by Dawn Ibanez
Augustina was asleep in his bed, wrapped in his bathrobe and little else. He glanced at the attacked bathroom and saw that she had taken a shower. A pair of towels he hadn’t used were tossed over the shower door. Her clothes were gone, which probably explained why she was wearing his robe. He moved closer to the bed and quietly closed the door.
The knife that struck his door centimeters from his head should have surprised him, but it didn’t. Almost nothing surprised him when it came to the woman in his bed. “Are you angry with me or a light sleeper?” he asked as he turned around.
She was sitting up in the bed, another throwing knife in her hands. They stared at each other. Finally, Elijah pulled the knife out of the door and approached the bed. “Please tell me you didn’t attack Rebecca in the same fashion. Her family would be upset if you killed her by accident, and so would you.”
Augustina finally blinked at him. She lowered the knife in her hand and placed it on the nightstand. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
Elijah placed the blade from the door next to hers and turned away from her. She was waking up but not enough to realize how his robe gapped open and he could see the swell of her breasts. “I should be apologizing to you. I didn’t mean to startle you.”
He could hear the sheets rustling behind him. When he glanced in the mirror, he saw Augustina fixing the robe around her.
“Sorry about the door,” she said lowly. When he faced her again, she was sitting on the side of the bed. She rubbed her eyes and sighed. “It’s a weird hang up, I know. When it’s quiet, I’m fine. When there’s noise, I’m fine. But when it’s someone trying to be quiet around me, that’s when I go on attack.”
It was something he would file away for later. He approached her on the bed and sat next to her. He reached out and brushed her damp hair away from her face. “You knew this victim,” he said softly. When she frowned at him, he went on. “She was a vampire named April. Mel said she knew you both.”
Gus lowered her head and nodded. “She was one of De Leon’s blood whores,” she said softly. “After she was changed, she still couldn’t give the feeling up, so she became a call girl. When Mel and I first got here, she found out who we are. I couldn’t have her calling the Glaive on me. So, we moved. But I think Mel may have kept in contact with her.”
Elijah nodded. “That’s pretty much what your sister said.”
Gus reached forward and ran her fingers through his hair. “You spoke to your staff.”
He frowned. “You didn’t throw any knives at them, did you?”
She chuckled as she shook her head. “No. When I told them that I sleep better with noise, they made sure to make enough to keep me relaxed. I think they scoured the place down. And that’s saying something considering how clean the apartment was to begin with.” She glanced at the clock and frowned. “The sun should be up soon. Is Dominic going to stay here?”
The edge in her tone made him want to whisk her away to a place where no one would harm her. Elijah shook his head. “Last I saw Dominic he was flying back to the Tower. That was after Mel stood her ground with him.”
Her eyes widened. “You let my sister argue with a gargoyle?” she asked as she jumped to her feet.
He took her hand and pulled her back to him. “It’s fine. He will honor the protection claim I put on you both.” He looked up into her eyes as she stood between his legs. “In his own way, I think he likes her. So does Edmund.”
The smile that crossed her face was smug. “She’s special that way.” Her smile then fell. “Maybe that’s part of her magic. A charm that puts everyone at ease. She’s always had a way with people.”
Elijah would have to keep an eye on the potential triangle between the three. He ran his fingers down her arms and sighed. “I also have to confess I may have slipped a little.” Meaning more than once.
“What did you do?”
He held onto her hands and took a breath. “I may have referred to you as my consort once or twice.” He didn’t remember exactly how many times he called her that. But it was enough that he was sure it was only a matter of time before everyone started to as well.
She swallowed as she moved away from him. Elijah saw the way her hands trembled and stood. “You said it yourself, Augustina, it doesn’t matter if it happens tonight, a week from now, or a year. We have this one ending. You are going to be my consort.”
She looked at him with narrowed eyes. “High ranking officials don’t take consorts. Their liaisons are never for keeps. You’ll tire of me, and then what? I’m stuck here in the North teaching fledglings how to fight while you move on to the next one.”
She was right to have that fear. But that also showed how little she knew him. “That won’t happen.”
“Really?” Her skeptical tone put him on edge. “And how do I know that? Please tell me.”
He approached her and grabbed the hands she curled into fists. Elijah opened each hand and kissed each palm. “You will just have to trust what you’ve seen already,” he said. He lowered her hands and pressed a chaste kiss on her lips. “I will not fight you, Augustina,” he whispered. “Not here. Not over something like this.” He kissed her once more and stepped away from her. “I need to get a shower. It will be dawn soon, and while I won’t turn to stone yet, I will fall into a deep sleep.”
He walked away from her. Whatever happened between them, it would be her decision. And he would not go to her in anger. Not after what she had been through. He didn’t care if she said she was fine. The knife mark in his door proved exactly what he thought.
His consort was not okay.
*****
Gus watched as he closed the bathroom door behind him. She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. She hadn’t meant to start a fight. As she thought back over the past few minutes a groan escaped her. That was exactly what she had done. She walked out of the bedroom and went into the living area.
