I awoke naked and covered in the residue of sweaty sex. If that wasn’t enough, I was lying on top of Luthias’s naked body. The sun’s rays filtered through the window just enough to give me a decent view of my surroundings. Luthias lay in peaceful slumber with a look of satiation on his face.
My mind went back to my dream. It seemed so real, yet I knew I we hadn’t battled Charles or Sybil. What truly happened? Was it a mixture of fantasy and reality?
Signs of sex were everywhere.
What had I done? Could I have really practically raped this gorgeous vampire in my sleep? Who was I? What had I become? I didn’t know myself anymore. Did I have some alter ego that was rebelling against the naïve and sheltered life I’d led right up until meeting Geo? Or was it simply the lure of the vampire I couldn’t resist. Perhaps it was both.
I did my best not to disturb Luthias as I slowly got out of bed and moved to the adjoining bath Gwendoline installed in order to keep up with the times. It was small but cozy, with far more amenities than I had in my bathroom back home. I showered as quietly as I could and then tiptoed back into the room to put on one of the outfits Gwendoline had magically manifested for me. Although she warned me that using my magic for personal gain could turn it against me, she assured me that there was a difference between producing what one truly needed verses what one frivolously desired. One reeks of greed and one does not.
“Had you intended on abandoning me after loving me so sweetly?” Luthias mused from beneath closed lids.
I froze in place.
He sat up and smiled such a sexy smile I couldn’t help shuddering with delight. Had I really made love to him in such a shameless manner?
“I thought I dreamed it,” I admitted meekly.
He reached his arm out to beckon me to go to him. I obliged without reservation.
“I tried to resist as long as I could, but you were so persistent, and so, so sweet,” he said as he pulled me close and kissed me while caressing my breast.
The passionate part of me wanted to climb back into bed and have sex when I was actually alert enough to realize I was doing it, but the sensible side of me won out and I pulled away.
“It was a crazy dream,” I began even though he hadn’t asked about it. “You and I were battling Charles and Sybil’s armies. You tore Charles’s heart out and then helped me rip out Sybil’s. After that their army fled.” I hesitated and then added, “Then we made love.”
“Well, the making love part was real,” he said with satisfied amusement.
“You look pretty smug about that,” I said in a tone that hinted I might be teasing.
“Smug? Pleased to finally taste your sweetness maybe, but smug?” he said with mock dismay. “I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. You certainly seemed to, tiger.”
“Oh,” I moaned as I covered my face with my hands and shook my head vigorously.
His rich laugh echoed off the walls as he wrapped me in his arms and pulled me back down on the bed. We giggled and rolled for a while before lying side by side and settling into a more serious mood.
“I know in my heart that Geo lives,” I said softly.
“I hope you’re right,” he replied, “but I have my doubts. Only death would keep him from someone as lovely as you.”
“Last night wasn’t fair to him,” I said.
“If he’s truly alive, then no, it wasn’t,” he agreed.
“What’s wrong with me?” I whispered with a hint of despair.
“You love us both,” he said with conviction.
“If he’s dead, then making love to you so soon is like spitting on his grave. If he’s alive, then I’m being unfaithful,” I complained. “Neither is admirable.”
“When you put it that way...,” Luthias said thoughtfully. “Let’s not forget I fed on you. That, combined with the feelings I know you hold for me, was enough to make you do something you normally might not do. Don’t be so hard on yourself. The bond also made it very difficult for me to resist you. Add that to the fact that your foreplay drove me crazy to the point I thought I’d explode if I didn’t have you... well... Let’s just say I don’t blame myself.”
“I literally mounted you,” I moaned.
“That you did, my lovely,” he said teasingly, “but only after you drove me to the point of distraction, my irresistible vixen.”
“You didn’t push me away,” I continued, “You said you didn’t want to make love and have it be the cause of my feeling guilty.
“I resisted as best I could,” he explained, “I would have been satisfied with the delicious foreplay, but when you mounted me I was lost completely. Remember, I doubt Geo’s alive and I happen to love you. Your sweet ministrations got the better of my common sense.”
“What happens now?” I asked quietly.
“Whatever you wish, love of my life,” he replied.
Geo’s face flashed before me and I groaned. Whether I’d been influenced by the bond between us or not, once again it was me who initiated the love making. First with Geo and now Luthias. I had no one to blame but myself for the mess I was in.
