I smile impishly. “You must be the purest person I know.”
“No, I’m not pure.”
“Well, you certainly are the most majestic,” I counter.
His eyes dim. “Once we were majestic. No more.”
“What happened?”
Mentally, he withdraws from me. “It’s a long story. Perhaps one day I’ll tell you.”
I take a sip of the delicious champagne and drop my head backwards to stare at the blanket of twinkling stars. “When I was about two years old I was convinced I could fly. My mother said she had to watch me like a hawk, or I would have climbed up on the dining table and launched myself into the air. I only finally gave up when I fell on my head one day. My mother always said I’ve been soft in the head ever since.”
He chuckles. A low, hypnotic sound that makes me turn my head to watch him. In light from the moon and stars he is like something from a dream. Unreal. Impossible to ever possess, or call my own.
“Here, let me make it more comfortable for you,” he says, pressing another button on the console. The seat of the chairs start to move downwards until the space becomes a platform again. I lie back and he joins me.
Not close enough to touch, of course, but close enough that I can feel his presence.
Chapter 26
Autumn
I can feel the champagne fizzing in my veins, making me feel light-headed. I turn my face to look at his profile and he immediately does the same. Our eyes lock, and intense desire like I have never known throbs between us. It is wild and dangerous.
My throat becomes dry and my heart thumps so loud in my chest I am certain he can hear it.
I let my gaze drop to his lips. They look so red and inviting my thighs clench. There is only about a foot separating us, and every cell in my body is screaming at me to close the distance and taste those red lips with my tongue, but I am frozen. I cannot move a muscle. It is as if I am under a spell.
“It would be borderline cruel if you didn’t kiss me now,” I whisper.
He exhales as if he has been waiting for a very, very long time to hear me say that. His irises become molten, the pupils growing. All the world falls away and time stands still. He is so beautiful my breath catches. Then he begins to inch closer and closer toward me, until I feel his warm breath tickle my face. I smell the rain.
I close my eyes.
I wait for the touch of his lips and it soon comes, soft and cool, but the mere contact sets the fire that has already been burning inside of me, ablaze. He tastes me, slowly and lightly. I feel my hands lift into the air, trembling, as my hands try to find his body.
The pang of desire that hits my core is so strong it is almost painful and sends a gasp straight into his mouth. He pulls away, and my eyes flutter mindlessly open at the loss of contact. I look into his eyes and they are languid with passion. The pupils have grown so large his eyes are almost black.
Desire blazes through me, scorching me beyond anything I could dream of, and waking every nerve in my body. As if all of me has been asleep until this moment. I’m unleashed, unbridled, and on the quest for more. I throw my hands around his shoulders and slip my tongue experimentally into his mouth.
Molten ecstasy pools between my thighs. As my tongue teases and strokes his, I feel my awareness of everything else beyond his touch, begin to slip away.
I’ve kissed a few guys in my lifetime and a couple of them were actually quite good kissers and they did make me go ‘mmmm… that’s nice’, but compared to what Rocco is doing to me their efforts can’t even be called a kiss. This is so intense.
He sucks on my lips with a fervency that convinces me I could be brought to orgasm in this way. If we went on for just a few more minutes, I will embarrass myself by climaxing right here and now.
The groans that sound from my mouth are cries of the sweet, crippling anguish my body can’t contain. I feel myself tremble, as I sink even deeper into him, my hands moving to his belt.
As I tug on it desperately he freezes suddenly, then pulls away.
One moment he was in my arms, and in the next, he’s already on his feet and pushing his hand through his hair.
I feel the loss like a betrayal.
He uses the back of his hand to wipe his mouth, and I feel it in my soul. With a searing gaze, he turns around from me. His shoulders are tense and stiff. It feels as though I’ve been ripped into pieces and scattered in a thousand directions.
“What’s the matter?” I croak, rising up on my elbows.
“We’re not ready for this.”
For a second I am stunned. Then I become furious. He led me on. He led me on. “Fuck you,” I yell as I crawl off the platform. I run to the stairs and descend quickly. My heart feels hurt. He was playing with me. Maybe it was funny for him to play with the poor little artist. Tears blur my eyes as I hasten down the circular stairs. Suddenly, my foot hits the step at the wrong angle and my ankle twists. My hands rush to catch the banister to stop me from tumbling down the flight of stairs, but before I can grasp it, he is behind me, his strong hand sliding around my waist. His scent, rain and grass and earth overwhelms my senses.
It happens so fast I don’t even fully register what happens. All I know is I am in his arms and being carried down the rest of the steps.
“Put me down,” I gasp, startled by how quickly he responded.
But he ignores me and carries me down the dark corridor we came through earlier. There is no light to guide him, but he must be so used to the dimensions of his home, he never stops, hesitates, or shows any kind of doubt about exactly where to put his next step. We travel in the pitch-black darkness.
He stops to open my bedroom door, then carries me to bed. Silently, he puts me down and pulls the covers over my body. His hair shines like spun gold.
I catch his wrist. “Don’t you want me?”
He peels my fingers from around his wrist, lifts my hand up to his lips, and kisses my palm gently. My heart feels as if it could jump out of my chest.
