I was glad in a way as it gave me chance to look at Draven and take in every detail. His beautiful skin was back and once more had that healthy glow to it that not long ago had been pasty white. His dark hair fell around his face like a man deep in sleep and I smoothed it back making him stir.
“Are you staring at me again, love?” He asked me still with his eyes closed.
“Big head much?” I teased back pulling the covers up to cover my breasts.
“I rather prefer them on show and ready for my personal use.” He said opening one eye and I giggled after failing miserably at trying to growl.
“And here I was thinking you couldn’t get any more adorable than with that little red nose.”
“Ha ha, laugh it up Mr Darcy, I had to improvise.” At this Draven threw his head back and laughed like I had never heard before. It was almost uncontrollable and I couldn’t help but join in although I had no clue as to what he found so funny.
“Are you laughing at me?” I asked for the second time and again I had to wait for him to try and control himself.
“Oh my lovely girl, I don’t think if I lived for another thousand years I would ever get that image out of my head.”
“What do you mean?” And again I had to wait as this brought on another round of laughter.
“The sight of you with that ridiculous wig on, a biker jacket and a red nose with a giant penis held high and ready to use as a weapon is not how I imagined seeing you again for the first time after I woke, but I can’t say I was disappointed…amused yes but not disappointed, especially given your reaction to seeing me again.” He was of course referring to me dropping everything and running into his arms in my obviously desperate act to be there.
I guess that was certainly an image that would stay with you but it would stay with me for very different reasons. Oh the times I thought about bashing Aurora around the head with something…ok so a giant penis piñata wasn’t the iron spiked mace I had always envisioned but as I had told Draven, I had to improvise.
“Do you know how angry I was at you when I woke?” Draven asked me and my shoulders tensed knowing the time had come for my official telling off.
“I have an idea. Actually no I take that back and say yes I definitely had a good idea considering I felt the same way about you when you yourself went into Tartarus with the sole purpose to save me.” Ha! His face said he hadn’t been expecting this part of the argument.
“But Keira you could have…”
“NO! If you want to tell me how stupid a decision it was then that’s fine, I might even agree with you considering how things turned out but my decision only affected you and me, not the rest of mankind like your decision did.” I said snapping and folding my arms as this would help back up my claim.
“I know you see it like that but I had a plan in place.”
“Lucius?” I asked and for a moment pain flashed in his eyes in a purple flicker.
“That was the main part of my plan, yes.”
“Then it was lucky you had me to back up the part you didn’t expect would happen because like it or not Draven we are a team and that means trusting the other to do what is right when the shit hits the fan! I refused to let you die just as you refused to do the same.” I said and for once instead of looking angry he just looked thoughtful, as if it was finally sinking in.
“We are a team.” He repeated and I was shocked as I had been all ready with another ‘team’ speech.
“And I did trust you, along with those around me when they told me they had found you and were bringing you back. Do you know how hard it was not to snap her neck when hearing her lies? I think if I hadn’t read your letter first and then been assured of your survival then I would have. But I trusted you and you were right, we needed to know what she was up to.”
“Uh…I…” I struggled for words and was so shocked I wanted to take a page out of Jared’s book and say, ‘Ok who are you and what have you done with Draven?’
“Did your demon get some anger management whilst on its forced holiday?” I asked and once again Draven burst out laughing.
“Do you want to ask him?” He teased by winking at me with blood red fire in his eyes.
“Uh…I think I will pass.”
“The truth of it is that after waking I was ready to storm the gates of Hell beating back beasts I met there and demanding you be brought to me unharmed. Then I would have called forth my own legions and brought a war to all the princes of Hell, including my own father if need be.” Draven said all this tensing his muscles and clenching his fists, so I picked one up and placed it in my lap and began prying open his hand so I could entwine my fingers with his. I was surprised at how quickly this worked.
“But then Vincent told me how well you handled yourself in my place. He told me how proud I would have been to see the strength in your decision and how everyone looked up to you. But more importantly he made me realise I had no right to take that away from you. He explained that I represented a balance but not for mortal mankind. And that you were a mortal that had just as much right to free will than any other and if you chose to save me with that will, well then I had no right to stop you…and he was right.” I think my shock was more than clear on my face because he laughed once and then tapped my chin as my jaw had dropped.
“See, there is hope for you yet.” He joked and this time when he winked at me it was all Draven, dark eyed and dreamy.
“So we are good?” I asked thinking this conversation would have gone a hell of a lot differently when we first met. He nodded and said,
“We are but I intend on making it better.” I frowned not understanding where he was going with this, so I groaned,
“I knew there was a catch.” To which he chuckled.
“Come, stand with me and let’s meet the new day together.” He said standing up and wrapping one of the sheets around his waist. I did as I was asked and wrapped my own cover around me and I had to giggle as we looked ready for a toga party.
