Choices (The Forever series, Book Four) (17 page)

Needing to impress my point I pull him out of the alcove and
to my old bedroom. I push open the door and lead him into the gloom. “This was
my bedroom,” I say quietly.

“This is yours?” he says, momentarily distracted.

I nod.

“It doesn’t look like it has been modernized,” he says with
a frown. “No, of course it hasn’t. He wants it exactly as you left it. A
shrine.”

That’s the second time that word has been used. Is it a
shrine? Yes, I suppose it is, really.

He wanders over to the bed and sits. “So he used to come to
you in here?”

Again I nod and say, “Sometimes I went to his room. If he
wanted me there. He prefers to have his own space.”

“Do you want to be with him? All the time?” he croaks out.

“No. I want to be with you. I enjoy my time with him. Well,
not so much the last six months, but now we are okay again. But I want to be
married to you.”

“Are you in love with him?” he asks me again, clearly
expecting a different answer. I hesitate, not wanting to lie but not wanting to
hurt him further.

“I do love him,” I say. “I always have, but Cole, I want to
be with you. Trust me when I say that.” I sigh and flop down onto the bed. “I
am getting really tired of these shit days,” I mutter and he starts,
remembering what I have just been through.

“Oh, Liv. I’m sorry. I am such an ass. My jealousy consumes
me when I see you together like that, it makes me forget everything else,” he
says and crawls up the bed and lies next to me. I turn to him and he puts his
arms around me.

“How sure were you that you wouldn’t die as well?” he asks
quietly.

“Ninety percent,” I say confidently but then sigh, adding, “Seventy,
no, about sixty percent.”

“Liv! Why would you risk yourself for anything less than one
hundred percent?”

“I am his sire. Was his sire,” I amend. “His agony was
horrendous. He didn’t want to live anymore. I did the only thing I could to
help him.”

“Oh baby, if anything had happened to you…” he trails off.

“I know. I’m sorry, Cole. I should have thought about how it
would affect you if I had gone as well.”

“I don’t mean it in that way, Liv. I mean I love you so
much. If anything ever happened to you, I couldn’t go on living.”

“Well you won’t ever have to worry about me. If that didn’t
do me in, not much else is likely to.”

“Don’t even joke about it,” he says sternly and I kiss him.
He forgets about everything else as he deepens the kiss and pulls me on top of
him, hands sliding up my back and into my hair.

“I want to make love to you,” he says wickedly. “Right here,
right now.”

I chuckle at his tone and am about to comply when CK and
Sebastian interrupt us. What a downer, I think wryly, mentally laughing at CK's
face as he sees us defiling his “shrine.”

“Aefre,” he snaps, “the book.” He holds it out and I
remember the main reason we came here in the first place. “You don’t mind if we
go back to New York. This place is off-limits to guests,” he says.

I frown at him, wondering if he is including me in that.
Reading my thoughts or my stupid expression-filled face, or whatever it is that
he does, he looks at me and his eyes soften, saying, “You are not a guest, my
sweet.”

My eyes light up at that but hearing Cole’s low growl, I
refrain from any other reaction.

I wrap my arms around him as we stand and without another
word Astral us back into CK’s penthouse, acutely aware that we have been gone
from Toronto nearly three hours now.

A couple more hours pass as we all pour over the book, which
has been magickally bound, hence its survival for the last three thousand
years, and CK’s translation. He was right in saying he hadn’t gotten very far.
He has told us everything he knows, which surprises me. He is a secretive son
of a bitch and I went to get this book because I assumed he was hiding
something. I brush my fingers over his handwriting, realizing it has been years
since I saw it. With cell phones and emails, no one seems to write anymore. I
remember him teaching me how to write. I was dreadful at it. He made me
practice every day until it was acceptable to him. I smile at the memory and he
clears his throat. “Aefre?” he says, watching me closely.

“Hm?” I say absently. His eyes flick down to my fingers
lightly brushing over his written words and he smiles, remembering too--most
especially the part where he rewarded me for good work and my nipples tighten
in response to his intense gaze.

“I asked if you would go and see your mother. See if she can
speed this up a bit,” he says.

