"Where am I?" Camelia asks, feeling herself being carried and placed on a soft mattress.
"We are at the hotel. You've been asleep for a better part of six hours. How are you feeling?"
It was Stefan. There was such a rich tenderness in his voice that Camelia found the strength to open her heavy eyelids. The world was disoriented and fuzzy, but she could make out the ceiling above her and feel a warm genteelness in the air.
"Is this a dream?" She asks, lifting a free hand and running it over her face and turning it to the side.
"No sweetheart." He chuckles. "Try to go back to sleep." He urges grabbing her hand and kissing the back lovingly.
Camelia turns to find Stefan facing her on the bed. He leans over to press a kiss to her forehead. She scrambles to get up, but gets hit with a wave of dizziness and sinks back against the pillows, closing her eyes remembering everything that happened.
"Lie still." Stefan commands, laying his hand on her shoulder.
"I want to take a shower, I can't tolerate myself in these dirty clothes."
"I'll help you." Stefan get up from the bed, goes around to her side of the bed and scoops her up in his arms, carrying her into the bathroom.
He places her gently on the edge of the tub, turning the knobs. A pressure of the water spurting out of the faucet was strong and was quickly flooding the big white tub. Camelia slouched, unable to hold her weight. Once it was steaming and full Stefan switched them off.
"Can you stand?"
She was a little embarrassed by her weakness but she had no choice but to surrender to the exhaustion. "I can't. I feel incredibly weak." She admits, her head hanging low.
*** Mature content. Intimate scene (scene Part 1) starts in the next book "Pleasures Of The Flesh". In order to see this content you must follow me and add the book found on my profile. Scroll to the chapter labeled HIS CAMELIA-CHAPTER 47 Part 1***
Two days later.
Stefan and Camelia were alone in the hotel suite. She lay curled against his side, one of her fingers playing with the curling dark hair on his chest.
"When will we be leaving?" She asked.
He touched her chin with an index finger. "Tomorrow. Considering all that you've been through, I think it's the right time."
The night Stefan helped bathe Camelia, he lay down on the bed beside her, gathering her protectively in his arms. They slept for fourteen hours straight and didn't wake until the middle of the next day.
Her body felt stiff as if she hadn't moved once during that time. When she woke, her thoughts were disoriented, terrible, painful and she couldn't remember where she was. Nothing materialized the images, of blood, fear, or loss. She thought what transpired in the last few days was a terrible nightmare until she found Stefan watching her silently.
Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, hoping to continue the beautiful dream of Stefan and his bare chest a mere inches from her, she felt one of his fingers caress the side of her cheek. But she realized it felt too real. It wasn't a illusion. He was with her and waiting.
She asked, needing to know if the terrible ordeal that passed really happened.
With a edge of anger changing his tone he replied a simple, "Yes."
Only then did Camelia peel her eyelids back and gazed at him in wonder. A moment later her whole body was shaking with the memory of what she experienced and tears broke free as she cried and cried until she vented her emotions as he held her. It agonized Stefan to watch her suffer, begging her to stop crying, kissing her eyelids, capturing the tears with the pads of his thumbs.
They never left the hotel for those two days.
She was mentally and physically exhausted. The energy zapped from the events took place only days ago took a toll on her body. It left her wiped out, as if she carried dead weight in her muscles. No amount of massages Stefan had given her brought the lightweight feel back to her limp limbs.
Camelia spoke to her parents several times a day since she was rescued. The joy and relief in their voices brought her some semblance of strength. They were excited and eager to reunite with her. She also spoke to Sammy and her siblings.
Sammy was doing much better and her brother and sister were flying in from London to the states to see her.
Stefan's constant presence dimmed most of her suffering but her thoughts couldn't help but pull her back and flood the memory behind her eyes. What she needed is to leave Turkey. It only held bad memories she was ready to leave behind.
"I want to leave as soon as possible."
"Well, we've cooperated with local authorities, told them what they needed to know. If they need anything else they have my contact information. The Steel jet is prepared and fueled for our departure tonight. Is that soon enough?" He asks, his eyes smiling.
Camelia's eyes cheered up at the news.
"Yes!"
She hugged Stefan tightly, laying her head against his chest once more as he idly playing with a strand of her hair. In the first time in the last couple days, she smiled.
Stefan did everything to ease her discomfort and forced her to eat when she had no appetite. She was safe finally with him but the guilt was eating him inside out. It was almost too late.
He shuts his eyes tightly and releases a deep sigh fighting himself from remembering the sight of her ready to be executed and nearly smothered to death. The pain of it seared his chest and the anger tightened in his muscles. The only justice he felt was the one who initially caused that whole ordeal was dead.
"Stefan? What happened to Gloriana?" Camelia asked for the first time.
Stefan sighed. He didn't answer for a moment. "She lost the baby. I arranged for her to be flown to California for a full mental evaluation. According to what I witnessed, most likely she won't be going to prison but institutionalize due to her mental condition."
