Awakening (42 page)

“Something like that,” Celeste said, trying to match his light tone and failing.

Adam
kissed her temple before putting his hand on Auberon’s shoulder, squeezing him with the words he couldn’t say. Slowly, reluctantly, he left the room, closing the door behind him and leaving the two of them alone. Auberon smiled down at Celeste, “Well, I finally have you all to myself; what nefarious plans do you have in store for me?”

She laughed at his attempt at humor even as tears spilled down her cheeks, “I wish there was a way to keep you with me
so you didn't have to go.”

“You’ve always had me,” he whispered. His breath stilled as her slender fingers began unbuttoning the front of his shirt. His heart stopped when she unfastened his pants. He placed his hands over hers to stop her, “
Wh…what are you doing?”

She looked up at him with those mystical eyes, “I’m binding you to me.”

He let his hands fall away, watching her intently as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders, pushed his pants off his hips. There was no way he was going to be able to hide his erection from her, not with her fingers tugging at his underwear and shoving it down his thighs. “Celeste.”

“It’s the only way,” she said softly, not quite meeting his eyes as the color in her cheeks deepened. “I need more power and… this is the only way.”

“But Adam,” his voice was almost inaudible and he couldn’t think about his brother.

She looked up at him again, letting the sheet fall from her luscious body. Tears made the swirling mass of colors shimmer even brighter. Taking his hand in hers, she led him over to the bed. “He knows.”

He stood in front of her, his cock pulsing with the desire to plunge recklessly into her body even as his mind protested the very act he wanted to commit. Hoarsely, he grudgingly asked, “Couldn’t you do this part with Adam?”

"The spell will be more powerful if it is with the one I
am binding to me,” she said miserably. Was it so wrong to still want her to the point that he didn’t care why she did it? "And since your banishment is for five years I need all of the power I can get."

“You don’t have to,” he whispered, reaching up and touching the smooth skin of her cheek
with the tips of his fingers, afraid of touching her with anything more. “I will find another way back.”

“You know that there is no other way and I won’t los
e you,” she said passionately. Pushing him onto the bed, she stared down at him, seeing the wildness that Adam managed to tame. Crawling over his hard body, she could only hope that he would find his way home, that the spell would work and he would find his way back to them. A horrible thought occurred to her, one that should have been so obvious if she weren’t so determined to ensure his return. “Unless you don’t want me?”

He laughed but it was without humor. Grabbing her hips, he slowly ran his hands up her smooth side, brushing the outer curves of her breasts, until his fingers were entangled in her hair.
Pulling her down until her mouth was just above his, until her breasts were crushed against his chest, he growled, “I want you more than my next breath.”

Closing her eyes, she lowered her mouth to his, tasting him with a tentative kiss, learning the shape of his mouth. It was slightly different than
Adam’s, fuller, harder. Saltier. Her body trembled above his but she was determined to see this through.

He pulled back, brushing his thumbs across her cheeks, “Oh, Celeste, please don’t cry. Please, baby.”

She couldn’t stop the sobs from escaping and it broke his heart. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her down to his chest, stroking her hair as she cried, crooning non-sense words in her ear. His body shuddered with the effort it took to not enter her when the heat of her cunt was right… there. “It’s all right; you don't have to do this.”

She sniffed, pushing herself up and wiping her nose with the back of her hand, “I know. I can do this; I
want
to do this.”

He smiled at her, the sadness etched in every line of his face, in the depths of his black eyes. “No you don’t.”

"I do." Lifting her chin, she swallowed. Moving her body slightly, she felt the tip of his penis against the entrance to her body and she impaled herself on it.

His back arched off the bed as he hissed out in ecstasy.
“Oh, gods!”

Straddling him, her legs on either side of his hips, his cock buried to the root in her body, she willed an ornate dagger into existence. Ignoring the tears that continued to fall, she whispered
her earlier warning, “It’s going to hurt.”

“What is?” he asked, opening his eyes and seeing the gleaming blade in her hand. His eyes flew to her face, the swirling blues and golds bursting in her eyes,
her skin glowing. “Celeste.”

“I’m so sorry, Auberon,” she whispered, running the tip of the sharp blade against the skin over his heart. “It’s the only way.”

He curled his fingers into her hips, squeezing his eyes shut, “Just do it.”

With a wretched cry, she plunged the dagger deep
into his chest, piercing his heart. Pain exploded within his chest but he didn’t make a sound even as his fingers dug into her flesh. Swallowing, she pulled the blade out, watching the blood spurt out of the wound. Fighting the urge to cry, she dragged the sharp blade across her wrist, opening a vein.

Dropping the blade to the bed, she pressed her wrist to his chest, feeling her blood bind with his, feeling it mend his torn heart. Feeling…. Her eyes flew to his as his love for her flowed into her veins. Her breath shuddered in her chest as she tried to remember the words. She couldn’t fail….

Swallowing, she spoke the ancient words softly, then repeated them in English. “I bind you to me. Wherever you go, you will always return to me.”

When her voice trailed
off and she swayed, he whispered, “Is that it?”

She smiled slightly and took a steadying breath before she continued.
“As my blood flows through you, it binds you, it guides you. You will always return to me.”

Replacing her wrist with her mouth, she kissed the wound
and then breathed the binding spell into his heart, healing him. Ancient words shimmered over the fading mark, binding him to her. With a kiss, she closed her eyes, feeling her fingers tingle as her blood continued to surge from her wound. Darkness was closing in around her and if she didn’t get the bleeding to stop…. “Auberon.”

