The Two Kings (Afterlife Saga) (32 page)

“You haven’t let Dom pay for anything! My brother won’t be happy
.
” She looked serious but seeing as I didn’t agree to any of it
,
I could imagine that Draven would already know that I would be stubborn on the matter. Did he really think that Sophia wo
uld have been able to break me?

“Sophia, your brother knows I’m not the typ
e of girl to just spend someone
else’s money Willy Nilly. But I wouldn’t say no to lunch…will that make you happy?” She rolled her eyes at me and said
,

“Well it’s a start.
C
ome on
,
I know a place
.
” Her face made me regret not picking the place first.

“Ok but nowhere fancy…right
.
” She winked at me and my dread doubled.

After a short limo ride we pulled up to a huge hotel with an all glass front that reflected the cold but clear day. The door man opened the limo door and another in a red jacket opened the entrance. He did a double take at me
and Sophia
,
making me giggle
at what a pair we must have looked like. Her beauty being absolutely flawless and I must have looked like her personal beggar flagging behind. To make matters worse I tripped over my own feet and the guy had to steady me. When I thanked him I was surprised when he winked at me. I blushed and scuttled in after Sophia.

“Sophia, why have we come to a hotel?”

“Keira
really, hotels do have restaurants and this one just happe
ns to make the best Strawberry D
aiquiri’s
in town.
” She walked straight past the queue and
walked right up to the bar as if
she owned the place. I followed like a red faced sheep. Once there she got served immediately and ordered me
the same as she. I sat next to
her with disbelief clear on
my face. Then a very tall thin man dressed in a black suit approached with a lowered head. His gold name badge told me he was the hotel
’
s Concierge and his name was
Claude.

Claude looked at Sophia like she was royalty but I noticed he wouldn’t make eye contact.

“Miss Draven, how kind
it is
of you grace us with
your presence. You look breath
taking as always
.
” He was close to drooling and I couldn’t help but cough back
a giggle. He shot me a look as though
he was go
ing to have words with the door
men for letting in riff raff.

“Miss Draven
,
is this person bothering you?” He asked Sophia
and I laughed again only I was the only one as she whipped round in her seat and gave him a heart stopping look that stunned me to silence and had Claude almost cowering. She looked utterly insulted and for a mom
ent I thought she was going to bend him over her knee and give him a
good
spanking
.
(And not in a nice naughty way!)

“How dare you, this is my very good friend Keira and if my brother were to hear of this grave insult to his future bride
then
I doubt he would look kindly
on his investments within this hotel!” She sounded like a viper spiting out her disgust. This had him nearly grovelling at my feet in seconds and I was so embarrassed that I got up off the bar stool.

“My dear
....
I am so
,
so sorry, please forgive my ignorance and….” I cut him off quickly said
,

“
It’s
fine
,
already forgotten about really….Sophia excuse me
.
” I left when she nodded and Claude was now singing his apologies to the unimpressed Sophia. I noticed the sign for the restrooms when I first walked in and I stomped off in that direction. On
ce I was inside I let out a frustrated swear word
and didn’t realise there w
as someone already in there until she
h
urried out without washing her
hands. Oh great
! F
irst I look
ed
like the homeless and now
I’m a
n
angry nutter
! Ok
,
so he had insulted me but come on
,
it was an easy mistake, I didn’t exactly
look like the type that would
even
be
staying in this hotel
,
let alone a friend of the ridiculously rich Sophia
,
whose
family were share
holders of the pla
ce. And what had been with the ‘Bride to be’
comment?
I know they viewed me as being born for Draven but come on
,
we hadn’t even been dating a week!

I calmed down for a few more minutes before going back out there and I hoped the rest of the guest
s
had forgotten the little episode. If there was one thing I couldn’t stand it was causing a scene and getting all the stares that went with it. I knew that the Dravens were used to this but it d
idn’t mean that I would have to
be
.

When back outside Claude was waiting for me and I swallowed a sigh.

“Miss Williams please allow me to escort you to your table w
h
ere Miss Draven is waiting
.
” His thin features twitched at his discomfort at having to be in my company again. He must have thought that I would go running off to Draven and
tell him what a nasty man he was to me
. He was smiling but I could see the little beads of sweat form while I followed him
in
to the restaurant. I could almost hear his silent pleas to keep his job.

He pointed to the table with the best view and was about to leave after nodding to me when I stopped him.

“Thank you and you don’t need to worry about earlier
,
I won’t be mentioning this to Mr Draven
.
” He looked surpris
ed but ecstatic
and I doubted very much he would be making the same mistake again.

