Authors: Aja James
Was Rain ever so light-hearted and joyful with him? He’d seen her smile and laugh more in the quarter of an hour with Drako than he’d witnessed in the ten years he’d known her.
Had she ever looked upon him with such carefree delight? Such comfort and ease?
The answer was a resounding and gut-wrenching
no
.
Valerius realized that he’d never beheld this side of the Healer. The female for whom he’d Fallen. Even ten years ago at the Mid-Autumn festival, he hadn’t seen her so relaxed and happy. Where he was concerned, she always seemed to hide behind a barrier, her emotions muted, her expressions controlled.
This was the side of her she shared freely with others, even near strangers, but very rarely, if ever truly, with him.
And yet Valerius had never shared more of himself with anyone else. He’d exposed the demons of his past, opened his heart, his mind.
Bared his soul to her.
For him there was never, and never would be, another. But for her, there ever was and would be one Consort after another.
Perhaps Drako would be the next.
Unable to bear the pain of seeing them together one moment longer, Valerius abruptly rose to his feet and blindly made his way to the chamber that Drako had earlier gestured to be his and Rain’s.
Rain watched the Protector’s departure with concern. She saw the aura of torment spike in waves around his body, but she could not diagnose the source. She was fairly certain, despite his rebuff of her probing earlier, that he did not suffer physical wounds. At least, none that was apparent.
Did he think of something disturbing? Every fiber of her being yearned to go after him and give him comfort.
“Let’s finish cooking first,” Drako said beside her, as if reading her mind, “perhaps the hot meal you bring him will help meet his needs.”
Rain nodded numbly, slowly chopping the vegetables before her without looking at her actions, her gaze trained on the corridor through which Valerius had disappeared.
“He means a lot to you, your Consort,” Drako observed quietly, drawing Rain’s startled gaze back to him.
She looked down at the vegetables on the cutting board and quickened her motions with practiced ease. “As would all my Consorts, in one way or another. But Valerius is more than a Consort,” she amended.
“Ah,” the warrior acknowledged and said nothing further.
“He is everything,” Rain whispered fiercely to herself, trying to concentrate on completing her tasks quickly so that she could go to Valerius.
She didn’t know why, but she knew that he needed her now. Needed her desperately.
Late for her afternoon class, Sophia yanked open her locker in haste and almost didn’t notice the manila envelope that fell to the floor.
Tristan picked it up for her and said, “This yours?” Seeing the familiar, unaddressed envelope, Sophia’s heart began to race. She snatched it from her Elite guard and hustled inside the classroom as the door swung shut behind her.
Once at her desk, she opened her text book and pulled out the photocopied articles she was supposed to have read for today’s lecture and laid it beside her book. In her lap, she surreptitiously opened the manila envelope while keeping her gaze on Professor McGowen at the head of the class.
She inched the note within above the opening of the envelope by slow degrees and looked down to read the elegantly scrawled lines one by one.
Sophia,
Have you missed me?
Allow me the pleasure of imagining that you have. Tomorrow I shall be back in Boston. I cannot wait.
I write this from a brasserie opposite the Notre Dame Cathedral. The sun is just beginning to set, setting the sky on fire with splashes of gold, purples and reds.
I wish you could see this with me. I have ordered a hot chocolate with my expresso on your behalf. It tastes sweet, rich and comforting.
Much like you, I fancy?
Sophia blushed furiously as she read and reread the last line. Her heart was beating so hard, she thought the whole class would hear.
I would like to invite you to my place this Saturday to celebrate the spoils of my trip with me. There is also some assistance I was hoping you could provide with the research ahead. I believe you will enjoy it.
Please say you will come.
310 Marlborough Street, Back Bay. 5pm.
Ere.
P.S. Enclosed is another song for you. Roughly translated lyrics from original Korean language attached below.
“That Man” – by Hyun Bin
One man loves you
That man loves you with all his heart
Everyday like a shadow he follows you around When that man smiles he is crying on the inside How much longer
Do I have to just look at you alone
This love like the wind
This worthless love
If I keep trying will it make you fall in love with me Come a little bit closer
Just a little bit
I’m the one who loves you
Right now by your side
That man is crying
That man is very shy
So he learned how to laugh
There is so much that can’t be said even amongst close friends
That man’s heart is full of scars
So that man
Loved you because you were the same
Just another fool
Just another fool
Is it wrong to ask you to hold me once before you leave
I want to be loved… it’s true
Everyday inside…inside his heart…he shouted and
That man is by your side again today
Do you know that I’m that man?
You wouldn’t act this way if you knew
You wouldn’t know because you’re a fool
How much longer
Do I have to look at you like this alone?
This stupid love
This worthless love
If I keep trying will it make you fall in love with me
Come a little bit closer
Just a little bit
If I take one step forward you take two steps back
I’m the one who loves you
Right now by your side
That man is crying
With shaking hands, Sophia unzipped her iPad from its sleeve and booted it up. Without looking down, she navigated to iTunes, plugged in the pinky drive and uploaded the song to her music library. She synced her iPod with the device and stealthily inserted her ear pieces.
