Chapter 10
Willow
I’d never been good at waking up. It was a painful process that had to be done in increments, which included blearily squinting at my phone and accidentally smashing my finger on the snooze button.
After doing that several times, accompanied by a lot of mumbled cussing, I’d force myself to sit up.
I’d made a deal with myself long ago that I didn’t have to get up right away.
I was allowed to sit up and scroll through social media.
After about ten minutes, I could comprehend enough to consider getting out of bed.
Today was different. No alarms were jarring me out of my dreams. I was able to drift into consciousness at a leisurely pace. The smell of coffee and breakfast teased me into wakefulness.
Before I even opened my eyes, I remembered the night before.
Receiving the symbolic key.
The frantic drive to Vie’s place.
The candles and a bed full of jewels.
The sex.
The epic sex!
A satisfied grin stretched across my face.
Blinking my eyes open, I sat up to find a table set up near the bed laden with platters of food.
Vie was carefully plating some French toast. When he was done, he tossed the box aside to join a growing pile of boxes with the same restaurant logo and reached for another box on a chair.
His back was to me, and I watched his head come up, and he turned. “You’re awake!”
Swinging my legs over the edge of the bed, I tugged a sheet out of the tangle and wrapped it around myself.
“Good morning, Willow,” he said with a brilliant smile.
He rushed the three strides to stand in front of me and sank down to his knees.
“Did you sleep well? Are you hungry? I didn’t know what you’d like, so I ordered everything they had on the breakfast menu.
If you want anything else, I can order it. Or I could take you there.”
My stomach was sending me all kinds of signals at the sight and smell of the food. Especially the coffee. Pulling one arm free from the sheet, I cupped his cheek and leaned over and gave him a little kiss.
“This is perfect,” I murmured.
“You’re sure?” he asked, moving his face to the side to nuzzle the palm of my hand.
“Yup,” I said, then looked around and saw my clothes in a pile on the floor. “Do you have a robe or anything I can borrow?”
“Yes!” he said, jumping to his feet and rushing to an armoire I hadn't noticed yesterday.
I stood up so I could see better. He opened the mirrored door to reveal a few robes and shift dresses.
He pulled out an amethyst-colored robe and brought it to me.
“Sorrow said you might want something comfortable to wear after spending the night.”
I took the robe from him and slipped it on. I didn’t miss the way Vie watched every movement with absolute focus, as if I were about to do a magic trick. It was flattering and a little unnerving.
Once I belted the robe, I teased, “You were pretty confident assuming I’d need a robe because I would be spending the night.”
He moved past me and pulled a chair out for me. “Not confident at all,” he said with a chuckle. “I think the word hopeful is more accurate.”
Before moving to the table, I shifted the bed pillows until I found the ruby from last night.
I looked at the large, brilliant gem for a moment before tucking it into the robe’s pocket.
I wasn't kidding when I told Vie that I believed we made the red jewel.
What we shared last night was transcendent.
Moving to the table, I sat and reached for the mug of coffee, shocked at how hot it still was. Then I saw the small round hot plate under the mug. I set the mug down and lifted a platter to find another hot plate, perfectly sized for the platter.
“I had those delivered with the food,” he explained. “I wanted to make sure everything was ready when you woke up. I’ve heard humans complain about cold food.”
“The restaurant sent the warming pads?”
“No,” he said, then named a store I’d never heard of. With enough money, you could get anything delivered at any time of day or night. “Are you pleased?”
“Stellar sex last night and breakfast waiting for me this morning,” I said, giving him a big smile. “You’re the perfect man.”
The corners of Vie’s mouth sank. “I’m not a man.”
He was still standing, so I grabbed the sleeve of his hoodie to keep him near me. I hooked an ankle on the chair to pull it out. Then I used my hold on his sleeve to guide him into the chair. Once he was sitting, I cupped a hand under his chin. “Whatever you are doesn’t matter because you’re mine.”
His eyes lifted to mine and glowed bright blue for a moment. “Yes, I’m yours.”
“I’m glad we agree,” I murmured. My hand dropped away as he leaned his head close and placed a chaste kiss on my forehead.
“I can smell your hunger,” he murmured. “Please eat.”
I gave him a last smile before turning to face the food. I picked up the mug and took a sip. I might’ve moaned a little. It was my favorite, caramel vanilla latte with a little cinnamon.
