Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
Levette
I smiled down at the sleeping man beside me, knowing he finally felt at peace for the first time in his troubled life. Leaning down, I kissed him gently on the lips to rouse him from sleep. He stirred, opening those gorgeous eyes and smiling up at me.
“Hi, handsome.”
“I would have let you sleep longer, but I know we have things to do today.”
Warren nodded, stretching his body out. The blanket slipped down, revealing his naked torso which immediately made my mouth water. It seemed I was always hungry for him, greedy for his taste and his touch.
“Let me get dressed and we can leave.”
Pushing the blankets aside, he moved to stand up, but I tugged on his arm, pulling him back and rolling on top of him. “Not yet. We have some pressing matters to attend to here first.”
Warren chuckled, trying to push me off. “Get away, you fiend! That can wait until later.”
I shook my head, hovering my lips above his. With our close proximity, Warren’s argument died on his lips. “No, amour, it cannot.” I captured his mouth with mine and let him feel just how urgently I needed him.
After we were done, we lay breathlessly beside one another, Warren’s head on my chest and my leg draped over his thighs. He traced circles over my chest, his fingertips tickling my skin tenderly.
It was a comfortable silence, but I could tell there was something on his mind. At first, I thought it was a doubt, a moment of regret. Warren must have sensed where my thoughts were headed because he sat up, staring down at me with furrowed brows.
“Stop worrying about that. I’m not going anywhere.”
You have before is what I wanted to say, but that was cruel and my own insecurities at play. I believed him, and I trusted him—I knew the truth, even if my blasted mind told me otherwise.
“I do not regret this. I do not regret you. You have to believe that,” he said, pressing his hand over my heart.
I nodded, covering his hand with mine. “I know that.”
Warren’s eyes darkened, and I saw him blink away tears. I reached up, cupping his face and running my thumbs over his cheekbones. “There’s been something I wanted to say since I came back to New Orleans. I should have told you, but it was so hard to let myself admit it.”
My stomach dropped at seeing his panic, the pain he was suppressing. I forced myself to smile, even though it felt like the rug was about to be pulled from under me once again. “Tell me, cher. You can tell me anything.”
“I would have chosen it, chosen you. I would have done it, you have to know that.”
I furrowed my brows at my beloved, tilting my head to look at him. “What are you talking about?”
“All this time wasted,” Warren muttered, tears breaking free. He sniffled as I wiped them away. “All of that regret was for nothing. I knew it in my soul, but I was too absorbed in my head, all my fears constantly playing in a loop. I blamed you for turning me, and I am so sorry.”
“Chéri, you’re not making any sense.”
Warren took a deep breath and settled himself, keeping his hands on my chest as though it was grounding him to be touching me.
“I would have turned for you. Eventually. I needed more time, and I wish I’d had the choice, but I understand now, Levy. If it meant being with you forever, I would have chosen this life anyway. There is no part of me that regrets this, or you. I would always have chosen you.”
His words resonated in my chest. I was reminded of my own confession to him the night I turned him.
It was an accident, partly, but I knew even then that part of me had wanted it.
Walking through immortality alone was burdensome, and the idea of having Warren by my side had been all I ever wanted.
Now here he was, telling me he would have chosen me anyway.
It felt like a cloud had been lifted, a heaviness that I’d been carrying on my shoulders for centuries was finally gone.
I grabbed the back of his head and brought his lips down to meet mine, sealing his confession with a kiss that expressed all I was unable to say.
The night was brisk and chilled as we walked through the city.
Warren had his hand tucked into mine and I squeezed it, smiling as we passed people who didn’t even glance at us.
Warren had been able to experience that freedom with others—something that infuriated me, though I did not begrudge him his past—but it was new to me.
No stares of derision, no angered comments or judgmental whispers.
It was a gift to walk down the street with my beloved beside me and feel nothing but my love for him.
We reached the church Warren chose to attend, smiling at the other late-night patrons.
“Are you sure you don’t want to come? You won’t burst into flames, trust me.”
I threw my head back in laughter, feeling it rumble through my body. It was an uplifting feeling to know that the thing weighing me down for so long was no longer an issue. I loved Warren, and I felt truly loved by him in return.
“Non, I’m good, cher. I’ll wait out here until you’re done.”
Warren nodded and turned to walk away, but I pulled him back and into a deep, lingering kiss that made heat spread all over my body. When I finally let him go, Warren had a silly smile on his face as he pressed a hand to his lips.
I pressed my forehead against his, keeping our fingers entwined. “My story began in the church, mon amour. I know my place isn’t there anymore, but I will always love that yours is. I respect your faith, and it makes me happy to share space in your heart.”
“It’s okay, baby. I’ll intercede on your behalf,” he said, kissing me quickly before pulling away. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” I called to his back, dropping to the bench opposite the church’s doors.
Once the doors closed and the Mass had started, I relaxed and looked up at the sky.
It looked like velvet, not quite black but tinted with purple hues, with the faint outline of clouds.
The stars shone, and the moon illuminated the spires of Saint Mary’s, casting shadows across the ground from the wrought iron gates.
It had been a long time since I had prayed, and I thought about those early days of my vampirism when I felt lost and alone, calling out to God because He was all I had left.
“Can you hear me, God?” I asked, staring up at the sky like I expected to see Him peeking through the clouds.
It was a foolish notion, but perhaps a piece of my humanity I hadn’t shaken.
“I know me and You don’t talk anymore and my soul has been tainted too much; I already made my peace with that.
Warren, though? We both know he’s special.
I hope when he meets You, that You treat him with the kindness and love he expects from his almighty father.
He’s good, pure, and I want him to hear from You that his salvation was never in question. ”
There was a part of me that would always cling to the faith I had embraced as a human, even if I didn’t believe in it the same way I had. If I held it dear to me, maybe one day I would get to see Warren in his afterlife and know that I hadn’t ruined him.
We were made for each other, and I had to believe that we were always destined to be together.
I finally did not fear the immortality claiming me. I had someone to love who made me want to live forever.
Until the day I turned to ash, my heart would belong to Warren Hayes.