“I can understand why you have so many problems with them. If they’re willing to do this to their own, I cannot fathom how they would treat us.”
“If they ever got the chance . . . it’s not a world I’d want to live in.”
“How about you show me those records?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Are you sure?” I toyed with him a little, staying where I was instead of making a move to uncover the stairs. “They’re only a pile of dusty old books with records of our lives dating back more than six thousand years. They might bore you to death.”
“Open the damned door!”
“Ray!” I cried. “Watch your tongue! There are ladies present.”
“Shall I go and apologise to Helen and Jayne?” he asked, laughing.
“You have some cheek,” I said, pretending to be outraged by his words.
“Well, you’re like no other lady I’ve ever met.” He sure did a good job of changing the subject.
“Flattery will get you nowhere.”
“It isn’t flattery if it’s the truth.”
With a final chuckle, I closed the cupboard and heaved it to one side. Ray stared in awe as I shifted the heavy cabinet out of the way. Hidden behind it was the door to the basement.
The first thing I’d had done was have a steel door fitted. The excuse was that it was a bomb shelter. The truth was that no human could get down there without help, and I hoped no vampire either. There were no lights in the basement. The harder it was for anyone to see what was down there, the better. I grabbed the oil lamp that was on my desk, took Ray’s hand, and led him down the dark stairs.
“Close your eyes,” I whispered.
I left him standing in the middle of the room for a moment while I cleared a space for him to sit. I wanted to see his face when he saw the records. It was the first time I’d shown them to anyone besides my family. My heart raced as I thought of what Ray’s reaction to them might be.
I gently guided him to the only seat. “Sit.”
Once he was seated, I told him to open his eyes. He couldn’t see everything that was in the room—the light wasn’t strong enough—but what he could see . . . His eyes grew wide as he glanced around, trying to decide where to look first.
“The oldest books are there,” I told him, pointing towards the back of the room. “These are our family trees. The one next to you . . . that’s my own.”
“I don’t know where to start.” His wide-eyed stare met mine and I laughed. “It would take me a lifetime to read all of these.”
“You have a lifetime. Why don’t you start with my family tree?”
He was so excited! He clutched his cane to his chest, gripping the wood as though holding it would prevent him from racing around the room.
“How far does this go back?” he asked, glancing over some of the earliest names of my family.
“I believe it dates back to my great-grandmother, some six thousand years ago,” I answered, pointing out the first name. “Before then, we didn’t keep records.”
“Is your name in here as well?”
“About halfway through is mine.”
Flipping through the pages, I stopped on my own, next to Lona’s. Ray squinted at the paper for a moment, tracing the names as he tried to read what they said. The name next to my own was his.
“You put my name in here?” he said, looking back up at me.
“The day I got William’s reply. I would have put it in sooner, but I needed to be sure.”
He nodded once before going back to flipping through the volume. He would stop on occasion and ask what a name was, or confirm what he thought it was. I perched on top of a stack of books, passing him various ones to go through and pointing out how I had everything organised. Completed ones were at the back, oldest to newest. Family trees were in alphabetical order split into two sections—one for those that needed updating and one for those whose families had died out. Fortunately, that was a relatively small section.
Apart from a trip to get Ray some more light, we spent the entire afternoon in the basement. I read some of the older texts out loud to him; they’d been written so long ago he was wary of touching the books in case they fell to pieces.
“Can we stay longer?”
“They’re not going anywhere,” I told him. “You’re free to look over any of them whilst you’re here.”
“You may never see me again.”
“I would.” I smirked. “I have to update the records every so often.”
When we eventually emerged from the basement, dinner was ready. Ray was reluctant, but when Helen asked how he’d enjoyed himself, he beamed. I smiled as he explained the wonderful time he’d had being surrounded by our histories.
“What would you like to do for the rest of the evening?” I asked, once we’d finished washing the dishes.
“Spend some time with you?” He started wringing his hands.
“Come on. We can sit in my room, it’s warmer than here.” We walked slowly up the stairs, taking them at our leisure. Ray continued to avoid my gaze.
“You seem nervous about something.”
“I am. I wanted to ask you something, but I’m not sure how you’ll react.” He looked at his hands as he sat on the edge of my bed.
“Ray, you can ask me anything.”
“I know, it’s just that this is something I’ve never asked anyone before, and I wanted to get it right,” he said, wincing.
“Take a deep breath, and ask me.” I patted his arm gently.
“You mean the world to me, Serenity,” he said, after calming himself for a moment. “In the short time since I met you, I’ve fallen in love with you so deeply. There are so many things about you I’ll never understand, but I want to spend the rest of my life trying to. I want to know everything about you, even though I know that’s impossible. I realise being with you comes with its challenges, and you have your obligations, but I’d love it if it were me you were coming home to every time. Serenity Cardea, I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
I was stunned. I’d expected him to propose at some point—it was part of the rules of his time—but I hadn’t expected to be so moved by what he said.
“Yes,” I whispered.
