by Eve Newton
CK strolls in with none other than Ramon. My feeding buddy from Ponte.
“Buongiorno, Liv,” he says with a big smile and I smile back at him.
“Ramon. How nice to see you,” I give my sire a pointed look and he shrugs.
“You said to revise his job description. He is here now at your beck and call.”
“No, CK, I told you I don’t want that,” I whine at him.
“You need it whether you like it or not.”
“Not,” I say and then suddenly remember something. “Oh, crap. I don’t think I ever let Simone know that I wasn’t coming back to New York.”
“Taken care of,” Jess says, also just strolling into our bedroom carrying my iPad. “We have spoken to her and told her, her Feeder services are no longer required, unless we are back in New York, and we also sorted her out a severance package.”
We? “Wonderful. Thank you.”
“No worries. There are some things we should sort out when you are ready,” she says, standing in the small patch of sunlight over by the window.
“Feed first,” CK says. “A bit of privacy, please.”
Jess and Nico leave and Cole watches jealously as I stand on the bed and advance on the hunky Ramon. Standing a bit taller than him now, I lower myself down to his neck and drink from him. I sense the jealousy coming from CK now as well, as Ramon wraps his arms around me and I smile inwardly. He is the one who insists I feed this way. I feel loads better after but could still do with more of a boost. In an ideal world, I would have a Vampire feed followed by a Dragon feed chaser. I should speak to Xane about that. I am sure he would be amenable.
“Grazie,” I murmur to him as I brush my lips lightly over his and he puckers up as Cole and CK glare at me. He leaves and I leap off the bed. Both Cole and CK look down at me and then at my bare feet.
“What?” I snap as they look curiously at me.
“You seem to have taken a preference for no shoes, my sweet.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” I say in a huff as I stalk out and they follow me closely.
Both of them sit idly, while I sit with Jess and revise my schedule for the next week.
“I am still a little upset about you not seeing me next week,” CK says as he drums his fingers on the sofa arm.
Cole, Jess, and I all turn to look at him. “I told you why,” I say.
“I know and while I understand that you need to focus, I don’t see why you can’t do that with me. I can help you.”
“This isn’t the time to discuss this,” I say with a grimace.
“What better time as you are sitting there cutting me out of your schedule?”
“I am not cutting you out. Just postponing you. And not just you,” I point out.
Cole is sitting there looking like he wants the earth to swallow him up and I smile apologetically at him. I turn back to Jess, who is looking quite uncomfortable. “Get used to it,” I mutter to her and she looks up at me, eyes wide.
“Postponing means that I will still get my two days. Does that mean I get four the following week?” CK asks, pushing the issue now to my annoyance.
“No!” I snap at him as Cole shakes his head at me. “We will discuss this at another time.”
“Tomorrow then, when we go to see Ahmed and Corinne.”
“I have other things to discuss there. More pressing issues,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Hm,” he says, clearly not caring that I am mortified he is talking about this with Cole sitting right next to him.
“Liv, my love,” Cole says, now trying to draw the conversation to something different. “You look like you could do with more blood. Shall I get you some?”
I smile gratefully at him. “Yes, please. Same as yesterday.”
He chuckles. “A bit early, isn’t it?”
“Oh, who cares? It’s five o’clock somewhere,” I say offhandedly.
“It sure is, you could even take it somewhere where it is 5 PM and drink it and come back.”
I laugh as he stands to get me my bloody wine cocktail. CK watches him with narrowed eyes as he prepares my drink and eyes widening again as Cole hands it to me, his eyes dropping to my bare feet and back up my über casual outfit.
“Red wine?” he asks, raising his eyebrow.
“I know, weird, right?” Cole says. “Liv says she has a bit of a craving for it.”
Shit! I can tell my face has gone really flushed and try to hide it behind the glass as CK’s eyebrows skyrocket and looks at me questioningly.
I shrug and ignore his hopeful look that I am in fact with child. It’s not like the alcohol will affect the child, after all, but I personally don’t see how it is possible after one ritual with him unless it is, I gulp loudly despite myself, with Lincoln.
Jess clears her throat and I bring my attention back to her. “Erm, Scott has asked me to ask you something,” she says.
“Oh, what is that?” I prompt her as she stops speaking.
“He said he still has the signing power for your personal accounts. He said that you should transfer that to me,” she says quickly with a deep flush of her own.
“Oh, did he now?” I say with a slight smile. I cast a quick gaze at Cole who looks amused and CK who is frowning. He is such a worry wart when it comes to my finances. I have no idea why, when I am not exactly careless and hardly broke. In fact, it’s the complete opposite.
“Well, that would mean that you have proven yourself and that your trial period is up. Do you think that you can do this job and all that it entails?” I ask her.
“Yes,” she says without hesitation. Well, I have to admire her confidence.
“Fine. I happen to agree that you will be able to keep up and keep things to yourself. However, you will have to go and ask Devon to sort you out. He does all my accounting. Oh, and while you are at it, ask him to sort you out a contract.”
“Sebastian can do that,” CK says quickly.
“Oh no, that isn’t going to happen,” I say firmly.
