“You don’t hate me?”
“No. At one time, I would have, but I’ve grown to know and care about you. I know things between us started out badly, mostly your fault by the way, but I owe my life to you. I would have died if you hadn’t saved me.”
“I may have saved you, but you wouldn’t have been in that position if it were not for me.”
“I also wouldn’t have seen any of the things you’ve shown me. I’d be getting ready to move into a house full of vampires, thinking I’d missed out on everything in my life. I feel almost okay with the whole thing because of you.”
“I will free you. It’s not right. I don’t wish you a life of slavery.”
“Slavery? Don’t you think you’re over doing it a little?”
He shook his head. “If you are not free, you are a slave. If you are forced to do things you wouldn’t normally do for another, you are a slave. If you have no free will, you are a slave. Trust me on this.”
“Did you own slaves? Is that why you were so offended when I would call you ‘master’?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Then, tell me what’s up. I saw you stiffen every time I called you that. I see how serious you get when you talk about anything even remotely close to slavery.”
He shook his head defiantly. “No.”
“So, let me get this straight. You can invade my sleep, make me dream of you, harass me for years just because you feel like it, but when I ask to know about your past so I can try to know and understand you more, you can’t give me that? That’s pretty shitty, Remy. I thought we were friends now. I guess I was wrong.”
“I was a slave.” He wrung his hands and paced back and forth. “My father tried to force me into another arranged marriage after my wife died. He wanted me to marry the daughter of a man he barely knew. He thought it would advance him socially. I refused. I could never see myself with another woman, especially so soon after her death. When he finally realized I would not budge on my decision, he beat me nearly to death. He disowned me, took everything away from me, and ordered me to hard labor on the estate he owned.” He stopped pacing and stood before her with his head hung low.
He moved closer to her, wrapping his arms around her. The space around them began to distort, and she felt nauseated. She closed her eyes to try to clear her vision, and when she opened them, they stood by her bed in her room.
She hugged him. “I’m so sorry that happened to you.”
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore,” Remy said as he stepped away.
“Okay. Thank you for telling me.”
“Shall I stay away until it is time?” He looked around the room, eyes landing anywhere but on her.
“You don’t have to, unless you want to. Shit. You’re probably going to get tired of me pretty fast, so I totally understand if you don’t want to see me.”
“At one time, I thought I would tire of you in the first hour. Now, I think it may take closer to two hours.” He smiled that cocky grin at her, and she picked up a pillow to crack him in the face with it. As she swung, he stepped aside, and she fell on the bed. “I must go now. This is far too tempting to me.” He gestured toward her lying on the bed.
He left her in her room and exited through the front door for once. Sabine mulled over everything he’d told her, from messing with her dreams to his past life as a human. I feel like I should be more upset by his revelation of making me have sexy-time dreams about him. Maybe I enjoyed it a little too much to actually be pissed. So many times I woke up wanting it to be real. That must’ve started happening when he started controlling what happened. I don’t think I’ve ever had a dream of him that I didn’t end up having sex with him, other than the very first dream I had the night after I met him, so how could I be mad when my own mind made us do the same things?
The last one was amazing. She could feel her body warming him. His skin, his body—it was all too real to have been just a dream, though she knew it was. The telltale signs of post-sex were gone. There was no soreness in her muscles or any other indication to prove it really happened.
She could only imagine how good it could be to have sex with him if he controlled everything about the dream. It drove her crazy thinking about it. Then she had an epiphany. He told me he loved me.
Chapter 18
The time had come. Her 21st birthday had arrived. Most young adults spent their 21st drinking and partying, readying themselves for life on their own as an adult. Had she gone to college, she’d be ready to graduate soon and move out into the world to make a life for herself. Instead, she was packing all of her things to move across town and into a life of seclusion.
She was to arrive at Willow Creek Manor by 8pm, which thankfully gave her family enough time to do her usual birthday celebration of pizza and cupcakes.
The time for her to become food for Remy was officially here. She didn’t know if she should be excited or distressed. Distressing to lose her free will, but exhilarating to spend the rest of her life with him…if only it could be like they’re time together in Europe had been, instead of cooped up in a big house with nothing to do in Willow Creek.
Her hands shook as she threw item after item into suitcases and boxes. Packing was a tiresome chore she always had a bad habit of putting off until the last minute. Someone from her new home was to come later and pick up what she couldn’t pack into the car that would take her to her destiny. How the hell do I decide what to take with me now? I don’t want to leave any of my stuff behind. I don’t want to have to leave any of it behind. I should be packing to move into my own place to start my own life.
Her mind strayed from the task at hand. How would Remy treat her now that they were forced into close quarters indefinitely? Would he treat her as a friend like he had, or would he act like he hated her again? One thought stayed just in the back of her mind. She tried not to notice, but it was there. Does he really love me?
