Please don't give up on this book. I promise it's worth the trouble. It's a book that you won't want to put down.
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Deva stayed in her warm bed enjoying the quietness of the room. She no longer had a roommate and was taking a liking to it. She tossed and turned all through the night. She knew what happened after the elimination was something she exaggerated. She didn't mean for it to go that way, but she couldn't shake the feeling of going home.
It was always going to be in the back of her head. Getting out of bed, she noticed the shyness of the sun. It had to be past noon.
The kitchen was her first priority for the day. She heard her stomach rumbling as she opened the swinging door. Chef Antonio immediately greeted her with a warm smile which she returned.
"Just waking up bella?"
"Yes. It was a long night of tossing and turning dear Antonio." She propped herself on the chair closest to the counter, where he was whipping something up.
"Here I make a special lunch for you. Your favorite." He placed in front of her a plate of spaghetti and a glass of red wine.
"Oh, Antonio, you spoil me, and I love you for it." He always knew how to cheer her up. She gave him a brief summary of the events that played the day before. He sympathized and tried to come to the brothers' defense, claiming it was in their good will. She was here for a reason, and she wasn't open to see it. Antonio made her think long and hard about the actions she had taken.
Finishing her food, she thanked him and left to wander the halls. It was going to be a stressful day of thinking.
While heading for the library she felt someone grab her wrist. She spun and found Lucian cautiously staring at her with sad eyes. "We need to talk."
"Lucian-"
"I'm not taking no for an answer. I don't want you hating me." He instantly teleported them to his room. She had never been in it before. It was big with wide open doors leading to the outside balcony. The walls were a dark red color, and there were armors and weapons surrounding every inch of the room.
"Lucian-"
"It's Loosh to you." He glided closer to her. "I know you're mad at me, and I know you feel I betrayed your trust, but I didn't mean to. I never meant to. I told you what you wanted to hear which was also the truth, just not all of it. I'm sorry Deva, so sorry that you feel betrayed."
Deva sighed. "Loosh I did trust you, and I still trust you. You didn't exactly lie to me, and I understand why you didn't tell me the rest of it. Last night, I over reacted like I always do and I'm sorry. You were kind to look out for me, and I was just being impossible. I'm sorry." At least she admitted she was a difficult person to get along with.
His distressed eyes softened as he reached for her and pulled her into an embrace. She didn't expect it but obviously accepted it. Feeling his hard muscular body against her, she snaked her arms around his neck. He instantly tightened his arms around her waist. He loved the feel of her body in his arms. "Thank you for forgiving me," he whispered in her hair.
"I don't even know why you put up with me really."
He laughed, and she felt his chest move against her own. "Because you're worth it."
"Wow, that totally sounded like a L'Oreal commercial phrase."
He chuckled, and she pulled away to look at his face. "I'm just surprised you didn't throw me across the room like a ragdoll after my outburst." She still vaguely remembered his hand smack across her face when they first met.
He brushed back her hair with his hand. "I would never hurt you again, and to be honest, I doubt any of us would."
"You say that now, but wait till I push your last buttons."
"Baby doll, you can push all my buttons all you want as long as you want."
She playfully slapped his shoulder while stepping back and admiring his room. "Can I ask you for a favor Loosh?"
"What is it, baby doll?"
"Can you teach me how to use a sword?"
He smiled, baring his teeth. "I'd love to."
They spent over two hours swinging and swaying their swords back and forth. Lucian had to admit Deva was a quick learner and was getting better by the second. She was sweating and heaving while Lucian was looking at her like a predator, seriously enjoying the view. She charged again getting closer and closer to actually harming him, but he was always a step ahead. He promised not to use his vampire abilities, but she still thought he was cheating. He easily dodged her blow with the blade. She moved again quickly spinning and clashing her sword against his. He admired her charisma and passion for not giving up.
Her stubbornness kept her going until she finally surprise-attacked him, forcing the sword to pierce his left shoulder. His smile widened in approval. "Nice."
But he drew his sword forward and kicked her legs right from under her. She landed her on back hard with Lucian securely on top of her somewhat straddling her.
"Ass," she muttered through the slight pain.
He chuckled. "That was really impressive."
"Was it?" She asked finally focusing her eyes. He was so close she felt his sweet breath on her face.
"Yes, very impressive." He inched his face closer never loosing eye contact. She felt her heartbeat flutter fast in her chest. He could hear her heartbeats, and it only made him want to move closer to hear it better and up close. She had time to stop him if she wanted; so when she didn't move, he took the initiative.
