Awakening (10 page)

“That sounds like heaven,” she
grinned as he kept her hand in his and walked down the hallway. After a while and they were still nowhere near the dining room, she murmured, “Huh.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“It didn’t seem to take this long last night.” Glancing up at him, her furrowed brow melted into a smile, “Of course, I wasn’t really paying much attention to where we were going last night; I was more interested in your mouth.”

Bending his head forward, he placed a kiss on her lips, “Like this.”

“Very much so,” she whispered, her eyes closing.

Once again
the wind was sucked from her body and just as suddenly forced back in. There wasn’t any time to dwell on the sensation as she lost herself in Adam’s sensual assault. After a long moment, he reluctantly broke the kiss and murmured against her lips, “We’re there.”

“Hmmm,” she returned, licking her lips and tasting him still. Slowly, her eyes opened and
she saw the haze of desire still flaming brightly in his black eyes. She smiled lazily, “I like your kisses.”

“I like kissing you,” he breathed, brushing his lips against the corner of her mouth, touching that sweet spot with the tip of his tongue. Forcing himself to stop, he rested his cheek on the top of her head, “But it’s necessary for you to get something to drink.”

“Yes,” she readily agreed, running her fingers along his chest.

“Come,” he smiled, taking her hand and pulling her into the dining room
where they sat once more at the large table.

Within moments, servants were placing food in front of them, making a minor production out of removing the lids and serving the elaborate breakfast. Celeste smiled at the service, far more impressive than anything she had
ever experienced. But it also made her a little uncomfortable; it was a level of wealth she knew existed, but had never witnessed.

Out of the corner of her eyes she watched
Adam, the ease of how he dealt with all of it, as if he was not only accustomed to it but he expected it. It was another example of how he couldn’t be a
Calix
unless everything she knew about
Calices
was wrong; deliberate misinformation on the part of
Apocritum
to discourage relationships between humans and
Calices
. Of course, he could be a vampire. Because she wasn’t interested in vampires she knew even less about them than she did about
Calices.
The one thing she did know was that a vampire could bite his victim without converting her. A shudder went through her body at the thought; unfortunately, it made a lot of sense. Either way she did not belong in Adam’s world, of wealth or supernatural-ness.

But she had today. Discreetly, she moved her hand to his thigh, running it over the taut muscles and smiling as they flexed beneath her fingers. Keeping her eyes on her plate, on the production of breakfast, she
lightly caressed him, moving her hand higher until it rested over the bulge between his legs. As she heard his breath hitch in his throat, she smiled, rubbing his growing erection without looking at him.

“You
’re driving me insane, Celeste,” he rasped against her ear, his breathing heavy and frayed. Reaching down, he wrapped his hand around hers, letting her feel him adjust and attempt to find a more comfortable position.

Celeste’s eyes widened as
Adam nudged his blistering erection against her hand. Turning her head, she finally looked at him. The heat in his eyes burned into her and her body responded as if he were the one caressing her instead. His lips curled up in a seductive smile as her pupils dilated and her breathing deepened. Their hands held motionless over the swollen flesh between his legs, their eyes locked on each other as they remained motionless, lost in a fog of lust and desire.

“Ahem,” the butler cleared his throat for a third time
, finally breaking through the sensual haze.

“What is it, Francois?”
Adam asked, not looking at the man.

“Would you care for some privacy?” he asked
deferentially.

Celeste lowered her lashes, ending the silent exchange;
her cheeks pinking in embarrassment at being caught with her hand between her lover's legs. She watched as Adam’s smile lost a little of its lasciviousness as he turned his head and looked at the butler. “No. However, I need something for Celeste to wear; something with a high neck.”

Francois looked at the girl’s throat and gasped. Covering his mouth with his fist, he coughed a few times to cover his
response. Celeste might have heard him mutter
That’s
impossible
, but she wasn’t sure. “I will leave the clothes in the bathroom down the hall.”

“Thank you,”
Adam nodded his head, dismissing the man. Turning back to Celeste, he grinned, motioning towards the smorgasbord of food in front of her, “Eat.”

“Drink,” she whispered, eyeing the glass of water, her thirst returning with a vengeance. Grabbing it, she brought it up to her mouth and let the cool liquid rush down her throat, relieving the dryness that had been
plaguing her since waking up. Sighing with pleasure, she sat the glass back down after she had drained the entire thing, ready for another glass or six. Smiling sheepishly, she glanced at Adam, “I was very thirsty.”

“I know,” he smiled, refilling her glass with the pitcher that sat before them. “Today I want to give you a brief tour of the vineyard and then we can return to the city proper this evening for a more…
intimate tour.”

“Will we be
coming back here then?” she asked, torn between her desire to spend more time with this man and the need to return to the hostel to pack.

“No,” he shook his head, taking a bite of his croissant. Celeste fought her disappointment, but then he continued, “We’ll stay in my apartment in town.”

