Much of Madness (The Conexus Chronicles Book 1)

by Summa, S. E.

  After a kiss he hoped she’d never forget, Seraphina pulled back and whispered, “I love you too, Marceau.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Several hours later, Seraphina’s head was lying on Marceau’s chest. She’d finally relaxed at his touch and felt safe in his arms.

  They had kissed until their lips were tired. Marceau was running his fingers lightly up and down her back when she begrudgingly nudged him and said, “Believe me when I say I want to snuggle you for eternity, but I think I’m a bit touch-drunk. If that is even a thing? I have wanted to touch you for so long. To feel you holding me now is heaven…”

  He smiled. “But?”

  “But I’m not used to it. My skin is tingling and my nerves are kind of freaking out. My brain is in sensory overload. And, and I am starving.”

  Marceau’s deep laughter reverberated through his chest, bouncing her head lightly. He tightened his arms around her and bent to kiss the top of her head. “Well, technically you haven’t eaten in days.”

  She poked his ribs, and he burst into laughter as he grabbed her hand. She loved the way his muscles flexed under his shirt.

  “Hmm. You, sir, are ticklish.” She looked up at him and giggled. “I will remember that.”

  “Just remember, turnabout is fair play.” He winked.

  “Oh, I’m counting on it.” Seraphina’s stomach rumbled loudly, causing another round of laughs. “Okay, we are going get up and head to the kitchen. However, you must hold my hand the entire way. Clear?”

  “Clear.” He nodded with a serious face.

  As they entered the living room, Khat popped her head over the back of the couch and said, “I heard lots of giggling. Ooh la la.” She waggled her eyebrows.

  “You know she has no filter. We heard nothing inappropriate,” Finn added rolling his eyes. He sat at the end of the couch rubbing Khat’s feet.

  “It’s a djinn thing, you wouldn’t understand, Sin Boy.” Khat threw a pillow at him. “Dish. How was the lovin’?”

  “Sin Boy?” Seraphina laughed. She felt the heat rising in her cheeks. Sometimes, it really sucked to have such pale skin. “We have decided to, um, well this whole touching thing is very new. So we are focusing on, well, the basics for a while. Kissing and cuddling are overwhelming, so… I’m starving. What’s for dinner?”

  Marceau stifled a laugh.

  “Okay, but was it, at least, scandalous, yummy kissing like earlier?” Khat was bouncing again.

  Seraphina rolled her eyes. If she didn’t throw her best friend a bone, she was liable to bounce right off the couch. “Completely scandalous and infinitely yummy, okay?”

  “Oh, it was. I can tell ’cause your cheeks are sooo red.” Khat clapped.

  “Help, Finn,” Marceau pleaded.

  “All right, Sparrow. Enough.”

  Khat poked her bottom lip dramatically.

  “For now,” Finn conceded.

  “Okay, fine but only because I’m hungry too. With all the drama, no one has restocked the kitchen. So I guess we have to go out.”

  Seraphina said, “We just got a ton of groceries on Tuesday.” She’d learned the hard way a hungry Khat in a grocery store was a very dangerous combination. The buggy had been so full, things had fallen out on the way to the cashier.

  Khat said, “Um, hello? You’ve been dead. Marceau and Finn have been depressed. I used a month’s worth of magic in just a couple days. Plus, you know I eat when I’m nervous.”

  “She’s right I’m afraid.” Finn smiled. “Our cupboards are bare. So I guess the question is, do we order in or go out? Seraphina’s choice, since she was dead and all.” He smiled and it was the old genuine Finn type of smile, nothing forced.

  Seraphina laughed. “Gee thanks. Honestly, I would love takeout and a movie. So much has gone on, I just want to veg. And a shower… I really, really want a shower.”

  Marceau clapped his hands together and rubbed them back and forth. “I’m up. I believe it is my turn for movie night. Finn, I need a wingman. You know all the restaurants.”

  “My pleasure.” Finn stood and kissed Khat’s forehead.

  “What are we having?” Seraphina asked.

  “It’s a surprise. It’s my first turn, so I’ll make it good.” Marceau took her hand again and raised it to his mouth. He kissed each of her knuckles slowly, his eyes smoldering with desire before releasing her hand.

