Chapter 22 #2
Celine let out a soft gasp; her thoughts reeling a hundred miles off course at the feel of his lips.
They were just as soft now as they had been the other evening.
She recalled how his mouth had mapped out the expanse of her neck, how his teeth had grazed and nicked every part of her chest that wasn’t covered by the dress.
Celine’s own lips parted while she looked at him, and she suddenly wished it wasn’t her finger he was licking.
Bastien released her hand, smacking his lips contentedly. “That was very tasty.”
Celine peered at him from under her hat, eyes narrowed to slits. “What happened to keeping your hands on the wheel?”
“Those things are awfully sticky, Celine,” he smiled cheekily. “You could have gotten your dress dirty.”
“How considerate of you.” They fell into silence as Bastien navigated into the main avenue where the traffic was thick and the drivers unrelenting. It occurred to her then to finally ask, “Where are you actually taking me?”
“Don’t give me that,” Bastien chuckled. Though it might have been a scoff, she couldn’t be sure. “If I wanted to murder you, Celine, I wouldn’t have done it in broad daylight. You will love this place, trust me.”
“If it’s somewhere disreputable—forget it!”
“Disreputable places don’t open this early.
” Leaning over, he opened the compartment in front of her.
“Here. I’ve noticed your eyes seem to hurt from sewing all day.
” Bastien handed her his shades. An elegant gold rim framed the green-tinted lenses.
“But know that you are never refuting those vamp claims.”
The wry remarks abandoned her. Celine took the glasses with a weak “Thank you” and slid them on.
A row of buildings slid past them, the sun bouncing off the silver rooftops.
It was noon, so the streets were mostly empty of pedestrians.
Celine could gather nothing from their surroundings; the Haussmann buildings all looked the same.
She gave up guessing where they were heading and returned to the conversation conspiring inside the car.
“You’ve become so contrite recently,” she pointed out, unwrapping a marron glacé for herself. “Even though you’re still a nuisance.”
“I have a lot to be contrite for,” he said, eyes fixed on the road.
“So, climbing to my room last night was just for sport?” Celine dared a glimpse at him and noticed his lips had pulled back into a smirk.
“I had to get my exercise in somehow. Elana was busy.”
The sweet glaze soured on her tongue. Habitually, Celine produced a gagging sound.
“Now, now. Don’t be jealous, baby vamp.”
“Jealous?” she scoffed. “I have no reason to be. I have Jacques.”
“Really? Then why are you always so tense?”
She whipped her head around so fast the hard sugar coating on the chestnut cracked under her teeth. “My private life is none of your business, Bastien.”
“I hate being the one to say this, Celine,” he sucked in a breath, “but denial doesn’t become you.”
“Believe whatever you want, but Jacques and I are very happy.” Celine thrust her chin up. “Our union might have been arranged at first, but I have always liked him.”
It was only when the words registered that she realised what she had let slip. “I meant…love. I have always loved him.”
She waited a few, excruciating minutes for Bastien to respond. She had offered him enough ammunition in one sentence alone for an endless string of remarks. When he didn’t, she clicked her tongue. “What, you’re not going to say anything?”
“Teasing you about Jacques can only be so much fun. Besides, who am I to comment?” His grip tightened on the steering wheel. “I know nothing about love, right?”
Celine sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, feeling foolish for the words. She had recklessly tossed them at him the other night and now she regretted them. Who was Celine to judge him when it came to love? She knew nothing about it, either.
“You were right, though,” Bastien confessed suddenly. “I have never loved anyone.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Weren’t you the one who said so?”
“I was angry. People say all sorts of things when they are angry. Things they don’t mean.”
A red light was coming up. Bastien eased to a stop. “People say exactly what they mean when they are angry, Celine.”
“Maybe, but I was wrong about it,” she said. The buildings were tall enough to block the sun on this side of the street, so Celine slid the shades down her nose, folding them on her lap. “Surely…there must have been someone…”
There were so many names Bastien’s was associated with in the rumours that circulated their social circle, one of them must have held some special place in his heart.
For Jacques it had been Emilie. For Ana?s it had been a girl named Juliette.
Celine, too, had had her first love manifested as Simon.
Bastien shook his head. “I was never in love with any of my paramours. Loving just one person has always seemed ridiculous to me.”
“But—” Celine frowned. “How do you know, if you’ve never been in love?”
“If desire is fleeting, love must be too, no? I have no interest in it. I’ve only ever wanted to have fun with whoever I wanted, whenever I wanted. No strings. No silly I love yous.”
The light turned green; the car rumbled forward once more.
Celine leaned back into her seat, turning the thought over.
Fleeting. Like Bastien’s moods. Like his words.
Like the desire that had emanated from his body the other day.
There for a dizzying heartbeat, and then gone—to someone else.
The thought weighed like lead in the pit of her stomach.
Celine shouldn’t have expected anything else from him.
Even if the first kiss had been her idea, even if the second one had been initiated by him, it didn’t mean he wanted her the way she had started—
No!
The car came to a sudden lurch, causing Celine to thrust her arms out and brace on the dashboard.
Someone had abruptly cut in front of them.
From her peripheral she could see Bastien turn off the ignition key and get out of the car to shout at the other driver.
Celine paid no heed to the commotion. Her heart was hammering so loudly in her chest, she could feel the drumming beats in the back of her head.
The realisation had slammed into her with the same breakneck speed that the car had stopped.
No! She couldn’t possibly want him!
Celine curled her fingers into fists on her lap, bunching up her dress. It had been just a kiss—just a kiss to pay him in kind for all the pranks he had pulled. Nothing more, nothing less. It shouldn’t have meant anything.
“Are you okay?” Bastien asked, shaking her from her thoughts. She had seen him return to the car but none of it had registered.
Celine blinked at him several times before realising she hadn’t said anything yet. “I-I’m fine.”
“Are you sure? You look flushed.”
She nodded, though she was certain the movement seemed exaggerated. Other than reassuring him, she was trying to dispel the mortifying thoughts her mind had elicited. But when she caught her reflection on the sideview mirror, she startled. A fervent pink had crept over her cheeks.
“I can stop,” Bastien was saying. “Let me find a parking space.”
“No need. It was just the sun,” she lied, quickly sliding the shades back on. “Really, I’m fine.”
He looked far from convinced, but he averted his eyes regardless, focusing on the road again.