by Serena Rose
She moaned again, and he slid her panties sideways to let himself in. The tip of his manhood played against her entrance, teasing her, tormenting her. She closed her eyes as his palms clenched at her sides. There was a brief moment of shock for her as he eased himself in, and an explosion of heat, a pleasurable heat she couldn’t describe, and then the pounding of two bodies began, and despite her best efforts to keep quiet- she couldn’t help but scream as thunder clapped across the night sky.
*
It was all over in a matter of minutes, she realized. And she felt drugged and sore. He slid off of her, sitting at the edge of the couch, unable to look at her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked her all of a sudden.
She slowly sat up, her panties still wet from their dalliance. Kelsey felt vulnerable all of a sudden, all too vulnerable. “Tell you what?”
“That you’d never done this before,” his voice sounded hurt, angry. Shouldn’t she be the one feeling that way? It was strange that she didn’t feel regret. It was her first time with someone, and she hadn’t given it much thought, until he asked that question.
“Don’t make me feel bad about something I’ve wanted to do,” she said, quickly picking up her bra and putting it on. She hastily put on her sweater dress, and then she lapsed into quiet once more. They were sitting just mere inches away from each other, and yet there was this chasm that grew between them. She had never thought about making love until after marriage, in fact, she didn’t think much of that kind of sensual human need, until she met him. He was carnal in every way, and he let that out of her as well. She had it all along, did she not? What was so wrong with wanting that kind of feeling?
“I feel like I’ve taken away something important from you. That was-”
“My decision to make,” she insisted to him, still not looking at him.
“Then why won’t you look at me? And say it to my face?”
“Because it’ll be weird. You’d start assuming how easy I was on the first date, how needy I was the moment you kissed me. I don’t want that. I want you to know I wanted this to happen.”
“Perhaps you had other plans. Perhaps, you wanted to wait for marriage-”
“Someone proposed to me a long time ago. We were young, inexperienced with everything. I said no, because I felt it wasn’t right.”
“What makes this time right?”
She shrugged, reason had gone out of the window. “I don’t know.”
“You’ll end up blaming me for this. I can’t rectify this state of mind.”
“It’s my state of mind, not yours.”
He huffed and pulled up his boxers. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. I feel like I robbed you of a decision.”
“You saw how it was like,” she reasoned. “And… how did you find out?”
“When I-” he stopped and shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”
“Alright, so you’re experienced. Happy now?”
“Of course, not. I still have my morals to-”
“There were no morals there. It was just two people being horny.”
He laughed aloud when she said the word horny. Why?
“I guess you’re right,” he said, his voice quiet. “I think it’s best I take you home.”
The ride was quiet, a deafening silence to her, were it not for the radio and the sound of rain splattering against the car. She was about to get out of the car when he said something that made her stop.
“What?”
“I enjoyed tonight,” he said simply.
She didn’t know what to make of it. The whole night, while not a complete disaster; had been something else. It began to disturb her, and feelings surfaced, feelings of anxiety and abandonment, feelings of instability. She didn’t watch to see him leave, instead she bolted into her apartment, running up the flight of stairs. She needed to get to her bedroom quick. It would be the safest place for her psyche, she told herself.
She heard his car rev away, meaning he had waited for her to get into her room. She looked outside the window to see his car disappear from the street. What was going to happen next? She didn’t expect him to call her or see him again.
“I won’t bother you again, if you find me extremely unlikeable, to the point that you’d never want to see me again, and never want to talk to me again. You can pretend you don’t know me, pretend we never spoke- if you don’t enjoy the date.”
He wasn’t extremely unlikeable, and she felt that she had barely cracked the surface of the man who called himself William Ashborne. And she did enjoy the date, right until after the sex. What was wrong with the sex? Nothing was wrong with the sex. There was nothing wrong about what had happened tonight, at least not in the surface.
Kelsey didn’t get to sleep the entire night.
*
He drove home, his mind abuzz with many things, things related to Kelsey Long. She was willing, she had been right about it; she had wanted what had happened, and it was pretty obvious in the way she responded to him. She could have said no. And yet, he felt tormented over it. He hadn’t meant to take that away from her, even if it was just a state of mind.
While he didn’t develop long term relationships with the women he dated, he did respect them as much as he could, even if he did form his judgements about them. His lust was not an excuse to just take that away from Kelsey.
That’s what you get for being impatient, he told himself, remembering how she had moaned and writhed underneath him, and how everything was on fire, and being inside her was the most beautiful warmth he had ever felt in his life.
It wasn’t an exaggeration, and as much as William wanted to deny it, he knew there was something between them; something good was about to happen if they would work on it. Ha, we’re not even a couple.
He had already told her that it was her decision to refuse to see him if she didn’t enjoy tonight. Was she just being nice? To make up for what she had said to him the other day? Maybe he shouldn’t have said that. Maybe he could have taken it the other way around. He had treated it the whole situation like he was a juvenile. What was going to happen tomorrow? Pretend that everything was fine between them, was that how it was going to work out?
