Secrets (The Forever series, Book 8) (6 page)

“I’m sorry,” Sebastian whispers, interrupting his wayward
thoughts. “You know that I would never betray you. If I thought there was any
possible way she would get pregnant I would never have made love to her.”

Constantine sighs. “You can’t lie to me, Vincentius, I know
your thoughts. I know that something of that nature would never stop you from
getting what she can give you.”

“It would because I know that you are hoping for that
outcome for yourself,” he says quietly.

“Yes, I am. You knew that and you still went ahead with the
arrangement,” he accuses.

“So did she.” Sebastian always feels he has to shift some of
the blame. He would throw his own mother under the bus if it meant him not
being angry with him anymore. Not that he isn’t loyal. He is, fiercely so, to
him. He can’t say that he has ever seen Sebastian show that kind of loyalty to
anyone else. He supposes he should find some comfort in that he doesn’t feel
that way towards Aefre. That she is just a means to an end for him. Deep down
he knows that isn’t true, though. Sebastian is falling in love with her and if
he were anyone else, he would have put a stop to it before it even had a chance
to bloom. They have shared so much over the centuries, so many women, but he
will not share her affections with his charge. Her body is bad enough. The
thought of him fucking her, bringing her to an orgasm, squeezes at
Constantine’s heart, but he will allow it for Sebastian. But a baby? A Fae
connection between the two of them that he has no control over and no part of?
That he cannot allow. If she hasn’t terminated their agreement already, then he
will.

“Has she said it is over?” Constantine asks.

“Not in as many words,” Sebastian says carefully.

“If she doesn’t end it, you will,” he tells him. “Now that
she is very definitely part Fae, you will never be with her again.”

“You can’t take it away from me,” Sebastian says sadly. “I
won’t end it.”

“You will unless you can convince me that you won’t father a
child with her,” Constantine says.

“I will wear protection. It won’t be the same, but I will do
it,” Sebastian says quickly.

“Not good enough, and you know that.”

“A curse then. I will find a curse. There has to be one,”
Sebastian exclaims.

“Fate may not recognize a curse,” Constantine contradicts.

“Please,
Dominus
,” Sebastian begs him, using the old
word for “master,” which he now reserves for placating him. “A curse,
protection and withdrawal. I can’t offer any more than that, but don’t take her
away if she wants to stay.”

“Withdrawal?” Constantine scoffs. “Do you really think you
can do that as well as use protection? Two hours is a long time and if today
was anything to go by you would need not only a lot of it, but you would have
to interrupt yourselves in order to…get yourself in order.”

Sebastian blushes furiously as he looks away. Constantine
has no shame in discussing this. He has done things to both women and men that
most people wouldn’t have even thought to try, so the simple act of an orgasm
doesn’t embarrass him.

“You were listening?” Sebastian asks quietly, eyes still
averted, and he tilts his head in response.

“Not intentionally. It was quite hard to miss. Six times,
Vincentius,” he says with a cruel smile. “I know she is good, but that is quite
remarkable, even for you. I wonder if that would have been the case had you had
to stop to protect yourself.” He knows he is being hurtful and mean, but
Sebastian has to be put in his place.

“Point taken,” he says tightly, still looking away. “Very
well. I will do as you wish.”

“Good,” he says, and turns from Sebastian, dismissing him.
He hesitates but then backs off to leave. Constantine throws him a bone over
his shoulder before he disappears. “I will come to you tonight,” he says
softly, letting him know he has forgiven him. “I will give you comfort.”

Sebastian’s shoulders relax and he nods. “Thank you,” he
whispers before he vanishes into the house and Constantine goes back to his
precious memories of his sweet Aefre.

