Liam wished he could somehow bring up the screaming woman from last night and the pictures that Sharon had sent. But how without looking like a complete loon or ungrateful for his and his staff’s hospitality.
“The weather and the roads are still treacherous,” Arman stated and kept his eyes on Liam, who was just finishing his breakfast and taking a sip of his coffee. “I’d prefer that you stay another night. Things should be cleaned up and the roads passible by tomorrow.” Liam saw no reason to put himself in any kind of danger out there on those narrow dirt roads, so he accepted Arman’s offer with a smile.
“Good.” Arman seemed relieved. “Besides, you and I have just started to get to know one another. I look forward to another day in your company.”
Liam laughed and set his coffee back onto the table. “I think we’ve gotten to know each other quite well.”
“Not nearly as well as I want to know you, Liam.” Arman’s eyes held a look that made Liam’s cock begin to stiffen. Damn, this man was pure magic.
“I want to thank you for helping me last night and not making me feel like an idiot for being lost and scared.” Liam shifted the subject before he embarrassed himself with a moan or something. He also thought it a graceful transition to the screaming woman.
“This old house can be peculiar at night and certainly during a storm. You’re not the first to get turned around.” Arman answered offhandedly.
“I thought I heard someone call my name. It woke me up, and then I tried to follow the voice, and it led me to that room and the large windows.” Liam explained himself further, hoping for some explanation that wasn’t too out of this world.
Arman didn’t answer immediately but rather leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze out the window. It looked to Liam as if he were trying to come up with the right words to explain what Liam may have experienced. Liam was beginning to think perhaps there was a mystical base to it all, and he wasn’t sure how he felt about that.
Liam wasn’t a non-believer in the supernatural. He always held an open mind. Actually, he’d once been a part of a ghost hunting team at his high school. Although he never experienced anything that was either recorded or convincing, he was certain that some of the locations they investigated were indeed haunted. Sometimes you just feel it in your bones, and he was feeling plenty in this house.
Arman was still silent, and Liam wondered if he was being cautious because he didn’t want to share with Liam that his beautiful old house was haunted? “Is your house haunted, Arman?” Liam decided to just ask. Arman looked over at him, riveting him with a speculative stare.
“You constantly surprise me, Liam.” He said, and his eyes traveled Liam’s face taking in every nuance of expression. “What would you say if I told you yes, it is?” The ball was back in Liam’s court now. Liam leaned his forearms on the table and considered the reality of such a statement for just a moment.
“I think it’s very exciting. Are you haunted by a woman in white? That’s the figure I saw out in the dark moving along the terrace.” Liam waited.
“This house is very old, and there have been many who have walked these halls. What you saw may have been a specter or may have been magic. Magic is ripe and strong in this marsh along this lake.” He paused and leaned forward in his chair. “Do you believe in magic, Liam?”
“There isn’t anyone who was raised around here who doesn’t believe in magic in some form. It’s part of the culture.” Liam was finding that he very much enjoyed this line of conversation. He felt as if he were really getting to know this man. He never thought that Arman would also hold such an open mind regarding subjects like the paranormal. He wasn’t just humoring Liam; they were having a real discussion.
“Can you feel the magic of this house? Do you feel it pulsing in the air, open yourself to it, Liam, and feel the heartbeat of the Grande Belle Maison?” Arman pressed, and Liam closed his eyes, connecting with the sounds and sensations surrounding him. Gradually he felt the charge in the air and the blanket of awareness that was not completely his own.
Arman reached across the small table and took Liam’s hand, and the moment their flesh made contact, the experience tightened and became sharper, crisper, and the details came into view. Liam gripped Arman’s hand as the air swirled around him, giving him the sensation of travel, but he knew he had not moved. The scenes in his mind were many, all related to this house and to this man.