She thanked him, it was a given, but she couldn’t look at him. Was it because he had cared too much about what she thought and felt? Was that how people were nowadays? He didn’t plan for the perfect date night, all he wanted was company, a good dinner, and maybe some music.
Seeing her in that sweater, seeing her drink wine, and seeing her cheeks flush, it made him think of other things, things that were not chaste in the very least. What triggered it was her praise for him, and though she lacked the words, he could see it in her eyes. There was an adoration there, a genuine adoration for his craft. He had forty years to perfect his piano playing, and she appreciated him for it without even knowing it.
He wanted her, he desperately wanted her, wanted to sleep with her. He had gotten that thought out of his chest, and out of his pants. Was that how a gentleman was supposed to act? Of course not. Signs of the times. He was fast becoming a millennial, if that was how most of them behaved. He had classes with her at two in the afternoon tomorrow.
William braced himself for what was going to happen. He didn’t want her to tap into her insecurities and negative thoughts. It seemed she had been controlling whatever negative emotions were there, all her life. I didn’t come into her life to ruin her, he thought. He could read certain things about her in the few hours he’d been with her. She was a sensitive soul, one who downplayed the stress she was feeling, and she cared for other people, more than her own.
How would he make it up to her? Ask for another date? An idea formed in his head, and he walked for the library in the east wing, determined to get another date with her. It wasn’t even his initial plan, and yet, here he was, grabbing a rare book, just for Kelsey Long.
He contemplated whether to give it to her in public, but he certainly couldn’t catch attent
ion her in public. Was she going to be freaked out by him being outside of her house? She had mentioned she worked at the school bookshop, and he figured he would go there. He needed her schedule first. Shaking his head, he wondered what had gotten into him. It was just another female. It was just another woman he’d fancy for a moment.
How long would Kelsey last? He certainly hadn’t killed the women he’d dated, and he did leave a few broken hearts in his wake- but wasn’t that all a part of life? They didn’t hold grudges, and he hoped she wouldn’t hold one against him, too. She was a sensitive person, and that meant a broken heart sooner or later…
He didn’t mean to break-up with them, and yet he did at the same time. It was a cycle, and he needed human warmth no matter his condition. He was needy like that, he thought with disgust. That was the human aspect of him that he wished to vanquish. Take that away, and he wouldn’t mind living forever, with the wealth that just kept on building. Enough to last him until the end of days, if that ever happened. If that ever happened. There were many ifs in life, and dating was included in those ifs.
No one stopped him from dating, certainly not his father, who had once wanted him to settle down. What for? To just watch someone he loved die when she gave birth to his heir? It was not an option. Again, he reminded himself that he was lucky that he hadn’t fallen in love with anyone, as his father had with his mother.
The senior Drake had told him he had waited for Etienne Blanchard for eighty years, seeing her at a party one night. Mere days after she had died of childbirth in London, William Anthony V whisked his son and himself away to Chester, where he could recuperate from his loss. He didn’t remember much of his childhood, but he did recall that he grew up normally, like any other child. His father hadn’t aged much, which resulted to the town whispering.
William’s looks had stopped aging by the time he reached the human age of nineteen. It stagnated there, which resulted in a few awkward scenarios; and while he hated lying about his actual background, he had become adept at it, as it was only right he had to be a good liar.
He had no one to talk to about how he felt, about what he felt. While he adored Emilia, he made it a point to remain a good distance from her. His sister was of fragile mind when it came to their lineage, as was Natalia. They would be home soon, and they would leave again, unless their father could exercise a good amount of control this time.
William stared at the book in his hand, and he took a deep breath, willing for his idea to work.
*
She had only just opened the bookstore that gloomy morning, it was her turn to open early- when someone came inside even thought she had barely put down her bag at the counter.
“We’re still closed, come back in ten,” she told the stranger.
“I prefer no one here,” the voice said over the dimness of the shop.
Kelsey’s head snapped up. “William? What are you doing here?” her eyes darkened, narrowed, hating the fact that he was in front of her and she didn’t even have time to put some color on her otherwise wan face.
“Are you well?” he asked her.
“I would have looked well enough, had you waited for ten minutes,” she said. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to give you something,” William announced. “A peace offering.”
“A peace offering,” she repeated blankly. “Right. Why would you need that?”
“We didn’t end in good terms last night.”
“You made a big deal out of it. Now I’m making a big deal out of it,” she told him.
“Which is why I’m bringing this,” he said, handing over a package wrapped in Manila paper and twine.
“And I’m supposed to open this with you around?” her brow rose.
He nodded.
“Well, you’re just forcing me to be nice, then,” she said to him.
“I’d like to know if you want it, or not,” came his reply.
