The Power of One (The Forever series Book Two) (13 page)

He fetches me some tea while I ponder my dream. “The dream
man told me I had to let go. What am I holding onto Devon?” I ask him candidly.

He looks at me in earnest. “I could answer that but I don’t
fancy a smack down this early in the morning.”

“Just say it,” I urge.

“I think you know,” he says but then his phone rings, before
I can get any more out of him. If he knows, I should know. Right? Scowling when
he whispers he has to go, I am interrupted myself.

“What?” I snap, not even bothering to check caller ID.

“Err Liv?” It’s Scott.

“Yes, Scott. What is it?”

“Harlow’s files. I need them back and signed by 9 AM.”

Shit! I had completely forgotten them after my adventure
yesterday.

“Crap, sorry. I have them here. I’ll be with you in an
hour,” I say, glancing at the clock.

“Okay, see you in a bit.”

I hang up and “Teleport” – really there just isn’t another
word for it – back upstairs, my dream forgotten.

XXXXX

Cole wakes as I bustle around the room getting ready. “What
time is it?” he asks groggily.

“7:30. I have to go, baby. Duty calls. Don’t forget the
feeder will be here soon. Esther will come and find you and either she or Devon
will supervise, okay?”

“I don’t need supervision,” he sulks at me.

I smile gently, “Just humor me, please.”

“Okay,” he says grudgingly. And I kiss him swiftly.

“Ring me later. I love you,” he calls out as I dash out.

“I love you,” I call back and disappear downstairs grabbing
my briefcase from where I left it by the door.

Grayson is waiting with the car so I can work on my way in.

About twenty minutes later my phone rings. It’s Devon.
Before I can even say hello he says, “If I wanted to babysit a charge, I would
have made one of my own.”

“Oh Devon. Don’t sulk. Just help him.”

“No need. He’s got the hang of it just fine.”

“Then what’s the problem?” I growl impatiently.

“Just making my stand. A teacher I am not.”

“Fine. Position clear. I must go, busy, busy,” I hang up. It
has always struck me as odd that he has never sired a charge. Not that I am
complaining. I love having him all to myself, but it is most definitely a rare
situation.

XXXXX

Handing Scott the completed files I sink into my chair and
ring CK. He answers on the first ring.

“Everything okay?” he asks quickly.

“Yes, fine. What about you?” I ask pointedly. And he exhales
loudly.

“I want to rip his dick off for daring to go anywhere near
you with it, then his hands for daring to even touch you and finally tear his
head from his shoulders,” he growls and I quake. CK threatens beheading quite
frequently but so rarely gets the opportunity to follow through these days,
much to his disappointment I think. There was a time, however, when he wouldn’t
have even bothered with a warning. He can be terrifying when he wants to be.

“All in good time, my love,” I placate him in jest and he
chuckles.

“If I thought you meant that there would be no stopping me.
Initial Vampire or not.”

“Oh, I mean it Constantine,” I say in a voice not my own.

Huh? I stare at the phone and clear my throat.

“Aefre?” he asks warily.

“Yes, it’s me. Now,” I croak

“What just happened?”

“It was The Power. It doesn’t seem to like Gregor,” I say,
sounding foolish.

Silence.

“Well maybe you are the key to his demise, my sweet,” he
says cryptically.

“What?”

“Never mind. I am sorry my love. I must go. Take care and
check in again after so I know you are okay.”

“Fine. Be safe,” I hang up.

This is all just getting too weird. Why would this Power
approve of CK’s desire to kill Gregor? And could it be that maybe somehow I am
the key? Being so in the dark about this Power and what it means and about the
prophecy and my role in it is getting almost too much to bear. I hate not being
in control and I hate feeling so out of the loop. I hope I get some answers
soon. Spending so much time with CK lately is also driving me crazy. I am
starting to miss him, really miss him, not just because he is my sire, when he
isn’t there now.

I let my mind wander back to when we first met and how he
was my love and my protector even then, although I didn’t know it at the time.

London, England, 1012 – Aefre

After that first day I met him, I knew I had to see him
again. I purposefully made an excuse to go to the marketplace the next day to
see if he was there again. I packed my basket with my usual odds and ends for
bartering and trading. Minus Annis and Rheda, I was free to let my eyes roam
for him. My heart stopped when I turned around and he was standing right behind
me.

“Good day, Aefre,” he said in that voice like honey. “I
had hoped to see you again.”

