Another Day (The Firsts Book 12)

by C. L. Quinn

  When she had him in front of the sofa, she moved closer to run her fingers over his face. “You really are a beautiful man.” Her eyes dropped to his jeans. “Strip.”

  She didn’t even notice when he used hyper-speed to undress, so only seconds later, Xavier stood in front of her, naked, his cock erect, ready.

  Margot hadn’t realized, but she’d been holding her breath. Beautiful? Didn’t cover it. He was…indescribable.

  She pushed him and his weight pulled him down onto the soft cushions. He watched Margot set the wine glass on a table and, the coat still wrapped around her, get onto him. Moving against him for several seconds, almost as if she was testing him out, she moaned and lifted up, lowered herself over him and pushed down.

  “God…” she whispered, the thick hot skin creating liquid fire that dragged pleasure along her body wherever he moved. And, oh yeah, he knew how to move!

  This wasn’t anything like sex with Jonathan. He filled her, and not just because he was big, but because he fit perfectly in her, as if he belonged.

  Why didn’t she remember him?

  “Ah, lassie…”

  That word, lassie, his deep voice that was as intimate as this contact, his body beneath her, his scent…

  Yes, she knew him! A spark, a feeling, his passion, whatever it was…feelings began, glimpses, images, moments…memories.

  “You have been inside me before,” Margot said quietly, her eyes on his, as she moved up and down, her body beginning to shudder.

  “Aye.”

  Xavier felt it as it happened and saw it in her eyes. Now, inside her, the physical connection was spiritual as well, she felt him, she touched him, and his magics began to unweave, the forced compulsion faded and her eyes filled. She remembered everything!

  Tears. The last thing he ever wanted to see in those eyes.

  So now, nothing was hidden anymore. She knew him, knew what they had been to each other...this was Margot, his Margot, riding him.

  He caught her gaze and saw the confusion, the hurt, her fingers moving up to cup his cheeks as she continued to slowly lift and drop herself on him.

  “Where have you been?” As soon as she asked the question, she held a finger over his lips. “No. Not now. Later, we will talk. For now…this…do it.”

  Using vampire power, Xavier had them off the sofa and on the thick carpet, Margot beneath him, and he drove into her. Seconds after he began, he exploded into her, the orgasm igniting hers, Margot swept along, both rising and falling to the greatest intimacy possible.

  When they were finished, when the orgasmic spasms calmed, Xavier rolled over instantly to lift his weight from Margot.

  “Lass, that was worth waitin’ for.”

  “Really?”

  He watched as Margot pulled the white coat from under him and pushed herself off the floor.

  “Jury’s out as far as I’m concerned. I don’t…”

  She paced away, her steps hard, her movements sharp and fast.

  Xavier knew women, and this one was pissed.

  “Lass…”

  “Don’t!”

  She whirled, shaking her head, her eyes blazing, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

  “Don’t try to justify this. You disappeared after I was shot. No word, nothing, just poof. I guess you got your memory back and just went home!”

  Margot swiped a palm over each cheek to wipe away moisture.

  Sitting up, Xavier realized he was right, she was pissed. But mostly, she was hurt. The memories that blazed back just filled in the past, but she had no idea what the present was about. She just thought he’d walked away from her.

  “Ah.”

  “Ye must let me explain.”

  “Not now. I don’t want to see you right now. I can’t imagine… I don’t understand. Um…just go.”

  “Margot, ye have to…”

  “Xavier.”

  Facing him, the coat pulled close, her hair loose around her face, her eyes sparkling, Margot held up a hand. He didn’t think she’d ever looked so beautiful.

  “I have to consider what has happened here, how I feel, what I want, how I feel about you, about us, about Jonathan. I’m tired, and I’m shocked, so please, give me some time. I’ll call you when I’m ready to talk. Leave a number where I can reach you and go.”

  He didn’t say anything, didn’t move, for long moments. When he did, he walked up to her, dropped onto his knees, put his arms around her, and held her close, his face pressed to her chest.

