by Eve Newton
Wait. That sounds exactly like what they decided in my dream. No. Stop it, I scold myself. There is nothing in it.
“Okay,” I say sitting up, and unable to stop myself I add, “Better to get it out of the way, I suppose.”
His eyes snap to mine and he adopts that impassive look that I wish I could master. “Precisely,” he says carefully. “Also, you must feed before you come back to me. The Vampire way,” he adds.
This is just spooky. If my dream was real, then he is betraying me. I just can’t think that he is, he swore to me that he would wait, but this is the second time I have dreamed this: that he is getting Sebastian to spell me so I will leave Cole. No, I won’t believe it. That damn creature is probably laughing at me as I struggle with this. I change the subject to something that has me curious.
“CK, why did you start calling me ‘my sweet’?”
He looks at me, bewildered. “Of all the questions I thought you might ask me, that was nowhere near the top of the list. Why on earth do you ask?”
“I’m just curious,” I say offhandedly but I think I already know the answer: because of the first rose he gave me, and I muttered “so sweet” after I thought he had left. The other me and other him never met under the bell tower, because she was already turned and on her way to Normandy by then. That’s why he never called me that when I was over there.
“Because of the first rose I gave you. You sniffed it and said, ‘so sweet.’ That is exactly what I thought about you. My sweet Aefre,” he says and smiles at the memory and I lean forward to kiss him. He kisses me back briefly but then gently pushes me away, taking it no further as not only am I in my marital bed, such as it is, but also that I have Cole’s scent all over me. And probably the girl’s as well, which no doubt has him confounded as he won’t recognize it. “Your plans for the day?” he asks.
“Underworld, Grimoire…in fact, I should get up and get ready. Xane will be here at 6:30.”
“As will Ramon,” he says sternly, and I smile at him as I head to the shower.
I find him seated right where I left him a few minutes later, which intrigues me but not for long.
“You brought a human to your bed last night?” he asks idly, brushing imaginary lint from his suit pants.
“Yes. A girl,” I say, hiding my smile.
“Oh,” he says, relieved. “Oh,” he says again in realization. “I thought that wasn’t something he was open to?”
“He is more open-minded than you give him credit for. He accepts Devon in our bed. It is only fair he should get to play too,” I say, only a bit uncomfortable discussing this.
“Devon? The three of you share a bed?” he croaks out before he clears his throat.
“Yes,” I say slowly but then remember that he wouldn’t know so I add, “Since after we got back from Castle Black.”
“I see. So, he has accepted the way of life?”
“Why are you so interested?” I ask with a smile. “Ah, wait. I see. You are trying to find out if he fucked the girl last night.” I tilt my head at him, and he looks away.
“Well?” he asks.
“None of your business,” I say smartly and turn towards the door as there is a knock. I assume Ramon, as Xane would just Astraport in.
He follows me quickly to the door and is hovering as I open it to let in Ramon. I step back into him and throw him an irritated look. “A bit of space, please.”
“Sorry,” he mutters as he gives me some room.
What is with him today? He is being weirder than usual.
I sit Ramon down and feed hungrily, pausing to kiss him softly as is our usual custom, before I straighten up. CK dismisses him as Xane arrives, and the two of them glower at each other from several feet away. Still no love lost there then.
“You are supposed to be playing nice,” I snap at them both and they adjust their features to matching neutral expressions.
“Ready to go?” Xane says, unable to keep the smug out of his tone.
“Yes,” I say. I turn to CK and pull him to me for a lingering kiss and his own smug returns as he wraps his arms around me.
“This moment is too brief. Please come to me before Tuesday,” he murmurs.
“I’ll try,” I murmur back, and I pull away from him. I feel as bereft as he looks, missing his touch but I smile at him as I grab Xane’s hand. “You do the honors,” I say to him and without a look back, he Astraports us to his home in The Underworld.
“Whoa,” he says as he looks at me and I look down at myself.