“Why not?” he asks, offended on his charge’s behalf. “He is very good at his chosen profession.”
“I know he is. There is a very definite conflict of interest though.”
“What do you mean?” he asks, confused.
“Cade told me about his own contract that Sebastian just handed to him without discussing it with me. Which, by the way, he won’t sign, and I agree with his decision.”
“But why not? It is for your own protection,” he says in a huff.
“Yours, more like,” I retort.
“What did it say?” Cole asks, intrigued.
“Basically, that Cade is to report to Nico.”
Cole looks askance at CK who just sits there quietly.
“Fortunately, these Hunters seem to have a strong sense of loyalty and he refused as he said it was insulting as he works for me, not you,” I continue casually, not wanting to piss him off but not wanting him to get away with it, either.
“We are just looking out for you. A few short weeks ago, he was hell-bent on killing you,” CK snaps.
“As was Nico before you brought him into the fold and now you trust him with my life.”
“I have worked with Nico for twenty years, Aefre. It is a bit different.”
“Is it? Twenty years ago, you had Nico escort me back to New York from Rome all by himself. Admittedly, had I known who he was, not to mention how young he was, I may have refused.” My turn for a bit of a huff.
“I knew I could trust him.”
“And I know I can trust Cade. He has more than proven himself with me and I am surprised you think otherwise after everything he did in Italy,” I say.
“Yes, well he did help you; I will admit to that.”
“Exactly.”
“What did he do in Italy?” Cole asks.
“He helped me stand up to the Lance creature. Reminded me that I could.” I leave out the bit about him getting me to Shift back to Liv from Emily.
“Oh. Are yo
u finished here? I want to spend some time alone with you.”
I look at Jess and she nods. “For now. You fed properly, yes?” She waves her hand dismissively at the glass in my hand.
“Yes,” I say, and she nods and ticks it off my list of reminders.
CK looks on in approval and I smile at him. He smiles back at me and says, “Sebastian wants to see you.”
“What? Why?”
“He has a proposal for you. You will have to talk to him about it.”
“Liv…” Cole starts but CK interrupts him.
“It won’t take long. I will escort you to his suite and make sure he brings you back here himself.”
“Fine. He gets five minutes.” I sigh. I know what he wants to talk about, and I must go and reassure him I won’t tell. I stand and CK holds his hand out to me. I lean down to kiss Cole first, telling him I won’t be long, and then let CK Teleport me to Sebastian. He must have been expecting us, as he doesn’t look surprised to see us as we land in the middle of his sitting room. I must remember to talk about boundaries with this lot at some point.
“Liv,” he says. “Thank you for coming to see me…” he trails off as CK has pulled me in for a kiss, pushing his tongue firmly between my lips. He runs his hands down my back and I pull him closer to me. I tug on his shirt, forgetting all about where I am, and Sebastian clears his throat. “Unless I can join in this time, I would ask that you stop that right now before it goes any further.”
We pull away looking smug and unapologetic. “Sorry,” I murmur. “But please note that my point has been made. Whenever we are alone together, we can’t keep our hands off each other. This is why I can’t come to you this week,” I say to CK.
“Point taken. But I will have you at some point,” he says, kissing me and trailing his hand over my stomach.
I bat his hand away. “I don’t think it is what you are thinking,” I say. “It’s too soon.”
“We’ll see,” he says. “Sebastian, make sure you take her back up to her suite yourself. She is not to go anywhere unattended.”
“You aren’t staying?” I ask.
“No, I have business to conduct. I do still have a day job, you know.”
“Really? I wouldn’t have guessed,” I say innocently, and he chuckles.
“Remember what I said about kings, my sweet.”
“Hm, indeed.” I let him kiss me again and he Teleports out, leaving me alone with Sebastian.
“What are you?” I ask him rudely as he gestures for me to sit on the sofa.
“I beg your pardon?” He looks amused.
“I know you are Faerie, but you are more than that. More than a Vampire with Faerie powers. You are more than a Fae-pire,” I accuse him, pointing my finger at him.
“Fae-pire?” he snorts. “I quite like that.”
“Start talking, Gautier,” I snap at him and he laughs at me using his surname.
“Sit, cherie,” he says, patting the seat next to him. “I suppose I must tell you something.”
I sit, keeping my eyes on him. I don’t want him telling me then spelling me, so I forget, even though that is, allegedly, not one of his powers.
“Don’t look so suspicious,” he chides me. “You are right, I am more than just an ordinary Faerie, with Vampire powers. Or a Vampire with Faerie powers.”
“So, what are you then? How is it that you managed to keep your Faerie abilities when you were turned?”
“We don’t know. The only other person who has managed to retain their other powers is Corinne, but she cast a spell.”
“Go on,” I say. “I am wildly curious as to your heritage. I know little about the Faerie, except what I know about the Faerie Silver.”
He sighs. “Before Constantine turned me, I was the Light Fae Prince. My father was King.”
Oh, wow! Impressive. “Fae? You were Fae royalty? That explains your immense power. But not why you still have it. And why on earth would you choose to be a Vampire over King of the Faeries?”
