Devoted (Book Two, Caylin's Story)

by S. J. West

  I let the movie play on for a little while longer until I just become completely frustrated.

  I turn to Aiden and find that he isn’t actually watching the movie either. He’s watching me.

  “Why haven’t you kissed me yet?” I ask him, not seeing any reason to beat around the bush with him.

  “I’m not sure,” he admits, and I hear the confusion in his voice as he confesses this to me.

  “Is it because of what I said earlier?” I silently beg him to say that isn’t the case.

  “Yes,” he answers truthfully. “I guess I’m scared I might inadvertently do something that makes you think I want more than just kissing from you.”

  I sigh.

  “Then maybe we should just talk about when we think we want to do that,” I say, thinking this a reasonable solution. “When do you see us making love, Aiden?”

  “Honestly?” He says. “I’ve always thought we would wait until after we were married.”

  “Is this because of Uncle Malcolm’s threat?” I ask, voicing my suspicion.

  Aiden smiles. “No. This decision has nothing to do with Malcolm or his threat. It was an empty threat anyway. He just wanted to make sure I understood something like that with you shouldn’t be taken lightly.”

  “So you really want to wait until we’re married?” I ask.

  Aiden nods. “It seems like the right thing for us to do.”

  “So when do you see us getting married?”

  Aiden shrugs. “I’m not sure. No time soon though.”

  “Well, I need a time frame,” I tell him, not seeing this as an odd request. I’m a planner. I like to plan things ahead of time. “Everyone knows we’ll be getting married and having babies at some point. It’s already been predestined. So, I don’t see any reason for us to wait very long.”

  “You’re only seventeen,” Aiden points out.

  “And my mother was only eighteen when she and my father got married.”

  “That was a slightly different situation,” Aiden says. “She thought she didn’t have much longer to live. She almost didn’t.”

  “Then, how long are you going to make me wait, Aiden?”

  Aiden smiles at my question, and I think he’s pleased by my eagerness for us to start our married life together.

  “Can you give me at least a year before we set a firm date?” He asks. “I want at least that long with you where sex isn’t even a factor in our lives.”

  “Why?”

  “To prove something to myself mostly,” he admits. “To prove that I’ve actually changed and don’t have to have sex to have a relationship with a woman.”

  “Ok,” I say. “I can live with that. But, I need you to kiss me, Aiden. This is killing me.”

  In one swift movement that’s part phasing and part brute strength, Aiden has me lying on my back on the chaise lounge underneath him in the blink of an eye.

  “Wow,” I say completely impressed by the maneuver, “that was fast. I didn’t even see you move.”

  “War Angel, remember? Being able to move fast was sort of a requirement.”

  I lift my hands to either side of his face, and he lowers his head until I can feel his breath against my lips. He presses his lips to mine tentatively, kissing my top lip then my bottom and finally teasing my lips apart with his tongue and gently plundering my mouth. After a while, I feel his hands glide up my sides and stop at my breast. In one smooth motion, he slides his hands underneath my back, lifting my chest up slightly. His mouth leaves mine and travels down one side of my exposed neck in a trail of small, wet kisses.

  “Have I told you how sexy you look in this dress?” He asks, trailing kisses across my clavicle to the other side of my neck.

  “No,” I say breathlessly because breathing isn’t exactly high on my list of priorities at that moment.

  “You look very sexy, Caylin Rayne,” Aiden murmurs before going lower and kissing the exposed flesh revealed by the cut outs of the dress over the top of each breast.

  Aiden lifts his head back to mine. When he looks into my eyes, I notice he looks almost drugged which makes me smile as his lips find mine again. I like knowing I’m Aiden’s drug of choice.

  After a long while, we each finally need time to catch up on our breathing and simply lie in each other’s arms enjoying the warmth our bodies make pressed together.

  Aiden slips off Jess’ bracelet from his wrist and places it back on mine.

  “Thank you for sharing yourself with me like that,” he says.

  “I have nothing to hide from you,” I tell him. “If you ever want to know what I’m thinking or feeling, I will always tell you the truth. We don’t need a bracelet to do that for us anymore.”

  “Then tell me what you’re feeling right now,” Aiden says, gliding his hand up and down my exposed arm.

  “I feel safe and loved,” I tell him.

  “Good. That’s the way I always want you to feel when you’re with me.”

  I tighten my arms around Aiden and continue to lay my head on his chest completely content to just listen to the steady beat of his heart.

  I feel the hand he’s been using to glide up and down my arm venture down to between my arm and side and slide up to my rib cage. His fingers start to move there quickly which makes me start to laugh from the tickling sensation.

  “Stop!” I tell him.

  He does stop for a second. “I didn’t realize you were so ticklish, beautiful.”

  “Well, now you know,” I say, mistakenly thinking that would be the end of the subject.

  Aiden’s fingers begin to move against my side once more but even faster now.

  “Aiden!”

  Just like before our make out session, he does his phasing maneuver, which puts me beneath him and completely at his tickling mercy.

  Well, two can play at that game.

