Drip Drop Teardrop

Sometimes it was hard to remind herself of that fact. Like that first night out at 4.0. Avery had searched the crowds for him, praying she would see his severe face in the crowds. But he didn’t show.

Caroline asked her constantly if she was alright and that just tripled her guilt because the last thing she wanted was Caroline worrying about her on top of everything else. Then Caroline had brought up funeral plans and Avery had freaked out, shouting incoherent nonsense before slamming out of the apartment. When she returned later that day neither of them said a word and Avery seethed on her own shame.

As the weeks moved into the second month, she felt like she was being haunted. She would be standing in the DVD rental store and she’d catch a whiff of this beautiful spicy, earthy smell that reminded her of Brennus. She’d look around to see if he was there but there no one. And then she’d sniff the air again and the scent was gone. It became an obsession; every journal page filled with descriptions of him. Finally, she started doing some research, looking up whatever she could on the Ankou. There was an astonishing amount of information on the web and in the library, and she locked it all inside her hoping…

Hoping what? That it would somehow make her stop loving him?

>This man was more beautiful than she’d ever be.

Trembling now, Avery leaned up and pressed the sweetest kiss to his cheek, to his scar. Brennus shuddered against her, his arms wrapping around her waist and drawing her close. Not finished, she peppered fairy kisses to his wound, trailing them down in a magical course of acceptance to his happy ending mouth, where she pressed a kiss of such… longing. He groaned harshly and kissed her back, hard. Avery clung on as he deepened the kiss, his tongue searching hers, needy and wanting; his arms binding her tight, his hands gripping her skin so hard he almost left bruises. A heat, this unimaginable flush, charged through her and she felt that tug in her lower body that Sarah had told her all about. The tug, the heat she had never felt with any guy; the tug and heat she’d been jealous of as Sarah expounded upon her night of passion with some French guy during the school’s business trip to Paris. But now she was feeling it; that fever, that need. She almost smiled in exhilaration against Brennus’ mouth. Finally, she was feeling all grown up.

Any further thoughts were obliterated when Brennus reached for the hem of her t-shirt. Even his fingers brushing against her bare skin sent these sparks shooting out of her nerve endings. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head. Feeling drugged, Avery let him pull the shirt over her head, barely allowing a second of separation before she was pressed back up against him, his hands running up and down her back frenziedly, as if trying to find a way inside.

“Sir!”

They broke apart abruptly, Avery’s eyes flying to the door. Thankfully Ames was nowhere to be seen.

“What is it, Ames?” Brennus snapped into the room at large.

“I apologise, sir, but you have a visitor.”

They tried to catch their breath. Brennus groaned and leaned his forehead on Avery’s shoulder, his hand making circles on her naked back.

“I’ll be there in a minute.” He sighed and Avery realised he was using that telecom system thing. Ames was probably downstairs somewhere.

Brennus groaned again and Avery smiled softly at his frustration… her frustration too. She sighed and brushed her hand through his hair. “You better go.”

He nodded and lifted his head to gaze at her.

Her breath caught.

No one had ever looked at her like that before. His eyes spoke words his mouth could never so poignantly convey. Selfishly, she was glad he felt that way about her.

She wet her lips self-consciously and Brennus took it as an invitation, brushing a kiss across her mouth before jerking away from her.

“I’ll be back in a minute,” he promised and ran his hands through his hair, attempting to restore his flustered state to presentable. He didn’t look at her. Shaking her head, Avery searched for her shirt and found it discarded on the floor. Quickly, she pulled it on and he threw her a grateful look.

“Who will it be?”

“The visitor?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know. I’m about to find out.”

***

Avery didn’t know why she did it. It was his visitor. His home. His private business. But she gave him five minutes and then tip-toed out after him, praying Ames didn’t bust her. At the sound of Brennus’ voice her ears lifted, and she mocked herself for acting like a puppy hearing her owner’s keys turning in the lock. Making sure Ames was nowhere to be seen Avery followed the voices to the sitting room. One of the double doors was cracked open a little and she peered through the gap, her breathing stuttering to a halt at the sight of Brennus standing opposite a tall woman. She was so tall she came to Brennus’ chin. Her light brown hair was pulled back off her face in a knotted messy bun that somehow managed to be stylish. She wore tight black jeans that accentuated the slender long lines of her legs. A leather jacket and matching boots completed the ensemble. Like Brennus, she wore all black. Avery could just make out her profile but what she saw of this woman amounted to gorgeous.

“This is a difficult time.” Brennus moved around her and leaned against the fireplace. The woman turned and Avery felt a twinge of jealousy. She was stunning. Not cute. But beautiful. Fine featured. Dark, exotic eyes.

The woman grimaced at Brennus. “I know. That’s why I’m here. Rumour has it you’ve bagged a human.”

Avery’s heart sped up. That would be her.

Brennus growled angrily, “That’s none of your business.”

The woman’s dark eyes flashed just as angrily. “None of my business?! You’re contemplating cashing in this job, this life, this connection to me, for some silly little girl and it’s none of my business?! When are you going to forgive me, Brennus? When are you going to admit that you still love me? When are you going to forgive me and believe me when I tell you I truly love you?” her voice softened to a plea.