Page 29 of His True Beloved

I refrained from commenting anymore on her embarrassment. I was sure I had a lot more moments to come. I was too desperate to have her, and my body wouldn’t tolerate much longer without touching her lips. Biting my tongue, the sweet metallic tang of my blood soothed my burning throat.

Her smell continued rolling through the partially air-conditioned air. My lungs continued to breathe in her scent until we arrived at our destination. Rowan had to pull some strings so I could get into the most exclusive restaurant in town, and I didn’t mind using his power to help me get my beloved.

I was beyond desperate and would shamefully take every bit of help I could get. I adjusted my tie, seeing Christine’s hand reach for the door. “Don’t,” I warned her. Her wide eyes grew with curiosity when I snapped. “Ladies don’t get to open the door.” I winked, opening my own.

“Well, aren’t you old-fashioned?” she joked. My brows furrowed, my lips turning down.

“What do you mean old-fashioned? It’s the way any woman should be treated. If you wanted something fancy, I would pull out the red carpet.” Christine giggled and shook her head.

“Human males don’t open the door for ladies, well, at least not for me.” Her smile softened. I gripped the handle of the door, cracking the door.

“You deserve every bit of the ‘old-fashioned’ treatment.” I tried to calm myself. Christine’s eyes darted to the door, and I let go of the handle. Rolling my neck, I continued, “It seems to me humans have lost their ways. I’ll be sure to remedy that.” I winked, leaving the limo before I could see her reaction.

Don’t fuck this up.

Suron proceeded to open his door, his head popping outside the door until I roughly pushed his head back down and shut his door. My finger pointed to him to stay, and he huffed in annoyance.

Yup, not going to have anything ruin this.

Once I opened her door, I held out my hand for Christine. The sparks of electricity consumed us. I put her arm around mine. She blushed, her face turning away, and I couldn’t help but puff out my chest. She thought the small actions I gave her were endearing. Maybe no male had given her this treatment.I’ll be sure to continue with my courting since she seems to fancy it so much.

My other hand fidgeted on my side, trying to decide whether I should slide my hand over hers as I held it in the crook of my arm. Christine’s arm was great, but my dress shirt covered my skin, and I needed to touch her. Nervously, I lifted my hand, running over her fingers. Keeping my vision on the hostess, Christine eyed me in uncertainty.

The small restaurant was in an alleyway away from the busy downtown shops. For a Friday night, it had been seemingly busy with more supernaturals than that of humans.

The hostess took one look at me, grabbed two menus, and guided us to our private table. The hostess led us to a room engulfed with dripping vines of greenery and trees that hugged the small intimate table close, giving it a secluded feel. The dark marbled floor paired with hanging fairy lights was a nice touch.

“This is pretty fancy for friends,” Christine mused as I pulled out her seat. She pursed her lips, flatting out her dress as she eyed me as I unbuttoned my suit jacket to sit down. I ignored the question, taking a sip of red wine that was already poured.

“Sebastian,” she chastised. “This is just as friends, you have someone waiting—”

“My beloved died,” I blurted. This was not how I wanted to bring this up, but if she told me one more time this was ‘just as friends’, I think I would have pulled her out of her seat, pinned her to the wall, and really let her know what she was to me.

“Oh my god.” She put her fingers to her temples, her mouth dropping. “I-I had no idea, Sebastian. I am so, so sorry.” I chuckled, taking one more sip of wine.

“Christine, that is why I brought you here tonight. You wanted to know why I believed in mates, and it was because I met mine.” Her body relaxed, her hands fading into her lap. “I wasn’t lying when I said I want companionship. Our new friendship could bloom, and I wanted you to… see that. Understand where I come from.” Christine pursed her lips, her head looking around the room.

An exotic parrot in a decorative cage watched as I was about to pour a story into detail that no one had ever heard.

“Sebastian—” Christine began.

“You can’t deny it.” I set down my glass, her blue eyes twinkling with the fairy lights. “There is a chemistry between us,” I muttered. “I know you feel it, and I feel it too.” My eyes went dark. She parted her lips with her tongue and looked away.

“I-I really don’t know what you are talking about,” she muttered, pushing a stray curl behind her ear. “I’m just looking for friendship, that’s all.”

Grinding my teeth, I set my napkin on my lap. “All right,” I said lightheartedly. “I can understand that.” Christine, who had been shamelessly looking into her lap to avoid the conversation, threw her head up.

“You do?” She leaned forward.

“Of course, you just moved here. You’ve dated in the past, and after your recent revelation about how men don’t open doors for you, I’m sure you would have reservations about dating any man. Let alone a vampire.” I winked before looking at the menu.

I knew exactly what I wanted, so my eyes remained on her. She would purse her lips and roll her tongue over them. Her body was shifting in her seat, crossing and uncrossing her legs. Her whole body was against her. It was the heart I needed to win.

After sending in our order, Christine leaned on the table. “This might sound awful, but I do want to hear your story. It sounds so sad not to have your mate.” Her eyes pained, again looking away. My finger went forward, pulling her chin up to look at me.

“It was a long time ago. We had not bonded our souls together. I hadn’t even touched her,” I began. Christine relaxed in her seat. “Her coven was small, lived in the Kingdom of Vermillion. The king was cruel. He destroyed for no reason and took what he wanted. Some days he would go on a rampage, just for the hell of it, and light homes on fire.” I ground my teeth in the memory.

“I stayed out of the way. I was a merchant for trade. I traveled so much, but one day, something pulled me to visit a coven on the outskirts of Vermillion, and that was when I saw her.” I smiled for a brief moment. As much as I remember the act of her death, her face was fading away from me. Christine filled the void that I once had.

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