by Eve Newton
I exit the bathroom and bump into Cole, who has come to find me.
“It’s time,” he says nervously. I take his hand.
We enter the courtroom with Devon at my side. Standing in front of the Justice of the Peace, Cole and I say our vows to each other, simple declarations of eternal love. I vow to take care of him always and to teach and guide him. To love him, always.
He promises to worship and adore me. To love me always and to follow my lead.
Rather unusual vows, I’m sure, but meaningful to us.
After the “I do’s” and exchange of rings, we kiss. We are now husband and wife, in the mortal sense. Cole is overjoyed, Devon is outwardly happy, but I know he is sad on the inside and me…
I’m at peace.
It's odd. I didn’t even know there was a war raging inside me, but now I feel the calm after the storm.
“Aefre,” the deep gravelly voice from before echoes in my head. I start sharply at the invasion. “It’s time for the next step,” it says.
“What next step?” I ask in my head, feeling foolish. But there’s no answer, of course.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
F acing yet another trip across the Atlantic in a few days, we are all trying to get back to our regular schedules. Cole moves fully into the mansion and Devon and I get back to work. I have no more voices in my head, but the recurring dream comes every night, ending in the exact same place every time, so I learn no more. It’s frustrating which is not helping my mood or my Power Surge at all. I am less than fine, but it’s still the party line, which Cole and Devon accept, not wanting to push me. In truth, I’m a wreck and it’s very unsettling.
Beating my pen in a loud staccato on my desk, it snaps suddenly in two under the force of my beat.
“Fuck’s sake,” I mumble and throw the two ends at my open office door, just as Scott, my executive assistant, raps on it. As they aim straight for his head, I cry out, “Ah!” in alarm and rush to his side as they smack him square on the forehead. He starts in surprise.
“Scott! I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he brushes it off. “A bit edgy there, Boss?” he asks with a grimace.
“You could say so. I really am sorry,” I say again, rubbing his head.
“Anything I can help with?” he asks.
“No, it’s a…personal issue, but thank you,” I say.
He nods briskly and hands me the revised Harlow files. “Just need your signatures.”
I smile my thanks, and he turns to leave. Pausing, he turns back and says, “Maybe Mr. Savant could help you with your personal issue? You know, before you throw anything else at us hapless employees.” He winks and I chuckle.
He has a point that I need to talk to someone, but it’s not Devon. I need my sire. I sigh, not wanting to drag him back to L.A., again. Although, I know he would come in a heartbeat if I asked him to. He is being very loving at the moment and I miss him. I reach a decision that I will go to him. I haven’t travelled that far since the very first time I did it inadvertently, but I don’t suppose it really matters how far away the destination is. I hope, anyway.
I tell Scott not to bother me for the next couple of hours, primarily because I won’t be here. I close the door and quietly lock it. Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and picture my sire, hoping it will be enough to take me to him wherever in the world he is, and hopefully I won’t end up in the middle of the Piazza del Duomo or the Via Mercanti.
I feel the vortex wash over me and I open my eyes. It takes me a second to register where I am. As it turns out, I’m at The Council head offices in Milan. Ha! I did it. Grinning at the very startled Giulia, I say “Buonasera.”
Giulia recovers her composure and replies, “Buonasera, Liv. It’s nice to see you again. It’s been a while.” She smiles genuinely.
I return her smile. “It has. It’s good to see you too.”
“Seems you’ve picked up a few new tricks since I last saw you,” she remarks.
I laugh. “Yes, so it would seem. Is he here?” I ask, eager to see CK now that I’m so close.
She nods and says, “As always. He’s in his office. Shall I call him?”
“No, I’ll surprise him,” I say.
She giggles and says, “Fine, but you will have to walk the rest of the way. No Teleporting, or whatever it was you did, outside of the reception.” She hands me my visitor’s badge.
I nod my thanks and head to the elevator. CK’s office is on the top floor and I push the button.
I knock on his door when I reach it. He opens it with a look of suspicion. “I thought I sensed you,” he says when he sees it is, in fact, me.
I smile and say, “Surprise!”
“It is indeed and a most pleasant one,” he says. He envelops me into a tight hug, and I cling to him. He pulls us back into his office and slams the door shut. He pushes me up against it and leans himself into me. My knees go weak as he drops his mouth to mine and kisses me thoroughly. I respond, desperate for him, desperate for him to fix this raging inside me. He breaks off the kiss and peers at me. “I am thrilled to see you, of course, but why are you here? Alone? I assume you travelled here by…” He twirls his hand around in a circle as we still don’t know what to call my ability.
I nod, not letting go of him. “I know it was irresponsible as I wasn’t sure quite where I’d end up, but all I needed was to think of you and voilà.” I smile. “In answer to your other question, I need you,” I say simply.
He gazes adoringly into my eyes at my words, the three words every loving sire longs to hear. He kisses me again and says softly, “I didn’t think I would ever hear those words from you again. Two hundred and sixty-six years is a long time to wait.”
I smile sadly this time, thinking back to the last time I said I needed him. “I always need you, my love. Even if I don’t say it.” He beams at me and I take his face in my hands. “More specifically, I need you to help me. I’m one big mass of raging Power. I need to get it under control,” I say.