“We’d better not let Pip see us like this or we will be wearing this at her next party.” I joked. I walked over to where Draven had his hand held out for me and stepped over the candles that long ago became extinguished. We stepped up to the balustrades that were spaced by massive stone urns and I took in the beautiful view of dawn rising.
The sky was a rich midnight blue colour casting the land in dark shadow and a faint glow came from the horizon. There were clouds in the sky that were darker in colour and played with the upcoming light. I leant forward and rested my arms on the stone wall and Draven did the same.
“I never thought I would find you.” He said suddenly looking out to the view ahead as if he was almost talking to himself.
“I often looked out at this view when I was here and many others all around the world but no matter the difference in landscape I would always wonder the same thing.” I bit my lip before forcing the question through my quivering lips,
“What did you wonder?” He finally turned to look at me and said,
“I always wondered if that day would be the day I finally found you.”
“Oh Draven.” I whispered putting a hand to my mouth as I listened to the most important words I would ever hear.
“I did so when I woke after finding out you were destined for me and I walked to my window back when my view was the rolling sands of Persia and went as far as the eye could see. I did what I did now and met that new day wondering how long I would have to wait. And even after I lost you I still met the day the same way and now here we are…”
“Here we are.” I agreed looking back out to the sun starting to cast its colour to the day.
“I never realised what it would mean, even back then I had no clue what it would mean to be in love. I was so arrogant to such things, thinking you would be just another person to obey me...” He laughed at himself at the thought, before continuing,
“How wrong I was.”
“You certainly were, I bet you wouldn’t have believ
ed anyone if they had told you what it would really be like, having a wilful Northerner on your hands to deal with.”
“No, you’re right, I wouldn’t have believed them, but I want you to know Keira, that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I don’t want just another subject to obey me and agree with what they feel is wrong. I never fully understood it until I read your letter. The last thing you actually said to me, about how our souls are entwined, our hearts combined and our minds are one team that work together fuelled by our love for each other…” He said quoting back what I actually said to him in my letter.
“I want you to know I feel the same way. I finally get it. I made a mistake letting you go and thinking that would keep you safe. Because now I realise that together we can face anything and my father was right, if I had spent that time fighting for us instead of against us then none of this would have happened.”
“Draven don’t…don’t torture yourself over what happened back then.” I said knowing I was now singing a very different tune than what I did back then. If only I had known this was the way he felt back when I was torturing myself would it have helped? I wasn’t sure if it would have made that hurt any less bitter.
“I should have listened to the old bastard for he knew. He recognised the strength it took me for walking away, something he himself had no choice but to do with my own mother but it was I that didn’t want to fully recognise what it meant…”
“Recognise what…?” I asked when he paused to look back at the rising sun.
“The strength of love from a mortal. The strength it took you in looking for me the first time and then saving me the second. But now I understand. Now there will be no fighting it anymore and I promise you this…I won’t let you down again…and I…I…Ok, so now the time has come.” He looked around as if he was stumbling for the right words to say. As if he was trying not to mess something up and suddenly I had never seen Draven looking so uncertain.
Then my heart stopped.
Because Dominic Draven got down on one knee.
“Oh God!” I whispered and he smiled up at me. Then he took a deep breath, one I couldn’t yet take from fear of waking up and he said the most perfect words I had secretly dreamed of hearing since that first day I ever met him…
“Catherine Keiran Williams, I brought you here tonight with the sole purpose of saying goodbye to all the yesterdays spent apart and now welcoming a new forever of days together. For I promise to never let you fall. I promise to trust in you as I ask that you place your trust in me. And all I ask in return is that you believe these words of love and know that I will never let you go again…I will fight for you until the end of days and beyond.” He said then took my shaking hand in his and the tears streaming down my face dripped on to my skin like extra proof this was actually happening.
Then he turned over my hand, opened it up and placed a small box there. I still couldn’t move to even open it myself and Draven knew this so he helped me. He flipped the lid and I gasped and cried even harder at seeing the beauty that lay cushioned there. It was a beauty that mirrored the stunning sky of the new day and I felt my heart swell…
Then he finally said the words and coloured my world perfect,
“Catherine you own my heart, body, soul and mind. Now I give you all I have left.
I give you my wings…
Will you marry me?”
Chapter 74
Surprise!
After I had burst into uncontrollable sobs of happiness Draven took me in his arms and held me for the longest time. He turned me to watch the rest of the sun coming up, filling the sky with purple blues and peach pinks in the clouds that floated slowly by. Then just over the rolling green hills were the fire oranges bleeding into yellow. It was the most perfect sunrise I had ever seen but to be honest it could have been raining a thunderstorm and it would have remained perfect.
“Can I take the crying as a yes?” Draven said after a time and I laughed.
“You can take that as a Hell yes!” I said making him growl playfully at my humour.