“Fine,” she said, taking the package on the counter. They were a foot away from each other, and she tried not to act nervous, since she suddenly felt anxious about him being here, and her being, well, unprepared. Her hair was still partially wet, and she hadn’t worn any makeup yet, except for sunscreen. So much for looking nice for him, huh? Wait, why in the hell would she try to look nice, it wasn’t like she was trying to attract him or anything…
Kelsey’s eyes popped open as soon as she neatly opened the package. It was a World History book, hardbound, dated 1948- the same book she had been so engrossed in the first day she got to visit his house.
“What-?” she looked at him, confused. “You’re- you’re giving this away?”
“Peace offering, remember?” he said, a slight grin on his lips, those wonderful lips she wanted to kiss again…
“This is too much,” she protested, placing the book down on the counter.
“Nothing is too much.”
Of course, it was too much. First date didn’t turn out as well as she’d have thought, because he had strange sensitivities to her womanhood? It was her body, and she had wanted that to happen. It was bound to happen, anyway, one way or another.
“Are you doing this because you’re feeling guilty about last night?”
He shook his head. “That’s not what this is about.”
She frowned. “It is.”
“It was a bad end to the date, that’s what this is all about,” William told her.
“And a book is supposed to make me feel better?”
“I wanted to see if it was going to make things better between us,” he replied. “Apparently, it hasn’t.”
She stared at the book once more, her hands itching to take it back. She had never owned a book like that in her whole life, and she knew this was worth thousands of dollars- and yet here he was, giving it all away to her, collector’s edition, first publication.
“Why would you give this away?” she asked, suspicious. “How many more of these do you have?”
“It’s my only one,” he replied. “I saw how much you enjoyed reading it, which I totally understand. I enjoy history myself.”
“Then this shouldn’t belong to me. It’s just going to rot away at my place. I don’t have the pretty library for this, or a glass case.”
“Books are meant for reading. And I’m sure you’re going to take good care of that,” he intoned.
She took a breath, not wanting to say she wanted the book. Her fingers inched for it, and she held a few against its spine, enjoying the feel of the leather-bound manuscript.
“Take it,” he said, “I can’t stand the suspense you’re giving me. Take it, it’s yours,” he said, sounding irritated.
“Oh, now you’re mad?” she told him.
“More like annoyed. I know you want it.”
“What if I don’t?”
“Don’t play hard to get. Humans-” he muttered.
Humans? What? “If this is your way of patching things up, you suck at it, bigtime,” she told him.
She heard him take a big breath. “Okay, I know, I’m bad at this. It’s just- the time- well, it doesn’t really matter how long we haven’t dated, right? I should really get a grip on my words. Apologies, Kelsey, my sincerest apologies.”
Now he was talking like he was a thoroughbred gentleman from England.
“Do you always apologize with an accent?”
He smiled a little. “Not really, but I do have an inclination for that accent. My father’s from England.”
“Oh.”
“So, is my apology accepted?”
She gave a hesitant nod.
“I’ll see you in class,” he said to her. “But please don’t expect that I be chummy with you immediately. There are certain things I can’t tell you yet, but hope you understand.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
At least that worked, he thought, walking for his car parked by the curb. He heard someone make off-handed comments about him from a good thirty feet away.
“Look at the rich boy,” a
jock said to his friend.
“Well, the rich boy’s got a Bentley, which you don’t,” his friend replied.
William couldn’t help but flash a smile at them, and they both looked away, discussing the possibility that the ‘rich boy’ had heard their conversation. Sometimes he played it too low-key, and sometimes he rode in a Bentley. They had ten cars in the manor at their disposal, and he drove a different car each week, just to keep the engine in condition.
What else can you do with so much money, his father had once said, except buy everything money can buy? Deep in the dungeon was a treasure trove, a literal one, filled with jewelry and gold bullion, things that kept his father calmer at times. He had his own treasure box, in his room. There was a raw power that gemstones and minerals had, a power that kept them selfish, yet sane. Apparently, those material things weren’t doing his father much good nowadays. Loss of the mind and loss of the spirit go hand in hand, he thought.
It was only a matter of time before the beast took over, and it was something no one in the family wanted, ever. It would create too much complications, it could destroy everything they’d built over the last 800 years or so.
He drove down a tree-lined street, taking precaution to park where the students were supposed to park. He didn’t want to be that kind of rich boy, he thought in amusement. What class was it going to be before he had classes with Kelsey? Right, Medieval literature. Damn, what in the hell am I taking up this time, he wondered. He had carelessly checked minors he thought could be relatable. It was a mish-mash, but hey, it was learning, he told himself.
And Kelsey Long didn’t need to learn much about him. She was playing with fire, but he was going to be there to keep her at an arm’s length. Kelsey was a quiet person who didn’t mind being alone, and he had assumed he was going to give her a good time, until he realized she was a virgin. It took a while, she moved like she knew how those things went already.
“Are you doing this because you’re feeling guilty about last night?”