Devour (27 page)

He catches me appraising him and smirks.
I blush but he just scoops me up and kisses me. My body is on fire. I feel like flames are licking my skin as I feel his strong arms wrapped around me and his lips on mine.

We finally pull away, breathless.
I see his eyes are a warm, glowing, caramel color with flecks of golden brown. I could lose myself in those eyes.

The
Moment has passed though. I feel nervous energy coming from Cody and instantly I am on alert.

“Cody, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing at all,” he says as he pulls me to sit on my bed.

He fidgets with my hands for a minute and then looks up at me.
My eyes are wide and I’m wondering what the hell could be going on.

Then, Cody pulls out a blue
, velvet box out of his pocket. Relief and apprehension simultaneously flow through me. I’m glad it’s nothing bad, but I’m not sure what’s in the box and I don’t absolutely love surprises.

Silently, he hands me the box and I hesitantly flip open the lid.
There, lined in blue silk, is a ring. It’s gorgeous. I think I might faint. Where did he get a ring like this?

The ring looks like
it’s set in white gold or platinum. It’s a pave set stone with diamonds surrounding it. The center stone is gigantic and, again, I wonder where it came from. He doesn’t let me think about it for long.

“It
was my grandma’s ring. She saved it for me to give to my mate, since hers is gone. I know we don’t really get married as vampires since the bonding is so much more intimate but I still wanted a symbol of our eternal love for each other. I want you to look down at that ring on your finger and think of me. I love you, Callie, and I would be honored if you would wear this ring.”

“I’m speechless.
I can’t think of anything I would like more. Your grandma must be an amazing woman to deserve this and I will wear it with pride. I love it.”

Cody let
s out a breath of relief and I’m glad he is so happy with me. I let him slip the ring on my left ring finger and then I grasp the fabric of his shirt to pull him in for a kiss. The ring feels heavy, a reminder of my promise to be with him for eternity. I sigh and deepen the kiss. Cody is definitely yummy.

I finally let go of his shirt as we pull away from
each other. I have balled the fabric into a burst of wrinkles and I wince. We try to straighten them out, but it’s no use. I giggle and Cody just shrugs, his hair falling in his face.

“It’s all good, princess.”

Switching subjects, I turn to take another look around my room. “Can you believe that my entire life is summed up in a series of boxes? It’s so pitiful.”

“I know
. I have even fewer boxes than you do. That just means going forward; any stuff we get will be ours instead of yours or mine.”

“
Very true, however, you get all of my artwork along with me. I have so many good memories trapped inside my paintings. I don’t think I can part with them.”

“
If you painted them, then they’re already special. They’ll look beautiful on our walls.” 

He’s always saying sweet things like that.
I feel a blush in my cheeks and I lean in for a soft, chaste kiss. He tries to pull me in further and deeper. I want to delve into our kiss and forget about the world around us. I want to taste him, indulge in the feel of his lips pressed against mine.

Too soon, I pull away.
I promised my Mom we would behave. Besides, I want to snuggle up and watch a movie with him. It’s been a long couple of days and I could use the downtime.

“Let’s go watch a movie or something.
We could watch infomercials for all I care.”

He chuckles and I pull him towards the door.
He dutifully follows me downstairs and into the kitchen first. I need some of the blood cocktail. I offer Cody some and he has a glass as well.

Once we’re finished, I
guide him towards the informal living room. After switching on the television, I fling myself onto the couch with a sigh. Cody maneuvers himself around me and wraps me in his arms. It feels so good to be cuddling up with Cody again.

We try to watch a movie channel, but there are nothing but old movies on. I settle on the least horrible one and drop the remote to the floor. I don’t really care about watching it anyways.

I shift on the couch until I’m embraced in Cody’s arms.
My head rests against his chest and I can hear his heartbeat. My mind wanders and soon I am remembering last night. If Cody could see me, I would be blushing something fierce.

Cody ha
s seen all of me, inside and out. He’s glimpsed a piece of my soul and I can’t imagine having this with anyone else. It’s a good thing we get our happily ever after.

Soon
, I feel Cody’s fingers twisting my ring around my finger. The ring. This is the ring that I will forever cherish.

I can’t wait to show it to Lana and Jane.
I wonder if Lana has already seen it. They will be so jealous. It is a ring definitely fit for a princess. For once, I feel as special as everyone thinks I am.

“It’s so special, like you are.”
I know it’s probably nauseating to watch or listen to us, but I don’t care. Cody is the only one that matters.

He kisses the top of my head and holds me close.
“Ah, princess, you are the one bright spot in my life. I love you and I forever will. Eternity isn’t long enough.”

“I love you too.”

The sleepless night we spent together yesterday has worn me out and my eyes droop. Finally, all thought fades away and my eyelids flutter shut. I can hear Cody’s breathing is now steady and even. He has fallen asleep with me in his arms. That’s all the encouragement I need before I relent and let sleep take me.

At some point
, I stir. Cody’s breathing is still even and I pull back to study him. Good gravy, he is so sexy. He looks so peaceful with his eyes shut and hair falling in his face. I have this sudden urge to brush his hair back and kiss him, so I do.

