Choices (The Forever series, Book Four) (5 page)

"I don't want kids," he says in exasperation.
"I knew what I was getting into when I picked you as my mate. I had
factored in your lack of procreative abilities and I still wanted you."

I sigh. He will never discuss this properly so I drop it.
"Well, I should definitely get going now." I pull him in for a
lingering kiss and Astral upstairs still clutching at CK's phone.

I find my sire and my newfound sibling huddled over the
kitchen counter discussing something in French, which I don't catch as they
both stop speaking as soon as they see me appear. Well fine. Whatever. I shrug.
I hold out CK's phone to him. "You left this downstairs."

He snatches it off me and quickly checks to see that it's
still locked. "Thank you," he says as he pockets it.

"What are you up to?" I ask innocently.

"Just discussing business," Sebastian says just as
innocently and I have to say I am madly curious but don't press, as I know I
won't get any answers.

I sidle up to CK, who I am disappointed to say has donned a
t-shirt, and wrap my arms around him. Tugging on it I look up at him and say,
"Are you about finished? I am in need of some proper sire time."

He looks down at me and smiles his glorious made-just-for-me
smile that I haven't seen in forever. "In that case, we are finished.
Sebastian, if you will excuse us."

"Sure," he says mildly and I give him a half wave
as we stroll over to CK's bedroom, arm in arm.

"Did you have fun with your wolf?" he asks slyly
as he closes the door and I shake my head.

"We were interrupted - again."

"By whom?"

"Scott. Apparently Devon rang him yesterday morning to
come here." I still can't believe the betrayal.

CK places his phone on the bedside cabinet and I put mine
next to his and tap it, debating with myself.

"Constantine?" I ask as I turn around to face him.

"Yes, Liv?" he asks with emphasis on the Liv.

I ignore his sarcasm and continue, "You know all of
mine. I want to know about yours. How many others are there?" I twiddle my
ring as I wait for his answer, avoiding his steely gaze. He remains silent so I
speak again, "I mean, are we talking tens, hundreds? Give me a
number."

Another long pause and he says, "None."

I bring my eyes to his. "None? None at all?" I say
in disbelief.

"Yes, none. I have no reason to lie to you, Aefre. You
are surprised?"

"Yes. I had assumed there would be always be others but
especially so now… after what happened."

"Well, I won't deny that there have been others in the
past, you already know that but after I started seeing you again frequently
last year, I was no longer interested. During this time… apart, I have had a
few others but not for the last couple of months."

"Oh? Why is that?" I choke out.

"Because I am not interested, Aefre. I am not
interested in meeting new people and playing games and going out on
dates," he says the word like it disgusts him. "And they always end
up wanting more." He sighs, "I don't have it to give."

"More?" I stammer, now seeming to have lost all
capability to speak properly.

"Yes, more. A commitment, a promise, a… declaration of
love."

"And you don't have that in you?"

He runs his hand through his hair showing me how agitated he
is with this topic. "I don't have it to give because it has already been
given. To you."

I stare silently at him.

"At this point, Aefre, all I want is you. I have too
many years under my belt to play around. I don't want that anymore. I know you
are still in a place where your affections are scattered and that's okay. I
told you I will wait and I will."

Dumbfounded by his words I still just stare at him
incredulously.

He sighs at me again. "The irony is not lost on me
Aefre, believe me. I am fully aware that we have switched positions," he
says wryly and I giggle at him.

"Are you being serious?" I ask.

"Yes," he snaps. "I told you I have no reason
to lie to you."

"Oh baby. I love you," I say with tears in my
eyes. I go to him. He pulls me close and kisses me before he says, "I love
you. It's always been you."

"Make love to me," I whisper to him and he
responds by pulling my dress over my head.

"You are so beautiful," he murmurs. "I want
you so much."

He walks us back towards the bed and I pull his t-shirt off
as we collapse. He scoots us up to the middle and kisses me. Just kisses me for
the longest time. I have missed him so much and he is doing as I asked. No more
fucking, just sweet love making that I want to last forever.

