Trials (The Forever Series, Book 6) (6 page)

He spins so his back is against the wall and he sinks to the
floor with me now sitting on his lap. “Better?” I ask him.

“No, it’s exactly the same,” he complains. “I need you in my
bed.”

I giggle at him, “Why do we hardly ever seem to go slowly?
Even in bed?”

“Because I can’t keep my hands off you and when I touch you,
all I want is to be inside you,” he says instantly.

Oh. “Well, I won’t argue with that,” I say shyly.

“Tomorrow, I propose we don’t leave the bed. Do that bubble
thing you just did, and we can just stay in it until you have to be back on
Thursday. I don’t care if the world ends while we are away, I just want to be
with you and have you all to myself.”

“Now I definitely won’t argue with that. Although…”

“What?”

“I told Cole we would go somewhere else. It’s disrespectful
and quite frankly uncomfortable if we stay here.”

“We will go to
Ponte
. It’s perfect.”

I frown at him and he says, “Aefre, I think your “Astraporting”
ban has well and truly been shot to hell by yourself, along with everyone else.
As long as we go from a private place to a private place and back the way we
came, I don’t see the problem.”

“I suppose,” I say, casually trailing my hands up and down
his chest as he has been tracing small circles on my thighs. I can’t keep my
hands off him, either.

“So, how do we do as we have been requested?”

“It’s easy enough, but, I’m a bit worried.” I chew my lip.

“Why? Is it dangerous?” he asks, concerned.

“No, no, that’s not why I am worried.”

“Why then?”

“I…I’m not ready…if it works sooner than they think,” I
admit reluctantly.

“Oh, Aefre. It seemed clear to me that they had been trying
for quite a while. They just need us to get the ball rolling. She wanted this,
the Future you. You saw that. Who is to say that Future you isn’t you in a
year's time?”

“I suppose. It was so strange seeing us like that, wasn’t
it?”

“Happy and so much in love, completely in sync with one
another and married? Yes, I have to admit it was quite strange. But it was
perfect. They are perfect. I cannot wait until that is us.” He kisses me softly
and I want to ask him about Sebastian but he won’t have any answers for his
future self’s actions and it will probably ruin the mood.

“Shall we then?” he asks, pulling away.

“Yes. We need to share blood and then I will say the ritual
and you just need to repeat it. It’s in Latin so you won’t have trouble
following it.”

“I should hope not, seeing as it is my native language,” he
says sardonically and I have the grace to look apologetic.

“Sorry, I just meant that it is one of the few spells in the
Grimoire that is in Latin. Most of them are in a Demonic text that I don’t
understand and I’m not sure that I can perform them correctly without
instruction.”

“From Xane,” he snarls and I brush his face with my hand.

“Shush,” I say quietly and take a few seconds to try and
locate the undoing of the curse spell, which my brain finds, but again it’s in
text I don’t understand. I quickly mutter it in my head, hoping that I have it
right and hoping that Future me knows what she is talking about.

“You will have to slash my palm,” I tell him. “I don’t know
how to get hold of that dagger that cuts me.”

“I’ll do yours if you do mine,” he says with a smile.

“Deal,” I say and hold my palm out. He smiles apologetically
and slashes a deep agonizing cut across my hand. I flinch and repeat the action
on him but with none of the pain for him. Lucky bugger.

I place my palm to his and he grips my fingers tightly. “We
should make love while we do it. It will increase the strength of the spell,” I
whisper.

“I am ready when you are,” he says.

Oh yes, he sure is. I raise myself up over him and sink
slowly onto him as he grips my hip with his other hand.

I start to mutter the words from the pages in my head as I
move over him and my magickal wind starts to swirl around us. The candles
scattered around the room flare up as I light them with my mind, the flames
licking the air. The wind changes to a fiery vortex the same as when Xane and I
performed this ritual and I hope against hope that CK never finds out about
that. I carry on, muttering the chant as he picks up the words and says them
after me.

“Do you feel it?” I whisper to him when the words are
complete.

He nods, his eyes wide with wonder, “I feel your Power.
Christ, Aefre.” He closes his eyes and I do as well and kiss him deeply as our
blood flows through each other’s vein’s, the Power of the ritual keeping the
wounds opens to allow the sharing of our blood, and we come together, crushing
each other’s hands as our wounds heal completely.

