He paused for a second, staying still. Then I felt him lean in, lingering contemplatively, his mouth close to the top of my neck. His breath tickled my skin and I got goose bumps. “My anger was not directed at you, Lai,” he said softly.
I was hoping for a bit more, but … Lai. Lailah. It hit me fast and hard. That was who he had known me as.
That had been my name. My first name. The only name. How had I forgotten it?
My eyes widened in recognition and began to fill, threatening to spill over. Everything about that name felt warm and inviting; happy. I had to catch my breath—I felt like I had been kicked in the stomach.
He moved his arm around my back and took my hand in his own, sliding his fingers in between mine, and squeezed. “Not yet,” he repeated. His words washed over me like a wave breaking gently onto the shore, cleansing any debris and rendering it innocent once more.
He released my hand and I found my feet, twisting to face him. I strained my neck to explore his expression. He stood tall and I was average height, some five inches shorter. I simply nodded in acceptance. There were no words. I stepped back into the car.
I buckled myself in, and this time Gabriel retreated to the passenger seat next to Jonah. I slammed the door shut.
“That was some good hurling, Cessie! I’ll try to make the rest of the journey a little less bumpy.” Jonah winked at me in the rearview mirror, reminding me again that he could see my every expression. So I exchanged the bewildered look for a chirpy smile and a halfhearted laugh; it was the best I could muster.
The rest of the journey went quickly. I sat tentatively letting go of any thoughts for a while, simply observing the scenery as we sped past the traffic, eventually turning off the highway at an exit marked BEACONSFIELD. We moved across the roundabout, passing a sign stamped HEDGERLEY. It was quite a contrast when soon we were accelerating down a twisting country road, passing an old-fashioned white pub and cute terraced cottages with picket fences.
A lot of the buildings were clustered together; even the bigger detached properties were but a stone’s throw away from the next. We zipped by them, until there was nothing on either side but woodlands. Jonah finally turned left and drove up a ridiculously long gated driveway, taking several minutes to reach the front of the house. It was spectacular.
The property was incredibly old, with beautiful traditional features. The front door itself was styled like an old church entrance and made from dark, sturdy oak; very grand indeed. There were several garages to the left-hand side and I counted seven windows on the face of the ground floor alone.
The engine cut and within a moment Jonah had opened my door and was extending his hand to help me out.
“This place is huge,” I mumbled, overwhelmed, taking his hand and stepping out of the Range Rover. “Is this really yours?” I asked Gabriel in disbelief.
Gabriel stepped next to me, placing his hand affectionately on my back, and said, “Yes, and now yours.”
We made our way inside. I followed Jonah’s lead as he opened the door, walking into the huge hallway that extended maybe thirty feet ahead; solid hardwood ran throughout. I pushed my hair behind my ears nervously as I stepped inside, slowly absorbing it all.
“Oh, good, you’re back, love!” a sweet voice chirped from the room at the far end of the hallway. She flashed toward us and I shifted uncomfortably. A Vampire. Of course. I knew they would be here, but it was still strange to see.
She swept past me as if I didn’t exist and moved into a lingering hug with Gabriel, kissing him softly on the cheek. I couldn’t help but furrow my brow, a surge of jealousy racing through me.
I looked to Jonah on my right, who rolled his eyes in reply. “Hanora, this is Cessie.” Jonah forced the introduction.
She didn’t move right away, but Gabriel took her arms from around his shoulders and turned her to face me. She was immaculate. Standing tall and slender at an easy five feet eight inches, her long dark brown hair cascaded in loose waves past her shoulders. Her eyes were a bright green with flecks of yellow, her skin was white as snow, and her face was perfectly symmetrical. She couldn’t have been more than twenty in human years, but she made me feel like a disheveled child by comparison.
She eyed me, judging, instantly turning her pretty button nose up. “Nice to meet you, Cessie,” she said with a smooth Irish accent. With a crooked smile, she extended a hand for me to shake.
I took it politely and returned the smile with a sarcastic one of my own. “It’s Francesca, actually.”
Our hands parted and Jonah coughed a little awkwardly.
“Jonah, why don’t you give Cessie a tour of the grounds?” Gabriel asked.
I felt immediately rejected.
“Come on, we can start with the gardens out back,” Jonah agreed, eagerly whisking me off down the hallway through an oversized eat-in kitchen and through a back door. It occurred to me that the kitchen was a pretty redundant room in this house.
“He wanted me out of the way,” I huffed to Jonah as I bumbled over the decking and past the outside seating area covered with a canopy. My mind was in overdrive once again. I was expecting Vampires, but I wasn’t prepared for a beautiful Irish one to drape herself all over Gabriel as soon as we walked in the door.
My annoyance receded briefly as I saw, outstretched in front of us, a beautiful woodland. Behind it, fields upon fields were tucked up in an icy blanket with a film of fog brewing on top. An idyllic setting, totally secluded.
“Wow,” I mumbled.
“Twenty acres roughly,” he said, answering the question I hadn’t yet asked.
“Beautiful.”
“Secure and well equipped. There are cameras everywhere and we know this village like the back of our hands, not to mention the booby traps,” he returned. “Are you all right for a little exploration?” he quizzed, nodding in the direction of my shoulder.
I didn’t answer as I began strolling down the slate path. “What’s Gabriel doing?” I said, gazing toward the back door.
“Sorting some stuff out,” Jonah answered. I rolled my eyes at him, knowing he was purposely withholding details. “Fine. He’s holding a mini-briefing.”
“With who and about what?” I inquired, shivering a little in the chill.
“With everyone who lives here. Letting them know you’ll be staying and laying down the ground rules, I’d imagine,” he replied. I slowed and he said, “You know, no drinking the girl and all that.”