*
He reluctantly stayed away from her for two weeks. Every thought he had eventually led to her and how he could make this all go away. Running was out. Bastian would find them with very little effort in no time at all, and would she really want to go on the run with him anyway? How would that be any better? She would still be isolated from everyone but him.
He considered bargaining with Bastian, but that wasn’t likely either. Once Bastian’s mind was made up, it was no easy task getting him to change it. It could take decades before he would even consider thinking about it, and it could be too late by then.
He could refuse. If he refused, Bastian, theoretically, couldn’t go through with it because there would be no one to pair her with. There was only a handful of actual residents at Willow Creek Manor, and they were already paired off. Bastian would never risk taking in a stray now that Josh slipped under his radar. He’d already been more careful about who he even let visit the estate and the town.
There were very specific rules to a vampire wedding, and one of them was there could be no influence involved. He didn’t have to worry that Bastian would order him to complete the ritual. Bastian was a stickler for rules.
The worst that would happen to him for refusing would be nothing worse than what he’d already lived through. Even if Bastian decided to kill him, which he was certain would not happen because Bastian would feel his death, it would be worth it for her to be free.
He looked at the clock and noticed it was almost time to fetch Sabine. He hadn’t seen her since the night they returned from their trek through Europe. She wouldn’t run now, he knew, and Bastian allowed him to back off from watching her almost a year ago. Her privacy and time to herself was the only thing he could give her right then. He’d been vigilant about making sure no outsiders got through the borders. It was the only way he could think of to keep her safe without being close to her. No more dreams either. He had refrained from doing that now that she knew the truth.
He wanted to tell her of his plan, but didn’t want to involve her in the event Bastia
n would punish her for conspiring against him. He walked outside and got in his car. He was off to pick her up.
*
“So what happens now?” Sabine sat on the floor amongst piles of clothes and assorted boxes.
“There will be a ceremony so it will be publicly known to the vampire community that you belong to me and no one else may claim you or harm you, or they risk death.” Remy leaned against her chest of drawers.
“I have never felt more like a piece of meat in my entire life.”
“You are not a piece of meat. Why do you say that?”
“My how far you’ve come. Pretty sure you used to view me that way. Apparently, I’m less than a vampire because I’m human if I am ‘yours’. I am nothing but a possession, and you’re going to be treating me like your own personal food bank. So, yeah, I feel kind of like a piece of meat.”
“I promise you things won’t be so bad. You’re not just a possession to me. I care about you. I didn’t always, but I do now.”
“I trust you, but you have to stop saying I’m yours. It freaks me out a little.”
“Done…unless, of course, you are in some sort of grave danger; then you’re ‘mine’.”
She shook her head and laughed softly. “Can you help me get this stuff in the car?”
“Yes, but I have something I want to give you before we go.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small silk pouch and moved closer to her. He sat down beside her on the floor and handed the gift to her. “Happy birthday, love.”
She took the pouch from his hand; the cool silk caressed her fingers. She smiled at him as she opened it up and turned it upside down in her palm. A tiny charm shaped like the Eiffel Tower dropped into her hand. “I love this, Remy. Thank you so much.” She closed her fingers around the charm and reached out to hug him.
He smoothed the hair on the back of her head with his hand and inhaled her scent, knowing he was choosing to let her go and that their time together might be coming to an end within hours. Pulling away from her, he spoke. “You’re welcome. I picked that up in Paris without you knowing. I thought you might like it as a reminder of our time together.”
“I really appreciate this, and I have the perfect chain to put it on. Let me fish it out of my jewelry box and we can start taking things out to the car.” She turned to the jewelry box and felt a rush of happiness over the thought he’d put into the gift.
“Why don’t you just take a couple bags for now? We can get more once you’re settled.”
“Whatever. I’m having a hard enough time deciding what to take. Grab that suitcase and box over by the door. I’ll just take that for now.”
He took her things and loaded them into the car. He watched through the window for a few seconds. Her parents hugged one another with tears in their eyes. They grieved the loss of her, though she would only be a few miles away. If things worked out like he hoped, she would be back in no time. If it didn’t work, he would make sure she could see them whenever she wanted. It was stupid to be cut off when they were so close.
And, if things did go as he planned, would he be able to simply leave her alone to live her life? He loved her. Would it be so easy to let her go? Or would he watch over her to make sure she was okay and taken care of, never knowing he was so close? So many decisions to make, so little time.
She made her way down the stairs holding her sister’s hand to where her parents waited. He tried to look away to give her a moment of privacy, but he couldn’t tear his gaze away. He watched the emotions so evident on her face and the faces of her family. Tears slid down her cheeks, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss them away and tell her it was all going to be alright.
He waited by the car, patiently, until she came out. As they got settled in the car, he looked at her tenderly and brushed a lingering tear away. “Are you ready to go?”
“Not really.” She looked away from him and stared at the window to her bedroom.
He patted her on the knee, put the car in gear, and pulled away from the curb.
