Chapter 15
Second Non-Date
“…His soul began to rot.”
I gasped when hearing this and stared at him in utter shock that something like that could even be done to a person.
Okay, for a human such as myself or even a supernatural, then death only meant there was still a life left to be lived after this one…The Afterlife.
Now whether that meant Heaven or Hell or the realms in between, it didn’t matter, for your soul would live on in some way.
Of course, there were ways to destroy a soul, but this was usually a job left to the Gods to decide.
So, to hear of a Hex that was powerful enough to eradicate a soul just like that was…well, it was basically unheard of or at least it was for me.
I don’t know what my father’s response to this was as I had been lost for a moment in my own thoughts, but managed to bring my mind back to the room just in time to hear Lucius assure my father in whatever it was they were now discussing,
“It will be done, Dom.”
Then just before he hung up he added,
“Until my next update then,”
as a way of goodbye.
The second he ended the call he then held his hand out to me and I had no choice but to hand over the box.
“Alright, but will you at least let me know what you find?”
I asked in a hopeful tone.
“I am sure your father will pass on all he wishes you to know.”
This was his arrogant reply making me glare at him in return and slap it into his hand with a little more force than what was needed.
“Well, if that’s the way you want to be then fine, have a nice flight home and I hope none of the engines blow up on that private jet of yours,”
I responded dryly as I grabbed my bag and jacket and quickly left the room…or at least tried to.
The door was wrenched out of my hand and slammed shut without Lucius so much as twitching a finger.
“You’re acting like a child!”
he accused, making me clench my teeth and coil a fist full of my jacket in anger.
“What? By going home because I am no longer needed…? What do you expect me to do, sit around and wait by the phone like a good little Sweet, [sh9]hoping someone will call and include me in this…uh no, I don’t think so!”
I snapped making sure I snarled the word Sweet,[sh10] now hating it almost as much as princess.
“Well, you could at least finish your working day like your boss would expect you to,”
he argued making me look utterly shocked.
“Are you being serious right now?”
I said frowning and shaking my head a little.
His only response however, was to fold his arms across that massive chest of his and raise a brow, hence giving me his ‘serious’ pose.
“So, let me get this straight, I have come in to work on my day off, I might add, only to find three men that were waiting for me in hopes of kicking my ass or even killing me for this damn box! Then having to defend myself before I was made to watch in horror as I was about to get shot!”
I snapped but I was long from finished, even if he had started to open his mouth to say something.
“Then I was made to watch a man literally melt from the inside out, which is now officially top of my ‘shit I want to forget and burn from my retinas’ list, only then to be told that I have to hand over the box I just defended with my life,”
I said but again, I was far from done and paused long enough so that I could slam my handbag and my coat down on the table before shrugging my shoulders as I said,
“But hey, my father’s proud of me so what should it matter and as for you… well, you don’t even give a shit enough to grant me a quick phone call to tell me what you found…and this was all with a damn hangover, before a cup of tea because my bloody milk was off, putting on a bra that tried to stab me and before anything to eat because I lost my damn muffin on the floor thanks to those bastards! So, excuse me Lucius, Mr Almighty, if I just want to go home and try to forget this day ever happened!”
I shouted slamming my hands down on the table as I let the rest of my frustrations and events of the day flow out of me.
And what was Lucius’ only response to this…
“How does someone’s bra try to stab them?”
I growled and snapped,
“Well, you’re not a girl, so just add it to the list of shit you don’t have to deal with and leave it at that!”
This made Lucius’ lips twitch as if he was fighting a grin, which only managed to make me even angrier to the point where I held up a hand giving him a warning,
“Don’t you dare laugh.”
Needless to say, this wasn’t one he took seriously but thankfully all he did was release a sigh before shocking me with what he did say next.
“Come on, I’ll drive you home.”
Now, not only did I find his response to this outburst surprising, but it was more what came directly after it that shocked me the most.
Because Lucius grabbed my jacket, handed me my purse and then said…
“But after we’ve had lunch.”
“Well…this is different,”
I said as I got out of the car along Hereford road, that was opposite Leinster Square.
It was a road framed either side with two rows of tall terraced buildings, that were mainly white.
Each had three sets of large windows above the few shop fronts we now stood in front of.
I don’t know what surprised me more, the fact that it didn’t look fancy or that Lucius would pick somewhere that wasn’t fancy?
Like last night, Lucius helped me out of the car before the driver could and soon I was stood on the curb looking up at the brown restaurant with its canopy extended out and with the name of the place over it.
It was called ‘Hafez’.
“You brought me to a Persian restaurant?”
I questioned the second I knew what it was.
Lucius didn’t answer me but instead opened the door and nodded for me to enter.