He looks at me with concern. “It’s that bad?” He steps back.
I nod and step forward not wanting to lose contact with him. He smiles at my gesture and takes my hand, leading me over to the sofa.
“Although,” I add thoughtfully, “I feel better now. Maybe the release from the amount of Power I used to get here?”
“Possibly,” he says as we sit. “I am more inclined to think that you feel better because you are here.”
At my confused look, he continues, “Here, at The Council with me. Where you belong.”
I think it over and, yes, I can feel it. “Yes, the energy of this place. I feel connected to it,” I say.
He nods. “Exactly, my sweet. You are one of us now. This is where you belong,” he says again with a pointed look.
“Oh no!” I say huffily. “I am not upping sticks and moving here.” The scale of that operation has me quaking in my Louboutins.
He sighs and sits back. I copy his move and he puts his arm around me. “Brace yourself,” he murmurs as the door bursts open and Eloise sweeps in.
“I thought I felt the sanctity of this place drop a few notches,” she says in her native French.
“Don’t you knock?” I ask, also in French.
She laughs. “No need. We have no secrets, do we, cherie?” she gushes at CK. I scowl at her and she takes great delight in that.
“What do you want, Eloise?” CK says, ignoring her remark.
She perches herself on his desk, flashing him a large amount of thigh. “Just here to welcome our guest,” she says innocently.
“Liv is not a guest here,” he snaps.
She shrugs, undeterred by his tone. “Nor does she belong here. Not yet anyway,” she adds. “Also, I need to discuss some business with you.” She looks at me expectantly. “You may leave,” she says when I don’t go anywhere.
“She’s not leaving. Whatever it is you have to say, just say it so we may return to our conversation,” CK says.
I smile sweetly at Eloise over my sire’s defense of me. “Yes, in fact, whatever it is you have to discuss is also now my business.”
CK casts an expectant look over at Eloise. “Indeed, it is,” he agrees.
A fleeting look of fear goes across her face as she realizes it’s now two against one, and she backs down. “It can wait,” she mutters as she stands, recovering her composure. “I will come and find you later,” she says coquettishly and swishes out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
“I really hate her, you know,” I say tellingly.
CK glances at me in puzzlement before he says, “I don’t think anyone actually likes her. Except James.” He says the name with a sneer.
I raise my eyebrow at his lack of a response. One day I’m just going to have to spell it out for him that I know about the two of them.
“Enough about her. More about you,” he says with a wicked glint in his eye.
Mm, playful CK is my favorite.
“Now that I finally have you to myself, what am I going to do with you?” he asks seductively.
My heart races and my lips part as I lick them. “I believe you owe me a new and creative form of punishment,” I breathe, referring to my impudence in Monte Carlo over the phone calls.
His eyes narrow as he remembers. “I have not forgotten that, my sweet, but that is for another time, when we have more of it,” he whispers, and I catch my breath. “Right now, all I can think of is getting you into my bed and fucking you senseless.”
Holy Crap! My heart thuds.
“Let’s go then,” I murmur.
Pulling me up, he leads me to the elevator, cursing the Teleporting ban. Once back in the reception, I throw my visitor's badge to Giulia with a quick wave as CK blinks us out of there in a flash.
Half expecting to be in his bedroom at the castle after our conversation a few weeks ago, I’m disappointed to find myself in the penthouse. He doesn’t give me much time to dwell on it though as he swoops in, devouring me. All other thoughts are lost as I kiss him back, my hands working to remove his jacket, tie, and shirt, and his work to unzip my dress and push it down.
“Too long,” he mutters to me in between kisses. “I have waited too long for this,” he reprimands me, but I have to agree. I have seen him more over the last couple of weeks than I have in a really, really long time. Yet we haven’t been together like this since the incident in my office at home weeks ago.
Dropping his fangs, he nips at me, teasing me until he clamps down on my jugular with a vicious snap. He growls in pleasure as I grab him, pushing him to bite harder.
Taking his fill, he releases me. “You taste different,” he mumbles. “Stronger, sweeter.” I start in surprise but think no more of it as he thrusts his tongue into my mouth, his hand moving to my breasts. Walking us back to his bed, he turns me around, squeezing my nipples roughly. He then pushes me forward, so my hands are on the edge of the bed. A couple of seconds later he is naked behind me, his hands, leaving blazing trails as he moves his fingers ever closer to my aching clit. Pushing down at the same time as he enters me from behind, I gasp and my fingers bunch into the silk throw on his bed.
“I love that you are ready for me with no work,” he rasps, pulling on my hip with one hand while his other entices a clitoral orgasm from me. I cry out as he pounds into my pussy.
Feeling me throbbing against him, he groans, “Oh, Aefre.” Pulling out, he turn me, kissing me roughly. I’m itching to dominate, being so used to the role, but here with him, I do as he tells me. Sinking us to the bed, he scoots us up to the middle, never breaking our kiss. He pins my hands to the bed on either side of my head, and my sire self squirms in protest, but my charge side wins out at his look, and I freeze. He tenses suddenly as his fingers brush over my rings on my left hand. His eyes flick to them and harden, having clearly forgotten they were there and why.