He brushed his yearning lips against her mocking pink ones. It sent shivers of pleasure down her spine. He watched as she closed her eyes, and he savored the moment. She slowly tilted her head up to really feel his lips on hers. Butterflies instantly filled her stomach. Butterflies in the stomach was so cliché, but there was no other feeling to describe the fluttering sensation pulling at the pit of her stomach.
His mind went wild with the sensation her reaction caused in him. He took a deep breath of her sweet vanilla lavender scent and kissed her bottom lip then her top. She made no attempt to pull away. His lips tasted of peppermint, and Deva just wanted another taste. So when his lips fully devoured hers, she didn't hesitate to react. How could she honestly resist a vampire kiss?
Their lips moved in sync never missing a beat. Lucian made a small moan in the back of his throat. It had been so long since he actually felt something, and Deva was making him feel things he couldn't explain.
But too soon her lips stopped moving, and she opened her eyes. Lucian searched her face for some kind of sign, but she only looked lost in thought.
"I need to go." She said in a rush. Lucian slowly and reluctantly got up. Deva did the same, she blankly stared at Lucian and said, "Thanks for the lessons." And walked towards the door. "Night Loosh."
Deva was so thankful he didn't try to stop her. She never intended for that to happen, and she never intended to enjoy it so much. The shiver and butterflies he was giving her by merely brushing his lips against hers was unreal. She rushed back to her room, not caring that her muscles were still aching from the sword lessons.
Inside the safety of her room, she began pacing about like a mad hatter. How could she let that happen? She promised herself she wouldn't fall for anyone. She promised. She ran to the bathroom and started the water for the bathtub. Sitting on the edge of the tub she ran through her thoughts.
So what if she did kiss him? Was it really that bad? She was stuck here for a while; did it matter how she spent it? She might as well get something out of it. Why not take her own advice and live her life knowing she might get hurt. It was a part of life right? She couldn't hide away and cover her feelings.
"Alright," she said stripping out of her clothes and slipping into the warm and comfortable water. "I'm going to forget all my worries and start enjoying my life."
She smiled confidently as she made up her mind. No more worries. Closing her eyes and laying her head back on the side of the tub she forced herself to relax her muscles. It was a long and intense day; so she tried her best to clear her mind and enjoy the warm bath. She rubbed her body with the vanilla scented soap to get rid of her awful sweat.
After minutes of just sitting in the tub she heard footsteps walking into the wide open bathroom. She forced herself to side glance, annoyed that anyone would dare come in.
Darius stood against the sink. He was smirking, probably enjoying the view.
"You know there is a door there for a reason. Ever heard of knocking?" She implied.
He moved closer despite her obvious discomfort and annoyance. "Yes, but then I would have missed the chance to catch you naked and in a tub."
She pivoted her head the other way, trying to hide the blush that was creeping to her cheeks. She was extremely irked and disgusted with his comment, but she couldn't help the heat rushing to her cheeks. No man had ever seen her in a tub before but she tried to play it cool anyway.
"Darius what are you doing here? If it's to piss me off, I promise you will get the chance to do it tomorrow; so being here right now is not necessary."
"Oh sweetheart, don't you know me at all. I'm a heartless vampire that wants nothing more than to make your life as miserable as possible all the time." His seductive sweet voice was seriously aggravating her.
"Are you mocking me?" She didn't use those exact words to describe him yesterday, but the meaning was all the same.
"Of course not, little Deva. I would never do such a thing."
"Darius get out!" She yelled not caring if it could be heard throughout the castle.
His grin fell, and he sighed with much exaggeration before walking to the tub and sitting down. She looked away as soon as their heads were level to each other. He took a moment to admire her soft bare skin that was exposed over the rim of the tub.
"I should be mad at you. I want to be, but in truth sweetheart I'm not." His confession sounded real and true, but Deva couldn't be sure. He was so conniving and misleading sometimes that she wasn't sure she should believe him. "I wanted to see how you were doing."
Her head rose as she locked her eyes on him. His facial expression was sincere enough, and he continued, "You were so upset yesterday, and I just wanted to know you were okay. Our intention was never to make you upset or unhappy in anyway. I'm sorry you felt that way."
His eyes were so kind and concerned she wanted to melt. She hated herself for being so weak. She was supposed to hate him. He was the evil manipulative brother that was using girls for his own enjoyment. How could she let him get off the hook that easily?
She moved closer to him placing her arms on the edge of the tub next to his sitting form. She then rested her head on her arms and sighed softly.