He eventually lets me fall asleep somewhere around 5:30 AM
and I am exhausted. He may be able to get away with half an hour's sleep but me,
not so much. I sleep more now, a lot more since becoming Queen. Turns out this
nasty habit of falling asleep where I stand is due to the amount of energy that
runs through me to sustain my new Powers. My usual two hours has increased to
four or more. But annoyingly, whatever time I fall asleep I always wake at 6 AM
and today is no different.

I groan in annoyance as my eyes open but that is soon
muffled as CK swoops down to kiss me.

"Christ, do you never sleep?" I grouse at him and
he chuckles.

"We have a lot of time to catch up on. I don't want to
waste a second of it."

"Just give me a minute will you," I ask him
sweetly as I snuggle into him. "I want to talk." Specifically about
something he said earlier. My hand absently going up to my neck, I find that he
has taken the collar off me and a quick glance around tells me it is nowhere in
sight and I smile.

"You don't like dating?" I start.

He grunts in amusement at my choice of topic. "Not
particularly. I happen to be 2760 years old, you know. Dating is for
children."

"Yes, I am aware of your age, old man,” I say
sardonically.

He laughs at my insult but then sobers as we are entering
dodgy territory.

"However, I would be inclined to take you out if you
asked me nicely," he says, drawing the topic back to the one at hand.

"Why thank you, kind sir. I will take you up on that.
It has been a while. I remember our last date," I say and see his eyes
flick quickly to his phone and back to mine.

"Oh?" he says casually.

"Yes, it was in Milan about two years ago. Some charitable
foundation fundraiser of yours."

"Hm," he says nonchalantly.

“Do you remember that dress I had on? The gold one that cost
about $30,000? Hey do you still have that? I was sure I left it in the
penthouse,” I say. I am on a great fishing trip here and I think he knows, but
he can’t be sure without accusing me of snooping on his phone.

“I remember,” he says softly. “You looked so beautiful. And
yes. I do still have that blasted dress. Set me back $35,000,” he corrects me,
annoyed.

I chuckle at him, “I never asked you to buy it. You
offered.”

“Because you looked so beautiful in it. How could I
not?" He kisses me again and says, "Enough talking."

I move myself on top of him as his hands trail up my back
and into my hair. I feel my Dragon tattoo ripple across my back at his touch
and she is happy. As much as I enjoyed making love earlier, I am in the mood
for a hard and fast fuck and tell him so.

"Oh I am glad you said that. I just want to be inside
you," he says in relief as he flips me over and rams into me without
further ado.

"Oh baby," I cry out as he proceeds to impale me
forcefully, hitting the spot with perfection. It takes me all of a few seconds
to explode around him and he follows suit shortly after, his fangs in my neck.

He releases the bite when there is a loud knock at the
bedroom door and Sebastian strolls in casually.

"So sorry to bother you," he says as if he really
isn't. "You have a visitor on the way up."

"Who is it?" he asks, pissed off to be
interrupted.

"You'll see," Sebastian says as he leers at me and
my naked breasts that are on display now that Constantine has climbed off me. I
don't bother to cover up as he has already seen them, and I'm not that way
inclined anyway. Much to my delight though, my irate sire throws his discarded
t-shirt at me to put on and I smile at the gesture. Pulling on jeans and a
t-shirt, he follows Sebastian out of the bedroom as I climb out of bed and pop
the t-shirt over my head. It smells like him and I decide to keep it. Curious
myself as to who the mystery guest is at this early hour, I step out of the
bedroom in just his top which comes down to about my mid-thigh.

A tall, gorgeous redhead with the brightest blue eyes steps
into the apartment and gushes, "Constantine," as she steps into his
open arms.

"Grace," he says with a smile. "How lovely to
see you."

"And you, my sire."

My stomach clenches as she calls him that and I realize that
with the exception of Polly, this Grace is the first of his female charges that
I have seen.

She turns to Sebastian and says, "Seb. It's been
forever," and she hugs him too. So they know each other then. Her accent
is Irish and that doesn't surprise me judging by the look of her.

"Gracie. Back in the homeland I hear. How's Dublin
treating you?"

"Just grand," she says with a big smile. "I
love going home."

Me too, I think, even though it's been a while.

