Chapter 58 #2
“But,” Marcus continued, “we survived. Crawled our way up out of the gutter. And yes, now we enjoy the finer things in life, but it’s not like we don’t work to have them.”
Jacob looked at me. “Why don’t you tell me these things? When I try to find out more about you, you change the subject.”
“Some things, I choose to forget.” I reached into my vest pocket.
“But I’ve missed out on all of it.”
I placed several coins on the table. “We should go.”
Jacob gave me a worried frown. “Do I have your permission to take Rachel out tomorrow?”
With a nod, I rose from the table.
I was glad to be back on dry land. There had to be a better strategy, one where I didn’t cause my son distress. Here in the study, I could be assured of privacy.
Tonight, though, was an exception.
Sunaria, Marcus, and Rachel stared me down.
“This is not open for discussion.” I turned away from them and faced the fireplace.
Rachel sniveled. “But I don’t want to go to Cornwall.”
“You don’t actually have to go to Cornwall.” I spun around to face her. “Just tell him you are and convince him you’re leaving.”
Sunaria glared at me.
“He’s infatuated with her,” I said.
Sunaria sighed. “I don’t see the harm.”
I shook my head in frustration.
Marcus wrapped his arm around her waist. “Sweetheart, what he’s trying to say is that Jacob is not ready to learn about who we really are.”
“But Sunaria’s shown me how to mingle,” she said. “I know how to act normal.”
“Define being normal, Rachel.” Dealing with her was making me weary.
She suppressed a sob.
“Jacob’s a man of science,” I explained. “He’ll detect you’re different.”
“Don’t say it.” Sunaria gestured insistently to me.
“He needs to forget about you so he can meet a nice girl and marry her,” I said.
“You bastard,” Sunaria muttered.
Rachel burst into tears.
“Can’t you see her heart’s breaking?” Sunaria snapped.
I waved off her statement. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Rachel, go to your room.” Sunaria rubbed Rachel’s arm with affection. “I’ll join you in a minute.”
“Go on, love,” Marcus said.
We waited for Rachel to leave the room.
“What the hell are you doing, encouraging her?” I snapped.
Marcus shut the door. “At least be a little more patient with her.”
“Don’t play your violin in the house,” I continued. “Could I have been any clearer?”
“I’ve spent years helping her confidence flourish,” Sunaria said.
“Yes, but you didn’t always feel this way about her, did you?” I moved closer.
Sunaria looked furious. “That’s unfair.” She glanced at Marcus and then grabbed my arm. “She’s like a sister to me now.”
I pulled away from her.
“In one night, you’ve undermined all my work.” Sunaria rested her hands on her hips. “And you refuse to consider the future.”
“Not now.” Marcus gave her a stern glare.
“What, you’ll just let him grow old and die?” Sunaria asked. “Or worse, catch something deadly from one of his patients?”
“If either of you touch my son,” I said quietly, “I will kill you.”
The room fell silent.
I left without sparing a single glance in their direction, soaring into the night, indifferent to where I might land.
I chose a graveyard, strolling among the tombstones, enjoying the cooler breeze.
Fog hung just above the ground, layering the cemetery with an eerie white haze. Taking a seat on the steps of one of the older mausoleums, I tried to think, considering Sunaria’s words.
Turn him.
With my son growing older, nearing my age with each passing year, I failed to see the advantage. At some point, I would either have to tell him the truth or withdraw from his life. Jacob would turn twenty-two in August.
Two choices and I didn’t like either of them. They both threatened our happiness.
I regretted my earlier outburst.
If I told him who I was, what I was, I could lose him. Turning my son could destroy him. But letting him die a human death would be too devastating. It was an impossible dilemma.
I caught a whiff of Sunaria’s perfume in the air. She stepped out of the fog, dressed in a black lace bodice and a flowing skirt.
I sighed. “Why do things have to be so devilishly complicated?”
She snuggled against me and brushed her fingers through my hair.
“I’ve missed you,” I whispered.
She was always the balm that soothed me.
The fog swam around her as I scooped her breasts out of the corset, so that they spilled over. Leaning back on my elbows, I admired the view and my appreciation came with an erection. She raised my shirt, suckling on one nipple and then the other.
I imagined that whoever lay entombed behind us welcomed our erotic exchange in lieu of a constant flow of mourners.
Sunaria’s hands rubbed me through my trousers, and then she reached in and pulled me out, massaging me, the cool air causing me to shiver. Her dark locks tumbled over and tickled my thighs. With a gasp, I felt myself swelling within her mouth.
Her hands clutched at my wrists, restraining me.
Her tongue and lips worked together, pleasuring me and nudging me ever closer, and my thighs trembled with the sensation.
I pulled my hand from her grip and ran my fingers through her dark locks and clutched at them to force her pace.
She responded, the scent of her own arousal heightening mine, and my stiffness responded with each flick of her tongue.
Leaning back again, savoring the moment, I gazed up at the dark sky. The bright witnesses of the night were obscured by the possessive haze. I reached out to the side, my hand sweeping through the mist, disappearing into the blanket of white.
I flinched at the sharp sting to my groin as Sunaria’s mouth clamped against the inner curve of my thigh, sucking. The sensation of her drawing the finest claret sent a thrill and my hips pumped, insistent that she tend to my throbbing hardness.
I gratefully felt the flick of her tongue lavishing me again, her soft sighs escaping.
Her hand took over with a perfect glide, and her mouth returned to that crease where she’d bitten me, drinking that which I offered willingly, our perfect scarlet sustenance.
The sensations mingled pleasure with pain, intensifying her control.
I love you, I conveyed, hurtling to that perfect, brilliant plateau, moaning urgently that I needed this, needed her. “You’re mine for eternity,” I whispered.