by Eve Newton
“Yeah, there’s a lot of that going around. Come up later, we’ll talk.”
Devon looks at CK and he snaps, “What, not private enough for you?”
“If Lizzie, doesn’t mind, I don’t have an issue. As long as you let us talk and you don’t go all Roman Warrior on us.”
Despite ourselves, Sebastian and I glance at each other and snicker at CK, who looks like he is about to go all Roman Warrior on Devon right now.
“Should I be worried?” I ask through my laughter.
Devon shifts his gaze from CK to me saying, “No. We just need to catch up.”
I nod. “Fine. But first I need to speak to Scott and Lincoln. I’d like to do that now if that’s okay with everyone.” I don’t ask so nobody answers.
I stand and they follow suit. I lead them back out of the dining hall.
“You have got some serious explaining to do,” Lincoln snaps at me as soon as we are out of Vampire earshot.
“I know. I’m sorry. I don’t know how it happened.”
“Look, I’m not comfortable with being a part of this conversation,” Scott says. “It isn’t anything to do with me.”
“I get that Scott, but I must impress that it has to stay a secret. I need your word you will forget what you read and never even think of it again.”
“Done,” he says without hesitation.
“Thank you.”
“I will leave you to talk,” he says and thankfully walks back into the dining room. Christ, that room should have a revolving door at this rate.
“What the Hell were you thinking?” Lincoln asks me and I shrug.
“I don’t know. I wasn’t. It’s all a blur. I remember him feeding from me, which I gave him permission for, before you blow a gasket, and then all I know is us…you know… doing it.”
He rolls his eyes at my juvenile terminology. “Look, Liv. I don’t ask you for anything. I don’t ask you to be something you aren’t, but when you take stupid risks like that, it affects all of us.”
“I know. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again; I can assure you. I feel terrible Linc. Cole will hate me if he ever finds out and with good reason. I have no bond to Sebastian and that was the only thing he asked of me. I hate myself. I just wish I knew why.”
He pulls me into his big, strong arms and says to me, “He’s connected to you in that weird way you Vampires have. I get why you are attracted to him, but I don’t get why you would risk so much just to be with him.”
“I don’t know either. It sounds stupid, Linc, but I really don’t know.” I am hesitant to mention this mysterious gift, as clearly it isn’t for public knowledge. I will take the hit for this until I know for certain if I was somehow manipulated.
“I won’t ever mention it again. Just give me your word that you won’t do it again. You have too much to lose and that also affects me.”
“I promise.”
“Okay, then.”
I know he wants to kiss me but as we are now out in public, he just brushes my lips with his thumb, and I smile.
“Try and make some time for us soon. I am craving you,” he whispers, and I just melt. For all the declarations of love I get from everybody else, never once has he told me that he loves me. I don’t want him to, but I do love how he lets me know how much he wants me.
“Count on it,” I say, and he grins. We make our way back into the dining room and sit again. There is tension hovering and I look from one to the other trying to find its source.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-EIGHT
M y eyes land on Devon and he is glowering at a grim-looking CK.
“What’s the problem?” I ask.
Neither answer me.
“One of you speak.”
“Your boy was just berating me on my recent treatment of you. Like I didn’t get enough of it from you. I preferred it when he wasn’t here,” CK says mutinously and I laugh at him.
“Oh, my dear. You must have known it was coming,” I say with a wicked wink to Devon. He grins at me.
“Indeed. Always your protector. Even from me,” CK sighs.
“If you’re talking about Versailles, I stand by my convictions,” Devon snaps at him, stabbing his finger on the table. “You were harassing her.”
“Harassing? That’s a bit much, isn’t it? I had just found her again after looking for so long, only to find her gussied up as a blue-eyed brunette, French courtesan, with you.” He says the last word with a thump on the table that makes all of our drinks jump slightly.
“Hey,” I interject now. “We will not have this argument again. Christ. You two are as bad as each other. And while we are on the subject,” I turn to face my irate sire, “you still owe Devon an apology for what you said in Sibiu. It all got neatly brushed under the carpet with ensuing events but what you said to him was incredibly rude.”
CK glares at me, shifting his ire from Devon to me. Lincoln, Scott, and Sebastian are all looking lost as they weren’t there, and Devon looks gleeful at my defense of him.
CK looks back at Devon and says casually, “I apologize for calling you a colossal fuck-up.”
Devon snorts at him. “Gee, the sincerity of that has left me reeling.”
“Constantine,” I chide him. “Do better.”
He sighs at me. “Devon. I apologize for being rude to you. Everything you said in that impassioned speech of yours came as somewhat of a surprise to me and I shouldn’t have dismissed you.”
Devon couldn’t look more dumbfounded if he tried. There again, I’m sure that we are all wearing the same ‘who are you and what have you done with Constantine?’ matching expressions.
“Err, thank you for that. Accepted,” Devon says momentarily at a loss but recovers quickly, as he does, and quips, “What, you were even surprised about the God Complex part? I thought I had you pegged.”
