Origins (A Black Novel, #1) (18 page)

He looks more unkempt than the last time I saw him. His hair is longer, messier, and there is a shadowing of dark golden stubble lining his jaw, making him appear even more handsome. My hearts begins beating erratically as his warm familiar scent invades the room. He stops with one foot still on the threshold as his eyes dart towards Luc before resting on me. Not lifting his eyes from mine he steps the rest of the way into the room and shuts the door firmly behind him.

“What the fuck is she doing in my room?!” He explodes, pointing at me.

Luc raises his hands in a gesture of surrender and shakes his head.

“Not my idea.”

“I don’t give a fuck whose idea it was! Get her out of here now!” I guess he’s not so happy to see me.

“I’m not going anywhere,” I cut in, keeping my gaze level with his.

“See what I have to deal with,” Luc says, gesturing to me. “Would you rather I brought her here safely or she came on her own?”

“I’m leaving tomorrow,” I announce before Vraiden can respond.

Shit, tact was never my strong point.

“What?!” he sputters, shooting a look towards Luc who stands and heads to the door.

“I’ll leave you two to talk. I’ll be in my room when you’re done,” Luc says before pulling the door shut after him.

“So,” Vraiden says as he stuffs his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and grimaces. “You’ve made your decision? You’re leaving?” I lower my gaze to the floor. “Yes,” I reply, thankful my voice remains steady.

“And there’s nothing I can do to change your mind?” His voice is soft, wistful.

I look up, heartbroken at the pained expression he wears. His blue eyes are dark, almost grey, and for a moment I think about staying and how it would feel to live for eternity with him. I close my eyes briefly and shake my head with a sad smile knowing that if I try to speak I’ll only betray myself. His expression morphs into one of torment at my answer and I have to blink away the tears welling up.

“I’m sorry Adelin,” he whispers. His voice cracks as he speaks and I can no longer hold the tears back.

“Sorry for what?” I ask as I wipe at the wetness flowing across my cheeks.

“I’m sorry you had to go through all this. I’m sorry about what I said and did to you. I’m sorry I’m so fucked up….”

“Vraiden, it’s not your fault. None of this is your fault,” I reply soothingly.

His fists clench at his sides. “It’s all my fault! You’d have been better off if I had just stayed away from you.”

I rise from the chair and make my way over to where he still stands by the door. I stop in front of him and lift my hands to his face, wanting nothing more than to comfort him.

“Don’t touch me!” he snaps, grabbing my wrist before I can make contact.

Not giving up, I raise my other hand. His eyes flash and he spins me around, pinning me to the door with my arms over my head. My heart speeds up at his proximity and my body instinctively tries to lean into him to no avail. His breath quickens as I squirm in his grasp and my lips part in response. My head tilts back and I bite my bottom lip as I stare intently into his eyes.

Before I have time to react he presses his body firmly into mine and crushes his lips against my own. I sigh in contentment as his tongue caresses mine. Groaning deep in the back of his throat he releases my hands and wraps his arms around my back, pulling my body flush against his. My fingers tangle in his hair as he lifts me slightly and I wrap my legs tightly around him.

Holding me up, Vraiden stumbles to the bed and collapses on top of me, all the while never taking his lips from mine. Untangling my hands from his hair I quickly yanks his shirt over his head and run my hands longingly down his chest to pop the button on his jeans.

He kicks his pants off and, leaning back, yanks mine off as well and tosses them to the floor. Staring down at me intently, eyes full of desire, he grips the edges of my blouse and yanks it apart, sending buttons flying.

I shrug my shirt the rest of the way off and pull him back down towards me. He kisses me feverishly, trailing his lips down my jaw to my neck. His stubble scrapes against my flesh, rough as sandpaper, and I moan out loud, delighting in the pain. Panting heavily he sits back. “Can I…?” he says hoarsely, trailing his finger down my neck to the rise of my bosom before dipping his hand under my bra and kneading gently.

“What?” I ask breathlessly.

“I want to taste you,” he says as he licks his lips. Understanding dawns on me and I nod, biting my lip. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I whisper. “Please.”

He leans to the side and rummages around in the drawer of his nightstand. When he straightens I see a flash of silver- his pocketknife- and I tremble in anticipation. “Adelin, we don’t have to.”

