Chapter 39

When Nick said "home," I thought he would take me to his home where he lived with Greg. But his car turned towards a building I knew very well. I didn't ask until we stopped in the basement parking. Perhaps Nick planned to bring some of his work home; I could imagine how long it had been since he worked. "I'll wait here." I said as he opened my door.

"You'll be waiting here overnight, Eleanor." Nick lifted the corner of his mouth. He looked messy yet handsome at the same time. His jawline with stubble and messy hair contrasted with his usually neat appearance, although his eyes still looked as serious as ever.

I wanted to kiss him.

"Eleanor?" He raised both his eyebrows, waiting for me to get out. As I stepped out, I wondered how many women like me had fallen for his charm. No, I don't think Nick ever intentionally flirted with women. Greg was more likely; the two brothers were like polar opposites. Nick led me to a smaller basement lift and took out a black card. I only then realized this was a private lift, and there were only two floors that could be accessed; 19 and 20.

20? As far as I remembered, the lifts in the Shaw&Partner building only went up to 19. Nick pressed the 20 button and stood next to me. "I didn't know there was a 20th floor." I said after a moment.

"Because the 20th floor is not an office. It's a penthouse."

I blinked at him, "Penthouse?" He had a penthouse in his office building? How wealthy were they?

Nick shrugged slightly, "We rarely use it, only during overtime."

He built a penthouse on the top floor of his office building just for overtime? Lana's shoes, that lunch, and my tuition... No wonder he did all that for me; maybe to him, that amount of money was just like spare change. Before I could say what I was thinking, the lift doors in front of us dinged open. Nick took my hand again and led me out. I couldn't close my gaping mouth as I saw his penthouse. This place was huge. It was almost like the display apartments you see in luxury magazines, complete with a small garden outside.

We passed through the kitchen that was integrated with the living room towards another door. Nick opened it without letting go of my hand; I knew it was his room even before he opened it.

I wanted to ask many things, but the first thing that came to my mind was my clothes, "Nick, I didn't bring any clothes at all. Wouldn't it be better if we went back to your place?" Some of my things were still there.

Nick let go of my hand and turned around, his eyes slightly darkening as he looked at me. He looked like a predator observing his prey. "For what? You won't need them, Eleanor."

***

When I woke up the next morning, Nick was standing at the end of the bed wearing his work clothes. His jawline was clean again, there was no trace of tiredness on his face. His hands were busy tying his dark gray tie. He looked like someone ready to conquer the world.

And he looked happy.

"Hey." I greeted with my sleepy voice.

"Hey." He replied with a smile, "I have some meetings to attend. Are you okay with that?"

Nick had been away from his work for the past two weeks, so he must return as soon as possible. I nodded to him. "Of course, good luck."

Nick approached the bed and gave me a quick kiss, "I'll be back for lunch. If you need anything, call my office, okay?" One of his hands moved to gently caress my cheek.

Of course, his office was right below this penthouse.

"I've stocked up some new blood bottles in the kitchen cabinet." He added before kissing me for the second time, this time longer.

I waited until I heard Nick's footsteps fading away before getting out of bed. I pulled the blanket to cover my naked body and walked to his wardrobe, grabbing one of his light blue shirts. Nick kept his word; I really didn't need my clothes yesterday.

After washing my face, my first destination was the kitchen cabinet. After drinking Nick's blood last night, I felt hungry again. I rubbed my stomach as I walked towards the kitchen; maybe because of this. Maybe I was too hopeful, but when I rubbed my stomach, I could almost feel a small bump. But of course, it couldn't be. It's only been a few days; it couldn't show yet, right?

A smile adorned my face. I couldn't guess whether our child was a girl or a boy. I opened the cabinet in the kitchen and took one of the bottles. I chose a pure blood bottle that hadn't been mixed with wine. I poured a full glass and drank it slowly, but the first sip made me run to the nearest sink. The nausea made me vomit the blood back up. My throat felt hot afterwards. I furrowed my brows and looked at the blood bottle. Just like the blood Greg left in his apartment, I couldn't drink it. But I drank Alastair's blood, and nothing happened.

So what was wrong? I wiped my wet lips with the back of my hand and returned the blood bottle to the cabinet. The hunger and burning sensation in my throat felt even more torturous. No matter how much I tried to swallow my saliva, the dryness in my throat didn't go away.

My hands rubbed my stomach again. Hey, what should I do? I asked the inhabitant of my stomach.

Lunchtime felt so long; I couldn't remember how many times I had circled this penthouse to kill time. Several times I was tempted to call Lana, but I wasn't ready to answer her questions yet. I didn't know who to ask about this pregnancy; Alastair was definitely not an option. But he was the only one who knew...

No. I wouldn't add more trouble.

I rubbed the digital clock on the table again; there was still half an hour before lunch. I didn't want to disturb Nick even though this thirst was tormenting me a little. I dropped my body on the large sofa in the living room; a little breeze came in through the open balcony door. The smell of flowers and grass from the small garden outside came in with the wind. Slowly, my eyes felt heavier.

It felt like I had just closed my eyes for a few seconds before the sound of footsteps approached. I opened my eyes automatically and tried to look at the clock. It was 12.30 noon. I had been asleep for over two hours. "Nick?" I called without turning around.

