The heat runs out and I’m left standing under nothing but a cold spray that I barely even notice. It takes me several minutes to gather the motivation to climb out, and when I do, I stand dripping onto the cold floor as I towel off. I slowly replace my wrinkled blue nightshirt with a clean grey tank top and search out a pair of my comfortable black yoga pants to pull on. Feeling no more energized than when I woke up, I decide to try food in the hopes that breakfast would perk me up.
Downstairs in the kitchen I search through the refrigerator and cupboards for something that looks appealing but I come up empty handed. I finally settle on a small glass of orange juice and a plain bagel that I eat slowly. The bagel tastes like I’d imagine cardboard would- room temperature, heavy and tough to swallow- and the orange juice isn’t much better. When I finish eating I place my dishes in the sink and give up, deciding to go back to bed. At least there I won’t have to find anything to do. Once in bed I pull the covers up to my chin and sigh. Too worn out to get up but too awake to sleep I stare, unmoving, at the ceiling. I watch as the soft yellow glow evolves into a brilliant white gleam before shrinking once more into yellow as the day crawls by.
“Adelin?” Sera calls with a soft knock on the door.
“It’s open,” I grumble.
She steps into the room, a skeptical look on her face as she catches sight of me. “Are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I sigh. “I’m just worn out.”
“Your body’s probably just trying to get used to the change.” She walks over and sits down carefully beside my feet on the bed and places a hand on my knee. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you more about what to expect. I was upset. I didn’t get the chance to choose and, if I had, I wouldn’t have chosen this life. Although now I’m glad I am what I am because I finally get to see you. I don’t want this life for you. I want you to live a full, normal, healthy life. I want you to grow up and be happy. I want you to have your own normal, mortal children, not a family of Immortals.”
“I know Mom but it’s not your choice. It’s mine and I need to know everything so I can choose what’s best for me.”
“You’re right,” she replies with a nod. “It’s your choice. I just want you to be happy.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“Do you have any plans for tonight or would you like to watch a movie together? We could talk some more,” she offers, changing the subject.
“Actually, I promised Vraiden I’d meet him later. Wait— ” I say, holding up a hand at her expression. “I know that you don’t like him, or trust him, but I do and he hasn’t done anything to make me think otherwise. Please, just trust me.”
“I’ll try,” she murmurs, “ but if he does anything to hurt you I’ll kill him myself.”
I smile. “Fair enough.”
“If you don’t have plans tomorrow we could go to the mainland to get a dress for Moira’s party?”
“I’d love to,” I reply.
She looks at the clock on my bedside table. “What time are you meeting Vraiden?”
“Nine.”
“Then you’d better get up- unless the two of you are planning to spend the night in bed?” She arches an eyebrow devilishly.
“I can’t believe you just said that!” I exclaim, eyes wide. I swat at her playfully as she dances up off the bed and out the door laughing.
Dragging myself from bed I take a quick shower to try and rid myself of the funk I was in, as well as cure my bed head. Climbing out, I wrap myself in a towel and take time to blow-dry my hair before scouring my closet. I stand there confused as I try to find something appropriate to wear. I’m not sure if tonight counted as a “date” or not. Hell, I wasn’t even sure if either of us wanted to consider a
“date” which made finding something to wear extremely difficult. A dress felt too suggestive, my slacks all too formal, and jeans too casual. I decide that casual seems the best way to go, especially since I don’t want him to assume too much. Picking out my nicest pair of dark denim jeans, I couple it with my favorite mint green V-neck and top it off with a pair of sandals. I am just fastening the straps on my shoes when the doorbell rings. After giving myself a quick once-over I head downstairs.
Sera has already answered the door and I can hear her attempting polite conversation as I begin to walk down the steps. Vraiden stands amicably in the open doorway, dressed in a pair of dark, low slung jeans and an untucked black button-up. The sleeves of his shirt are rolled up a quarter of the way, exposing his taut forearms as he leans casually against the doorframe. He looks devilishly handsome, exactly the kind of guy you didn’t bring home to meet your parents. His eyes flick towards me and follow me down the stairs, a slight smile hinting at the corner of his perfect mouth. The heat from his blue eyes makes me feel like he can see right through my clothes and I falter on the bottom step, barely catching myself before I fall. The smug expression on his face both infuriates me and embarrasses me and I blush uncontrollably.
He bows slightly as I reach the door. “Adelin,” he says seductively.
“Vraiden,” I reply with a shy smile.
“All ready?”
“Yes. Night, Mom,” I say as I give her a quick peck on the cheek.
“Good night Adelin. Vraiden.” Her voice is tight, controlled and I remind myself to thank her later for not making too big of a deal.
“Have a good evening, Sera,” Vraiden responds as he turns and offers me his arm. I can feel her narrowed eyes on us all the way to his Jeep.
“Where are we going?” I ask curiously once we’re both seated inside and moving.
“Well, this would work better if we were outside but you said no woods so we’re going to my place. I have a terrace in my bedroom.
Don’t worry,” he continues before I can open my mouth. “My mother is on the mainland with some guests. She won’t bug us and my father’s still out on business.”