*
A chill passed through his spine. “I have been summoned to Bastian. Please, make yourself at home. Get settled, and I should be back shortly to help you unpack. I cleared out the whole right side of the closet for you.”
He raced down the hallway and to Bastian’s room. Even the few seconds he stayed with Sabine instead of immediately going to Bastian hurt him clear to the bone.
“Yes, My Lord?”
Bastian sat at a small table, sipping a small glass of blood. “You must not feed on Sabine tonight. You cannot feed on her until the ritual tomorrow night. I trust you have not fed from her before now since it was forbidden for you to do so.”
“I thought the ritual was tonight. Why has it changed?”
“If you’re hungry, go out to the woods or to the creek to catch something.”
“I’m not hungry. I just thought we were doing this tonight.”
“So anxious for her to be yours? You amaze me more and more every day. We are performing the ceremony tomorrow because not all of my guests have arrived.”
He rolled his eyes. “We do not need guests.”
“You know how this is done. There must always be an audience to any vampire affair so there are plenty of witnesses, especially when it is a wedding. It is not every day that my favorite progeny marries. Let us celebrate. Does she know you will be married as far as vampires are concerned?”
“I have not mentioned that to her, My Lord, other than in jest, but I think she understands.”
“Good. Make sure she dresses in the finest dress she has. If she has nothing suitable, she may borrow something from the guest closets. I will say the words, and you will feed on her in front of the others to consummate the union.”
He nodded, knowing his plan to refuse to feed on her at the wedding would keep the promise he made to her so long ago. He wouldn’t feed on her until she was ready, and she never indicated to him that she was. At least, not outside of a dream. He was thankful he wouldn’t be breaking that promise to her.
Remy took his leave from Bastian and went back to Sabine. He entered quietly to find her sitting on the floor, legs crossed and reading a book. Her eyes did not shift from the page as he walked in. Finding her here like this was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen.
“Sorry to interrupt your reading. I wanted to let you know that we will be going through the ceremony tomorrow night. We have to pick something for you to wear.”
“I didn’t realize there was a dress code.”
“I’m afraid so. I have to tell you something, and I don’t know how you will feel, but there’s nothing that can be done about it.” She looked up from her book and watched him as he fidgeted and looked away from her. “You will officially be my wife after tomorrow night. The dress you wear will be your wedding gown.”
“Oh, geez.” She swallowed hard. “I know you said you were to treat me as if I were your wife. I just didn’t think that meant that I would actually be your wife.”
“Only to other vampires. It would not mean that in your human laws.”
“So, what? I have to pledge to love and obey you for the rest of my life? Till death do us part?”
“Obey…love is not acknowledged.”
“Sounds like a dream marriage to me.” She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms in front her. “So much for me not being a slave.”
“Sabine, don’t. Please.”
“Fine. What am I supposed to wear? I don’t have anything anywhere near as nice as a wedding gown. Does it have to be white, too?” Sarcasm dripped from her words.
“No, it doesn’t. Come with me. We’ll find you something appropriate.”
She followed him down the hallway to a part of the house she hadn’t seen before. He opened a large black door adorned with intricate carvings. Behind the door was a walk-in closet with racks upon racks, and shelves upon shelves holding rich, luscious garments of all colors, sizes, and styles. There were corsets, ball gow
ns, medieval gowns, cocktail dresses, suits, and tuxedos as well as casual, every day clothes.
Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened as she stepped into the room. “My God. I have never seen anything like this in my entire life. Does that dress have a diamond neckline?”
“Yes. Pick what you like.”
“I don’t know if I can, Remy! This is too much!” Her face lit up with a huge smile.
“Would you like me to help you? This sort of reminds me of our little trip to Barneys, except you’re not in such a pissy mood this time.”
She playfully smacked his arm. “I’ll have to try on some stuff, too. Isn’t it bad luck for the groom to see the bride in her gown, or to see the gown at all?”
“I don’t know. Sounds silly to me.”
“You honestly have never heard about it being bad luck to see a bride in her gown?”
“No. Why would I care?”
“Never mind. Just help me find something. We can pick something, and I’ll try it on later.”
They spent the better part of an hour searching through the closet before deciding on a purple corset with a matching floor length skirt that had a short train trailing behind it. She left him behind to pick out his own clothes as she went to try on the dress. She made sure to lock the bathroom door behind her. It wouldn’t keep him out if he was determined to follow her, but it gave her some peace of mind. Her luck was already shitty, and there was no need to add anything bad to it. She felt beautiful and sexy when she tried the garments on, though she couldn’t tighten the corset very much on her own so she wouldn’t get the full affect until the next day.
***
Remy quickly picked out a white shirt and a long, black and dark green court coat while she tried on her dress. He loved all the modern conveniences and advances in technology, but he did miss the style of dress from years past. This was the perfect opportunity to revisit those days of old.
They met back in the bedroom – their bedroom – once he was sure she’d had enough time to try on her dress.
Craving: The Willow Creek Vampires Series Page 16