The Other Switch (The Forever Series, Book 7.5): The Forever series, Book 7.5 (3 page)

He undresses quickly, leaving his shirt on but open. He sees me staring at him and he pushes me back towards the bed. I reach up and push the shirt off his shoulders, and he makes a noise of protest, but I kiss him quiet. He scoots us up to the top of the bed and he lowers his mouth across my breasts, taking turns at tugging on my nipples with his teeth until they are aching. He moves quickly over my stomach and then thrusts his tongue into me. I squirm at the pleasure and come quickly, pulling his head back up to my mouth for a deep kiss
.

“You taste so good,” he mutters. “I have dreamed of this moment. I am so sorry for what I did to you in Vegas. I just wanted you because he had you, but it was wrong. So wrong. This is the way it should be. I love you.”

“I love you,” I say it back automatically and then wonder if perhaps I shouldn’t have, as his eyes light up and he kisses me again. Wrapping his arms around me, he enters me so slowly, as if savoring every second. I wrap my legs around him to draw him closer to me and then roll us over. I want to feed, so I pull him up and drop my fangs.

“No,” he says. “Me first.” And drops his fangs before sinking them slowly into my neck. Oh yes, I will never get tired of how he makes me feel. I come again and he groans as he tastes the rush. He pulls back and says, “Now you.”

I oblige, tasting his blood, like honey and strawberries and cream and he pulls on my hips as he spills himself into me. I release him and, retracting my fangs, I kiss him as he runs his hands down my back leaving little electric currents in his wake. He turns us over so he is on top of me and pulls the covers over us as I run my hands down his back. He stiffens as I do that, but I smile at him and say, “We are connected, you and I. I know you know that, you just don’t know how yet.”

He peers at me curiously, but doesn’t ask questions as I run my tongue over his lips in the way that I know my Sebastian loves. He seems to like it too, as he mutters, “Uh,” before he pushes his tongue through my lips. He trails his hand down my side and squeezes my backside, lifting me up to meet him again as he sinks into me. Now that we have the feeding out of the way he takes his time with me, moving in and out of me slowly as his tongue works over mine in the same rhythm as his hips. His fingers of one hand play lightly over my nipple, while his other is grasping my hand tightly next to my head
.

“I love you, Liv,” he murmurs to me again. “I love you so much. I knew you would come to me. I knew you felt what I do.”

Again, I have a feeling of guilt. If I end up going home, Liv is going to be left to pick up the pieces here and while that isn’t fair, it isn’t fair to ask me to stay away from him while I am here either. If they knew, they would understand.

“Oh, my sweet Sebastian,” I say to him, feeling the pleasure rush start and his eyes widen at my endearment. “Call me Aefre,” I cry out as the orgasm takes me over in a wave and then another wave as he whispers my name.
My
name.

“Aefre,” he says it over and over, before he grunts softly as he comes too.

I feel a faint, but all-too-familiar tingle go up my neck before I hear Constantine say, “’Bastian, we need to talk…” followed by, “Aefre?” He clears his throat as Sebastian closes his eyes and takes in a deep breath. He turns to his sire and tries to shield me from his view, but it is of no use. We can feel each other and he knows I am here.

“Aefre?” Constantine asks again slowly. Sebastian rolls off me and I pull the covers up to my chin. This is one of those awkward moments in life where you wish the ground would swallow you whole. I know that my Constantine has no problem with my relationship with my Sebastian, but clearly there is an issue here by the thunderous look on his face and Sebastian’s guilt that is rolling off him. He just stares at Constantine, who is just staring at me. “I see,” he says. “Am I to assume this is a willing encounter?” He glares at Sebastian now who nods and then at me. I nod too, because that seems the right thing to do. I can’t imagine why he would think me being here would be unwilling. It’s hardly like he caught Sebastian holding me down. But then I think of his gift. Is it possible that he has spelled her into having sex with him before? He said before he was sorry for what he did. I stare at him now wondering what on Earth possessed him to do that, and even more curiously, is that it seemed to work on her?