“Please, I want to,” I beg, silencing him.

“I promise it won’t hurt,” he says gently as he leans down to brush his lips lightly across mine before traveling back to my neck.

I tilt my head back further to give him more access and feel a sting against my collarbone before his mouth descends and he grazes his tongue across it. I gasp in ecstasy as his mouth closes over the wound. He begins sucking on my flesh, his hands dipping into my panties. Just as I’m about to climax he lifts his head and yanks my underwear down. I moan loudly and topple over the edge as he thrusts inside and begins moving rhythmically. His hand clamps down over my mouth, silencing me, and the taste of cinnamon and clove floods my mouth. Too late I realize he’s cut himself and I begin swallowing greedily, lost in desire.

The sun has long set by the time we lay twined together, motionless and covered in sweat. I sigh happily as he flips on the bedside lamp and freeze as light floods the room. I look around, horrified. There is blood everywhere.

“I might have gotten a bit carried away,” Vraiden remarks sheepishly at my expression. “Don’t worry, most of its mine.” I arch an eyebrow skeptically as I survey the mess. “A
little
carried away?”

Dark, sticky handprints litter the headboard and there is blood streaked across the sheets and pillows, as well as smeared over most of our bodies.

“I didn’t hear any complaints from you,” he smirks. “Why don’t you go hop in the shower while I clean this up? I’d hate for someone to walk in and think I tried to kill you.”

“I think they’d be more upset if they thought I had tried to kill you,” I point out dryly.

“Just go get in the shower,” he says with a scowl, shooing me towards the bathroom.

I shower slowly, taking care to make sure all the blood is washed away. The water circling my feet goes from clear to a rust-colored red, then to pink before fading back into clear. Climbing out of the shower I wrap a large, plush grey towel around myself and inhale deeply, sighing happily at the scent of Vraiden’s spicy body wash that still clings to the air. Vraiden is lounging on the freshly made bed when I pad back into the room. He sits, hair damp, propped up against the now spotless headboard with his arms folded across his chest. He’s changed into a dark green long-sleeved T-shirt, sock and faded jeans, and his legs are stretched out in front of him, casually crossed at the ankles.

“Took you long enough,” he grins. “I brought you a new shirt,” he says shamelessly, motioning to the end of the bed.

“Thanks.” The image of buttons flying through the air makes me blush and I look away from him, hoping he doesn’t notice how red I am. I pick up the rest of my clothes from the floor and, turning around, dress quickly, then lightly blot my hair dry with the towel.

“What time are you leaving tomorrow?” Vraiden asks when I turn back to face him.

“I’m not sure yet. I still need to talk to Sera, and my dad,” I reply with a grimace.

“Would it be all right if I came over to see you in the morning then?

You’ll still be here?”

I smile sadly. “Of course.”

“Good. Should I go tell Lucien you’re ready to head back?”

“Does he really need to come with me?” I ask with a frown.

“That bad?” Vraiden teases.

“You have no idea!” I shudder. “I don’t even want to talk about it.”

“It’s only for a few more hours.” His voice is soothing. “The oath ends at midnight.”

“Thank God!” I exclaim, sighing as I flop down onto the bed facing him. “Your brother is impossible!”

Vraiden laughs loudly, showing off a dimple. “You’re telling
me
this?

I had to grow up with him.”

We’re both still laughing when the door opens and Luc walks in. “I thought I heard my name…” Vraiden and I look at each other and laugh even harder and I have to clutch my stomach, in pain from laughing too hard.

“What are you two laughing about?” Luc asks, a bewildered expression on his face.

“Oh, nothing,” Vraiden replies with a straight face.

“Uh-huh. Did the two of you have a good ‘talk’?”

“That’s none of your business,” Vraiden counters.

“That would be a no or you’d be in a better mood,” Luc replies smugly causing Vraiden to roll his eyes.

“Will you just shut up and take Adelin back to her mom’s?”

“Anything to get away from you,” Luc smirks wickedly.

Leaving Vraiden’s proves to be much easier than getting in was.

“Wait, where are you going?” I ask Luc as he opens the door to the hallway.

“I’m taking you to Sera’s,” he replies as if I’m mentally incapable of understanding.

