and saw Roman in front of her.

  "You are here," said Julie, her voice sounding nothing less to a whisper, and she breathed through her lips.

  "I am," replied Roman, watching her closely while they both kept themselves afloat in the water. "Getting better now?" he asked, and Julie nodded her head.

  If it weren't for the moonlight, the water body and the place around them would have been dark.

  Noticing his eyes darken as they fell on the bruise of her face again, Julie said, "There was something I wanted to tell you," and it was enough to bring back his attention to look at her eyes. "The Corvin came to meet me today."

  "Did it try to lure you out of the university again?"

  Julie shook her head, "It spoke to me today. In English." It was one of the highlights of her day, apart from the other incident.

  "What did it want from you?" Roman took note of Julie's expression, where she looked a little torn over it.

  "It wants me to leave Veteris," her voice was quiet, and she pursed her lips. Hearing her words, Roman's eyes flickered between black and red before they turned back to black. "It told me that danger is lurking around for a witch like myself. But I told I wasn't going to leave."

  Roman stared at Julie, wondering if the creature was only trying to protect her from the Elders because of their unsympathetic nature towards anyone.

  "Rome," Julie called him.

  "Yes," he responded to her and moved closer to her while Julie continued to keep her head and neck above the level of the water. When her leg hit a stone, she lost her balance. Roman was quick to grab her, bringing her back to the surface. Julie coughed up the water that entered her body and blinked her eyes to get rid of the water. "Were you going to ask me something?"

  Whatever Julie was going to ask had slipped out of her mind when she had lost her balance, and now the front of her body being pressed against his taut body, it was hard to think straight. Her hands fell on his shoulders, that was cold and wet like everything else around them.

  Roman looked at her, nothing less than the burning tip of the cigarette that didn't look like it was going to extinguish at any time soon. He stared right into her soul, and Julie willingly bared it in front of him.

  "Did you and your brother come here? To swim together," asked Julie.

  Now, as he held her, the water wasn't there to cover her until her neck. The water covered her until her chest level, leaving the swell of her bosom to the air.

  "We did," replied Roman, with a thoughtful look on his face. "Tristan liked to do things together. He used to say that it strengthened and deepened our bond as brothers. Some were silly things that he wanted to do. He was one of the reasons why my adoptive mother started to take me to the celebratory parties. Like others, he used to annoy me. Even when he could do things by himself, he liked to take my help," his eyes narrowed at the memory of it.

  Julie smiled. Even though Roman looked irritated by the thought of it, she doubted he disliked it. To be cared for and needed by someone, when every other person around was looking down, it must have warmed Roman, she thought in her mind.

  "He sounds like a wonderful person," commented Julie, the smile not leaving her lips.

  "One might tell that," replied Roman, and his eyes fell on Julie's lips that had turned pale because of the cold water. "What are you smiling at, troublemaker?"

  "You must have looked really cute when you were small. I wish I could have taken a proper look at the photo frame in the gallery when they put it up," said Julie, and she laughed when the look of annoyance returned in his eyes.

  Roman rolled his eyes, "There's nothing cute about it. I don't like to associate myself with cuteness."

  "I would like to think otherwise," said Julie. "You know when—"

  Suddenly Roman pulled Julie into the water with him before they resurfaced up. She coughed the water, opening her eyes that she had closed, her face holding a look of disbelief on it.

  "What was that for?!" She asked him, as she hadn't prepared herself to dip into the water.

  "That's for you being cheeky always," stated Roman, his lips holding a faint grin upon them while he enjoyed watching her. "Would you like to take another dip?"

  "You have planned to kill me, haven't you?" asked Julie, and she quickly took a large breath before Roman pulled her again under the water with him.

  Julie tried to keep her eyes open in the water, and when she steadied it, she saw Roman in front of her. The only company of the ghost she needed was here with her. His eyes had turned red, and tiny bubbles moved up towards the surface of the water as they stayed there for a few seconds. She noticed his hair moved in the direction where the water moved, making it appear fluffier than usual.

  Underwater, their bodies were nearly naked, and as the thought passed her mind with Roman looking at her, she quickly moved up. Breaking through the surface of the water, she tried to catch her breath. Water dripped from the top of her head and trailed downwards to join the river again.

  When Roman came out of the water, following her, his hair stuck to his forehead, and he looked sexier than she had ever found him to be before. His eyes were fixed on hers, and Julie could feel the sexual tension rising between them. The most they had been doing until now was talking and staring at each other, and the more he stared, the more her heart quietly skipped its beats.

  Roman swam towards her and right in front of her. And this time, their bodies moved closer while being pulled by their emotions towards each other.

  "Are you going to be busy tomorrow?" asked Julie.

  "Not much. The Elders are going out to take a look at the town. It shouldn't be as busy as today," he answered her question.