“It’s not your mother I’m worried about,” I mutter.
“It’s either that or the woods…..”
“Is it too late to change my mind?” I grumble.
“I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that,” he replies with a wink as we pull up in front of his house. He helps me down from the Jeep and leads me inside and up an extravagant set of stairs. The second floor is similar to the downstairs except instead of chandeliers there are wall lights set every few feet. The lights twinkle down onto the white marble floor, making the hallway appear longer than it actually is. At the top of the steps Vraiden steers me to the left and we head down the hall to a heavy wooden door at the end.
“My bedroom, mi’lady,” He pushes open the door and bows deeply before straightening and flashing me a sly wink.
I walk in and stop, shocked at my surroundings. His bedroom is immense- easily twice the size of my room at Sera’s- and is darkly decorated. The hardwood floor is a deep, rich red-brown, most likely mahogany, as is the woodwork on the opulent bed and other furniture. A large Oriental rug in deep shades of blue, red and green stretches across the room, disappearing beneath the bed. The bed itself is dressed seductively with red silk sheets and a span of dark blue duvet. Along one entire wall sits bookshelves, filled to the brim with ancient looking books. It’s not at all what I had expected.
Directly across from where we entered is a series of French doors accented with bright red curtains. Each set of doors is propped open, the curtains gently flapping in the night breeze, allowing a hint of what appeared to be a rather large balcony.
“What do you think?” Vraiden asks, shutting the door to lean back against it as he gestures widely with one arm. “Do you like it?” Like it? I’m entranced by it. If the devil had a bedroom, this is what it would look like- only instead of bookshelves, there would be chains and shackles. Not that I’d much mind that either. The air is thick, electrified. Not trusting myself to speak I nod my approval.
“Better than the woods?”
“Much,” I say after clearing my throat.
He turns to look at me as I sit. “Before we begin there’s something I’d like to ask you. My mother is throwing a party this Friday night…” I nod. “Sera mentioned it.”
“The party takes place once a year, the first week of July, in celebration of Immortality. It’s always a big deal and Immortals from all over the world show up to attend.”
“Really? Why the first week of July?” I interrupt again.
“I’ll answer your question but first answer mine. Will you come with me to the party?”
“I already told my mom I’d go. We’re supposed to go shopping tomorrow,” I reply.
“No, I meant will you come with me? As my date?” His voice is sexy, confident.
“As your…?” I gulp. A date? Vraiden was asking me on a date? And to a huge, no doubt fancy, party?
“Yes, my date,” he clarifies with a coy smile.
“I—Uh….” I stutter as a blush creeps over my face.
“I’ll beg if you’d like…..”
“No, no begging. I’ll go with you,” I say, squaring my shoulders as I try to maintain some of my dignity. I doubt I’d be able to turn him down if I wanted to.
“Thank you,” he beams. His smile is bright enough that it could be used to direct a plane in the dark, making my mouth turn upwards automatically in response.
“What time should I pick you up Friday?”
“That’s not necessary. I’ll just get a ride with Sera and meet you here.”
“Are you sure?” he asks with a frown.
“Yes, I’m sure. What kind of sense does it make for you to come pick me up when the party’s here, at your house?”
“Point made. All right, you can meet me here….but that means you’ll have to guess who I am.” His eyes twinkle mischievously.
“Huh? That doesn’t make any sense,” I point out.
“It will tomorrow when you go shopping,” he replies cryptically.
I blink at him, my brows furrow together confused as I try to decipher the riddle he has presented. “I give up,” I shrug. “Guess I’ll unravel the mystery tomorrow. Are you ready to do this now?”
“My, aren’t you romantic?” he taunts. “You’re not even going to offer to buy me dinner before we ‘do it’? And here I thought you were such a nice girl!” His hands come up to rest over his heart, feigning hurt, a wounded expression further accentuating his devilish mouth.
“I told you I wasn’t going to play innocent with you,” I tease.
He gazes at me, eyes smoldering. “Sunshine, when I’m through with you there won’t be an innocent bone left in your delicate little body….” The look in his eyes coupled with the syrupy smoothness of his voice causes my heart to trip and falter before resuming at a thunderous pace. He flashes me a seductive smile as he inches closer. “Are you ready?” he whispers.
I nod my assent, breathless. He reaches into his pocket and extracts the same silver pocketknife from the woods. He snaps it open and regards it quietly for a moment before flicking his eyes toward me, a troubled expression masking his face. “What?” I ask curiously.
“Don’t take this the wrong way but I’m trying to figure out how to do this without it ending in us having sex, or more accurately, without it ending in another argument.” He continues hurriedly at my sharp look, “I promised I wouldn’t let my emotions overtake me.
That’s going to be extremely difficult with my finger in your mouth….” Oh. My. Lord. I squirm with the thought of it as a fire ignites deep within. His tongue peeks out and whispers softly along his lips erotically before he continues. “Any suggestions?”
“Um…..uh….you could close your eyes?” I offer.
“I don’t think that’s going to help. Let me make this a bit clearer--
it’s going to be extremely difficult to contain myself with your mouth anywhere on me.”
