“Celeste,” she said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “My name is Celeste.”
***
“Thank God.” CeCe was accosted by Bianca as she entered the lobby of her apartment building. The tiny blond hugged her so tightly, she could hardly breathe. For such a little thing, Bianca was surprisingly strong. When she released her she gave her a quick once over. “Where have you been? Your father has been looking for you. You didn’t answer your phone and he had Xander and me and some walking mountain named Brian looking for you all night.” She looked for Xander, who was nowhere to be found.
“Briar,” she corrected, “found me. Where’s Xander?”
“He went home. You know he has an aversion to the sun and people, the world in general, really.” Bianca mumbled. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer your phone?’
As she thought about it now, CeCe realized that she’d left her purse locked in her car when they’d gone up to Nicky’s apartment. It would have never occurred to Riley or Eli to get her purse before they left. She dug into the bottom of the bag and found her phone, no bars indicating that her battery was dead.
“I stayed at a friend’s house and my phone is dead,” she mumbled. “I’ll call as soon as I get upstairs. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She was tired and in need of a cold shower. The effects of Eli’s last kiss, still disorienting her.
“Was this friend a certain sexy ass detective I saw you cuddled up with at the coffee shop yesterday?” To her own amazement, CeCe blushed. “I will take that as a yes. Since you don’t seem any worse for wear, I will leave you alone. Have a happy holiday weekend, Doc. See you Monday,” she called, sashaying out of the lobby, the smell of her very expensive perfume lingering in the lobby. The day doorman watched her backside with open interest as she left on those teetering heels and tight jeans, her blond ponytail swinging with her sway.
***
As the elevator doors opened into her foyer, CeCe tossed her purse on a table and kicked off her shoes as she made her way through the living room. The message light on her telephone flashed bright red, alerting her to the number of calls she’d missed.
“You know, I’m having trouble understanding why I pay so much for a secured building when anyone can just wander in off of the street,” she said before turning to look at her father sitting on the sofa, flipping through one of her architecture magazines, in the dimly lit room. The curtains were still drawn from the night before, and he hadn’t bothered to open them. Instead, he sat in the dark, waiting. She was surprised to find that he was completely alone, no bodyguards to be seen.
“Where have you been?” He didn’t look up as he spoke.
“I was with Det. Cain.” She sighed and stripped her jacket off. Rubbing her tired eyes, she walked over and kissed Jonas’ cheek. “He’s something special, Father.” She sat crossed legged on the sofa next to him.
“Talk to me.” Slowly he closed the magazine and took her hands and listened as she poured out everything that had happened in Nicky’s apartment. The bites, the needle like teeth, the way it changed and how she had pulled all of it from Eli’s memory. She told everything right up to her waking up in his bed and, Eli giving her aspirin and bringing her home.
“He’s not just a telepath or empath, Father. He’s something completely unique. When we are together and we focus on each other, we change atmospheres. We can make a room hotter or colder, and the electricity-we can shift nature. I feel so connected to him, like I’m supposed to be with him. He is so gentle with me and he really cares for me, not just what I mean or who I am. He cares for –me. And Father, he has the mark. Could it be him? Could he be the one?” Jonas gave her hand a pat and grimaced. There was something that he wanted to say, she thought, but he was holding back. He knew something, she realized. Something about Eli.
“What do you know that you aren’t telling me?” She asked and Jonas shook his head.
“I don’t know anything. I suspect that you may be right about your detective.” When she didn’t correct him, insisting that he wasn’t her detective, Jonas’ brow rose. “There is something you aren’t telling me, my dear. He took care of you? I would like to meet him. Will you be inviting him to Thanksgiving Dinner?” He asked, slowly rising, hiding a sly smirk. She eyed Jonas and shook her finger at him.
“Oh no,” she said with a smile. “I’m not getting caught in that trap. I bring him to dinner and then he’ll be before the Collective. Nope. Not happening, Jonas Kent. ” He laughed and she stood to give him a hug.