“Fuck me,” he says, opening his eyes. “That was incredible.”

“I know.”

“You are more Powerful than you know, Aefre. Why don’t you
use it?”

“I’m scared,” I say softly.

“What of?”

“Remember what Tiamat said that first time? About not
letting it corrupt me? I’m scared that it will. And need I remind you of
alternate me? Other CK said the Power had gone to her head. I don’t want to end
up like that.”

“You will never end up like that.”

“How do you know? Maybe your other self said that to her
five hundred years ago.”

“I won’t let it,” he says. “We will be together soon, a true
couple and I will be your anchor.”

I smile at him as I stand up, adjusting my clothes. “One of
these days we should really disrobe entirely. Might be slightly more romantic,”
I say as I pick up his ripped shirt and hand it to him.

“I didn’t peg you as the romantic type. What do you expect
me to do with this?” he asks, taking it.

“It might be nice, once in a while to be swept off my feet.
Put it on,” I say and shrug. “I thought you might like everyone to see how I
ripped it off you to get my hands on you.” I wink at him and he laughs.

“Noted. I didn’t think of it that way,” he admits and
quickly puts it on, minus all the buttons and very clear claw mark slashes down
the front. “Yes. I like this look,” he adds as he puts his jacket on. I am
staring at the photo on the bedside cabinet of Cole and me, the one of us
downstairs. CK sees me staring at it and comes across to me. “You will still be
together,” he says softly. “You saw he was still there in the future.”

“Yes, but he was in pain. He didn’t leave me because he
wanted to. Something happened and he gave up on me, on us.”

“And I will be eternally grateful,” he says but at my look
he adds, “I won’t apologize for wanting to be with you, Aefre, so don’t expect
me to not be happy.”

I just nod and we move over to the door where I undo the spell.
Can’t say that I am all that surprised when I open it and everyone is standing
there with their ears pressed close. Eavesdropping toads.

“May we help you?” CK says, all smug.

“Err, we were worried, we couldn’t hear anything and we
couldn’t get in,” Devon says.

“That was the idea,” CK replies, sliding his arm around me
and bringing the attention to his ripped shirt. “In fact, come tomorrow until
Thursday, we wish to be completely undisturbed. We are going away and no one is
to follow us or try to find us.”

“But what if there is an emergency?” Cade asks.

“You will be coming with us,” I say with a hard look at CK
who shrugs. He isn’t bothered about Cade as he knows he won’t be a distraction.

“Fine,” he says. “But find me something to do other than sit
around and watch you two.”

“Only in your dreams would you be sitting around watching
us,” I snort. “Where we are going you will have plenty to keep you occupied and
Nico will be there.”

“I can assure you, Mrs. O’Dell, that my dreams do not
consist of you. In any manner. Especially after that witch-you arrived here
earlier.” He shudders in distaste.

“Oh, tried it on with you did she?”

“Livvie, she tried it on with all of us,” Devon says. “I am
quite concerned she is going to make good on her threat and try to come back.”

“Agreed,” Lincoln says with a gulp. “I didn’t like her.”

“You didn’t seem to be complaining when I came to rescue
you,” I say slyly to which everyone wolf whistles at him and he blushes
profusely.

“I never said she wasn’t hot,” he says, thoroughly
embarrassed. “Just that I didn’t like her.”

“Well rest assured I will protect you from her if she comes
back,” I say with a smile and he beams back at me.

“Now for that I don’t mind you swooping in to be the hero.”

“Good. Now if you all don’t mind, I need some time alone.
It’s going to be a hectic next few days and I need a bit of peace after events
yesterday,” I say.

“I don’t want to leave you on your own,” Devon says and
frowns at me.

“I won’t be. Cade is staying.” There are grumbles all around
until I say, “That is his job. How is he supposed to help me if he isn’t near
me?”

Cade steps forward now and exerts some authority over my
group. “Get out,” he says boldly.

They all glare at him but he stands his ground and affirms,
“You heard the lady. She wants some peace. Give her some.”

