Chapter 10 – Year One – Operation Seduction
Carlisle POV
Something was up. It didn't take a genius, or a mind reader, to realize that the women were plotting. The minute Nessa had been taken off to bed the atmosphere changed.
The air fizzed with expectation when the wolves left, taking their human wives and children with them.
There was a core group too. Alice, our Rose, Charlotte and Bella were at the centre of whatever was going on. They flitted around the tent, and outside, and made sure that each of the women was 'ready' when the signal was given.
Other men had noticed, it wasn't just me. Edward looked worried and Alistair looked spooked but what interested me more was Jasper's reaction to all the tension that was building. Rather than looking sick or as though he were in pain as he usually did when something sinister was about to happen, he looked happy, almost drugged with happiness. I tried to relax. If whatever was going on didn't make Jasper apprehensive it wasn't something bad or evil. More than likely it was pure debauchery and something I could either ignore or hopefully never find out about. Hearing Edward and Bella in the forest two nights ago was more than I'd ever wanted to know about my children anyway.
Edward growled softly. I turned and threw him a half hearted smile. He'd read me just now and I shuddered again at the thought of what I'd heard. Thank god I hadn't seen anything. I'd skirted around where I thought they were and hunted further afield. But I'd never be able to put out of my mind what I'd heard. Ick, to quote Alice.
"Jeez Carlisle." Edward hissed from the other side of the room. He had the bridge of his nose between his fingertips and his eyes were squeezed tightly shut.
"Learn to be more quiet then." I hissed back playfully.
Esme giggled. Bloody woman would get me into more strife, if she could. She'd taken to behaving more and more her human age, rather than an eighty year old vampire. I guessed it was because we now had so many young people around us so constantly. From Seth and the younger wolves to Nessa and now Angel we were surrounded by a younger generation. I was surprised she didn't seem to be 'in' on whatever was being plotted tonight, she normally would be even if she was there only to provide a voice of reason when things got out of hand, which they usually did. But she'd been so tied up with council business I guessed she'd not had a chance to learn what this small but evil group were planning.
Nothing seemed to be happening, it was just a general change in the atmosphere in and around the house, but I knew that others felt it too. Liam looked concerned, Edward was on tenterhooks, Peter looked as though he was going to slip into a crouch at any moment and Aro was holding onto Tanya as though he was ready to whisk her away the instant something catastrophic occurred.
Alice skipped to my side then. "Calm down, it's nothing bad, honest." She whispered to me then kissed my cheek. Then she skipped back to her group and began nattering away again.
I tried to look for clues but didn't see anything out of the ordinary besides the strange behaviour of the women. I watched as pairs of them went inside and came back out again, but for the life of me I couldn't work out where they went or why. They didn't need to use the bathroom, they didn't look any different when they returned and they said nothing whilst they were gone. But sure enough, two buy two, all the women present made their way inside then back out again. It was like watching a choreographed dance routine.
A woman would sidle up to another, they'd share a 'look' and then they'd slip out of the tent or off the dance floor just as another pair would return from inside the house. I never heard a footstep on the glass stairs so knew they were staying downstairs for whatever they were in there to do. That pair would come out again and another pair would go in. This happened over and over until every woman had been inside. Even Esme had gone off with Olivia. I waited patiently for her to return.
The conversation amongst the men had ground to a halt by this time. Every man present had noticed the disappearance then return of the girls but nobody had asked what was going on. I watched as the pairs of women returned and it seemed as if they were purposely avoiding their mates. They waved or have a signal to them, but they didn't return to their sides. Instead they formed a large group at the front of the tent, leaving the men to congregate at the rear of it.
Esme returned with Olivia. She smiled at me as her eyes found mine and then she turned towards the centre of the circle of happily chatting women.
All at once, even though I saw and heard no signal, this circle of women began to break apart.
Siobhan strode purposefully towards Liam and grabbed his hand. "Dance with me, lover." She purred into his lips. He didn't say a word but he did drag in a mighty breath before allowing himself to be dragged out of the tent.
Marcus' eyes flew wide open as Renata flung her arms around his neck and begged him to take her onto the dance floor.
Aro actually coughed when Tanya approached him and slid her hand over his cheek. "Let's show the young ones some moves." She whispered into his astonished face.
Bella moved to Edward's side and took his hand in hers. I watched as she carefully drew his hand to her lips. He closed his eyes while she kissed his knuckles and when he drew in a breath his eyes flew open so wide I thought they might pop out of his skull. When she asked him to dance all he could do was nod.
