0748469001330321113 slavetoherdesires jillmyles (10 page)

The Serim taught the young Enforcers politeness, but my presence was a factor they probably hadn‘t accounted for.

I simply continued to wait politely.

After a moment, he gestured at the chair across from him at the big wooden table.

―Please, have a seat,‖ he said in a voice that sounded like he‘d swallowed glass. ―I can cut you a portion.‖

―Thank you,‖ I said softly.

He said nothing, simply began to cut the ham again. I sat down and took a nearby cheese wheel and began to cut slices from it to accompany the ham. How very domestic.

―So what is your name?‖ I said to him.

He answered haltingly. ―Gregory.‖ Before I could open my mouth to say something polite about it being a nice name, he rushed on. ―Will you be leaving the monastery soon?‖

Taken aback by his bluntness, I blinked rapidly. ―I expect that we‘ll be leaving soon enough.‖

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He looked surprised at my response, glancing up from the ham. ―Will David not be staying, then? I thought it was understood…‖

A sick feeling hit the pit of my stomach, and I forced myself to continue slicing the cheese. ―Oh?‖

―Master Julian wishes for David to stay here at the monastery,‖ he said in a firm voice, nodding at the ham. ―That is what is best for him.‖

The sinking in the pit of my stomach continued. ―Oh?‖ I said again, unable to think of anything clever.

―Master Julian says that David does not belong in this time. He is unfamiliar with it. He will be unsettled by it – and the ways of his companions. That it would be best for him to remain in the monastery for several years to reacquaint himself with modern times.‖

―I see,‖ I said. It made sense in a basic sort of way. David didn‘t seem to grasp that a hundred and twenty years had passed. I remembered his inability to grasp the internet or a cell phone. What if his lack of knowledge about the twenty-first century ended up hurting him?

Could his immortality withstand David accidentally wandering in front of a city bus? Or worse?

Still, the thought of David staying here bothered me, mostly because it wasn‘t what I wanted for him. At all. ―Master Julius sure has a lot to say about whether or not we stay here.‖

―Not both of you,‖ he said quickly.

My head jerked up and I looked at him in surprise.

Gregory blushed and bent over the ham again, cutting with great precision. ―The monastery is no place for a succubus. The others are very unsettled that you are here. You stir things in them that they would like to forget. They are anxious for you to leave, though they would never say so to David. To do so would be to shame him for bringing you.‖

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Shame him? Just for being with me? That sick feeling continued to grow in the pit of my stomach. The one place that Aloysius couldn‘t find me and I was treated like a cockroach that had somehow wandered in. This last week had been quiet…but nearly perfect. I‘d found a measure of peace in David‘s arms. I thought of the sleepy-eyed contentment in his face as he‘d pulled me close to him after we made love, him murmuring soft words to me until the nightly hibernation claimed him.

And yet…this wasn‘t going to last. I knew that, but it still hurt.

―And David?‖ I asked. ―Did he say what he wanted?‖

―He will not discuss it with Master Julian. But Master Julian is adamant that David will see his side in things.‖

I put down the knife and cheese, no longer hungry. I had hoped…

Oh, damn. What
had
I hoped? What had I expected? That David and I would lock hands and run off into the sunset together? I was a realist. So I‘d had an amazing week with a man who had made me remember all the things I‘d locked away over a hundred years ago. So what. I wasn‘t the girl he‘d known before. I was a stranger wearing her face.

Maybe they were right. Maybe I was being selfish in wanting him to stay with me after this was done. Imagining that maybe we could start over again once Aloysius was taken care of.

That was, of course, assuming that David and I could kill Aloysius. A chill ran up my arms. What if…what if that didn‘t happen? What if my prince didn‘t save me from the wicked beast? What if the wicked beast killed my prince, and it was my fault?

Not every fairy tale had a happy ending, and my life had certainly not been a fairy tale. I pushed away from the table. ―Thank you, Gregory, but I am not hungry after all.‖

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He muttered a response but I didn‘t hear him – I fled the kitchen, running back to the room I shared with David. Down the long, dark hall – another reminder that I wasn‘t part of the world that existed here. I wasn‘t welcome. No one wanted a succubus around. No one cared if I was lost or alone, or frightened of the dark. I didn‘t matter.