  Seraphina exhaled. “I-I think I finally understand the whole knees going weak thing.”

  Marceau trailed his fingers down her cheek. He leaned in, bringing his lips tantalizingly close but then pulling back at the last second. A moan escaped before she could stop it, and he smiled.

  Seraphina closed the distance and kissed first his bottom lip and then the bow just above his mouth. “Hurry back.”

  “Of course,” Marceau promised, and headed out the door with Finn in tow.

  “Everything is just so… so wonderful.”

  “You deserve to be happy, Sera. Marceau does too.” Khat jumped up and hugged her. “You shoulda seen how lost that man was without you.”

  “I just hope it lasts.” Seraphina frowned. “Death arrives tomorrow.”

  “Oh, Sera, please don’t worry. I don’t know what he wants, but we’ll figure it all out. You have waited too long to be happy to let worry get in the way.”

  Seraphina took a breath and set her shoulders. “You are absolutely right, Khat. I have waited several lifetimes, so I’m not going waste a moment.” She headed down the hall. “I’m gonna go freshen up. They’ll be back soon.”

  The shower was heavenly. She thought about Marceau’s kisses every time she closed her eyes. He meant so much to her now. When she’d first met him, she was attracted but would have never imagined how strongly she could love Marceau. Seraphina remembered those first awkward days as they looked through the grimoire. He’d been so reserved and formal, withdrawn even, when he had first arrived. Over time, Marceau relaxed and gradually began to open up as he spent time with her, Finn, and Khat. Like anyone could stay reserved around Khat anyway? She smiled.

  A dark image flashed into her mind. Seraphina closed her eyes as a wave of panic gripped her. Stale air flooded her lungs. She was back on the spirit side of the veil without control over her naked body. She floated, suspended in the air, couldn’t move. An ice cold hand trailed up her leg, her side, her neck.

  The Mistress of Death’s voice echoed through her mind, Remember what you promised.

  Seraphina jumped and knocked over a bottle of shampoo, snapping her attention back to the present. She pressed her hands into the tile and gasped again and again until her thoughts cleared.

  Don’t waste a moment.

  She quickly rinsed and dried off. Wrapping a large fluffy towel around her body and another around her hair in a turban, Seraphina paused in front of the door and listened to make sure the guys were not back. Finn didn’t matter, he had seen her like this a hundred times before. But she wasn’t in a rush to be undressed around Marceau. Even the thought made her blush. One day, though, if she survived tomorrow. She darted down the hall and into her room. After dressing in comfy pajama pants and a tank top, she was running a brush through her damp hair when she heard the door open and Finn’s laughter. Her stomach growled again. She swept her hair up into a messy bun and went to see what the movie night’s theme would be when Marceau was in charge.

  Marceau said, “I’m gonna make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

  Finn countered, “Revenge is a dish best served cold.”

  “Do you know who I am? I’m Moe Green.”

  “Fredo, you’re my older brother, and I love you. But don’t ever take sides against the family again, ever.”

  Seraphina giggled. Finn and Marceau were exchanging quotes like it was an epic battle of masculinity. “Leave the gun, take the cannolis,” she chimed in and laughed when Marceau’s jaw dropped.

  He asked, “You can quote The Godfather movies?”

  She shrugged. “Among my
many skills, yes.” Seraphina sniffed the air. “Please, please tell me I smell pasta.”

  Marceau stepped aside and she burst into laughter at no less than ten containers stacked up from her favorite Italian restaurant.

  “How many of us did you order for?”

  Marceau shrugged. “This is a celebration, plus I’ve seen Khat eat. She may be tiny, but she can out eat a linebacker.”

  “Darn right,” Khat added as she stretched a red and white checked tablecloth on the large coffee table and lit some small candles. She placed large pillows on the floor around the table so they could sit and eat informally. It looked cozy.

  “Perfect, Khat,” Seraphina complimented. She went to the kitchen. “Red, white, beer? What’s your fancy?”

  “Beer,” said Finn.

  “Red,” answered Khat.

  “Do you have any more of the Jackelope beer?” asked Marceau.

