Switch (The Forever Series, Book 7) (27 page)

I shower quickly and as I step out there is a swift knock
and the door opens. In strides a man I have never seen before, but I assume is
the Feeder. Ramon is on a break for the next two days. I have been feeding
solely from him twice a day and it is taking its toll on him. I am going to
have to speak to CK about finding someone else. I take what I can from him but
it isn’t enough. Sebastian has taken a lot out of me and I feel weary.

I Astral back upstairs and find him staring out of the
window. “Did you feed?”

“Yes, thank you. I hate to sound all Oliver Twist though,
but I need more.”

He snickers. “I have taken a lot from you today. Take some
back,” he says, holding his hands up. I take them gratefully as his phone beeps
again. “Five minutes,” he mouths and I speed up the process. His energy fills
me and I feel completely strong again. I quickly get dressed and pick my shoes
up.

“You need to tell him,” he says suddenly. “He needs to know
about you and about us.”

“I can’t, Seb. Not now. I told you if it comes to that then
I will. We don’t know if Drake is going to show, he might never acknowledge me.
By the sounds of it, I am not sure I want him to. He sounds dreadful and it is
just going to complicate everything.”

“But if we belong together, then we need to be together,
Liv. To deny it would be a bad move.”

“And what about CK and my husband?” I ask him, expecting him
to answer.

He doesn’t and we just stare at each other.

“I should go,” I say eventually as the phone dings for, I
imagine, one minute. Christ, he wasn’t taking any chances I might be late.

“Yeah. I’ll see you back in England,” he says with a smile
and a quick kiss.

I nod and disappear down the stairs two at a time. I open
the midway door that leads to the second floor and practically trip over CK who
is sitting on the floor outside the door staring at his phone. He tucks it away
as he sees me, no doubt counting down to make sure I am on time.

“Hi,” I say and hold out my hand to help him up.

“Hi,” he says and takes it. “You are well?” he asks
formally.

“I’m fine,” I say with a smile. “Now about those plans you
had…” I pull him closer to me and he stiffens slightly but then relaxes as he
sniffs delicately and comes up with soap and water. I have to sigh inwardly at
him. Well, all Vampire men. They are so territorial, CK more than most.

“Ah, yes. My plans to sweep you off your feet,” he says as
he does exactly that and I laugh in delight as he twirls me round. “First
things,” he says and Teleports us outside into the weak late February sun and
gestures to a picnic he has had set up in the gardens.

“Perfect,” I say, clapping my hands and then throwing my
arms around his neck. He kisses me quickly and then pushes me down to sit. He
hands me a pair of Ray-Bans as he dons his own and sits on the blanket
kitty-corner to me. I gratefully put on the sunglasses. My eyes stop squinting
and I take in the beautiful view as he hands me a glass of champagne. “Bit
early,” I chuckle as I take it.

“Makes no difference to us, my sweet. We can drink all day,
every day. Just enjoy it and stop being so moral,” he teases me and I snort in
amusement.

“It really tickles me that you all go around calling me
moral. By most human standards I am the most
im
moral being on the
planet. I should be walking around with a scarlet ‘A’ pinned to my front.”

He chokes on his champagne as he stifles his laugh. “Oh my
love, if I thought I could get away with it, I would pin it on you myself.”

I smile prettily at him and he beams at me. “There is a lot
you could get away with but you don’t want to try,” I say darkly in contrast to
my sweet smile.

His own expression darkens. “Don’t tempt me, you might
regret it.”

“Doubtful,” I say cheerfully and take a swig of my
champagne.

He takes the high road and ignores me, changing the subject
to something else. “Aefre, there are some papers I want you to sign,” he says
and leans over and pulls out a blue folder from the basket.

“What is it?” I ask, taking it from him. I flick through it
and my eyes widen in surprise.

“My reasons for going to Geneva were twofold. This is one of
them.” He hands me his Montblanc pen and I just stare at it.

“No. CK this isn’t necessary,” I say, closing the folder.

“No, it isn’t, but it is something that I want to do.”