He
begins to kiss me back and I feel his hands tangle in my hair. My body pushes closer to the hard planes of his. He’s all lean yet muscular. I slide my hands under his shirt and settle them on his chest as our kiss deepens.

I could have stayed like that forever if it hadn’t been for the throat clearing that comes from the doorway.
We jump apart and I feel a little guilty. It looked like a lot more than it actually was.

Mom
is standing at the door, but she isn’t scowling like I expect her to be. She’s smirking as if she knew what we were up to and expected it. Hmm.

We sit up and I feel the crick in my neck from sleeping on the couch.
Even in Cody’s arms, the couch isn’t the most comfortable place we could have slept.

“What time is it?” I ask her.

“It’s time for Cody to go home and get changed. The movers will be there shortly. As for you, the same applies. Grab yourselves a blood cocktail and get going.”

We nod in understanding.
Satisfied, she turns and leaves us alone again.

He puts his hands on either side of my face and looks into my eyes lovingly.
“I guess it’s time then. I’ll meet you on the other side, Callie.”

“Umm hmm, I’ll be there as soon as they can get my crap packed up.
I wonder where they’ll put us once we get there. I’ve never been into any of the personal quarters.”

“Me neither, but I’m
sure as the future rulers, ours will be amazing.”

Cody st
ands up, kisses me on my forehead and guides me into the kitchen. Mom is conspicuously absent so I pour the cocktail in glasses and hand one to him.

We linger
longer than necessary, not wanting to part. I have to remind myself that I’ll see him soon and then we won’t be apart again. Our time is coming.

I walk Cody to the door and throw my arms around him.
“I’m going to miss you even if it’s just for a little while. It’s really hard to be apart from you.”

He h
olds me tighter and I can feel his breath as he whispers in my ear. “I’ll miss you too, princess. I hate being apart from you, but it’s only temporary. Tonight, you’re all mine.”

Chills slid
e down my spine that have nothing to do with the temperature. His words sound like a delicious promise.

Finally, he le
aves and I stand there in the foyer. I’m torn between getting ready or showing Mom my ring. Eventually, I decide to get ready and then show Mom the ring while the movers are working.

Do I keep the ring on or take it off while I shower?
I’m really not sure. Finally, I go with my gut and leave it on. I don’t think I can bear to take it off my finger. It’s almost as if taking it off will make this whole whirlwind fairytale disappear.

I’m so happy, too happy.
Something is bound to go wrong. No one should ever be this happy. I stare down at the ring as I stand in the shower. I can’t believe everything worked out the way it did.

I feel too weird just wearing my casual clothes into the castle, so I opt for a cotton sundress as a compromise.
Who knows what could happen once I step into my new home. I skip the jewelry; the ring is more than enough bling.

After stepping into the hallway, I see the movers making their way to my room.
I think they have been waiting for me to finish. They all nod in respect as they pass me on the stairs. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.

I find my
Mom in the sitting room reading a book. She sets it down when she sees me and smiles.

“You look very pretty
, dear. Are you excited?”

“I’m anxious more than anything.
Without knowing what to expect, it lead my mind to all kinds of conclusions.”

“You’ll be fine.
I happen to think you and Cody will be great rulers and I’m so proud of you and the way you’ve handled all this change.”

“Thanks
, Mom. Anyways, I actually came down here to show you something.”

I lift up my left hand and shove it in front of her so she can see the ring.
Her mouth drops open and she pulls my hand closer to examine the large diamond.

“Oh
, Callie, this is gorgeous. Cody is a very thoughtful young man. You got lucky with him, honey.”

“It’s his grandma’s ring.
She wanted us to have it. I love it and I love Cody.”

“Being true mates is a powerful thing.
It’s amazing and I only wish I could have found that kind of love. Your Dad and I are very happy, but we were never true mates like you and Cody are. You two are blessed.”

All this serious talk is making me think about how much I’m going to miss her when I’m gone.
It’s not like I’ll never see her, but I have no idea what I’m in for when I leave here. I throw my arms around her in a giant hug and squeeze her tight.

“I’m going to miss you
, Mom.”

“I’ll miss you too.
Now before we get out of hand here, you should probably get going. The movers are just about finished. They were really fast.”

“It seems like it was too fast.
I guess I’m off to my new home as princess in the castle. Good golly that sounds weird.”

“Goodbye
, princess,” my Mom says with a wink.

I grab my purse and keys before taking one last look around me.
My nerves are in knots as I step out into the night to get into my car. It feels weird driving my car to the castle. Last time I was there, I was in a dungeon jail cell. I can only hope those memories will be replaced by more pleasant ones.

Once I’m safely parked, a person comes out to drive my car to
its very own parking garage. Wow. This is surreal. I watch as a butler opens the door for me and ushers me into the foyer.

A woman greets me there and then whisks me away.
We move down a hallway on the east side of the castle and finally stop in front of a set of large arched doors. I take a deep breath as she opens the doors and I step inside.

Cody is standing by the window, looking out and I forget about everything and everyone around me.
I run to him and throw my arms around his neck. A huge grin breaks out on his face and he gives me an earthshattering kiss that goes all the way to my toes.

“Welcome home, princess.”