“Okay. I understand. Briar said that you were fine, but I wanted to see for myself. Call me overprotective.” He kissed her on the forehead.” I will see you at the house. I have some things to take care of in the city. Lisette and Giovanni should be there when you get there. We have a lot of important people coming in for dinner tomorrow. Everything must be correct. Yes?” She nodded.
“Oui,” She kissed his cheek and walked him to the elevator. Once he left, she slipped into a hot bath, her mind still on Eli, his hot kisses, talented hands and good Lord that mouth.
”Lord help me,” she mumbled before sinking beneath the bubbles.
***
Riley sat at Eli’s small kitchen table sipping his coffee and looking at his watch when Eli sauntered in an hour later, a smile on his face.
“Finally,” he breathed, throwing his hands in the air. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?” He was yelling at Eli before he could close the back door, sliding a cup of coffee over to him.
“Grace called, invited you and Adam over for Thanksgiving dinner.” Eli sipped his coffee, watching as Riley’s face turned bright red.
“That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m talking about why you left a very naked, extremely hot and willing woman lying in your bed. “
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because my partner came in right before we-“Eli smirked.
“Came?” Riley teased. Eli couldn’t help but laugh, a deep throaty chuckle, as he sipped his coffee. “I wouldn’t necessarily go that far. But you did interrupt the grand finale. What are you doing here anyway?”
“I was actually coming to check on you two. Last night was pretty intense. When I got here, Ms. Freeman was tiptoeing into your back door, so I followed. I asked her what she was doing here and while she stammered for an answer, I heard a crash and moaning. I knew it was Doc, but I thought she was –hurt.” He grinned and shook his head.
“Celeste. Her name is Celeste.” Riley arched a brow at the dreamy, almost bewildered way in which he spoke her name. It was as if the mere mention of her name put him in a trance. Eli cleared his throat and sheepishly looked down into his coffee cup.
“There is something about her-when she’s not around all I do is think about her. She gets me. All of my weird shit, she doesn’t seem to mind. Actually, she has some weird shit of her own; but I can be my freaky self around her. I mean the thing last night with the lights, the Mack truck who came looking for her this morning, the locator who works for her father.”
“Briar.” Riley said dreamily. Eli mimicked Riley’s arched brow with an additional smirk.
“Anyway, that language they spoke, she said it was Gaelic. Who the hell speaks Gaelic? There is something all wrong about her. But when I’m with her, it just seems right.” Riley was duly impressed. He stared into his cup, not sure how to broach the next subject. “There’s more I haven’t told you.” He exhaled sharply and looked at Riley who waited patiently. He explained the discovery of the matching birthmarks, her necklace and her attempts to push into his mind to remove herself from his memories. She had tried and tried but he was stronger than she was and had pushed her away. When he succeeded, she had been shocked. He also had to admit something else to Riley, something he had barely admitted to himself.
“Riley, she speaks French and-when she was talking to Briar- I understood it. I understood all of it. She told him that she was fine and that she would call him later. I had no idea what the language
was but I clearly understood it. All of it.”
***
The sun was setting as she pulled her car into the garage at the back of the house. As the large metal door slid silently closed behind her, she turned off the ignition and slipped from behind the wheel of the Range Rover, her sunglasses still in place from the long drive. As she slammed her car door closed, she paused for only a second, before spinning on her heel, blocking the blow that came from behind. His arm went through the driver side window of her car, shattering it and she was furious.
“Son of a bitch,” She yelled dipping left as her assailant came at her again, swinging a hard right that was aimed at her jaw. She ducked and he missed her cheek by mere inches, his fist plowing through the wall at her back. Staying low, she landed a right jab to his side, then an elbow to his back as he tried to pull his hand free. He hit the floor with a thud. He bounced to his feet, wiping blood from his lips a look of pure hatred in his midnight dark eyes.
“What is your problem?” She yelled as he charged again. Once upon a time, she had enjoyed the rough play with her adopted brother. They had spent years ambushing each other, but lately his rough play had become all out assaults. They both knew he had absolutely no chance of winning a fight with her, no matter how hard he tried. What he was doing was pissing her off.
