by C. L. Nelson
I think about his offer for a minute. I don’t really want to meet with the Ladies of the Waiting in my brother’s love nest and I definitely don’t want Charlie there, but I can’t think of any place better to go. “Yes, let’s meet there. Finlay, I assume you can get Charlie there?”
He nodded.
“Great. Jarrett, give us the coordinates, and let’s go. I expect to see you all there in less than a minute,” I said.
I astralocated as soon as I knew where I was going. When I arrived in Jarrett’s Paris apartment, I went into the bathroom and shut the door. I needed a minute to myself before seeing Charlie with Finlay again. I can hear everyone arriving. Jarrett is showing them around and offering beverages. I can’t hide in here forever, so I exit the bathroom to rejoin the group.
It is five hours later in Paris than it was in the Bahamas which would make it around eight in the morning here. Everyone is exhausted from the night’s activities, so I suggested to them that we all get some sleep before we meet with the Ladies of the Waiting. Everyone agreed, so while Jarrett is setting everyone up with a place to sleep, I texted Karma to update her on our location. She texted back a few minutes later with a confirmation that she received my message.
I turned back towards the group just in time to hear Jarrett hitting on Charlie. “You can share my bed with me. I know it’s been a stressful day for you, I can help you relax,” he said with a flirtatious half-smile while looking at her lips.
She laughed and playfully swatted his arm. “Thanks for the offer, Jarrett, but I am just going to share the sofa bed with Fin. I need to be near him after what happened,” she told him, looking adorable in her panda-themed pajamas.
I am thankful that she refused my charming brother but unhappy that she isn’t sleeping alone, especially when I see that Finlay is only wearing boxer briefs. I groaned to myself before I said goodnight, even though it is morning, and retire to the guest bedroom floor as Dashiel has already claimed the bed.
***
I tossed and turned for about an hour before I gave up on sleeping and headed out to get some air. I tiptoed quietly out of the guest bedroom and down the hall toward the living room. I look at the sofa bed where Charlie and Finlay are sharing a bed or at least they were. Charlie isn’t in the bed. I automatically scan the room, slightly panicked. I let go of the breath I didn’t know I was holding when I see her outside on the balcony.
I think about my options for a minute. I can keep trying to avoid Charlie and astralocate somewhere else to get some air or I can just go share the balcony with her like a grownup. Damn it! I take a deep breath and step out onto the balcony.
It’s still morning in Paris and while the sun is shining, the temperature is a bit chilly. The cool air caresses my skin and causes the hairs to stand up on my arm. If you don’t mind the brisk air, it is a beautiful morning to be out on a balcony that has a view of the Eiffel Tower.
Charlie is sitting on the only bench that is outside on the small balcony. She was smart and brought out a blanket to wrap around herself. I don’t sit next to her, unsure of my welcome, and go to lean on the railing.
“I forgive you,” she said after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. “Finlay got over you ripping out his soul, so I have decided that it would be petty to stay mad at you when he isn’t.”
I turn around to look at her. She isn’t looking at me. She is staring off in the distance, her eyebrows low and drawn together. The wind is gently blowing her wavy hair in her face. She reached her hand out to tuck the offending strands behind her ear. Her feet are tucked up and the blanket is wrapped around her entire body.
She finally looked at me. “You can sit. I promise I won’t bite…unless you piss me off again. With your streak, it might be risky for you,” she said with a hint of a smile.
I stare at her for a moment. There she goes again, trying to lighten the mood with her smart mouth. She has no idea what that does to me. Nor does she know that the thought of her mouth on me in any manner causes my dick to stir. Holy fuck, this is bad. I think about baseball, dead puppies, my father, anything to get my mind off the road it was heading down as I sit next to her, accepting her olive branch.
“Couldn’t sleep, either?” I asked as I tried to make myself comfortable on the bench.
“No, too much going on in my head. I didn’t want to wake Fin with all of my tossing and turning, so I decided to come out here to try to clear my mind,” she said, resting her head on her knees.
“Yeah, same here, but I wasn’t sleeping in a bed with anyone, so I didn’t have to worry about waking anyone up,” I said, trying hard not to sound bitter.
“Well since you are out here, why don’t you distract me from my thoughts?”
“How?” There are so many things that I could do that would distract the both of us, but none of those ideas are particularly appropriate to do on a balcony in public with a female that is my professional responsibility.
“I don’t know. Tell me about yourself. Maybe you will bore me to sleep,” she said as she turned her head to look at me, her ice-blue eyes peering at me.
I don’t really like to talk about myself. I start to feel like I am back in reaper school on my first day when I was asked to say my name and tell the other students a little about myself. School didn’t go well after I told the other students that I was the next in line to rule the reapers. If they weren’t bowing and kissing my ass, they were picking fights with me. Yeah, I think I will skip the part about who my father is and what that means for my future.
I cleared my throat. “Well, you know what I am and what I do for work. What else would you like to know?”
She thinks for a moment. “How old are you?”
“I am two thousand one hundred and thirty-five years old,” I said, looking away from her eyes to her mouth that opened in surprise.