For the rest of the class, she heard nothing of Pharohs, tombs and gods of the Underworld.
All she heard was the haunting melody and voice of the singer. Though she didn’t understand a whit of Korean, she followed along with the lines of lyrics in her lap, jotted down for her in Ere’s elegant handwriting.
By the end of class, she’d memorized the tune and every translated word.
Saturday. The day after tomorrow. 5pm.
An army of vampires couldn’t stop her from going. *** *** *** ***
Valerius opened his eyes as the scent of the Healer preceded her into their chamber.
“I brought roasted rabbit and sautéed wild spinach with green onions and straw mushrooms,” she said as she approached, balancing a large tray of food, water and heated rice wine.
Not turning around to face her, Valerius took a few moments to ensure that his countenance was a mask of stoicism before springing up and out of the steaming, waist-deep hot-spring pool with his arms pushing off the ledge.
With his broad back facing her, he turned his head to the side to acknowledge her approach as her soft footsteps drew closer. He drew his knees up and casually draped an arm over his lap to hide his nakedness and arousal at her nearness when she laid the tray on the stone floor and sat cross-legged beside him.
“You must be famished,” Rain observed, “Please eat it all. Ayelet, Cloud and I have already dined. We decided not to call for you in case you were resting.”
Without responding, Valerius picked up a bowl of rice, deftly used the chopsticks to portion a leg of rabbit and a large heap of spinach on top and began to shovel his food, barely chewing before swallowing.
Either he was starving or he didn’t want to talk, Rain thought as she watched him eat. Since she entered, he hadn’t looked at her. The aura of pain was still glowing intensely around him, and she didn’t know what to do, what to say. Did he wish to be alone or was he content with her company? All she knew was that she wanted to be close to him. So close, she wanted to crawl beneath his skin.
“I hope you like it,” she tried for idle conversation, “I used a dash of star anise to flavor the meat.”
Pausing to swallow and take a gulp of rice wine to wash down the food, Valerius said, still not meeting her gaze, “I thank you for the meal. It is fulfilling.”
And then he dug into another rabbit thigh and what remained of the vegetables, too occupied with polishing off his meal to speak further.
Rain felt unease at the Protector’s distant, formal tone. Had she done something to upset him? Did he suffer from a physical wound that he hid from her? She decided simply to ask.
“Are you… displeased with me?” she inquired tentatively, her voice hitching a little.
Valerius slowed in his chewing and swallowed the last mouthful. He raised his gaze to hers briefly and replied, “You worry for naught, Healer. I was merely lost in thought.”
Her woman’s intuition told her that he lied, but Rain did not dare press him further. Instead, she reached out a hand toward him, wanting a physical connection to reassure herself, but just as her fingertips brushed his knee, he flinched away like the first time she’d touched him ten years ago.
“I’m s-sorry,” she stuttered, trying to disguise her hurt at his rejection, and when she would have continued making excuses, he interrupted with:
“You seem to know Cloud Drako well.”
Startled, Rain blinked in confusion at the sudden introduction of the topic. Gathering her wits, she folded her hands once more in her lap and said, “I know of him. We share common friends, it turns out, and he enjoyed our stroll down memory lane for he’d only recently regained consciousness of his past lives. His eternal soul has barely Awakened. He was – is – a very good man.”
“He would make a superior Consort as well,” Valerius stated, and tasted acid as the words tumbled recklessly out of his mouth. Unconsciously, he worried the Tiger’s Eye ring on his left hand with his thumb, turning it round and round. Perhaps Drako would be the next male to wear it.
Rain’s prolonged silence at his pronouncement made him grudgingly look at her.
She was staring at him with wide, pained eyes.
“Have I spoken an untruth?” Valerius persisted, though part of his soul screamed for him to cease and desist. Even the thought of Rain taking another Consort, sharing her body, her life, however briefly with another male, shredded Valerius’ heart to bloody bits.
Rain held his unreadable gaze for long moments, then turned to face the pool. “Why are you mentioning this?” she asked, her voice a little too controlled, a little too calm. “Have you already tired of your Service? Have I made too many demands?”
Valerius fell silent for a spell as well, struggling to rein in his emotions, fighting for his pride.
Finally, resignedly, he responded in his deep, husky baritone, “There is nothing you can ask of me that I would not give you readily, were it in my power to do so.”
He paused, and then, “Please forgive my
impertinence. I had no right to question you.”
He moved to rise, but her hand on his forearm halted him.
Her voice quiet yet powerful, Rain said, still looking towards the water, “You are all I see, Valerius. I do not notice anyone else whenever you are near. Right now, you are my entire world. I have no past, no future, only the present. With you. Only with you.”
She turned to look at him directly, her heart in her eyes. “Do not speak to me again of Consorts,” she whispered. “You are my
airen
. I only need you.
Want
you.”
Want. Not love.