"No Darius, I'm sorry for everything. I shouldn't have stabbed you and said those things I did," even though she believed they were true. "I over reacted. I have a tendency to do that a lot. And then I shouldn't have yelled at you guys like I did. I understand you were only trying to tell me the truth."
He raised his hand to his face and shook his head, as if not believing her. "You're apologizing?" He dropped his hand and smiled at her. His blue eyes were shinning with warmth. "Why do I get the feeling you don't say apologizes often?"
She evilly narrowed her eyes at him. Of course he wouldn't make this easy on her. "I'm typically right about everything; so don't let it go to your head. It's already big enough."
He smirked and slided closer to her face. The strange warmth in his eyes gave her a new sensation that ran down her body to her toes. It wasn't anything like the feelings Lucian gave her.
"I'm apologizing because part of what you said is true. I don't let people in long enough to know the real me. I hide because it is the only thing I know how to do." She had never confessed that to anyone, not even herself.
"I forgive you Deva. To be honest, the minute you plunged that rock in me, you made me admire you more. No one in their right minds would dare stab a vampire, but you fearlessly did. I forgave you the moment it touched my skin." He lowered his gaze to the tiled floor. "You are also right about me being a selfish vampire, but I promise you I never meant to hurt your feelings Deva."
Was he referring to playing with other girls' emotions? She didn't have it in her to ask; so she just stayed quiet, and they just stared at each other for a couple of moments. She never expected Darius to come see her so late, and while she was in the bath. She was a little self-conscience but tried to hide it as best as she could.
Darius seemed at ease. He knew very well she was really uncomfortable sitting there naked with him in the room, but he didn't want to get up. He knew he should have, but he couldn't bring himself to get up.
"Darius can you hand me a towel please?"
"Anything for you sweetheart." He got up and took the towel that was lying on the sink counter. He unfolded the towel and held it up for her to wrap herself in. In order for her to do that, she would have to get up. A huge part of him knew she wouldn't get up to reveal her body to him, but his other half was hoping she would.
"Nice try muffin; now hand it to me and turn around." She snickered and was glad somewhat that their relationship was back. She didn't like the drama and ridiculous tension that was around them before.
"It was worth a shot." He placed it in her hands and turned. He heard her body getting out as water drops were hitting the floor.
She held the towel tight and walked to her closet. Pulling on some sweatpants and a plain red t-shirt she felt good again. Being naked in front of a prince was not something she wanted to do again, especially when he looked hotter than any model she had ever seen. She walked back into the bathroom half expecting him to be gone but to her surprise he was leaning on the side wall.
"You're still here?"
"Yes," he replied bringing his eyes back to her body.
"Well we've both said our apologizes, so if there's nothing else you need I suggest you go."
She walked across the room and sat on the sink counter waiting for him to leave, but he didn't even make a move for it.
"There is one thing." He made his way to her in one swift motion, standing between her legs.
She took deep breaths to calm her nerves but it didn't do much good. Her heartbeats were faster than ever, almost faster than they were when Lucian was kissing her. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on something other than his closeness.
Darius was enjoying the uneasiness she was getting from his presence. He leaned closer to her ear and whispered, "Sweetheart, are you alright? You heartbeats are going crazy." He raised his hands and cupped her face. Her soft ivory skin looked too beautiful and fragile, making it irresistible to touch.
Her eyes burst open. A hint of fiery and nervousness shone in them. "Really? I hadn't noticed."
He wanted to laugh, but ended up smirking with amusement. Still so close to her, he barely touched her lips with his own, teasing her in a sense. She swallowed, and he continued to taunt her. Running his lips across her face, he placed a kiss on her left cheek, then on her right and ended with one on her nose. He was soft and gentle, and Deva felt like her insides were going to explode.
The heat from her cheeks was now on overload, and he could feel it through his hands. He loved that he had that effect on her. Then going back to her lips, he stopped just a small gap between them. He wasn't moving, and it was killing Deva inside. Why was he teasing her like this? And why wasn't she pulling away?
She couldn't resist anymore. Forgetting all her morals and own personal rules she leaned forward closing the small space between their lips. A power wave of shocks flowed to her core at the intense touch their contact made.
She felt him smile on her lips; he clearly enjoyed her reaction. His lips were yielding and felt like silk, just like she thought they would be. He wanted to take so much from her within the kiss, but forced himself to be tender and compassionate.
His lips tasted of a citrus and mint. Deva couldn't describe what that made her feel, but soon she had a pit in her stomach where the guilt was settling in. Not but an hour ago, she was kissing Lucian. Deva pulled away losing the warmth of his touch. He groaned silently at her retreat. He opened his eyes to see a condemned looking Deva. Her eyes were sad and worried.
