Part 40 (1/2)

”Oh Draven,” I said softly finding words one last time before I gave myself to this place forever.

”I'm sorry Keira....... but not even he can get to you here!”

That's when I cried and crumbled to the floor despite the arms around me. My legs folded underneath me and I felt his body do the same. I cried out at him ”NO... NO,...PLEASE.... NO!” I turned to face the man and without looking, through fear, I pounded my fists against a huge chest of pale muscle.

”You can't take me! I want to go back...please let me go.” I pleaded with the man in between sobs. He lent his head down to rest on mine and soothed back my hair that was flowing wildly in the wind. I looked up to see his blond hair doing the same but the colour was darkened by the now stormy skies. It was like the G.o.ds had turned angry and had taken away the sun as punishment.

He waited for me to calm and then whispered down into my ear.

”It is too late for that now...far too late. Even your dreams are not safe from me. You will be mine Keira....you will be mine and soon!” With that I finally looked up to find Lucius staring down at me with eyes filled with blood. Red tears ran down his cheeks and landed on my hair, making the contrast scream out. They weren't just filled with blood, but they looked as though made of blood. The irises were flamed and licking out at the deep veined liquid that made every living thing possible.

His blood was on fire.

I screamed out and used every last shred of strength I had to pull my mind back to my own control. I thought of Draven and the love we had shared not long ago. I thought of the waves of pleasure he caused me to feel. Then I saw us both, locked in each other's bodies, bound so tight we looked like one. Everything in sync, the way we moved, every breath, every scream. There was no greater force than ours making love and this is what brought me back, it was what freed me from my own dreams, the ones Lucius held in his hands.

I bolted up with a start and felt Draven s.h.i.+ft quickly next to me.

”Keira, what's wrong?” His worried voice made me smile. I was just so happy to be back that I turned quickly and threw myself into him. He was caught off guard but he held me securely like he knew how much I needed it. He gave me a minute like this before asking me again.

”I'm fine, just a bad dream.” I said knowing I should be telling him about it but for some reason I couldn't let it out. Why did this keep happening? Why could I never speak about it? As soon as these thoughts entered my mind it started to shut down. I started losing the questions, like losing a thread on a knitted sweater. Like it was being pulled so quickly it started to disappear until there was nothing left to hold on to.

”Are you alright? Tell me about it!” Draven pressed for an answer I couldn't give, so I lied.

”I can't really remember it now, let's just forget about it. How long was I asleep anyway?” I asked trying to dodge anymore questions. Draven looked unconvinced but let it go anyway.

”Only minutes, you pa.s.sed out on me...I was worried I went too far.” He looked like he did when he was guilty but I smiled back at him.

”No, you didn't. You can never go too far.” This is when his guilty looked turned to steel. He frowned and pulled me close, holding my head the way Lucius had done in my dream. I tried not to shudder but I couldn't help it, thankfully Draven took it for a chill and covered me up with the blanket.

”Keira, you still don't understand how much I hold back with you. If I ever totally lost control I could hurt you and I would never allow myself to do that. I would never forgive myself!” He said the last part under his breath but I heard it anyway. He held me protectively in the coc.o.o.n of his arms and I sighed at the idea of him holding back on me.

”How much do you hold back?” I asked trying to look up at him but he held me still, preventing it.

”A lot. You are fragile Keira, much more so than my own kind.” This hurt me. In fact, it cut into me like a blade.

”If I'm so b.l.o.o.d.y fragile then why be with me if you have to hold back!...I mean, why not have one of your own kind to satisfy your real needs!” I know this was spiteful of me to say but I couldn't help what came out. He pulled me roughly back to face him and I could see the anger and hurt mixed into one. I almost whimpered out my sorry as soon as I saw his face. It was stone...emotional stone. I knew I had gone too far and I knew that I had truly hurt him with my words. He pulled away from me and got up out of bed without saying a word. I wanted him to shout at me, to shake me...anything but the cruel, cold hard silence that I had never received from Draven before.

”You had better get up and get dressed” He finally said and now I wished he hadn't!

”You want me to leave?” I asked in shock. Draven had never, ever before once asked me to leave him and I could feel the tears quickly start to form.

”Your cousin will be here soon, you shouldn't keep her waiting.” He said without looking at me once. All the while I had watched him get dressed, keeping his eyes to the floor. Then he simply walked over to the door and opened it. However before leaving completely, he stopped with his hand on the handle and was about to look up to see the pain on my face only he didn't. Instead he shook his head as if trying to get something out of there and left. He closed the door with a bit more force than what was needed making me jump at the slam. Then I cried....again.....for the hundredth time today....

I don't know how long I had been crying for but it didn't feel enough. I wanted to get up and find him. I wanted to beg for forgiveness, tell him how stupid I was but I couldn't move. I was locked there and frozen in my misery. Here I was, just had the best s.e.x of my life and I had ruined it with only a few words! I hated myself for it! I would never forget Draven's face. The face of someone hearing the cruellest words they had ever heard. On hearing them from the lips you kiss in pa.s.sion. The lips that smile upon seeing you. The lips that tell you they love you. How could I have done that? I wasn't a cruel person. If anything I was usually the one that kept her feelings under tight grip but today what had happened? Of course I had no one to blame but myself....my stupid, stupid self!

