Chapter 7
Willow
I blinked, realizing the movie I was watching had ended. Where had the last ninety minutes gone? The entire evening had been like that.
After Vie disappeared, I’d done everything on autopilot. I’d showered, eaten a late-night snack, and fallen asleep on the couch. The next day at the store was busy so I didn’t have time to think about anything but being friendly and selling things.
Now I was back home staring blankly at a screen full of movies my streaming service suggested I might like to watch next.
The worst part was that after I’d gotten home yesterday, I could tell Vie wasn’t with me. The moment I’d locked my apartment door, the feeling of being watched disappeared. I hadn’t gotten the sense he’d been around at any point today either.
I hated this.
I wanted Vie back. Even if he didn’t make himself solid, I wanted him with me. I told myself he probably needed to hunt and eat. I couldn’t expect him to hang out with me all the time. He might even have duties to protect people out there like he had with me. I couldn’t be selfish.
I couldn’t shake the worry that I’d never see him again.
The thought of losing him made me want to cry. I’d never felt like this before. If I thought I’d been in love before, it was nothing like what I felt now. It was powerful enough to be scary.
My phone rang, startling me. It wasn’t a number I knew. Normally I sent unknown numbers to voicemail, but hoping it might be Vie, I answered it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, babe!”
It wasn’t a scammer or sales call. It was worse, my ex-boyfriend.
“Go to hell, Alex!” I snarled, then ended the call. The number immediately called back, and I declined it. Then a flurry of texts came in, begging me to talk to him.
The text I sent back was short and mostly made up of cuss words, then I blocked the number. Alex and I broke up a week before I met Vie.
Now I could clearly see how Alex had love bombed me at the beginning of our relationship.
I remembered the first time he’d shown me his temper.
I’d been talking to Jina’s friend at a party.
On the drive back to his apartment, he’d started a fight and accused me of cheating on him.
He wouldn’t listen to me and by the time we got to his place, I was ready to leave.
He calmed down long enough to talk me into going inside. The moment the door was shut, he stood in front of it, blocking me from leaving and started the fight again.
I should’ve ended things right then, but his manipulation skills were good. We continued to date for several more months until I was finally ready to see who he was and what he was doing. Then I ended it for good.
For the first couple of days, he tried to love-bomb his way back into a relationship. After that didn’t work, he started harassing me. I kept blocking him. I worried he’d show up at the store, but he hadn’t so far.
I couldn’t wait for him to give up and leave me alone, although I felt bad for any poor woman he targeted next.
This was the first time I’d thought about Alex since meeting Vie. It made me look at Vie in a different way. Vie had ghosted me for a full twenty-four hours so far. If he came back, should I be worried about ending up in another toxic relationship?
The issue was that he was a wraith, not a human. This went way beyond cultural differences.
It was all too much to think about. Should I take a few shots of Jina’s expensive tequila and see if I could fall asleep on the couch again? I always missed her when she had to deploy, but more now than usual. She wouldn’t be home until late tomorrow, which felt like forever from now.
Deciding to go for the tequila, I unwound from the blanket I’d wrapped myself in and struggled out of my perfectly shaped Willow spot on the couch. Halfway to the kitchen, I felt him.
I went perfectly still. “Vie?”
For a moment, nothing happened, then a mist formed in front of me. He didn’t take his human form, but the vague outline of a hand holding something appeared. A silver-colored envelope became solid, held in the ghost-like hand.
“Is this for me?”
In response, he floated closer, extending the envelope out more. I plucked it from the mist and the ghostly hand disappeared back into the rest of the ether.
I opened it and pulled out a card on thick, cream colored paper with gold filigree at the corners. There was a simple message written in elaborate calligraphy.
The Wraith of Violence invites Willow Jones to his home.
Below that was an address. I looked up from the paper. “Should I go right now?”
The hand appeared again, this time holding a small box shape. Like with the letter, the box solidified, and I was able to take it. There was a small note attached to what looked like a jewelry gift box.
This is a small token of my adoration of you. This is to show you that all I have is yours.