  Against her own wishes, her arms went around him, a hand curved along the back of his head holding him tight.

  “I’ll go, lass. I’ll wait for yer call. Ya need to know only one thing before I do.”

  Xavier stood and leaned down to touch a cheek, wishing he hadn’t put the tears in her eyes. “I’m in love with ya, little attorney, and I want to spend the rest of me life showin’ ya how much.”

  As a sob broke, Margot looked up to see that she was alone. He’d gone.

  Moving to the door, she locked it, turned off the light, and when she reached her bed, she crawled into the center. Still wrapped in the coat, she looked at the ceiling where she now remembered seeing bright colors as she had made love with Xavier months ago.

  She didn’t know what he was. Or where he had gone, or why he had gone. She didn’t know why he was back, suddenly, when she thought her life was finally in order.

  He’d said he was in love with her. When Jonathan nearly had, it had made her uneasy, but when Xavier said it, something inside her body and mind exploded, like a million tiny rockets shot fireworks through her.

  But how could she trust this, when it was obvious that something very different, very strange was going on with her Scotsman? He was no bar cook, she knew that. And now that her memories had inexplicably returned, and where the hell had they gone in the first place, she remembered things that had happened that couldn’t have.

  “Where do I go from here?” she whispered into the darkness. Rolling onto her side, exhaustion finally gave her the sweet unconsciousness she needed. Sleep would give her a chance to figure this out.

  When morning came, Margot was up early, just before the sun, nursing a hell of a hangover. Dressed casually, she waited for Jonathan to arrive at her door. She’d tried to call him, but he hadn’t answered his cell, so when he arrived, there would be a conversation that she dreaded to start, and that he would be devastated to hear.

  Her mind raced over every recovered memory, and felt no more comfortable with them than she had the night before. She knew, without doubt, that the only way to do so would be to sit down with Xavier and have that conversation he wanted to.

  After she dealt with Jonathan, she would call Xavier. Smiling, she sipped a hot coffee laced with a lot of sugar and milk. He’d left the number as she’d requested, even though she didn’t see him do it.

  “I hate mysteries,” she said out loud, just before the doorbell chimed.

  “Showtime,” she whispered. This was not going to be nice.

  He woke just as the sun dropped. The first thing he did was reach for his phone. A long-held breath exhaled as he saw that she’d called. One way or another, he would have seen her today, but it meant a lot that she reached out.

  Xavier pushed the button to listen to the voice mail.

  “Yeah, uh, I just ended my relationship with Jonathan, thank you for that. He was a good man and didn’t deserve this.” She paused. “So, if you want to tell your story and why you abandoned me when I needed you most, I’ll listen. I make no promises. I don’t work today, so come to my apartment at noon.” Suddenly she swore. “Shit. I remember you can’t be out in daylight. Tonight, just after it gets dark. You be here, Xavier.”

  He’d be there. Using air displacement, he showered and dressed and was standing outside of Margot’s apartment in half an hour.

  She made him wait. While he could have blown into the room, locks no barrier for him, he waited through two more attempts before she opened t
he door, left it ajar, and walked away.

  Xavier closed the door after he entered and followed a stoic Margot out to the balcony. The air bit at his cheeks, amazed that, as human, she chose to stand there.

  “How are ya…”

  “No pleasantries.” Margot turned to face him, leaning against the balcony railing. “Here’s what I remember. I had been abducted after you and I had the most intense sex of my life for two weeks, and when I was rescued, you never came to see me, you never called. In fact, you left the city, didn’t you? I asked at The Blind Spot and Lucky said you’d quit. I waited, hoped, cried, wished, even prayed. You never contacted me or came back. So I moved on. Six weeks into my relationship with Jonathan, there you are, a ghost, because somehow, I think I recognized you, even though I had no memory of you. I realize now that after I was released from the hospital, I remembered you, then I didn’t, and that, you’ll have to explain. Your turn. Go.”

  Xavier could feel the raw emotion blowing from her. She was in pain, but still very angry. And not, he thought, at only him. Her lips quivered and she ran her fingers up arms covered in only a light sweater.