"Eleanor?" Nick's voice came from behind the sofa. "Hey," he murmured as he sat next to me, leaning his head back on the sofa's armrest and closing his eyes.

"Hard day?" I asked with a smile, my gaze shifting to the pulse on his neck, which was clearly visible. It was difficult for me to swallow my saliva.

"Yeah... I can't focus, especially knowing you're just one floor above me." He loosened his tie a bit with one hand. His eyes opened suddenly. "Have you eaten?"

"Yeah." Not yet.

"Erik will bring your stuff this afternoon." His left hand toyed with my hair as he spoke.

"We're not going back?"

"I want you to always be close to me." He turned to smile at me, but it only lasted a second because he then looked at my face, frowning. "Eleanor, you look pale."

Well, I did feel a bit weak. The throbbing of his neck pulse looked more inviting. Could Volder die from lack of blood? I didn't want to drink Nick's blood two days in a row. But I had to eat...

"I'm fine." I replied, trying to smile. Nick still frowned, and after a few moments, he stood up and walked to the kitchen. He came back with a glass of wine blood and handed it to me.

"Nick, I just drank—"

"Drink again." He interrupted, offering me the glass. "I don't want you to be short of blood."

I took the glass, pretending to drink, but the truth was, I couldn't avoid it. He waited for me to drink it.

"I'm really full." I placed the glass on the table, but Nick took it again and offered it to me. "Nick..."

"Drink, Eleanor. You really look pale." A hint of worry crossed his face. Maybe I should drink a little to make him feel better. But when I placed my lips on the edge of the glass, the smell of blood made me nauseous. I moved my face away from the glass in my hand, wrinkling my nose in disgust.

"What's wrong?" he asked before taking the glass and drinking a bit himself, "The blood is fresh."

"I—I'm just full."

"Eleanor..." Nick pulled down the corners of his mouth. He knew I was lying.

"Well... after drinking your blood last night, the others just... don't taste good." I half-lied. Nick blinked his eyes twice as if trying to understand what I had just said. "You can't drink other blood?"

"They just don't taste good." I lied. I couldn't drink any other blood at all.

"Okay." He began to loosen his tie and unbutton his top shirt, "You just need to ask for it."

I looked at Nick hesitantly, "I don't want to hurt you..."

Suddenly Nick smiled, he smiled more today. "You won't hurt me." Then he paused for a moment, "Biting for us is almost like fore—"

"Okay, okay." I cut him off before he could say what I didn't want to hear. Nick just laughed, but his laughter stopped when my fangs pierced his skin. He sighed and closed his eyes, his hands squeezing my waist a few times.

"Your scent has changed." He murmured suddenly after a few minutes, making my body tense. Alastair also said the same thing before realizing I was pregnant. I released my bite and licked his wound once. Nick's slightly darkened eyes stared at me.

"What do you mean?"

Nick took a deep breath and thought for a moment before answering, "I can't explain it. Your scent... it's different from before." He furrowed his brow as if searching for the right words. "It smells like spring."

I tried to laugh amidst the racing of my heart. "Nick, are you trying to tease me?" I asked, raising both my eyebrows. We were still hugging, his hands embracing my waist.

"Tease you? Do you want me to tease you?" one corner of his mouth pulled up. It was the first time Nick looked relaxed after what had happened in the past few months.

"Well, not too much. You're a lousy tease, Mr. Shaw," I replied with a smile.

He released his embrace with a feigned hurt look on his face, and I laughed again, throwing one of the sofa cushions at him. "But your scent did change, Eleanor," he said, smiling as he watched me laugh. There was a little fear in my heart. I didn't want this issue to drag on like this, but no matter what, Nick deserved to know. "Nick?"

"Hm?" He lay back his head on the sofa's armrest and glanced at me. Right now, we looked like a normal couple spending time together. I didn't want to ruin this moment, but my question came out of my mouth before I could stop it. "Haven't you felt lonely all this time?"

He looked slightly unprepared for my sudden question. "You mean since I've been alive?"

I nodded. His blue eyes stared at me without blinking. "Of course." There was a three-second pause before he continued. "Immortality is a curse for some of us. When everything is achieved, when the world is explored, life becomes meaningless." Nick smiled faintly, but his smile didn't reach his eyes. But a few moments later, his eyes softened. "Not everyone gets what I have, Eleanor." I furrowed my brows slightly, not understanding what he had just said. He saw the confusion on my face. "You." He murmured, touching my face very gently. "I'm the luckiest man in the world because of you."

His words made my throat choke as tears began to gather in the corners of my eyes. I didn't know why lately I had become so prone to tears. "Why me?"

Nick shrugged slightly. "You just came into my life. I couldn't avoid it even though I tried. I've wanted you since I first saw you, Eleanor." I could see all his feelings for me in his gaze, and it made me feel even more guilty.

I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent my tears from falling. "Nick... I—"

The sound of the bell cut off my sentence. I turned my face towards the door as Nick cursed quietly. He stood up and walked to the door to open it. I sighed as I closed my still warm eyes. I almost told him, but that damn bell rang.

"You!" a voice sounded very angry.