9. Chapter 7 #2
Her tongue was heavy because there was a small part of her that was thrilled by the news.
It was a small part because she was engaged to Edgar and it wasn’t proper, but even all of these years later she would never, ever forget that single kiss they shared.
It was a kiss she could never forget, but she had secretly feared that her romantic pinnacle had been achieved when she was barely sixteen.
If she were a bold woman, perhaps she could tell Valeria the truth.
She would take her hand and tell her how she had dreamed of her and her lips.
How it felt like she had summoned her with her mind when she first saw her at her engagement party.
That Valeria didn’t have to work nearly as hard to seduce her because Caroline wanted her more than anything on Earth.
However, she wasn’t that woman. Even if she weren’t engaged, she wouldn’t have the bravery to tell Valeria what she wanted. Though she wasn’t interested in whatever arrangement they had, even if there was somewhere for her to fit into an already crowded relationship.
“I think that sounds like your business. If you’re happy, then I’m happy.”
“Like how you’re happy with Mr. Andrews?”
It happened so quickly, Caroline didn’t even realize what happened until a moment after she felt the prick on her finger. It served her right for looking at Valeria instead of her sampler.
“Ouch,” she said, examining her punctured finger.
Ruby red droplets slid down her index finger, but the wound wasn’t deep and would be closed soon enough. Annoyance prickled at the thought of bleeding all over the sampler she’d been working on for months.
“What did you do?” Valeria screeched, moving so quickly it seemed as if she went from the couch to the window between blinks.
“I just pricked myself with my needle.”
“You need to do something with that.” Valeria covered her mouth and averted her eyes as if she were about to be sick.
Caroline put her finger in her mouth, licking away the small hurt and stopping the blood.
The metallic taste of herself was so slight she couldn’t believe Valeria made such a fuss over it.
The back of her neck prickled as she couldn’t decipher the way Valeria looked at her with a ferocious need unlike anything she had ever seen.
It scared her, but also sent a dark thrill through her.
“See,” Caroline said, showing the woman her glistening finger. “It was only a bit of blood.”
Valeria’s eyes burned a hole in her. They were a deep brown that reminded her of the earth, but right now they were black. It was an unnatural change. Unease spread within her the longer Valeria took to respond.
“Pardon me, but I need to return to my room. I’m feeling rather ill,” Valeria said as she woodenly stood, her hand covering her mouth.
Caroline stilled. “Do you need my assistance? What can I do to help?”
“Nothing,” she said so sharply that Caroline flinched at her tone. “Just leave me alone.”
Even after she rushed from the room, her harsh words stung more than Caroline’s pricked finger.
* * *
“Caroline, I’ve waited so long for you,” a feminine voice sighed before tracing the line of her jaw with her fingertip.
Caroline shivered at the contact.
“Are you going to stay with me?”
So much of her life was spent in service of others that she wanted even a few moments of someone taking care of her.
“Of course.”
Soft lips brushed hers. When she didn’t back away, the kiss deepened as the other woman’s tongue breached her mouth. Caroline’s hand flew to her head, settling in her hair as she ran her hands through silky hair before pulling away.
“Valeria,” she whispered, her hand moving from her hair to her face.
Valeria pulled her back in, and Caroline didn’t fight as she stole another kiss; this one was all demanding, and it took only moments for Caroline to melt into it completely.
She loved the way Valeria felt. The way she tasted. These were the sparks she was meant to feel.
Hands roamed over her body; she had never before felt starved for touch, but now she felt ravenous. When Valeria’s hand ran over her breast, she gasped.
“Does my girl like to be pet?”
“Yes,” Caroline moaned into Valeria’s mouth.
Valeria’s hand returned to her breast. This time her thumb brushed over Caroline’s nipple, drawing another gasp from her. She repeated the motion, and Caroline felt the movement echoed in her core.
“You’re so delightfully expressive,” Valeria smirked. “Even more so than I dreamed you would be.”
“I’ve wanted you to touch me for so long.” She had dreamed of it many, many times. “I’ve wanted to touch you too. To kiss you. All over.”
“Do you wish to be kissed all over?”
“Yes.”
“Your skin is so warm; I know your blood would be too. I promised I wouldn’t, but you make it so hard to be good. I want to bathe in you, drink you in. I want to smell like you, of you. To both be you and be in you. I want to surround myself with you and never let go, until we are completely one.”
“I want that too. Make me yours.”
Valeria groaned as she moved Caroline’s hair to bare her neck. “You don’t know what you ask of me. If you were mine, I would never let you go.”
Caroline didn’t see the problem with that. She opened her eyes, ready to beg Valeria for more, but it was no longer Valeria above her.
It was Edgar, and he looked thunderous. “Is this what you’re doing while I’m working for the money to fix your home? I’m so disappointed to have such a wife.”
Her eyes flew open, thankful to find it was only a dream. She was slick between her thighs, but the threat of Edgar had ceased all of her interest in such pleasures.
Pushing herself out of bed, she walked on shaky legs to her vanity. She splashed her face with the cool water Lucy left for her, glancing up at the looking glass and noticing how bad she looked. Her skin was a little flushed, but her face was drawn, and there were dark circles beneath her eyes.
Fear sliced through her. She didn’t feel sick, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t illness festering inside of her. As Dr. Murnau said, sometimes people could carry plague without being sick. After all, Caroline was the common denominator between Valeria, Nelly, and her father.
Caroline stared at her reflection as her heart rate raced, fear driving her to rip open the collar of her nightgown to check her body for wounds.
She searched her neck, chest, around her breasts, belly, and hips to ensure she didn’t have any puncture wounds.
When her body was smooth, her heartbeat evened out.
It was all the stress she was under wreaking havoc on her sleeping habits. That was why she was awake before dawn. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself. She was fine. Nelly’s passing was a tragedy, but her father had improved. All would be well.
As she righted her nightgown, she remembered how suddenly Valeria had fallen ill that evening.
Besides the sun sickness, it was so easy to forget the woman was unwell.
In all of her worrying about everyone else in the house, she had neglected Valeria’s health, and that would not do.
There was still time before dawn, and she wasn’t sure when Valeria went to sleep, but she hoped to catch her.
Slipping on her dowdy light green silk dressing gown, she slipped on her house slippers and made her way to Valeria’s room, where she knocked instead of barging in as she did during the day.
There was no answer.
“It’s Caroline,” she said, knocking again. “Valeria?”
Still no answer. Caroline slowly opened the door, clearing her throat to make her presence known. The covers on the bed were thrown off. Caroline stepped inside. “Valeria? I wanted to see if you were feeling better.”
The bedroom wasn’t big enough for anywhere to hide, but Caroline looked around all the same.
She checked the dressing room, but only Valeria’s trunks.
Clothes were strewn about, including one of the woman’s scandalous shifts.
Without thinking about it first, she reached her hand out to feel the barely-there fabric.
“What are you doing in here?”