  “Lass, ye’re shiverin’ out here. Let me take ya inside.”

  “No. I don’t want to be comfortable. This helps me to remain focused. Tell me what you want to tell me, Xavier.”

  “All right, but it’s a lengthy tale. Ye’re sure…”

  “Talk.”

  Give no quarter, he thought. She was a strong woman. He thought about how well she would fit into her vampire life.

  “I’m goin’ to tell ya from the beginnin’ of this journey, of which much ya know, but it will lead to the truth. The truth is what ya want and what ya deserve…but it won’t come easy.”

  He watched her eyes, illuminated by the living room light, locked on his, as he faced her. “What I tell ya will seem impossible, and ye’ll have some trouble believin’ me. Nonetheless, I am goin’ to tell you everythin’ and it is all true.”

  Arms crossed, Margot was ready to listen to this man who had hurt her and assess whether he really was being honest with her. She hoped with all her heart that he would be. “That would be appreciated.”

  “Then this is who and what I am, for better or worse, lassie. Ya already know about my abduction and lost memory. All of that is true; when we began our relationship, I had no idea who I was. Or what I was.”

  “What do you mean what you were?”

  “This is where it gets odd. I found that I had some strange abilities. I could move faster than anyone could possibly move, I was stronger than any man should be, and I could make suggestions to people, and they would do what I told them to do without question. Even if they didn’t want to. I could control people against their will. Ya saw some of that when we first met the fixerman, but it’s so unlikely, people just tend to ignore it. And the allergy to sunlight? It isn’t an allergy. The stuff burned me, badly, on contact. That’s not a human thing.”

  Xavier paused to let the word sink in. It did. Margot shifted her weight. “Human? I remember you saying something strange like that before. Something about vampires. Okay, not judging. Go on.”

  “So when we began to get close, and I knew that I was fallin’ for ya, everythin’ seemed to get clear. Then me brother and his houseguest Tamesine showed up. They let me know exactly who and what I was, and it all changed at that moment. Margot, I’m vampire. Not a monster, nothin’ to be afraid of, just a man who was born with unique talents. A man who cannot be killed by ordinary methods. I really did have bullets repeatedly fired into my head, but ye can see that I’m fine. Vampires heal from gunshot wounds.”

  “Um, I remember you saying something like that.”

  She remembered thinking that he was ill and that she would need to get him some help. God, was that what all of this was about? His mental illness?

  “I couldn’t visit ya in the hospital because I was shot too, only I was fatally wounded. So many bullets had ripped into me body, it took nearly two days for me to heal.”

  Margot dropped her arms, unsure what to do or how to handle this. He was so much more confused than she’d realized. “Oh, Xavier.”

  “I am not crazy, lassie, and I’m goin’ to prove it to ya now.”

  He picked her up in his arms and they were standing on the street in front of her building within seconds.

  Humans had difficulty at first in adjusting to air displacement movement. Her arms tight around his neck, her head was spinning. She forced her eyes opened, shocked to see the city street.

  “How did you…how did we...”

  “I can move like nothin’ ye’ve ever seen, lass.” He leaned closer and whispered in her ear. “I’m vampire.”

  Margot had no response. Within seconds, she was back in her apartment.

  The door closed, Xavier set her on the sofa and stayed close.

  “I’m vampire, Margot. I’m over a thousand years old. I am part of a community of extraordinary people who love and live wonderful lives, simply, with a great deal of joy and accomplishment. We don’t kill people to feed. We still eat food, in fact a lot of it, and take a blood meal at least once a week. Ya already know that we live by night, and that we really like sex. Other than that, we’re not that different from ordinary humans.”

  Watching Margot, Xavier paused. “Tell me what ye’re thinkin’.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m still processing what you’ve told me, what you’ve shown me. It may take a while for me to catch up. I’m a smart woman, there’s no way to deny that what you’ve shown me is real, but it’s so bizarre, I’m still having trouble accepting that it is. You’re a vampire. You drink blood.”