So, I walked past the few tables and chairs it had outside under the canopy and stepped inside.
Then I watched as Lucius approached a man who came rushing from behind the counter.
We were the only ones there even though it was lunch time, so it was strange that the rest of the place was empty. Not that it would have taken a huge amount to fill it as there were only ten, maybe eleven tables in the whole place.
Shortly after Lucius had announced that he was taking me for lunch, I had found myself being led from the museum in a quiet and stunned state of mind.
I was sure Lucius took this as an after effect of just being attacked and watching a man self-combust into a body boil by supernatural means.
Which meant that before I knew it I was stood next to him outside the gates of the museum where he handed over the box to someone in exchange for a new leather jacket.
I gathered it was someone who worked for him as they nodded respectfully when Lucius had issued his orders in another language, this time annoyingly, one I didn’t know.
Then his car pulled up and we were on our way.
“Salaam, old friend,”
Lucius said as he greeted the man in an openly warm way and was a new side of Lucius I hadn’t seen before.
“Salaam, Mr Septimius, it is good to see you again and I see that you have finally brought a young lady friend with you,”
the man said nodding to me and looking pleased.
I couldn’t help but feel my heart flutter slightly at knowing I was the first girl he had brought here, not caring one bit how childish that feeling was.
I gave him a beaming smile in return and shook his hand,
“Hello, I am…”
I was about to introduce myself when Lucius cut me off and he did this in two ways, one which was more shocking than the other.
First, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him whilst introducing me himself,
“This is my girlfriend, Amelia.”
The second the words were out of his mouth I had been forced to quickly act as if my heart wasn’t trying to beat its way out of my chest.
Then I also had to try to ignore the way my whole body froze by his side and try and focus on saying that simple greeting.
Lucius even gave my side a squeeze as if to prompt me further which finally managed to do the job.
“Salaam,”
I said, knowing the word for peace and was what was most typically used as a greeting with the Iranians.
“And this is one of the restaurant’s owners, Amir.”
Lucius said introducing him like you would an old friend.
“Salaam,”
he repeated the greeting back and then held out his arm and said,
“My old friend, you may have whichever table you wish, for today they are all yours.”
Lucius nodded his thanks and picked one in the corner by the window.
Then, as I was shrugging out of my jacket, I felt Lucius’ hands come to my shoulders and help me to remove it.
“Thanks,”
I muttered shyly turning to see Lucius had handed it, along with his own, over to Amir.
He placed them both over the back of a nearby chair first so that he could get us settled into our seats.
I subtly glanced to one side as Amir was about to hold my chair back for me but with a slight shake of Lucius’ head he stepped back.
I then pretended not to notice how Lucius took his place and pulled back my chair making me fight a smirk.
I was beginning to think that Lucius had some kind of issue with people assisting me with things, because so far, he hadn’t let the driver help me either.
Or thinking back, even when the security guard I knew well had been about to open the door, Lucius had got there first, ushering me out of the exit with his hand on my lower back.
To say that this was all a little confusing was a huge understatement, but that seemed to be the nature of the beast, for Lucius was nothing but confusing!
“You have been gone a long time, my friend, I feared you had forgotten us,”
Amir said smiling and obviously teasing him.
“I had little reason to bring me to London until now,”
Lucius answered carefully, and I suddenly felt guilty as it was obvious that I was that reason.
Amir grinned down at me as Lucius took the seat opposite and replied,
“Ah, but now I see you have big reason to visit,”
he teased, obviously referring to me and for all the wrong reasons.
Lucius looked directly at me as he answered him, this time in a teasing tone himself.
“No, no, she is still a little reason…don’t you think?”
And then he motioned with a flat hand up and down a little to indicate my height making Amir laugh, especially when I shot him a look of shock.
“Careful my friend, for I can see it in her eyes, this one has a fire in her belly just waiting to burn you if you continue with your wicked ways,”
Amir replied, and Lucius in response muttered,
“Yes… and burn she does.”
Meanwhile I was left wondering what it was he meant by that…or by any of this to be honest, for my head had felt like it had been spinning ever since I woke up this morning and it had nothing to do with my hangover and all to do with Lucius.
“Do you wish to see the menu this time or will you order your usual dishes enough for two?”
Amir asked but my mind was too focused on what Lucius had meant by his reply to worry about what it was I was going to eat.
So much so that I hadn’t realised we were alone until Lucius turned his gaze back to me.
“Oh, did we order?”
I asked wondering if he was coming back with the menus.
“I did.”
Lucius replied, obviously fighting a grin.
“And that was?”
I asked not surprised that this was all the answer I received.
“You will have to wait and see,”
he replied, almost playfully.
I released a sigh and gave up, instead turning my attention to the rest of the room.