“We need to discuss something very important,” Luthias said with sincerity.
Thinking he was about to bring up the subject of Geo and knowing I wasn’t up to facing it right then, I rolled onto my side and begged him not to talk about anything serious just yet. He started to say something, but must have thought better of it because he stopped and got out of bed instead.
He left the bathroom door open while he quickly showered. I became an instant voyeur. I found it fascinating how very similar to a human vampires were. They ate food like us, perspired like us, and used the bathroom like us. As for drinking blood, well, as Luthias so clearly pointed out, cannibalism and blood drinking has been around for centuries amongst humans, so that can’t be held against the vampire; especially since my vampires only took what they needed from an animal and then set it free. In my opinion, given their supernatural powers and longevity of life, they were actually a better version of us. I watched him dry off and dress with greedy eyes. Other than Geo, I really hadn’t seen or touched a male body. I knew I was being spoiled, since both were perfect specimens of male anatomy. I didn’t count my encounter with Charles’s nakedness in the mix since I was drugged and then practically raped by him without ever really seeing him completely.
I found myself mentally comparing Luthias’s lean, muscular body to Geo’s equally lean and muscular frame. What set them apart were their shoulders. Geo’s shoulders were much broader than Luthias’s. This gave him the appearance of being more fit under their clothing. Looking at Luthias in all his naked glory, I could clearly see it was an illusion. His muscles bulged and twisted in the most erotic fashion with every move he made.
“Stop drooling,” he teased. “There’s plenty more to come.”
I let out a bellow of exasperation and threw a pillow at him. It felt good to have lighthearted teasing after so much tension and drama. He caught the pillow and placed it on the bed. Then, without warning, he swept me into his arms, threw me over his shoulder, slapped my backside a few times for good measure, and carried me out to the porch.
My peals of laughter and mocked struggling only stopped when I spotted Gwendoline coming across the clearing. Luthias set me down next to him. We stood like two school children waiting to be chastised as we watched her climb the steps.
“Good morning my loved ones,” she said quietly. “Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes.” Although she sounded chipper enough, she didn’t spare us a glance as she walked past us into the cottage, which was why I was so surprised when she called back as she kept walking, “Go tidy yourself, Luthias. Ye look a sight.”
I giggled nervously as I looked at what I’d done to his hair during our little playful encounter. My normally perfectly coiffed vampire had a head of hair that looked like he’d been struck by lightning.
“Trouble maker,” he teased as he flashed me a debonair smile, tweaked my cheek, and left to do Gwendoline’s bidding.
I followed Gwendoline to the kitchen to give assistance with breakfast. I entered the room hesitantly. I was embarrassed to be caught laughing with Luthias when Geo was still missing and possibly dead. I can’t even explain why I allowed myself to go that route, except that it felt so good to not worry about anything; even if it was only for a brief time.
I pulled the dishes from the cupboard while Gwendoline silently focus on the gruel cooking on the stove. I was no stranger to gruel. My grandmother raised me on it; praising the nutrients it provided to start the day. Gwendoline was of the same opinion. She made allowances for the different needs of our bodies by adding a few ingredients in my gruel that she left out of Luthias’s.
Luthias entered the kitchen and silently took his place at the table. He stole a quick glance at me before focusing on the bowl Gwendoline set before him. He looked so solemn and stoic. It was as if our light hearted playing never happened. I settled into the chair opposite him and waited for my mentor to seat herself before looking at my dish. It had a far greater abundance of raisins and apples in it than normal. I looked at Gwendoline questioningly.
“Ye didn’t tell her?” she asked as she looked directly at Luthias.
“I tried, but she didn’t want to hear it,” he said.
“How hard did ye try?” she demanded.
I grew nervous as I watch the tension between mother and son mount. What hadn’t he told me? I struggled to remember. Oh yes, I did cut him off when he said he needed to discuss something. Was that what this was about?
“Is it Geo?” I asked hopefully.
“Eat your breakfast,” Gwendoline snapped without taking her eyes off Luthias.
My gasp of surprise at the abnormal way Gwendoline snapped at me must have hit the right mark because she quickly apologized for speaking to me in such a manner and patted my hand.
“I’m a bit agitated this morning,” she explained.
“Is it something I can help with?” I asked earnestly.
“You need to let me tell you what I tried to tell you earlier,” Luthias interjected impatiently.