  I phase to move him beneath me and straddle his waist, which makes my dress bunch up around my hips. I grab both his arms by the wrists and pin them above his head with one hand. I’m slightly stronger than he is which means he can’t move unless he phases.

  “My turn,” I tell him, as I use my free hand to begin tickling him all over his torso.

  “I surrender!” he finally laughs after a full minute of my tickling torture, unable to take it anymore. “I surrender!”

  I hear snickering behind me and stop my fun with Aiden to look over my shoulder.

  Standing there watching us are Jered, who looks completely mortified to even be in the room, and Slade who is leering at my exposed lower section and obviously the one I heard snickering.

  I quickly phase behind the back of the chaise lounge so I can lower the hem of my dress from being bunched up around my hips.

  “Sorry for our intrusion,” Jered says in earnest. “We heard Aiden yell and thought there might be trouble.”

  “No need to apologize,” Aiden says standing from the chair. “It’s about time for me to take Caylin home anyway.”

  “You might want to freshen up a little bit,” Jered says to me, pointedly looking at my hair.

  I look at Aiden. “Bathroom?”

  He comes to me and takes my hand leading me down a hallway to the first room on the right.

  Just before I’m able to let go of his hand to go in by myself, Aiden tugs on my arm until I’m brought up firmly against him.

  “I think you look beautiful,” he tells me, kissing me on the lips and setting my body on fire. “Even if your hair looks like a rat’s nest.”

  I slap him playfully on the arm and giggle.

  “I’ll be out in just a minute,” I say, closing the door behind me.

  When I look into the mirror over the vanity, I literally gasp. All of Leah’s hard work has been destroyed and my hair does resemble an untidy nest of some sort.

  I deftly take out all the bobby pins and toss my head down to run my fingers through my hair since I don’t have a brush handy. I decide then that I might need to start carrying a small purse around
with a spare brush and lipstick for occasions just like this. I know my father will be waiting for me when I return home and cringe a little on the inside.

  It’s obvious what Aiden and I have been doing. It’s not exactly as if I can hide the now down hair and bare, swollen lips. But, I figure my dad has already assumed such a thing was happening. I’m sure he and my mother weren’t exactly innocent of make out sessions when they first fell in love. I just hope he doesn’t make a big deal out of it.

  When I go back to the living room, Aiden has my high heels dangling from one of his hands.

  “Did you want to put them back on?” He asks me, holding them up.

  I shake my head. “No, I would just end up taking them off again as soon as I got home.”

  I hold out my hand to take them from him.

  “Gentleman,” Aiden says to Jered and Slade, “thank you for your services this evening. We do appreciate your help.”

  “Anytime,” Jered says.

  “Yeah,” Slade says with a sly smile, absently rubbing the top of his left arm “anytime I can hear you scream for mercy like a little girl is totally worth the inconvenience.”

  “Goodnight, then,” Aiden says, choosing to ignore Slade and phase me home.

  My dad is sitting in the living room reading something on his tablet. He looks up at us, and I watch as he sweeps his eyes down the length of me taking in my disheveled appearance.

  “Have a nice evening?” He asks me, not in a knowing way but genuinely interested if my night was fun.

  “It was a wonderful evening, Dad.”

  My father stands and shakes Aiden’s hand.

  “Thank you for getting her home exactly on time,” my dad tells him.

  “I will always try to keep my promises to you, Brand,” Aiden says.

  “I’m sure you will,” my dad replies.

  Aiden turns to me and leans down to give me a kiss on the cheek.

  “Sweet dreams,” he says to me. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Ok,” I say, not wanting him to leave but knowing he has to. “See you tomorrow.”

  Aiden phases.

  “So,” my dad says, sitting back down on the couch, “did you enjoy the food? It’s been a long time since I went to that restaurant. What did you eat?”

  I go on to tell my dad a PG-13 version of my evening with Aiden. I decide to omit the drama and the making out part of the night however. That’s really something I would discuss with my mother, not my dad.

  “So, have you and Aiden discussed your future together much?” He asks.

  “We did talk about it some tonight,” I tell him. “We talked about when we might want to get married.”

  “Married?” My dad asks in alarm.

  “Don’t worry,” I tell him quickly. “We’re not going to even talk about it again for at least another year. That’s what Aiden wants so that’s what we’re going to do.”

  “Why does he want to wait a year before you even talk about it again?”

  “He wants to prove to himself that he can have a real relationship with a woman without being in it for the sex. And you might as well know that he and I won’t be making love until after we’re married. He was very adamant about wanting to wait.”

  “Well,” my dad says looking contemplative, “I can’t say I saw that coming. Considering his track record, I was concerned he might try to accelerate that part of your relationship together before you were ready.”

  “The exact opposite,” I tell him. “If anything he wants to go extra slow. So, don’t worry, Dad.”

  “I wasn’t exactly worried,” he says. “I knew Aiden wouldn’t do anything to you that you didn’t want him to. But, I am relieved to hear he respects you enough to not treat you like the other women he’s been with. It shows how much he loves you, and I’m happy to see that.”