The restaurant was just a decent sized room, that had white walls decorated with different pictures here and there all in different styles.
For example, directly next to us were eight pictures all the same size, all hung in a thin plain frame that each held a colourful abstract design.
But then above the next set of tables was what looked like an antique painting set in a thick gold gilded frame, holding a scene of what looked like men all sat feasting around a small table set in ancient Persia.
On the opposite side of the room was a section of exposed brick with three lamps in between even more artwork and calligraphy paintings.
The hardwood flooring had a lovely patina on it due to age and in the center of the room in a curved recess on the ceiling was a lovely chandelier that was a collection of teardrop shaped glass lamps.
A bar stood at one end with a cute light feature above.
It ran the length of the bar horizontally in a long rectangle and was made up of dangling dessert spoons, dinner forks and teaspoons all fixed on a metal rim with lights at its center.
It was a piece that was a beautiful example of utilizing discarded objects for a new purpose.
As for the table settings, they were classic and simple with not the usual overabundance of cutlery to choose from.
And as we sat next to the window, our view offered us the picturesque sight of a typically busy London street at lunchtime.
However, it was now that I noticed Amir had flipped the front door’s sign so that it now said closed.
I gave Lucius a questioning look, before asking him why.
“I like the privacy,”
was his response.
“Yes, but won’t that be bad for business?”
I asked, unable to let it go and not thinking it very fair on the poor owner to lose out on the lunch time rush.
Lucius gifted me with a smile that I suspected meant that he found me endearing.
“Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll make sure he is well compensated.”
This was the part where I started frowning.
“Why do you have to call me that?”
I hissed, unfolding my napkin just for something to do.
“Why do you hate it so much, it is after all, what you are,”
Lucius argued back, making me want to throw my fork at him and see if it stayed there, preferably embedded in his skin! I released a deep sigh and said,
“I walked away from that life for a reason and you being here and calling me that just…well it just…”
I said pausing as I struggled for my words.
“Just what?”
he asked, trying to push the reason from me, which in the end I had no choice but to follow through with.
“It just stirs up bad memories, okay.
Can we drop it now, along with calling me Princess?”
I snapped making him look thoughtful a moment as if he wanted to explain something to me but instead thought better of it.
So, in the end, he just shrugged his massive shoulders and said,
“Fair enough.”
After this we fell into a comfortable silence…well, for Lucius anyway, as for me it was pure hell.
I swear I couldn’t stop fidgeting and spent the whole time trying to suppress the urge not to bite the tips of my fingers off.
In the end our drinks came, one I didn’t order, so when a bottle of still water was placed down in front of me I frowned down at it…after thanking the waiter first of course.
“You’re dehydrated, something that tends to happen when a human has a hangover…or so I believe,”
Was Lucius’ sardonic response, that now made me shift my frown from the bottle directly to him.
“Yes, us humans do tend to get dehydrated with a hangover, but as I am an adult do you not think me capable enough to decide on whether or not I wanted water, um?”
I asked, making him look bored as he gazed off to one side before telling me,
“I don’t give a damn if it’s what you want or don’t want…it’s what your body needs and that’s what counts.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head a little, thinking it was like being sat opposite a related control freak who thought it was his position in life to control me and my life.
Which is when I couldn’t help but mumble to myself,
“Seriously, what did I ever see in you?”
Of course, he heard it and his response was almost as shocking as me saying it.
He burst out laughing and I found myself utterly mesmerized by the sight.
I swear just the sight of his bare neck and I was almost drooling.
In fact, he was still chuckling when he called Amir back over so that I could order myself a diet coke.
Amir even looked at him as if he had never once heard the sound of Lucius’ deep laughter before and I had to say that it made two of us.
“So…do you come here often?”
I asked after his amusement had simmered down, however, the grin playing at the corner of his lips was telling me that it had far from passed.
But then I wanted to slap my own forehead the second he pointed out something embarrassing.
“You know that sounds like a pick-up line you would hear in some seedy bar,”
Lucius commented, and he was right it totally did, but instead of admitting to that fact I retorted,
“Then no doubt it is one you have said often.”
This verbal sparring was obviously one he was starting to enjoy because once again he was smirking.
“Perhaps,”
was his one worded comment and I had to admit, it wasn’t one I relished hearing, now only having images of Lucius picking up women or should I say unsuspecting victims in a bar.
“In answer to your question, I have been coming here for years as it serves the best Ghormeh Sabzi,”
Lucius said before the silence between us could linger too long.
“What’s that?”
Lucius looked surprised that I didn’t know and the obvious reason for this was down to my dad’s heritage.
“What, can you really see my dad cooking for us all in the kitchen?”
I asked chuckling.