I slid back into our room, shutting the door behind me. Moonlight streamed in through the large windows, illuminating David‘s form in the bed. He was so beautiful while he slept – the tension I saw in his face melting away and leaving only the purity of his soul. I knelt on the floor next to him, my face level with his as I absorbed his features. He was such a good man.

I hadn‘t realized how much strain he was under until I had looked at him just now. The lines of worry that creased his brow were gone, and I knew that I had put them there. That he was worried about me. Was it because he felt responsible for me, or simply because I had ties to Aloysius and now he had vowed to kill him?

His vow had no time limit, of course. He could leave Aloysius alive for another hundred years if he so chose. It didn‘t matter. David had promised to kill him someday, but that someday could be a long ways away. It had everything – and nothing – to do with my fate.

I brushed a lock of hair from his smooth forehead. He was a good man. A good man stuck in an unfamiliar time, surrounded by unfamiliar things, stuck with a broken woman who he felt obligated to help but had never wanted. After all, it hadn‘t been David‘s idea to turn me into a succubus – I knew that much.

Perhaps this was all very selfish of me. I‘d spent so long thinking only of myself that I couldn‘t tell if I was being selfish or not – my meter was broken. I only knew that I wanted to crawl back into this bed and stay at David‘s side forever. To enfold myself in his arms and let the world outside of them cease to exist.

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But the world didn‘t work that way. Tears brimming in my eyes, I leaned in and brushed my lips against his. His mouth was slack against my own – it was still many hours before daylight. Before David would awaken from his slumber. I got up, restless, and began to pace.

I cared for David. For a long, long time I hadn‘t wanted anyone – or anything permanent in my life. But now I wanted David. I wanted to be there when he woke up in the morning, watch the smile on his face, see the sunlight on his tousled curls. I wanted to show him all the wonderful things that the new modern age could bring, and I wanted him to go to sleep every night holding me.

It was bad for me to want things, though. Aloysius would just take them away again. It was selfish for me to stay at his side and knowingly put him in danger. Selfish especially given that the Serim were offering him a safe place here with them, peaceful and quiet and isolated from the world. A place where he belonged.

Didn‘t everyone want that?

Would he be happier with them? Without me? Why wouldn‘t he? I looked down at his unlined brow again. I was nothing but a burden, and a burden that he‘d never chosen. If things had played out between us, he would have tired of me being his mistress after a few years, paid me off with a pretty necklace or two – maybe a fine house – and then we would have gone our separate ways. He‘d never have turned me into an immortal. Never.

Why was I foolish enough to think that he‘d want me around if he didn‘t feel obligated?

The thought was like a twist in my gut. Of course he wouldn‘t. David was honorable and good, but my being here wasn‘t of his choosing.

Torn by my thoughts, it was a few minutes before I noticed a red flash on the far side of the room. At first, I thought I imagined it, but when it happened again, I got up to investigate.

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There was a small wooden desk in the corner of the room – hand carved by one of the brother Serim here. The red flash came from the single drawer, its light muted. I pulled it open and looked down.

Aloysius‘s cellphone – the one we‘d found at the bar - flashed with a tiny red message light.

He‘d decided to contact me. Grown weary of our games. It was time to retrieve his naughty toy and begin the newest round of tortures. I waited for the sick clench in my gut to return, but this time, worry replaced it. If we went after Aloysius, David would be in danger. I looked over at him, so peaceful in his sleep. At ease with the world.

I picked up the phone, thinking hard. I knew what the message would contain. An address of where he was at. A command for me to obey. Once I listened to it, there would be no going back. No changing my mind. I‘d put myself in Aloysius‘s keeping if I did so.

Aloysius was dangerous. Very dangerous. He‘d had a hundred twenty years to grow in his twistedness, and David was still fresh from his magical slumber. What if he used David‘s ignorance of the modern world against him? David wouldn‘t recognize a taser, or handcuffs, or worse. All it would take was David caught unawares before his evening slumber, and then Aloysius would have him.