“You like?” Vie asked, sounding pleased.
“Perfect,” I said, then took another swallow before setting it down and filling my plate with a little of everything. Honestly, when it came to breakfast, were there any bad choices?
“I know your shop is closed today,” Vie said as I ate like a woman at the end of a juice cleanse. “I thought we could shop for things you want in this space.”
“Shop?” I asked, the word garbled by a mouth full of food.
“I want you to be comfortable here,” he said. “Sorrow warned me you might not like the style he helped me pick out. We should shop for furniture you like and move things around until you consider this home.”
I looked around as I finished chewing and swallowing. “I like all of this. I don’t want to change anything.” I pointed a fork at the windows. “You even have a nice view from here! Is that Balboa Park?”
He nodded, looking pleased. “Then we can spend the day any way you like.”
I paused, feeling a little sheepish as I remembered my car’s death rattle last night. “I don’t suppose you have a car?”
“I’ve never required one,” he said, giving me a puzzled look.
“Yeah, so I guess we can use a rideshare,” I said. “I’d like to stop by my place first for a change of clothes.”
“No need to do that, I can buy you anything you might like,” he offered.
I snorted. “Great, then let’s go pick out a car.”
“Certainly,” he said with a completely straight face.
My eyes went wide. “Vie, I was kidding.”
“I wasn’t.”
Within three hours, I had several sets of new clothes and was sitting in a brand-new car. It was a luxurious, shiny, silver four-door sedan. The price tag was more than it had cost me to open my little store!
I sat in the driver’s seat, stunned as Vie finished accepting a thick stack of paperwork and walked around to the passenger seat.
“You don’t need to drive, do you?” I asked as he settled in next to me.
“Of course not,” he said. “I can travel much faster in my incorporeal form.”
“Then you didn’t need a car.” I dropped my hands from where they’d been resting on the steering wheel and looked over at him.
“No, but you did. I can’t carry you in my mist form, and your other car isn’t working anymore. It’s only reasonable that you have this. If you find that it doesn’t fulfill your needs, we can get you something else.”
“But this is so…much!” I said the last word louder than I intended.
“You didn’t have a working vehicle, but you needed one,” he stated. “This only makes sense.”
“I could’ve gotten my car fixed.” When he raised his eyebrows, I amended my statement. “Probably.”
Vie shrugged. “Perhaps, but this is better. Besides, I’ve lived a long time.
I don’t require food, and the only reason I own physical buildings is to store the things I’ve collected over the years and as investments.
” He gestured down at his black pants and hoodie.
“My wardrobe isn’t expensive. What else am I going to spend money on? ”
“I guess,” I said, still feeling skeptical.
He gave me a pleased look. “For the first time, I’m enjoying having wealth. It pleases me to spend this money on you. Would you deny me this joy?”
Put like that, I couldn’t refuse. “I want to bring you all the joy!”
He chuckled. “Where to next?”
“I know it’s not flattering, but I’m hungry again,” I admitted with a little frown. “Which is weird because I ate way too much at breakfast. Maybe it was all the exercise last night.”
“I hope we can work out again tonight,” Vie said with a straight face. “So you should take us to wherever you’d like to eat.”
I laughed. Even though I should be spending my day off doing laundry and other chores, I put them off. Having Vie in my life meant I deserved a day off! Besides, this car was begging to be driven around.
“Let’s head up the coast and eat at a place I know in Oceanside,” I said, pressing the on button to start the new car. “We’ll put some miles on this beast!”
I’d never driven something so nice, and I was a little too tentative for Southern California traffic.
I got cut off and honked at a lot. Vie was very upset, and I think he was close to going hunting for some of the other drivers.
When I laughed and waved at one of the angry drivers, Vie’s foul mood vanished.
“You’re unbothered,” he said, watching a truck swerve around us and flip me off. I waved again.
“I had to commute for four hours a day for about a year,” I explained. “When you do that much driving in heavy traffic, you either learn to be Zen about it or you start hating life.”
He scowled at the cars around us. “I still don’t like how so many of these drivers are acting.”
I snorted. “I like that you’ve lived this long, and you're only now realizing that humans are dicks when they’re gathered in large groups. I bet there was road rage back in ancient Rome.”
