Darkness (27 page)
“Why can’t Felix go instead?”
He gave me a significant glance but I just returned it with an “I don’t get it” look. “Amber left her country and her family to follow the man she thinks she loves.”
“And…?”
“That man is Felix.”
My eyes grew wide in surprise and then I asked, “Why is this a bad thing?”
“He does not return her affection and her family is insulted by his rejection. He’s tried to explain to her brother, but he is very protective and won’t listen to reason.”
“Is there something going on between them?” Images of finding Felix and Hayden in the room that day she was cutting his hair and all the other little things I’d noticed, including the memory I’d seen, flashed through my mind.
“No. Felix stepped down from royal life. I know he told you a little about the four remaining families. The SaVan’s are one of them and would like their remaining heirs to be mated with other purebred vampires. Amber has always had a thing for Felix and eventually she followed him to the states.”
“How old is she?”
He let out a sharp laugh. “A lot older than me but younger than Felix.”
“How old is Felix?”
“What? He won’t tell you?” I saw the corner of his mouth curl up into a smile and I couldn’t help smiling too. “I’ve got to work out the details with Felix and Amber’s brother. But I will have to be gone for a night.” He reached over and took my hand, pulling it to his lips and kissing the back of it. “I’ve missed you,” he said quietly and I tilted my head and looked at him curiously.
“You’ve missed me?”
“You seem so much like yourself right now. I’ve missed it.” He pulled in next to my car.
“I’ve missed me too.” The realization made me a little sad.
He unbuckled his seatbelt and the sound caught my attention, directing it to him. “You’ll get there Laney.” He leaned across the console and kissed my cheek then whispered in my ear, “It’ll take time, but you’ll get back to you. I love you.” He kissed my neck once and as he pulled away I caught his face in my hands and kiss him on the lips.
“Thank you for loving me,” I said softly against his lips.
He shook his head a little. “Thank you.” It was barely audible but it was there. His mouth continued to do all the talking, just not with words.
Chapter 36 - Alone at Last
He led me up the steps to his apartment. I had those familiar butterflies that had been sleeping for so long. I missed them. He held my hand all the way to his door. He kissed my forehead and smiled at me as he fumbled with his keys. The door opened in front of us and Felix was standing on the other side.
“We need to talk,” his voice boomed.
It felt like every one of those butterflies dropped dead at once.
More bad news?
Carter was on the couch with his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands. I immediately dropped my bag and rushed to his side.
“What’s happened,” I said.
Felix answered in a voice that was both full of irritation and sympathy, “His family has cut him off. That was the problem with his records. He has no funding, for school or to live off of.”
“Why?” I asked.
Felix turned to me to answer, “Our kind does not mix with that of the wolf. Because of the incident with the Were they have turned their backs on him.”
“It’s my dad,” Carter said. He pulled his hands away from his face. The rims of his eyes were red. “My dad has just been waiting for an excuse to cut me out of the picture. This is a dream come true for him.”
Felix spoke up again, “He is my kin,” he was talking directly to Oliver who had taken a seat beside me on the couch. “I will take responsibility for him.”
Carter shook his head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“You can and you will. I have no blood family left. None that I would claim anyways. You are all the family I have.” Carter hid his face in his hands again and I absently rubbed his back. “I will cover his funding needs for the university, I will pay for his housing and I will supply him with all that he requires.”
“That’s your call but you have to report it,” Oliver said.
“I am aware of this. It is what you do for Julz.”
“Yes, but Julz isn’t part daw…I mean, part wolf. He will never be a Brookehaven Vampire and you need to accept that now.”
Felix nodded, “I am aware. He is my kin, my responsibility.”
From behind his hands Carter muttered, “I won’t mooch off you. I’ll get a job. I can take care of myself.”
“Do as you wish, but it changes nothing. I am who will provide for you now.”
A muffled, “Thanks,” was spoken with a very small, almost undetectable, sob attached.
“I need to go take care of some details and will need to speak with you later,” Felix’s voice had calmed.
Both Carter and Oliver responded, “Okay.”
Felix tenderly patted Carter on the shoulder before he left.
My phone rang soon after he left and I pulled it from my bag. It was Kiera. I couldn’t deal with her just then, I sent the call to voicemail which was sure to tick her off. I tossed the phone on top of my bag and sure enough, she left a message, and soon after I heard two texts come through, but I didn’t check them right then. So now not only was I consoling my broken-hearted best friend, I was comforting the heart-breaker who was now broken-hearted himself.
Oliver pulled his laptop out of his bag and his fingers began to speed across the keys. Eventually Carter sat back against the couch and exhaled loudly.
I had no idea what to say to him. All I could offer was, “I’m sorry.”
He gave me a pathetic excuse of a smile and patted my knee as he got up from the couch. “I’ll be all right.” He made himself a sandwich and quietly ate it alone at the kitchen table. Then he grabbed a sweatshirt and announced he was going out for a while.
I watched him go, then let my body relax. My problems seemed to shrink next to his. My aunt was gone and that was awful. His family just didn’t want him. That was unbearable. I couldn’t imagine what he was going through and the pain he was in.
