The Watcher, page 17
part #1 of Fleur de Lis Series
The room was Gothic and unique. It had a bed to the right that was high from the ground with a black velvet blanket and pillows with gold embroidered flowers around the edges. The arched, black headboard had detailed designs and almost reached the ceiling. The furniture was gold and black, with sculpted designs, but the walls were a midnight blue with thick gold moldings. The stone floors had luxuriant carpets that matched the colors of the room and gold curtains covered the two long and narrow windows.
Zachary was sitting on an ebony Gothic loveseat. In front of him was a circular, gold table with a light blue box and a smaller white box on top of it. I sat down next to him. He grinned and looked at me with soft, glowing eyes.
“What's in the boxes?” I asked.
“You can open them up later,” he said, looking nervous. “I am truly sorry for your parents and for not telling you the truth in the beginning. I couldn't—I was ordered not to, but now I can.”
“Well, I am all ears,” I said and made myself more comfortable on the loveseat.
The plush upholstery was soft, and it had carved wooden flames in the back of the seat.
“My job was to watch you, to know your daily routine, and to keep you safe. There were many times that I passed you by or stood behind you—waiting in line—at a coffee shop or the supermarket. You had no idea that I was there.”
“Really,” I said, and my eyebrows furrowed in disbelief.
“The first time I saw you was the night of the Muse concert in Irving Plaza. You went with...”
“Chris Tanner,” I interrupted.
I was surprised...that was last year, during the summertime. Chris and I just started dating.
“Yes, I watched you dance, sing, and laugh—with Chris Tanner. You looked beautiful and happy. I was standing right behind you. I even got close enough to touch your hair and smell it. I made sure you did not see me that night. You turned around, but I moved away quickly. I envied your boyfriend that night. Maybe it's because of this war, but I have not enjoyed much of life since it began. I wanted to be the one you were looking at with those pretty eyes. I wanted to be the one you were kissing and laughing with. For the first time—in a long time—I wanted to be human.”
I took a deep breath and sighed. “Are you alright?” he asked, touching my right knee.
“I'm okay...I am just in shock that's all,” I said. “Please continue.”
“As the days and weeks went by I noticed your ability and your brother's. I also followed you to every job you had this year. I kept my distance, making sure nothing ever happened to you or your brother. I had to intervene the night you went to steal from Nicholas Cangin. There were two guards entering the home, from the back with automatic weapons. I knocked them out, during the fight you were having with the bodyguard, holding a bat. I had to do something.”
“Thank you,” I said softly.
I could not believe how close Zachary had been watching me.
“I watched your brother carefully as well and managed to get the password to your house alarm—even after he changed it. I've been in your home several times. One night your brother was out with a girl, and you returned home from visiting your boyfriend. I hid in the linen closet.”
“You were in my house while I was there, and I didn't see it?” I asked, surprised my ability did not work.
“Your ability will not work with me. I am not a danger to you. I waited to leave until you fell asleep. Do you know...you sometimes talk in your sleep?”
“I know,” I said with a laugh.
“I shouldn't be telling you all of this, but I want you to know everything,” he said, instantly becoming shy with eyes looking down.
“I am not angry anymore. You can tell me,” I said and touched his right thigh.
He looked up and smiled with bright eyes. “I wanted to kiss you the day we were properly introduced. I almost did—in your room—when we placed your parent's picture frame in your case, but that would have been awkward.”
“Yes, it would have,” I said and smiled.
“The entire time I watched you, it was tearing me apart—not being able to meet you—to tell you the truth, and what my true feelings were. I...” He paused, leaned forward, and gently touched the back of my head with his right hand. He caressed my hair, then my face, softly touching my lips with his thumb. “You are so beautiful,” he said.
I was stunned. My heart started pounding, and my knees became weak—like jelly.
His aqua eyes glowed “I love you...for a long time now,” he said. “And that's why I had sketches of you.”
