Page 53 of Vampires of Eden: Oliver
My senses are so sharp in this moment, as if I can feel and smell and taste and see everything—like a wildflower in full bloom at the height of springtime, absorbing all the elements.
We hold each other. Aries’s arms are wrapped tightly around my waist and we’re warm, breathing in the silence. Nestled in the soft rise and fall of our placated bodies. Our mutual release is like a strange and sensual glue holding us together.
Lifting my head from the embrace, I keep my voice low. “Was that alright for you?”
He raises his head and his eyes are glowing cerulean. “Was it ‘alright’?”
I blink, waiting. But he frowns. “Alright?” Aries unexpectedly lifts, and the surprise of his movement makes me yelp. He embraces me and flips our positions so that I’m on my back against the duvet. The shift makes my breath catch, but I laugh when I land softly onto the mattress and he’s on all fours hovering over me.
“No,” he says. “It wasn’t ‘alright.’ It was fantastic. Heavenly.” He leans down and kisses my mouth, then my cheek and forehead before moving down to my neck. I writhe and laugh from his frenzied affection. His voice is muffled against my skin. “You enchanting and tenacious creature.”
My smile is so wide that my cheeks are starting to hurt. “Not like a cold fish, then?”
He lifts with his brow furrowed. “No. What in God’s name? Why would you—”
“Nothing.” I shake my head. “I don’t know what I’m saying.”
His brow is cinched in suspicion, but he leans down, dragging my arms up over my head and clasping our hands together. When he’s flat against my body, he brushes our lips. I think my heart might burst.
“Where did you learn to move your hips like that?” he asks.
“I didn’t know that I could. You brought that out of me.”
“Mm,” he sighs, fully resting his heavy body on top of me and nuzzling into my neck again, kissing me there. “I wish I could bring more out of you, my darling. The things I would do to you.”
I draw my legs up, lifting my knees to cradle him. This is paradise. “We can do it,” I tell him. “Everything. Anything.” I shift my gaze to the side. His eyes are closed.
“We cannot. Because I’m not yours, and you are not mine.”
“I’m not his, either.”
“True. But you’re not free, Oliver. You are not your own vampire.”
I swallow and it goes down like cotton. “Please don’t remind me of that, okay? Not right now.”
He nods, but doesn’t say anything else. I want to shake off the despondent feeling, so I change the subject. “Did you feel comfortable with my aura? I think I’m getting better at holding it in.”
Aries slides one hand from mine, takes hold of my chin and turns my head to meet his gaze. “It was perfect. Thank you.”
This warms my insides, helping to alleviate the shadowed feeling from a moment ago. “You don’t need to say thank you. I want you to feel safe with me, Aries. To trust me.”
He leans and presses his full lips to my nose. “Shall we sleep? Just for a little while.”
Bringing my arms down, we realign so that I can hug his back as I relax my legs. The weight and scent of him are heavy and perfect. I didn’t think I was tired, but within seconds, everything around me fades into a soft and contented darkness.
“Your grace?”
My eyes fly open and I inhale sharply. The light of the room is too bright. Glaring white morning sunshine. It’s bewildering, but my body feels like a limp and very happy noodle enveloped in the warmth of my bed. Pulling the covers up and over my head, I groan. “Yes? What?”
“It-it’s time to start the day.” I can hear Camille opening windows and shuffling around the room. Why the hell is she doing that? She never opens my windows. “You’re expected to attend breakfast this morning, and Alexander has asked if he can escort you down. He’s waiting in the corridor. Right now.”
I sit up straight with a jolt, looking to my right, then left. Aside from Camille standing near my closet and looking at me strangely, I’m by myself. Also, I’m naked. But to my great relief, my bottom half is covered by the comforter. I reach up and my hair is wild. “Alright… just, can I have ten minutes, please? Alone?”
Camille bows. “Of course, your grace. I’ve laid clothes out for you.”
“Thank you.” I flop back down in the bed, exhaling. When she leaves and the door is shut, I turn and nestle deeper into my sheets because I can still smell Aries on my pillows. It makes me tingly all over and I want to revel in this feeling. I stretch my legs out, then elongate my spine and breathe in deeply. Gloriously.
After one minute of indulgence, I pop up from the bed, strut across the room and take the quickest shower of my life. I wish I didn’t even need to shower. I realize that I’m being crude, but I could walk around with his scent on me like this all day. Perfectly comfortable.