“Oh. Erm, sure,” I stammer, surprised that he would ask for
help. “But it’s going to have to wait. There’s too much other shit going on
next week.”

He nods, “Yes. We need to deal with your Demon friend.”

“Vegas road trip!” Sebastian says. “I’m totally in, by the
way.”

“Who asked you?”

He shrugs and says, “I’m not sitting around here while you
guys go off for a couple days of debauchery.”

“It’s business,” I growl at him as Cole has got his mood on
after that comment.

“Still, I’m sure there will be time for playing as well,” he
replies with a wink and I glare at him.

“Anyway,” I say to CK, “it’s going to have to be next
Wednesday due to the time shift and all my other… commitments.”

He doesn’t look best pleased that I will be cutting our time
short but it’s this or nothing. “Fine. Is there any way for me to come with you
again?” he asks.

“To the Sahara, yes. To the Dragon Realms, no, I’m afraid
not.”

“Well, I will go as far as I can then.”

“Liv,” Cole interjects now and I look at him. “We’ve been
gone nearly five hours. We did have plans. Can we get back to them at some
point?”

“Yes, of course, baby,” I say and stand, much to CK’s
disappointment and Sebastian doesn’t look too pleased either that I am leaving
him alone again with a moody sire.

I give CK a quick peck on the cheek and wave to Sebastian
and Astral us back to our suite.

We settle on the bed, Cole with a film and food and me with
my wine and laptop. He sulks at me for working but I tell him I’ll just be a
minute. He is leaning against the pillows and I am on my stomach tapping away.
He tickles my foot absently and I giggle as a shiver goes up my spine. “I love
it when you touch me,” I say.

“I love it too. It makes me feel…complete,” he says
hesitantly.

I turn over and sit up facing him, “If I ask you something,
will you answer honestly and not just what you want me to hear?”

He looks wary but agrees.

“Are you okay? On the days I’m not here, are you coping?”

He stares at me for a few minutes, his blue-grey eyes
clouding over. “Yes,” he says. “I cope. I obviously want you here with me
always, but I know it’s not possible. But yes, I am okay.”

“Okay, good,” I say quietly and he knows I am thinking of
Gustav.

“I don’t want to have to say this, Liv, but if he knows what
happens, why would he threaten you, threaten us with that?”

A damn good question.

I sigh. “After today, I have to think it is an empty threat.
He wouldn’t put me through that on purpose,” I say convincingly but not
altogether sure in my convictions. We shall be having words about it, I
guarantee you that.

He nods, not convinced either.

“Stop working and come here. I need to hold you,” he says. I
obey without hesitation as I need him too after this god-awful day. I snuggle
up to him happily and feel myself drift off in his arms.

I awake a bit later. Cole is fast asleep and the TV is still
on. Something has woken me, but what? I glance at the clock and it says 3 AM.
Shit! I fell asleep on Cole without us being together. This is getting to be a
right pain in the arse. The candles burning on the bedside cabinet flare up and
I cautiously climb off the bed, still clad only in the sexy black babydoll
negligee I changed into when we got back here. Closing the bedroom door, I
wander silently into the sitting room and all the candles there--that had been
extinguished before--are all burning brightly, the flames licking the air far
above normal heights.

Oh FFS! “What do you think you are doing?” I hiss at Cade,
who is looking about the room expecting to find something. “Especially at this time.
And how the fuck did you get in here?” I demand.

His eyes laser over me, head to toe. “Nice outfit,” he says.
“This is your time of night, is it not? As much as you try to blend into the
human world.”

“Actually, I was asleep,” I snap and he looks a bit
surprised but then leers at me, “You don’t wish to cover up?”

I am fully aware that most of my bits are on display, but I
don’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging my nudity and just glare at
him.

“Hm,” he says, “your husband obviously doesn’t mind then.”

“Leave him out of it,” I snarl.

“Oh, I intend to. I have no interest in him. You, on the
other hand, are just such fun to play with.”

I stare at him. Does he not know that Cole is a Vampire? By
his words, I’d say not, and I relax just a smidge.

“I am curious though,” he muses. “I assume he knows what you
are? Do you drink from him?”