I was frozen like a statue. My mouth would not speak. Maybe it was the shock of knowing what really happened to my parents and that this amazing, strong warrior that lived for hundreds of years—could actually love me. I needed to do or say something. I leaned toward his lips and softly kissed him.
My body was not stiff anymore, and in a second, I had sat on his lap and wrapped my legs around his waist. Our lips locked, and our tongues gently touched. He tasted heavenly, and his lips were soft as silk.
He stood up, holding my back as his left hand gripped onto my hip. My legs tightened around his waist. He gently placed me on the bed, caressing my thighs. His strong muscular body pressed against mine. He gazed into my eyes and slowly smelled my face and neck. He kissed my neck tenderly, making my body squirm as I breathed deeply.
I couldn't stop moaning. No one has ever kissed me the way he did. I felt out of control with this man, but he was a vampire.
“Zachary,” I whispered. “You can taste my blood.”
He suddenly stopped. “I don't want to hurt you,” he said, looking into my eyes.
His long hair falling by my face, smelled like sweet soap and exotic musk. “You can heal me...I trust you,” I said, inhaling his scent.
“Are you sure?” he asked, pushing strands of my hair away from my face and neck.
“I know you have wanted to taste me from the moment you saw me...do it, Zach,” I said.
He gently kissed my lips. “I will,” he whispered.
For some strange reason, I could not say the words I love you, but I knew I did. This was the only way to show him. His fangs dug deep into my neck. I felt a sharp pain and my body tensed up. He began to moan in ecstasy, bringing my body to flames. I felt vulnerable. I wanted him…all of him.
He licked my neck closing the wounds he had made. He then gazed at me, caressing my face again, his mouth and chin stained by my blood. A normal person would have been frightened, but I was not. All I could think of was how much I loved him, and how much more I wanted to kiss him.
He sat up on his knees and slowly took off my boots and my socks. His strong fingers massaged my feet, he then licked and sucked on my toes with pleasure in his eyes. I tensed up, it tickled and felt exhilarating. He bit and sucked my blood, between my toes, healing me seconds after.
“I love your small feet,” he said, rubbing them, and staring intently at me with devouring eyes.
I couldn’t help but giggle.
He took off his boots and slowly removed his shirt. His bare chest glistened in the light. He was beautiful and chiseled to perfection.
“You are beautiful, Guardian,” I said and smiled.
“I will be a gentleman tonight and behave myself.”
“You don't have to,” I whispered.
“It's been a long time for me...being with a human.”
“I understand,” I said, sitting up on the bed. “We can take our time.”
I desired him more than any man in my entire life, but I knew I had to take it slow.
“Let's rest...my love,” he said, turning me around.
He put me into a spoon position and held me, moving my hair to the side. He smelled my neck and kissed it, whispering sweet French words into my ear.
“This is where I belong...mon bel amour (my beautiful love). Sleep—we need to wake soon,” he whispered.
I fell asleep to the sound of him breathing next to me.
Chapter 10
Green with Envy
The large snowflakes glistened on my brother's face. “Aren't these the biggest you have ever seen?” he said.
He stuck his tongue out as far as it could go, tasting the droplets of ice. My brother knew how to bring the child out of me. I mimicked him, watching a solitary snowflake land on the tip of my tongue. Its design was shaped like diamond eyes.
Snow covered the roots and the branches of the trees, making Central Park a winter wonderland. The short hills resembled white sandy dunes, and our feet left footprints that were six inches deep in them.
“You don't think there are any rats here tonight?” Christian asked.
“I doubt it,” I said, rolling a tight snowball and watching my brother walk a few feet ahead of me.
“Yeah, I don't think they like the cold,” he whimpered, staring at the ground with fear.
“What are you talking about? You make no sense...rats can live anywhere,” I groused.
“They prefer the summertime—that's all I am saying,” he grumbled.
“And so, do homeless people...Einstein,” I said.