He saw the man in the photographs, and it was Arman looking much as he does now, only his clothing was dated. The house was alive and the environment electric. Liam took in everything from the warmth of the sun through the large window to the children dashing through the hallway behind him. This was so real and yet was also dreamlike in its consistency. The scene began to blur, going out of focus, and the room swirled once again, color and brightness, letting go to stillness and shadow.
His heart began to settle, and his breathing steadied as the visions completely faded with the stroke of Arman’s fingers into the palm of Liam’s hand. Liam opened his eyes and looked over at Arman, who did not comment on what had just taken place, but his expression spoke volumes. His eyes were swirling much as the air had been in Liam’s vision, and he felt himself drawn into them. The colors changing the intensity deepening.
“What’s happening, Arman?” Liam’s tone was soft and curious, not fearful, which surprised him considering. All this, and still he felt safe with this man. Arman was more than he appeared. He’d given Liam a glimpse of something and now waited.
“Just you and me getting to know one another.” Arman stood and pulled Liam to his feet. “Let me show you around. It was late when you arrived, and you didn’t have the chance to tour the manor. Let me be your guide, my love.” Arman put his arm around Liam’s waist and drew him up close to his side. “We’ll start with the ballroom and then proceed to the library and my study before going downstairs.” He said as they left the bedroom.
…
Arman was pleased with the way their conversation flowed. It gave him the opportunity to open Liam’s mind and show him the Manor's inner working. It gave him a hint of the magic churning just below the surface, waiting to come alive and fill this home with brightness and vigor once again.
The images did not alarm him, nor did the facts regarding this house. Liam was an intelligent man, and although many would right it all off to hallucinations or indigestion Liam knew there was truth here, and that magic lived at the Grande Belle Maison. He would come around to the reality of his situation and would accept the pull of his destiny. Arman needed to be patient and persuasive.
The tour went well, with Liam being properly impressed with the grand ballroom but completely taken by the massive library. As a writer, Arman figured that the library would be the star of this tour for Liam. Arman was proud of his collection and pleased by Liam’s appreciation.
“This is huge.” Liam spun in a circle looking from floor to ceiling at the shelving that spanned the room top to bottom three levels connected by an ornate spiral staircase. “How old is this collection?” Liam stepped closer to the shelves and ran his fingers over several spines.
“I’ve been collecting for centuries,” Arman stated and pulled one of the older volumes and handed it to Liam, who took it in very caring hands. It was a book of maps and sea voyages. “That was one of my first.” Liam looked afraid to handle it too much and set it on one of the wooden tables within the room and turned the pages as if they were made of gossamer.
The maps were made by Gerardus, and they were near accurate considering the tools he had at his disposal and the limited understanding of the period. His work was highly revered in his day and a bigger snob the world has never known. His talent in map-making was only eclipsed by his massive ego.
“You speak as if you knew him.” Liam looked over at Arman, who stood by his side, giving steady drops of information to be absorbed.
“We met,” Arman answered offhandedly and picked up another book handing it to Liam
. It was a classic that charted the plants and birds of the area. Liam was again impressed.
“If I lived here, I don’t think I’d ever leave this room,” Liam commented as they continued their tour, ending up at the back of the library, which opened into a private study.
“You would be welcome, my love.” Arman put his arm around Liam and pulled him close as they walked to the large window that graced his study's north wall. It looked out over the wooded landscape and the river. “I love this view.” He remarked. “The wildflowers when in bloom cover the banks and alone the woods.”
He remembered the back lawn was often used for parties and celebrations, bringing people from as far away as Savannah to the property. The Grande Belle was and will again be a social center and source of pride. Even now, the grounds appear to be revived and recharged, and the house itself is breathing new life. The Grande Belle Maison lives on. Arman bent and placed a kiss on Liam’s cheek, hungry for the touch and taste of his beloved.
“What are you trying to tell me, Arman?” Liam asked suddenly and turned to look up at him directly. “Are you saying that it is you who haunts this house?” The question was serious but also guarded. Liam was connecting to the house and to Arman and was feeling the magic for himself, yet his logical mind was sowing uncertainty and needed the clarity of yes or no.