“Well, Aefre, it appears you have changed your mind about what we spoke of. A word of warning wouldn’t have gone amiss though. Please, would you be so kind as to leave us so I may have a word with Sebastian?” He has gone quite formal, more so than usual and in my world that means he is hurt.

Oh crap
, I think. Yes, sometimes there just isn’t any other word to use, but a swear word.

“Of course,” I say and Astral myself straight back to my bedroom, not even bothering with my clothes, just wanting to get away from that potentially explosive situation. Where I come from they both have a temper to be scared of, and if her sire is anything like my own, he will be up here to yell at me shortly, so I hop back in the shower to remove any evidence. It will only make him even more furious than he already is.

Which, to my utter surprise, isn’t very furious at all, when he Teleports up a few minutes later, as predicted.

“Liv,” he greets me calmly as he sees me sitting quietly on the sofa. I must remember to call him what she does.

“CK,” I say.

He narrows his eyes at me. “Liv,” he says again.

Again I say, “CK. I can…”

He holds his hand up to stop me from finishing. He crosses over to sit with me on the sofa and takes my right hand. He fingers the blue diamond pensively and then asks, “Do you remember when I gave you this?”

Um, I remember when my Constantine gave me mine, maybe it’s the same, “Yes,” I say. “
Ponte
in our bedroom.”

“Hm. Do you remember how I asked you to marry me and that this was to be our engagement ring?” He looks at me expectantly so I say, “Yes.” And he frowns. Oh dear, that’s not a good sign.

“And do you remember where I got this?” He holds his left hand up.

Oh crap, where is he going with this? I take a leap as it is on his ring finger, but he isn’t my husband so he must be someone’s. “Your wife?” I say hesitantly.

He nods and stands, walking away from me, to stare out of the window. “Who are you?” he turns suddenly to ask me. “I know you aren’t who you are pretending to be.”

Oh no. What do I do? Well, there is only one thing to do and come clean. I can’t keep up this charade with someone who clearly knows her so well. I sigh and say, “How did you know?”

He chuckles and says, “I may be blindly in love, but I am not blind. You may be able to fool the others, but you can’t fool me. I know her too well. First things, your demeanor is all wrong. I know she has been…capricious as of late, but I do know her. Also, you don’t know the story of our rings and you called me ‘CK’ when I called you ‘Liv.’ She never does that,” he says and smiles fondly. “I also know she wouldn’t go to Sebastian without talking about it to me first. Aefre, my Aefre, may be a lot of things, but she isn’t an insensitive bitch. So I ask you again, who are you and what have you done with my Aefre?”

“First things,” I say, dropping my phony British accent, “I would like to point out that I didn’t do this. She did. And secondly, I am still Aefre. Just from a different world.”

“A different world.” He peers at me closely and says, “You definitely are not that skank from the Other World, so there is a third?”

“There is a second?” I ask in surprise.

“Indeed. So if you aren’t Devon’s Elizabeth, that must make you my wife. Correct?” he asks.

“Yes. You, well my you, turned me and we hand fast in 1012,” I confirm.

“Mm, I knew there had to be a time somehow where I got you where I wanted you,” he mutters to himself, pleased. “How can you be sure it was her who switched you?”

“Well, it wasn’t me,” I say. “I have never had the power to travel through time or to switch bodies with another me.”

“Bodies? It is just your essences that have been misplaced?” he asks, confused.

“Yes. This is her body and I can only assume she is in mine,” I say, a bit angry now.

“Yes, I suppose I see that,” he sighs. “I assume you have a relationship with Sebastian where you come from?” he asks.

I nod. “Yes. A powerful one.”

He starts at that, but I don’t elaborate, reluctant to tell of the Faerie connection that these don’t yet have.

“You do know that by having sex with him, you have caused all sorts of problems for my Aefre and my Sebastian?”