Christian turned around and glared at me. I nailed the snowball directly on his face.
“Oh, you just started a war,” he scoffed, shaking the snow off his face and grabbing snow from the ground to create a ball.
“Make sure you don't grab a rat—instead,” I said with a laugh.
I frantically grabbed more snow, but Christian aimed his snowball at my head. I turned. It landed hard on my neck, crumbling into my white puffy coat.
“Ah, that's cold,” I whimpered.
I packed a snowball tightly and propelled it as hard as a baseball. Christian turned. The snowball hit his buttocks as he jumped up.
“Come on that stings,” he whined, brushing the snow off his black North Face jacket and cargo pants with his long fingers in leather gloves.
I was laughing until cold snow exploded into my mouth and blinded me. I spit the snow out, rubbing my eyes with my white insulated gloves. My brother was hysterical laughing on the ground.
“You're going to get it,” I growled.
He saw my angry face and hid behind a hill. “Be fair...this is my side. Let's see who has better aim,” he said with hysterical laughter.
I heard a crackling sound coming from my left side. The white sandy dunes were moving fast, resembling waves, and creating a ripple toward us. A large dragon head with diamond eyes peeked out of the ground.
“Get out from there,” I yelled at Christian.
He stood up on top of the hill, glancing to his right, and holding a snowball in his left hand. The ground disappeared from under him and then from under my feet. I gulped freezing water into my mouth. I pushed air out of my nose, coming up to the surface of the icy water.
We were in an ocean covered in white snow. The trees surrounding us fell and crashed into the white water, creating more waves. The current was strong, pushing me farther away from Christian. I swam as fast as I could to him.
“Skye,” he screamed, swimming toward me and removing his gloves. Our hands touched, and he grabbed my waist with his right arm. “We need to get out of here,” he said.
I saw a vision of what was coming...a Leviathan. The large sea monster swam underneath us, watching us tread water. His diamond eyes had become like rays of the sun. The folds of his flesh were tightly joined and were covered in diamonds. His back had rows of shields that were sealed together and ended with a sharply pointed tail. His mouth opened—revealing sharp, fearsome teeth...ready to attack.
“We need to move now,” I screamed, pulling Christian and swimming away from the monster.
We could see the rays of his eyes piercing underneath the water. He was taunting us. His long graceful form was swimming circles around us—like an enormous snake underwater.
The Leviathan lashed out of the water in front of us. Smoke poured from his nostrils. His large jaw opened, and his long tongue wrapped around my brother’s chest. I held on tightly to Christian's arms, pulling him. His mouth parted, and his face tightened in fear as he tried to kick his way out of the monster's hold.
“Skye, don't let go!” Christian yelled, gripping his fingers to my arms.
“I won't!” I suddenly felt warm then burning hot.
The water around us was beginning to boil, and there was no more snow, but a dark ocean. My brother's fingers slowly slipped out of my hands.
“No!” I cried out in terror.
Christian's arms were stretching toward me. The Leviathan was taking him away into the darkness.
“Christian,” I screamed, swimming after him as hard as I could.
“Skye,” Christian called out, repeatedly, until I could hear him no more, surrounded by darkness.
“Help me!” I yelled in agony, wishing Zachary could hear me.
The ground slowly came back, and the trees were as they were before. I sat on the cold ground, staring into the darkness of Central Park with despair, wondering where my brother could be.
“Skye,” I heard a man's voice and felt a light touch on my shoulder.
I propped up, trying to catch my breath, staring at the wooden pointed arches, on the high ceiling. The smell of the citrus oil surrounding the room brought me back to reality.
“It's okay Skye. It was just a dream,” Zachary said. “You kept calling out Christian's name. I didn't want to wake you, but then you called out mine.”
I stared into his mesmerizing aqua eyes—happy it was a dream. “I could never lose my brother” I muttered.