Oliver rested his hand on my leg and I turned my attention from the bare ceiling to him and smiled at his beautiful face.
“You hungry?” he asked.
“No, not really.”
He closed his laptop and put it back in his bag. “You want to watch TV?”
“Sure,” I said with a smile.
Back to normal
, I thought. Doing what we used to do. It felt good. Maybe coming home was all I needed. My anger had faded, not completely, but quite a bit, and being near him without others around felt so right.
I cuddled into his side and he wrapped an arm around me as he flipped through the hundreds of channels before landing on a game show.
His fingers trailed up and down my arm and it felt nice. It felt better than nice. Things began to stir but I tried to ignore them. Things were just getting back to normal; I didn’t want to mess it up. Again. He kissed the top of my head and whispered something I didn’t understand, something in Vampiric. Then he whispered something I totally understood, “We’re finally alone.”
I looked up into his emerald eyes and knew exactly what he meant. He kissed my lips nice and soft. I instantly began to ache for him but I wasn’t going to push anything. It was all him. He kissed me again. This time his cool tongue stroked my lower lip. He pulled away just enough so our eyes could meet. His were burning with the need I felt. His lips parted just a bit like he was about to say something but instead he adjusted our bodies so that he could ease me back onto the couch. He did this without a word or taking his eyes from mine. He pressed his body to mine and I made some weird noise that he obviously found appealing. He began kissing me again, more passionately though. His hands began exploring my body and mine found their way under the back of his shirt. His back muscles moved under my fingers as he ran his hand up the back of my thigh and pressed himself into my girlyness. I squeaked or something, I didn’t even know what kind of sounds I was making, I just knew that by the sound of the rumbles that were coming out of him, he approved. Oh, and he smelled
so
good, it made my head spin.
His mouth made its way to my neck and down to my chest. One hand was on my butt while the other was pulling my tank top down, exposing my bra. His lips found their way to my cleavage and soon after they found their way into my bra.
Holy hell!
I ran my fingers up through his hair and his mouth moved from one side of my chest to the other and the hand that been on my bum was now making its way to the front. His mouth found mine and a fang caught my bottom lip. I flinched at the twinge of pain, and he growled even deeper as fresh blood mixed with saliva. His tongue swept across the puncture and he breathed against my mouth, “I need you.” I was pretty sure I was panting when I nodded. There was absolutely no way I could find any words. His mouth was on mine again and he was unzipping my partially zipped sweatshirt. There was a light knock at the door. I paused, mid-kiss, but he disagreed. “Whoever it is will go away,” he said rather raggedly and continued kissing me. The knock came again. His lips trailed down my neck where I felt little pricks from his fangs. Another knock.
“Maybe you should just see who it is.” They were really killing the mood. At least for me anyways.
He was cupping a boob and making his way down my chest again. “I don’t want to stop,” he whispered raggedly.
Another knock and a soft voice called out, “Oliver? It’s Amber. It’s about my brother.”
He sighed heavily and kissed my exposed cleavage once more before bouncing off the couch and pulling me up after him.
“Oliver?” She called out again.
“Just a moment,” his voice cracked a little and he shot me a smirk because of it. “Go into the bathroom and put yourself back together.” He stared down at my chest for a long moment. I followed his gaze.
Um yeah, I definitely needed to be put back together and covered up.
Someone had left their mark on top of my boob right at the edge of my tank top. He gave me a wicked little grin just before I hurried off to the bathroom. I fixed myself as best as I could. I zipped my hoodie up higher than I normally would to cover a dime-sized, but very purple, hickey. Once I’d done all I could and recovered a bit, I left the bathroom and found Professor Amber sitting very ladylike with her hands folded in her lap at the kitchen table.
I smiled uncomfortably at her as she greeted me very politely, “Good evening Delaney.”
I glanced around, searching for Oliver.
“He’s just stepped into his room to take a call. Please, sit with me. We’ve not had a chance to get to know one another.”
Considering I’d never taken the time to get to know any of my professors I found this an odd request. But I sat because what else could I do.
“I’m terribly sorry to interrupt. I rarely come to the warrior’s quarters.”
Warrior’s?
“It’s just…there’s been a minor change in my brother’s visit and since Oliver has so kindly agreed to escort Levingston, I needed to update him immediately.”
I just smiled politely at her and desperately hoped Oliver would be done with his phone call very soon.
“Oh, listen to me ramble on. How impolite of me.”
“No, not at all. You seem very excited to see him.”
“Oh, I am!” Her beautiful flawless face had a glow to it as she spoke. “Could you imagine? Not seeing your brother in nearly a decade. You would be so excited to see yours as well I would presume.”
It was hard not to smile at her excitement. She was almost childlike in her enthusiasm. “Yes, I imagine if I had one, I would be very excited to see him after so long.”
“Oh, you would be.” She smiled brightly. “But listen to me, carrying on again.”
She stared at me like she thought it was my turn to share. After a good couple minutes of that I got really uncomfortable and glanced around the room.
“You two are going to bond, yes?”
I know my eyes must have been huge in surprise. She was expecting an answer, like she’d just asked me if I wanted toast. I wish she had…“Uhh, um…yes.”