He came at her again, swinging wild blow after blow, each of which she blocked with ease. She swept her leg out and took his feet from beneath him. He fell back and sprang back to his feet. He smirked, before running at her screaming like a lunatic.
“Will you cut it out?” She screamed before landing a quick upper cut to his jaw. He stumbled backward, fangs drawn as he ran at her. Launching himself into the air, she took an incredible leap backward, landing on the hood of Gaston’s shiny black BWM looking down, realizing the heels of her boots were going to scratch the paint and cursed. Gaston was going to be pissed.
Remy laughed and continued to charge her. Fully angered now, she sprang, sailing through the air, her knees catching his shoulders; taking them both to the hard cement floor; her knees pinning him to the ground, her hands at his throat. He coughed a laugh and her grip tightened.
“What is your fucking problem?” She screamed.
“I was just making sure you hadn’t lost your edge. I don’t want you going soft.” She let him up and shook her head. “What’s that supposed to mean?” She walked away, looking at the damage she’d done to Gaston’s car and the damage Remy had inflicted on hers.
“It means,” he straightened his clothes, “That I wanted to make sure that you hadn’t gone soft since you’re fucking the cop. You know, the way you did when you were with the vamp.” She froze for a moment before looking over her shoulder at him. He was smiling a nasty little smile, his arms folded across his chest as he watched her. She turned to face him, mimicking his posture.
“Is that your oh so clever way of asking if I have had sex with Eli?” He hooted with laughter.
“So it’s Eli now? Wow, Eli. Nice. Well,” He pushed himself away from her car leaving massive dents where his hands had pressed into the metal, and started walking towards her. “Briar did find you at Eli’s house this morning; after of course, he found your car abandoned in the parking garage at Nicky’s apartment building, not to mention the fact that you had been incommunicado all night last night. We know you spent the night with him.”
“So you assume I had sex with him?” She asked. He was standing so close; his breath was warm on her face and tinged with alcohol. His dark eyes flashed a bright yellow as anger flared his nostrils.
“I can smell him on you.” He lifted a lock of her hair and inhaled. “You aren’t supposed to be with him, CeCe. The Collective said-” She pushed him away.
“Fuck the Collective. Since when do you care about them? The Collective says a lot about things they don’t understand.” She mumbled and rubbed her forehead. He put his arms around her and held her close, “He doesn’t know what you are,” he growled through clinched teeth. “He doesn’t understand.”
“He doesn’t understand. But he will. ” She whispered before turning to walk away.
***
She was staring at her own reflection in the vanity mirror, a frown creasing her brow. She didn’t look any different, but she felt as if she did. She leaned closer and stared at her lips, her eyes, her breasts. She had been made love to that morning and she felt as if she should look different. She stood and let her robe hang off of her shoulders staring at her underwear clad body. She absently touched the pendant that hung between her breasts. Shouldn’t she be glowing? She wondered.
“You are glowing.” She started at the sound of Lisette’s voice. Pulling her robe on she blushed.
“I didn’t hear you come in.” She mumbled.
“I suppose you hadn’t. I’ve been knocking on your door for five minutes. “Lisette sat on the edge of her bed. Her once flowing honey blond hair had been chopped into a boyish pixie cut. She wore a blood red leather dress that emphasized her cleavage and hugged her curves. One thing about Lisette, she was the walking talking epitome of a sexual predator.
“Let me guess, you have Detective Sexy on the brain. Bianca called and filled me in on the hot chocolate you’ve been hanging around with.” CeCe could feel her cheeks burning.
“You did it, didn’t you?” Lisette clasped her hands together in excitement. Celeste’s entire body felt warm under her sister’s scrutiny.
