I want to stop William, but as soon as Callum puts him down, his little legs run him off toward the living room.
I stand up from the couch and I look at Callum reproachfully. “Why did you do that? I don’t like the way you are spending time with him.”
He walks toward me and he says, ignoring what I said completely, “Amanda says that you are taking William after New Years and you are leaving?”
Turning away from him, I sit down on the couch again, pulling my legs up and I open my book.
He says harshly, “Susanna, I am talking to you.”
I look up angrily. “Don’t you Susanna me. It has nothing to do with you.”
Hurt flashes across his face, but I do not care.
He walks toward me and then he sits down on the edge of the couch next to my pulled up legs. His body is turned toward me and he takes the book from my hands, while I look at him boldly. He puts his hand on the other side of my waist, literally trapping me. Softly he says, “Tell me that you are not leaving.”
I close my eyes and I take a deep breath. I take a few deep breaths, because I can feel that irritating burning sensation behind my eyes. The only thing I hate about being human is that it is so difficult to hide my emotions.
Without opening my eyes, I say, “I have to leave.” I bring my hands up and I put the palms of my hands over my eyes, pushing hard, in an attempt to force back the tears.
“If you are leaving, because I am here, I would rather leave. Please don’t do this because of me.”
Unexpectedly, I feel his lips on mine. Instantaneously I have a deep yearning ache in the pit of my stomach. He moves his lips against mine and I feel a traitorous tear escape from under my eyelid. He moves his arms in under my shoulders and he lifts me up to him, effortlessly. My arms move around his neck by the power of their own will. When our tongues touch, he groans deeply. He holds me tighter to him and I am not sure if the feeling of breathlessness is because he is constricting my lungs or from his kiss. He kisses me with unrelenting determination and I am not sure when one kiss ends and the next one starts. While his one arm remains around my shoulders, I feel his other hand trail down my back and then this human body betrays me by sprouting goose bumps when his hand touches my bare skin. He brings his hand up my back, tracing his fingers over my skin softly. I feel his lips smile, even as he continues kissing me when his fingers move over the bumps erupting over my body. I feel the warmth spread through my body from my toes upwards, turning me into pliable clay in his hands. I moan softly, when his hand rests between my shoulder blades and I feel his other hand move with purpose across my waist. He cups the swell of my breast softly and then his thumb rests against the golden heart Andrew gave me so long ago, which I still wore daily.
He pulls away from me slowly and he lets me lie back against the couch again. Looking into my eyes thoughtfully, I shiver when his fingers brush along my neck and he lifts the gold chain from my skin. Slowly, deliberately he pulls the chain out from under my shirt. I see the pain in his eyes when he sees the gold heart with my name engraved on it and turning it over, seeing Andrew’s name on the other side.
He scowls down at me and I dread his next words, I know they will be accusing and hurtful.
William comes running into the room. “Mommy, Mommy, come look. It’s snowing.”
William saves me from another humiliating attack and abruptly Callum stands up from the couch.
Callum smiles down at William and then he picks him up and carries him from the room, saying, “Come Mommy, let's go look.” I can hear the cynical tone in his voice, and it rips through me.
I stand a little behind them looking out at the snow slowly drifting down and I feel sad when I see the way William has latched himself onto Callum and the way he worshiped him. Although William grew up with Edward, Justin, Peter, Herman and Claude, he immediately took to Callum. It hurt me and I felt that this was what Callum wanted. He wanted to hurt me emotionally. I really have no choice but to remove William and myself from this situation. I know it is my house, but I love Callum and I did not want to alienate him by asking him to leave.
That night I take the necklace from around my neck and I hold it in my hands for a moment. The talisman Andrew put around my neck so long ago, did not prevent Callum from entering my heart.
Chapter Twenty-Five
On New Year’s Eve, the house is buzzing. Caterers, catering suppliers and flower arrangers fall over each other’s feet in the hustle and bustle to get everything organized.
I meet Amanda in the hallway, “Why are you making such a fuss?”
“Well.” She smiles. “It is like a New Year’s party and a bon voyage.”
I roll my eyes. “Amanda!”
“Leave me, I am having fun.” She laughs exuberantly.
“So much for only the few of us?”
“No, I have invited the whole village and the neighboring village, as well as all the local wine producers.” She thinks a moment. “I think I invited almost one hundred people.”
I gasp. “What?”
“I am so excited. Oh, and before I forget, it is a black tie event. Dress appropriately.”
“Amanda! What am I supposed to wear? Last minute and you tell me, dress appropriately.”
“I have already bought you something. It is hidden in my cupboard.”
I grimace. “I hope it isn’t shiny!”
“Not at all. But you have to excuse me now - lots to do.” She hurries away.
I walk down the passageway and I feel like going for a walk. William is with Claude and I hear Edward and Herman in the living room. I want to ask them if one of them would join me for a walk outside, but their voices are raised and before I walk into the room, I hear Herman say, “We should have gone with Callum.”
Confused I wonder what they are talking about, because I have successfully avoided Callum since Christmas and I thought he was doing the same. I did not realize he was not here.
“He left without telling anyone,” Edward retaliates.