“In a way, yes, I suppose just as anyone who has lived and loved a location for as long as I have may become a part of that location spiritually as well as physically.” It wasn’t the clear answer he was looking for, but it would lead him there. Liam left it at that for now as he looked out the window at the lawn and gardens below that were repairing themselves even now, having felt the shift in the energy within the house. Did he notice? Was he aware that his presence had set into motion a rejuvenating force that touched them all?
Nothing was taken from Liam; the force he released was there all along. It just needed the hand of the beloved to make it come to life. He was feeling the power as well, even if he didn’t realize the source.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Liam was beginning to think there was a lot more to his happening upon this house in the woods in the middle of a raging storm than mere chance. Since he first stepped foot inside, he’s felt a relationship between himself and everything around him.
Everything struck a familiar tone with him, although he knew for a fact he’d never been here and had never met these people before. With his class and sophistication, Arman Rainier should have made him feel awkward and out of place, yet instead, he made Liam feel accepted. The passion and desire that has grown in the time spent in his company had been life-altering. It was like Arman was the key to a locked door in his soul.
Liam’s former preference for complete independence and a life that tended towards the anti-social was fast giving way to a desire for more closeness and a life that was full of genuine excitement and anticipation. Meeting Arman Rainier made Liam rethink many of his former preferences and priorities but strangely only where Arman was concerned.
He was, at best, before coming to the Grande Belle, just existing. He enjoyed some moments and cherished excitement that came his way, however mild. Now he was exposed to something perhaps otherworldly but definitely provoking, and his life was buzzing with delight. It might be crazy, but for all the strangeness he’d encountered, none of it felt dangerous apart from the woman at the window. That scared Liam.
Arman had not addressed the woman who had appeared to him, and Liam wondered what the relationship was between her and the Rainier dynasty. He seems to purposely dodge answering questions about her appearance last night. Although Liam had no beef with the manner in which Arman had changed the subject.
Sex with Arman Rainier had been explosive. Liam was being drawn in by this handsome man and his mystical home. Another night in his company, and Liam may never want to leave. Was Arman playing with him, or was he sincere with his comments of interest and his usage of loving endearments? It wasn’t exactly clear, at least not that Liam understood, but what was clear was the fact that Liam was experiencing a growing regard and attraction for Arman and his curious house.
Liam stood looking out the large window at the back lawn. It looked more alive than he recalled, but it had been dark and storming when he arrived last night. The yard at that time seemed dull and lifeless, but today, the grass and shrubs seemed to be trying to thrive. It wasn’t a huge difference, yet it was noticeable, but he had no idea why he was fixating on such a detail.
“You have a beautiful place here, Arman. You’re lucky to have had ancestors who cared for it and passed it down so that it was here for you.” Liam looked up at Arman, who was not looking out the window but rather staring down at him. The moment their eyes connected, Arman bent and took Liam’s lips in a tender kiss, slipping his hand behind Liam’s neck to hold him fast as the kiss deepened.
Just like last night, Liam quickly lost himself in the power of Arman’s embrace. His touch was all it took for Liam to let go of every apprehension. The need to be held and touched was overwhelming.
“You make my blood burn, Liam. Everything about you calls to me.” Arman whispered against his lips and then buried his face in Liam’s neck, breathing heavily and bathing his throat with a heady heat.
“I can’t think straight around you, Arman.” Liam gasped while holding the man in a vice-like grip. His body and his closeness making Liam shiver with pent up desire. “This is so powerful, and yet I hardly know you,” Liam confessed.
He had the sudden sensation that there was more going on there than simple attraction. The need was bone-deep, and the drive insatiable. This was not him, not normally anyway, but Arman was no average man. He exuded overpowering sensuality and control on top of being absolutely gorgeous, a combination that unlocked all of Liam’s reserve. He was on the verge of begging for more attention, more intimacy.