“I have gathered that, but you don’t understand,” I try to explain.

“No, I don’t. But you have put her in an impossible situation.”

“Does he know?” I ask carefully.

“No, he thinks you are Liv. That is why it is going to hurt him terribly when you go and she comes back, only to reject him.”

“What if I don’t go?” I ask then. “I had imagined she would have worked tirelessly to get back to her life and yet I am still here. I may never leave.” I shrug casually, ready to give him a world of possibilities should he ask. Only he doesn’t.

“Oh, you will be leaving, one way or another, I can assure you,” he says to me assertively and in spite of being slightly insulted, I actually go mushy all over.

“We’ll see. I quite like it here. Her life is so very different to mine. So easy. And all these people she has who love her, her charges especially. She is so lucky.”

“You don’t have Devon or Cole?” he asks.

I shake my head. “I don’t have any charges. It wasn’t considered to be the right thing to do.”

“You mean she is stuck there in your life without her charges?” he croaks out.

“Yes,” I confirm.

“Oh no. No, no. You have to find a way to switch back. She will be devastated,” he implores me.

“I am sure she will have more than enough to keep her occupied,” I say breezily.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he frowns at me.

“She is Empress where I come from. Believe me, all that entails is enough to distract her. Along with Sebastian. Oh my sweet Sebastian,” I say with a sigh and he glares at me.

“He will think she is you,” he states quietly.

“I’m afraid so. And she won’t resist him. Our bond is too strong.”

“
Your
bond. They don’t have one,” he points out.

“No, it seems that it is our bodies that have the connection. I have felt hers to her husband and to Devon. And you, when I kissed you,” I say a bit slyly.

“You have been with Cole
and
Devon?” he asks with quiet disbelief.

“Oh yes. They are both incredible lovers, and the bonds, they are so strong,” I say. I am taunting him now and it is getting to him. I find it fascinating, this reaction in him. He is quite different to my Constantine.

“Enough,” he says.

I close my mouth, feeling bad now, as this is clearly a sore subject for him.

“You have to come clean. You cannot go around pretending to be her,” he says.

“No, I don’t think I will. I love her life,” I say.

“I won’t allow you to manipulate the people she loves,” he insists.

“I would like to see you try and stop me,” I say, getting a bit mad now, and I can sense the change in my eyes to my Dragon’s and I take a step forward.

“Oh please. You can’t pull that on me. Calm yourself,” he snaps at me.

I giggle then because he sounds so much like my sire when he is annoyed. “Look, I like it here. It is like a vacation for me. Please just give me some more time. If she hasn’t figured out a way to switch us back in twenty-four hours, I will come clean. I promise,” I negotiate.

He sighs. “I will give you twenty-four hours, but you will stay away from Sebastian,” he says menacingly. “And the other two,” he adds as an afterthought.

I hesitate. I don’t particularly want to comply with that request. It defeats the purpose of my subterfuge. In the end, I bend slightly. “I will stay away from Devon and Sebastian, but I can’t promise I can stay away from Cole.”

He glowers at me and I explain, “He is her husband. We are sleeping in the same bed. He craves her, he can’t keep his hands off her. The things he said last night…” I trail off as it is private. Cole’s words weren’t even meant for my ears so certainly not for his.

He thinks about this for a few moments and I can see the wheels turning. His process is exactly the same as my own sire’s. What is he thinking?

“Fine,” he says in the end. “I see your point. Twenty-four hours, Aefre, or I will tell.”

I nod and cross to him. I take his hand and he frowns at me. I pull him over to the sofa and sit us both down. “What is it you want from her?” I ask.

“What I was denied,” he says shortly.

“The chance to be her husband?” I ask.

He nods.

“I can give you that,” I say quietly as I climb onto his lap. “If I stay I can give you that.” I lean forward to kiss him and he doesn’t respond for a few seconds, until I plunge my tongue into his mouth and he kisses me back momentarily before he pushes me away
.