“What do you expect, I have been to Hell and back twice now which means at least ten years of Hell jokes.”
“In that case, I take it back, let’s just be friends yeah?”
“How about Hell no! You’re mine now Big King Man!” I said mimicking what Pip had called him and then threw my arms up around his neck for a kiss. It started out slow and soft but before long the sheets had fallen and we were quickly strengthening our union with more than words.
I threw my head back against the makeshift bed and cried out for the third time, too lost in my own euphoria to take notice of Draven’s own release. It had started off by him lifting me onto the ledge and soon my fear of heights only added to the intensity of our lovemaking. I had protested only for a moment until he whispered,
“Trust me.” And then he entered me finding me wet and ready to take him hard. And hard was what he gave me until I screamed the first time and then sweet was how he took me for the second. By the third I was physically spent but mentally he wouldn’t allow me to give up until he got what he wanted,
“I want another one, come for me Keira. Come for me my wife to be.” As soon as he asked this of me I obeyed without control.
I didn’t remember us moving from the ledge but I can say I was happy not to be still there and have to come round from my lust drunken way to find I was still facing the long drop down.
Draven lay down next to me and rested his arm across my body to pull me tighter to his side. Then he started to play with a random curl in my hair that lay loose by my waist. He wrapped it round and round his finger before letting it spring free and he continued to do this until our heart rates slowed.
“Well I guess the quickie days didn’t last long.” I said as a joke and felt him laugh next to me.
“That is what happens when I allow a Vixen to take control, one orgasm for both of us.”
“Yeah, but what an orgasm.” I said with a wink that I knew wasn’t half as sexy as when he did it.
“Agreed.” He said then kissed my shoulder making me shudder, one he mistook for being cold. So he sat up and grabbed one of the fallen sheets and pulled it over the both of us. I saw him grab something else more important than any sheet or even being warm because the next to come was a sight I had wanted to see for what felt like the longest time.
The ring.
“May I?” He asked me and I sat up, pulled the sheet to my chin and gave him my hand for the second time of the day.
“Vena Amoris.” He said as he slipped the ring on my third finger on my left hand.
“What does that mean?” I asked thinking whatever it meant it sounded beautiful.
“A tradition that started over thousands of years ago and now one of my favourite. It was a Greek and Roman belief that a vein from the third finger on the left hand ran directly to the heart. This vein was known as the 'Vena Amoris' also known as the vein of love.”
“Draven it’s stunning.” I said looking down at the most exquisite ring I had ever seen and now I knew what he had meant by giving me his wings. The ring was a pair of wings that twisted round the finger and came to the front to hold its centre piece.
“It’s a flawless natural Purple Sapphire, one I searched for with only one sole purpose, for when I met you. I had it set in my wings the day I told you I loved you for the first time.” This brought a lump to my throat.
“You have had it all this time?” He nodded and then touched it, turning it round on my finger to show me all the smaller diamonds embedded in the dark wings and the more I looked the more I realised, he was right, they were his wings. They had been made to look the same and the detail was incredible. It looked as if you could almost see each individual feather and the way they were lighter at the centre and darker towards the ends.
“I’m speechless.” I lifted my hand and let the light catch the main stone that was one of the deepest purples I had ever seen. I had loved my necklace and I knew now
why he had given it to me, obviously knowing it would one day match this. Something else I would be wearing every day but this ring represented something more than just a wedding or a marriage, no, it would now be representing strength in love.
After this we stayed up on the rooftop until my stomach started to protest. A few pieces of fruit and some bubbly which Draven brought back to chilled wasn’t enough and what I really needed was something like a big greasy cheeseburger and chips. I almost suggested Burger King again but then giggled to myself after remembering what happened last time.
Once we had made it back to Draven’s room we both showered together, which ended up taking longer due to obvious reasons and I was thankful to see a bag had been packed for me. After seeing it was going to be another unusually hot day for British weather I put on a pair of stonewash denim shorts and a light grey t-shirt that had flowers on the front in the shape of a skull. I thought it looked very hippy summer meets rock and when added with some cute dark grey cowboy boots I found in there I thought Bill would approve the gesture.
I was just plaiting my hair to one side letting most of it dry naturally when we were invaded.
“AHHHH! TELL ME, TELL ME, TELL ME!” Pip shouted and it looked like we were still on Pip repeat from last night. Sophia laughed but then said,
“Oh sod it!” And then did the same thing as Pip and ran in from the doorway to jump on the bed I was sat on. I fell back laughing as they jumped around me and I covered my hand over my head to protect myself. Then Draven walked from the bathroom where he had been shaving and came out wearing only his jeans with a white towel around his neck.
If I hadn’t just had another two orgasms and was feeling a bit abused down there I might had been tempted to kick the girls out and had at him again.
The Pentagram Child: Part 2 (Afterlife Saga Book 5) Page 30