  “Aye. And I’m a man who’s layin’ his heart out to ye for the takin’. I’ve come back for ya, Margot. After we were injured, I came to ya and used compulsion to help ya forget me, so that ya could go on with yer life. At the time, I had nothin’ to give, I didn’t know who I was. Now, it’s all crystal clear. I miss ya, lass.”

  “Okay.”

  Margot surged off the sofa and walked to the balcony door to pull it closed. Rubbing her arms again, she turned.

  “So what does this mean? Would you have to make me into a vampire like you? I’d have to die?”

  “Nay. We’re not dead. But yes, I would have to convert ya so that ye would have a long life with me. It is necessary to leave everythin’ in yer human life to come into a vampire life. It’s the hardest part.”

  “This is a lot to digest, you understand that, right?

  “Aye, but I want ya to know that I need ya, and love ya. Ye’ll love yer life as vampire, I promise.”

  “I’m, uh, sure that I would.” Pacing now, she stopped in front of him. “You’re not going to wipe my memory again, are you?”

  “I wouldn’t. At this point, it would be a betrayal to do that to someone I love and need to trust me. And Margot, I tell ya my secret because I trust you, completely.”

  “I, uh, thanks.” She paced some more, went to the liquor cabinet and pulled out the old Scotch Xavier had left there last night and poured some into two whisky glasses.

  “Here, I think we both need this,” she commented as she handed one to him. Only two long gulps emptied her glass.

  “I need time. Will you go home and let me have time to manage what I’ve learned and get my head wrapped around this?”

  “Home? You mean my hotel room.”

  “No. Your home. Wherever you live. I need time to consider this.”

  Margot stopped in front of Xavier, crawled up onto the couch and took his face in her hands. She let them roam over his hair, down a cheek, across lips she really just wanted to be kissing right now.

  “I love every moment we’ve spent together. You’re the best time I’ve ever had in my life.”

  Sitting back, she pushed onto the other side of the sofa. “I believe you. I mean, I guess I have to believe you. It’s just too strange for this one simple woman to deal with at once. So, go home to…where? Where’s home?”
/>
  “France. Just beyond the city limits outside of Paris.”

  “Wow. Well, that’s unexpected when I’m used to your walk-up in Hunts Point. So go home to France, and I’ll let you know when I’ve managed to process this incredible information. And decide if I can deal with this.”

  “I don’t want to leave ya.”

  “The only way I can do this is if we both get back to our lives and I figure out where I am. I can’t do that with you here.”

  “If I go, ya need to know that I’ll come back for ya if ye don’t call me.”

  “I know. But give me time.”

  “I will. I understand and I owe it to ya.”

  Xavier scooted closer. “I have a few things I’d like to do to ya to help convince ya.”

  Shaking her head, Margot smiled. “I know you do. But that’ll just make my head fuzzier, not clearer.” Moisture welled again. “You need to go before I change my mind.”

  “Aye, then. I’m goin’ to leave me address. This is me home and it isn’t anythin’ like what ye’re used to but I promise, ye’ll love it, and ye’ll fall in love with everyone.”

  “We’ll see. Goodbye, Xavier.”

  After he stood, Xavier didn’t move. “Lass…”

  “Go, please.”

  Suddenly, Margot stood on the sofa, and reached for him. At this height, her mouth was level with his and she pulled his head close to bury her tongue between his lips. The kiss was heartbreakingly deep because they both knew that it would be a long time before they would do this again, and that there was at least a chance that they might never again.

  Minutes later, she pushed him back and wiped her eyes. “Have a safe journey.”

  Xavier knew there was nothing he could say to convince her to let him stay, or to go with him. It figured that he’d fall in love with a nonsensical, hard-headed analytical woman of whom his considerable charm alone wasn’t enough.

  He understood, this was life-altering, the fact that there were supernatural people in this world, and that she had fallen in love with one. And although he knew that she cared deeply for him, and hoped that it was love, he had no promises either that this would work out for him.