  Julie didn't know when they moved too close to each other, but it seemed impossible to turn or step away from the other. Roman raised his cold hands to place it on her cheek. He said,

  "I don't think I can hold back anymore."

  Roman tugged her towards a stone under the water and had her sit there. Parting her legs, he stepped forward. Julie felt his hands around her waist, and his breath fell on her neck. He licked a spot on her neck, informing her, "Close your eyes."

  His fangs had already appeared, and he opened his mouth, hearing no words of resistance from her, he sunk his fangs into the crook of her neck. Julie's hands gripped Roman's shoulders, feeling her skin prick. And as scary as she thought it would be, it wasn't. Rather it felt to be very intimate. She felt him suck her skin when he was actually sucking her blood.

  When Julie's blood touched Roman's tongue, the richness of it burst into his mouth, and his eyes turned darker. He held her closer as if, if he were to loosen his hold on her, she would disappear from his arms and sight. Since he had been turned into a vampire, he had drank blood from many people like there was no tomorrow.

  But nothing came close to Julie's blood.

  Unable to control his thirst, he bit harder, which was when Julie's nails dug into his shoulders.

  Roman treasured every single drop of blood that he took from Julie, relishing its taste. When he drank just enough from her so that she wouldn't have weakness, he retracted his fangs. In the past, he had never cared about such things, and neither had the Elder who had turned him into a vampire.

  He licked her neck, catching every possible trace of blood that might have seeped out of his mouth or from the bite on her skin.

  Cupping her face, he looked into her slightly dilated eyes. From the sliver of worry, her emotions had shifted to arousal, and she tried to focus her eyes on him.

  "I feel like I am going to turn worse than an addict when it comes to you," Roman whispered to her on her lips.

  Their lips hovered for a second longer before they touched each other for a heated kiss.

  The water might have been cold, but the more they kissed with their tongues dancing with each other, the more Julie's body heated up as if Roman had lit fire to it, and it was going to burn until he wanted it.

  Having stayed long in the water, Julie's mind had relaxed, and she circled her hands around his neck. She played with the ends of the nape of his hair before weaving her fingers into his hair. Roman pulled her closer, and the water made it easier for her to slide towards him. He had placed both his hands around her waist while his mouth kept her busy.

  Roman felt nothing less to a demon who was going to steal her soul, which he had already done along with her heart. Away from the trouble, they melted in each other's arms.

  The fireflies that had earlier been on the other side of the forest had started to spread everywhere, flying around where some of them came to hover above where Julie and Roman were. The orange-yellow light left a reflection on the water. It was enough to light the place apart from the moonlight, and when she pulled away from the kiss to catch her breath where Roman's kiss felt like he was going to devour her, she noticed the fireflies.

  Julie's heart felt heavy, not because she was sad, but because everything around them had been perfect. In the back of her mind, she wondered if this was a dream that she was dreaming, while waiting for Roman in her dorm. And she hoped it wasn't.

  She had never thought that she would be loved like this, and it ached her heart. Her brown eyes met Roman's red eyes.

  "Did I take too much blood from you?" inquired Roman, on noticing the slightly lost look in Julie's eyes.

  Julie shook her head. She said, "Thank you for bringing me here."

  "It is the least I could do," Roman brushed the back of his hand against her cheek. "How did you turn this lovely?" he asked, as if unable to believe it.

  Not knowing how to answer his question, she said, "It must be because of the witch's blood in me."

  "Mm," agreed Roman, that would answer why he was so bewitched by her.

  After spending some more time in the water, they finally stepped out of it and walked back to where they had hung their clothes and placed their shoes.

  Julie walked behind one of the trees to wring her bra and underwear before wearing them again before her dry clothes followed. Once they were done wearing their clothes and shoes, with their hair still wet, they started to head back to where the motorcycle had been parked. This time, Julie didn't wear his helmet.

  "Hold tight," advised Roman, and Julie tightened her hands around his body and felt him kick start the vehicle before they rode back to Veteris.

  Roman dropped Julie safely to her dorm without being caught, and before he could leave from the front of the window, Julie stopped him, "Rome."

  "Hm?" he tilted his head to the side.

  Julie put her head outside her window as if she was going to tell him a secret. But when Roman came closer, she placed one hand of hers on one side of his cheek, and she pressed her soft lips against the other side of his cheek.

  She said, "Thank you for tonight. It was the best time I ever had until now."

  "I did say you would enjoy it. This is why you should break more rules," a slight grin appeared on Roman's lips before he said, "Have a goodnight, troublemaker."

  "Goodnight, Rome," Julie wished him and went back inside.

  Neither of them noticed that someone had caught their little exchange at the girl's Dormitorium. Seeing Roman leave, Julie closed the window and drew the curtains close.

  When Roman started to walk away from the girl's Dormitorium, the faint smile that had been on his lips disappeared and the rage that he had hidden behind his eyes until now, reappeared.