One by one the men were entranced by their women and one by one they were led out of the tent and into a dance.
They all looked as though they'd been drugged or hypnotised. Melinda had dragged her coven mate Ethan onto the floor and he looked glassy eyed and stunned even though she wasn't his actual mate. The way she curved her body around his was anything but sisterly, however.
I was beginning to worry when Esme came to me. "They're fine." She whispered into my ear. "Stop worrying." She whispered again. She let her tongue dart out and I drew in a sharp breath when her venom stung me. That's when I knew why the men were behaving the way they were.
I sucked in another breath and took in her scent. Her aroused scent. I stepped back a little and looked into her sparkling, mischievous eyes. "What have you done?" I asked with a smirk on my face.
She tipped her head back and exposed her luscious throat to me. I wasted no time and buried my nose, tongue and teeth into her delicious flesh. She clutched at my hair and pulled my mouth down harder. I bit down and she moaned in pleasure. It was so unlike her to behave this way in company. It was filthy, utterly out of character and it had me hard in seconds. She confirmed my suspicions then. "I've lost my underwear, care to dance Doctor?" She licked her bottom lip as she asked.
I took in another gulp of air and knew that she was telling the truth. Her flavour settled on my tongue and made my head swim with desire. I looked around and saw that almost every man looked as overcome as I felt. They'd all done it. Every single woman had taken off her panties then asked her mate to dance. To what end I had no clue, and right then I didn't really give a damn either.
I grabbed Esme's hand and bore her off to the dance floor. I swung her out wide and revelled in the swirl of her twin scents as she floated her way back into my arms to begin the dance.
The first pair to leave the floor and run towards the forest was Rosie and Em. The second was Alistair and Zafrina. Half a song later I dragged Esme off the floor around the side of the house and into the driveway. "Run Mrs Cullen." I hissed at her.
"Yes doctor." She purred as she began her stride.
There was no way I was getting caught with my hand in the cookie jar only a mile from home. We'd go to the hospital and play doctor in my office.
Romania
"Dearest, you can tell me." Dominique whispered.
Daria's head whipped up at the use of the endearment. She knew he felt something for her. She wasn't completely oblivious to his hovering, but he'd never addressed her as anything other than Daria before now. More confusing still was his actual statement. She'd given no indication that she had anything she wished to, or needed to, discuss with him. And yet he'd asked if she could.
Their walk to the town had been as it usually was. Quiet and calm and done at a steady pace. They hadn't spoken at all during the walk, but this was not unusual. Dom rarely spoke until Daria was finished her people watching in the park and they had moved on to the cafe where they would share their evening meal. He would speak to the waitress and order their meal and their beverages. The waitress would smile at them both and bring two tiny cups of hot coffee and only then would he address Daria, and only after she had taken her first sip of coffee. He usually enquired how she found the coffee. She would reply politely and say that it was good. He had never started their evening meal this way before.
She considered his statement for a few minutes before replying, as carefully as she could. "Can I, Dom?" It was the first time she had called him anything, let alone used the shortened version of his name.
He smirked across the lip of his coffee cup at her boldness. For anyone else the use of their actual names in conversation would've been accomplished at their first meeting, but Daria wasn't just anyone and their meeting hadn't occurred in the usual way. To him she was a princess and she was his responsibility. He knew he was crossing a line by speaking with her at all, using an endearment as he had was tantamount to treason. But he was willing to take the risk if it meant she would confide in him in any small way.
He sipped his coffee and replaced the cup onto its saucer carefully. He was going to have to take many risks if he was to learn anything at all about her. He believed she was worth every single one of them. So with a short intake of breath to steady his nerves he reached across the table and took her fingers between his. She sighed at the contact and his heart soared. Staring into her eyes he whispered his answer.
"I'd like to know, if you'll tell me."
Now it was Daria's turn to suck in a deep breath. She looked down at their intertwined fingers and then back up to his face. She knew she must warn him what his knowing her secrets could mean. She steeled herself for him to flee. "It is dangerous for me to tell you, and also for you to know. Though Raul has given his consent." She told him firmly.