“Light Fae,” he corrects me. “Faerie is all of us. Fae is us, divided. And I chose to be a Vampire to be like Constantine. All I ever wanted was to be just like him. Even as a child he was this presence that you wanted to be near…oh shit…” he says as he notices my expression turn from interest to shock.
“You big, fat liar!” I shout at him, punching him in the arm. “You said you didn’t know him as a human and now you say you were children together? That you grew up together?”
“Liv. Please. Understand that this is something that is private. Personal for him and me. Don’t poke at it and ask me questions you know that he won’t want me answering. I am here to tell you about me, not him.”
I stand and start to pace. I can’t believe this. I can’t believe that there is still a person alive in this world that knew my sire as a human. “Seb, please. You have to give me something. Anything.” I drop to my knees in front of him to his surprise.
“No, don’t ask me. And please don’t look at me like that. I know that look. It twists him around your little finger. Stop looking at me.” He covers my eyes with his hand. I take his hand and pull it away and say, “Please, Seb.”
“No. If he wanted you to know, he would have told you.”
Well, he might as well have just slapped me in the face. But the truth hurts, so I sit back on my heels and chew on my lip to stop me from asking again.
He stares at me and clears his throat. “So that is my story.”
“What did your father do when he found out you were turned?”
“He was furious, but there was nothing he could do. He wouldn’t allow me to rule as I was, and I couldn’t change back. I didn’t want to change back. He banished me and that is that.”
“And yet you still retained your powers. I just don’t understand that. Wow. A Prince.” I shake my head at him.
“Says you, the Queen,” he points out.
“Hm, yes, I tend to forget that a lot of the time. Nobody particularly treats me that way.”
“Because you give them too much power over you. What you are doing next week will be good for them. They will see that they can’t make demands on you all the time.”
“Even CK?”
“No, not him. You should divorce your husband and marry him,” he says bluntly.
I blink at him. “Not shy about voicing your opinions, are you? Tell me something, are you able to sire? Do your charges have your abilities?” I ask, changing the subject.
He looks taken aback. “I am able to sire and no, my charges don’t have my abilities.”
“So, it is just your actual physical blood. It wears off?” I am thinking out loud, but he follows my train of thought and says, “Yes.”
“I see. Did CK mention that we spoke about you in Italy?”
“Yes, he did.” Sebastian leans closer to me still sitting on the floor. “Sure I can’t change your mind?” he whispers, his lips inches from mine.
I feel a fizz go down my spine and I part my lips. He kisses me softly. “I am due a feeding session,” he says as he pulls me up and onto his lap. “You first, please,” he adds huskily.
I drop my fangs and he wraps his arms around me as I lower my mouth to his neck. He groans softly as I pierce his skin and his delicious blood pours into my mouth.
“Oh, Liv,” he whispers as he brings his hand up to hold me close to him, “I want you so much.” I pull back but before I can respond to his words, he unzips my comfy hoodie and brushes it from my shoulders before he drops his own fangs and roughly bites me, sending a thrill through me. He releases me and takes my face in his hands, eyes fixed firmly on mine. He whispers to me, words I don’t follow. I blink and my head feels fuzzy as he gives me a chaste kiss on the lips. He trails his hands down my arms and I feel the sparks of electricity shoot through me.
“I know you can feel it,” he whispers. “I know you feel it too. It’s like it was meant to be, Liv. Think how I could make you feel if you let me touch you. Really touch you. Make lov
e to you.”
My breathing gets heavier as I feel his hands moving up and down my arms and I can imagine how he would make me feel. I close my eyes and he kisses me again. “Let me make love to you. Just once and you will see how we can make each other feel. How right it is between us,” he says.
“Uh,” I mutter desperately as I pull his head closer to mine, kissing him back with fervor. I wiggle on his lap as I feel him growing against me and another thrill goes through me. I am getting lost in his touch and his kisses when there is a very loud thumping against the door. I jump off his lap like a scalded cat as I sense Cole and bend to retrieve my discarded jacket, pulling it back on me as I calm my breathing and try to ease the sexual energy running through me.
“Come in,” calls Sebastian with a look at me that suggests he hopes Cole walks in and knows something is up.
“Liv?” Cole asks as he opens the door. “You’ve been gone longer than five minutes. I was worried,” he says, and I feel rotten. I put my hand to my mouth and say, “I was just on my way back up.” I cross over to him, but Sebastian says, “No. I am to take you back up myself.” He gestures for me to take his hand.
“It’s okay. I’ve got this,” I say, pulling the folds of my jacket close to me.
“I said I would take you back myself and I will,” he says firmly. “You know he will only have a shitfit if he finds out I didn’t,” he huffs at me and despite myself I laugh.
“Well, I wouldn’t want to get you into trouble,” I say and take Cole’s hand in one and Sebastian’s in the other. I feel the fizz as I touch him, and I tighten my grip on Cole as we are Teleported safely back to our suite. “Think about what I said,” Sebastian says as he lets me go and disappears.
“What did he want?” Cole asks shortly.
“A business relationship. I told him the same as I did CK, too much conflict of interest,” I lie and turn away, feeling horrible. “Do you mind if I have a few moments to myself? I want to take a long bath and just clear my head.”