“Don’t push your luck, boy. I don’t hold the same affection for you as my charge does,” CK warns but I know he would rather rip off his own head than follow through on any threat towards Devon. He feels, inaccurately I might add, that he can threaten Cole all he likes because he is new to me, but he does know better than to mess with my darling boy. Which reminds me…
“Thank you. That was good of you,” I say to him. “But you owe Cole an apology too.”
He grunts at me, but then grins winningly. “Will I get a reward for my good behavior?”
“Certainly. What would you like?” I ask, enjoying the game.
He leans down and whispers in my ear, so low that only I can hear him. I giggle and almost blush at his words and say, “Done,” to his delight.
“The gods, you two are insatiable,” Devon says.
“You aren’t kidding,” Sebastian pipes up, suddenly rejoining the conversation. “You should have fucking heard them last week. Or should that be heard them fucking. Christ. I didn’t think it was going to end.”
“It was make-up sex,” I say haughtily, as CK looks somewhere between smug and embarrassed.
“No, that was normal,” CK amends and now it’s my turn to look embarrassed. “Don’t be shy, my sweet. We are pretty fucking hot together,” he says, repeating his words from months before.
I flush at the memory. “Yes, we are,” I say softly.
“Well, while we are at it,” Lincoln says slyly, “I think Liv and I are pretty fucking hot together as well.”
I snort into my hand at that comment that has stopped traffic. “Yes, we are, sweetie,” I say to him and he beams.
“What about me?” Devon asks, pouting.
“Pretty fucking hot,” I say, and he lights up.
“Well, as fascinating as this conversation is, those of us who cannot comment are feeling somewhat left out,” Sebastian says.
I am so thankful that he has taken the high road and not dropped a bombshell on our happy time.
“Speak for yourself,” Scott interjects. “I am quite happy to sit this one out. That’s my boss you are all talking about.”
I have the g
race to look abashed as do the others, as yes, this is a highly inappropriate topic of conversation. “Sorry,” we all mumble.
He stands and straightens his jacket.
“Yes. Well, now that I have learned more than I care to, I will leave you all to your…hotness and go and play the numbers.”
“Have fun,” I say, and he smiles at me.
“See you tomorrow.”
“Mm, all our hotness?” Sebastian says slyly.
CK glares at him. “Get that thought out of your head.”
“Must I? I am quite intrigued as to what all the fuss is about,” he says to me innocently. He is a damned good actor; I’ll give him that much. Mind you, two thousand seven hundred and sixty years will probably do that to a person.
“The fuss is fucking incredible,” CK says and stands, pulling me up with him. “And with that we will leave you to go and…make a fuss.”
“Dev, don’t forget to come up later,” I call back to him as CK pulls me away.
“Much later,” CK shouts out as we leave the dining room.
Waiting for the elevator, I grab the bull by at least one horn and ask, “Why are you so dead set against me and Sebastian?”
He looks startled. “Shouldn’t you be asking that of your husband?”
“I know why he is against it. I’m asking you.”
“I don’t like sharing,” he says shortly.
“Well, that much is obvious and yet you do. Why not with him?”
“The others are not by choice. You have special connections with them. If you fucked Sebastian it would be… for no other reason than because you wanted him. I have an issue with that.”
“I see. But earlier you would have let me if I hadn’t turned you down,” I say quietly.
“On the grounds that we would all be together, as I know that is something you want. If you went off and fucked him, just the two of you, that is something else entirely.”
“Oh,” I mumble, and he looks at me suddenly, very serious.
“Aefre, Sebastian can be very persuasive. Especially when it comes to something that he really wants. Please do be careful if you are ever alone with him. I don’t want to stop you from forming a friendship with him, I know it’s important to you, but don’t let him talk you into anything more.”
His words are quite sobering, and I’m now almost completely sure that what happened earlier was the result of some sort of mojo on Sebastian’s part.
“Okay,” I say. “What do you mean by persuasive?” I ask, dying to know what this gift is.
“He just has a way. It’s not important. Just don’t be swayed by it.”
Of course, he won’t tell me. I wonder if Sebastian will? Probably not, as it will give his trump card away. I am not altogether pleased that he used this trick on me and even less so that it worked. We shall be having words and soon.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED TWENTY-NINE
“So, do you have it?” I ask as we walk back into the suite.
“Of course,” he says. “This is, after all, my reward for allowing you to mix your business with my pleasure.”
“Show me,” I say eagerly. I must say that I am very excited about this. After he mentioned it the other day, I have thought of nothing else. I know he wants this more than anything and I am happy to oblige.
He leads me to the second bedroom and there it is. I recognize it instantly. “It’s one of mine?” I ask in disbelief.
“Yes. I had them stored as safely as I could over the years. It is delicate but functional.”
Functional? Oh, he is so funny sometimes. I giggle in delight and move over to the intricate silk gown that is hung up in front of me.
“Put it on,” he murmurs huskily to me.
“Help me?” I ask over my shoulder.
“Of course,” he says and moves to my back.
I undress and slowly pull the gown off the hanger and hand it to him. He holds it out as I step into it, so careful of the centuries-old fabric.
“I remember this dress. You had it made for me for the Burgundian visitation.”
“And you looked so beautiful. The envy of the court.”