Not wanting him to stop, I lift my head up and kiss him squarely on the mouth, drawing his attention back to my face. “Show me how much you want me,” I whisper. He growls at my intentional use of assertive words.
“It is you who should show me how much you want me,” he declares.
A feral smile crosses my face. “Gladly, my lord,” I say, and he relaxes as I roll us over and proceed to show him exactly how much I want him. Kissing him, licking him, nipping at him, trailing my hands and tongue all over his perfect, hard body. I’m in paradise. Pleasing him is my only mission and I do it. I do it well.
As I pull him up and wrap my legs around him, he obligingly tilts his head in invitation. I drop my fangs and bite him roughly, feeling the immense power of his blood. He tastes so delicious, tangy and yet sweet at the same time. I release him as he guides his cock inside me, unable to wait any longer. I ride him, reveling in the feel of his rock-hard shaft inside me, his body under me, his arms wrapped around me, his tongue working against my own, his lips crushed to mine. I can’t hold on and I come suddenly and ferociously. It drains away all of my tension, all of my concerns, all of the raging. An inky black vortex spirals up around us and my back flashes with a white-hot pain. A vision of the Witch Corinne flitters through my mind. Standing next to her is a very tall man of Middle Eastern descent. “Aefre,” he says clearly in the deep gravelly voice from my dreams. I jolt back to reality when I hear CK’s voice saying my name as he releases his load into me.
“Oh, Aefre. Christ, I have missed you. I’ve missed being buried deep inside you,” he whispers.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I whisper back.
“That was…different. You have such Power now, my love. I have never felt anything like it,” he murmurs in amazement.
Astonished to have amazed my two thousand, seven hundred-and-fifty-nine-year-old sire, I stare at him, speechless.
He smiles softly. “What did you see?”
Perceptive as usual.
“Err, it was odd. A cave, I think. Corinne was there with a man. He said my name and I recognized his voice from my dreams.”
“But you didn’t recognize him?” he asks.
“No. I've never seen him before. I got the feeling though it was a vision of the future. An event that is going to happen. Soon,” I reply.
He is looking at me with interest. “How do you feel?” he asks.
“Better,” I smile lasciviously, and he chuckles.
“I mean…”
I interrupt him, “I know what you mean. The Surge is calmer. The Power was waiting for us to…” I wave my hand between us.
He raises his eyebrow. “Oh, really?”
“Yes, for whatever reason this vision was only going to come while I was with you. Like somehow you are connected to it. It was getting impatient,” I chuckle.
“Yes, well it wasn’t the only one,” he says, and I flush. “It has been torture seeing you so much these past weeks, but not being able to touch you,” he says, voicing my thought from earlier.
“I know. Things are, well, to be honest, I’m not sure how things are. We are skirting around this issue. I need to be more direct.”
He snorts at my choice of words and I continue, “I won’t wait next time to be with you. These last couple of weeks have made me realize that I need to take better care of my relationships. With both you and Devon.” He grunts at the mention of my eldest charge.
“And that’s another thing,” I add. “You need to start being nicer to my boys.” I poke him on the shoulder for emphasis.
“Oh, do I now?” he says in a mock sarcastic tone, staring pointedly at my finger poking him.
“Yes,” I say resolutely.
Bringing his beautiful, amber-flecked, dark eyes back to mine, he says, “Anything for you, my sweet.” He kisses me soundly before I can respond.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
A short while later, we are lying in a comfortable silence. I’m stretched out on top of him, perfectly happy, my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat, while he smokes a cigarette. I didn’t realize that he still smoked.
Devon and I gave up about five years ago. It’s not an addiction as Vampires don’t have addictions, well, unless you count the blood, of course, but it is a habit we found hard to break. As it got harder to smoke in public, we eventually just knocked it on the head.
“Are you happy?” he asks with that knack for reading my mind.
“Mm, very,” I murmur, tracing my finger down his side.
“I mean are you really happy, Aefre? In general?” he presses.
Curious now, I ponder his question as I raise my head and place my chin on my folded hands on his chest.
“Yes. Are you?” I answer.
He looks mildly bewildered that I asked about his happiness, almost as if no one ever has. As always though, the shift is brief and his usual features are back in place, making me wonder if I imagined it. I take the cigarette from him and take a deep draw on it. Fuck it. It’s not like it’s going to kill me. He stares at me with a half-amused expression.
“Thought you quit,” he says, nicely sidestepping my question.
I shrug. “Wasn’t aware you still indulged.”
“Every now and again,” he says, taking it back from me to stub it out. “Stay?”
“I can’t, my love. I ‘smoked out’ of my work office. I need to get back,” I say reluctantly.
He laughs. “‘Smoked out’? I think we need to come up with a better name than that.”
“Yes, well, you work on that and let me know what you come up with,” I say sassily.
He grins, a happy sire now that he has had his wicked way with me. I’m happy too that I’ve spent some time with him alone. The Power is no longer a raging ball which is also an immense relief.