The Count's Princess (Completed)

Eight Hours in His Arms

"I'm afraid my curiosity is getting stronger," the vampirish man said. My heart was thumping faster and faster as he slightly turned his head and looked down at me.

"Why are you so clean?" I asked. "Why ... are you so perfect?" I asked.

He frowned. "Maggy, you're the one who's clean and perfect." I was taken back at his strange comment. He grabbed my hand and allowed it to glide across his chest.

"You're so cold," I said with narrowed eyes.

"And you're incredibly warm," he pulled my hand up to his mouth and kissed it.

But what about the hot water? Shouldn't he be warm too? And when did he get so dry? Why must this man defy all laws of nature?

I pulled away and he walked off.

The boys all went behind the car and dressed together while us girls waited. Debby and Annette were able to change out of their bikinis easily and Lucile claimed that she would rather be in private taking her tight, wet swimsuit off.

"What were you and Carmichael doing behind the car?" Debby asked with too much mischievousness.

"He held up a towel for me so that I could change but ... the strangest thing happened. I felt like a magnet to the guy."

"Well, there's no denying he's a chick magnet."

"No, like, something was pulling me towards him."

"Wow!" She said with exaggeration. I knew she thought I was silly but I didn't care. I know what I felt. It was the same feeling I'd had the day I met Carmichael. The feeling that pulled me to Debby's classroom.

Why? Maybe it wasn't her classroom that I was being pulled to.

We all climbed into the car and again I missed my chance to get in by Debby. Instead, I quickly grabbed shotgun. Steve climbed into the driver's seat and smiled at seeing me beside him.

"Good choice." He said.

"Hey, this doesn't work," Austin declared. Steve turned around and saw how Austin, Lucile, and Carmichael didn't fit in the back together. "Lucile's butt's too big." Austin snickered. Lucile rolled her eyes and got out of the car.

"Fine! Have Maggy." She came around the car and I climbed out of my seat. We switched and I went to climb into her former seat. But Austin moved to the window from the middle.

"You're sittin' in the middle. You're butt's smaller than mine."

"Who has the big butt now?" I said as I began to climb over the idiot. Carmichael snickered at my comment. I smiled at him until I was pushed on top of him by Austin.

"Come on! Let's go!" Carmichael sat me down in my seat and we both gave Austin a glare.

The ride home was even more silent than the drive to the hot springs.

Steve put headphones on and began mumbling lyrics whenever he knew the words of a song. Lucile watched another movie. Debby was asleep on Antonio and Annette was asleep on Debby. Austin plugged in headphones and looked like he was asleep. I looked at Carmichael and we both laughed at Steve's screeches into the dark car.

"Do you sing?" I asked. Carmichael put his arm on the roof of my seat. I then realized how much more comfortable he looked without his arm being pressed against him by me.

"I do. I actually sang a lot as a kid."

"Really?" Of course he sings.

"He's quite an angel." Antonio answered. For the first time Antonio didn't speak in his Italian accent.

"Antonio, you're speaking in a Romanian accent." I accused him. I didn't know how I knew he was talking in such an accent but something about it was familiar. Then I remembered that I lived in Romania for a year.

Carmichael's right hand smacked against his forehead.

"Look," Antonio scooted to the edge of his seat and placed his head in between his friend's and mine. "I grew up in Romania but when I spoke in an Italian accent and told Debra that I was Italian, she was crazy about it. So around her, I speak in an Italian accent."

"That's so cute,"

"Switching to another language is cute?" Carmichael asked.

"Switching to another language for your girlfriend is cute." I corrected. We made eye contact and didn't stop for Antonio's next words.

"My friend here can speak in many accents and he knows a lot of languages." I notched my eyebrow up showing I was impressed at Carmichael. He nodded then gave me a devilish side grin.

"Too bad I'm not your girlfriend." Antonio leaned back into his seat and put in headphones.

"You looked really pretty tonight, Maggy," I blushed and finally broke our gaze on one another. We went over a bump and I fell into Carmichael. I didn't move and wondered what the tall man was going to do. Nothing. He didn't do anything about it. Then, suddenly, he leaned down into my ear.

"If I allow you to place your hand on my knee, can I place mine on your arm?" I was glad we were in the dark because I most likely looked like a tomato. My hand slid further down the side of the man's thigh. He pulled me into his chest to the point where the metallic smell on him made it to my nose. Somewhere I recognized the smell. Remembered it. Though the man was cold-skinned, the smell was warming. I nuzzled into Carmichael's chest and he wrapped his other arm around me, interlocking his fingers. His claw-like nails reminded me of those I was constantly seeing in my dreams.

It felt good. I've never been this close to a man. I like it. I feel loved. Am I going too fast with this? With him? I don't even know him.

I looked up at Carmichael and his eyes were closed. I decided to sleep myself as I tried to hear a heartbeat in his chest.

I dreamt of being held by him in my castle. The pale stranger was now Carmichael. Everything about it felt so natural, and I couldn't figure out why. For the time awake in his arms, my dreams slowly began to make sense as a face was now added to the uncanny stranger.