Her eyes find me lounging in the bedroom doorway in just
CK's t-shirt and she smiles icily at me, "Aefre? Yes?"

I nod.

"I have heard so much about you, I feel like I already know
you." She crosses to me and I straighten up as her eyes go to my bare legs
and just fucked hair.

CK reaches me before she does and possessively puts his arm
around me. Interesting.

"Aefre. This is Grace O'Malley. Grace, this is your new
Queen."

"Nice to meet you," I say, taking her outstretched
hand. "But please, call me Liv." And CK's hand tightens on my waist
at my other name.

"Okay, Liv. It is nice to finally meet the woman who
ruined our sire for the rest of us," she says it with a smile but I feel
the undercurrent of jealousy and dislike, and now understand why CK is holding
onto me. He knows that I am perceived as a threat by his other charges.

I am a bit curious as she is clearly older than me but not
by that much more I don't think.

The thought must pass across my cursed face as she smiles
unkindly and says, "I was turned in 946."

I nod at her information but remain silent. That was fifty
years before I was born. I can handle that and not be jealous. Much. She
obviously prefers it though, that I am younger than her and that she has had
more years with him than me. That thought makes me more jealous now than I
should be. It’s about quality not quantity, I chide myself.

"Well, clearly I have interrupted you," she
gestures to us. "I was in the neighborhood for an early breakfast meeting
and Seb texted to say you were here. Thought it about time one of us made an
effort," she says pointedly at Constantine who grins winningly at her.
"You look good," she says softly to him. "It's been a long time
since I saw you so happy."

He nods uncomfortably but he says, "I am." He
pulls me to him even closer. I put my hand on his chest and her eyes flick to
my wedding rings and her smile freezes on her face.

"Now, I would have heard if you had gotten
married," she says to him stiffly.

He grimaces but says, "Not yet."

"I see." But clearly she doesn't and I am itching
to explain myself, but instead I say as dryly as I can muster, "No, our
sire has terrible timing," to which he bursts out laughing and says,
"That I do."

Not amused by our inside joke Grace just says,
"Oh."

"But rest assured Grace, that when we do finally make
it, you will be top of the guest list." I love him for making it clear to
her.

"Well, that will be something that I will have to see
in person before I believe it," she says, just a little bit nastily. She,
clearly, knows our sire and his lack of enthusiasm when it comes to making
commitments.

"Me too," I murmur with a sidelong glance at his
wounded look.

"It's different this time. Look, I gave her a ring and
everything," he says shyly and shows it off to Grace, whose eyes nearly
fall out of her head at the size of the nine-carat blue diamond.

"You gave her a ring?" she chokes out jealously
and this has drawn the attention of Sebastian, who so far has been watching
this exchange silently, knowingly. He comes closer and peers at it as he
whistles, "Christ, Constantine. How much did that set you back?"

He shrugs, thoroughly embarrassed now.

I answer for him, "I think he was trying to make up for
the two failed attempts before." I smile softly at him.

"Precisely," he says, now smug and I grin smugly
back and we are lost in our own little smug bubble, as the other two just
continue to stare at us in wonder.

Grace clears her throat, "Well then. I suppose I should
leave you to it," she says. "Seb, are you coming or staying?"

"Staying. I'll be here a few days yet."

I raise my eyebrow at that nugget of info. So much for
privacy to reconnect.

"Right, well Constantine, always a pleasure to you see,
my love," she says and he steps forward hesitantly to embrace her.
"And you, my dear."

"Liv. It has been an honor to meet you, for various
reasons. I am at your service if you require," she says insincerely.

I nod in thanks anyway, taking the high road. "Thank
you, Grace. It has been good to meet you too. I am very curious as to my
siblings. I barely know any of you," I say with a pointed look at our
collective sire, who just shrugs.

"I don’t want you knowing them," he says and we
all stare at him open-mouthed at his blatant admission. "In fact, had it
not been for this Queen business you probably would never have met any of
them."

"CK, that's… what?" I say. I mean I know he feels
strongly about keeping me to himself, but I am surprised that he admits it so
freely in front of his other charges.

Grace eyebrows go up at my nickname for him but she says,
"Yes, well, I guess Lance kind of sealed your fate there."