He thought on her choice of words for a long moment. It was obvious to him now that she did want to tell him, but she was concerned for his safety if he knew. His was a dangerous job to begin with. His protection of her and her brother and their assets was a constant worry for him, a little further danger would do him no harm. So it was to the second part of her statement that he shifted his concentration. Whatever it was she was to share with him Raul had given his permission for her to do so. That meant that Raul would know he'd been told. So it was a fair assumption that his reaction to the news would be reported to her brother. And then Dominique understood.
"I will not betray you, no matter what you share with me. I have pledged myself to your family." He stared at her as he said it and he hoped she could see the sincerity with which he spoke.
Daria slipped her hand out of his and sipped her coffee. Dominique did the same. They kept eye contact over their coffee cups and when both had been set back in their respective saucers Daria leaned slightly forward in her seat. "Not here." She whispered.
He inclined his head to let her know he understood then sat back in his seat to await the delivery of their meal. Silence settled around them uneasily. It was the first time the tension between them was strained and not borne of mutual attraction. Neither was eager to have the secret shared. Daria because she feared his reaction, Dom because he feared what she had to say.
When the waitress arranged their plates and bowls on the table they began to eat. It was a silent understanding that they'd eat then return to the castle. Whatever needed to be said would be said there, safe inside the gates and out of the earshot of humans.
Raul returned to his chamber in time to see Daria and Dominique exit their shared taxi. Their usual routine was completed like clockwork. They'd leave at three and return at nine. Dominique with his hand at the small of her back would lead her through the courtyard and into the foyer. He would escort her to her chamber, wait a moment until he was sure she was safely inside it, and then retreat to his own rooms on the second floor.
That night something was different. They broke with their routine, and as Raul crept up the staircase and into the corridor outside his sisters door, he could hear them speaking softly inside her chamber.
He listened for only a moment.
"Dearest, share with me your burden." He heard Dominique whisper.
He heard the soft intake of her breath as she prepared to expose herself to him fully, and then the quiet trembling voice as she took her first steps towards full disclosure.
"I am not what you think I am..."
Raul left then. Silently he wished Daria all luck, hoping that Dominique was indeed worthy of the secret she was about to reveal.
He left the castle through the east gate and ran towards the forest at the far edge of his lands. Running had become a not often enough pleasure for Raul. That night he ran for the sheer joy of the run itself and to escape the happiness he was sure he would confront at daybreak when he returned to his castle.
His sister had found a mate and he was now truly alone.
Jasper POV
"Darlin, what have you done?" I hissed as I swung my wife around the dance floor.
It was a playful hiss though, I knew she could see the laughter in my eyes as I spoke, and I could feel the way she shivered and shook in my arms. I'd never felt such an overwhelming wave of lust before, it was taking most of my mental strength and all of my concentration to just continue dancing with her.
She was wearing the most gorgeous mock innocent smirk I'd ever seen grace her lips. Her eyes were sparkling with mirth, her body was alive with desire. "I've done nothing, sir." She purred as she closed the distance between our faces and kissed me hurriedly on my lips.
She swung away from me again then, taking with her the most pungent portion of her scent. It would return to my nose and lips when she returned fully to my arms and I hovered by her as she completed her turn. I pulled her up against my chest hard when she came back to me. A soft 'oomph' escaped her glossy lips as her chest met mine. Before she could untangle herself and leave my embrace again I clamped my arms around her, holding her hostage there.
"Are you bare? Are they all bare?" I asked her, dipping the very end of my tongue into the hollow at the base of her exposed throat.
She wound her fingers into my hair and held my head steady. "Bite." She instructed. I obliged willingly. My teeth nipped her gently, never allowing myself to mark her. I had enough scars for the two of us and although any mark I gave her now would fade in a few days, I was loathe to mark her that way, despite knowing she craved it from me. "Bite harder, sir." She implored me.
I shook my head as it was encased in her trembling fingers. "I will not, ma'am." I replied, my familiar retort bringing her familiar response. A deep intake of breath as disappointment flooded her system.
I stood to my full height again and looked down into her now hooded eyes. "Are you bare?" I growled softly, ignoring the renewed wave of lust as it rolled over me.
She smirked again. "I am."
I closed my eyes and drank her in. I wet my lips and waited for her flavour to settle there. Each step we took within the dance made her scent swirl around me. She floated back into my arms and we took the next few steps of the foxtrot. Its quick steps intensified her scent but also bore me away from it as it trailed us around the floor, it was infuriating and arousing in a way I'd never experienced. Knowing she was bare, that her beautiful soft flesh was exposed under her dress, that I was so close to her and could not have her made my head ache and my gut churn.