“Constantine,” I managed to sputter out, not quite meeting
his eye.  What had seemed like a good idea this morning, I was now having
second thoughts. What if someone saw me and told Radulf? “I apologize. I need
to get home.”

“Always apologizing, aren’t you?” he said in a voice so
low I could only just hear him. My eyes found his eventually and he was looking
at me with that half amused glint in his eye.

I squared my shoulders and winced at the pain it sent to my
aching body, “I wish you good day, sir,” and I turned on my heel to leave. He
followed me and once we are out of the busy marketplace and outside the church,
he pulled me swiftly down the side of the bell tower. Gasping as he pressed me
up against the cold stone, not quite touching me.

“I brought you a gift, Aefre. Where are your manners?” he
asked, his mouth so close to my ear I shivered as his breath tickled me. He
produced a single flower from what seemed like nowhere and placed it behind my
ear. A beautiful budding red rose.

My breath caught in my throat at the thoughtful gesture
from this stranger. Gazing up at him, now in the privacy of the shadow of the
bell tower, I really took in his features. He was the most handsome man I had
ever come across. His shoulder length dark hair was tied back neatly which left
his face to be openly admired. His dark eyes with amber flecks were almond
shaped, slanted like a cats. His nose was perfectly straight which meant he
either didn’t fight or was too good to let it be broken. The latter, I thought.
His lips, which were curved into a knowing smile, were full and a darker red
than normal. He had a strong jaw and a long neck, which led, down to a chest I
just wanted to touch.

My sinful thoughts brought my attention back to my
surroundings and I cleared my throat.

“Th – Thank you, sir for the kind gift you bestow upon
me. It is with regret that I have nothing to offer you in return.”

He raised his perfectly shaped eyebrows at me, “A promise
to meet me here tomorrow will suffice my lady.”

Gaping at him calling me a lady clad in my only gown that
albeit is clean, as am I, had been mended more times than I could count. I
could only nod.

“Very good,” he replied in a strange language. Latin,
maybe? I am no scholar, where clearly he was well educated and well bred. “I
shall see you a day from now,” and he was gone.

Catching my breath I pulled the rose from my ear and I
inhaled its scent. “So sweet,” I murmured to myself.

Making my way back to the cottage, I placed the rose
under a bush where Radulf would never find it and went about my day.

The following day, my husband was over in the next town
and I was free to sneak out to meet the handsome Constantine.

He was waiting for me behind the bell tower, another rose
in hand. “For you, a sweet flower for my sweet Aefre,” he placed it behind my
ear.

I stared at him and his use of the word “sweet,” did he
hear me yesterday after he left? And “my.” Oh I would give anything to be his.
My look must have portrayed this thought as he pushed off from the wall he was
casually leaning against and moved so close to me again but never touching me,
always just on the fringe of my person.

“Do you want to be mine, sweet Aefre?” he asked boldly.

Recovering myself I stammered, “I am not mine to give.”

“Alas, the lady is taken.” He looked at me with amused
sorrow and asked, “Perhaps a third meeting will make her see reason?”

Wanting desperately to see him again, I said boldly,
“Perhaps.” He looked delighted.

“A day from now then, I shall see you return.” He lightly
touched my chin and I tilted my head up. He looked at me inquiringly and moved
his mouth down to mine barely touching my lips with his. “Good day, my lady,”
he whispered with a smile so wicked I inhaled sharply. What was this man doing
to me? In a flash he was gone again. How did he do that? I wondered idly as
again I went back to the cottage and placed the rose under the bush with the
other one.

Radulf was in a rage when he returned home, drunk on mead
and eager to hit something. Or someone. His grip on my arms was so tight he
left big black bruises and his kicks to my ribs and hips left me in tears
gasping for breath. Only thoughts of Constantine’s beautiful face kept me
going.

The next day was a usual market day and Annis and Rheda
accompanied me to my disappointment. Unable to get away from my companions I
heard the bell peel, I needed to get to the tower.

Putting on my best fearful look, I whispered to Annis
that I wanted to pray in the church, that I would remain unharmed that night
and Annis, with pity all over her pretty face, let me go. Making haste as fast
as my battered body would let me, I stumbled into the shadow of the tower but
he wasn’t there. Catching my breath and heaving in disappointment that I missed
him I felt the tears spring to my eyes.

“Where are you?” I asked of no one, and turning around he
was there.

“I didn’t think you were coming,” he said in a reprimand.

“I apologize, sir. I couldn’t get away from my
companions,” I said looking down.

