Eternal Blood - Books 1-3 Wolf Shield, Sword of the Blood, Vampire Bride
Page 24
At first no one talked much. They had all run a gauntlet of extreme emotions that day. Relief it was apparently all over made them hungry as athletes who had burned an excess of emotional calories, and exercised conceptual muscles most people never even knew existed. The cannellini bean and chorizo soup garnished with fresh chopped chives, one of her favorites, tasted so unbelievably good she felt like crying. Jonathan sensed it, because he reached over and gently caressed her hair. His touch soothing and centering her, she smiled at him where he sat on her right. As always, Stuart occupied the stately chair at the head. Consuelo was seated on his left and Darlene sat across from Jonathan.
When the chef rose to clear off the soup plates and bring in the next course, Stuart said, “I wish someone else could do that and you were free to relax with us, Consuelo. I think it’s high time I hired someone to help you in the kitchen. Someone else should serve dinner so you can enjoy it properly, with us.”
Holding five stacked bowls, she stared at him as though he had said something obscene.
“They wouldn’t help you cook, obviously,” he added quickly. “They would simply help you chop ingredients and clean up and… and serve the meal, that’s all, so you can be with us in the evenings. It would make me happy, Consuelo.”
“Of course, señor,” she lowered her head and turned away. “If it will make you happy.”
“Call me Stuart, please,” he urged her retreating back.
“Daddy,” Audrey smiled at him, “I think you’re making her uncomfortable. I agree, she should have some help in the kitchen, but if it makes her happy to call you señor, then let her.”
He reached for a second bottle of wine and busied himself opening it.
She suffered the impression he was ostensibly worrying about Consuelo because he didn’t want to worry about her. He couldn’t even begin to know how to worry about her. She sensed he couldn’t quite fathom what she had been through, what she had felt and suffered when Falkon dined on her, when she lay on her bed dying, and when she herself greedily sucked Jonathan’s blood. And all of this, she had learned from her lover (her fiancé!) had happened with her father’s permission, although certainly not with his blessing. It was what he and Jonathan had been discussing in his study when she came back downstairs after talking with her mother. Their diagnosis had not been flattering to her, for they had concluded her health and safety would be restored more quickly and easily the hard way, by letting Falkon drain her of her infected blood. The timing had been crucial. If he had forced her to drink from the vial of eternal blood before Jonathan intervened, she wouldn’t be sitting here now. She would be with Wilona and their master…
Jonathan said firmly, “I would never have permitted that to happen, Audrey.”
“You were Whispers too, weren’t you?”
“Yes. I was there the whole time, outside the door. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do,” his face hardened, “just listening and waiting.”
Had she moaned, cried out, made any sounds at all as that endless orgasm shook her? She couldn’t be sure; she had been too far gone, too lost in the throes of an anguish indistinguishable from ecstasy…
Consuelo returned with the second course—a seafood paella replete with prawns and baby octopus.
The third course was a spinach, walnut, dried cranberry, Serrano ham and Stilton salad dressed with a delicate sherry vinaigrette.
The fourth course was a creamy Taleggio cheese served on crackers almost as thin and delicate as communion wafers.
The fifth and final course were rich dark-chocolate Biscotti dipped in decaffeinated coffee.
“Please tell me,” Jonathan smiled at her, “Consuelo taught you all she knows.”
It hit her then, the fact that as soon as he finished renovating the place and they were married she would be leaving home and moving next door to the enchanted Eckart estate, where No Hunting signs magically spelled Keep Out and a centuries-old burned out church served as a mysterious portal into the Dragon’s Breath.
She pushed her chair away from the table and rose. “Please excuse me, but I must use the loo.” Darlene was already helping Consuelo clear the table and as the lady of the house she hadn’t offered to help; it would have been rude. “I’ll leave you gents to your brandy and cigars.”
Stuart said, “Not tonight” sounding anxious as he glanced at Jonathan.
Jonathan stood. “I’ll escort you.”
“Then I think I’ll go straight to bed.” She bent and kissed her father on the cheek. “Good night, daddy. Everything will be all right now. Don’t worry.”
“I won’t.” He returned her smile but his eyes looked haunted. “Good night, my dear.”
“Good night, sir,” Jonathan said respectfully.
“I am most definitely Stuart to you, young man.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jonathan took her arm and they left the dining room together. She was happy and, God willing, she had most of her life ahead of her with the man she loved, but a piece of her father’s soul would always live in the past, when the woman he had adored had also loved him, before Falkon entered the picture and seduced her with her own worst fears and wildest hopes.
As they began ascending the central staircase, she remarked, “I can’t believe we’re just going up to bed like any normal boring couple.”
“Right.”
She tugged on his arm. “Wait. I need to check something.” She turned. The chandeliers were all still lit and she quickly found her reflection in the window directly across from them, distinctly visible in the light-blue spaghetti-strap dress she had chosen to wear to dinner. In his black clothes, Jonathan’s reflection was much less obvious, but she could just make out his face above and to the left of hers. She raised her right arm and suffered a stab of relief mingled with disappointment when her reflection obeyed her.
Jonathan didn’t ask her what she was doing. He probably knew. He took her hand and they continued silently up the steps together.
A dog barked.
“Jonathan, did you hear that?”
“Yes.”
They turned. Below them, the great hall remained empty. Then she saw Merlin's reflection running eagerly up the stairs ahead of them.
End Notes
(1) The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy by Cyndi Dale, Kindle Edition
(2) Romeo & Juliet, William Shakespeare
(3) An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Traditional Symbols by J.C. Cooper, Copyright Thames & Hudson Limited, London, 1978, pg. 167
(4) John Jay Harper, Tranceformers, Shamans of the 21st Century, Kindle Edition
(5) Ibid.
(6) Bruce H. Lipton, Ph.D, The Biology of Belief, Kindle Edition, Location 1849-56
(7) Ibid.
(8) Michael Parkes, from “Venus, the Three Graces, and a Portal to a Divine World,” a dialogue with Michael Parkes in Secrets of the Lost Symbol: The Unauthorized Guide to the Mysteries Behind the Davinci Code Sequel edited by Dan Bunstein & Arne de Keijzer. ©2009 by Squib-nocket Partners LLC. Published by permission of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
About the Author
Maria Isabel Pita is a best-selling author of Paranormal, Contemporary and Historical fiction. Some of her titles include Guilty Pleasures—Historical Erotic Romances, To Her Master Born, Whips & Whispers, Faith in the Flesh, Crook & Flail, The Fire of Starlight and the historical epic Truth is the Soul of the Sun – A Biographical Novel of Hatshepsut-Maatkare, the life of the female Pharaoh as never told before, also available as a six-book series beginning with Daughter of Re. To view book descriptions, reviews, excerpts and promotional videos, please visit: mariaisabelpita.com & truthisthesoulofthesun.com.
Cover Design: Maria Isabel Pita
Cover Photo: Cherie@fotolia.com
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