I groaned when Eleazar and Carmen ran off the dance floor and away into the night. The inhuman rush of pure desire their departure created as they began their run crippled my senses. I was on overload. Edward was cringing in pain at the thoughts of those around us, but his lust for Bella was as strong and as invading for me as that of any of the remaining couples.
I'd not last too much longer. My thirst would ignite soon because I would be unable to stand the emotional surges for much longer, and I'd have to run.
"Are they all?" I growled at Alice as she once again returned to my arms after a complicated move that took her away from me for seconds at a time.
She nodded but said nothing. I groaned with shock and desire. This had been planned, well planned. All the women had done this to their mates for a reason and I wasn't leaving the circle of dancing until I knew what that reason was. I just knew I had to speed up finding out or I would burst out of my trousers.
"Why?" I asked her as I pulled her hard up against my chest as the last strains of the music trailed off.
She swung away from me and stooped into a low curtsy, as we the tradition at the end of the dance. I bowed lowly and then met her eyes as we both stood to height. She grinned and tossed her head in a nod over my left shoulder.
I stepped to her side and returned Alice to the waltz position within my arms. The music began again and as we took the first steps of the waltz I looked over to my left. Benjamin and Tia, Rennie and Anna, Randall and Kate. All dancing, all just as in lust as we were. Her explanation made no sense.
"Why?" I whispered again as she tilted her head slightly so I could bury my nose in her throat.
I heard Edward groan loudly and looked across Alice' shoulder to where he was dancing with Bella. His eyes were blazing and he was staring straight at Alice, mild anger began to replace his desire and I balked, faltered the next three steps and pulled Alice to a stop at the edge of the dance floor.
She looked up at me through her lashes and smiled. "Watch them." She nodded quickly at the floor and I looked to see whom she meant. "Feel them." She told me as she took my hand and settled us against the railing.
As each couple twirled past us I concentrated on them as much as I could. Benjamin and Tia were in lust with each other and totally oblivious to anyone else. Edward had given up his anger and had returned to unbridled desire for Bella. Melinda and Ethan were curved around each other as though they were going to devour each other right there. Liam and Siobhan looked dangerously close to shedding their clothing where they stood. Randall and Kate...Ahh.
Randall looked as though he was in pain. He was the only vampire in the dancing group that wasn't enjoying the women's prank. He was dancing, and doing a fine job, but the frustration and pain I felt from him didn't fit with everyone else. Kate was as all the other women were, in lust with her mate, but Randall was fighting it and where his desire should be he was instead filled with pain and self loathing. I looked to Alice. She had her eyes closed and her body jerked a little as her vision came to her. When she opened her eyes she was grinning even wider than before.
She grabbed for my hand and pulled me to her. "My work here is done. Run, sir." She licked her bottom lip and then fled down the steps and into the trees beside the pool house.
I wasted no time trying to work out what the fuck had just occurred, I just ran. I wanted her like I'd never wanted her before. I wanted her so badly I thought I might just let her persuade me to sink my teeth into her luscious flesh a little harder than usual.
EPOV
I was torn between wanting to murder my sister for setting this up and buying her something wickedly expensive to say thank you for what was surely going to be a monumental fuck!
I shook myself then. Since when did I think that way? Since when did I view my sex life that way? Since fucking Alice and by the sounds of it Rosie and Charlotte had a hand in it too, had devised an evil plot to drive every single mated male insane with desire tonight.
Bella was sublime in my arms as we danced but her scent was maddening. Jasper was fighting with his twin lusts and trying desperately to work out what the fuck was going on around him. He felt the lust and the carnal cravings of us all and normally, with just one couple feeling that way, he could channel the energy of that and use it for himself. But tonight, with sixty horny vampires all desperate to get inside their mate come hell or high water, he was fighting a losing battle with his restraint. They'd run soon, as soon as Alice explained to him why she'd instigated this, they'd tear off through the trees like other couples had.
I listened to Alice' thoughts, and to her words, as she tried to subtly explain to her husband why every woman on the dance floor was naked underneath their dresses. At first I thought it was just a way to spice things up now the children had been put to bed, but there seemed no point to that. Vampires were carnal creatures, we took pleasure in each other as often as we could. Manufacturing just one more reason to do that seemed over the top, even for Alice.
So when she asked Jaz to watch, to feel the couples as they past them by, I did too.
I still couldn't decipher the reasoning for myself when Jasper's thoughts began screaming in exaltation. He'd worked it out!