The fire quickly spreads, burning to the very ends of each limb, as my knees go weak. I’m grateful we’re sitting because I’d have more than likely just swooned. My voice shakes slightly as I speak.
“Maybe we should wait then?”
“Wait for what exactly? This isn’t going to get any easier….” He inches even closer, his body heat mingling with mine.
“I think this was a very bad idea.” I say, shuffling sideways down the bench until I feel the armrest biting into my back.
Vraiden follows me, lifting one arm and placing it on the bar behind my back, effectively boxing me in. His head tilts to one side, a lock of honey blond hair falling onto his forehead. “Do I make you nervous?”
“Yes,” I croak, automatically answering honestly. Embarrassment washes through me and I wish I could crawl away and hide.
“I guess you’re really innocent after all,” he whispers with a sexy smirk before settling back on the bench, allowing me room to regain my bearings. I let out a deep breath, unaware I’d been holding one in and flush red as I settle back down on the bench, unable to look at him. Several minutes pass before he speaks again. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”
“You’re the one who said it was the only way for me to know what being Immortal was like…” I trail off.
“I know what I said but you just saw how easy it is for my emotions to overtake me- and that was without the blood. You could always do this with someone else.” His eyes flick to mine for a moment before settling on his hands once more.
“Like who, Sera? No thanks.”
“Then what do you suggest?”
“We’ll just have to control ourselves…”
“I don’t know if I can,” he whispers, barely loud enough to be heard.
“You better,” I reply sternly causing him to laugh unexpectedly.
“Yes, ma’am,” he says, still smiling. “Come on then. Let’s do this before I regain my senses.”
“Talk about romantic,” I retort dryly as I slide up next to him. He pushes the left sleeve of his shirt up past his elbow before passing the blade into his right hand. His eyes meet mine, searching, before he quickly slices across the thickness of his forearm. He flexes his hand a few times before extending his arm in my direction. I hesitate momentarily before grasping his arm with my palms.
Making sure not to look directly at the blood, I lower my head, keeping my gaze fastened on the distant expanse of black ocean.
The taste explodes in my mouth as soon as I make contact and my eyes slip shut in ecstasy. Almost immediately the flavors overwhelm me, consuming me from within and I tighten my grip to deepen the flow. The essence of cinnamon and clove is still there but fainter than the last time- instead it is overshadowed with something cleaner, crisper. The taste reminds me of cold water on a hot day or hot chocolate on a cold night. It’s both soothing and refreshing. I gulp greedily, allowing the feelings, and the blood, to run through me as I lose myself and sigh in pleasure. The underlying spices of cinnamon and clove slowly begin to drown out the others, flooding my senses with need and desire.
Vraiden’s voice cuts through my haze. “Adelin? Adelin, that’s enough.” I tighten my grip further, digging my fingernails in slightly as he gently tries to pull his arm away. “Adelin you have to stop now or I’m not going to be able to control myself.” He gently pries my hands away and quickly moves his wounded arm out of my reach, leaving me panting. My eyes still closed, I lean my head back, heady from the blood. A slow, burning desire courses through me and I bite my lip to stifle a gasp. “Kiss me,” I
whisper before I have a chance to think it through.
“You have no idea how much I want to but I can’t. Not right now.”
“Kiss me,” I say with more force.
“Adelin, you don’t mean that- it’s the blood talking- and I don’t want to take advantage of you. When I kiss you again, and I will, I want you to want me to.”
“Believe me, I do. I want you. Please,” I beg unabashedly.
“You’re not making this very easy.” He sighs deeply. “Just take a few minutes to relax. Breathe deeply. In, out. Think about something else. The ocean, home, whatever relaxes you. Good, keep breathing.”
I exhale slowly as my senses become my own again and blot out my desire. Feeling foolish I lower my head, eyes open. “I’m sorry,” I apologize. “I didn’t mean to be so forward.”
“It’s all right.” A ghost of a smile plays across his lips. “I quite enjoyed it. It was very…..erotic.”
I blush deeply, refusing to meet his eyes. “I think I need a few more minutes,” My face darkens further in humiliation.
“Take all the time you need,” he laughs.
The quiet that follows is uncomfortable, heavy with unclaimed desire. I shift several times, uneasy, still wanting to reach out and touch him, taste him. “Close your eyes,” he whispers hypnotically, edging nearer. “Stop thinking. Relax.”
“I can’t,” I complain grumpily.
“Yes you can. Breathe.” I huff, irritated, ready to cuss him out when I feel his fingertips graze across my cheeks, startling me. My eyes fly open in surprise, astounded to see him crouched down directly in front of me. “Close your eyes,” he urges again soothingly. I obey, gasping soundlessly as his thumbs flit across my eyelids and trail down the sides of my face. He gently massages my earlobes before moving his hands up into my hair and kneading my scalp. I lose all sense of myself as his hands persuade my flesh. “There. Better?” I open my eyes and nod, breathless at his proximity, as his hands loosen from my hair. Sensing my unease he rocks back onto his heels and quickly takes his seat beside me. “Thank you.”
Origins (A Black Novel, #1) Page 9