Her doubts plagued her. The idea that Elijah may want her to stay around for longer than the investigation terrified her on a level De Leon never managed to reach. De Leon’s threats had always been physical. Gus could handle physical abuse. She had before and she could continue to do so, if she had to. But she knew if she allowed Elijah in, the damage would never be physical.
Emotional damage would be worse.
Gus went into the fridge and found a bottle of apple juice. She found a cup and poured herself a glass. She doled out a drink and tried to remember the last time she felt so confused. A muse escaped her as she drank the sweet beverage. Usually when she was confused, she would just leave the situation. No questions, no doubts. This should have been the same thing.
But it wasn’t. It would never be the same thing. Elijah made his desire clear. He wanted her as his consort. She was uncomfortable because she had seen too many women be used, abused, and tossed aside for no more of a reason than they could be.
The shower could be heard from the kitchen. Gus finished her drink and fought the urge to turn on the water in the sink to make his shower cold. She doubted anything would happen, but she wanted to spar with him. No anger, just traded barbs where they both knew their roles. He as the Chevalier, her as the quiet bartender. Just them as Elijah and Gus.
A soft smile crossed her face as she moved around the living area. She hung up his jacket in the same small closet Rebecca showed her earlier. He wouldn’t tire of her. Gus had a gut feeling about that. If they crossed that line, he would let her go when she died. And probably not even then.
That was why she was so terrified of him.
He would claim a piece of her that no one had been able to touch. Not even Mel. And if she were wrong, and he left her, she would never be able to piece herself back together. The walls she built around her would be forever ruined.
Gus went back to the bedroom and saw the throwing knives on the nightstand. They agreed that De Leon had no place in their relationship. He was dead and gone. There was nothing he could do to harm her. She was free of him. It was time she
proved it.
She picked up the throwing knives and went back to the front closet. Her grey coat had hidden pockets just for such weapons. She wondered for a moment where a medical tech got a warrior’s coat from. But she wouldn’t dwell on it. Not until she had a chance to talk with the strange woman. She tucked the knives away and heard the shower turn off. She went back to the room in time to see Elijah emerge from the bathroom.
A towel was wrapped around his waist. His body was still damp as trails of water made their way down his back. His hair was slicked back, and once again, Gus wanted to make him messy. Her proper Chevalier with his faint accent. He was the calm she could never grasp. She bit the inside of her lip as her decision became clear.
“I want you to promise me something,” she said. She cleared her throat as he turned to her. It was an effort to keep her eyes focused on his face. “If you don’t want me anymore. If something happens and you want to be rid of me. Kill me outright. Because if you just cast me aside, I don’t think I would be able to come back from that. You’re breaking something in me.”
He was in front of her in a blink. His hand caressed her cheek and wiped away a tear she hadn’t realized fell. “Do you trust me enough to know that won’t happen?”
A humorless laugh escaped her. “I’m trusting you enough to make the promise. Needed or not.”
His hands cupped her face. “I won’t cast you aside, Augustina,” he whispered. He covered her mouth with his. His kiss was tender and consuming. Gus moaned when his tongue caressed the seam of her lips. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him closer. He lifted her off the floor, never breaking their kiss.
She trembled as he walked her to the bed and laid her down on the mattress. She brought her hands around and clutched at his shoulders.
“Elijah,” she breathed.
His lips trailed down her jaw and past her neck. She bit her lip when his weight settled on top of hers. After a tug on the belt around her waist, the plush robe she wore parted. His hands were gentle as he opened the robe and pressed kisses to her collar bone.
“So beautiful,” he moaned against her skin.
His tongue traced a scar from one breast to the other. When her hands shot up to cover herself, he grabbed her wrists. “Don’t,” he commanded.
His eyes were gold as he looked at her. Gus reached forward and played with a lock of his hair. She gasped when he latched on to her breast and started to suck. Her fingers tunneled into his hair and held him against her. She didn’t notice exactly how he maneuvered his body between her legs until she felt a solitary finger caress her lower lips.
“Eli,” she gasped.
He raised his head up and she took his mouth in a savage kiss. She moaned as he continued to tease her. One hand stayed tangled in his hair while the other ripped the towel away from his waist.
Elijah raised himself up enough to crawl over her. He pulled at the robe around her shoulders and licked at her mouth as she moved with him further up to the center of the bed. He smirked as her hands were tangled in the sleeves. “Stay that way,” he told her.
Before she could question him, his fingers were parting her lower lips. Gus’s head fell back against the bed as he spread her thighs further apart and started to feast on her. His finger entered her while his tongue teased her. Gus cried out and covered her mouth, her eyes wide.
He gently bit her on the inside of her thigh. “Stay with me Augustina,” he commanded. His eyes watched as she looked down her body and saw him watching her. “This is us, no one else,” he said before lowering his head again.
His fang rubbed against the sensitive flesh around her clit before he sucked it into his mouth. Gus threw her head back and cried out. He moaned a curse against her and pushed into her with an additional finger.
His name was a mantra on her lips. She reached down with both hands and gripped his hair. She didn’t know if she wanted to hold him to her or push him away. She held onto him as he continued to tease her. Gus’s body raced towards some sort of conclusion of its own. Her hips moved slightly against him as his hands thrust against her body. He bit down on her clit, and she screamed in pleasure.
