“Maybe we should talk more about this,” I suggested. “What are you planning?”
“Marcello and Katrina have been caught, as you know. They’re holding them awaiting me. Cosmo and Rafe are hunting Nestor. They will hold him too. I will deal with them then I’ll hunt my father and deal with him.”
“Deal with them how, uh… exactly?”
His mouth went hard, his eyes started burning in a scary way that (yes, I’m deranged) was totally fabulous and he answered immediately, “I will torture them until they scream their pleas for me to burn them. Then I will burn them.”
I wasn’t certain how I felt about that.
So I turned, pressing myself to him and whispered, “Darling, isn’t that a bit –?”
He interrupted me. “It is my culture, Leah. It’s how we deal with these things. It isn’t only accepted, it’s expected. And it will be done.”
“But you were married to Katrina,” I reminded him.
“And she attempted to attack you twice prior to the events ten days ago. That was enough for me to seek permission from The Council to hunt her and end her life. And they would have granted it, Leah. Without demure. But this was worse. Far worse. Not only did they penetrate a concubine’s home, manhandle her, frighten her and lie to her, they tied up her servant who also has my protection. Further, what Edwina told me they told you, they are planning revolution. So not only are their deaths expected, they are necessary for the safety of your people and, in a way, mine.”
I couldn’t deny that.
His hand left my jaw so his arm could wrap around me while he reminded me, “This is your world now, pet. You must learn to accept these things.”
I nodded because he was right. It was wild, it was scary but then again, I had a long time to get used to it.
“Do you have any more questions?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Then we must talk about The Claiming,” he stated.
I blinked.
“The what?” I asked.
“If you wish a mortal’s wedding, I’ll give you one. But we’ll also have a Claiming Ceremony.”
Oh my.
I felt my belly turn squishy.
“What’s a Claiming Ceremony?” I whispered and his face got soft at my tone and probably the look on my face and also probably the fact he heard my heart skip a beat.
“It’s our ceremony, pet. Words are spoken, I take of your blood, you take of mine then we share the words of claiming. Much like the mortal’s ‘I do’.”
“And what are the words of claiming?” I was still whispering.
“Until the sun falls from the sky,” he whispered back.
That was nice. He said that earlier to me. I loved it then and now I loved it more knowing its meaning.
“I like that,” I told him softly and he grinned.
Then he spoke. “For us, it will be real and right now, I need to know you understand that.”
“Understand?”
“That it’s real.”
“That what’s real?”
“That we will be together until the sun falls from the sky.”
Oh yes. That was nice and I loved it.
“I told you I liked it.”
“You told me, Leah, but you’re forty years old. I’m eight hundred and twenty-two. I have a fair understanding of what immortality means. You have no idea. Although it was understandable, it was a loss to all of us when Isobel’s mother took her life. Living forever may seem alluring but life is the same whether you’re mortal or immortal. There are highs and lows, good times and bad. And, bottom line, there’s a lot of time. A lot of time to travel, read, make love, eat and a lot of time to disagree, fight, get frustrated with each other. And there will be a lot of time to get bored.”
“I never get bored,” I informed him.
“Everyone gets bored,” Lucien informed me.
“Well, I don’t unless I have absolutely nothing to do like when you left me in the house with no wheels and no books and that was an extreme circumstance. Still, I found something to do. And, if you’re with me,” I grinned at him, “you won’t get bored either.”
Lucien returned my grin then leaned in and touched his mouth to mine. But when he pulled back, his face was serious.
“You’ll well outlive your entire family, sweetling,” he warned gently.
My mood subdued at a thought I hadn’t yet had. A thought that really stunk.
But I nodded and whispered, “Yes, but I’ll also get the chance to know their children. And their children’s children. So I’ll always, in some way, have family.”
“That’s a nice way to look at it,” he muttered and I felt my lips tip up.
Then I pressed even closer and told him, “I know what you’re trying to make me understand, darling. And I can’t tell the future. But I’m looking forward to it, as long as it seems, as far as it goes, as long as you’re in it.”
He pulled me tight to him, his mouth descending to mine, his tongue sliding inside as he rolled to his back, shifting under me. My hands went into his hair on either side of his head to hold him to me even though he wasn’t going anywhere. His hands went up my shirt to my bare ass, his fingers curving in to hold me to him and I was definitely going nowhere.
I broke my mouth from his, slid it down to his ear and whispered, “I could study to be a doctor.” Then I slid my lips to the hinge of his jaw and kept whispering. “And when I get bored of that, I could study to be a sculptor.” My lips moved to his neck. “Then I could become a lawyer.” My lips moved to his throat. “And I’d have centuries to my perfect my béarnaise sauce.”
I felt his body shaking under mine, his fingers pressed into the cheeks of my ass and my head went up so I could smile down at him.
Then the smile slid away from my face and I whispered, “I’ll never get bored, darling.”
His heated eyes turned soft then suddenly I was on my back with Lucien covering me.
I caught my breath at this maneuver but understood it five seconds later when I heard the clinking and jingling of a cart being rolled into the room.
“Dinner,” the hotel butler called. “I’ll set it at the table in the sitting room. Is that okay with you?”
“Perfect,” Lucien answered, his eyes on me.
I giggled.
The butler laid out our food.
Then Lucien’s gaze roamed over my face.
“Perfect,” he repeated on a whisper and my stomach dropped