It was for Kate and Randall's benefit. Why I had no idea, but now that I knew who it was about I could find out the rest quite easily.
I waited until Jasper was away, chasing Alice through the trees and then I twirled Bella to the other side of the dance floor so that we were dancing behind Randall and Kate in the formation.
They looked content in each other's arms, no different to any other couple, but inwardly they were warring with each other.
Kate was chanting her hope that Randall would want her now and Randall was chanting his pain at wanting her so badly. I didn't get it. It made no sense. They were mates, why couldn't he have her. They were to be married, it was obvious they wanted each other, so I couldn't isolate the problem.
I concentrated harder, looking for any clue that would alert me to the problem. Randall grimaced as Kate swished out away from him and then returned to his dance embrace. His thoughts were filled with her scents, his senses flooded with the knowledge that she too was bare under her beautiful dress. He wanted her, like he'd never wanted another, but he was determined not to have her until they were officially wed.
I cringed when I heard how resolved he was to uphold that last bastion of morality he held so dear. It was important to him that they be married, properly bound to each other, before he took from her body. I understood that, I'd once felt the same. I was at a crossroads.
Bella put her finger to my chin and turned my head so that she could see me more clearly. "It's their business Edward, you can't step in. If he won't then he won't." She whispered as she got up onto her toes and kissed me softly at the corner of my mouth.
I smiled. "I love you Mrs Cullen." I told her softly.
"As I love you Mr Cullen." She whispered in reply.
The music came to its logical conclusion and when Bella returned to her full height after dipping low in her curtsy I pulled her to me and crushed her against my chest. "Come away with me my beauty?" I asked her quietly.
She grinned and nodded. "On one condition." She giggled.
I'd give her anything she wanted and she knew it. "Name it."
"I get to choose where we run to." She dipped her chin slightly and I got the impression that should she still be able to blush she would have.
I grinned, "Done. Lead on."
Randall POV
A more painful form of torture I could not imagine. I had the love of my existence in my arms and was surrounded by my family and friends and I was miserable. Achingly, frustratingly miserable.
I was going to have to leave a mark on her fragile self esteem, again. I was going to reject her, again. How many times she'd forgive me I did not know. I could only hope she loved me enough to try.
"Katie, sweetheart, stop." I begged her. I'd stopped dancing but she was tugging on my hand to get me to move on.
The music still rang out, other couples still danced though many had fled by this time. Katie wanted to continue with the plan she'd enacted, but I was done. Spent. My resolve was paper thin, my desire for her was ready to burst out of me and I was afraid. So very afraid of being hurt by her. Not physically. Physically we were equally matched in every way, but emotionally.
She came to a final stop, bumping up against me when she realized I had no intention of restarting the dance. "What is it?" She asked, eyes wide with worry.
I sighed and ran a hand across my chin, trying to form the words in my brain that would soften this blow. But even as I searched for them I could see her face begin to crumble. I was prepared for the choked sob she barked out from between her ruby lips but nothing had primed me for the gut wrenching agony of watching her face turn from wanton desire to abject horror as she stared at me.
"Katie, please, let me explain." I begged, holding onto her elbow and leading her from the centre of the dance floor and down the little steps onto the lawn.
She reefed her elbow from my grasp and turned on me. Venom flew from her lips, her fists clenched at her sides. "You don't want me." She hissed. "Even after all that, you still don't want me. I hate you Randall Kade, I hate you for making me love you and want you." She bellowed before crumbling to the ground at my feet.
The music stopped then and I knew that we were now the object of everyone's attention. Thankfully Liam took charge and led everyone into the tent to give us some privacy. A few couples ran off into the night, but most of them returned to the tent.
There would be no privacy while we stood in the yard. I bent down and bundled her up into my arms, holding her against me while she cried. I ran with her until I could figure out where to run with her to. I was staying in a hotel in Port Angeles but she was staying in the Cullen house. I could take her to the hotel but I'd be forced into a confined space with her and her scent and I had no idea if I could resist that at close quarters. Being at the Cullen house wasn't an option either. So I ran to Edward's cottage. I'd endure his wrath a hundred times over if I could fix this between Katie and me once and for all. So I took her there.
She whimpered and sobbed the whole way, making my gut clench in pain with each sound. I whispered my love to her as I ran but she batted at my chest with her hands as though she didn't believe me, or didn't want to believe that I loved and adored her. She had the idea in her head that if I loved her enough to marry her I should want her now. And I did. But that didn't make it right.