"That is, if a judge determined she was not mentally competent, she will likely be committed to a mental hospital. The doctors will conduct a comprehensive analysis of her mental health " He squeezed Camelia tighter against him feeling her stiffen. "Camelia she is sick in her mind. She acted as though what she did was normal. I've interrogated hundreds of criminal in my time. Trust me when I tell you she is mentally unstable. Her actions were violent and her words were remorseless."
"What did she say?" Camelia asked in a small voice.
"Never mind that. All I can do is recommend she get the help she needs by referring her to specialists who can help her. I'm sorry for what she did to you. I feel partly responsible for not suspecting her involvement."
"Don't you ever think that. She fooled all of us. Every time she was kind and tender she hated me. She's a chronic liar. I couldn't even see past the lies and I'm good at reading people. So don't go blaming yourself. I feel sorry for my Aunt and her husband. I cannot imagine the burden they must have on their shoulders."
"It'll be hard." He agreed, kissing her forehead lovingly.
"I want to see her." She declares cautiously.
This time Stefan stiffened. "That's not going to happen, Camelia." The slight harsh edge of his tone meant it was a closed subject.
She frowns slightly and makes to get up, however Stefan grips her elbow, holding her by his side.
"Where are you going?"
She was dressed in one of his t-shirts, bunching high up her hips. Seeing her in one of his shirts made his dominate side flare. The sheer male possessiveness inside him rose, emphasizing the fact she was his.
Stefan searched her face, her long lashes hiding her eyes. She was upset.
He sighed, laying his head back on the pillow not before grabbing her by the waist and have her fall on his hard chest. Her hair creates a halo around their faces.
Her big blue eyes widen and her plump lips part in surprise.
"I'll think about it okay?"
Crushing his mouth urgently over her own, Stefan bends his knees, scooting her closer on top of him and grabs her by the waist deepening the kiss and hoping she'd forget about Gloriana.
****
In the weeks that passed, Camelia had time to think about all that occurred and knowing she couldn't change what happened. Only two options remained–she could choose to let the past tarnish her and live her life in fear or brush it off and enjoy life.
And she was strongly determined enough that she was able to put it all behind her when she finally settled at home. It didn't take much time for her to readjust. She never had a nightmare or a flashback and fully recovered, bouncing back from the experience replacing her burden with hope, moving forward to the present and the future that laid ahead.
Over the next two months, Camelia does her best to finish her studies while making preparations for the wedding. Stefan and Camelia both decided not to rush it right away and wait until she finished her exams and her injury had time to heal.
It was finally June, a couple weeks before the wedding. After much persistence Stefan finally agreed to let Camelia see Gloriana. Without informing anyone from the family she and Stefan headed to the hospital for the criminally insane which Gloriana was a permanent patient.
Stefan standing by her side in the mental institute, he squeezes Camelia's tense body against him.
Camelia clapped a hand over her mouth staring through the thick glass window at a stranger that looked nothing like her cousin.
The small room she was placed in was very small, looking almost like a prison with it's plain white walls, simply covered white blanket and pillows and a small sink, mirror and toilet.
Gloriana's hair was cropped above her shoulders and messy as though it hadn't been brushed in days. Her skin was paler and she had lost a lot of weight, dressed in a plain white hospital gown. She was holding a pillow close to her chest and stroking it while she rocked back and forth, singing softly with her eyes closed and smiling.
Camelia focused on her words, perking her ears.
Lavender's blue,
Dilly dilly,
Lavenders green
When I am King,
Dilly dilly
You shall be Queen.
Who told you so,
Dilly dilly
Who told you so?
T'was my own heart,
Dilly dilly
That told me so.
Gloriana was singing the lyrics of the lullaby, Lavender's Blue–the English folk song and nursery rhyme. The pillow she held delicately to her chest was supposed to represent a small baby.
Camelia's heart broke in half, squeezing her eyes shut.
"She's been doing that a lot lately–." The doctor explains, standing slightly behind, his hands clasped behind his back. "Embracing the pillow and singing to it. She's been having difficulty accepting she loss of her unborn baby."
Camelia keeps her eyes sealed, covering her mouth with a hand and turns her back.
"From what I've learned, the fetus she lost wasn't even passed the first trimester. Is she showing any signs of progress?" Stefan inquires, his eyes darting back and forth between the doctor and Gloriana.
The doctor shakes his head. "Gloriana suffered a great shock and is in constant denial. She switches to the past often and doesn't seem to comprehend reality." He explains. "She continues to insist things went wrong and a fellow named Jason is waiting for her and their baby. Sometimes she has outbursts that come from nowhere and becomes violent and hysterical followed by screaming and crying. And other times she's happy–laughing, flirting...That's why she's been placed in her own separate room." Referring to the state of her living quarters. "Her moods change often. We never know which Gloriana will wake up the next morning."
"Does she suffer from multiple, split personalities?" Stefan asks.
"We are still running different tests and trying to rule out certain ailments. We won't have any conclusive label to her illness for some time. She does bring up your name Miss...."
Camelia eyes flew open.
"What does she say?" Stefan asked for her.
"Gloriana speaks with a translucent madness in her eyes and gloats of the best achievement of her life..."