Gus pulled on his hair and Elijah came up her body with ease. He caressed her face once before demanding another kiss. She wrapped an arm around his shoulder as she reached down his body and found him hard and ready. Gus swallowed as she wrapped her hand around his girth and caressed him. She tilted her head to the side as he trailed kisses to her neck.
“Tell me what you want, Augustina,” he nearly purred into her ear.
She looked into his eyes and swallowed. There was so much she could have said. She raised her mouth to kiss him and inhaled when he moved back. Her breath left her as his hand closed around hers. She tried to kiss him again and fell back on the bed when he moved away from her.
“Don’t play with me Elijah,” she demanded. She inhaled as the tip of his length started to push into her.
“Not playing,” he said into her ear. He caught her lobe between his teeth and gave it a slight tug. “I want us on the same page. Tell me what you want.”
She turned her face to his. If she said the word, he would roll off her and they would never be this close again. Gus felt her heart twist at the thought. She closed her eyes. “I want you,” she whispered.
He didn’t move. He was still hard and ready, but only partially inside of her. Gus opened her eyes and blinked at him. The smile that crossed his face stole her breathe. “Do you honestly think I would let you hide from this?” he asked.
Before she could answer, his hips pressed forward. “Eli,” she gasped.
He wrapped his arms around her arched back and lifted her until she was sitting up in his lap. Her hands gripped and clawed at his back.
He looked between them and groaned. Gus looked down and bit her lip as well. She felt so full and he was still only partially inside her. Elijah had been so busy taking care of her, she hadn’t thought about taking care of him. She ran her hands through his hair and brought his face to hers.
“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered. The side of his mouth lifted up in a smirk, and she kissed him. She turned and brought him down to the bed. As he looked up at her, Gus moaned. He was completely inside of her. Her fingers caressed the ridges of muscles on his chest and stomach. “Just us, right?”
He pulled her down to his kiss and moaned as she moved against him. He quickly rolled them over, and she was once again under him. “Just us,” he repeated as he thrust inside of her. He brought her legs up to his waist and hammered into her.
She lost track of who moaned and who cried out. The sound of their bodies coming together filled her ears as they made love. Gus felt his lips on the side of her neck and on instinct twisted around and bit at his throat.
Elijah cursed as his body was wracked with shudders. Gus gasped as he pulled on her hair and bit down on her throat in turn.
She screamed as pleasure washed over her. Every muscle in her body locked as he barely drank from her, but the sensation was there. Everything became acute. The feeling of sweat dripping from his body onto her. His hot seed pulsing inside of her, filling her. Each breath next to her ear. The beat of his heart against her breast. Gus swallowed as she slowly came back to herself. Tears filled her eyes before she could stop them. She tried to close her eyes, but she had a feeling he saw them. He cursed again and pulled out of her. Her body shivered as he left her on the bed.
Gus could just imagine what she looked like. Covered in scars from her days in the pits. More muscles than flab. She had been the monster other monsters were wary of, and he treated her as if she were a special treasure. Gus covered her face with her hands and turned to her side.
The bed dipped behind her and tender hands turned her around. Elijah wiped at her face with a soft warm cloth. “I didn’t mean to bite you again,” he said in a whisper.
She watched him as he took care of her. He wiped at her neck and frowned at the traces of blood on the
cloth. He then had the decency to blush as he wiped between her legs. After tossing the cloth towards the bathroom, he pulled her close and covered her with the thick comforter on the bed. He pressed a kiss into her hair.
“Should I expect to be stabbed in my sleep?” he asked.
She pressed her nose against his chest and inhaled. He smelled good. Like sandalwood and pears. “I bit you first,” she mumbled. “I really should apologize for that.”
He ran his fingers through her hair. “Don’t worry about it,” he said easily. “I like that I can get you to lose control.”
She looked up at him. Her face warmed as he played with a lock of her hair. “I could have hurt you.” She sat up and pulled the blankets around her body.
Elijah held his hand out to her. When she took it, he sat up as well. “We can go around in circles about this. There may be other times when you will hurt me. There may never be a cause. But either way, there is nothing to forgive. Not between us. Not here.”
She felt another chip in her armor form as he ran his thumb over her knuckles. She laid on the bed next to him again and sighed. “Lay down,” she told him. “You’re probably going to drop into sleep any second now.”
Elijah looked at the clock on the nightstand and frowned. It was well past 8:00 a.m. He looked at Gus. “I should have dropped over an hour ago.” He ran his fingers over the side of her face and caressing the side of her neck. “I think I may know why your father wanted you to stay away from vampires. Especially the old ones.”
She didn’t like the sound of that. Gus sat up and blushed when his eyes went to her breasts. “Be serious,” she said snapping her fingers in front of his face.
“I am,” he said looking into her eyes. He laid back on his pillows and pulled her close to him. “We can talk to Monica about it tomorrow. But I should be asleep right now. The sun is up, and as an older vampire, I should have succumbed to it. I had some of your blood, and now I’m hardly tired.”