I should have known that Alice would've seen pretty much all of what was about to go down, but I was still surprised to see the note taped to the front door of Ed's cottage.
Holding Katie with one hand I tore it off and held it with the other.
'There's a key on the sill above. Leave Edward to Bella. The fires lit. She'll forgive you if you're brutally honest. Good luck, Alice.'
I sighed and reached for the key, right where she said it would be. I unlocked the front door and took Katie into the living room. The fire crackled and creaked as the logs settled. It had obviously only been lit recently, in the last fifteen minutes or so, which would've been right around the time I'd seen Jasper and Alice run off from the dancing. I lowered Katie onto the floor in front of it and then I sat beside her and held her tightly.
"Katie you have to let me explain this. We need to talk about this, once and for all I need to tell you what I want and why I want it that way." I told her.
She sniffed once again and then she sat up, folding her legs beneath her. She swiped her hand across her eyes though no tears would ever fall. I tucked a stray hair behind her ear and tried to smile at her. She grimaced and shook her head. "You don't want me." She whispered sadly.
I snorted a laugh which startled her a bit because she jumped slightly. It was awkward and nerve wracking to have to talk to her like this, face to face, with no way to hide my eyes, but I had to do it. I had to make her understand.
"I want you like nobody has ever wanted anyone else before. I know I've told you that before and I know you don't believe me." I said firmly. "But it's true. I do want you, how could I not? You're so beautiful, so perfect in every way. And that's why I can't have you yet." I told her. I lowered myself until our foreheads were touching. Her sad eyes looked at mine and I sighed. "I gave my virginity away when I was still a human Katie. To some silly girl at a party when I was seventeen. It was a quick grope in a dark corner and then we slipped out of the party for a quick hump in a tool shed. It was gross and I wasn't very good at it and I can't even remember her name." I admitted.
She giggled slightly at the way I'd told the story but it was still the truth. It was also true that I couldn't remember the girls name, her features were long since lost to my cavernous memory. She could've been any of a million women in a crowd, but she'd be seventy nine now and most likely gone from this earth.
"You and your sisters have never hidden the fact that you've enjoyed the company of human men so I know we are both coming to this marriage with histories, and that's fine, but when I give myself to you I want it to mean something more." I told her. I sighed again thinking I was doing such a shitty job of explaining myself to her.
I moved back a bit and waited until she had sat back up too, then I took her hand in mine. "I fell in love with you the day of the fight Katie. I'd seen you so many times of course, but that day, when all around us was chaos, there you were. So lovely and so serene and just what I'd always been searching for. I've not known love as a vampire. I don't think I've ever truly felt desire since I was changed, not if the way I feel now is any indication anyway. I love you so much I ache from wanting you, I need you, and I want to be near you every minute of every day. But this, this one thing, this is the one thing I want to be just for us, I want to wait to give myself to you as a vampire because I've never given that part of myself to anyone, ever."
Her eyes widened then. "Are you telling me you've never made love as a vampire?"
I grinned then. A short burst of laughter escaped my lips before I could control it. "Yep. That's exactly what I'm telling you, love." I was embarrassed to have to admit it, but there it was. For all intents and purposes I was a virgin, again. Sort of.
"Holy shit." She giggled. She covered her mouth with her fingers but didn't fight the laugh. "Oh Randall I had no idea." She flung herself at me then, I caught her around the waist and fought the urge to throw her onto the rug and just have her. Her scent was so potent, so powerful, every move she made made it swirl around me. I could taste her. My head swam. "Sorry." She pulled back and sat back down. She took my hand again. "I never knew. I'd seen you flirt with almost everyone and just assumed. I'm so sorry, it was stupid of me to think that. So, you do want me then? You've just never done it as a vampire and it's sort of like you're a virgin again, so it will be really special? Is that right?" She asked, eyes shining brightly again.
I smiled as much as I could without cringing at the stupidity of my explanation. "That's right. God, I sound like such a pussy, I know." I ran a hand through my hair in embarrassment.
She attacked me again then, but this time she was more careful. She did fling herself across my body and we did roll backwards onto the floor, but her movements had changed. She was careful, more respectful of me and my personal space. She didn't attack my mouth, she kissed me softly at the corner of my lips. "I've never made love to another vampire Randall. You'll be my one and only, ever." She whispered.