The feeling of sadness was left in my heart from the nightmare. “I must be wary of this war in order to have dreamt of something so horrific,” I said in a low voice, slightly turning my head and rubbing my forehead.
“What happened in the dream?”
“A large sea creature took my brother, but the dream made no sense. We were in Central Park and it was snowing. The ground became the ocean—it felt so real.”
“Let's try to make this a vacation for you. No training, just relaxing,” he said and kissed my lips delicately.
He fixed his deep-set eyes on mine. The tips of our noses touched. “I will never let anything happen to you,” he breathed.
“I know,” I sighed, gazing into his eyes.
I grasped the back of his long hair and fervently kissed his sweet lips. He positioned himself between my legs and held me tight. His strong fingers caressed my arms and then my thighs. His seductive lips grazed my jawline and the side of my neck, leading close to my breasts. We both breathed heavily as my fingers dug deep into his back. “I want you,” I whispered.
Zachary smiled at me. I need to go and get ready. It's almost time for dinner and we can't be late,” he said.
“Right,” I said with disappointment, rolling my eyes.
“We will continue this later,” he said, and tap kissed my lips. “Don't forget to open the boxes. I would like you to wear them tonight.”
“I will,” I said.
He sat up and moved to the edge of the bed, putting on his shirt. He slipped his feet into the boots that were on the floor. “I will meet you in the drawing room when you are ready.”
“I will see you later,” I said.
He smiled wickedly at me like he does when he knows he has teased me, and he softly closed the door behind him.
I dragged my feet into the bathroom, still in a daze from the dream. It was a sexy room, painted red, and it had a black clawfoot bathtub with a unique wall mount sink, shaped like a dragon. I splashed cold water on my face, waking myself up. I then turned the bathtub water on and poured in bubble bath soap that was on one of the shelves. I wanted to wash all my stress and worries off me.
There was a white robe that hung behind the bathroom door. I placed it on an iron chair, next to the bathtub. It was made from the softest cotton I had ever felt. I climbed into the tub, letting the hot water relax every inch of me. The bubbles had an intoxicating lavender and vanilla scent, making my senses tranquil.
“Mmm, serenity,” I moaned, touching the bubbles.
Time—I wish I had more of it dinner was in an hour. The water had become tepid, and the bubbles had disappeared. My fingers and toes were pruney, but the bath had calmed me. I thought about this war and how many warriors and innocent people have died because of Margaret's infidelity—especially my parents. Would she have still done it, if she could have foreseen the future?
Fernan told me about Aaron's powers the first night we stayed in the New York mansion. It put fear into the depth of my soul. Aaron can pick up memories from anyone near him and transfer them into others, making them think they are the same person. They see everything, they smell, they hear, and they feel everything from them. Just for those few moments, a person can fall 100 feet in the air, get stabbed, shot in the chest, burned and much more. Within those seconds, Aaron decapitates his victims, or worse captures them, then tortures them in the most horrific way, picking up new memories to use.
Fernan tried to reduce my fear by telling me I was stronger than Aaron and that I could defeat him. Seeing visions of danger for my entire life can help me overcome his memories. Since I am used to seeing the present and the future together without it affecting my actions or senses, I hope to get close enough to kill him, and that is what I plan to do, once my brother finds him.
I put on the fluffy robe that was too large and walked to the gold round table in the bedroom. I sat down on the loveseat—thinking of Zachary's kisses and his touch. My cheesy smile would not leave my face as I opened the blue box. Inside was a long, black strapless dress, covered in lace. I held it up in front of me. The sexy slit on the right side would reveal my inner thigh. I slipped into the tailored dress, zippering it closed from the right side. It fit tight, giving me an hourglass shape.
“Unbelievable” I sighed, staring at my reflection on the full-length mirror that leaned against the wall. I wasn't used to wearing dresses and this was the prettiest dress I had ever worn.
I opened the white box. “Black, lace stiletto heels,” I said.