  She opened the fridge and checked. “Yep. Coming right up.” She gathered the beers and opened a bottle of Cabernet to share with Khat.

  The guys brought a smorgasbord of garlic bread, steaming Italian pastas, salad, and antipasto.

  Seraphina sat next to Marceau and passed out the drinks. He leaned in and kissed her softly. Too soon, he leaned back, and she pouted in protest.

  “Food first, then you can kiss me all you want while we watch The Godfather.” He smiled. “Deal? Where would you like to start?”

  “Deal. Eggplant parmesan is calling my name.”

  They feasted. They laughed. They toasted.

  Seraphina savored every moment of their newfound freedom.

  Everyone ate until they could hold no more, even Khat, and that had been a sight to behold. When all four had dropped their forks, they cleaned up the table and settled in to watch the movie.

  Seraphina tried to stay awake but drifted into a contented sleep halfway through the movie. Marceau held her until the show was over and then woke her by fluttering his eyelashes against her forehead.

  “I always wondered what butterfly kisses felt like.” Seraphina smiled with her eyes still closed. She stretched and her hip popped loudly.

  “Are you all right?” he asked.

  “Yep. Perfect.” She finished stretching and opened her eyes.

  “Just checking. That was loud.”

  Finn teased, “Seraphina does it a lot. She was born in 1906, you know.”

  “Watch it, you. You’re even older than me.” Seraphina threw a pillow at him. “Besides, I was dead for fifty years, so those shouldn’t count against me.”

  Finn caught the pillow and yawned. He slid out from under a sleeping Khat and bent lifting her effortlessly. “We’re off to bed. Goodnight, you two.”

  “Night, Finn,” Seraphina said feeling suddenly nervous.

  “Goodnight,” Marceau said, but he looked down at Seraphina and tilted his head. One eyebrow raising in question. “You tensed up. What’s wrong?”

  “I. It. This is just all so new to me. You would think I’d know what to do, or at least how to act since I have dreamed of being in love for so long. Longed for it. But it is a very different thing now that I’m actually experiencing it.” She picked and pulled at her shirt hem.

  “Seraphina, it’s actually new to me too. I have always avoided the emotional fragility of love. Please talk to me, what has you fidgeting?”

  “I just, I guess I feel shy all of the sudden.” Seraphina forced herself to look up and meet his eyes. Vulnerable, she needed to see his response.

  “Seraphina,” he said, tracing his fingers through her hair, “I understand, really I do. We made a rather huge leap in our relationship in the last few hours. Let’s take the rest a step at a time, shall we? I want to enjoy, to savor every moment with you. I know…” He sat up and pulled her upright. Marceau turned her to face him and took both of her hands into his. “Miss Seraphina Pearce, of the Savannah, Georgia Pearce’s, my beautiful love, will you do me the honor of being my girlfriend?”

  She laughed a rather unfeminine laugh. He caught her so off guard. She was feeling nervous about if he would try to spend the night and what that might possibly entail… and here he was asking her to what, go steady? “Yes, Marceau, of course.” She giggled.

  “Whew.” He put a hand on his chest dramatically. “Good. Now, girlfriend of mine.” Marceau smiled as if he liked calling that. “I think it’s time we call it a night. Walk me to the door?”

  “Oh, I didn’t know if… I wasn’t sure.” Her tongue stumbled over the words.

  “Oh, I hope you will invite me to stay sometime in the future, Seraphina. But when we are both ready. Until then, I shall have to wine, dine, and romance you senseless.” He stood and pulled her up against him.

  “R-romance me senseless?” Seraphina asked and she batted her eyelashes at him. “That sounds… promising.”

  “Indeed.” He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

  They held hands as they walked toward the stairs. He stopped just short of the stairway and turned, his demeanor very different.

  “First, we have to get through tomorrow. Max, Death, is coming. Even I cannot predict how it will go. Remember, what I told you earlier. He is charming, cunning, and utterly destructive. We must be alert. Make sure you promise him nothing, agree to absolutely nothing, without discussing it with me. He will hold you to your words.”

