A Time Apart: Book One of The Macauley Series Page 15

  And then he showed her even more, enough to make a sane woman run and hide.

  Clearly I am no sane woman.

  As William bared his fangs, Olivia tried not to show any reaction but she knew that he could hear her heart thundering in her chest and that her breath was coming in short, syncopated spurts.

  “Ah, so that’s what it takes to get a reaction out of you.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Olivia protested, knowing full well he was attuned to even her body’s smallest change.

  “You didn’t have to,” he replied, bringing his hand up to caress the pulse point in her neck. “Your body gives you away.”

  “I’m not afraid. I know that I should be, but I’m not.”

  “No, you’re not afraid and I’m glad of it. You shouldn’t be. As I told you before, I’m in control of myself now. But I wanted to show you – really show you – what it is you’re getting yourself into. For all it appears to the contrary, I am not a man. I am at my core a monster,” he said, and then added as almost an afterthought, “but I try not to be one if it can be helped.”

  Even though Olivia had done nothing to give any indication that she wasn’t willing to see this through to the end, William had been waiting for the moment when she would decide that being with him was too much and then turn away from him, from his love. He was giving her every excuse, every reason, to get up, put her sweater back on, and tell him that they were over before they’d ever really began. Olivia knew that he didn’t want that, but she also knew that he didn’t want her to feel as if she hadn’t been given ample opportunity to change her mind.

  Most women would have felt some measure of power in that realization, but Olivia didn’t want their relationship to be based on her power over him. She wanted him to have a say in their future as well. She wanted for them to be partners. Yes, she admitted, theirs was hardly a conventional romance but she didn’t want to enter into anything that wasn’t equitable either.

  “I know what you’re trying to do and I’ve already told you, I’m yours for however long you want me.”

  As she spoke his eyes paled and returned to what she’d come to think of as his normal, amazingly stunning blue.

  “I know what you are, I know who you are … to an extent … and I want to know more. In fact, I want to know all of you. But this isn’t about just me. It’s about you and what you want as well. So if you want me, quit trying to give me an out. I’m not going anywhere, but I’m beginning to think that you unconsciously want me to leave – to give you an out.”

  Olivia sat up as much as possible given their current position and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her for another quick, violent kiss. He hesitated at first, but then captured her mouth with a hungry intensity of his own, his tongue urgently thrusting between her parted lips, tangling with hers. Olivia pulled away, gasping, from his onslaught. Again she implored him to finish what we had started.

  “I want you, now.”

  He growled impatiently in agreement and reached down to undo the button of her jeans. As he peeled the denim from Olivia’s body, William’s eyes never left her face, willing her to see and understand what he was feeling.

  If she weren’t already having trouble getting oxygen into her lungs, Olivia would have said the look on his face could have taken her breath away. His features belied a mixture of unabashed lust paired equally with an exquisite tenderness. The longing she saw on his face echoed the longing on her own, and it touched her to the core.

  Lying unabashedly naked on the couch, she watched ravenously as William stood and removed the remainder of his clothing. Standing naked in the flickering lights of the fire, he beckoned her to join him. As she drew near, he reached out, took her hand, and pulled her in for another soul-shattering kiss. He pulled away and reached down to scoop her up into his strong, powerful arms as if she weighed nothing, and then made his way toward the dying embers of the fire where he laid her down on a thick, luxurious rug so that the flames danced off her creamy, flushed skin.

  Leaning back onto her elbows, Olivia was aware of the welcoming visual the position offered him, her bounty on full display. She raised an eyebrow at him, beckoning him to join her. Lying down next to her, William ran his fingers gently up and down her torso, sending shivers down her spine and back up again. She waited for him to make the next move, but he kept on caressing her, almost absentmindedly.

  “I never imagined,” he started to speak, his voice cracking with emotion. “You’re perfect. Everything about you, Olivia, is perfection. I’ve waited so long for you.”

  His gaze roamed her body, starting at her eyes and then down along her long, lithe limbs. Every second seemed like an eternity to her as he continued his sensuous, silky strokes; his cool fingers a fascinating sensation of extremes against the heat of the fire a mere foot away. Reaching the cleft between her thighs, William languorously ran his fingers through her silky hair, a gentle back and forth motion that drove her mad. She whimpered, pushing her hips up as his finger came close to the apex of her womanhood. He tore his gaze from his hands teasing her flesh, trailing back up her body until their eyes locked once again. Staring deep into her eyes, he gently but deliberately pushed one icy finger into the slick, wet heat of her before retreating, and then doing it once again. Olivia’s back arched and she cried out in ecstasy as he entered her with two of his long fingers.

  Moaning, Olivia begged him for more as she ached to have all of him inside of her.

  “A chuisle, a chroí. Mo shíorghrá,” William whispered before leaning down to gingerly kiss the area above her heart.

  “I am yours,” he said.

  Olivia placed her hand over the spot where his heart had once been and repeated the vow.

