Betrayal (The Forever Series) (5 page)

I flop back to the bed feeling wonderful and unsurprisingly I fall asleep almost immediately. I feel kind of bad as my eyes close, leaving Cole with CK. It must be
extremely awkward without me there--awake at least--to act as a buffer, but I just can’t keep my eyes open any longer.

I awake, alone, some time later to the sound of rushing water. It is dark out and I blink sleepily, adjusting my eyes to the hazy candlelight glow. I sit up as the noise stops and CK walks out of the bathroom with a smile.

“Hi,” he says, as he leans casually on the door frame, as he does, with his arms akimbo.

“Hi,” I say with a smile back. “What are you doing?” I add with a hint of amused suspicion.

He holds out his hand to me and I rise from the bed and take it. He leads me into the bathroom, which is also aglow with numerous candles, and over to the waiting bathtub. I catch sight of the red rose petals, floating delicately on the surface of the water and squeeze his hand.

“You did this?” I ask him unnecessarily.

He nods and helps me into the tub. I sink gratefully into the warm water. I have no idea how he got the temperature just right, as he can’t feel it, but it is perfect and I tell him so. He smiles almost shyly at me and says, “Soak awhile and then get dressed and meet me downstairs in the library.”

“Okay,” I say, wondering what he is all about, as he hands me a glass of red wine mixed with AB Neg. “CK? What is going on?” I ask.

He crouches at the side of the tub and takes my hand. “I am taking you to a special place tonight, my sweet, where we can finally be joined together as man and wife.”

I blink at him in surprise. Wow, that was quick! I had assumed we would have a great big affair, letting the whole world (well Underworld, anyway) know that we were tying the knot. But subtle has always been his style, so I accept it without argument, with a broad smile.

“I have picked out the perfect dress for you and I will leave it in our bedroom,” he adds.

“Thank you,” I say softly.

“What for?” he asks, puzzled.

“All of this,” I say, gesturing with my glass around the bathroom. “It’s perfect.”

He smiles knowingly at me and then takes my hand again. “You are prefect,” he says. “You deserve nothing less than the best, and I will spend the rest of life making sure that is what you get, my wife.” He kisses my hand and I choke back the tears, as he leaves me alone to contemplate exactly what being his wife is going to be like.

Chapter 3

I finish off my wine cocktail and pluck a rose petal off my arm that has floated over and stuck to my skin. I stand and scoop up the rest of the petals, leaving them on the side. I wash myself slowly and methodically, gearing myself up mentally for what is about to happen next. I wonder where Cole is and if he knows what CK is planning. I have to assume that under these circumstances, CK would not be so crass as to exclude Cole from his plans, but I know my sire. Secretive son-of-a-bitch.

I alight from the tub and dry myself off the old fashioned way as I go back into the bedroom. I see the dress immediately and I race over to it in delight. There is no way in Hell that CK just picked this out today. No, this has been around for a while I’d wager. It is absolutely beautiful: cut in 18th century style with meters of pale pink satin with a delicate rose print design. The front panel of the skirt has roses on a vine patterned down it and the overskirt has the same in the panel across the hips and down the front. It is a low-cut, square neckline with tight sleeves to the elbow with an extravagant flair to the wrists. The bustle at the back is plain silk and I am glad to note that this is in fact a modern day dress and has a zipper instead of a corset, and as such I can put it on myself, which I do hastily, smoothing it down and twirling in the mirror. I slip into the shoes he has left out for me, pleased they are very high and Louboutin. I twist my hair into a style of the period and leave myself jewelry free. If he wanted me to wear a necklace, he would have put one out for me. I make my way downstairs, slowly and steadily, only coming to a halt in the library, where he is waiting for me. He turns as he senses me and his eyes burn with desire as he sees me.

“Oh god, you look magnificent,” he whispers as he gathers me in his arms to kiss me.

“Thank you,” I say coquettishly at such a compliment. “So do you.” I return it as I take in his expensive Armani tux. “You decided not to go for the same period?” I add.

He shakes his head. “Not as flattering,” he says with a laugh.

I am about to ask him about Cole, when he, too, steps into the library.

“Wow,” he says. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you,” I say with a soft smile. He is dressed in a suit and I raise my eyebrow at him.

He indulges me with a smile, which looks more like a grimace and says, “I told Constantine that he doesn’t get to marry you without me being there.”

“Oh,” I say and look back to CK who isn’t looking happy about it, but has to accept it because he has no choice.

“Shall we then?” CK says, holding out his arm for me to loop mine through.

“Yes,” I say and hold out my hand for Cole. We three are Teleported to the mystery destination by CK. It is dark where we land outside and it takes me a second to figure out where we are. I look back at the looming, dark castle a ways behind me and say, “
Cassis?
There is sacred land here?”

CK points behind me to a small circle of stones. I don’t mean Stonehenge type stones, but actual small rocks placed in a circle. “Many, many centuries ago this was a Pagan place of worship. When I acquired the castle, I kept this spot sectioned off so that it would never be forgotten. I guess the L’orleau’s did the same.”

How come I never knew that? We are in the furthest corner of the grounds, some distance away from the castle itself and I have walked here many times, I guess I just never thought to ask. I want to ask him why he never mentioned it before, but now isn’t really the time, as standing in the middle of the circle is a Druid in a flowing black cloak, hiding his face, ready to perform our ceremony. I smile hesitantly at Cole and then step into the circle with CK. He places a ring of daisies on top of my head and I giggle as I remember making hundreds of daisy chains just like this so long ago.