“Wow. Dude, you are really fucking old.” Her mouth turned up into a grin. Her eyes sparkling with suppressed laughter.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “Sweetheart, your soul is probably as old as I am. You just happened to have been in more bodies than me.”
She glared at me, wrinkled her button nose, and pulled one side of her pink lips up in a half-smile. “That sounds so wrong.”
The corners of my mouth lifted into a smirk. “And for a reaper, I am still very young as reapers can live for a very long time. My father is over one hundred thousand years old and he is just starting to show signs of aging.”
“Tell me more about your family,” she said while putting her feet down and leaning back against the bench, looking out toward the city.
“Well, you met Dashiel and Jarrett. I also have another brother, Rhett, and a sister, Emilia.”
“Just one sister with four brothers. That poor girl.”
“Yeah, but she can hold her own. She is Jarrett’s twin and the two of them get into a lot of trouble together. I think you would like her.”
“Maybe I will get to meet her if I am not murdered sometime soon,” she laughed half-heartedly like she was trying to make a joke, but the seriousness of her situation seeped in.
“Glitter,” I blurted out, trying to think of anything to get her mind off that dark path.
“What?” she said, turning her head to look at me, her eyebrows drawn together in confusion.
“I hate glitter. I hate it with a passion. It is the worst substance ever created. If I could go back in time and find whoever came up with the idea, I would rip their soul out and throw it in the Pit.”
“Then why are you wearing so much of it?” she laughed as she reached out and slid her hand across my collar bone. She pulled her hand away to show me all of the glitter that transferred to her fingers.
I freeze, my skin tingling where she touched me. My blood was pumping fast under my skin as my heart thumped wildly in my chest. I take a deep breath and will my body to calm down.
“Prank,” I said.
“Ah, I see, so what do you like?”
“I like
to keep busy. Usually, I am working, but when I take a day off, I like to hike in the mountains by myself.”
“Yep, keep talking, Kian. You are putting me to sleep,” she said, leaning her head against my shoulder to emphasize her point.
I can feel my mouth pull up into a smile. I can’t help it. I like it when she touches me and when she is in a joking mood. “I collect small rocks that I find while I am hiking each mountain, like a souvenir from my trips, but I don’t get out much. I work a lot.”
Her head falls from my shoulder on to my thigh as she fake snores. “Wow, Kian. You are an exciting man. You need to have more fun in your life.” She rolled on to her back, so she could look up at me. “Life isn’t all about work and I notice you worry a lot. What is the point of living so long if you don’t enjoy it?”
My body tensed at the thought of her head in my lap. I thought about what she said, so I wouldn’t think about how close her head was to certain body parts.
“You’re right, but I do enjoy my job. Sometimes I get stressed out because I feel so responsible for things, but I try to enjoy the small things. Sometimes I wish I could be like the twins and just be carefree, but I am the oldest, so I feel like I need to take care of them,” I said, not sure of why I just confessed all of that.
Charlie rolled over, so she was lying on her side, facing toward the railing, her feet curled up on the bench. “Kian, if you are over two thousand years old, then they must have been alive for a while now too. I think they can take care of themselves. You shouldn’t worry so much,” she said, sounding sleepy.
“Yeah, but old habits die hard. I have been caring for them since our mothers died so many years ago. They were all very young when that happened,” I said as I noticed that I had started to play with her hair, combing my fingers through it. I stopped when I realized what I was doing.
“No, don’t stop. That feels nice… relaxing,” she said softly. “I didn’t realize you all had different mothers. I am sorry for your losses.”
I don’t say anything further, not wanting to go into the details of our mothers’ deaths. I just keep running my fingers through her hair.
Charlie seemed to understand that I didn’t want to keep talking, so we just existed silently. After a few minutes, I hear her breathing even out and become the telltale rhythmic sound of sleep.
I gently lift her head, slide off the bench, and place her head back down softly. Without thinking about it, I slide my arms under her body and lift her, cradling her sleeping body against my chest. I open the door to the apartment and carry her inside, blanket and all.
I hesitate when I think about putting her back in bed with Finlay. My mouth lifts in disgust and I narrow my eyes. I take a deep breath and let it out. I can’t very well lay her on the floor where I am sleeping.
Finlay must have heard us come back in because he is staring at me. “You can’t hold her in your arms all night, Romeo.”
I glared at him. “Just shut up and move over to your side of the bed.”
I hesitate for another moment after he slides over while I enjoy Charlie’s warmth against my body. I groan quietly before I lower her gently on to the bed.
Charlie must feel the loss of my body heat because she immediately seeks more warmth in her sleep. She finds Finlay and curls her body against his, sighing in satisfaction. He wrapped his arms around her and looked at me with a grin.
“I hate you right now. I really fucking hate you,” I whispered, so I don’t wake Charlie up. I turn around abruptly and walk back to the guest bedroom, leaving before I do anything stupid. It will be a miracle if I get any sleep before we have to get up.
Chapter 12
Alaric
Nearly forty-eight hours have passed since I should have had her back. I am pacing around my throne room, feeling agitated and frustrated. I have recovered from my mysterious illness, but I ache all over from my need to be in her presence. I should have just locked her up somewhere, hidden from everyone else. I was just so angry when she disfigured me.