Vie grunted and glared at another car rushing past us. I worked on speeding up a little. I pressed down on the gas, amazed at the car’s lack of jittering or buzzing. I’d never driven anything so quiet or smooth.
I decided to use distraction to keep Vie from disappearing to eat some driver.
“You were amazing last night,” I said, then teased him. “You said no wraith has ever done anything with a human before. Did you read some naughty books to learn so much?”
Vie’s angry expression disappeared, replaced with consternation. “After I embarrassed myself during our kiss, I went to my brother, Sorrow, for guidance. He took me to a woman named Inola who educated me about human sexuality.”
I didn’t like the sound of that. “Educated?”
“Yes. She works at a place that sells sexual items, and there was a room in the back where you could watch films. She showed us one of her and her girlfriend having sex. Then she answered my questions and gave me advice. I think Sorrow was interested also because he hopes to find someone like you.”
He made the interaction with Inola sound wholesome. It was the kind of sex ed all guys should get. Judging by how good Vie was last night, Inola should start her own business doing only that.
“Sorrow wants to find someone like me?” I asked. “He’s another wraith, right?”
“Yes. He’d rather I called him Teo, but it’s hard to remember when my brothers change their names every century or so.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yes, having only 100 years to remember a new name is hard.”
He huffed. “I’ll try harder if it would make you happy.”
“I think it would make us all happy if you stopped dead-naming your brothers,” I said. “Now, back to why Teo’s so interested in your sex life.”
“You must understand that what I experienced with you has never happened to another wraith,” he said. “We don’t feel passion or love like humans do.”
“Until now,” I murmured. Knowing that not only was I Vie’s first, but I was the first for any wraith ever was heavy knowledge.
“Until now,” he agreed. “Now I feel a different kind of hunger. I still want to feast on humans who stink of violence, but I also want to feast on your body. I want to fill the room with your whimpers, gasps, and cries of pleasure. Nothing tastes as good as your climax.”
His words almost made me swerve into the next lane to exit the freeway and head back to his place.
Before I could think of how to respond so Vie knew I felt the same about him, my phone started ringing. The sales guy had already paired my phone with the car, so it was ringing and announcing, “You have a call from Jina. Say answer to pick up. Say refuse to send to voicemail.”
I was giggling so hard at the novelty that it took me a moment to remember to say answer.
“Hello, Jina!” I called out, excited to tell Jina there was a new man in my life now that she was back from her latest deployment. We were lucky, her ship was rarely gone for more than a week at a time. Now that she was home, she could meet Vie!
“Willow? Thank God! Are you okay? Where are you?”
Worry spiked through me. “I’m out with, um, a guy. His name is Vie, and he’s—”
She cut me off. “Someone broke into our place! They even trashed the kitchen and bathroom. I’ve only walked through, but fuck, I think everything’s been damaged or destroyed!”
I couldn’t understand her words. We didn’t live in the best neighborhood, but it wasn’t so bad that people were going around and doing that kind of destruction. “Everything?”
Jina’s voice was quiet, and I could nearly feel her tears through the phone. “Yeah, everything. My grandma’s quilt, your signed Taylor Swift poster, everything.”
My breath caught. I pushed down my hurt and anger and focused on the practical. “I’ll be there in forty minutes. Call the cops. We’ll need their report if we want the renter’s insurance to pay out.”
“Yeah, I’ll do that,” Jina said.
I looked over to where Vie was watching me with silent intensity. “I’m bringing someone. I think he’s going to be helpful, okay?”
“Whatever,” Jina said. The word wasn’t sarcastic, it was heartbroken. “I’m going downstairs to sit on the bench next to the mailboxes.”
“Good, I’ll be there soon,” I promised. “We got this, okay? We got this.”
“Yeah,” Jina said, then hung up.
I looked over at Vie, but he spoke first.
“I’ll take care of everything,” he swore. “I can replace the things that were damaged and make sure that whoever did it is never able to do it again.”
“What if Jina needs to come live with us at your place?” I asked.
His eyes went wide. “Can’t I rent a suite for her at a hotel?”
I kept staring at him, and he sighed. “I can see I need to buy a home with actual rooms. That’s fine, I’ve been meaning to do that anyway.”
“Thanks, Vie,” I murmured.
“Anything for you, Willow,” he answered.
Guys had said that, but this was the first time one of them meant it. But then again, Vie wasn’t a man; he was my wraith.