The Vampire Pirate's Daughter (23 page)

Unexpectedly, I feel his lips on mine.
Instantaneously I have a deep yearning ache in the pit of my
stomach. He moves his lips against mine and I feel a traitorous
tear escape from under my eyelid. He moves his arms in under my
shoulders and he lifts me up to him, effortlessly. My arms move
around his neck by the power of their own will. When our tongues
touch, he groans deeply. He holds me tighter to him and I am not
sure if the feeling of breathlessness is because he is constricting
my lungs or from his kiss. He kisses me with unrelenting
determination and I am not sure when one kiss ends and the next one
starts. While his one arm remains around my shoulders, I feel his
other hand trail down my back and then this human body betrays me
by sprouting goose bumps when his hand touches my bare skin. He
brings his hand up my back, tracing his fingers over my skin
softly. I feel his lips smile, even as he continues kissing me when
his fingers move over the bumps erupting over my body. I feel the
warmth spread through my body from my toes upwards, turning me into
pliable clay in his hands. I moan softly, when his hand rests
between my shoulder blades and I feel his other hand move with
purpose across my waist. He cups the swell of my breast softly and
then his thumb rests against the golden heart Andrew gave me so
long ago, which I still wore daily.

He pulls away from me slowly and he lets me
lie back against the couch again. Looking into my eyes
thoughtfully, I shiver when his fingers brush along my neck and he
lifts the gold chain from my skin. Slowly, deliberately he pulls
the chain out from under my shirt. I see the pain in his eyes when
he sees the gold heart with my name engraved on it and turning it
over, seeing Andrew’s name on the other side.

He scowls down at me and I dread his next
words, I know they will be accusing and hurtful.

William comes running into the room. “Mommy,
Mommy, come look. It’s snowing.”

William saves me from another humiliating
attack and abruptly Callum stands up from the couch.

Callum smiles down at William and then he
picks him up and carries him from the room, saying, “Come Mommy,
let's go look.” I can hear the cynical tone in his voice, and it
rips through me.

I stand a little behind them looking out at
the snow slowly drifting down and I feel sad when I see the way
William has latched himself onto Callum and the way he worshiped
him. Although William grew up with Edward, Justin, Peter, Herman
and Claude, he immediately took to Callum. It hurt me and I felt
that this was what Callum wanted. He wanted to hurt me emotionally.
I really have no choice but to remove William and myself from this
situation. I know it is my house, but I love Callum and I did not
want to alienate him by asking him to leave.

That night I take the necklace from around my
neck and I hold it in my hands for a moment. The talisman Andrew
put around my neck so long ago, did not prevent Callum from
entering my heart.

On New Year’s Eve, the house is buzzing.
Caterers, catering suppliers and flower arrangers fall over each
other’s feet in the hustle and bustle to get everything
organized.

I meet Amanda in the hallway, “Why are you
making such a fuss?”

“Well.” She smiles. “It is like a New Year’s
party and a bon voyage.”

I roll my eyes. “Amanda!”

“Leave me, I am having fun.” She laughs
exuberantly.

“So much for only the few of us?”

“No, I have invited the whole village and the
neighboring village, as well as all the local wine producers.” She
thinks a moment. “I think I invited almost one hundred people.”

I gasp. “What?”

“I am so excited. Oh, and before I forget, it
is a black tie event. Dress appropriately.”

“Amanda! What am I supposed to wear? Last
minute and you tell me, dress appropriately.”

“I have already bought you something. It is
hidden in my cupboard.”

I grimace. “I hope it isn’t
shiny!”

“Not at all. But you have to excuse me now -
lots to do.” She hurries away.

I walk down the passageway and I feel like
going for a walk. William is with Claude and I hear Edward and
Herman in the living room. I want to ask them if one of them would
join me for a walk outside, but their voices are raised and before
I walk into the room, I hear Herman say, “We should have gone with
Callum.”