She smiled, excited about what the day ahead promised. They still had another day together before she had to return home; she never thought that she would regret leaving to go back home. Surreptitiously, she glanced at him, studying the strong profile, the smooth plane of his cheek, the straight white teeth as they bit into his food; he was devastating to her senses. She was really not looking forward to leaving him. Twenty-four hours just wasn’t enough time to get her fill. Twenty-four lifetimes wouldn’t be enough.

Adam held Celeste’s hand as they strolled through the streets of Paris, content just being with her. Even though she spoke no more about returning to the States, about leaving him, he sensed her resolution just beneath the surface. She still planned on going. Tonight he was going to redouble his efforts to convince her that she belonged to him, with him. If he had to remain bound to the Queen by the slimmest of threads at least he would have Celeste by his side to make it bearable.

Smiling to himself, he knew that
she would not be able to resist him again and tomorrow they would be returning to his chateau. He would feast on blood and sex, on Celeste. One thing was certain: he was never going to let her go. If necessary he would ask Auberon to aid him in his effort to keep her, to compel her to stay.

“This has been so wonderful,” Celeste sighed, resting her head against his arm, her fingers entwined with his. “There is so much history in these old buildings
; the beauty camouflages so much darkness. This has been an amazing day, Adam; thank you.”

“But I was doing all of the talking,” he murmured, kissing the top of her head. “I never got the chance to learn about you.”

“I’m not very interesting,” she protested, smiling slightly. “I much prefer listening to your voice as you tell me about the history of Notre Dame and everything else.”

“I want to hear
your
voice,” he whispered, stroking her hand with his fingers. “I want to know more about
you
.”

“
That would be just silly,” she grinned. “Why should I talk about myself when I am quite positive that you are far more exciting?”

“But I know everything I need to know about myself,” he returned, nuzzling her ear with his lips, his breath hot against her skin. “I want to know about you.”

Shrugging her shoulders, her eyes twinkling, she said, “I’m an only child and as much as I begged my dad for a little brother or sister, he refused to remarry and provide one for me.”

“Your parents are divorced then?” he asked solemnly.

“No,” she smiled sadly and shook her head. “My mom died just after I was born.”

“I’m
very sorry,” he murmured, closing his eyes, feeling her grief as she briefly talked about a woman she never knew.

“It’s not your fault,” she smiled up at him tenderly. “
My dad told me that the placenta tore and they weren’t able to stop the bleeding. He said that at the end, she was able to hold me and she had a smile on her lips when she passed on.”

“Are you and your father really close then?” he asked.

“No,” she said matter-of-factly, no pain in her voice, though she must hurt. “He took my mom’s death really hard and, I don’t know, maybe I remind him of her or something. It’s no big deal, though; my best friend’s family sort of adopted me and I spent almost all of my childhood at their house.”

“You’re still a child,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head again, needing to kiss her, touch her.

“And I still spend most of my free time there,” she grinned. “Kim is like a sister and I have no idea how I would have survived childhood without her and her family.”

“Then I’m glad you had them.” He bent his head down and pressed his lips against her neck, unconcerned about the attention
they were gathering. When she sighed her invitation to go further, he forced himself to stop kissing her and take a step away; it would have been too easy to make love to her but it was quite illegal to do so in the middle of a public park. Not to mention the humiliation she would experience as soon as the sensual fog lifted and she became aware of what she was doing, but more specifically, where she was doing it.  Seeing her disappointed lower lip pop out, he smiled and tugged at her hand. “Come.”

“Where are you taking me?” she asked, stumbling over her feet as her body learned how to walk once more.

He liked holding her hand, keeping her close; he was never going to let her go. While it was against the rules to take a human without her consent, he wasn't too concerned about being unable to convince her to stay. Admittedly, he should have asked for permission before he bit her because only vampires were so crass as to bite their victims against their will. Of course, vampires could bite without repercussions; he had been miraculously lucky she didn’t change when he bit her.

He pointed ahead, “There.”

Grinning, her eyes lit up her entire face, “Really?”

“Yes,” he smiled as they hurried through the park.

*****

Across the way
, she saw the Eiffel Tower, wondering how she could have possibly have missed it and realizing she was lost in Adam. She had the most incredible historical tour of a fascinating city, she was in Paris for one more night and she was spending it with the most amazing man she had ever known. When they reached the historic landmark, Celeste was sorely dismayed to see that it was closed. It would have been exhilarating to look over the city of lights at night. Unable to hide her disappointment, she sighed, “Oh, well, it was a nice idea.”

He chuckled, putting his knuckles under her chin and lifting her head up, “It still is.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at him and he placed a soft kiss on her lips. Taking her hand once more, they walked past the waiting guards and to the lift that would bring them closer to the top. Celeste was too stunned to speak as everyone showed Adam the utmost reverence and respect as they passed. She wasn't sure if it was even possible to schedule a private tour of the iconic tower. Maybe there were special arrangements that could be made if one wasn't human.

Her heart pounded in her chest as they came ever closer to the top, as they stepped out of the open-air elevator onto the metal floor. Holding her hand, he led her to the edge where they were able to see the lights of the city sparkling brightly. In a hushed voice, she whispered, “It’s
amazing.”