Page 141 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

Thea moved to the couch and sank into it with a groan. “Thank you.”

I approached her slowly, and she frowned. “I’m not going to bite.”

“I like it when you bite,” I reminded her, but I took it as a sign to sit. Dropping beside her, I leaned down and lifted her feet into my lap. She didn’t say a word as I slipped off her shoes and began to massage her feet.

“That feels amazing,” she moaned, and I had to tamp down the surge of arousal the sound spiked inside me.

I’d been going crazy since I’d left her with Diana, and now that primitive mated part of me wanted nothing more than to throw her over my shoulder, carry her to the bedroom, and pin her beneath me until I was satisfied that she was indeed fine, as she put it. But that would satisfy me. Not her.

I don’t know, I might like it. Her eyes hooded as she watched my hands rub circles on her sore feet.

“More than a foot rub and some food?” I asked with a smile. Her hesitation told me everything I needed to know.

“Sorry. I’m just tired.” She reached behind her back and wiggled a pillow into place. Her eyes closed as she relaxed into my touch.

“Understandable.” I slid my hands up to work on her tight calves. “What did you mean before? When you asked if I knew?”

One eye popped open as if she wanted to see my reaction. “The cello. Diana thinks it’s the key to my magic.”

I considered for a moment before shrugging. “That makes sense to me.”

Both eyes opened now. “It does?”

“From the first moment I saw you play, I felt magic.” My thumb stroked down her leg. “But I didn’t know. This was...a wedding present.”

“Another one? How many priceless cellos do you own?” she drawled, but I felt her spike of nervous energy. “I’m not sure you can top a Stradivarius.”

I released her legs and stood, pausing to tuck a pillow beneath her tired feet. “This one doesn’t belong to me.”

Her head tilted, a puzzled look on her face. I walked over and picked up the case. “The case is new,” I explained to her as I brought it to her.

Thea swung her feet to the floor as I laid the cello case on the floor and knelt to carefully undo its clasps. She moved her head, trying to see around me as I opened the lid, but I blocked her view. “It’s a gift, remember? Stop trying to peek.”

Thea huffed and sat back on the sofa. Her arms were crossed when I turned to present it to her, but they slackened when she saw the cello I held.

“Julian...” her voice broke, her eyes skimming across it, across its once damaged and now repaired body. “That’s my cello.”

I placed it carefully in her hands as tears streaked down her face. I swallowed against the knot in my throat, against emotions that I wasn’t sure belonged to me or to her. “It took me a while to find a luthier skilled enough to repair it.”

Her fingers trembled slightly as she ran them gently over its neck, and I felt her settle, felt peace overcome her.

When she finally spoke, her words were soft, “Thank you.”

“I thought you might want it back. Although, the Stradivarius is still yours,” I added, allowing a bit of my satisfaction to slip through.

“I didn’t know I missed it,” she admitted as she studied it, studied the place where it was repaired like she was greeting an old friend.

I gripped her knees. “It’s part of you,” I said, and her eyes shot to mine at the gruffness in my voice. I cleared my throat carefully. “It’s okay to miss your old life. It’s okay for it to still be part of you. I never wanted part of you, Thea. I wanted all of you. This moment, the future, and your past. Every single piece.”

She blew out a shaky breath. “I was...scared—scared that finding out the truth about what I am would take music from me.”

“I never wanted to take you away from this.” I tipped my head to the cello.

But love sparkled in her eyes as she gazed into mine, the warmth of our bond radiating through me as she smiled. “You didn’t take me away from it. You gave it back to me.”

CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN

THEA

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