The Ties that Bind (The Forever series, Book Five) (19 page)

Fuck! I think as I stumble back as a group of people enter
the elevator. Fuck! What have I done? I stare down at my left hand. All three
of my promise rings crammed onto the one finger. Fuck! I quickly take off the
blue diamond and put it firmly back where it belongs, on my right ring finger.
I am still in shock as the group gets off a few floors up and I push the button
for the top floor. In my zombie state I get off and push the door to the suite
open and my eyes find Cole’s and his face drops as he sees mine. “What? What
did he do?”

“Threw his hat in the ring,” I say mournfully and Cole
closes his eyes as he drops his head into his hands.

“Fuck!” he says.

Yep, that is the only word to describe this disaster.

“Oh fuck, Liv! What am I going to do?” he asks desperately.

“Nothing, my love. Nothing will change. I promise you.” I
try to reassure him.

“But he is going to fight for you now. He barely has to try
to get you and now he is going to fight. I won’t win, Liv.”

“Yes you will. Just because he is going to fight for me
doesn’t mean I will let him win. I love you. I want to be with you. We will
deal with this. Please baby. Trust me, okay?”

And what does this mean exactly, I wonder, as I console my
husband. Fight for me? What exactly is he going to do? It’s hardly like he can
ask for pistols at dawn like back in the old days.

We sit in silence for a long time but then I stand up to get
showered and changed. My phone goes off and it’s Devon. “Ready to go? It’s
nearly dark out.”

“Yes, is everything organized?”

“Yep.”

“How is she?”

“Hungry and moody,” he complains.

“Did you let her feed from you yet?”

“No,” he says shortly.

“Dev, sweetie. Don’t keep refusing her. Your punishment this
early on will be destructive.” We have enough to deal with without her going
rogue.

“Humph, we’ll see. Just come down now.” And he hangs up.
Great. Give him a bit of sire responsibility and he starts acting like an arse.

“Come. We had better make tracks.” I take Cole’s hand and we
Astral downstairs.

“I’m glad we are going home. To our home. Even if it is only
for a couple of days,” he says.

“Me too. God, I miss our bed,” I say and he chuckles.

“Me too.”

Everyone except CK is assembled downstairs in Devon’s suite.
Cade has Jess under his twirling sphere and I look questioningly at him. “She’s
a firecracker, this one. Christ. Exert some authority over her will you. She
keeps stalking us.” “Us” being him and Nico I presume. I grip her arm and he
lets the sphere go. “Stay away from them,” I hiss at her and she quakes.

“Sorry, I’m trying. I really am. I need to get out.” She
flexes her shoulders and I grudgingly understand.

“I know. We are leaving now. We are going back to L.A. for a
couple of days before we go to Canada. I will drive you to the airport in the
Veyron. You can have a bit of fresh air before we get on the jet.”

She smiles gratefully at me and I smile weakly back at her.
I let her go and glare at Devon until he comes to take her hand. He holds her
lightly and barely looks at her but she is gazing adoringly at him and I want
to throw up. Again it strikes me as odd, this detachment he seems to have. CK
couldn’t keep his hands off me after I woke up and the same with me and Devon
and me and Cole. I have to remember to ask CK about it. But that reminds me of
his threat, or promise, or whatever you want to call it, and I sigh.

I turn to Nico, “Where is he?”

“He will meet us at the airport,” is all he says and I
shrug. Fine. Whatever.

I clap my hands to get the attention of everyone and say,
“Right, it’s dark out, let’s move. I will drive Jess, the rest of you pile into
the limo. Who is driving my car back to L.A.?”

“Me,” Nico says and I see a hint of delight there.

“Look after it,” I say and then add, “Any speeding fines you
get are your own to pay.”

He smiles a proper genuine smile and nods. “Of course.”

“Great, shall we then.” I take Cole’s hand and open the door
and who should be standing there but Xane.

“I’m ready,” he says shortly. I can see he is still pissed
off with me about my revelation of trying to break our bond, but it is the
least of my worries.

“Fine. We’re going. Oh crap.” I spin around and do a quick
head count. “We won’t fit ten on the G6. Nine is the max.”

“If you can look after yourself for a few hours, I will
drive with Nico,” Cade says and I can see he is also eager to get his hands on
my Veyron.