Stefan raised an eyebrow and waits patiently. Camelia held her breath waiting for him to continue.
"I'm going to be quiet frank." He pauses, with a warning. Both Camelia and Stefan nod for him to continue. "The greatest accomplishment she claims involved getting rid of you."
The breath she was holding exploded from her lips.
"She is very ill Ms. St. James." Assessing her reaction. "We are working on healing her mentally but she has problems with letting go and has very obsessive tendencies. Her recuperation may take years, that is, if she'll ever make a full recovery. Only time will tell. I'm sorry for being so blunt with my words but..."
Camelia shook her head. "It's all right. I understand. Thank you for your time and allowing us to see her despite the circumstances."
The doctor nods sympathetically. "Of course."
Stefan put his hand between her shoulder blades as he eased her out the front door.
"You ok?" He asks, as they walked back towards his car, clasping hands. His gaze scanning their surroundings as though looking for a hidden threat. Stefan's manner was alert and cautious as always.
"Yeah, I was hoping for some closure but I guess that's going to take some time." She responds with a sigh as he opens the passenger door and closing it as she eased inside.
"Let's concentrate on us from now on." Stefan says after he maneuvers his vehicle into ongoing traffic. "I don't want you to think about anything else."
The short skirt she wore hiked up her thighs, allowing him a generous view of her skin. He reaches over and squeezes her thigh. Stefan caresses the inside of her leg making Camelia automatically close her legs together and suck in her breath.
Stefan gets hard instantly.
"With you around me I'm sure I won't have any trouble with that." She smiles. "There's nothing else I want but you."
"Oh, really?" He gave a sudden, mischievous half-smile. His caressing fingers dipped flirtatiously between her closed thighs, hiking up her panties. "I don't believe that's quite accurate." Her remarked as she protested with a shriek and tried to squirm away from him.
Since they've been back, Stefan moved back into the guest room at her parent's house. Some nights he would sneak into her room, holding her, talking to her, revealing all the naughty things he was going to do with her body on their wedding night. Stefan tried to give her a small preview but she would never allow him to get far expect for a few kisses especially with her parents present and her siblings occupying their bedrooms for a extended holiday from work until the wedding.
Much to Stefan's frustration, they never really had any privacy.
Camelia held her breath, staring at him as his gaze moved hungrily over her body before he switches his eyes back on the road.
"I think you crave more Princess."
"You're incorrigible!" The clench of her muscles sent liquid desire through her.
"I'm burning to make love to you." He whispered, holding her stare for a few seconds. "A couple more weeks won't kill me."
"Speaking of a couple of weeks, we have so much more to finish before the wedding."
"Oh yes, I'm making arrangements for the honeymoon."
"Where did you say we were going?" She inquires trying to concentrate on the road as Stefan's fingers caress her.
"Nice try, Princess. I never said where we're going. It's a surprise."
Camelia gives the side of his face a irritable look. His fingers are hot as they find their way passed her panties. She gasps as her skin burns.
"Stefan! We are in a car! Someone might see!" Her face flushing, her breathing coming out in shorts gasps as her head rolled backward against the head rest. "You must stop...."
***Mature content. Intimate scene (Part 2) starts in the next book "Pleasures Of The Flesh". Scroll to the chapter labeled HIS CAMELIA-CHAPTER 47 Part 2***
"You're killing me." He states in a strained voice.
Every moment he waited and held himself back was an eternity of pain but to hold her as she was enough for him. He releases her wrists, gathering her tightly.
"You're the one who stopped the car." She reminds him, a laugh escaping her lips at his tortured expression.
"You're worth it, though.
"What are we going to do about my blouse, you ripped it into shreds?" Camelia asks, slightly mortified, lifting a torn piece from the seat. "My parents are going to be suspicious."
"I'll stop by and buy you another blouse before we go home." She wound her arms around his neck and clung to him. "As for your panties, I like knowing you're walking commando." He mutters, kissing the curve of of each breast.
Camelia tenses in his arms.
"Oh my God, I completely forgot! How could you?!?" Swatting his chest.
He gives a playful bite to her soft flesh. "Once we're married I have one house rule."
"House rule?" She echoed.
"You're not allowed to wear any clothes around the house. I want you walking completely naked–all day and all night."
Camelia's flush cheeks felt like they flamed. "All day long?" She repeated, scoffing. "I can understand the all night part but all day? I-I can't..." Shaking her head, "No, no...That's not going to happen, Stefan."
He lifts his head and grins and his eyes blaze with determination. "Oh, yes it will."
"You're such a bad-boy."
Grabbing her with one hand on the back of her neck and the other on her naked backside again his mouth is on hers, kissing her like his life depended on it.
"And I'm all yours through thick and thin..." Stefan mutters against her plump swollen lips as he held her tenderly, his soul mate...his everything.
_________________________________________________________________________________
I know it's kinda annoying to have to switch from one story to the other for the intimate scenes but I have to do it. Sorry.
Other than that, I hope you liked the chapter. More good things to come. Wedding bells...anyone???? : )
Thanks for everyone's support, please comment, vote and share with others.
Until next Friday,
Shaz