“You’ve never been with a man, have you?” His voice is soft and kind.
I feel the hot blood of shame rush into my cheeks. “How did you know? Did I do something wrong?”
He shakes his head. “No, you did nothing wrong. On the contrary. It’s just… true innocence cannot be faked.”
“Is that the reason you stopped?”
“I stopped because you are not ready.”
“What does that mean?” I ask, confused.
He releases my hand. “There are things you need to know about me.”
I frown up at him. The ripple of worry in my mind is like a stone thrown into a still lake. It disturbs, spreads, cannot be stopped. “What kind of things?”
He forces a tight smile. “It is late. Let’s talk when you come around tomorrow night.”
I think about forcing the issue then change my mind and nod. I need time to compose my jumbled thoughts too. Tomorrow will be better. “All right… is it something very bad.”
He takes a deep breath. “It depends on you.” Then he stands. “Sleep well, Autumn. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“Good night, Rocco.”
After the door closes I pick up my cell phone and see that it is now almost 3 a.m. I turn my head towards the window and instantly see in my head an image of the waif crying out, “Now fly away. Quick. Before it’s too late.”
Chapter 27
Autumn
It takes a long time for me to go to sleep, and when I do, my slumber is fitful and disturbed. At the agreed time, I go downstairs and find Raoul already loitering around the stairs waiting for me. He returns my greeting and immediately lapses into silence. There is a thick fog, but as we go down the mountain I note two landslides last night that must have been cleared away earlier in the morning. There is fresh mud and stones by the roadside.
He drops me off at the shop and I start my routine of cleaning then changing into my work clothes. Larry comes in earlier than usual and from the back door.
“Come on,” he says, “I’ve got something to show you.”
“What is it?” I ask following him.
When I get outside, I see him standing in front of an old, blue station wagon.
“What do you think?” he asks.
“You bought a station wagon?” I ask bemused. Quite frankly, I can’t picture Larry behind the wheel of such a car. Ever since I’ve known him, he’s always driven glossy BMWs.
He nods and dangles a set of keys. “Yeah, for you.”
My eyes widen with surprise. “For me?”
“Well, it was Marion’s idea really. She was horrified when I told her you had to walk home in the rain that night because of a tire puncture. You can still use your bike, but if the weather is bad, or you get a problem with your bike, you’ll have this old girl to fall back on. Besides, you can also start making some local deliveries.”
I take the key from him and walk around the car in disbelief.
Larry pounds on the hood of the wagon. “She’s quite solid, but the AC is broken, and it’ll be an expensive repair job, so you’ll just have to roll down the windows if it gets too hot in the summer.”
“I still can’t quite believe it,” I mumble.
“You know how to drive, right?”
“Yes, but I haven’t driven in ages.”
“That’s all right. We’ll take her for a quick run at lunchtime, and I’ll show you how everything works then.”
I turn to look at him. “Thanks, Larry. It’s really kind of you and Marion, and I’m really, really grateful, but I desperately need to ask another favor from you.”
“What is it?”
I suck in my breath nervously. “I know it’s very short notice, but I need to have this Friday and Saturday off. My best friend is coming to town and we’re going to fly to New York for the weekend. She won a prize and she wants me to go with her. It’s an all paid for trip. An opportunity of a lifetime and we’ll—”
He holds his palm up to indicate I should stop talking and I immediately snap my mouth shut, conscious I was babbling.
“Of course, you can have the time off,” he says with a kind smile.
I clasp my hands together and laugh with relief. “Thank you so much, Larry. You’re the best boss any girl can have.”
He shrugs and starts to walk towards the back door. “It’s no problem. You’ve never had a day off since you came to work here, and between me and Marion we’ll manage.”
I take one last look at my new car before following him into the gallery.
At lunchtime, Larry and I take the car out for a run. For the first five minutes it's awkward, then it all comes back. After dropping him off at the gallery I drive back to my caravan and do a bit of spring cleaning. I open windows, I change the sheets, I clean out the cupboard. Before I leave for work again, I stick a change of clothing into my knapsack.
The day crawls slowly without a single sale. It’s normal for the middle of the week, but boring as hell, and it is a great relief when I can start to close the shop.
Exactly, at the agreed time, Raoul comes to collect me. As his tall thin frame walks through the door, the nervousness I’d managed to somehow ignore all day, comes back in full force. Tonight, Rocco will tell me something, which I might consider too horrible to allow myself to be with him. Even the thought of walking away from him makes me feel quite ill.
In silence, we drive up the mountain.
The higher we get up the mountain, the more uneasy and troubled I become. In fact, I feel so horrible, my stomach feels queasy. I press the button on the door, and the window goes down. I hang my head out of the window and breathe in the clean scent of the pine trees. I hate to admit it, but a big part of me doesn’t want to know, because I don’t want to walk away.
I want to be with him.
The car comes to a stop and I get out and begin to walk to the house. As I get to the bottom of the steps leading to the entrance, the massive doors open, and William appears at the doorway. His face is in shadow, but his voice rings out clear and loud in the still night.