  Involuntarily, I yawn.

  “Go on up to bed,” my dad says leaning over and kissing me on the cheek. “You’ve had a busy day and tomorrow won’t be any less so.”

  “Ok, night, Dad.”

  I don’t even bother to walk up the stairs. I just phase to my room and quickly change out of my dress into some comfortable pajamas.

  I crawl under my covers and grab my phone to send a text to Leah. She doesn’t respond so I assume she’s probably already asleep.

  I decide to send Aiden a text.

  Thank you for the wonderful evening, minus me being stupid. Other than that it was a perfect real date

  He replies back almost immediately.

  No need to thank me, beautiful. I had a wonderful time too, minus you being stupid lol. Now get some sleep. We have a busy day tomorrow. I love you with all my heart, for now and always.

  I love you too. Goodnight.

  I put my phone up and turn my light out before snuggling even further underneath my covers.

  I’m worried about the next day because it will be the first real test of one of the daggers.

  I just pray that it works.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The next morning I wake up to find a little warm body lying in bed with me. I’m not sure when Mae came to my room, but I snuggle up with her basking in the innocent aura that perpetually surrounds my baby sister. Pure innocence is what Mae represents to me. We’re all special in our own way, but for some reason, Mae has always been able to bring joy to anyone she’s around. I guess it’s her gift. Lord knows she’s had Uncle Malcolm wrapped around her little finger since the day she was born.

  I notice a silver chain around her neck and reach around to the front until I feel the outline of the little guardian angel pendant. I’m thankful she’s wearing it, but at the same time, I’m sickened by the fact that she needs to. The necklace will protect her from the prince’s archangel power, but they could kill her just as easily by a vast assortment of natural means. She’s mostly human after all. It doesn’t take much.

  My phone vibrates indicating I have a text message. I pick it up from my nightstand and read the message.

  Good morning, beautiful. I hope you had sweet dreams last night. Was just thinking about you and thought I would see if you were up yet.

  I smile and my heart aches with joy because I like knowing Aiden is thinking about me.

  Yes, I’m awake and cuddling with Mae in my bed.

  Is it bad of me to say I wish I was Mae right now?

  You want to be a three-year-old little girl?

  Ok, I giggle. It’s funny!

  No, beautiful. I want to be lying next to you with your arms around me and whispering just how much I love you in your ear.

  Will that be how we start every morning after we’re married?

  Start, yes. But I hope we can add a little bit more to that by then.

  How can he make me blush and not even be in the same room with me? I stare at the text and don’t respond right away.

  Did I say too much?

  No, I’m just smiling

  Oh…good. I hope I can always make you smile.

  I hear a soft knock on my door.

  “Come in,” I whisper.

  My mom peeks in.

  “Ahh, I thought she might be in here,” my mom says, walking into the room.

  “She must have come in some time during the night. I didn’t even notice until I woke up.”

  My mom comes to sit on the side of my bed, and I notice the silver ring she’s wearing on her right hand.

  “How did your date go last night?”

  I tell my mother about everything that happened the night before.

  “Well, I won’t sit here and lie by saying I’m not disappointed in what you thought you needed to do to keep Aiden. And I agree with him. You should have trusted him more.”

  “I know. I was stupid,” I admit. “But we got things straightened out.”

  “So are you all right with his wishes about waiting until you’re married?”

  “Yes. I don’t have a problem with that. He’s right. We have a lot to learn about one another a
nd there really isn’t any reason to rush things. We’ll be together forever.”

  My mom smiles. “I wasn’t so sure in the beginning about Aiden. Your father and I were worried about him being your soul mate. Honestly, we didn’t know if he was good enough for you. But, I should have known to trust God’s judgment. I’m not sure I could have picked anyone more perfect for you. I’m glad you have him in your life.”

  “Me too,” I tell her, unable not to smile about the man in my life.

  My phone buzzes reminding me that I was talking with my Mr. Perfect before my mother came in.

  “Do you want me to take her?” My mom asks, nodding her head to Mae.

  “No,” I tell her. “She’ll wake up soon on her own. And I like holding her.”

  My mom stands. “Ok. Come down for breakfast when you get ready, sweetie.”

  I nod to her and she walks out of my room.

  I look at the text on my phone.

  Hello?

  Sorry, my mom came in and we had a talk. She thinks you’re perfect for me by the way.

  LOL…. That isn’t something I ever thought a mother would think about me concerning her daughter. But, I’m glad Lilly approves of me. I think your father is finally accepting me too.

  It’s not like he has a choice…

  No, only you can make the final decision.

  That decision was made the first time I saw you, Aiden.

  Ok, now I’m smiling.

  Good. Can you come over for breakfast?

  Not this morning, beautiful. Malcolm promised that I could go with him to scout out Belphagor. I want to know what the plan is before I place you in harm’s way.

  Do you know what time I’ll be needed?

  Sometime around lunch from what I was told.

  Then I won’t see you until then?

  I’m afraid not. But, I love you. I will miss you until I see you again.