Yet in his moment of weakness, Valerius did not distinguish between the two. Overwhelmed by the power of her words, by the depth of his feelings, he rose and pulled Rain to her feet as well. With a shuddering breath, he enveloped her in his embrace, pressing her face into his chest.
Desperately he entreated, “Show me.”
Rain took one step back and lifted her arms. Valerius followed her lead and pulled her light blouse over her head. She unhooked her simple white bra and stripped it from her shoulders, revealing her small, pale breasts and their large pink aureoles to his hungry gaze.
As he reverently cupped one breast, Rain drew her flowing trousers down her slim hips and let it fall with her panties around her feet. As naked as he, she leaned into him once more and mirrored his caress, laying one hand upon his steely pectoral, making the muscle jump beneath her palm.
“You are the most beautiful vision I have ever beheld,” Valerius spoke in a hushed tone, as if afraid to wake up from a sweet, elusive dream.
“I was about to say the same to you,” Rain said in return, a shy smile glowing on her face. “You are everything I have ever dared to dream. And so much more.”
Valerius pulled her against him until their fronts were flush and his manhood jutted insistently against her stomach, begging for her attention.
“Take me,” he offered himself to her, wishing to give her everything he had, everything he was. “Take my Nourishment. Release your store of pain.”
Resolutely, she shook her head, moving to hold her hand over his against her breast. “Not tonight,
airen
. There will be no pain. Only release and fulfillment.”
When he would have protested, she took his other hand and held it to her cheek, turning into it and pressing a tender kiss against his palm.
“And pleasure,” she promised huskily. “All I want is to make love with you. All I want is you.”
Shaking with the effort to hold himself in check lest he overwhelm her with his size and terrifying need, Valerius slowly dipped his head down to trace his lips along her temple, her brow, her cheek and nose. With one hand he tilted her face up to give him better access; with the other, he ever so gently massaged her breast, rubbing his thumb over her nipple, sending sparks of pleasure through the hard bud.
As if knowing that he restrained himself, Rain trailed one hand along his arm and down his back to spread over his gluteus and urged his hips further into hers.
“Valerius, don’t hold back,” she encouraged, catching his full lower lip between her teeth. “Let go, my warrior. I want to know all of you.”
On a sharp intake of breath, Valerius turned his mouth full upon hers, devouring her with his lips and tongue. As he surged into her wet, welcoming mouth again and again, he grabbed the back of her thighs and lifted her off the ground until her legs wound tightly around his waist and the hot core of her opened against his painful arousal.
Rain held onto him with both arms around his beck and pulled herself higher up his unyielding body, sliding her nether lips, damp with the juices of her excitement, along the entire length of his penis from bottom to top in one long, luxurious lick. Once positioned above the plump, delicious head of him, she gyrated downwards in a graceful twist and took him half way inside her body.
Unprepared for the incredible pleasure that fired his nerves in a volcanic rush, Valerius staggered on a deep groan, the back of his calves meeting the edge of the large, tented platform bed set up a few paces from the heated pool.
With another twist of her hips, Rain took in more of his length, the action buckling his knees so that he fell backwards to sit upon the thick mattress. The sudden descent effectively pushed the rest of him fully inside her body, and the electrifying friction triggered Rain’s first explosive orgasm.
Her sex squeezed with incredible strength around his in long, deep pulls as she arched her body back and keened in ecstasy.
Valerius bent forward over her arched torso and latched his mouth onto one of her breasts, suckling strongly upon the soft mound and plump nipple in time with her vaginal convulsions, drawing her orgasm out endlessly.
Without breaking their locked bodies, he smoothly shifted to his knees, keeping her splayed before him on the bed, her legs still wound tightly around his waist. His penis pulsed so deep and thick within her, the angle so perfect that he rubbed along her entire inner erogenous zone, she came again on a broken wail, her body desperately trying to milk from him the release that would magnify her rapture tenfold while Nourishing her with his life force at the same time.
Perspiration dampened Valerius’ skin as he struggled to contain his own release. Though he knew the fulfillment it would bring both the Healer and himself, he also knew the limits of his own body.
The more he gave of himself, the faster his Decline would be.
With danger intensifying, the number of vampire attacks ever increasing, he needed to reserve enough strength to see them all safely home.
On the other hand, despite the constant pain of his Decline, his body yearned to Nourish her. She had not fed from him since the night before their trip, and though their joining had vitalized her considerably, her strength was only half restored. With less than a fortnight left in the Phoenix Cycle, Valerius must ensure she took from him all that she needed, all that he had to give, while balancing his duty to protect, his ability to defend his loved ones effectively.
So he held back, gritting his teeth, as his body clenched tightly on the precipice of orgasm but was forcibly denied gratification.
Valerius focused on Rain’s pleasure instead, spreading his large, calloused hands on either side of her ribcage, smoothing his thumbs over the satiny skin of her stomach, moving slowly lower until he spanned her hips and reached the folds of her vagina, stretched open around his turgid length.