“I don’t need it, it is…” I wave my hand about, trying to
find the right word.

“It is what I want. I want you to be named on everything
that I own, Aefre. It doesn’t matter if you need it or not.”

“The castle is enough, Constantine,” I say with a frown and
he returns it as I have used his full name. “It is enough that we have a home
together, something that is ours. I don’t need all the rest.”

“I know you don’t
need
it, but I want you to have
it.” He is getting annoyed now and I smile inwardly. Only he would get mad at
me for refusing to take half of his vast,
vast
fortune that makes my own
look like pocket change. I never actually knew exactly how much money he has,
but I counted thirteen figures on his bottom line and that is just his bank
accounts. With this place and all the other properties and investments he has,
I actually start to shake as I take in the enormity of his estate. It is
bordering on unreal.

“It is what couples do, Aefre. They share,” he says to me as
I remain silent and shaky.

I slap my hand to my mouth to stop myself from laughing out
loud as, oh my god! Did he just say that to me? He, who couldn’t even bear to
let me share his bedroom officially with him for centuries, making sure that I
had my own to go back to.

He glares at me as he sees the laughter dancing in my eyes.
“Yes, I can see that this turnabout amuses you, but there is no need to make
fun.”

“Oh my love, I am not making fun of you,” I say, chastised.
“It is just a huge shock, that is all. It’s staggering. Can I think about it?”

“You want to think about it?” he asks in disbelief. “Every
other woman in the universe would have signed before I had even given them the
pen.”

I take a very great offense to that and put on my most
haughty expression. “Well I am not ‘every woman.’ If that is what you want:
someone who will take your money without a second regard, then I suggest you
look elsewhere.” I throw the file back at him, along with his pen and he
catches it with a look of pure delight.

“Oh no,” he says. “That is most definitely not what I want.
You misunderstand, my sweet. It is your reluctance that warms me. That makes me
fall in love with you all over again. And that expression on your face is a
picture. Only you would throw this back in my face as an unnecessary course of
action. It is only you that I want.”

“A test?” I say, knowing his methods all too well. “If you
wanted to test me you should have tried with something more than money. I have
enough of my own, I don’t need yours.”

“Not a test,” he says, pouting. “I wouldn’t do that to you.
I have no need. I couldn’t care less if you had snatched my hand off, grabbing
the pen. But it is nice to know that you are a woman of substance. A one of a
kind.” He holds it back out to me. “Now just sign it and stop making such a big
deal out of it.”

“I’ll think about it,” I say again and he smiles.

“Very well.” He pulls another blue folder out of the basket
and holds it out to me. “This one I think you will accept more readily,” he
says.

I take it cautiously and place my glass in the grass, as he
casually stretches out and props himself up on his elbows, face to the sun. I
peer down at him and stretch my legs out so that my feet are by his head. He
smiles at me and turns so he can tickle my bare foot, which makes me wiggle my
toes. “You have such pretty feet,” he murmurs as I open the file slowly like it
is going to bite me.

I squint down at the ancient piece of paper covered
carefully in plastic. “Holy crap, CK. Is this what I think it is?”

“Probably, seeing as we are like-minded,” he says absently,
as he is still examining my feet and in particular my toes. He starts to suck
on them, which is driving me to distraction as I stare at the piece of paper.

“I thought you might like it, considering it is now yours,”
he says in between sucks.

I am speechless and still staring into the folder, at the
official document from 1539 that stated the change in name from the Norman
Castel
Gradile
to the French
Château Cassis
. “You kept this even after you
sold it?”

“I thought I might have a use for it someday. Turns out I
was right.” He is now kissing the tops of my feet and I shiver.

“Thank you,” I say sincerely. “This I will accept without
argument. It is very precious and a wonderful gift.”

“Oh, it’s not a gift,” he says as his kisses reach my
ankles. “You are going to have to earn it,” he adds wickedly and I grin.

“Mm, in that case maybe we should take this inside,” I say,
closing the folder abruptly.

“Not yet, I like it out here with you. I don’t want to rush
things today. We always rush. You said you wanted romantic and I intend to give
to you.”