“I’m sorry, Miss Delaney, but the Count has suddenly taken ill and cannot sit for your painting tonight. You must go back and make new arrangements directly with him.”
For a second I freeze with shock. Then I run up the stone steps and stand a foot away from him.
“I want to see him,” I state confidently.
“No one can see him today,” he answers, his eyes, his stance, and his voice, utterly implacable.
Chapter 28
Autumn
I glance back and see Raoul standing by the car, his eyes on me. He is waiting for me to return so he can drive me back. I turn back to William. His face is completely expressionless. I weigh my chances.
He is tall, but not broad, and the entrance is very wide.
For a split second, I hesitate, then I dash past him into the tall foyer. I can hear him call me, his voice stern, but I run as quickly as I can towards the stairs. When I hear both their footsteps behind me I start sprinting up the stairs. Cycling gives me the advantage. When I get to the top of the staircase, they are only half-way up. Good.
I turn into the corridor on the left and begin running down it.
I know from listening to a door close after Rocco left me in the early hours of the morning that his bedroom must be next to the one I was in. I dash down the corridor past my room and open the first door after it. It is dark and empty. I turn and quickly open the door opposite… and I am standing in a massive room. It is decorated in a completely different way to the one I was in last night.
There is a vast bed with a tall, intricately carved, breathtakingly beautiful, silver headboard. Never in my life have I seen such an unusual headboard.
But my eyes move to the still body on the bed. I run and drop to my knees next to him in disbelief. He is shivering and his face is ghastly pale, as white as a sheet, actually. There is a sheen of sweat on his forehead and his breathing is shallow. He seems to be gasping for breath. I can tell he is in terrible pain by the way his eyes are squeezed shut. I touch his hand and it is ice cold. I recoil in shock. He opens his eyes and the pupils are like tiny pinpricks. He is so delirious he does not even see me.
William arrives at the doorway and I turn towards him in a panic and scream. “What’s wrong with him?”
“It is some sort of parasite he picked up in the tropics. These relapses occur from time to time, but the bouts never last more than a day.”
“What are you talking about? He looks like shit. He needs to see a doctor now.”
“The doctor is aware of his condition,” William replies calmly. “He has medicine.” He waves his hand in the direction of the bedside table where there is a water glass and a small bottle with a green liquid in it.
“Autumn,” Rocco whispers deliriously.
I turn back towards him. “Yes, I’m here.”
“You should go home. I’ll be fine in a few hours. Come back tomorrow,” he gasps, barely able to keep his eyes open.
I take his icy hand in mine and rub it vigorously to lend it some warmth. “I’m not going anywhere, not while you’re like this. I’m staying right here.”
He groans, but is too weak to object. I look at William. “Can I have some hot water bottles and more blankets for him please, William? He is freezing.”
William nods and silently withdraws.
Alone with Rocco, I tenderly stroke his golden hair. He looks so vulnerable, so alone, and so utterly abandoned by the world. I can see now that he was telling the truth, all the money in the world has not brought him any joy. At that moment, I make the decision that no matter what confessions he has to reveal to me, I will not forsake him.
He is so cold, I lay my body on top of him. “Are you in pain?”
He opens his eyes and looks at me. “Oh, Autumn. Oh, my little Autumn. It is nothing. Just a back ache,” he gasps.
“Wait a moment,” I say and go to the en-suite bathroom. I find a towel which I use to wipe
away the cold sweat on his forehead.
When William comes back with blankets and two hot water bottles I put them on his chest and stomach and cover him in the blankets. Then I lie next to him and listen to the faint beat of his heart.
“You should go home, Autumn,” he mutters feverishly. “It’s not safe here for you while I am like this. I cannot protect you.”
“Nothing is going to happen to me. I promise I will leave when you go to sleep.”
His hand finds mine, and it is just as cold and clammy as it had been before the hot water bottles and extra blankets. I wrap my hands around it, bury my nose in his neck, and breathe in the scent of him. A feral, yes entirely feral, sensation fills my chest. I feel the way I imagine a mother would feel about her newborn child. As if she alone is solely responsible for the helpless thing. As if she has been sent to earth to protect, guard, and save it from any who would seek to harm the vulnerable thing in her arms. And God help anyone who tries to hurt it.
He mumbles something restlessly.
“Shhh… it’s okay. Sleep, Rocco. Sleep,” I try to soothe.
“You must leave,” he growls, but there is no power in his voice.
“I’ll go home when you go to sleep.”
He draws a shuddering breath. “Promise?”
“Promise.”
Minutes pass, and his breathing slowly becomes less fraught, less frightening. Where his skin touches mine or the hot water bottles it is warm, but everywhere else it remains scarily cold.
Sometimes moans of pain escape out of his mouth, and it hurts my heart to hear it, but finally, he falls into a light sleep. I dare not even breathe because I do not want to wake him up. So it irritates me when I hear a noise from the doorway. William is standing there.
Quickly, I put my finger to my lips. He motions for me to come to him. As gently as I can I slide off the bed. Rocco makes a sound in his throat, but his eyes remain closed. I tip toe towards William.
The Other Side Of Midnight Page 10