Inside the box was a regular house key. It took me a moment to understand. I pulled the key out of the box and held it up between us.
“Is this the key to your place?” It was more of a statement than a question. “And you’re telling me that everything in there is mine if I want it?”
Yes.
Oh shit, he could talk in his mist form, and it sounded like a monster whispering in the dark. Before I could say anything, he spoke again.
It’s your choice. Always your choice. No matter what you decide, I’ll be waiting for you.
Then he was gone again. I don’t know how long I stood there holding the key with my mouth open. Finally, I looked up at the ceiling and shouted, even though I could tell he was gone.
“Goddamn it! You don’t drop a line that fucking romantic and then just disappear! You asshole!”
Following the directions on my phone, I pushed my tired little car to her limits by rushing to the address Vie gave me. By the time I pulled up to a three-story, non-descript building in an office park, my car was making noises I knew were bad.
It died as I pulled into a parking spot. Shit, I hoped Vie didn’t mind if I stayed the night because my car wasn’t going anywhere on its own for the foreseeable future. I winced at the thought of the mechanic's bill.
Whatever, I’d deal with the consequences tomorrow.
Getting out of the car, I stared up at the building. It looked like a typical three-story office building that might house a tax business, optometrist, and lawyer’s office. It wasn’t exceptional in any way.
Except for a complete lack of signage.
Businesses wanted to be easily found. When I opened, I put signs everywhere and kept them up until management told me I had to take all of them down except for the one over my door. I was used to seeing lists of business names on buildings like this, or at least the name of one large corporation.
But there wasn’t a name or logo anywhere, other than the building address clearly displayed in bronze lettering off to the side of the double glass doors.
I walked up to the tinted glass and cupped my hands around my eyes and pressed them against the glass so I could see through. I wasn’t surprised to see a typical American corporate lobby full of the type of blocky, heavy-duty furniture common in business waiting rooms.
I’d spent a lot of time sitting in those types of chairs while trying to get a loan for my shop.
There was a set of doors at one end of the lobby and a bank of elevators on the other. I tried the door, but it was locked and there wasn’t any keyhole. Instead, there was a keypad off to the side.
I pulled the box Vie gave me out of my hoodie pocket and opened it again. The key was still in there, but no numbers. Should I knock on the door? Press the keypad and see if it acted as an intercom? Circle the building and look for a door that required a key?
Before I could decide to do anything, the door beeped and then swung open. I jumped back and waited for it to finish, then stepped in. Vie must’ve been watching from somewhere and let me in. One of the elevators opened; a clear indicator of where I should go next.
The moment I was inside, the elevator closed and took me up to the second floor. My heart was beating hard by the time it stopped and opened.
“Oh,” I breathed, stepping out of the elevator and taking in Vie’s place.
I don’t know what I expected, maybe more generic office furniture in bland colors with the occasional plastic potted plant to break up the uniformity.
Instead, I walked into a museum!
The room I stepped into was massive and must’ve taken up the entire floor of the building.
Medieval tapestries hung from one wall depicting castles, maidens, and mounted knights.
Another wall was covered in all kinds of swords, daggers, and other kinds of weapons I didn’t know the name of.
Some looked old and worn, as if carried into many battles. Others looked shiny and new.
The furniture mostly looked like the overstuffed Victorian style I’d see in movies and TV shows. Under a bank of windows that ran almost the length of the front wall of the building was a line of exquisitely carved chests. Some looked pristine and others looked battered by use and age.
A wrought iron spiral staircase was off to one side of the large space, probably leading up to the third floor. I guessed there were bedrooms and a kitchen up there.
Or maybe it was where the bodies were stored.
I snorted. Nah, no bodies because Vie consumed the bad guys, he didn’t keep them as trophies.
Interspersed with the furniture were statues on antique tables.
When I stepped further in and looked behind me, I found the wall with the elevators was covered in ornately framed artwork.
Everything was lit with the type of specialized fixtures that people in expensive houses used to showcase their art.