Tuscany, Italy, 1013 – Constantine

The journey back to the castle had been long and arduous.
He would be glad to see it again after so many months away. His latest charge
had done remarkably well considering she had never ridden a horse before in her
life. He smiled at her, remembering that when they had first set off from
Normandy they had shared a steed. He thought he preferred that. Her pert little
buttocks pressed up against him, her giggles as she felt him grow hard against
her. She insisted after several weeks that she procure her own horse, as they
weren’t getting very far, what with him sliding her off the horse and to the
ground, many times a day, to have his way with her. She had come to quickly
love the act performed between a man and woman after a brutal introduction by
that monster who called himself her husband. He had never had more satisfaction
in killing than when he had ripped his head off. Constantine had shown her how
to enjoy herself and how they could enjoy each other together. She could please
him like no other woman had in the past. She was a fascinating creature, so
eager to learn and put into practice what he had shown her, and yet she
retained this innocence about her that belied her desire and her wanton lust.
He could not get enough of taking her, he wanted to be inside her all day,
every day. He was losing his focus, as he stared at her and she shifted under
his intense gaze.

“Sire?” she asked him. “Is everything to your liking?”

“Very much so,” he murmured and she smiled prettily at
his tone.

“Do we have much farther to travel?” she asked.

“Not too far,” he said and jumped gracefully off his
horse and made his way around to her, sliding his hand up her leg.

“Again?” she asked him with mock exasperation and he
chuckled at her. “Shall we not wait until we are home? At your home,” she
amended quickly.

“Your home now, my sweet,” he said to her. “Very well, we
shall wait. But do not say that I didn’t warn you.”

“Warn me? About what?” she asked with a slight frown.

He hoisted himself back onto the horse and clucked his
tongue for her to move forward. “That I will ravage you for hours upon hours
with no mercy given, for your lack of cooperation,” he said with a wicked smile
that had her blushing furiously.

“I consider myself warned,” she said with a look that
melted his heart and heated up his loins to the point of painful if he grew any
harder.

The sun was setting and they were finally in sight of the
castle. He pointed it out to her and she shaded her sensitive eyes against the dropping
sunlight. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed and he wholeheartedly agreed, but he
was only looking at her. “I’ll race you,” she said with a laugh of delight and
with an expertise he wouldn’t have given her credit for, she spurred her horse
forward and he struggled to catch up. He watched her from behind, her golden
hair flying in the wind, her buttocks raised as she galloped towards the castle
gates. He hoped that Lance and Vincentius and all the others had left, as he
sent word for them to do. Having shared everything in the past, he knew they
would fail to understand why he was keeping this one all to himself. He could
not explain it to them. He could not explain that he had fallen so far in love
with her, she was all he could think about. She had lived up to everything he
had expected of her thus far. The Hunting issues aside, once she overcame her
difficulty she had been insatiable. Living for the Hunt, the chase, the fear.
Her excitement of joining together beside the bodies of those they had slain thrilled
him. He had never known a woman like her and he was certain it would be another
one thousand and seven hundred years before he found another. If at all. He
truly believed she was a one-of-a-kind, and he thanked Jupiter every day for
being at that marketplace on that day that he found her. She eased the beast
deep inside him. He hadn’t once had an urge these last months to seek out those
women he could unleash himself upon. He hoped it would last, that she had
changed him, that she could keep him calm and happy as she had been doing, but
doubt lurked. He feared that one day he was going to break again and he could
only pray to the old gods that she was not around when it happened. He couldn’t
bear to hurt her. Not in that way. He planned to introduce her to some light
play soon. He thought she was ready for that. Maybe that would help him keep
the monster locked away.

He pulled up beside her as she slowed, her breathing
quick and uneven in her excitement. “Do not slow down now, my love, if I don’t
have you soon I fear that I am going to explode with unfulfilled desire.”

“Then lead the way, sir. I wouldn’t wish any harm to come
to you due to my actions.” She smiled at him again in that way that started the
fire burning in him. He took her hand and steadily led the horses towards the
castle gates. A quick word with the guard on duty confirmed the departure of
all his unwanted guests. It was not taken very well, he was told, but they
daren’t defy him. He would deal with them later. Until then, he was eager to
get his hands on his beautiful girl.