“Holy crap. How did that happen?” I ask, perplexed, as I run my hand down my Xerxei person.
“Because you are coming home,” he says quietly. “Don’t Shift back. Not yet.”
Well, I can’t even if I wanted to. This damn form is a bitch for impromptu appearances and for wanting to stick around.
“Xane, dear?” Xanthe’s voice makes me turn around and her frosty eyes go to me, sweeping over me in a not-so-friendly way until she reaches my eyes and she must recognize me, somehow.
“Your Majesty?” she asks, and I nod. “I almost didn’t recognize you. You are…” she puts her hand to her heart as Xerxes joins her. “Breathtaking,” he says with a fatherly smile. “Just as I knew you would be.”
I simper under his praise and Xane smiles at me, taking my hand. “That she is,” he murmurs. “Mother, Father, if you would excuse us, we have business to attend to and I think it best to remove Xerxei from prying eyes. Let the crowd know they can gawk at her after we have studied,” he says, waving his hand in the direction of the growing group of, indeed, gawkers.
“Of course,” Xanthe gushes and ushers us up the stairs as Xerxes turns and dismisses everyone. “Do let me know if you need anything,” she says.
“We will be fine,” Xane says as he closes his bedroom door and turns around to face me. “Alone at last,” he says with a wicked gleam and I laugh at him.
“You are incorrigible. I need to learn,” I say, sitting at his desk.
“And you are driving me to distraction,” he says with a sigh as he sits too. “Fine.” He opens the Grimoire and I feel the shimmer of Power come out of it.
“Mostly I need to learn how to read it,” I say. “I am fairly certain once I can do that, I will be okay.”
“The reading of it is easy,” he replies and picks up a pen and hands it to me. “This text is translated into English; it is merely the alphabet that you need to learn.”
“That seems too easy,” I say, taking the pen.
“Well, it wasn’t always the case. Thousands of years ago it was originally written in Babylonian in Demonic text. Now that, I can assure you, was a ball ache to learn at school.”
“You went to school?” I ask incredulously.
“Of course,” he says. “Didn’t you? Oh, well, no, I suppose you probably didn’t, being a girl.”
“I beg your pardon?” I ask, affronted.
“Sorry, I meant as a human, you wouldn’t have gone to school. I assume you must have, at some point since becoming a Vampire, as they don’t just hand out Harvard MBAs to any old fool.”
“Oh,” I say, placated. “No, I didn’t go to school as a human, but I have been to many universities over the years. I am just surprised that there are Demonic schools,” I say, looking slightly abashed. “I suppose that sounds incredibly dumb of me.”
“Not really. But our society runs the same way as anyone else’s. Education is important.”
“Yes, it is. So, you had to learn the original text?”
“Yes, and all the other translations that have been compiled along the way.”
“How many?” I ask interested.
“Four.”
“Huh. I’m going to take a wild guess and say Babylonian, Akkadian, Latin, and now English,” I say, counting them off on my fingers.
“You’d be right,” he says with a smile. He shuffles his chair closer to mine and I can feel the heat coming from him and I want to touch him but keep my hands to mysel
f as he proceeds to teach me the Demonic alphabet. It is, and I pick it up quickly much to his delight.
“So clever, aren’t you?” he says.
“I try,” I say as I sit back. I look at the clock and see we have been sitting here for several hours.
“Break time,” he declares and stands up, pulling me up with him.
“What do we do at break time?” I say.
“This,” he says as he pulls me to him and kisses me. I let him for a few moments as I run my hands up his chest but then push him back.
“Stop pushing me away,” he says, frustrated. “I have tried to be patient with you, Xerxei, but you are making it very difficult for me.”
“Xane,” I start but he shushes me.
“Don’t. Don’t go into an explanation of why we can’t be together. We should be together, and this is just bullshit. No one else should factor into the decision. It is me and you and that is it. Just stop over thinking it, for once just stop thinking and feel.” He kisses me again and I stop thinking as he brushes his hands over my breasts.