He takes my hand and the Druid proceeds with the hand fast in the ancient Celtic language. I follow the gist of it, but it seems CK is fully versed, so I just go with it. The Druid ties the rope around our joined hands, binding us together. CK turns to me with my Faerie Silver wedding band and holds it up, leaving it to me to decide where to put it. I look down with a frown and in the end remove my blue diamond ring and he slips it onto my right ring finger, replacing the blue diamond above it. He hands me the ring I gave to him to cement his commitment to me and I slip it onto his left ring finger. He grips my fingers tightly, his only show of emotion and my throat tightens in my own show and then he says quietly, “I want to do the Blood Magick ritual as well.”

I nod, fully agreeable even though Cole is watching this. “Not the sex part,” I mutter to him and he snickers.

“Since when did it bother you to have people watch?” he asks coyly.

I stick my tongue out at him as he slices his claws across my palm and does the same to himself. We repeat the ritual in Latin and my magick wind swirls up around us as we grip each other’s hands tightly. A ring of fire surrounds us, causing Cole to take a giant step back from the circle. I can feel his anxiety and his pain as he bears witness to this, but he agreed and now it is done. The fire and wind die down and the Druid says, “It is done.”

CK swoops down on me to kiss me and I kiss him back, our joy at finally being together after a thousand and one years evident by our embrace. I take a moment to enjoy it before I step back, conscious of Cole’s eyes on us. He has been silent and stoic and I am proud as his sire that he stood by me, but I love him all the more as his wife for sacrificing as much as he has to make me happy.

CK thanks the Druid and he flits off silently into the night, leaving only the three of us again.

What now? I wonder, as again we all stand there in silence.

“Home?” Cole asks, breaking the silence.

“Yes,” I say with a look at CK. He is looking up at
Cassis
with a faraway look and shakes his head.

“This home,” he says with finality.

I have half a mind he is going to turn around and exclude Cole from this night, but to my utmost surprise and delight, he turns to face him and inclines his head in a “shall we?” gesture. Cole hesitates for only a second before he steps forward into the stone circle to take my hand. CK Teleports us out and I wonder where he is going to take us. As far as I know, he hasn’t entered these premises since he left them hundreds of years ago. However, the old lord’s bedroom is still the master suite and he lands there with an interested look about.

I look around the room too, seeing what he is seeing in his mind’s eye of a bygone time and squeeze his hand.

“It’s so different,” he says quietly. “Gaudy French nobility.”

I snort delicately into my hand at his comment. If I recall, the Italians nobles were just as extravagant, if not more so, himself included.

Cole, eager to draw our attention away from the room and our memories, pulls down the zipper on my dress and CK catches it as it falls to my feet. I am mildly surprised, and impressed, that Cole took the lead on this one. Probably to reinforce his position as still my husband and the one I married first. I find it just a little bit irksome that they are still competing with each other and make a mental note to try and remember to speak to them about it. I have no doubt I will forget, as currently I am struggling to remember my own name as they both proceed to give me a night that I will never forget as long as I live.

I awake in our bed back in England, alone. I am tired of waking up alone. Just once I wish at least one of them had stayed with me. I take the opportunity of my solitude to admire my new, well ancient, ring as I lie in the sun-dappled room and grin happily to myself. Everything is just perfect. After so much pain and uncertainty, everything has come right. A dark cloud passes overhead, momentarily blocking out the sun, which brings me back to reality. Something is going to crop up and shoot all of this to Hell. Something always does. I sigh at my negative, yet realistic, attitude and get out of bed. I shower, change, and head down to find my husbands.

Yikes!

Husbands, plural.

It’s quite surreal. I find them both on the terrace sipping coffee at opposite ends of the terrace table, ignoring each other. Oh geez, I think, but it reminds me of the discussion we clearly need to have about this.

“Morning,” I say to them both and I have no idea which one I should lean down to kiss first. I choose Cole and he is smug. CK doesn’t let it go though as he kisses me deeply and thoroughly, leaving me very aroused and flustered.

“Please sit,” CK says, pulling my chair out for me. I do and Cole hands me a coffee. Now this bit I don’t mind. I am used to looking after myself, but this taking-care-of-me business is definitely a plus side to having them both vying for my attention. I scold myself, as I am only encouraging their competitiveness.

CK sits again and pulls out a stack of his ubiquitous royal blue, monogrammed folders.

Oh no, I know exactly where this is going. I place my coffee cup down and wait for him to start on his presentation.

He smiles at me and hands me one. I open it and, as expected, it is the exact same one from a few months ago that he wanted to me sign, giving me half of everything he owns, only the balance has gone up.

“We are married now,” he says at my silence. “You
will
sign this.”

“CK,” I start, but he holds his hand up.

“No, Aefre. There will be no arguments this time. No wife of mine sits around in squalor,” he says imperiously.

I let out a loud guffaw and Cole joins in as we both look back at the extensive, sprawling manor behind us.

Squalor, indeed!

After my hysterics, which CK takes with amused grace, I sigh and hold my hand out for the pen. He can sign it all over, but I won’t be dipping into his funds. I have no need to. He knows me too well though and holds up my purse.

“I have taken the liberty of changing all of your cards to my accounts,” he says with a pointed look.

I huff at him and his overbearing-ness, but accept it because to fight him would be pointless, but I make a note to tell Jess to tell the banks to re-issue my cards to me at their earliest convenice.

“Now sign,” he commands me. I take the pen and am about to scrawl “Liv O’Dell” across the dotted line, but stop suddenly, the pen hovering over the paper.

“What is it?” Cole asks, taking this scenario in with interest and more than a little jealousy. Not about the money, but about the act of CK sharing with me as my husband.

“Uh…” I chew my lip, not sure where to start.

They both look at me expectantly so I blurt out with a flush, “I don’t know what to call myself!”