“Always apologizing,” he said again but in a lighter
tone. I chanced a quick look up and he was looking at me in puzzlement. Moving
ever so close again without touching me, he lifted my chin up with the rose.
“Has the lady seen reason yet?”

My mouth went dry as I made a decision, I nodded.

His eyes darkened just a little bit and he narrowed them,
“Do you want me, sweet Aefre?”

Still unable to speak, I nodded again and he closed his
eyes and inhaled sharply. “Where can we meet?” he asked softly.

Wetting my lips I thought, “The old abandoned barn near
my cottage. It’s just on the outskirts of the village…”

“I know where it is,” he interrupted me. “I shall see you
in the hayloft when the bell strikes the hour.”

I nodded and hearing Rheda calling for me I took my
leave, wondering if my senses had left as well.

He appeared in the barn, as he said he would. I was
already in the hayloft, not having dared to go home in case I didn’t return. I
didn’t want to do this but he wanted to and I realized then that I would do
anything to please him and make him happy.

He mounted the steps with ease and stopped when he saw
me. “I was of half a mind you might not be here.”

I stared at him in silence as he crossed over to me. “I
am glad that you are. I have thought of nothing else since I saw you three days
ago.” He undid the knot on my cloak and it fell to the floor, I stood stock
still not knowing what to do. He moved in closer and this time brushed up
against me. I tilted my head up and he kissed me. I flinched in surprise as his
hands came up to my face to hold me gently. I hesitantly placed my hands on his
hips and he caught his breath at my touch. Slowly pulling on my gown he pushed
it up over my head, leaving me standing in just my linen underdress. I shivered
as the cold reached me. Discarding my underdress in the same manner I drew back
in fear, as I was now naked in front of him. His eyes hardened as he saw the
bruises and I tried to cover them up but he pulled my hands away. “Please,” I
begged.

He looked at me, not understanding. When he saw the
evident fear in my eyes, his softened and he whispered, “I would never hurt
you, my sweet Aefre. You have no reason to be afraid. I shall refrain if you do
not wish to continue.”

I believed that he won’t hurt me. At least not
intentionally, so I shook my head, “Please continue.”

He looked relieved and kissed me again, trailing his
hands softly down me, avoiding the bruises. I had never been touched so gently
before and I started to relax under his touch. He draped our cloaks on the
floor like a blanket and led me over. I knelt down and he undressed as I
watched him in awe. His chest was smooth and muscular, and he had strong lean
arms and legs. “Lie down,” he said and I obeyed. He kissed me again and started
to move his hands down me. I waited for the pain but it didn’t come. He took my
nipple in his mouth and started to suck gently, playing with the other one with
his fingers. I felt something stirring in me. Something I had never felt
before, and it felt pleasant. He trailed his hand slowly down over me and
flitted his fingers gently across my private area. I tensed but he murmured to
me in his own language and it soothed me. He inserted two fingers into me while
his thumb played over me. I gasped in fear and surprise and tried to push him
away. He lifted his head up to look at me and he whispered, “Don’t fret, my
sweet. Let me show you what you can feel. Let me show you the pleasure I can
give you, you just need to let me.” He whispered over and over, all the while
moving his fingers in and out of me, his thumb still playing with me. I started
to feel wet down there and he moaned, “Yes, my sweet.” I felt happy that I was
doing something that made him happy and I relaxed again. It felt so good what
he was doing, I forgot about everything else except his fingers. I cried out as
a wave of pleasure rushed up from the tips of my feet and a throbbing occurred
between my legs. “Good girl,” he murmured. He moved over me and entered me. I
tensed up again expecting the pain but it was so easy after what he did to me.
He pushed into me and he slid in. Careful not to place his weight on me, he
braced himself with his arms on either side of my head. “Move with me, Aefre,”
he whispered. I stared at him not understanding what he wanted me to do.
Realizing I didn’t understand him, he slid a hand down to my unbruised hip and
lifted me up slightly and pushed me to him. “Wrap your legs around me,” he
whispered and I obeyed. It pushed him further into me and I liked the way he
felt. I gasped as he rubbed against a sensitive spot inside me. “Now move
against me. Find the pattern, my sweet.” I concentrated hard on what he was
saying, wanting desperately to please him and make him happy. He kept rubbing
against the spot inside me and it started to feel like what he did earlier with
his fingers but more intense. I was breathing heavily now and I felt like a pot
about to boil over. “Oh Aefre,” he moaned, “Do you feel the pleasure? Do you
feel what I am doing to you?”