Confused I wonder what they are talking
about, because I have successfully avoided Callum since Christmas
and I thought he was doing the same. I did not realize he was not
here.

“He left without telling anyone,” Edward
retaliates.

“We could have followed him.”

Edward says solemnly, “Those idiots who
attacked Susie are long gone. He will never find them.”

Herman sounds worried, “His note to Amanda
said he would be back yesterday. Something has happened to
him.”

My heart sinks.

“
No. He will be fine. After what he did for
the Four Judges, Callum will not be overpowered easily. He used to
be savage, now he is just plain merciless.”

Incredulous Herman asks, “He told you
details?”

“Yes. Didn’t he tell you?”

“No. Why would he tell you and not me?” I
hear the disappointment in Herman’s voice. Herman and Callum had
been together far longer than Edward and Callum.

“I have a suspicion he needed to talk and I
was available, but he is embarrassed of the level he had to sink to
and he does not know me as long as he knows the rest of you.
Perhaps he thought you would condemn him, if he told you the
truth.”

I hear Justin’s voice echo toward me and I
jump in my skin, “Hey, what you doing?”

I turn toward him annoyed and I shush him,
but I cannot eavesdrop anymore, because the entire northern
hemisphere knows I have been standing here listening.

I walk past the living room door with Justin
and I glance in. Edward looks at me with an amused smirk across his
face.

That afternoon Amanda brings me a sapphire
blue dress. It is not shiny, but beautiful. It is a ball gown and
it reminds me of the dress my mother is wearing in the portrait
over the fireplace in the living room, except that her dress in the
picture is champagne colored. It has the same style.

“It is beautiful, Amanda.” I hold the dress
up gently, I did not want to ruin it.

“I thought it would match your eyes and it
does perfectly. Tonight we will put your hair up. It will look
nice.”

I rush toward a chest of my most precious
possessions and I scratch through it. I find the first necklace
Francois gave my mother and Amanda exclaims, “That will go
perfectly with the dress.”

“I know, when I saw the dress, I immediately
thought of it.”

I am strangely excited to have a ball in the
ballroom. I have always wanted one.

We get a girl from the village to babysit
William in his room and I worriedly go into his room frequently to
make sure he has everything he needs. The last time I go in, he
tells me stubbornly, “Mommy, I am watching this. Stop ‘boffering’
me.”

I smile and taking a deep breath, I force
myself to relax.

The niggling feeling in my stomach that is
worrying me about Callum who has gone after the two
men
, who attacked me, is
not so easy to get rid of though. Sadly, I consider that he hates
the fact that I am human so much, he has to go out and take
revenge. I force myself not to cry and later when I am dressed, I
hear laughter and talking downstairs.

There is a knock at my door and I open it
expectantly. I smile widely when I see Claude.

He looks handsome in a white shirt,
penguin tails and a black bowtie. He pushes his finger in between
the collar and his neck uncomfortably and I cannot help laughing.
He bows toward me and says politely, “You look very nice,
Susie.”

I curtsy playfully. “Why thank you, my
lord.”

“My lord, I like the sound of that. It makes
me sound important.”

I slide my arm into his and together we walk
down the stairs and toward the ballroom. The entire entrance hall
is decorated with white lilies. The tables groan under the
food.

I have already decided that I am not
eating tonight. I am too scared I drop something and it leaves a
large oily patch on this pretty dress.

I dance, I dance and I dance. Edward, Herman
and Claude rotate continuously. I am exhausted and when Claude bows
in front of me again, I decline laughing.

After
I walk out onto the balcony, I lean against the balustrade
railing. I take a few deep breaths and I wish I could take the
shoes I am wearing off.

Amanda comes out and I laugh when I see her.
“Oh, Amanda, this is so very nice. I love it. I have always
wondered what a ball would feel like in this large room.”

“I am glad you like it.”

She asks worriedly, “Aren’t you hungry? I am
told the food is very good.”

“I am too scared to eat. I will eat
left-over’s tomorrow.”

She pulls her face disgusted and I laugh
loudly.

