Chapter 4

Kanato, in his irritation, kept his distance for an extended length of time. He hadn't taken kindly to the fact that I'd retaliated or perhaps he was annoyed that I'd figured out that he'd been playing me. Either way, it was getting to a point where we were both so stubborn that I didn't know when the silence would end.

I thought perhaps Kanato was waiting for enough time to pass so that he might be able to return as if nothing had happened. Or maybe he thought we had been getting too close and he wanted to cut the bond of our relationship. Despite giving him the cold shoulder, I didn't really want him to leave me.

I'd tried talking with the other Sakamaki brothers without any success. Usually whenever I tried to start a conversation it would end with them either telling me that I was annoying and to shut up or by them drinking my blood. Kanato had been my one hope of finding someone that I could speak to without me going insane inside the lonely mansion.

As it turned out, Kanato must have been missing me too because eventually the silence was broken...

...

I woke up on a regular school day and lay still in my bed for a minute as I tried to stop my brain from feeling so sleepy. I was tired, more than usual and it took a quick glance at the clock next to my bed to see than I'd awoken half an hour earlier than normal.

I sighed and shut my eyes again while wondering what had caused me to wake up from my deep sleep. However with my eyes closed I could suddenly sense that someone was watching me. I bolted upright in bed and sure enough, I saw that Kanato sat on the end of my mattress.

His face looked dejected and confused like it had always been lately. I wasn't sure whether to be annoyed by his presence or to smile in relief. It felt like it had been a long time since it was just the two of us alone in a room together. I settled on merely looking surprised which I was.

"Kanato! What are you doing in here?"

He gave me a look of annoyance before sighing.

"You really are bothersome when you ask so many stupid questions. Just be quiet and let me quench my thirst."

He climbed further onto my mattress and crawled towards me. I could feel my heart begin to beat faster at the sight of him steadily approaching me until he was nearly sitting on me.

I knew that I should have refused to let him drink my blood but I was too excited by the fact that he had come to see me. Also, if he was willing to break our silence due to a desire for my blood then I presumed he must have been thirsty. He hadn't had any of me in a long time.

With gentle movements I felt his fingers brush the strands of hair away from my neck. Just the touch of his cold skin on mine made my flesh ripple with goose bumps. I felt like I'd been frozen to the spot and could only sit there as he face moved closer to my neck. He bit into my skin, causing me to gasp slightly but I didn't push him away. He slowly drained the wound of its blood and I felt it tickle slightly as he used the tip of his tongue to catch the final few drops.

He moved his face so that it was right in front of my own and my eyes locked onto his. His head was tilted slightly as if he was silently asking a question.

"Last time I spoke to you, you said you didn't want to forgive me. Am I forgiven now?" Kanato asked innocently. I could tell from the way his hand brushed smoothly down my arm that he was trying to make me give in to him. I nearly wanted to comply.

"That depends; do you only want to get close to me because of my blood?"

"What would you do if I said yes?"

"I wouldn't believe you" I replied.

Again I saw the irritation cross his features. The hand on my arm tightened slightly and his face returned to my neck. This time when I felt his fangs puncture my skin, it hurt. He was being harsh on purpose and I couldn't help thinking how childish it was that he was punishing me.

He drank more of my blood this time and made sure to press hard on my skin. I had to hold my breath to stop myself from making any noise of pain but he eventually pulled away and returned his eyes to mine.

"How about now? Forgiven?" he demanded.

I gave him a small scowl before I answered.

"If this is really about blood, why do you care? You've just shown that you can take it whenever you want. I won't forgive you for it though."

Upon hearing my answer his teeth immediately returned to my flesh. As he tore through the skin I felt him twisting and grinding into the wound with his fangs. My breath became shaky and tears formed in the corners of my eyes as I tried to endure the pain of his actions.

"Now?!" he hissed when he was done with the brief feed.

I took a moment to simply breathe before I answered. Kanato must have seen the distress on my face but that didn't help to cool his frustration.

"You don't want my forgiveness so that you can take my blood. You want it so you can toy with me. Do you really enjoy hurting your play-things like this?"

Kanato threw me a look of disgust but not before I caught a brief flash surprise in his eyes that told me I was right. He didn't try to punish me immediately though and there was simply silence between us for a moment as we both just looked at one another.

I felt Kanato place his hand on the centre of my chest and push me down. I was confused by the action but I didn't resist as I lay back down and returned my head to my pillow. He loomed over me and although he was trying to appear slightly threatening I could tell from the expression on his face that he was no longer angry.

"Don't try to understand me. It's annoying" he said.

I closed my eyes as I once again saw his face approach my neck but this time, rather than adding a fresh and painful bite I was surprised by the cool but gentle touch of a kiss. His lips caressed the skin around the first bite, as if apologising for the ache that had been left in its stead. He then moved on to kiss the second and third bites also and all the while I just lay there.

It was strange to go from near agony to serene comfort. Despite how cold his mouth was I felt myself melt into a calm state of mind. I couldn't always predict what Kanato would do but when he was being tender and quiet I knew to appreciate the moment.

He left a smattering of soft kisses along the side of my neck. I curled myself into his touch when I felt both his hands run down the sides of my waist and hold me tightly. Almost immediately I could feel my body getting hotter. I'd never been in an intimate situation with anyone before but with Kanato it felt like I liked it.

When one of his hands slid back up my side and took hold of my breast I gasped and gripped the sheets beneath my hands. I didn't push him away however and simply lay there defenceless as he nuzzled into my collarbone and squeezed the swell on my chest. It was a feeling that made my toes curl.

"Kanato..." I said weakly. His fingers tightened on my skin but he pulled his face away from my neck to look at me. His face was so close to my own that I felt like all my vision had been taken up by his large purple eyes and his small mouth. He was almost teasing me with the gap between our lips.

I held my breath as he began to lean in, bringing his face even closer still. Locks of his hair brushed against my forehead and I closed my eyes as I simply couldn't keep them open any longer. I expected a kiss to follow. I had prepared myself to have his cold lips on mine and could feel myself getting shyly excited about it.

However, when the pause lasted too long I opened an eye again to see that Kanato had retreated. His hands slackened their grip on me and he sat up to move away from me. I looked at him with confusion as I was unable to find the right words to ask him what was wrong.

Before any speaking could be done at all I suddenly saw Ayato appear in my room at the end of my bed.

"Still in bed, Pancake?" he said with irritation. "Kanato, don't feed on her until she faints. She still has to go to school."

"I'll try and remembered for next time," Kanato replied with a bored voice as he stood up from the bed and started walking towards the door. I sat up and watched him leave sadly.

Had Kanato known that Ayato was about to interrupt us or did he just not feel that way about me? I wanted to know why Kanato had stopped just when it seemed like things had been getting started.

Was he merely using me again? After all, I hadn't exactly been resisting which made it pretty clear that I had given in to his game. Maybe that was just what he wanted.

Now that he knew he had won me over and I wasn't sure if he was ever going to stop playing with me.