“We could have followed him.”
Edward says solemnly, “Those idiots who attacked Susie are long gone. He will never find them.”
Herman sounds worried, “His note to Amanda said he would be back yesterday. Something has happened to him.”
My heart sinks.
“No. He will be fine. After what he did for the Four Judges, Callum will not be overpowered easily. He used to be savage, now he is just plain merciless.”
Incredulous Herman asks, “He told you details?”
“Yes. Didn’t he tell you?”
“No. Why would he tell you and not me?” I hear the disappointment in Herman’s voice. Herman and Callum had been together far longer than Edward and Callum.
“I have a suspicion he needed to talk and I was available, but he is embarrassed of the level he had to sink to and he does not know me as long as he knows the rest of you. Perhaps he thought you would condemn him, if he told you the truth.”
I hear Justin’s voice echo toward me and I jump in my skin, “Hey, what you doing?”
I turn toward him annoyed and I shush him, but I cannot eavesdrop anymore, because the entire northern hemisphere knows I have been standing here listening.
I walk past the living room door with Justin and I glance in. Edward looks at me with an amused smirk across his face.
That afternoon Amanda brings me a sapphire blue dress. It is not shiny, but beautiful. It is a ball gown and it reminds me of the dress my mother is wearing in the portrait over the fireplace in the living room, except that her dress in the picture is champagne colored. It has the same style.
“It is beautiful, Amanda.” I hold the dress up gently, I did not want to ruin it.
“I thought it would match your eyes and it does perfectly. Tonight we will put your hair up. It will look nice.”
I rush toward a chest of my most precious possessions and I scratch through it. I find the first necklace Francois gave my mother and Amanda exclaims, “That will go
perfectly with the dress.”
“I know, when I saw the dress, I immediately thought of it.”
I am strangely excited to have a ball in the ballroom. I have always wanted one.
We get a girl from the village to babysit William in his room and I worriedly go into his room frequently to make sure he has everything he needs. The last time I go in, he tells me stubbornly, “Mommy, I am watching this. Stop ‘boffering’ me.”
I smile and taking a deep breath, I force myself to relax.
The niggling feeling in my stomach that is worrying me about Callum who has gone after the two men, who attacked me, is not so easy to get rid of though. Sadly, I consider that he hates the fact that I am human so much, he has to go out and take revenge. I force myself not to cry and later when I am dressed, I hear laughter and talking downstairs.
There is a knock at my door and I open it expectantly. I smile widely when I see Claude.
He looks handsome in a white shirt, penguin tails and a black bowtie. He pushes his finger in between the collar and his neck uncomfortably and I cannot help laughing. He bows toward me and says politely, “You look very nice, Susie.”
I curtsy playfully. “Why thank you, my lord.”
“My lord, I like the sound of that. It makes me sound important.”
I slide my arm into his and together we walk down the stairs and toward the ballroom. The entire entrance hall is decorated with white lilies. The tables groan under the food.
I have already decided that I am not eating tonight. I am too scared I drop something and it leaves a large oily patch on this pretty dress.
I dance, I dance and I dance. Edward, Herman and Claude rotate continuously. I am exhausted and when Claude bows in front of me again, I decline laughing.
After I walk out onto the balcony, I lean against the balustrade railing. I take a few deep breaths and I wish I could take the shoes I am wearing off.
Amanda comes out and I laugh when I see her. “Oh, Amanda, this is so very nice. I love it. I have always wondered what a ball would feel like in this large room.”
“I am glad you like it.”
She asks worriedly, “Aren’t you hungry? I am told the food is very good.”
“I am too scared to eat. I will eat left-over’s tomorrow.”
She pulls her face disgusted and I laugh loudly.
Claude comes out onto the balcony and he says poetically, “There you are Susie, the prettiest girl here. My arms ache to hold you again.”
I laugh. “My body is aching.”
He seems taken aback. “To dance with me?”
“No, sorry – just aching.”
He smirks. “Come, you cannot be tired yet. You are only twenty-three, a young spring chicken.”
I walk toward him and I reply, “Excuse me, I would like to inform you of a little fact regarding my true age.”
He whispers, “Hush, not in public. What will people think of us?”
He leads me to the dance floor and he pulls me into his arms. We dance a waltz and when the music fades into the next song, I say, “I am sorry, Claude, but I really cannot dance one more step.”
I step away from Claude and I see him nod toward someone behind me. I turn around smiling, but then the smile fades from my face when I see Callum standing in front of me.
He is wearing a crisp white shirt and black pants. The top buttons of the shirt are undone, and the bowtie hangs loosely around his neck under the collar. His blonde hair is tied back loosely with a black string behind his head.
Gazing into my eyes, without a word, he folds his arms around my waist and he takes my hand in his other hand. He folds his large hand around mine and slowly we move to the music. I feel light as a feather, the dull ache in my feet miraculously healed. He pulls me closely to him and I have no choice but to rest my head against his quiet, strong chest.
He leans down and he whispers in my hair, close to my ear, “Your heartbeat is thunderous.”
I stiffen and I start to pull away from him, but he pulls me tightly into him again.