A smile lit up his face for a moment before I pounced on him. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I crushed my lips to his. He kissed me back eagerly. In one swift move he gripped my waist and dragged me onto his lap, never breaking the kiss. I felt every inch of him as he pulled me closer. We stayed like that for a long time before Ray finally pulled away.
“I have something for you,” he said, out of breath.
He reached into his pocket and brought out a small gold and diamond ring. I recognised the rose window setting and the delicate band immediately; his mother had been wearing it the last time I’d seen her.
“Ray, is that your mother’s ring?” I asked, staring at the beautiful piece of jewellery in his hand.
“It was my grandmother’s. When I told my mother I was planning on proposing, she insisted this would be exactly right for you.” He slipped it onto my finger. “A perfect fit.”
“It’s beautiful,” I whispered, stroking the tiny stones.
“Not as beautiful as you.” Ray drew me into another kiss. “I cannot wait until we are married.”
“Then don’t,” I said against his lips as the feelings of desire grew.
He moaned. “Serenity, if I don’t stop now, I won’t be able to lie beside you tonight without taking you.”
“I thought we were playing by my rules when we were alone?” I asked in between kissing his neck and jaw.
“You’re trying to kill me, Serenity.”
“I think you’ll find I’m doing nothing of the sort.” I sighed, loving the feel of his body pressed against mine.
“You’re such a temptation.”
“And you’re too desirable for your own good.”
“We should stop,” he told me, moving his lips to my ear.
“And if we’re playing by yours?” He pulled back for a moment and gazed into my eyes.
“Had I found you when I matured we would’ve been together in every way before the end of the week. Marriage didn’t exist in my time, not as it does for you. You found the one you were meant to be with and you took them. You declared your intentions and made them yours. I want you, Ray. More than anything. We can do this by whichever rules you want. If you want to wait until we’re married, then we’ll wait. I’m yours, in every way, whenever you want me, in whatever way you want me. I’ve waited a long time; a little longer won’t do me any harm.”
“I think you have waited far too long,” he said.
His hands were at the buttons on the back of my dress, pulling each one open slowly. He was giving me the choice to stop him, the choice to back out, to wait. His lips were on my throat, his breath coming in gasps as he reached the last of the buttons. As his hands slipped inside the back of my dress, I let out a low moan.
He broke away from his kisses for a moment, watching as he slipped my dress from my shoulders. I was naked underneath. I blushed, glancing down as he gazed at me. It was the first time that anyone had ever looked at me as he was.
Now I was nervous.
“Beautiful.” He ran the tips of his fingers across the top of my breasts.
“You are wearing too many clothes,” I whispered, not trusting my voice.
Reaching for his shirt, he let me ease it over his head before I ran my fingers down his chest. He felt so lean under my hands, every inch of him defined and sculpted through years of supporting himself. The strong shoulders I’d merely glimpsed before were solid under my touch.
Before I had a chance to reach for his pants, he picked me up and laid me on the covers of my bed. With only a little struggle, he pulled the rest of my dress off, discarding it in a pile on the floor.
Never had I been as exposed as I was lying naked before him. I was ready; I had been since he first kissed me. Every time he held me close I felt it. I still had butterflies fluttering about in my stomach.
Ray removed his pants and lay next to me as naked as I was. Admittedly, he wasn’t the first man I’d seen naked—when you’ve lived as long as I had, that was an inevitable part of life—although he was the best looking man I’d ever seen, and the only one I’d wanted to pay any attention to.
And pay attention I did, to every inch of him. From his solid shoulders to the silvery scars that decorated his right leg. They crisscrossed over and over each other, running down and around his thigh, almost as low as his knee and not quite as high as his hip. They were raised slightly, making his thigh feel odd when I ran my fingertips over it. I’d never touched a man so intimately before, and the more I felt of him, the more I wanted to feel. He shivered, his hand resting on mine while I caressed him. I thought for a moment that he was uncomfortable with my fingers there, but he drew away and nodded once, eyes closed. I hesitated only a moment more before continuing.
There was a fine trail of hair running down his stomach, soft under my touch and pale like the hair on his head. I wanted to tangle my fingertips in it. Everything was so new and so very different.
He stopped me before I got any lower. “My turn.”
He was gentle as he began kissing me, touching me. He copied my movements, running his fingertips gently over my thighs, capturing every inch of them as he went. Such overwhelming sensations from such delicate touches. His hands were warm against my skin, making me tingle in anticipation. He brushed the backs of them against the underside of my breasts, causing me to moan and arch up against him. My mind was filled with the intimacy and tender warmth in his touch and the delicate strangeness of the experience. His measured caresses felt wonderful, but I was ready for more. So was Ray.
With only a little struggle, he was above me, gazing down.
“Tell me if you want me to stop,” he whispered.
I nodded, and he pushed forward, slowly. The feel of him inside me took my breath away, making me gasp. It was utterly unique.
“Are you all right?” He paused for a moment, allowing me to adjust to the delightfully new sensation.