I glow at him and his protection of me. Yes, he is
definitely the man for the job, I think, as they all back out of the room, in
bad grace, but they go nonetheless, wary of his Hunter magick.

“Thank you,” I say to him as he closes the door.

“No problem. Although, are you sure you want me around as
well?”

“I’m just going to be in the bedroom getting a bit of space.
You don’t need to come in there with me.”

“Glad to hear it,” he mutters. “Anyway, I have this contract
to look over that Sebastian gave me earlier.”

“Sebastian?” I ask, confused. “What for?” I hold my hand out
and see it is terms of agreement for being in my employ--no doubt courtesy of
my overbearing, control-freak sire. “Well, don’t take anything in it personally.
If there is anything you don’t like, be sure to mention it,” I say.

“Oh, have no worries, Queen Liv. I will. I already have a
list of ‘won’ts’ I want you to look at.”

I burst out laughing. “Yes, I am sure you do. Erm, I am
going to disappear for a short while in about half an hour. I won’t be gone
long, but if anyone asks, just tell them I’m sleeping or something.”

“Very well. I have a feeling I don’t want to know, but you
should tell me where.”

“Probably not,” I mumble, “but I will just be downstairs in
another suite.”

He sighs as he catches on that I am sneaking about to be
with someone. “Just make sure you are safe,” he says. “You know, because I
don’t want to have got this six-figure gig just to have it taken away because
you got killed or something,” he adds gruffly to show his detachment of any
concern for me.

I hide my smile and say, “Sure. I wouldn’t dare destroy your
dream job with my untimely death.”

His eyes snap to mine in a rare show of real amusement and I
just smile serenely and say, “He is friend, not foe. Don’t worry about it.” I walk
back into the bedroom, closing the door quietly.

I take a long soak in the tub, enjoying just being by
myself. I almost grudgingly get out when it is time to go and meet Sebastian. I
Astral down hoping he is alone and I land in front of him, making him jump a
mile. “Christ. Don’t you knock?” he snaps at me good-naturedly.

“I didn’t come via the door,” I say back to him. I Shift
into Xerxei, looking badass if I do say so myself, and change into a very sheer
lacy negligee. Well, he said he might want to touch, might as well give him
something to look at first.

“Very funny, Queenie.” But then he really looks at me and
his mouth almost drops open, “Look at you. Did you come down here looking for
more than just our deal?”

“Nope. You said you might want to touch, I have no problem
as long as you touch only this,” I say and move my hand around my Xerxei
person. “As soon as I Shift back to Liv, it’s hands off. Got it. And make it
quick, the longer I am like this, my Vampire ties will be disintegrating and
they will know.” I don’t ask, I demand, and he just nods. “I trust you aren’t
expecting any visitors?” I venture, meaning our sire and he shakes his head,
apparently speechless.

“Fine. Sit.” I order him to the sofa and he does as bid. I
climb onto his lap and his hands are then all over me, sending sparks all over
as I run my hands into his short blonde hair. “Lean back,” he whispers and I
do. He takes my nipple in his mouth through the lace and swipes his tongue over
it. It’s like an electric charge goes through me as he runs his hands up my
thighs. “Oh, Liv,” he whispers as he feels it too. “Look at me,” he says.

I look into his bright green eyes and his gaze bores into
mine. I feel completely taken over with desire for him as he murmurs to me. I
kiss him abruptly, cutting off what he was saying to me and he pulls me to him
briefly before he pushes me away, shaking his head. “No. Not like this,” I hear
him say to himself but forget it as he just kisses me. He pushes my own hand to
where he wants it and I start to move my fingers over me. He bites down on me,
slowly drawing out my blood as I slowly bring myself to a climax. He groans and
pulls back. “Shift,” he says and I do, wondering what the change in attitude is
with him. He pulls himself out and starts to stroke himself as I kiss him. He
hesitantly kisses me back and then says, “Now,” and I bite down on him as he
comes. As soon as I pull back from the bite he takes my chin in his hand and
mutters to me again, words I don’t follow and then he kisses me.

“You should go,” he says, pushing me gently away from him.

“This arrangement not working for you anymore?” I ask a bit
worried because without something to offer him, he has no reason to keep my
secret about Xane and our bond.