Claude comes out onto the balcony and he says
poetically, “There you are Susie, the prettiest girl here. My arms
ache to hold you again.”

I laugh. “My body is aching.”

He seems taken aback. “To dance with me?”

“No, sorry – just aching.”

He smirks. “Come, you cannot be tired yet.
You are only twenty-three, a young spring chicken.”

I walk toward him and I reply, “Excuse me, I
would like to inform you of a little fact regarding my true
age.”

He whispers, “Hush, not in public. What will
people think of us?”

He leads me to the dance floor and he pulls
me into his arms. We dance a waltz and when the music fades into
the next song, I say, “I am sorry, Claude, but I really cannot
dance one more step.”

I step away from Claude and I see him nod
toward someone behind me. I turn around smiling, but then the smile
fades from my face when I see Callum standing in front of me.

He is wearing a crisp white shirt and black
pants. The top buttons of the shirt are undone, and the bowtie
hangs loosely around his neck under the collar. His blonde hair is
tied back loosely with a black string behind his head.

Gazing into my eyes, without a word, he folds
his arms around my waist and he takes my hand in his other hand. He
folds his large hand around mine and slowly we move to the music. I
feel light as a feather, the dull ache in my feet miraculously
healed. He pulls me closely to him and I have no choice but to rest
my head against his quiet, strong chest.

He leans down and he whispers in my hair,
close to my ear, “Your heartbeat is thunderous.”

I stiffen and I start to pull away from him,
but he pulls me tightly into him again.

He says softly, “That day when I kissed you
in the vineyard and on Christmas day, your heart sped up so
quickly, I thought I was killing you.”

I feel the heat rise up my neck.

He continues, “I find it all so strange, yet
beautiful.”

When the song is finished, he takes my hand
and he leads me silently from the dance floor. I follow him
willingly out of the ballroom and through the hall, down the
passage and through the kitchen toward the cellar. We walk
wordlessly toward his old reading room at the end of the well-known
passage and when I walk into the room there is, what looks like, a
hundred candles burning.

I ask amused, “Do you want to set the château
on fire, leaving all these candles burning?”

He turns toward me and he silences me by
kissing me. I reach up toward him and I let my arms slide around
his broad shoulders. His arms wind tightly around my waist and he
holds me close to him.

He pulls away slowly. “My red-haired girl,
you look gorgeous tonight.”

I blush embarrassingly. Since I turned human,
my blood likes to rush to places at the most inopportune places,
publicly displaying my inner feelings.

“All those years, all I could ever think of
is you, but when I got back, it felt as if I was left on the
outside of your life. Although at first I was so stunned when I
realized you were human, I realized that the silly things you say
and do, the way you walk, your smile, the way you look at me, the
smell of your skin, nothing else changed. Although you are now
human, you are still the Susanna I love.”

I reach up and tentatively I touch my lips to
his.

He groans and whispers against my lips,
“You make me feel so … I don’t know, but I cannot stop thinking
about you.” He lifts me effortlessly and he almost crushes my
feeble body against his as we kiss.

The candles are burning low and he carries
me toward the couch. I sit down and I notice heather scattered
throughout the room. I look up at him, “Where did you find all this
heather in the middle of winter?”

He sits down next to me, turning to face me.
“On my way back, I bought a truckload.”

“You went after the men who turned me human,
didn’t you?”

He looks shocked, but he replies honestly, “I
did, and I disposed of them swiftly.”

Softly I ask, “Why? Do you hate the fact that
I am human so much?”

Seriously, he replies, “At first I was
raging mad, but then I fell in love with you all over again. So,
the reason I went after them was not only because of what they did
to you, but also to protect our lifestyle. Those two were breaking
the laws of our community.” He looks at me imploringly. “Amanda
says you have decided to remain human.”

I take a deep breath. “Yes, for William. I
have no choice.”

“I hear Andrew had the virus, but he did not
survive the turning. I have heard of it happen before.”