I looked up into his eyes, which were filled with concern, and whispered, “Yes.”
I wrapped myself around him, holding him close as we moved together. It was like nothing I’d ever experienced, and Ray’s moaned breaths whispering across my skin made it all the more enticing. Never before had I felt something so intimate, so incredible. I wanted nothing more than to spend the rest of time like this, in his arms, joined with him.
With a few more deep, powerful thrusts, he moaned my name, tightening his arms around me.
I ran my hands gently down his back. We lay together for a while, relishing the feel of each other, before Ray pulled the blankets around us.
“I love you,” he whispered, holding me close.
“I love you, too.” Snuggling deeper into his arms, I smiled. “You were worth waiting for.”
For the second time since moving to the city, I awoke in Ray’s arms. The memories of his proposal and our evening together came flooding back, making me sigh and snuggle deeper into his embrace.
He obliged me by pulling me closer. “Helen came by to say that breakfast was ready. She seemed jubilant.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, as soon as she saw you sleeping, there was an undeniable smile on her face.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to find the peace to fall asleep.” Being with Ray must be the key to a good night’s rest, as well as a few other things.
“Maybe I should share your bed more often then,” he suggested just as a loud gurgle announced his hunger.
“I think you may be hungry, especially after last night.”
“May I blame you for wearing me out?” His voice was teasing, but it sent a thrill through me. It was entirely my fault we’d ended up as we were. Not that I regretted it for a single moment.
“I suppose you may.” We smiled at the memory. “Perhaps I should get dressed before I’m tempted to do the same again.”
“Or we could skip breakfast and have an early lunch in say, an hour? Or two?”
His offer was very enticing. Too much so. Helen was expecting us for breakfast and Ray needed to eat. Before I was tempted any further by the naked man who was suggestively eyeing me, I sprang up and raced into my dressing room. Only a few moments later, I was clad in the same summer dress I’d been wearing when I was caught in his bed by Liz. He was leaning back on his elbows, staring after me in shock.
“You are too fast for your own good,” he grumbled.
“That may be so, but you do need to eat, and that’s not going to happen with you sprawled across my bed,” I told him, laughing at his sullen expression. “When we’re married, I plan on keeping you there all day, but in the meantime . . .” I trailed off as a sound outside caught my attention.
A horse had stopped in front of the house. It wasn’t unusual for us to get visitors, and Sam was busy fixing the gate so he would see to it. But as I turned back to Ray, the front door banged open and Helen’s panicked cry echoed through the house.
“Stay here, and do not leave the room unless I come for you,” I called over my shoulder.
Leaving Ray slightly startled, I raced downstairs. Something was gravely wrong. The echo of the sound rattling around in my head sent a chill down my spine and all traces of my good mood vanished.
At the bottom of the stairs, I was confronted with the sight of Sam struggling under the weight of an unconscious child.
In his arms lay David, William’s youngest son.
“What happened?” I demanded, taking him into my arms.
It was a five-day ride for a grown man to William’s house. Minimum. David was nine years old, barely. There was no way he should have been unaccompanied on my front doorstep. How had he crossed the channel? Or the war-torn landscape of Franc
e?
“Where is William?” I asked, panicked.
“He was alone, and he was holding this.” Helen handed me a piece of paper. The words on it made my blood run cold.
“Take the children up to my room. Don’t leave until I return,” I ordered.
Helen knew not to argue when I started giving out orders. Before they left, I pulled Sam to the side. “Do not let them out of your sight, and I want you armed.”
He nodded gravely, racing up the stairs after Helen and Jayne.
If he’d been followed, then we had to get out of the city before nightfall. I needed to check, to make sure David was alone.
There was a house up north we could use until it was safe to leave the country. The others could go ahead.
Almost an hour later, I ducked back into the eerily quiet house. There were no signs of more vampires in the city, but that didn’t mean everything was fine. Things were far, far from fine.
“Helen?” I asked as I gently knocked on my bedroom door. “It’s safe.”
Seconds later the door swung open to reveal a very worried Helen and Sam, a terrified Jayne, a still unconscious David, and Ray. His eyes held fear, but it wasn’t fear for himself.
“I’m sorry I scared you, sweetheart,” I said, addressing Jayne. “I thought there was something wrong, but everything is fine.”
“Serenity, what’s going on?” Helen whispered, glancing at the note that was clutched in my hands.
“Jayne, will you sit with David for a moment? I need to talk to your mother.” Regardless of the fact that I’d scared her more than ever before, she did as she was asked without question.
“The Seat isn’t in the city,” I said, as we gathered in the sitting room.
“How is that relevant to this?” Sam asked, putting a calming hand on Helen’s shoulder.
“Dearest Serenity,” I read aloud. “I do hope this note has reached you in time. If you truly value your last remaining brother, you will arrive at his home in a timely manner. If not, then your William will die, as will your partner, Ray. It is time you stopped trying to beat us. Yours, Elena.”
The Last Keeper Page 15
