Eyes Like Ice

Chapter 7: Rivalry

The first thing I noticed when I awoke was the smell.

All around me was the dark scent of ashes, the trademark smell of a vampire, mingling with the scent of roses, a smell I had come to realize was unique to Spike.

After sniffing the air a few times, I realized that the scent wasn't coming from one general spot, so Spike wasn't actually in the room at the moment. This led me to believe that I was somewhere in Spike's home. That was the only thing that could explain his scent being almost literally everywhere.

I slowly opened my light eyes and looked around.

I was laying on a comfortable, king-sized black bed in a dark bedroom. The walls were black, the carpet was black, the two large windows in the room were covered in black paint as well as black curtains, and even the desk, wardrobe, and other pieces of furniture in the room were made of the darkest materials one could buy.

I sat up, then slid off of the bed carefully, wincing whenever I moved in a way that hurt one, two, or all of my many half-healed bullet wounds. I got to my bare feet before bothering to look down at myself.

I was clad in nothing but bandages and my lacy black panties, but that didn't bother me in the slightest, and I was pretty sure Spike had known that. He would've taken the time to dress me if he had thought otherwise.

I ran a hand through my long black hair and found that it had been brushed recently. I'd have to remember to thank Spike for that when I found him.

As it turned out, I wouldn't have to search for the vampire too much, because soft ballroom music reached my ears as soon as I stopped to listen for any noises in the surrounding area. Naturally, I followed the sound, my bare feet making no noise on the carpeted floor.

I found Spike standing in the middle of a large ballroom, eyes closed and body swaying slightly to the quiet music coming from the expensive-looking stereo system pressed up against the wall to his right. His back was to the open double doors through which I entered.

Without saying a word, I studied the expansive room and found it to have that same dark, seductive atmosphere as his bedroom. The floor was a delicate design of black and white tiles while the walls were just pure white. How the atmosphere remained so dark in such a light room, I had no idea. It simply did.

"Are you feeling all right, now, Raven?" the boy asked in his usual stoic, quiet voice as he continued to move to the music with his eyes closed.

"Yes. Thank you for bandaging me and brushing my hair," I replied, stopping a few feet away from him.

"I only bandaged you. Dominick wanted to help me, but he had to leave to try to hunt down your new enemy, Mr. Carpenter, before he could do anything. Riley is the one who brushed your hair." He stopped swaying and turned to face me, opening his pretty silver eyes. "He claimed that he knew nothing about cleaning and wrapping wounds, so brushing your hair was all he could do to help you."

"Where is he now?"

"At home. He told me to tell you that none of this was your fault before he left, though. He had wanted to tell you himself, but he was afraid of what his father would do to him if he stayed out too late."

"Ah," I said with a nod.

He gave a single nod of his own, then looked toward the stereo when it started playing tango music. Those gorgeous silver orbs of his moved from the system to me and he asked, "Do you know how to tango?"

I shook my head. "No. But I'm willing to learn."

Spike walked toward me slowly, his eyes never wandering from mine. Soon, he reached me, taking one of my hands gently while lightly placing his other hand on my waist, leaving me to put my free hand in the proper place.