“That’s fine. But play nice,” I frown at them and they
chuckle like old buddies. Hm, interesting.

We all leave the dreaded hotel suite, glad to see the back
of it.

“I took the liberty of packing up your gifts,” Sebastian
says to me coyly. He hands me the cuddly black dragon. “I found this on the
bed. Thought you might like to keep it with you.”

“Thank you,” I say taking it from him and holding it close
to me. Cole is looking suspicious but doesn’t say anything, thankfully.

Downstairs we all gratefully head out to the cars idling at
the pavement and the valet reluctantly opens the door for me to jump into my
car, sad to see it go. Cole leans down and kisses me. “You sure about this?” he
asks, meaning Jess.

I nod and he closes the door. “See you in a few,” I say as I
spy Jess hovering on the passenger side, Devon having already abandoned her for
the limo.

“Get in,” I say, irate, and she does as bid. She buckles up
silently and I wonder where to start. I have some more things to say to her. I
pull away from the curb and she twiddles with her thumbs.

“I’m sorry,” she says hesitantly and I am surprised she
spoke first. “I just wanted to be like you. Like Devon. I love him.”

“Then you should have honored his decision not to turn you.
You have pushed him away. You would have been better off leaving things as they
were.”

“I know,” she whispers tearfully. “When he told me about
you. Him and you and the bond that you have, I wanted that with him. I thought
he would be with me like he is with you but he won’t even look at me.”

“Every bond is different. Ours is special. Don’t expect it
to be like that because it won’t be, ever.” I don’t mean to be cruel but it’s
the truth. “Give him time. He is in shock still. Don’t push him.”

She nods, “Okay.”

Well after that I have nothing to say to her so we spend the
rest of the drive in silence. She breathes in the fresh air deeply and sighs
when we pull up outside the jet.

“We have a few minutes if you want to stay out here for a
bit.”

“No, I’ll be okay.” She waits patiently by my side as I wait
for the limo. I move forward as it comes to a stop and she follows me. Closely.
Oh brother. Seems she is now my little shadow. Cole climbs out and takes my
hand, I grip it tightly and turn towards the jet. Jess follows me again,
choosing to stay by my side and heeds my warning of not pushing Devon. He looks
mildly surprised and also relieved but he steps up and takes her hand. Throwing
her a small, very small smile. She tries not to beam back at him and I am glad
that she at least listened to me. We climb on board with everyone following and
Scott asks if he can go sit with Captain Jim again.

“Of course. The G6 is technically now yours, my dear. You do
whatever you like.”

He looks startled. “Mine?” he says in wonder as he goes off
in search of Jim.

“It’s sweet,” Lincoln chuckles at me. “You did a good
thing.”

“It’s well deserved,” I say in return and flop down into a
seat and everyone follows suit. Devon and Jess on the sofas with Sebastian and
Xane opposite and me, Cole and Lincoln at the table. Nico sees CK on board who
has turned up finally and with a wave and he darts back down the stairs with
joy, to fire up my pride and joy.

“Nice of you to join us,” I murmur at him and he pointedly
ignores Cole as he kisses me on the forehead as if nothing had ever happened.

“I had something to attend to,” he says and sits opposite
me.

“I wonder if I might have a word with you in private once we
are in the air… about…” I point subtly to Devon and Jess who are not speaking
to each other.

He flicks his eyes over briefly and frowns. “Of course.”

Everyone sits in silence as we take off and as soon as we
are in the air I kiss Cole and head for the back of the jet followed closely by
CK.

“What is it?” he asks.

“Do you not find it odd? The way he is treating her?”

“Yes,” he says.

Oh good, so it’s not just me then. “Why is he doing it?”

“You should ask him,” he says.

I roll my eyes at him and pop my head out of the bedroom,
“Dev. A word please?”

He stands and comes into the room, closing the door behind
him with a sigh, “I know what you are going to say and the answer is I don’t
know.”

CK and I look at each other, then back at him to elaborate.
“Can you tell me what I am supposed to feel for her? Lizzie? Can you tell me
because I have no idea. What are your feelings for me? Your sire feelings.
Ignore the love and history, like and best friends and all that. Strictly as my
sire, what do you feel for me?”

