Chapter 29 Ava
AVA
A mess of ingredients, utensils, and recipes lay before me on the counter. Valen convinced me to strike off another item on our winter bucket list, and we’re baking cookies. It’s been a while since I’ve baked anything, and I’ve forgotten how messy it can be.
I’d spent the day at work, lost in my thoughts and struggling to stay awake.
I’ve had a few dreams of my parents, and with everything going on, it’s like waiting for the other shoe to drop.
Valen tried to lull me to sleep last night with his sweet lullaby, but it didn’t suffice.
After picking up a latte from Luna’s shop both on the way in and out of work, I’m now hyped up on caffeine.
“This looks like a torture device.” Valen turns the pastry cutter this way and that. “I would know,” he adds, and I gasp in shock, having not expected that sort of comment from him.
“That’s terrible, Valen.” I’m glad he’s feeling good enough to joke about everything at this point. We haven’t gone into detail about what all went on down there, but he seems lighter nowadays. “It’s for cutting the butter into the flour. I don’t think we need it for this recipe.”
I laid out a bunch of recipe options, and Valen chose the one that sounded best to him.
Since he’s never had any of them, it was a shot in the dark, but he took my word for it and selected sugar cookies.
Some might say it’s a basic option, but my mom’s family recipe is to die for and decorating them will be fun.
“Once we’re done with the dough, I have the perfect cookie cutters to use.” I grin and pull out my secret surprise from the cabinet. Holding it out to Valen, he takes it warily.
“What are these?” Upon closer inspection, he laughs. “Fangs? Bats?”
Bouncing on my feet, I pull a coffin shape out. “They’re cookie cutters. I know it’s the winter season, but I couldn’t resist when I found them online. We can have Halloween in December.” I grin. “Let’s get going on the dough.”
Valen is a great student and follows my instructions easily. He’s meticulous when measuring, leveling, and sifting out the cups of dry ingredients. I let him do the fun part, mixing them together. He’s mesmerized by my electric mixer, and I’ve forgotten once again how new everything is to him.
A bark comes from the bedroom, followed by distant scratching.
“Poor guy. I hate having to shut him away.” I pout.
Valen looks toward the door with a wry smile. “He wants to be in on the action. He would make it more chaotic, so we can unleash the beast after we’re done.”
Turning off the mixer, I give the dough one last stir with my spatula.
“This looks perfect. Aren’t you excited to try it?
” I take a deep whiff of the sugary dough and sigh as nostalgia hits me.
“My parents and I made this every year, multiple times, might I add, because my mom’s recipe was so coveted.
She said it’s the butter temperature and sifting the flour that makes it special. ”
Valen watches me as I yap, a warm, fuzzy feeling entering my chest at the adoration shining in his eyes.
“What?” I ask, planting my hands on my hips.
He loops his arms around my waist and plants a kiss on the tip of my nose.
“You.”
“Me?”
“I am infatuated with you,” Valen says softly.
“The way you take care of those around you, the way you fiercely protect me, and the way you bravely charge through life. It all warms my heart. I thought my life was over when I was rotting in that cell. After Celine saved me, I found you, and you are worth everything.” He cradles my face in his hands, holding me like I’m his entire world, and from what he says, maybe I am.
My eyes water and I grasp his wrist. “Don’t say that, please.
What you went through was horrendous. If time were reversed and you could choose differently, wouldn’t you choose to avoid it?
” I shake my head in disbelief, but he holds me tighter.
I can’t imagine enduring years, centuries it seems, of torture just to end up here with me.
“No. You want to know why?” He waits for me to make eye contact with him.
“Everything happens for a reason. I went through hell and back while in captivity, but I never would’ve known what happened to my sister and I would not have met you had I not fallen.
I can’t imagine continuing life without those two things.
Knowing you’re at the end of any hell I might endure, I would choose to go through it every time.
” He nuzzles my cheek and pulls me in for a hug.
Burrowing into his chest, I inhale his masculine scent and squeeze him tightly.
“I’m so proud of how far you’ve come,” I praise, voice muffled by his shirt.
“I know your trauma will always be a part of you, but being in crowds, accepting touch”—I pull back—“You’ve come such a long way.
We’re still working on the contractions, though.
” Winking, I place a hand on his chest and press down.
The flour I have on my palm leaves a mark, and I beam. “Now you’re marked as mine.”
Valen retaliates before I can track his movements and places two flour-covered hands on my butt. “Consider yourself claimed.” He nips my neck and chaos ensues.
We toss flour at each other, and it makes a huge powdery cloud. I laugh at how ridiculous it is but don’t stop. I make for his butt with flour filled hands, but he snags me so my back is to him. Wiggling my hands out, I manage to grab him from behind right when he places his palms over my breasts.
“You bastard,” I squeak out when he drifts long fingers down and tickles my sides. “Okay, I give up!” Gasping for breath, I slump against him, and he takes pity on me by stopping the tickle attack.