“Thank you, and
once
again
,
I am extremely sorry for the offense I cause
d
you
.
” I shook my head and said it was fine again before going over to take my seat opposite Sophia.

“Have you finished wigging out?” Sophia asked grinning but I just folded my arms trying to be stern.

“That was a little over the top
,
don’t you think?” She just shrugged her shoulders and picked up the menu.

“You think I was over the top, just wait until Dom finds
out.
”
She said smirking like she would indeed enjoy witnessing his reaction.

“Oh no, don’t you dare. Draven doesn’t need to
hear about petty little mistakes
. And anyway,
what was with the whole future bride thing?” This brought a smile to her face at just the very mention of it.

“Well it is bound to happen…at some point anyway
.
” I laughed at this and she shot me a look over her menu.

“Oh come on, we hav
en’t even been dating a week! And
considering how you guys regard time that must only be like
minutes
.
” I picked up my own menu and didn’t recognise anything tha
t sounded like food. I found my
self wishing we had just gone to the food court and ordered a burger.

“Yes
,
but he has been waiting for you since the begin
ning so that kind of overrules that idea
, besides
,
what does ti
me matter when l
ove is involved?
” She stated, so I decided to give up
with a trade mark
‘
Grrr
’
.

After giving her the silent treatment for all of a minute she gave me a coy smile before asking,
“Do you like your daiquiri?”

I sipped my cocktail and thought I might have to be alone with it, it was that good!

“Oh my, this is
damn
good
!
” She smiled as if to say “Told you so” and we both giggled when she ordered us two more.

“I won’t tell Dominic about Claude’s insulting you
.
” This shocked me and the
only
reason I could think of, was that Sophia was now getting used to my way of thinking.

“Thank you
,
but I really found it funny more than anything else, I mean come on, have you ever been seen with someone like me before or
has your brother for that matter?
” Her face gave her answer….
oh hell no!

“Which is why I can’t help but think
,
if you had been sat
here
with Aurora
,
then that wouldn’t have happened
.
” I said this without thinking how Sophia would react
,
so when she banged down her glass I jumped
, along with the other patrons
.

“Keira! Don’t be so
,
so…” She was trying to contain her frustration at me.

“So what?” I asked weakly

“So blind! I never liked Aurora and I couldn’t have been happier when my brother finished it with her.”

“Why?” Just then we were interrupted by a waiter and Sophia gave our order in what sounded like
perfect
French and then he promptly went away again.

“I ordered for you if that is alright?” I nodded thinking it was for the best seeing as I couldn’t even read the menu and knowing my luck would have gotten something slimy
and
in a shell.

“Keira
,
there is something you
should understand about Aurora. S
he may be an Angel
,
but there is nothing
heavenly or
pure about her. She is extremely self absorbed and will only do good for her own gain. She has more Demon in her than I
,
that I can promise you.”
This shocked me enough for my jaw to drop. How could something so beautiful and radiant have a black
heart?
And if so
,
why had Draven been with her in the first place?

“So why was he with her for so long?”

“I have said to
o
much, forget I mentioned her
.
” Oh no
,
there was no chance of that happening. I shook my head at her before saying
,

“No way, come on you can’t start to tell me what I want to know and then stop. You know Draven won’t tell me, so that only leaves you….please Sophia
.
” I was close to pleading and
could see my sad eyes reflected
in her own.

“Fine
,
but I really need to learn how to say no to you!”
She complained before continuing.

“You must understand
...
first
,
that my brother was very different before you entered his life
and second, he is extremely used to getting what he wants
. He had never known love until you, so you mustn’t judge him on his past.” When her serious eyes met mine
,
I knew it was going to be a hard version of Draven to take but I nodded my head anyway and prepared myself for the worse.

“He only used to
see women as there to pleasure his
needs and very little more. Their
beauty played an important part
,
yes
,
but he knew it never felt right. He spent his time forbidding himself to get close to anyone until Aurora came.
Her beauty captivated him in
to bel
ieving she alone could satisfy
his needs and for a while
, I suppose
she did. She sat at our table as a council member but never at his side where she thought she belonged.”

“Wait a minute, you mean no-
one has ever sat next to him at that table other than you or Vincent?”

“That is correct
.
” She laughed at my expression. I couldn’t believe that something that had seemed, at the time
,
so innocent was such an immense
gesture. I knew that it was probably down to my over emotional
state but I felt like crying (T
hankfully
though, I didn’t
)
.