“I just don’t understand why it has to be this way Davin. What could possibly happen to us if we made our own decision to be what we were destined to be? You guys may have laws, but I am not a vampire; I don’t have to follow your rules.”
“Sully would die, Adelay. We knew this would be the outcome if you chose to save him. I don’t have the answers as to why it works like this; I just know that it’s the way it must be. You willingly shared your blood with him. You bound yourself to him by that. I love you both and couldn’t bear if I lost either one of you; so if this is what it takes to keep you both here then I’ll have to accept it no matter how much it kills me inside.”
My heart ached knowing this was the end of the road. He had confirmed there was no more hope or chance at saving us or changing the fate the vampire law had bestowed on us. I was saying goodbye forever to a love I would never find again. He dropped his hands from my waist, pushing back from me so that he could stand to his feet.
He fumbled in his pocket before pulling something out in his closed fist. “I love you Adelay, and no matter what happens from here on out I don’t want you to ever forget that.” He opened his hand, revealing a huge oval ruby sparkling brightly underneath the bathroom lights.
He plucked it out of the palm of his hand and held it up in front of me to display the true magnificence it possessed. It was set on a polished gold band with small chunks of diamonds surrounding it. I knew exactly where it came from. It was the ring from Rouge Amour that had captured my attention the first day we spent together. I also remembered it was a fifty-thousand-dollar ring. He grabbed my right hand, carefully slipping the ring onto my ring finger.
I held my hand out flat, eyeing the lavish stone. “They say rubies can see into the soul of your beloved.”
My remembrance of the lore he had told me at the gallery caused him to pause, looking at me with a sultry smile, impressed that I remembered. The first one I’d seen on him today. It was refreshing but it didn’t last very long.
“Anytime you feel alone I want you to see this and remember that I am always near. No matter where we are in time, I’m still with you, and I’m still loving you.” He cupped my chin in his hand, running his thumb across my bottom lip, and placed his other hand in the small of my back, producing instant goosebumps from the chill his skin constantly generated; before tilting my chin towards his full lips, and softly placing them on mine.
I closed my eyes, breathing him in one final time, one final occasion to feel the passion he ignited within me every time we kissed. Our bittersweet goodbye.
Everything with him felt too right to be wrong. I wasn’t ever going to accept this was our fate. I would find a way to get things back to normal even if it killed me -again-. Both of his hands wrapped around the back of my head, holding it firmly in his strong grasp to keep me pulled in close while he kissed me; and then, as though a switch went off in his head, he drew back instantly, turning cold and erasing any emotion from his face.
“This will only make it harder Adelay. I can’t hurt either of us anymore than I already have.” I knew he was doing what he felt necessary by shielding his weakness to me, but it didn’t soften the blow any. “My father has requested a meeting right now.”
“With me?”
“We are all to be present, but it’s concerning you. He’s waiting downstairs in the kitchen.”
With that, said he turned and walked away, keeping his head hung to the ground. I stood there in utter amazement that he really just turned his back on me, without even escorting me downstairs to the rest of the vampire clan like he had always done before. Maybe our courtship had ended, but common courtesy wasn’t frowned upon. My shoulders slumped a little as I heaved out a heavy breath and trailed behind his shadow that had already disappeared down the dark hallway.
All three of the Ashford men were already in the kitchen, awaiting my arrival. Davin and Sully sat in complete silence, opposite each other at the oversized dining room table, while Eli filled the teacups that were previously set on matching saucers with a small teaspoon placed beside each one. He sat down at the head of the table, allowing him to have one of his boys on either side of him. I wasn’t sure where I fit in in this seating equation but given the way Davin exited the bathroom as though I didn’t exist anymore, I assumed next to him wasn’t the way to go.
Swallowing nervously, I looked helplessly at Sully who happened to be watching me stand in the doorway, looking lost. Immediately he stood up, respectfully pulling a seat out next to him for me take. Davin glanced at him with jealousy in his eyes but looked away quickly after. One point for Sully, zero for Davin. I welcomed his gesture with a smile of relief. He winked at me.
Eli laced his slender fingers together, clearing his throat before announcing why he had summoned us all down here together. His eyes were fixated solely on me. “How are you recovering from your injuries