I think about it for a minute. It is difficult to separate
the feelings, but I say, “I have a strong urge to protect you. To see that no
harm comes to you. I want to guide you and teach you and always be here if you
need me. It is important for you to know that you can always come to me. That I
will always help you.”

“Nicely put,” CK says with a proud smile.

“I don’t feel any of that for her,” Devon says flatly. “And
before you ask, no it isn’t just that I don’t want to feel it. I just don’t. It
isn’t there for me, there is no bond. How is that possible?”

“Possibly because she forced the turning,” CK says, ever one
to have an answer. “I have seen this before. Not many times I’ll admit because
it is a very rare thing, for your kind.”

Our kind. Meaning not the Initial Vampires who can sire
willy nilly and not feel anything, I suppose.

“So what do we do about it?” I ask.

“Nothing. There is nothing to do. What about the feelings
you had for her before?” CK asks Devon.

“I don’t know. I am still so angry with her, it is clouding
everything else,” he replies.

“You need to figure it out. Your detachment to her will be
her undoing if you don’t start showing her some affection soon,” CK reprimands
him.

“I’m trying. Believe me, what you see is me actually
trying.”

“Try harder,” he says.

“Fine,” he says in a huff. “Are we done now? I need a
drink.”

I nod and he leaves. I could do with one myself now.

“I will get you a Scotch,” CK says and I nod my thanks, distracted
by my phone ringing.

Louis Harlow? What does he want?” “Hello, Mr. Harlow,” I
say, answering, and I see CK looking mighty pleased with himself.

“Liv!” he booms back at me with his strong Texan drawl. “How
are you?”

“I am good, thanks. How are you?”

“Never better,” he says. “I trust you are pleased with the
arrangement?”

“What arrangement?” I ask, confused.

“Oh, it must be a surprise,” he says with a chuckle. “Well,
I am honored that he left it to me to tell you.”

“Who left you to tell me what?” I ask, getting annoyed.

“I set your friend, Mr. D’Arcangelo, to try and persuade you
to forget about purchasing
Château Cassis
last year. I thought he had
managed it as I didn’t hear from you again until he rang me earlier. Seems he
is indeed most persuasive, only he got me to agree to sell it to him, for you!”
he says with delight. “Easiest three billion Euros I ever made,” he adds and my
mouth drops open.

“What?” I shriek at him, which just makes him laugh even
more. “You sold it to him?”

“I did indeed. I love the old place but I wasn’t turning
down an offer like that.”

I am still trying to process this as he continues, “I have
already sent the paperwork to your office in L.A. I believe you are heading
back there now? Just sign it and send the papers to the French Embassy. They
will do the rest.”

Shit. “Thank you, Louis. You have no idea how much this
means to me,” I say sincerely.

“Well clearly someone does,” he says gruffly, pleased with
my sincerity. “Although what you want with my old family home is still a mystery.
Anyway, it is none of my business, you have what you want and I am now an even
richer man so seems we are both happy.”

It was my family home long before it was yours, I think, but
say, “Very. Thank you.”

“No, thank you. I have a dinner to get to so I will leave
you to celebrate. As I will,” he chuckles. “Good evening, Liv.”

“Bye Louis,” I hang up and tears spring to my eyes. This is
CK throwing his hat in the ring. He goes out and buys me the one thing he knows
I want more than anything else in the world and at great expense to himself.
Shit. Shit. No, fuck. “Shit” just doesn’t cover it. I pocket my phone and take
a deep breath, brushing aside the unshed tears. I open the door to the bedroom
and he looks up at me from across the cabin where he is talking to Sebastian. I
hesitate for a second and then run to him, the tears flowing quite freely when
he picks me up and holds me tight. “Thank you,” I say loudly, forgetting
everyone else including Cole as I give him a deep, lingering kiss. “Thank you.
I love you.”

“You are most welcome,” he says, pleased. “You are happy?”

“Ecstatic,” I say through my tears. “I can’t believe you got
it for me.”

“Everything is for sale at the right price,” he says
modestly.

“Three billion Euros!” I yell at him. “Fuck’s sake CK.” I
smack his arm and he chuckles.

“It’s nothing,” he shrugs.

At this point I become aware of my surroundings again and
everyone staring at us. “Care to share?” Sebastian inquires.