His life before coming to this house seemed to disappear in the light of this new infatuation. The Guild, the flowers, Sharon, his career all melted away as he held and was held by this mysterious gentleman. In the back of his mind, he began to wonder once again why this was happening. A nagging voice asked the question and warned him not to fall too deeply under the man’s spell. It was the voice from his dream.
With great effort and focus, he let go and took a step back. The feeling of being overwhelmed did not dissipate but rather intensified as he put distance between them. Arman did not let go. He loosened his hold but did not release him. The powerful man looked suddenly uncertain.
“What’s wrong, Liam?”
“I don’t know, but something isn’t right.” Liam wasn’t sure what he was saying, but a sudden insecurity was taking hold of him. “This just doesn’t make any sense.” He motioned back and forth between them. “What are we doing here? Is it just a spot of fun, and then we’ll never see each other again after tomorrow, or is it something else? You mention things that confuse, but also intrigue. Is it just a game? Are we just playing something here because I’m not very adept at clever games?”
Liam shut up, believing that he’d crossed a line. He was asking for more than was being offered, and like a selfish prick, he was upset when it didn’t appear to be forthcoming. Shit, he needed to get the hell out of here before he embarrassed himself beyond repair. It’s a one-night stand, idiot. It’s not that confusing. He chastised himself as he tried to pull away. “I’m sorry I’m saying things and making assumptions that I have no right to make. I apologize.” Liam tried again to pull out of Arman’s grip.
Arman held fast and did not release him. “I’ve been doing this all wrong, I’m afraid. It’s been a while since I was captivated by another, and I’m a little rusty at getting my feelings across, it would seem.” Arman gradually pulled him closer until he was able to put his arms back around Liam. Liam wasn’t certain it was a good idea but was hard-pressed to deny this man.
“When you showed up at my door, I had no idea the impact you were going to make on my life.” Arman beg
an in earnest, choosing his words carefully and delivering them with a calming sincerity. He pulled Liam closer cradling Liam’s head against his chest and threading his fingers through Liam’s hair. It felt wonderful gave Liam a sense of intimacy that he had been looking for. Arman always gave him what he needed or wanted.
“This is not just a one-night stand, my love. Last night was but a taste, and I want so much more.” Liam felt Arman kiss the top of his head. “You have every right to ask my intentions. It doesn’t matter if we’ve known one another for a day, a month, or a year. When two people are meant for each other, they come together as one. I know you, Liam, and I think you know me. You came to me willingly last night without hesitation. You recognized me just as I recognized you.” Arman brought him up tight to his chest, hugging him close as if he were precious.
“I live in New Orleans, and you live here. How will that work for us?” Liam asked the logical question, although his heart was pounding with the realization that his amazing man was genuinely interested in him. This wasn’t a brush off.
“We’ll make it work.” Arman’s confidence was clear, and it lightened Liam’s own sense of uncertainty. “Besides, you write freelance, so you can do that from anywhere. I have a lovely library and study that you are more than welcome to use.” Arman was making a very good argument, but Liam forced himself not to go too fast. “Don’t worry, my love, we can do this.” Arman was sensing his moods once again. Liam would swear that the man could read his mind, always there to comfort and to calm.
“That sounds wonderful,” Liam said as he looked up at Arman. Arman instantly took Liam’s lips in another heart-stopping kiss. This one was not gentle but demanding and dominating.
…
The longer he stayed near his beautiful beloved, the less control he had over himself and his instincts. In his heart and mind, the vampire was pressing to complete the bond to force the issue and demand compliance, but that’s not the relationship he wanted with his beloved. He’d waited too long to ruin it all now due to impatience and fear of failure. For this to be right and whole, Liam needed to agree with an open mind and a loving heart. Anything else would result in a tainted bond with limitations.
The Vampire King: A Love Story Page 6