“Come, I will show you to your bedchamber,” he said as he
pulled her down to the ground.

“My bedchamber?” she asked. “Are we not to share a
chamber?”

He balked at the idea. Sharing at a resting stop was one
thing, to have someone with him the whole time was something else. Even if it
was her.

“No, my sweet. You need your own space to do your own
things, as do I,” he said, thinking of the numerous women that he had about the
castle.

“My own things? Whatever do you mean?” she asked him
sadly. “I only want to be with you, to do the things that you want to do.”

He let out a small sigh. It was a charge’s reaction and
one he should have been expecting. For all her strength and fire, she was still
a brand new Vampire in his very old world. “You have never had your own space
that is just yours to do with as you please. Wait until you see the bedchamber
I have had prepared for you. I am sure you will find it to your liking.”

“Is it next to yours?” she asked fearfully.

“It is the closest chamber to mine,” he said carefully.
There were no chambers next to his, which is how he liked it. “You need to be
close to me, and as such I have made the necessary arrangements.”

“Will I be able to visit with you every night?” she
asked.

“Or I will visit with you,” he answered. He was
uncomfortable with these questions and her lack of fortitude. He had to keep
reminding himself that she was new and young to boot. Too young. He had wanted
to wait and tell her about him and how they lived but it did not work out that
way. She nodded bravely and she was then distracted by the castle. She had
never been in a castle such as this. The one in Normandy was small compared to
this. There were many things that she had not done and he could not wait to show
her. “If I remember, there is something that I warned you about,” he said
playfully, and her eyes, the color of the summer grass, lit up.

“Yes, I do believe there was. I cannot remember what it
was,” she said just as playfully as he pulled her up the steps, ignoring the
greetings of the servants and whatever guests were still permitted to stay.

“Then let me remind you,” he said huskily as he pushed
the door open to her bedchamber and ushered her inside. “This is yours.”

Her eyes went wide in astonishment. “Just mine?” she
said.

“Yes, of course,” he said and then remembered that this
room was probably as large as the entire cottage she had lived in before.

She threw her arms around him and he twirled her around,
closing the door with a loud thump, and carried her over to the bed where he
let her drop gently to the floor. He ran his hands up her thighs, bunching up
the skirts of her gown. Her lips parted, a mesmerizing darker red, which was a
sign of a healthy appetite of fresh human blood. He kissed her, moving his
hands further up her thighs until he was squeezing her pert buttocks. She
yelped softly as he bit her lip with his fangs down. He turned her around and
ripped the gown from her, splitting the seams until it fell to the ground.

“You are going to have to stop doing that,” she said over
her shoulder at him. “I am running out of gowns to wear.”

He laughed softly. “You will never have to worry about
running out of anything ever again, my sweet. I will look after you for
eternity.”

She sighed as he stroked her shoulders and down her arms
and then, pulling her to him, he bit into her, tasting her blood that was just
like her. So sweet. He flexed his hand, aching to touch her, but he couldn’t
like this. He had to settle for either biting her or touching her. He hoped one
day he could do both. To feel her wet and inviting as he took her blood, the
thought made him moan softly and she gasped. He released her from the bite and
the second his claws were gone, he delved his fingers into her, kissing her
softly over the healing wound. She arched her back and his other hand found her
breast. Her perfect, small breasts, which he could suck on for hours. He wanted
to take her like this right now. He bent her over, telling her to stay in place
and he quickly got himself free. He stroked himself a couple of times before he
pushed himself inside her. She was so wet and so tight it made his balls ache.
He moved his hand into the golden thatch of hair between her thighs and gently
pinched the nub that he found nestled there. She squeaked as a shiver went over
her and he rubbed her, his fingers slippery with her desire as the hard length
of him was pounding into her. He felt her tighten and throb around him and with
a loud groan he let himself go, spurting inside her, unable to hold on any
longer.