  “I won’t, Marceau. We’ll see what he wants and figure it out, okay?” Her heart ached at the thought of yet another hurdle to face so soon.

  “Rest, Seraphina. We’ll be okay. I love you.”

  Marceau kissed her softly at first and then it deepened. He only stopped when she was short of breath. Leaning his forehead against hers, he shook his head. “I could kiss you every moment for the next month, and it wouldn’t be enough.”

  She giggled. “I love you, too.”

  “Mmm. Say it again, just one more time.”

  “I love you, Marceau, with all my heart.”

  He slid on his jacket, and they walked down the stairs in silence. “I’ll be back in the morning. I don’t know when Max will show up, but he is coming, there’s no doubt of that. I’ll need to be with you all day.”

  “No complaints here.” She rocked back on her feet and bit her lip.

  He kissed her forehead, then walked out into the chilled night air. “Goodnight, Seraphina.”

  She locked the door and leaned back against it, sighing as she pressed her fingertips against her mouth.

  It was a perfect night. Seraphina couldn’t have asked for more. She hoped for many more nights with Marceau.

  But, Seraphina had a promise to keep.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Sunlight warmed Seraphina’s cheeks. She’d not yet opened her eyes. Instead, she lay cocooned in her blankets, replaying last night over and over. Her lips felt slightly chapped when she licked them.

  So much kissing.

  She stretched and wondered what time it was. Marceau said he’d be back this morning.

  “Is that lovely smile for me, dear Seraphina?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

  Seraphina shot up and looked at the chair in the corner of her room. She jerked her blanket to just under her neck.

  A striking, handsome man sat with his legs crossed and a silver tipped cane resting across his lap. He had rugged facial features and long hair tied back in a tight ponytail, a strange mix with his formal black suit. His hazel eyes glimmered unnaturally as they caught the light.

  “I assume I need not introduce myself.” Maximilian thrummed his fingers on his knee.

  “You assume a hell of a lot more than that. What are you doing in my bedroom? How did you get in here?”

  “Ah, a feisty little one. Marceau probably finds that quality endearing.” Maximilian sighed. “I, on the other hand, do not. So mind your manners, child. I find myself in ill temper to see no traces of a hex around you.” He sat back and looked down his straight nose at her. “How did he do it? How did Marceau break your curse? He’s put quit
e a damper on my plans.”

  “I could not care less about your plans, and I’m not telling you anything. Not until Marceau is here. And not until I’m properly dressed, for that matter. Coffee could only help loosen my tongue too if you’re wondering. You come across so proper and refined, and yet you dare to sit in my bedroom uninvited? You are rude.” She dropped her blanket and crossed her arms over her chest.

  Death raised his eyebrows.

  Okay, maybe the last part had been a little much.

  Death let out a deep echoing laugh, and Seraphina jumped embarrassingly high. His laughter echoed around the room and rattled the pictures on her walls. A perfume bottle fell from her antique vanity and rolled, clattering across the floor.

  Footsteps pounded down the hall. Marceau burst through her door so hard, she was sure the doorknob punctured the drywall. “Max, you’re here. What did you do to her?” Marceau demanded wild eyed. He looked from the laughing man in the corner to Seraphina’s blushing face and then back again. He stepped forward and stood between them. “Are you okay, Seraphina?” He studied her up and down.

  “He scared me by being in here, but yes, I’m fine, Marceau, really.” She looked around him at Death. He’d stopped laughing.

  Death said, “Ah, she is quite delicious, is she not? I haven’t laughed like that in years. Not without torture being involved that is,” he amended.

  “Could you go wait in the living room? Both of you?” Seraphina asked. “I need a minute. This is all a bit much within a few minutes of waking up. I would like to get properly dressed and well, use the facilities too.”

  “Of course, Maximilian, please.” Marceau gestured for the man to follow him out into the hall.

  “Mortals.” Death sneered and faded away like dust blowing in a nonexistent wind.

  “Is it? Is he gone?” Seraphina asked as she rose from the bed.

  “Unfortunately not. I expect he’s waiting in your living room.” Marceau kissed her forehead and turned to go check. As he reached to close her bedroom door, he said, “I will, um, fix that.”