Valen hauls me over to the floor-length mirror in the living room to take in my appearance.
My hair is a chaotic pink mess. Clothes rumpled and dirty, cheeks flushed, I radiate happiness and look like a well-loved woman.
Valen’s handprints litter my body, and he looks much the same with my much smaller handprints on his clothes.
“Look at us,” I laugh. “Who would’ve thought? An angel vampire and a witchy human. We sound like some cheesy romance novel. I guess the saying is accurate—the truth really is stranger than fiction.”
“We’d sell millions.” He kisses the side of my head. I soak up all the affection like a sunflower preening to the light above.
Patting his arm, I step away. “Okay, we both need to change and the dough needs to chill.” I open the bedroom door and Pom Pom comes running out with a happy bark.
Valen speaks softly to him and I smile at the dynamic duo.
The other day I caught him discussing potential matching shirts with Pom Pom, showing him options on his phone.
The familiar has been good for him. With his trauma, it has to be nice to have something so small and affectionate.
Swiftly changing my clothes, I come out to see Valen has changed as well. He dons sweatpants that showcase his … asset … and a T-shirt that stretches across his chest. He notices my entrance and motions toward the kitchen.
“I wrapped the dough in the stretchy plastic and put it in the fridge. The recipe said it needs an hour to chill, so I put it on the timer.”
I clap slowly and he quirks a brow. “Look at you making technology your bitch.” While slightly reluctant at first, Valen has taken to experimenting with technology around the apartment and he’s adapted surprisingly quickly.
Valen turns away bashfully, and I wonder what we should do while we wait for the dough to chill.
“Why don’t we meditate and try to pull on my powers?” I suggest. I’ve been reluctant to try again, but I know this is a task I must face. I’m useless until I unlock them.
“Let’s sit down over here, but with a bunch of pillows just in case.” We work together to create soft padding around us and assume the position we’ve found works best when we do this.
I blow out a breath and focus on our connection. The spark of my magic calls to me and I follow the tug until I visualize the tangled ball in my mind. Upon closer inspection, I see a small thread sticking out that I haven’t noticed before.
“Wait. I think what happened last time might’ve loosened it. I want to try and pull on the thread.”
“Please be careful,” Valen rumbles, and the sound of his voice helps ground me.
I swear the ball is brighter too. I’m not sure if it’s all the meditating we’ve been doing or if it’s because I’ve been more accepting of the fact that I’m really a witch. Closing myself off to the possibility most likely wasn’t doing any favors.
Visualizing myself standing before the ball, a jolt of fear runs through me.
This could work. It could unlock my powers. How fucking scary. What if what happened to Jade’s mom happens to Valen?
I quickly reassure myself that I don’t believe that’s possible. All the torture he’s endured has pretty much confirmed the fact that the big guy is indestructible.
In my panic, I don’t realize it, but Valen stands before me like a comforting presence in my mind. I’ve manifested him alongside me, and his simulated form grips my hand as I reach toward the writhing, sparking ball of power. I’m not sure how it happened, but I’m grateful he’s with me.
“Together,” I whisper. I feel his real-world hands tighten around mine in response.
A warmth spreads through my body, starting at my hand and traveling up my arm like a current. Valen’s hand is a welcome weight, and I feel him pull me into the shelter of his body. I continue to pull on the thread, but it resists, which frustrates me further.
“Keep going,” a deep voice sounds by my ear.
When did I end up on his lap in real life?
Both mental and physical Valen feel dangerously close, and the hard planes of his body mold to the softness of mine.
The current of power seems to spark between us as we stand longer in its presence and closer together.
My breath catches in my throat at the stimulation of it all.
I feel my skin begin to cover in goose bumps, and my breasts suddenly feel tight under my tank top.
Every breath rubs my nipples against the cloth and ignites my body.
Valen’s hand slowly runs down my side to grip my hip, and I shake my head to focus on the task at hand.
“I need to pull harder,” I breathe out.
The ball pulses in time with my heartbeat and a strong electric current seems to set every cell in me ablaze.
A bead of sweat rolls down my temple, and I struggle to keep my breathing at a steady pace.
My core clenches as Valen runs a hand down my inner thigh.
I feel his hard cock press against me, and I push back, rubbing against him.
We both moan at the symphony of sensations happening, and the thread loosens a bit.
“Fuck, almost there.”
We both give a final hard yank. I truly think it’s working when I’m thrown out of my mind by an invisible force and my eyes fling open.
Heart racing, I rub my face and force my sweaty hair back. I blow out the breath I didn’t know I was holding and grind down in sexual frustration at the release I didn’t have but desperately need.
An animalistic growl has me stiffening and jerking my eyes up to meet the predator in front of me. Valen’s brown eyes simmer with unabashed heat and his fangs protrude over his lips. The deadly vampire we’re taught to fear is right in front of me, and I’m planted on his lap.
Fuck me.