“No, we didn’t.” She turned away, walking into her closet, Lisette hot on her heels. Celeste’s closet was as large as a small bedroom, lined with gowns and furs that she rarely wore. One wall alone housed rows and rows of shoes and boots all arranged by style and color. Her shirts were hung on a high bar, also arranged by color. Her pants and dresses were organized from long to short. There was an island in the center of the room, every side sporting at least a dozen drawers which housed her jewelry, t-shirts and lingerie. She skirted around the island through a door on the opposite side of the closet and into the massive marbled bathroom, Lisette still in pursuit.
“Well, what exactly did you do? Take a deep breath and start from the beginning, and don’t leave anything out.” Lisette was on the edge of her seat as she waited her hands in fists on her cheeks as she listened.
***
As usual during the holiday season, the Kent house was full. Even though Thanksgiving wasn’t until the next day, Jonas had invited several of his cohorts to spend the long weekend at the manor. Not quite a black tie affair but they were expected to dress for dinner. Tonight she had chosen a hunter green silk wrap dress that moved with her curves. She wore simple gold Christian Louboutin heels and a thin gold chain at her throat accenting the deep green nicely. The long silver chain lay flat beneath her dress, nestled between her breasts as it always did. Her hair was pulled away from her face in an elaborate braid that hung over one shoulder showing off simple gold hoop earrings.
Celeste came down the massive staircase just in time to see Remy escort a rather statuesque blond across the foyer into the dining room. She smirked, as he glanced up at her and gave a sly wink. That was Remy, she thought, so quick to find solace in another’s bed. It didn’t matter really who’s bed, as long as the body was warm and willing. Over the years, he’d come home with a plethora of unusual bed partners. It had become a sort of game to see who he would bring home. As she reached the landing, she paused and held out her hand. Gaston came to stand next to her, and reached into his pocket. Exasperated, he placed a crisp one hundred dollar bill into her palm and she laughed. There was a long standing bet between the siblings as to who or what Remy would bring to any given event. Gaston had bet this time, his guest would be a male lust demon. Celeste had upped the ante saying human female.
“You know,” she’d said, “just to try to piss me off.” She knew Remy and his motivations better than either of his biological siblings ever would.
“I don’t think it’s fair that you can read minds. How do I know you didn’t c
heat?” She looked at her older brother in his crisp navy blue blazer and bright red tie, his hair still glistening from his shower. Her eyes were wide and innocent, her mouth a perfect O.
“You mean you don’t trust me?” She asked.
“Hell no.” He laughed and placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. He escorted her into the dining room, both laughing quietly as they took their seats.
***
Dinner with Jonas’ associates was an arduous task for her; she was antsy and disjointed the entire night. Her mind kept replaying the two previous days, thoughts of the clawed murderer of her friend, her new ability to share Eli’s power and Eli’s hot hungry mouth on her skin. That was what bothered her the most, his warm eager tongue teasing her in places that she hadn’t been touched in years. She exhaled sharply, steadying herself, this was going to be a long night, she thought. Gaston stared at her and she gave him a rather pathetic smile, before turning to her meal. Her eyes met Lisette’s knowing eyes across the table; they shared a smile before CeCe focused on her meal.
The seventy-five guests sat at the grand dining table as they were served several courses of everything from gumbo to duck à l'orange, sweet potato pie to Crème brûlée. Many of the faces were business acquaintances of Jonas’. But there were random guests, like Gaston’s law partner, who was an odd little man with owl like eyes and a dreamy quality. There was also Gaston’s assistant, Stacey, who was obviously in love with him. Lisette and her rather swarthy fiancée Giovanni sat with their heads together most of the day. And of course there was Remy who sat across from her with his model du jour. A rather large German woman with white blond hair and eyes the color of ice. On more than one occasion during the meal, she caught this Nordic goddess of a woman staring at her, with open hostility.
“What’s with Brunhilda?” Gaston whispered in her ear during course five or six.
“Don’t know, don’t care.” CeCe mumbled. Remy sipped his wine and stared at her, a self-satisfied smirk on his arrogant face.
The First to Fall: A Fallen Novel (The Fallen Series) Page 14