“Hell, I am sure he wouldn’t even know where it was if it hadn’t been for my mum’s love of cooking, and trust me, Ghormeh Sabzi isn’t her specialty.”
At this Lucius laughed again, only this time it wasn’t the full head thrown back type.
But it was cute all the same and gave a warmth to his face that was beyond handsome.
In fact, it was one you could easily fall in love with.
I found myself twisting the napkin in a fist on my lap just as if the thought had physically pummeled me in the chest.
“I am just surprised you have never tried Persian cuisine before,”
Lucius admitted with a shrug.
I then thanked Amir for my coke and downed nearly half the glass making Lucius raise a brow at me.
“Alright, so maybe I was a little dehydrated,”
I admitted.
“Yes, well little good that artificial poison will do for you,”
Lucius commented dryly.
I frowned before folding my arms and then nodding to his bottle as I said,
“Oh right, and that stuff popped straight up from a natural spring, did it?”
He grabbed the bottle of beer and grinned at me as he took a long swig.
“Nope, but it tastes damn good though.”
“Yeah, well right back at ya,”
I said, taking a sip of my own.
“What is that stuff anyway?”
I asked, trying to read the label that he currently had hidden in his large hand.
“It’s saffron beer.”
I pulled a face that said it all and Lucius grinned before tipping the bottle my way, saying,
“Here, try some.”
“Oh, I don’t think s…”
I was cut off the second his right-hand closed round one of mine.
The same electricity ignited the second our skin made contact and I swear he felt it too when his fingers flexed against my hand automatically.
Then he placed the cold beer bottle in my hand and applied pressure on top of my fingers so that I would get the hint and take the bottle.
“Just one sip,”
he urged in a kind of hypnotic purr and he may have not had control over my will but that didn’t mean he was without strong powers of manipulation.
For I did indeed now feel like the puppet dangling on the end of his strings as he had mentioned not long ago.
So, with a nod of encouragement from him, I took a long swig, unable to care too much about the flavour as my mind was just thinking about the fact that I was placing my open mouth directly over where Lucius’ lips had just been.
Needless to say, it tasted delicious and again, I wasn’t just talking about the beer.
“It’s good.”
I said, trying to keep my voice steady and without giving away the inner meaning to that statement.
I passed him back the beer and watched as he took a swig of his own, only this time without taking his eyes off me.
It was as though he was daring me to say something.
To comment on the fact that our lips had received but a small taste of each other and what I was desperately waiting for…
One kiss from a Vampire King.
A short time later and our Persian stew, Ghormeh Sabzi, was served along with aromatic basmati rice and a side of Tahdig, which turned out to be a crispy rice crust.
Before this we had a quick starter of freshly baked Persian Lavash bread which was served warm and was a kind of thin flatbread.
It was served with an assortment of dips and the only one I recognised was hummus.
However, it wasn’t just the fact it was delicious that was the reason it was my favorite course.
No, that was because it was a meal we had to share and therefore there were more than a few occasions that our hands would touch when we were both reaching for the bread to tear a piece off.
Of course, the main was pretty good too as it turned out that Ghormeh Sabzi was a Persian stew that was a mixture of sautéed herbs, kidney beans and lamb.
It also had to be said that the smell was alluring, and the taste was definitely unique.
“So, how was your first experience with authentic Persian food?”
Lucius asked, surprising me that he genuinely seemed interested to know.
“Ready good, I loved the…uh, what did you call it, the crispy rice thing?”
He gave me a warm smile that nearly made me breathless as he spoke the word with perfect pronunciation,
“Tahdig.”
“Uh, yeah that,”
I said with a blush, making him hide a smirk behind his fingers as they tapped on his lips.
“What?”
I asked, really wanting to know what it was he was thinking behind that hidden smile.
But he shrugged one shoulder slightly and at the same time he raised his fingers from his lips in a silent gesture, one that told me he wasn’t going to explain himself.
No, instead he raised his hand so that Amir came rushing over.
“Do you like desserts?”
Lucius suddenly asked me, and I nodded enthusiastically replying,
“I don’t trust anyone who doesn’t.”
This made him laugh again and I swear if this had been a real date, then I would have secretly been congratulating myself for it going so well.
Which was why I had to bring myself back down to earth and remember that it wasn’t.
Far from it in fact, because coming back down to earth was one where Lucius and I were miles apart.
Miles apart and with an ocean of indifference in between.
And what was I doing? I was drowning in it that’s what.
I was drowning in my own ocean called hope and he was happily sailing away on his boat called nonsensical.
[sh11]Because I was human, and he was a Vampire King who would live eternally.
And no matter how many times I made him laugh, it just didn’t matter.
Nothing was building that bridge…
Across a supernatural ocean.