He barely heard her say his name
as the scent of her blood wrapped around him, knowing what he needed to do. She was a Queen; only the saliva of an
Apocritum
could heal her wounds. Rolling them until he was on top, carefully keeping his cock firmly embedded in her body, he reached down and grabbed her arm with one hand as his other supported him. Keeping his eyes on her pale face, the way her lashes curved in perfect arches against her cheekbones, he brought her wrist up to his mouth.

Using his tongue, he closed the wound, rocking his hips and taking his pleasure. Lifting her arm above her head, he lowered his body until his chest flattened her breasts.
He fought against every instinct to move but it was so difficult when he wanted her so much. With an unexpected surge of determination, he started to pull from her body when she whispered, “Wait; there’s one more thing I have to do.”

His body screamed in
agonizing confusion, desperate to pull out before he no longer had the strength. Lifting his head, he was surprised to feel her arm wind around his neck, holding him in place. “Celeste?”

Lifting her head, her breath was hot against the curve of his throat. Sharp teeth pierced his skin and his body exploded into a million rays of radiance. His hips pounded
into her in a gluttony of ecstasy as his orgasm tore through his body. For untold eons, he remained in bliss, until she pulled her teeth from his neck and released him from her spell. And then he gently drifted back to reality, to the feel of her soft body crushed beneath his.

Light filled the room, light that came from Celeste. Looking down, he gasped at the whirl of power that blazed in her eyes. “You’re… glowing.”

She smiled up at him, “You’re bound to me.”

“I love you,” he murmured, falling to the side and reaching for her hand. Turning his head, he looked at her, “
I love you.”

“I’m not going to lose you, Auberon,” she whispered, squeezing his fingers for emphasis. “Hold me in your thoughts; don’t forget me.”

“I couldn’t even if I tried,” he teased, letting the moment go. He still had to say goodbye to his brother. How was he going to face him after… after fucking his girl?

“You’re thinking too much.” She smoothed his frown with his thumb. “You’ve shared women before.”

“This can’t even begin to compare, Celeste,” he told her. “I would kill him if you were mine and you fucked him.”

“Auberon, you’ve been banished,” she reminded him. “He’ll get over it, just so long as you return to us. Now, come, let us dress and say our goodbyes properly.”

“You’re not the same girl we met in Paris,” he whispered, swinging his legs off the edge of the bed and looking at her.

“Oh?” she looked at him with an arched eyebrow, hurt lining her beautiful face.

He laughed, capturing her hand and bringing it up to his mouth. “Before, you were a bud; now you have blossomed into a glorious flower.” Holding her eyes, he kissed her fingers, “I pledge my loyalty to you, my Queen.”

She
laughed, the sound as beautiful as the girl. As she sat there, a simple dress wrapped itself around her body; he hated to see her naked flesh disappear. Her eyes drifted to the iridescent mark on his chest and she blushed, “I’m glad it worked.”

He stared at her as comprehension dawned on his face. In false outrage, he tackled her, enjoying the sound of her laugher a little too much. “You didn’t know?”

“I had hoped,” she grinned, even as moisture glistened in her eyes, eyes that retained some of the swirling power. Gods, she was magnificent! He could only pray she defeated the Queen; otherwise he would prefer remaining lost rather than coming back to a world without her in it.

Closing those beautiful eyes, she pressed her palms against his chest and he felt the softest silk caress his body, a loose pair of pants and a loose top. Looking down, he saw the garish colors:
a bright orange and lime green striped tunic over fluorescent yellow bottoms. But the smile of accomplishment on her beautiful face made it worthwhile.

“I did it,” she beamed. Then she started to laugh when she realized what she had dressed him in.
Covering her mouth to stifle the sound, her shoulders continued to tremble. “I am so sorry.”

“No problem.” He quickly changed the clothes back to his normal leather pants and tight black shirt, secretly keeping the clothes she made him close to his body.

“The next time I see you I’ll be able to do that,” she said wistfully. Realizing what she said, the implications, her eyes flew to his.

Before she could apologize, he pressed a finger over her lips, “No regrets, love. Now come, let’s go say our goodbyes properly. Thank you, Celeste.”

Adam’s stoic posture as they said their goodbyes ripped Auberon to shreds. Auberon saw how his brother avoided looking at Celeste, how he kept a distance between them. And Celeste, sweet, naïve Celeste, was unaware of her lover’s torment as she continued to hold onto him, tears in her green-blue-gold eyes. And selfish bastard that he was, he let her hold him, soaking in all of the warmth she offered.

Too soon, the tug of banishment curled around his soul and he knew that it was time. Reaching out, he clasped
Adam’s hand in his own, “Forgive us, Adam.”

“I will,”
Adam growled low in his throat, shaking his brother’s hand and clenching his jaw. Although he wasn’t sure if was to prevent himself from slamming his fist into Auberon’s face or to keep from howling at the thought of losing his brother, his closest friend for so very, very long. “Return soon.”

Auberon smiled, about to say more, when Celeste threw herself into his arms, bawling uncontrollably. His arms wrapped around her lithe body and he breathed her in, closing his eyes. “Forgive me.”

“Auberon, there’s nothing to forgive,” she whispered, cupping his cheek in her hand conveying her understanding without words.

“I love you,” he said
once more before he could stop himself. In for a pound… he bent his head and placed his mouth over hers in a gentle kiss. “Gods, I love you.”

“I know,” she breathed against his lips, tightening her hold as if that could keep him. He could feel her body shudder with each breath she took and he wished he could stop hurting her. Never wanting to let her go, he vowed to remember her, to remember how she felt in his arms, her delicate scent,
her soft skin. Everything. “Hurry home.”

Still feeling the softness of her lips as she kissed him one last time, he opened his eyes. There was only darkness. His banishment had begun and his soul cried out for
Adam, for Celeste; for the child. “Forgive me.”