Fear shot through me. My mission to kill Aloysius was a danger to David.

I looked back at David again, so beautiful as he lay sprawled in the bed. His muscles gleamed in the moonlight and I remembered my hands skimming over his skin, exploring his beauty. How it had felt to be in his arms.

I could keep him safe. I could be unselfish and leave him here. Here at his side, with my angry eyes and my urgent kisses, I made his decisions for him. David was no cruel, heartless 82

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creature to abandon me like I‘d thought. He‘d care for me because it was his duty. He‘d try to kill Aloysius to save me, even if it ended his own life.

But I could act and save him, myself.

I sat down, clutching the phone close, and lit the candle on the desk. Once it was lit, I began to write a letter to David.

David,

It was wrong of me to ask you to help me kill Aloysius. I’ve gone to him and will take
care of it on my own. Don’t follow me.

Olivia

I frowned at the paper, then balled it up and tossed it into wastebasket, starting over again. That wouldn‘t stop David from racing after me. He‘d think I‘d been coerced, and certainly set out to rescue me. That wasn‘t what I wanted. I started again.

David,

I’ve spoken with Aloysius. It was a misunderstanding. He’s promised not to hurt me, and
I’ve gone back to him. He misses me, and I…well, I have feelings for him. Please understand,
and don’t follow me. Stay at the monastery. I’ll come and see you again soon.

Olivia

I stared at the note. Obvious lies. Feelings for Aloysius? I had feelings all right, but they weren‘t pleasant ones. The idea of leaving David a note still felt foolish, but maybe I could buy David some time, if he thought I would be returning. Especially if he thought Aloysius wouldn‘t hurt me. I could convince Aloysius to leave the city before then, and David would be safe.

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I liked the thought of David being safe, even as I trembled at the thought of putting myself in Aloysius‘s clutches again. Perhaps I could defuse his anger somehow. Make it so my punishments were…less severe.

Who was I kidding? Aloysius would be vicious, but I knew him. I knew how he‘d react. I could predict him, control what I wanted to protect from him.

And I wanted to protect David from Aloysius‘s evil. I crumpled the note and tossed it into the garbage. With a small, resigned sigh, I looked back at David‘s sleeping form, then flicked the phone open and hit the voicemail button.

―You have one message,‖ the computerized voice said, and I hit play.

―Olivia,‖ Aloysius‘s voice called softly. ―Come home.‖

The compulsion gripped me, and the loathing swept through my body. My empty stomach churned, sick with hate and dread. But even as my muscles locked to obey, I sat, frozen.

I didn‘t know where ‗home‘ was.

―Come home,‖ he said again, and the compulsion blasted through me again. ―I grow tired of our games. I‘ve found a new place to live, you see, but I‘m missing my favorite little pet to make this house truly a home.‖ His voice was soft and cajoling. ―Write this down. One Summer Drive, in New City. Take the turn off the side road and you‘ll find me there. Come tonight.

Leave now. I want to drink from you before I sleep.‖

My heart pounded as the phone clicked off, and I wrote feverishly, scratching the words into a fresh piece of paper. One Summer Drive, New City. Turn off the side road.

I got up, dressed quickly, and exited the room. As I walked out, I opened the closet door and grabbed the bag of implements that David and I kept at the ready. The bag was full of crosses and holy water, and a stake. I snagged it just before my feet compelled me out the door, 84

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stole Noah‘s keys from the hook by the door of the monastery, and then made my way to the parking lot.

Come home
, he‘d said.

I was helpless to do anything but obey. But this time, I told myself as I tucked a vial of holy water into my bra, I knew what I was getting into.

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Two men escorted me down the hall, their hands tight on my long sleeves. One held a knife to my throat in case I tried anything else, but I knew better. Someone cutting my throat would only be a pain in the ass, and was something I didn‘t care to experience again.

Stupid, stupid, I told myself.

I‘d managed to drive to Aloysius‘s new address, and had even managed to sneak around the building and knock his guards out with a quick tap to the forehead. Eight men now lay sprawled on the lawn, sleeping soundly.