I just stay silent, not willing to discuss this. He laughs
then, “Of course you do. You are a parasite. Does he know your lover is one of
your kind?”

“Why are you so obsessed with me?” I ask instead, trying to
draw the conversation away from Cole.

He laughs again quietly and repeats, “You are just such fun
to play with.”

He holds his palm out and a bright sphere pops up. He twirls
it around and steps closer to me. My eyes go to it briefly but I pull my gaze
away and stare at him instead.

“Oh,” he says, only slightly surprised. “They said you were
strong.”

“They? Who are they?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he says, peering at me. “What
am I going to have to do to you to get you undone?”

He pulls a knife out of his back pocket and slices his
already wounded palm open to draw blood. It is oozing out and I can smell it,
my fangs aching to drop. I am so hungry.

“Drink,” he says, holding out his hand. “I know you want to.
Your kind can’t resist.”

I just stare at his hand. He steps closer and I back away.
He knows he has me in a corner and holds his hand up to my mouth. Hating
myself, I lower my mouth to his bleeding palm and drink. My lips are tingling
and it burns my mouth and throat as I swallow. The rush of power is immense. I
suck harder and he hisses. I pull away before I extend my arm and with a palm
flat against his chest, knocking him flying across the room. He bounces off the
wall and slumps to the floor. I take a menacing step forward as he picks
himself up, rubbing his head.  “Know this, next time you offer me your blood, I
will drain you dry. I think it’s time you left now,” I say.

“That should have incapacitated you,” he mutters to himself,
as he takes a defensive stance.

What? Thank god I stopped Cole from touching it earlier.

He peers at me and asks, “What are you?”

“That’s a rude question,” I reply, irritated.

“Is there something that I don’t know about you, Mrs.
O’Dell? You have me intrigued now.”

“Get. Out,” I hiss at him. “Before I knock you around a bit
more.”

With a last curious look at me he backs out of the suite, as
Cole comes looking for me.

“Liv, Are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Our not-so-friendly Hunter paid me a visit.
Seems he thought he could scare me. But I showed him who to be afraid of.”

“Shit. What did he do to you?”

“Apparently his blood incapacitates Vampires. Whatever that
means. I, being a bit more than the average Vampire, am immune. Thank fuck I
stopped you before.”

He looks worried and says, “Yeah. I wanted it. It was
drawing me in.”

“Listen, Cole, he doesn’t know you are a Vampire. As long as
he continues to think that, you will be safe.”

“What? How can he not know? I thought he could sense us or
something.”

“I don’t know. Maybe you are too new yet, or maybe I am too
strong and all he can sense is me. Just don’t give him a reason to suspect you.
If he thinks you are human you will be safe.”

He nods, “But what about you?”

“He knows I’m stronger, that his magick doesn’t work on me.
I hope to not see him for a while until he regroups.”

He still looks worried but I drag him back to bed. “I think
we missed out on something before,” I say with a knowing look and he relaxes.

“Yes we did,” he agrees before he claims me in a deep kiss
that leaves me breathless.

A few hours later there is a knocking at the door. I answer
it and it is Dawn.

“Hi, Liv,” she says. “How are you?”

“Hi, Dawn. I’m good, thanks. Come in.”

She steps in and hovers uncertainly. I know she feels
awkward being here while I am here but I smile encouragingly and she relaxes a
bit.

“Cole is in the bedroom,” I say and she nods.

“Is it okay if I go in there?” she asks, unsure.

“Yes, of course.”

Again she is hesitant but goes off in the direction I’m
pointing to. I follow and she looks back at me curiously.

“Oh hey, Dawn,” Cole says. He is dressed only in sweats and
I cast my eye over his gorgeous self. As does Dawn, I note with a small smile.
She recovers herself as she senses my eyes on her and clears her throat. Cole,
oblivious to her interest, smiles winningly at her and she practically swoons.
Interesting. She is completely taken with my husband. I cross my arms and wait.

“You’re staying?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.

“If you don’t mind,” I reply breezily and he shrugs.

“I don’t mind. Dawn?” he asks. She looks slightly alarmed
but shakes her head.