That wasn't going to help. Jesus H Christ nailed up on the fucking cross. How was a bloke supposed to stay chaste when hearing shit like that? I groaned involuntarily and kissed her back, not quite so carefully.
Then she was batting at my chest again with her little fists. She pulled herself up off me and sat back down. She smoothed out her skirt and straightened her hair a little. "Sorry." She whispered. "That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard. Oh Randall our wedding night is going to be amazing, so much more special. I can't wait to be your wife." She gasped then and jumped up to her feet. She tucked the skirt of her dress around her, holding the fabric together with her hands over her knees. "Oh god, I'm so sorry about tonight. God you must hate me." I could tell she was uncomfortable now, knowing I knew she was bare beneath her dress. I reached for her hand and tugged until she let the fabric go.
"Don't hide from me." I begged her, pulling her down into my lap. "Knowing you want me enough to go to these lengths...god...you have no idea what it does to me knowing you are naked under there." I whispered against her cheek.
She shivered. "We can get married quick, right?" She giggled as I began nipping at her throat and earlobe.
"Mmmhmm." I agreed. I slid my tongue into the shell of her ear and let my venom cool a little before I bit down on her throat again. "How quick?" I whispered against her throat.
She let her head loll back and I took a good mouthful of her delicious skin between my lips and sucked hard. "Quick, really quick." She gasped as I bit down.
I trailed tiny kisses up and down her throat and groaned as another waft of her warm arousal flooded my mouth and nose. "Two days." I moaned against her lips as I pulled her face back to mine. "You've got two days. We'll do it here. Two days."
"Yes." She sighed just before I slid my tongue between her lips.
Romania
Raul summoned them both to the study before first light.
They looked exhausted. Daria's eyes were ringed with red from crying and Dominique looked as though he'd fought a war. In a way Raul guessed that he had. An internal war had been fought. It was obvious from the way Dom offered his hand to Raul across the desk that he would continue to protect and serve the family, but what he'd had to hear during the night had taken its toll on the huge man.
His weary face looked haggard and drawn. His eyes, normally a clear piercing blue, were sunken and dull as he ushered Daria into the offered seat opposite Raul. Dom chose to stand behind Daria's chair and he put a supportive hand on her shoulder as they waited for Raul to speak.
Raul gave his attention to his sister first. "You have told him?" He asked for clarification.
"I have." She whispered. He could see the slight tremble to her countenance as she sat staring at her brother. She looked afraid.
"All?" Raul asked.
"All." She agreed.
He looked to Dominique then. "Have you agreed to keep this secret?" He asked firmly.
"I have." Dominique answered in a steady voice that belied his roiling emotions.
Raul looked back to Daria then. "Have you chosen him as your mate?" He asked.
He felt less and less like her brother and more and more like her father as he waited for her answer.
"I have." She smiled softly. "He has given his word, Rabi."
Raul's gut clenched when she used her pet name for him. It snapped him back to the present and he smiled across the table at them both. He stood and offered his hand to his former security advisor. "I wish you both well. Dabi," he used his pet name for her and waited for her to smile, "Leave us, there is much to discuss."
She nodded and before she left she reached for Dom's hand and squeezed it. She felt the slight tremble in it and sought his eyes for a second. "I will be in the kitchen." She smiled and left them then.
When he could no longer hear her footsteps he waved a hand for Dom to sit in the chair she'd just vacated. "She will outlive you." He stated matter of factly.
Dominique dragged in a ragged breath and fought for control of his emotions. He lost the fight almost instantly. He threw himself forward and put his head into his hands and cried like a child. "I've only just found her." He wailed.
Raul sighed. It had been a brutal thing to say to a man who had only just learned what his future held. But Raul had felt it only right to say it none the less. Dominique deserved his utmost honesty right now.
But Raul had no idea how to comfort the man. He had no experience with emotion. He had never felt sympathy or empathy for any other living creature other than his aunt and his sister, and before the war his other family, but he felt himself wanting desperately to ease this man's suffering.
So he did the only thing he knew how to do. He offered him a chance.
"Eleazar will arrive tomorrow. I will seek his counsel. He will teach me how to perform the transformation. If you so wish it, you too can live forever."
A/N: Thank you so much for reading. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, it's a bit lighter in feel than some of the previous ones and I so enjoyed writing it. Please review if you've found something you liked, and also if you found something that's annoyed you. Allow me the chance to fix it, please.