I have summoned Cecilia again as I have not heard from her since she left to take care of our mutual problem. She was supposed to have brought back my female’s soul already. So help me Creators, if she did something permanent to my queen’s soul, I will burn the Waiting to the ground.
I am fuming and pacing when Fate walks into my throne room. She is dressed like the slut that she is, wearing a skin-tight dress that barely covers her ass, and I can tell that she isn’t wearing anything underneath. I know all about her string of lovers and if I actually liked her, I would have killed them all. I don’t share what is mine.
She sauntered up to me, wrapped herself around me, and kissed me deeply. I have to hold back my vomit as her tongue slides around my mouth.
I push her off me and try to distract her from her never-ending desire. “Cecilia, we have business to attend to before any fun can happen,” I reminded her with no intention of ever having “fun” with her again if I can help it. She’s like a sex toy that doesn’t know when it has been used up and thrown out. “Where is the woman’s soul?” I asked impatiently.
“You have become so boring, Alaric.” She pouted like it’s a sexy look for her before continuing. “I sent two of my most loyal…um…servants to fetch the girl. One was a vampire and the other was a reaper. They were instructed to kill the girl and to bring back her soul to me,” she said before pausing to think of how to phrase what she was going to say next.
I knew exactly who she sent. I know of the male vampire and female reaper who are her lovers. They are obedient and somewhat capable, so they should have been able to handle a simple pickup.
Cecilia took a deep breath before speaking, “Only the reaper returned, and I am sorry to say she was without the soul. My poor Xander was killed by the harlot’s fae friend,” she said, growing angry. “I am going to enjoy watching you throw that slut’s soul into the Pit. Maybe I can turn her fae friend into a slave for my enjoyment,” she said with a wicked smile.
I explode in a rage. I grab Cecilia by the neck and slam her against the wall. I don’t need to worry about backlash from her even though she is more powerful than me. For one, she has never learned how to utilize her powers effectively, too busy being a whore, and she also likes it rough, so I know she is turned on right now, not angry. “I gave you one simple task and you failed,” I yelled at her. Females are so useless. “I will go collect her myself. Give me her location!” I demand.
Cecilia is squirming, trying to rub her body against me. “She has left her apartment and has gone to an island in the Bahamas with her fae lover,” she squeaked out while having a hard time talking from her throat being squeezed. I released some pressure on her neck and she inhaled deeply. “I won’t tell you the exact location until you take care of my needs.”
I am so angry that I could rip her soul out and throw it in the Pit. I took a deep breath before guiding her by her throat over to the center of the room, unzipping my pants on the way. I bend her over my throne, not needing to pull up her short dress and enter her from behind in a single thrust.
She was already wet from me manhandling her and it doesn’t take long before she is grunting like the pig she is.
I grabbed her hair and pulled her head back at a painful angle. I slammed myself into her over and over until she screamed her release. When she stilled, I let go of her hair and tossed her to the ground in disgust.
“Tell me!” I demanded.
Cecilia stood up shakily and straightened her dress. “She was on a small island off the coast of New Providence. Here are the coordinates, but she probably isn’t still there.” She handed me a small piece of paper.
I dismiss her and begin to pace again. I am seething from the events of this meeting, but I would do anything to get my queen back. I will handle this myself, but first I need to send my most trusted guards to search for her body. I am going to need it before her soul burns through her current mortal body, destroying both the body and her soul.
> Chapter 13
Charlie
The sun is still shining when I wake up confused several hours later in Jarrett’s living room. Finlay is still asleep, his body wrapped around mine as if protecting me even in his sleep. I dismiss his erection as I am pretty sure that just happens naturally when men sleep, not that I have much experience sleeping with men, but it definitely happens a lot when Fin sleeps over.
I sit up a little to look around. Jarrett’s apartment has an open concept floor plan similar to my apartment, only much bigger and nicer. He had to have paid a designer to furnish his apartment. It looks like a bachelor pad, but it’s still elegant. From what I have seen, the apartment has a black, gray, and white color scheme with a few pops of color. It is very stylish and sexy, just like its owner.
From the living room, I can see into the dining room and the kitchen. The dining space contains a large black metal table with gray chairs, that seats up to six people, eight if you added a chair on either end. The kitchen has ivory cabinets, a large black island, and high-end stainless-steel appliances.
Kian is in the kitchen drinking a cup of coffee and glaring at me. He must have not been able to sleep because he looks like he has been up for a while and he also looks cranky. I remember our conversation on the balcony. He must have carried me in when I fell asleep…in his lap. Oh lord. I feel my face heat up from embarrassment.
His hair is still a mess like he has a hard time taming it and he still hasn’t shaved. His facial hair is well on its way to becoming a beard. He’s still wearing the gray sweatpants and white long sleeve shirt he was wearing when he came out on the balcony. I hate to admit it to myself, but he looks sexy right now.
We had a nice chat. I have no idea why he is so pissed off right now. Maybe he pulled something carrying me in.