  “I, too, am yours.”

  As Olivia said the words, he positioned himself over her and then buried himself deep in one powerful, driving thrust, a fiery brand to seal their vow. As William joined his body to hers, she was overcome with a deep and abiding sense that he was the man that she would spend the rest of her life with. The man she wanted by her side for all of eternity. In William’s case, that meant something entirely different, but Olivia knew then that one lifetime with him would never be enough for her.

  As he entered her again and again, Olivia was awash with joy. With each driving thrust, she took all of him into her – his mind, body, and soul. Frantic with need, she gave herself to him wholly, arching to meet each possessive thrust. Moving beneath him in perfect tempo with his driving rhythm, their bodies moved as one in perfect harmony.

  Reaching out for that moment of utter abandon, Olivia’s body was wracked with tiny spasms, one after another, building to a crescendo of extraordinary shuddering that left her momentarily blind and breathless. As ripples of ecstasy continued to flow through her body, she cried out in abandon as even more pulsating waves of pleasure brought her to another dizzying climax.

  William captured her mouth and plundered it as he plundered her body, making love to her mouth as his tongue matched each thrust below. The overwhelming spasms that had claimed her body continued, an orgasm that seemed to be without beginning or end. Kissing his way up Olivia’s jaw and cheek, William took her earlobe into his mouth and sucked, his cold, moist breathe another attack in the onslaught of sensation. She threw back her arms and head in complete and utter abandon and let the experience, feelings, and emotions overtake her. Closing her eyes in an effort to heighten her sense of touch, Olivia became aware of a change in his tempo. William was now driving into her more powerfully than before, his cadence and pressure increased.

  Olivia opened her eyes to see him holding back from what he really wanted – the one thing that would have made their coupling complete – his fangs bared above her neck.

  “Oh god, yes.” she moaned.

  He hesitated.

  “YES!” she screamed; begged it of him.

  William drove into her with one last powerful thrust before his body shuddered above as he c
ried out her name. He exploded forcefully within her, emptying his barren seed deep into her womb, while he simultaneously plunged his fangs into her neck. Olivia expected pain, but the dizzying feeling of his mouth pulling at her blood immediately erased the sharp sting that his bite had caused. Seized by a rush of sensation so intense she couldn’t contain it, Olivia came apart in one final shattering release as she whispered his name.

  “William.”

  CHAPTER 18

  While she slept in William’s arms, Olivia didn’t have nightmares. Instead she dreamed of the life they had had together, the love they had shared, and the home they had called theirs. She stirred only slightly when William untangled himself from her warm, naked body so that he could take his leave before the coming sunrise.

  When Olivia woke later that morning, she was on the couch, covered by the Macauley plaid rendered in cashmere. It was already full light outside which meant that she’d have hours to herself before she’d see William again. She was already looking forward to it. A slow smile spread across her face as she stretched her body in greeting to the dawning of a new day, a new life.

  She winced slightly at the tenderness in her neck, touching her fingertips to the small puncture wounds where William had fed the night before. When she had imagined them together she couldn’t have known it would come to this, but she couldn’t regret her decision to let him drink from her. It had brought them even closer than simply making love to one another as it had shown him just how much she trusted him.

  Listening at the door, Olivia couldn’t hear anyone milling about outside so she wrapped the blanket around her body and went to find something to eat. She was a bit light-headed and woozy and knew that she would need something substantial to replace the nutrients she had lost the night before. She laughed nervously at the thought of planning her meals around what would give her the most strength for her newfound relationship. Things had certainly gone from staid and boring to anything but.

  Firmly ensconced back in the great room with a bowl of yogurt, strawberries, and granola in hand, Olivia grabbed her iPhone from her purse and settled in to check her voicemail and email. As expected, among the 15 messages she had received over the last ten hours, she had one missed call from Heather and a follow-up email asking that she let everyone know how she was doing. For obvious reasons Olivia had to be extremely careful about what she revealed to her friend about the sudden and dramatic turn her life had taken.

  For one, if Olivia told her that she’d had fallen in love Heather would think she’d gone insane and demand that she come home immediately for a full psychiatric evaluation. Secondly, Olivia was pretty sure that she wasn’t supposed to tell anyone that William was a vampire. She’d seen enough movies and read enough books to know that trust and secrecy were two highly valued traits amongst his kind when it came to dealing with humans. Of course, they hadn’t really had much time to discuss the differences between fact and fiction when it came to vampire lore, so she’d make sure they spent some later that night discussing the ins and outs of their situation.

  Vampirism for Dummies, anyone?

  Olivia jotted off a quick note that let Heather know that things were going well and that she had met a lovely, rich Irishman who was entertaining her at his family’s ancestral estate. She signed off by telling Heather that she’d be in touch in a couple of days. Not wanting to reveal too much, but not wanting to leave her in the lurch – after all, she would have expected details from Heather if she were in a similar situation – Olivia snapped a quick photo of the room and sent it as a follow up to her previous email. Because of the time difference between California and Ireland she wouldn’t hear back for several hours, so she turned off her phone and put it back in her purse before getting dressed in yesterday’s clothes.