“Making me wait,” I murmur. “No fair.”

“It is as much for my benefit as yours,” he says. “Now you
wanted me to remind you to ask me something. What is it?” His attention is
still diverted, on my shins now, working his way quickly up to my knees. I
remember what I want to ask but I don’t want to spoil the mood.

“It can wait. I am more interested in what you plan on doing
once you get passed my knees,” I say, lying back on my elbows so that the
expanse of my thighs is now exposed under my tiny skirt.

“I plan on stopping because clearly whatever it is you have
to ask me is unpleasant and will ruin the mood,” he says, reading my mind with
damn accuracy as usual. He lifts his head and shuffles around so his head is
now in line with mine. “Out with it. Rather now, when the damage can be
repaired before our special evening, than later when these things usually crop
up and blow everything to Hell and back,” he says it with a smile, but he
speaks the truth and I know it as well as he does.

“It’s about Cole,” I say and he sits up straight, his face
going impassive.

“What about him?” he asks shortly.

“He is unhappy with this arrangement. Of me coming here for
two days. He wants to find an alternative arrangement.”

“I see,” he says and I can tell his eyes are hard and cold
boring into me even behind his dark lenses. After a few minutes he says, “There
is only one alternative and that is for him to give up and let me have you.”

“That’s not going to happen,” I say quietly.

“End of discussion then.”

“If he is unhappy, it is going to make me unhappy,” I blurt
out. “Can’t you be reasonable and help me find another way?”

“Be reasonable?” His eyebrows go up. “I think I am being
more than reasonable allowing you to stay married to the man.”

“Allowing me?” I say in disbelief. “How dare you make it
sound like you own me.”

“I do own you,” he says heatedly. “You are mine. I made you
so you could be with
me
. Not him and not anybody else.”

I stare at him, dumbfounded. “This is how you think? That
you own me because you made me?”

“And this is why I would rather we talked about it now,” he
says with his perfected world-weary sigh. “No, Aefre. It isn’t how I think. Not
really. I like to convince myself that it is true, that I allow you your own
life so that I still feel some sense of control, that I am still the only one
who matters to you, regardless of whoever else is in your life.”

He has thrown me off guard with his statement. I was
expecting a massive brawl about it. Trust him to turn the tide and make me feel
bad.

“I don’t know how to respond to that,” I say. “It is getting
off topic. There has to be another way we can arrange this so that everyone is
happy.”

“There isn’t,” he says and I think that is the true end of
this discussion when he adds, “I am unhappy with this arrangement as well, you
know. There is only one way that I will be ever be happy and that is to have
you to myself full time.” I ponder that miserably as we sit in silence which he
breaks by saying, “Besides, you now have another arrangement which requires you
to be here. Unless you want to fill him in on that.”

“You know I can’t do that,” I say quietly.

“Well then, this whole discussion is redundant. Can we
please get back to our pleasant picnic now?”

“He is determined to find a way,” I press. “If he comes up
with an idea, please just be open to listening to it, for me?”

“And what about Sebastian?” he asks coldly.

“I will honor that arrangement but if I have to change the
terms, then so be it.”

“Fine.
If
he comes up with an idea, I will listen,
but I am not promising anything, Aefre. Let me make that perfectly clear to you
now.”

“That’s all I ask,” I say, taking his hand. “Thank you.”

He nods stiffly and I know his playful mood from before is
long gone. I have doused it by reminding him not only of Cole, but Sebastian as
well. How can I ever tell him about this Fae thing? I can’t. He will never in a
million lifetimes understand or accept it. I can only hope that Drake never
shows his face and that
her
life never becomes mine.

“You are looking tired, we should go inside and you can take
a nap,” he says briskly.

“Only if you take one with me,” I say.

“It is a difficult request to deny but if I get into the
same bed with you, there will be no napping involved,” he says with a great
effort to smile at me and I love him for trying.

“No one said we had to wait until tonight,” I say as I
shuffle closer to him and put my hands on his tense shoulders.