"Darius..." She whispered, her voice scarcely coming back to life.
He smiled and shook his head. "Don't. That was an incredible thing that happened. Don't even think about regretting it." Of course he knew why she was feeling that way. He sensed Lucian's feelings and easily found out about their little encounter.
"But I-"
"Shh," he said while placing a finger over her mocking lips and rubbing her soft flushed cheeks. "It's time for bed."
He dropped his hands and grabbed her thighs forcing her to wrap them around his defined torso. She had no room for protest, and she was still a little shaken up by his kiss. She rested her head on his broad shoulder and took in his sweet aromatic smelling Aqua Di Gio cologne while he walked her to her bed. It was a perfect combination of masculinity with its aura of ocean breezes, citrus fruits, herbs, and woods that would send any girl to bliss.
When he got to the bed, instead of placing her on it, he laid down himself with her on top of him. She straightened her legs getting more comfortable and ended up tangling their legs together. She wasn't sure why he was still here or why he was staying with her in bed, but she couldn't complain. He felt warm and totally cuddlable, and after the hard days she was having since she had arrived, that was all she wanted and needed, someone to hold her. He began to stroke her hair.
How could this be happening to her? But of course it would be happening to her; everything difficult and bad happened to her. She could never catch a break. How could she feel incredible butterflies in her stomach for one brother and intense shock waves from another brother? This was seriously messed up. It would have been so much easier if she stayed mad at him.
"Darius?"
"Yes sweetheart." He replied in a tranquil voice.
"Can you use your power on me again? Take me some place, perhaps to one of your memories or something."
"My past memories?"
She nodded on his shoulder not looking up at him. "Yes. You've lived for so long. You must have had an incredible life full of amazing events."
She sounded so eager, and he didn't want to deny her. "Perhaps you would like to see when I first met the queen of England. Queen Elizabeth the first."
She raised her head, and her face was shining with excitement and thrill. "Will you? Please."
"Anything for you sweetheart." He placed her head back down on his shoulder and began his magic. "Open your eyes now sweetheart."
She did and found herself surrounded by many people of the old world wearing big puffy corset gowns and headdress pieces. They were in a huge ball room that had gold detailed molding and statues in every corner. The clothing of people varied with different vibrant colors of silk and other expensive material. Almost every person there was wearing jewelry and some kind of gold chain. Deva was enchanted with it all and honestly couldn't believe her eyes.
She felt someone grab her hand and dropped her jaw when she saw Darius dressed in full trunk hose pants with leather boots that reached his knees. Dragging her gaze up she took in his snug-fitting buttoned up burgundy jacket that was slightly opened at the top giving her a good view of his flawless chest. But his gold dangling jewel necklace occupied most of the exposed skin. He looked so handsome and manly with his rusty unshaved jaw and curly tasseled hair which was roughly an inch shorter a few seconds ago.
"You look good." She said through the violin music.
He smiled a devilish grin and stretched her hand back to examine her attire. "And you my sweet look undeniably gorgeous."
She hadn't even noticed the extra fabric holding her down. She was wearing a deep royal red corset gown that had delicate detailed seams in every direction. It was breath taking. Her hair was long and curled down to her back with a diamond beaded jewel band that also flowed with her hair.
He took her hand firmly and led her through the crowd. "Do you want to see the queen?"
"Yes. So this is all your memory. You control all this?"
"Yes. This is all part of my memory. What you are wearing is something I came up with in my head."
"Unbelievable."
He stopped and pointed toward the front of the room. "There." She stared at the woman with incredible extravagant clothing and knew straight away that it was the Queen.
"Not exactly how I would have pictured her."
"I promise you it's a very good liking of her." He led her towards the center of the crowd were the people were dancing to the old traditional dance.
"Shall we?"
"Why is it I always find myself dancing with you?"
He chuckled and began to move to the steps of the music. "You're a very good partner. I wouldn't want to dance with anyone else."
"Darius I don't know how to dance to this."
"I'll teach you sweetheart it rather simple." He led the dance. It was a dance that told a story. He bowed and twirled her, and she was loving every minute. After a while she got the hang of it; it was a good thing it was a repeating motion. Time didn't seem to matter. They were enjoying the dance, the music, the people, and the night.
Towards the end of the song, Deva pulled Darius close and whispered into his ear. "When I wake up I want you gone." She was thankful he had shared this memory with her, but she couldn't let it get to her head. After all, he was still seeing other women. Her stomach dropped. All the brothers were seeing women, and as much as she hated it, that also included Lucian.
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