I carried on like that till the minutes ticked by but soon the sound of Abba was interrupting my mental scolding. I got up and didn't even care that I was stark naked. I felt numb so what did it matter? I found my phone inside my jacket pocket, which was placed over a chair...that Draven had probably placed over a chair.

”Hel...” I didn't even get chance to finish before a voice starting screeching at me.

”Where the h.e.l.l are you?” Hilary's voice boomed on the other end making me wince.

”Umm...coming, where are you?” I asked trying to calm her down but it didn't help and yet again I was stupid to believe otherwise.

”What do you mean ”Where am I?!” I'm at the f.u.c.king club!” Her foul language wasn't a shock, I already knew there was about zero percent ladylike manners in her!

”Right, well stay by the bar and I will be down there. Give me ten minutes.”

”Ten minutes! Get down here now or better still, send Dominic to keep me company.” She said and I could hear the smirk replace the p.i.s.sed off face.

”Look the longer I'm on the phone the longer I will be...so just...” That's when she hung up. Now instead of wanting to cry I wanted to scream! I was close to giving up but instead I ran in the bathroom to get the quickest shower I could. I was almost crying again at the thought of was.h.i.+ng away Draven's scent but it couldn't be helped.

I kept my hair dry and once out of the shower tried to smooth it out as much as I could without the use of a hairbrush. I quickly dried myself, to a degree but when pulling on a pair of clean jeans I realised I'd missed my legs as I found getting them on without tugging was difficult. This is when Sophia came in. She found me in a bra and bent over the arm of the chair pulling the waistband with frustration. I turned to see her walk in, hoping it was Draven, when my hand slipped and smacked me in the face, before rolling backwards off the seat, landing on my back. I looked up finding her peering over the seat with an amused look.

”Wow, you even make getting dressed look dangerous.” She mocked.

”It's a talent” I replied sarcastically. I got off the floor and grabbed the top I had picked off the armchair and pulled it on with embarra.s.sment flooding my face. It was a long sleeved black top with a faded peace sign on the front. I thought it a good choice and hoped Draven would find the deeper meaning.

”So...what did you say to my brother to turn him into such a foul mood?” Oh great, now the Demon sister to contend with.

”Why what did he say?” I asked sheepishly as I pulled my gloves up. I noticed her glance briefly at my scars before I hid them from sight.

”It's not what he said...It's more like what he just destroyed.” I couldn't hide my shock and also couldn't help but ask, ”What did he just destroy?”

”Oh, only a priceless vase that was given to him as a gift from the Qianlong Emperor, who was the fifth emperor of the Qing dynasty in 1736! Let's put it one way, one like it sold at auction for about $80.”

”Thousand!” I screamed hoping I hadn't caused his temper at such high costs!

”Oh no, not thousands, think bigger, think millions!” She said coolly and I fell back into the chair.

”80 million dollars! Oh G.o.d!” I held my head in my hands and it felt like it weighed a ton.

”Oh come on, it's not like you broke it...well threw it across the room, smas.h.i.+ng out the window and landing in the canyon below, but that's beside the point. Besides he will just fix it again, That is, when he's in a better mood....What happened?”

”It's all my fault, I said something really stupid!” I said shaking my head but she just smiled at G.o.d only knows what.

”Come now Keira, my brother is a big boy. Ok, granted he has anger issues but he will not stay mad for long. After all he did send me in here to check you were alright.” At this my head whipped up as though on a bungee.

”He did?” I asked full of hope. I mean he would have to care if he sent Sophia to check on me...wouldn't he?

”He did!” She said repeating my words. At that I stood up and grabbed my jacket as it was cooler now without Draven to warm me. It was always colder without him in the room.

”You never told me what you said?” Sophia asked me as she followed me down the hall. I only stopped before I opened the door that led out to the club.

”It doesn't matter but do me a favour?” She nodded and grabbed the door for me.

”Tell Draven that I'm sorry!” I said and walked out into the crowded s.p.a.ce that was the VIP. I knew what I must have looked like, eyes still red and puffy from a day's crying, hair un-brushed and wild. I still had little wet hair that clung to my neck and could feel the frizz trying to escape the clip I twisted it up into. My clothes clung to my damp skin and felt uncomfortable as I walked. But I did walk...I walked on and through the club with the look of someone trying to hide their pain. I carried on until his table came into view and the man himself.

I noted he too had changed and his look was haunting me. It was so harsh and cold, it was hard to believe it was the same man. His permanent frown forced his eyes smaller and fierce. He was shooting back drinks with little care and one gla.s.s I saw him crush into a tiny crumpled piece that he threw aside. My gut hurt at the sight of his anger, knowing I was the cause was crus.h.i.+ng. I almost wanted to go up there. Get down on my knees and beg but I couldn't, for one ....I was frightened.

Vincent saw me and his look filled with pity. I don't know whether it was for his brother's anguish or mine. Draven noticed his eyes and looked my way. For a second they softened at the sight. He noted the redness in my eyes and closed his own. But then when he opened them, all I saw was a purple flame engulf them. It was like he had just played the words I had said to him over again and all he found there was his hurt. Then he swiftly turned his face from mine and barked an order for another drink. Everyone on the table looked too scared to speak, of course the only one smiling was Aurora.