He says softly, “That day when I kissed you in the vineyard and on Christmas day, your heart sped up so quickly, I thought I was killing you.”
I feel the heat rise up my neck.
He continues, “I find it all so strange, yet beautiful.”
When the song is finished, he takes my hand and he leads me silently from the dance floor. I follow him willingly out of the ballroom and through the hall, down the passage and through the kitchen toward the cellar. We walk wordlessly toward his old reading room at the end of the well-known passage and when I walk into the room there is, what looks like, a hundred candles burning.
I ask amused, “Do you want to set the château on fire, leaving all these candles burning?”
He turns toward me and he silences me by kissing me. I reach up toward him and I let my arms slide around his broad shoulders. His arms wind tightly around my waist and he holds me close to him.
He pulls away slowly. “My red-haired girl, you look gorgeous tonight.”
I blush embarrassingly. Since I turned human, my blood likes to rush to places at the most inopportune places, publicly displaying my inner feelings.
“All those years, all I could ever think of is you, but when I got back, it felt as if I was left on the outside of your life. Although at first I was so stunned when I realized you were human, I realized that the silly things you say and do, the way you walk, your smile, the way you look at me, the smell of your skin, nothing else changed. Although you are now human, you are still the Susanna I love.”
I reach up and tentatively I touch my lips to his.
He groans and whispers against my lips, “You make me feel so … I don’t know, but I cannot stop thinking about you.” He lifts me effortlessly and he almost crushes my feeble body against his as we kiss.
The candles are burning low and he carries me toward the couch. I sit down and I notice heather scattered throughout the room. I look up at him, “Where did you find all this heather in the middle of winter?”
He sits down next to me, turning to face me. “On my way back, I bought a truckload.”
“You went after the men who turned me human, didn’t you?”
He looks shocked, but he replies honestly, “I did, and I disposed of them swiftly.”
Softly I ask, “Why? Do you hate the fact that I am human so much?”
Seriously, he replies, “At first I was raging mad, but then I fell in love with you all over again. So, the reason I went after them was not only because of what they did to you, but also to protect our lifestyle. Those two were breaking the laws of our community.” He looks at me imploringly. “Amanda says you have decided to remain human.”
I take a deep breath. “Yes, for William. I have no choice.”
“I hear Andrew had the virus, but he did not survive the turning. I have heard of it happen before.”
I smirk. “The Four Judges would have probably sent you to kill him anyway, if he survived.”
Callum looks away and I see a shadow cross his features. He reflects, “If Andrew had the virus and you had the virus, is it possible that William has it?”
I recoil and shake my head in denial. I have been so ignorant. I never even considered it and this would mean that if Callum thought of it, there was every possibility that the Four Judges were also watching us closely.
He moves from the couch and he sits down on the carpeting on the floor, between the small pink heather blossoms. He takes my hand and gently he pulls me down with him. He pulls me onto his lap and then he rests his ear against my chest. I sit still, feeling mortified.
He looks up at me. “It is so beautiful the way your heart speeds up when you see me.”
I gasp loudly, embarrassed beyond reproach. I feel the blood rush up to my face.
He smiles. “And the way I can visibly see your embarrassment. You cannot hide anything. Maybe I should leave you like this.”
I frown.
�
��I love you, Susanna and I still want you to marry me. I want to spend literary forever with you, never growing old. I know I let you down previously, but this time I will never let you go. You are the only girl I have ever allowed into the hollow space in my chest. I want to be with you all my life, forever.”
I am not sure that that is what I want. I have already decided that I wanted to grow old in this body and that I wanted to move on. What if I decided to live forever with Callum and then William does not have the virus. Although when William was born, I did contemplate the finality of death and I wanted neither one of us to ever move on, because I would never survive without William. William is my ultimate purpose, the destiny I have always searched for.
His voice is urgent, when he insists, “Suppose you got older and you outgrew me and left me behind. Suppose I could not contemplate forever without you?”
I reply pessimistically, “We cannot escape the Four Judges.”
“I will always be here to protect you and William.”
“I cannot discuss this now. I do not want to even consider that William could be in danger.”
I do not know what to do.
Gently he pushes me down until I am lying down on the carpeting, amongst the heather and then he lies down next to me. He drapes his arm over my waist, while I look up into his eyes and I see my reflection.
He says softly, “Amanda says you want to experience the world as a human, to confront death?”
Hesitantly I say, “I wanted that before William was born, but now I don’t know what I want anymore.”
He smiles forlornly. “If you confronted death in this delicate body, what would I do if you failed?”
I smile faintly. “I have always wondered how it would be to know that life is fleeting, to make the best of each day, live fully as if each day might be your last.”
“We are not as immortal as you imagine and we should also make the best of each day. Look what happened to William and Shayne, only two people who are personally connected to you.”
He leans down toward me and I hear him moan softly. He touches his lips to mine and I bring my arms up around his shoulders. He moves his lips toward my neck and then I feel his teeth against my skin. For a moment, I wonder if it will hurt. I close my eyes, waiting. Part of me wants him to do it.
The Vampire Pirate's Daughter Page 17