There was no sign of Vie, but there was a small round table dead center in the space with a crystal vase full of fresh flowers. Of course they weren’t roses, that would be too predictable for Vie. Instead, it was full of lavender, an indicator that Vie knew me better than I realized.
They were my favorite flower and scent. Many people found their smell too strong, so I didn’t indulge myself with lavender perfume or flowers because keeping my customers comfortable was important.
I stepped up to the flowers and buried my face in the bouquet, breathing in deeply.
I felt his presence and froze. He was behind me, but I was a little scared to move. Not that I was afraid of him, but that this instant felt momentous.
“This is where I live,” he said. “Wraiths don’t sleep, and we don’t require normal human food, but I do like to have a space to come back to. Everything around you is something I’ve collected over the years.”
I turned to face him. He was in his standard uniform of black jeans, scuffed boots, and black hoodie. The hood was down so I could see his face. Those blue eyes were focused on me and glowing slightly. His expression was hard to read, but I thought maybe it was anxious. I could empathize.
“Thank you for the flowers,” I murmured, unsure what else to say.
He nodded. “I thought you would like them. I noticed you had several lavender sachets in your bedroom.”
Oh, so that’s how he figured it out. The box with the key was still in my hand. I held it up and tilted my head. “What does this key go to? I didn’t see any place to use it when I got here.”
He grimaced. “My brother told me I needed to give you a key to my home. He said it was symbolic, and you’d appreciate it. I didn’t understand because my home doesn't require keys for entry, but I did it anyway.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed. “What is this key to?”
“I have no idea,” he answered, his mouth twisting into a scowl. “Did I do it wrong?”
“No!” I answered quickly. “I get the symbolism, and I approve.”
His scowl disappeared, replaced with relief. “I have more things prepared for you upstairs,” he said, pointing to the staircase.
“Like what?” I asked, not moving to the stairs.
He rubbed a hand over his head and let out a frustrated breath. “I don’t think I’m supposed to tell you because a description might make it less romantic. But I was also told it’s important to explain myself to you and have informed consent before we do anything together.”
I blinked, processing what he’d said. “Is there anything up there that can hurt me?”
He looked confused. “Of course there is,” he said. “Humans are incredibly fragile and even taking a wrong step could cause you pain.”
I chuckled. “Let me reword that. Did you set up things that are meant to deliberately cause me pain or injury?”
He looked aghast. “Of course not!”
“That’s good,” I said with a nod. I was dying to see what he’d done upstairs, but I needed to say something first. “You disappeared. You didn’t say goodbye or anything, you just vanished right while I was having a good time.”
He dropped his head. “I know. I acted badly. I’d never felt anything like I did with you, and it scared me.”
“You’d never felt anything like that,” I repeated. “Like what?”
He rubbed his hands over his face and said something that was completely muffled.
“Drop your hands and say that again,” I ordered.
He shoved his hands in his jeans’ pockets and met my gaze.
“My appearance might seem human to you, but I’m not.
I’ve never needed to urinate or defecate.
Until that moment with you, my genitals have been nothing but decoration.
Then suddenly my cock is filled with blood and ejaculates.
I felt things I’ve never experienced before.
It was both wonderful and horrible all at the same time. I was embarrassed and confused.”
I made a creature thousands of years old come in his pants and it was his first orgasm. A sense of intense desire washed over me.
“Out of all the men and women you’ve met over the years, I’m the only one you’ve ever been attracted to?" I questioned.
“Yes.” The word was whispered as he took a step closer to me.
“You’ve probably had thousands of opportunities to be with the most beautiful people in history, but you’ve only ever wanted me?”
He took another step. “Yes.”
He was standing right in front of me now. I kept my eyes locked on his, my heart pounding with anticipation.
“I want you too,” I murmured. I reached up and cupped his cheek. “Before we go any further, I need you to promise me one thing.”
“Anything,” he stated with absolute conviction.
“Don’t disappear like that ever again,” I said.
He didn’t pretend not to understand. “I won’t.”
I moved my hand to the back of his neck and pulled his face closer to mine. “I’m going to kiss you now,” I whispered, then put my lips to his.