Encouraged when I don’t push him away, he slips his hands under the hem of my vest top, pushing it up as his hands go around to my back. I can feel the fire start to burn deep inside me. In that small empty space, previously unnoticed, that now starts to fill up, making me whole once again. Try as I might, I cannot deny this bond we have, we are two halves of the same circle and I need him, as he needs me. I know I should stop this, but I don’t want to as he pulls back from our kiss and removes my top, letting it drop forgotten to the floor. He gazes at me lustfully, as his hands go to undo the button on my jeans. I have no idea where this outfit came from, as it isn’t mine and wasn’t what I was wearing when I left the suite as Liv. Down to the sexy underwear, bra and panties, that he is now brushing his fingers over lightly, as he drops to his knees, tugging on the jeans to get them to come off. He removes my shoes and discards the jeans and then kisses me, licking me through the lacy fabric of the panties and then his teeth come up to tug them from me and they too get discarded. He stands and unclasps the bra and my heavy breasts fall free into his hands and he squeezes them, rubbing his hands over my nipples.
“I love you,” he says as he drops his mouth to me, sucking on me as my hands work to free him from his own clothes. He magicks them off as I struggle, desperate to have our skin touching. He crushes me to him and picks me up as he walks to the bed. He lays me down gently as he kisses me and, now confident I am not going to reject him, he lets me go and trails his hands down me as his mouth follows. He slowly parts my legs and thrusts his tongue into me, and I cry out, needing more of him. He adds his fingers and I come quickly. He rises to his knees and is inside me before I have finished throbbing.
“Oh, fuck, yes,” he breathes as he pounds into me. “I love you,” he says as he lowers himself to kiss me and I wrap my legs around him. “Please, Xerxei, please tell me you love me,” he whispers so quietly but I can’t. Not now. Not yet. I roll us over and placing my hands on his chest, I move over him. I feel myself Shift back to Liv, to my relief, as I was getting very worried about my Vampire bonds disintegrating, and I drop my fangs as I pull him up. “I want to taste you,” I say, and his eyes go black as he nods. I lower my mouth to him and slowly sink my fangs into him. Oh, he tastes good. Like cinnamon and spice with a fiery aftertaste.
“I wish I could bite you back,” he says as I let him go and he heals instantly. “I want to take you from behind.”
I climb off him and turn around and he is on his knees, quickly thrusting into me, roughly pulling on my hips as I slide over him. He sits back pulling me with him and kisses my back as I move over him. He stills suddenly and sighs deeply as he licks my Demon marking gently before touching it lightly with his lips. “Oh, Xerxei,” he murmurs before he pushes my head to the side, exposing my neck to his left. He bites down on me, simulating feeding as he kneads my breasts harshly and with a burst of fire coursing through me, I come right before he does.
Breathing heavily, he falls back to the bed and I suddenly remember that I had gotten rid of the curse to do the ritual with CK. I keep my fingers crossed that nothing happens here. This is just getting too difficult. I climb off him and snuggle with him, still needing to touch him, to feel our heat. As soon as I stop touching him it disappears and I don’t like the feeling, which is not good news either.
“You can’t make me wait as long next time,” he whispers as he runs his hand through my hair. “I felt like I was dying.”
“I know,” I say quietly, and he looks at me, startled.
“You do?”
“I feel it,” I say, kissing his chest. “I don’t want to, and it is all kinds of wrong, but at the same time it is so right,” I sigh deeply, and he does too.
“I get that it is difficult for you. Your situation is complicated. But, Liv, you just cannot deny me anymore. I won’t allow it. It is making me weak when I should be strong. When we should be strong together.”
“I don’t know what to do,” I say, unsure.
“Be with me,” he says simply. “And stop taking this off.” He holds up my fireball necklace.
I smile sheepishly. “I’m sorry. It hurts…”
“Your Vampires. I know. But I want you to keep it on. They get everything else from you. Just give me this.”