Stunned, I nodded my head to indicate I was listening.
“After Sybil found out you... err... coupled with Geo, she ordered you cleaned out and returned to a state that would fool Prince Vogel into believing you were still a virgin,” he began.
I closed my eyes tight in an effort to block out the memories he was pulling on while I nodded for him to continue.
“Do you understand what she wanted to clean out of you?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Geo’s seed,” Gwendoline interjected. “When a male vampire beds a female human, there’s a ninety-nine point nine percent chance she’ll conceive. Sybil had the child ye conceived by Geo aborted.”
“No!” I screeched, “and this is the act of a grandmother?”
Tears welled within me at the thought that Geo and I had conceived a child. Sybil stole something far more precious from me than my pride and dignity. Even though I had no idea I was pregnant, the blow of knowing it was stolen from me was acute.
It took a while for it to hit home that after I’d endured such a horrific act I suffered through the equally horrific coupling with Charles. Was I pregnant with Charles’s child? Is that what they were trying to tell me?
“Am I carrying Charles’s child?” I moaned. “Please no!”
Gwendoline placed her hand over mine and finished the story that Luthias was clearly having difficulty telling.
“Your coupling with Charles on your wedding night was painful for more than the mere fact that he’s a villain. Even though Sybil ordered your coupling with Geo be kept secret upon pain of death, Charles somehow learned of your romance with Geo and didn’t trust Sybil’s physician to do a competent job of aborting. He wore an apparatus on his manhood that literally scraped away your internal lining. He wasn’t taking any chances that Geo’s seed might still be in there,” Gwendoline said with disgust.
“I thought he was going to cut me in half,” I mused.
“Poor child. You’ve endured so much for someone so young and in such a short span of time,” Gwendoline said softly before taking a deep breath and continuing. “We have a situation that even Luthias isn’t aware of. Last night I had a vision. Geo lives. He’s being held captive by Sybil. She’s very angry at him for the ruse he pulled on her.”
“He’s alive!” I squealed with happiness. “That’s wonderful. We have to go to him and set him free.”
Instead of joining in making plans to rescue Geo, Gwendoline and Luthias sat silent and still. Gwendoline looked pained and worried, while Luthias looked like he’d been told he had to kill his best friend. I looked from one to the other before it struck me as to what might be the reason.
“I’ve conceived Luthias’s child,” I whispered.
“That ye have, lass,” Gwendoline said with a slow nod.
I threw my hands over my face and shook my head as the repercussions of my embarrassing sexual behavior from the night before struck home. Saying it happened when I wasn’t in full control of my faculties was no excuse. Not only had my unbridled lust brought pain and heartache onto me by way of hurting Geo, it would certainly destroy Luthias’s relationship with him as well. Poor Gwendoline -who clearly loved both of her boys equally- would be stuck in the middle. I’d successfully destroyed four lives all for the sake of a sexual encounter that I didn’t clearly remember. Good going Casey!
“I love her,” Luthias said to Gwendoline.
She placed her hand on his shoulder as she rose from the table and said, “I’ve no doubt about that, son. Sadly, Geo loves her too.”
“I truly thought him dead,” Luthias said aloud, even though it looked as if he was speaking to himself. “He was even lost to the copper bowl. I truly thought him dead.”
She picked up her empty dish and walked to the sink. With her back turned to us she continued, “Ye should wed, of course. Geo will be upset, but he’ll survive. Ye must think of my grandchild now.” When she turned and spoke I could clearly see the pain in her eyes. I knew in my heart that, had it not been for the pain this would inevitably cause her son, there would have been joy in them instead.
Luthias’s eyes never left me while we listened to her suggestion that we wed. I knew it was something he desired. I could see it in his eyes when she said the words. I also knew it was the right thing to do.
My lack of self-control had altered my life path forever. There was nothing more to do but agree to marry the kind, gentle, and very handsome vampire who was so willingly to make things right. I pushed thoughts of what could have been with Geo out of my mind. There was no use in dwelling on what might have been. No one forced me to sleep with Luthias. I did it on my own and now I had to own up to my actions.
Things could be worse, I thought. At least I have feelings for him, which is more than I can say for Charles.
“Charles,” I gasped. “I’m already married!”
This time it was Gwendoline’s turn to bury her face in her hands and shake her head.