“But we came in from the terrace,” I say confused.

“So…?”

“You two snuck in?” Vraiden questions with a laugh.

“So,” I continue while shooting Vraiden a glare to silence him, “why are you going through the door?”

“Because that’s the easiest way to get to the front door,” Luc says obviously.

I scowl at him in return. “How are we going to get out without being seen?”

“The house is empty. Eris and my mom went to the mainland for the day.”

“Why didn’t you just say that?!” I shout, making Vraiden laugh. I shoot him a glare and he apologizes, bowing his head sheepishly to hide his grin.

“Can we just go already before they come back?” Luc questions impatiently. I flip him off and storm past him out the door, ignoring his booming laughter.

“Mom?” I call out as Luc and I enter the house.

“Kitchen!” she yells in response.

I head off in the direction of her voice, stopping when I realize Luc isn’t tagging along behind me. “You aren’t coming?” I ask as I turn to face him.

“I think I’ll stay here so you and your mom can talk. I don’t want to intrude,” he replies.

My eyebrows knit together at his overly polite tone. Since when had he ever not wanted to intrude? “You have no problems with trying to ‘intrude’ on me in the shower,” I point out.

“Does your mother shower with you? I think not,” he states without waiting for my reply. “Frankly, your mother makes me uncomfortable.” He mumbles the last part, looking down at his shoes in embarrassment.

“My mom makes
you
uncomfortable?” I question incredulously, a laugh spilling out.

“She’s one of my mother’s closest friends and my mother scares the shit out of me. You’ve never seen her angry. I don’t need Sera running off telling her anything that might upset her.”

“Fine. Stay here you big baby,” I chide. “Make yourself comfortable, this will probably take a while.”

“I’ll be here when you get done. Make sure she doesn’t try to kill you though, would ya? I’m still bound by the blood oath until midnight,” he teases as he tromps happily into the living room and plops down on the overstuffed couch.

“I’m kind of hoping she does now,” I mutter before making my way back towards the kitchen. I stop, confused, as I walk into the room and arch an eyebrow comically at Sera’s appearance. Her normally perfectly styled brown hair is twisted messily on top of her head, the sleeves of her blouse are pushed up past her elbows and most of her is covered in flour and some yet-to-be-identified sticky looking brown substance that smells deliciously like chocolate.

“What are you doing?” I say laughing.

“Tomorrow’s your birthday so I thought I’d try my hand at mothering and bake you a cake!” Her face lights up with a triumphant smile as she gestures gleefully at the mess coating the entirety of the kitchen.

My shoulders slump in despair. Great. She just made this even harder. I take a deep breath before opening my mouth. “Mom? I think you should sit down. There’s something I need to say.” 

I
blow out a deep breath and glance at the clock, noting that it’s now eleven-thirty. Sera and I have been talking for nearly two hours and it had gone a lot better than I had expected. Sera hadn’t freaked out when I’d told her, instead she had been quite understanding and had listened quietly until I was finished and then asked me a few questions. My guess is that she was secretly thrilled that my life wasn’t going to end up like hers and I was going to have a chance to live and grow old.

“I just got off the phone with your dad,” Sera says as she walks back into the kitchen. She’s changed out of her flour coated ensemble into a pair of sweats although her hair is still sporting cake batter and bits of flour.

“And?” I prompt with a smile.

“He said that he’s excited you’re going to be coming home and he will be here in the morning. I think he misses you and wants to be able to spend time with you in the car ride on the way back home,” she replies with a wink.

“I don’t think it’s me he missed that much if he’s driving all the way here just to turn around and drive back,” I hint. “I think he wants to see
you
but he’s too embarrassed to just come out and admit it.” Her face flushes a bright shade of red and her eyes go wide. “Oh, dear, you think so?” I laugh in response and she looks around, eyes frantic as she surveys the mess in the kitchen. “I’ve got to get this cleaned up…and I need to shower. I smell like a cake!” She exclaims as she sniffs her hair and begins throwing dishes into the sink.

“I hear guys find the smell of chocolate irresistible,” I tease.

“Oh, Adelin!” she chides. “Why don’t you go keep Luc company? He was looking pretty lonely in the living room when I came back downstairs.”