Drake is waiting for me and I lean down and whisper in his ear what I require of him. He looks quite startled, but then pleased and then the grim reality of what I have just said to him sinks in and he scowls at me. “How can I refuse?” he says. “You know what this means, though?”
“I sure do,” I say. “I’m ready.”
“Then I will be too,” he says and leaves it at that.
I keep my secret conversation to myself as it is huge, and it isn’t something that I want a big fight over just yet. We have enough of that as it is. I take Sebastian by the hem of his shirt and say, “Allow me.” I transport us in a puff of smoke back home and Sebastian delights in my found powers. I have landed in the corridor outside my bedroom and I put my hand up to his face, hovering a few inches away. “Home, now,” I murmur, and he nods his acceptance of my backward invitation. I pull my hand away and turn to push open the door. I look back, but he has already gone.
Cole rushes towards me as I step inside, his arms extended, but then he gets thrown back by the curse to his utmost shock. I growl at CK, who is sitting quietly on the bed and I march up to him.
“Get this fucking thing off me,” I snarl at him.
He stands silently and takes me by the arm and drags me into the bathroom. His fingers make quick work of the laces and the gown drops to the ground. His eyes go black as he breathes in and he shoves me into the shower and turns on the jets. I inhale sharply as the frigid water hits me and then glare at him as he mutters more Celtic words that I don’t understand. I am getting highly pissed off with this.
He clearly knows that I have been with Sebastian and he is highly pissed off himself. It fuels my own anger and I turn to him, dripping wet and freezing. “You should know by now that I will do what I want, when I want, regardless of any curses.”
His black eyes now turn red, and for the first time in a couple of years, I start my old mantra: “I will not flinch, I will not flinch”.
“And you should know by now that I do not tolerate this kind of insubordination. Or have you not learned your lesson?” He looks strained, like he is holding onto his monster temper and I wish I hadn’t said what I had.
I turn away from his scary, red eyes and turn the tap to scalding hot. It steams up the room in a matter of seconds and burns my skin, but I don’t care. The look of intense emptiness in his eyes froze my essence. I didn’t even recognize a small part of him.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble as he continues to stare at me. “We had no choice. Thrace threatened me…” I sigh heavily. “It doesn’t matter.”
At his silence, I look back at him warily. His eyes have gone back to their normal beautiful shade of amber. “I know,” he says. “I knew what would happen when he found out, but I had to try,” he adds softly, and I want to cry at the sorrow in his voice.
I reach for him, but he pulls away and turns to leave. Funnily enough, I don’t follow him. Seems I have learned my lesson after all.
Cole joins me a few moments later, emerging from the steam into my view. I turn the tap back down to a more reasonable temperature and smile at him. “All curse free,” I say, indicating my person.
“I’m glad he did it,” Cole says. “Was a bit rude not to include me in the exception, though.”
“Very rude,” I say with a little laugh.
He regards me with his sorrowful eyes, and I know he knows about what Sebastian and I have done. I do the only thing a loving, and manipulative, wife and sire can do to ease his pain.
I lie.
“It was one time, baby. We had to make the union whole. That’s all,” I say quietly, hating myself.
“And what about the baby you are supposed to have?” he asks. “Unless you plan on trying to convince me it will be Immaculate Conception, you are going to have to do it again.”
Immaculate Conception. What a grand idea that would have been. Too bad no one thought of that when they came up with the prophecy. Too bad I didn’t just tell them that was the way it was going to g
o down anyway.
I shrug. “Don’t want to think about that right now,” I say, taking the coward’s way out.
He nods in agreement. “Me either,” he says and then we just stare at each other.
“Will you go to Carolyn now?” he suddenly asks.
Ah crap! I had almost forgotten about that. I shake my head. “Tomorrow. I am worn out. I can’t deal with that right now either,” I say and slump my shoulders.
Cole leans in and turns off the jets. I shiver as the warm water stops heating me and he reaches for a towel to wrap around me. I wiggle out of it and it drops to floor. Cole’s eyes blaze over me and without warning he takes me hard and fast against the sinks, with his pants around his ankles. I let him use me, this one time, and then I whisper to him that I want him to make love to me. He lifts me into his arms and staggers to the bed with me giggling at his slow progress due to his pants. He drops me on the bed and whisks the rest of his clothes off before he dives on me with exuberance and this time I finish long before he does.
Twice.
I awake alone, as per usual, and dread wells up that I have to go and see Carolyn this morning. I really don’t want to, but it has to be done. I should also check on Cade, but I decide to do it later and head downstairs to find my husbands. I pause on the bottom stair, as I once again hear them whispering in the library. I sit down and let my Dragon hearing take over.