  As she was zipping up her boots, Olivia heard a faint knock at the door. Remembering that she wasn’t entirely alone in the castle while William was ... resting ... she opened it to find Seamus standing there with two hot mugs of tea.

  “I took the liberty of making you some tea since I was making some for myself. I added cream and sugar; I hope that’s okay.”

  She reached out to grasp the mug in her cold hands and brought it up to her face and inhaled the deep, rich scent of Earl Grey.

  Heaven.

  “Thank you Seamus. It’s my favorite.”

  Olivia stepped back, inviting him to join her in the room instead of staying standing in the doorway. He looked around uncomfortably, but stepped inside regardless of his obvious discomposure.

  Olivia walked over to the couch and sat down, hoping that Seamus would join her. Since he was really the only person she had to talk to, Olivia wanted to learn as much as she could, but she also didn’t want him to be any more uncomfortable with the situation than he seemingly already was. Instead he settled into in a damask upholstered club chair opposite her and then set his cup and saucer down on the coffee table in front of them.

  Seamus cleared his throat and looked around the room before returning his gaze back to her.

  “I’m to show you to your room,” he began, catching her slightly off guard. Olivia didn’t know what she had been expecting him to say but his fidgety behavior didn’t match the ostensibly simple task.

  “Thank you, that’d be lovely.”

  Leaning back in his chair, Seamus crossed his right leg over the left and brought his hands up to his chin in a steeple, as he looked at her intently.

  “Pardon me for asking, but how long do you intend to stay with us, Ms. Donnelly?”

  She could hear the edge to his question, his voice saying everything that his words were not.

  Setting down her own cup and saucer and mimicking his body language, Olivia decided the best way to deal with him was to be honest and forthright. He knew what William was and had been his friend and companion for many years. It was only normal, she rationalized, that Seamus’s reception of her would be much different than any normal situation would dictate.

  “I hadn’t considered a specific length of time, and please call me Olivia,” she began. “Obviously my luggage is back at the hotel so I’ll need to return to pick it up.” Looking him squarely in the eyes, a challenge in her words and demeanor, she continued. “I told William last night that I’m his for as long as he wants me. So you’d have to ask him how long I’ll be here.”

  “Was this before or after he made love to you?”

  Taken aback at his brusqueness and the overtly intimate nature of the question, Olivia was at a momentarily loss for words, which made her response sound less than eloquent when she did reply.

  “Before. Not that it’s any of your business, but I promised him I’d stay with him before.”

  “Good.” Seamus picked up his tea for a quick sip and then placed the cup back on its saucer on the table. “I’m very glad to hear that.”

  “And why is that Seamus, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  He looked around the room, composing his thoughts before he said them aloud.

  “When William first heard your voice the other night, something snapped in him. He wouldn’t talk to me about it, but there was a restlessness about him, like a caged lion desperate to get out and run free,” he took another sip of his cooling tea before continuing on. “And then when he saw your picture on the Internet it was like a ghost had walked into the room. I don’t know if you’re actually the reincarnation of his long-dead wife, but I do know that William believes with every fiber of his being that you are … and because of that he’s vulnerable. I don’t like it when he’s vulnerable.”

  “I can understand and respect that Seamus. You care for him, I know. I care for him too.”

  He started to speak but Olivia held up her palm asking him to hear her out.

  “I don’t know what is happening to me or why it’s happening now, but I tell you on my mother’s grave that I know him. I dreamed of him before I ever saw him or heard him speak, and in my dream it was his voice. When I met him last night, it
was like a switch had flipped in my soul and I knew that he was the other half of me. I remembered him, Seamus, and I remembered the woman that I had been; I remembered being Ceara. I loved William once a very long time ago and I owe it to the both of us to figure out who I was in that lifetime and who we can be together in this one.”

  Olivia took a deep breath and hoped that Seamus could understand her feelings. It would be much easier to transition to this new life if she had someone – another human – that she could talk to and who would understand the pressures that would be inherent to any relationship shrouded in secrets and mystery.

  Half a minute passed before he spoke.

  “He told me once about Ceara and what happened to her. While he tries to live the life of a normal man, he carries it with him every day as a reminder of the monster he thinks he is.”

  “I don’t think he’s a monster.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong, Olivia,” he responded, catching her completely off guard.

  “Don’t ever underestimate him, and always remember what he really is. William is a vampire – not a mortal man – and he can be very dangerous if he has to be.”

  “He wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “No, you’re probably right,” he acquiesced. “At least, not since you’re here willingly. To that point, what do you think he would have done with you if you hadn’t been quite so obliging? Did he tell you that he had plans to take you by force if necessary?”

  “If you’re trying to scare me, it’s not working. Besides, he already told me all of this himself.”