I nod and sit up, curling my hair over my shoulder as he puts it back on me, again his fingers brushing my DX Marking. “This makes you mine,” he says. “It makes me yours. You claimed me and I accepted. Don’t fight it now.”
I turn back to face him, and he can see I am caving, but I still have my doubts.
“Just for us, Liv. Just let it be for us. No one else has to know or be a part of it. I already told you, I don’t like my personal life being public. I will be happy, if you just say we can be together.”
“What about your family?” I ask, concerned.
“None of their business,” he says quickly.
I nod and then snuggle back into him, needing his arms around me, warming me. He sighs again, but content this time. I twiddle the ring I gave to him and he clasps my hand in his. I know he wants to say something but hesitates.
“You want to know about the kids other you has with other her, don’t you?” I ask with a big smile and he clears his throat.
“Maybe,” he says. “Do you know?”
“Yes. Do you want to know?”
“Yes,” he says softly.
“Two sons,” I say. “I don’t know their names.”
“I like that,” he says happily. “I can sense you have something to say about The Thirteen,” he says, changing the subject abruptly.
“I do. I was going to wait until tonight to tell everyone but seeing as you ask…she told me how to get rid of him.” I tell him what she told me.
“Oh, good. Can I come with you?”
“Err, I have no idea. I suppose you could piggyback as well, but I think this is something I have to do alone.”
“No, I get that, but I don’t like the idea of you going alone with no one to watch you. I won’t interfere but I would feel happier if you had someone there. Preferably me.”
“Okay, if you can make the journey, then I will be happy to have you there. But you do it on your own, I can’t be responsible for helping you when I have to concentrate.”
“Good,” he says, a bit relieved I didn’t argue about it. Truth be told, I am glad he offered to come. He is probably the only one who is capable of making the trip and getting back in one, non-fried, piece.
“I should probably be heading back,” I say to his disappointment. “Can I take a shower?”
“Can I join you?”
“Of course. It’s your shower. I wouldn’t dream of kicking you out of it,” I say with a giggle and he stands, pulling me up with him and leading me to his bathroom. It’s very much like my one at home, black marble and low lighting.
He turns the jets on, and we step into the massive shower and I just stand for a moment,
eyes closed, feeling the water cascade over me before I feel him touch me again, and I lose myself to him.
“I love you,” he whispers over and over as he gives me a very slow, very thorough seeing to under this waterfall of a shower.
“I love you,” I murmur back completely under his spell (figuratively speaking, not a literal spell…I don’t think, anyway).
He hisses as he hears my words and lets me go, rubbing his left inside wrist.
“What?” I ask him, pushing my wet hair out of my face. “What is it?”
He is staring at his wrist for the longest time before he shows me: an exact replica of my Demon marking, only smaller.
“Holy crap,” I say as I grab his arm.
“Truly yours now,” he says, the love filling his eyes as he picks me up and starts all over again right from the beginning with little kisses and ending with a joint orgasm that leaves me weak in the knees and my heart pounding.
Chapter 12
He leaves me to get dressed in the bathroom as he goes to answer the door.
“Xander! You’re back,” I hear him say and assume this must be another brother. I exit the bathroom, hair still wet, combing it out. I am curious to meet this fellow that Xane seems happy to have home.
“Yep, I have the most amazing story to tell you…oh, hello,” he says, eyes catching me and taking in my wet hair along with Xane’s.
Well, I was right, he looks exactly like his brother but younger. They are just little peas in a pod, these Draconis’.
“Hello,” I say, waiting for an introduction from Xane, which doesn’t come.
We stand in silence for a few moments before Xander says, “Queen Liv, right?”
I nod my confirmation and he takes my hand in his. “A pleasure to meet you. I have heard so much about you.”
“Oh?” I raise my eyebrow at Xane, who doesn’t look happy that his brother is still holding my hand and Xander says, “Oh, not from him. My parents are quite enamored with you.”
“I see,” I say and pull my hand from his. More awkward silence follows, so I turn from them and dry my hair, pinning it up neatly.