I drop my eyes in modesty. We were so happy then. Little did I know it would all come crashing down soon after over an eavesdropped conversation that was taken completely out of context.
The red silk with gold embroidery, fits me like a glove and I smooth it down as he does up the back with skilled fingers.
“I miss this,” I say quietly.
“So do I,” he says. “Although, I always had more fun taking them off you.”
I giggle again, now completely under the spell of 15th century Italy and who I was back then. I turn around to him and arrange my hair in a suitable style, braided up, the ends loose as was the style.
His eyes set on fire as he sees me as he wants me: a perfect replica of myself from back then.
“You look just as you were,” he whispers as he pulls me to him gently by the V-neckline of my gown. “I love you,” he says before he cups my face and kisses me harshly, expressing his deep emotion in that one action. I tug on his clothes wanting him free to be with me, but he stops me. “Not yet. I want to sit with you. Talk to you. Be with you like this.”
I nod and he leads me back out to the sitting room. In our absence, dozens of candles have been placed, in threes, around the room.
“Light them,” he says.
I focus and up they go in roaring flames. He flicks off all the electricity and I stand there mesmerized but now also slightly concerned.
“Do you love me as I am?” I ask suddenly. “I mean as Liv?”
He peers at me. “Of course. I told you earlier that I love every part of you. I always will. But this…” he gestures to me, “this is what I love most about you. Seeing you like this makes me ache to be with you. If I could go back in time, I would keep us there forever.” He pauses. “Remember what you said to Cole at Negru? That what I want is 15th century Aefre?”
I nod.
“Just be her. Just this night, be her for me,” he says quietly as he comes over to kiss me.
I want to die right there in his arms, wishing I, too, could go back in time. To take us back to Ponte when we were together and happy.
“I wish I had been your first,” he murmurs out of the blue to me.
“In a way you were,” I say to him and he smiles sadly.
“I hate to think what your first time was like. I wish it had been me. To show you as I did then what it means to be with someone you love.”
I chuckle. “But didn’t you have a rule? Fourteen would definitely have been too young.”
“Don’t cover up your heartache with jokes, Aefre. Tell me. Talk to me. You never talk about it.”
Erm… Hello? Isn’t that what I always say to him?
“Why do you want to know? It’s irrelevant.” I use his own words back on him and the irony is not lost.
“Don’t try and sidestep your way out of this. I want to know.”
“And I want to know about you. Who was your first? Was it good, bad, boring? Someone you loved? A wife? I know nothing about your human years, so if we are going there, ‘fess up D’Arcangelo.”
He laughs out loud. “I can always count on you to be bold, my sweet. Not even Sebastian would get away with a comment like that.”
“I should hope not. Although, I am madly curious as to your reasons for turning him, we can leave that for another time.”
His eyes cloud over, and he is quiet for a while. I don’t push. If he wants to tell me he will, if not he gets nothing out of me either. I eventually go to pour us some wine and sit on the sofa. He joins me as I hand him a glass.
“My first. Hm. I was fifteen and she was a prostitute my father hired to make me a man,” he says. I am utterly shocked at this piece of information. Not the content, just the fact that he is sharing. “It was bad,” he says with a half-smile and a sidelong glance at me. “I wasn’t interested in women. All I wanted was to be a warrior.
To fight for the city and to be a hero. To make my father proud and to make a name for myself. I did both. Probably too well, which is why Tiamat picked me. But I was never all that interested in having a wife or a family.”
“Did you though?”
“I was due to be married. To an honorable woman that I barely knew. I was made about three weeks before we were to be wed.”
I am over the moon that he has finally, after all this time, opened up, but I have no clue what to say to him. I just stare at him, expecting him to continue. To my delight he does.
“After what happened, well I don’t need to give you the gory details.” I shake my head vehemently. “I couldn’t go back to that life. I had to move on and become this thing that was expected of me. My family thought I had been killed in battle and I let them believe it. After all, it was practically true,” he says. I flinch at his harsh tone.
“I disappeared from their lives and became what I am,” he finishes up and I know that is all I’m going to get out of him, but Christ, it is more than I ever expected… ever!
“Your turn,” he says as I’m still gaping at him and his admissions.
“Erm, well, clearly you know that my father gave me to Radulf on my fourteenth birthday to be wed. I was terribly shy, and my mother never discussed anything with me about what to expect or what I was expected to do. Although, I don’t suppose it really matters. My wedding night consisted of me being stripped by my drunk husband and held down as he forced himself on me.” I stop dead, not wanting to continue.
CK takes my hands in his and says quietly, “Go on.”
Do I have to? What’s the big deal? But then, I think of all the times I have pushed him, and I suppose I owe him something more.
“What else is there to say? It was horrendous. Painful and humiliating and it only got worse.”
“Oh, my sweet Aefre. I wish I could have spared you all that. If I had truly known what you went through, I would never have asked so much of you so quickly.”
“I wish you had turned up sooner. That first time in the barn, I think of that as my first time. You may not have taken my virginity, but you took everything else. Showed me what it was to love. I was so in love with you. I would have done anything you asked,” I admit shyly.