Chapter 12

CHAPTER TWELVE

R osa's feet were frozen by the time she left the kitchen and made it back to the cottage. The snow always came early at Gwaed Lyn, but this year had been unusually cold. She hadn't had a winter in the country for as long as she could remember and was looking forward to the snow. She lit the lounge room fire before heading upstairs.

Her muscles protested as she twisted her hair up and clipped it before climbing into the shower. She was hurting from hitting the ground after she was bucked off, but thanks to Balthasar, she couldn't see any heavy bruising.

Balthasar . Maybe she should take Eli up on his offer and leave Gwaed Lyn after the Gathering. You are too old to be getting dreamy over some guy because he rescued you all gallantly and he makes suits look pornographic. He's violent and damaged and not for you. You don't do complicated, and he's a Rubik's cube of complicated.

She was rinsing off soap when she heard the door shut downstairs. You probably didn't close it firmly enough when you came in . Eli said she was safe in Gwaed Lyn. But from what enemies? Pearl was off in London, so that threat was neutralized for the moment. Rosa turned the shower off, dried herself quickly, and put on a robe before heading downstairs.

"What the hell is going on in here?" she demanded. Her entire lounge room had been rearranged, and an easel, canvas, and paints had been set up. The chaise lounge had been placed in front of the fireplace with a mirror positioned on the hallway table in front of it. Balthasar appeared next to the stairs, his coat over the back of a chair and his sleeves rolled up to reveal strong brown forearms.

"You said Rubens, so Venus at a Mirror ," he gestured with the half-filled wine glass in his hand.

"I was joking!" she squeaked.

"I wasn't. I haven't had a new person to paint in years."

"But...I am not getting naked in front of you!"

"You were the one that said Rubens, not I," Balthasar said innocently, though his eyes were filled with mischief. "You're lucky I didn't choose Hermit and the Sleeping Angelica ."

"You are lucky if I don't throw you out of my house for being an inappropriate creeper."

"I don't know if I should be offended by that or not. I'm a professional artist as your own snooping should have verified. I swear your modesty will remain intact. You will be facing the fire so that I won't see a thing besides your back," he assured.

She took his wine and drank it. "Damn you. I'll do it, but only because I have always wanted a baroque portrait of myself."

"If you like, I can answer any questions about my long life or any of the Wylts that you wish. Will that ease your mind?" Balthasar said.

"Question one: How do you think Eli would feel about this? Doesn't he have rules about the Wylts?"

"Answer one: Eli is not here, and I'm painting a portrait of you as a gift. I'm not feeding off you or seducing you, so he'd be fine with it. Satisfied?"

Rosa walked down into the lounge room and poured herself some more wine. "I suppose. It's not like he is here to find out."

"Now that it's settled, do I have your permission to arrange you?"

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to regret this?" she asked as she moved to sit on the chaise lounge. "I know this body of mine is built for child rearing, but you had better paint me in some damn flattering light."

"Child rearing?" Balthasar turned her shoulders to better face the mirror. "I don't know what perfidious person told you this lie, but name them, and I shall have them killed immediately."

"Have you got a pen? There's quite a list," Rosa laughed, wondering if he was serious.

"Well, allow me to set the record straight," he said as he stepped back to his canvas and then moved the mirror once more. "Your body is built for seduction, not child rearing. Anyone who says otherwise should have their eyes removed and their tongue torn out."

"I never know if you are joking, and it drives me crazy," Rosa replied as she tried not to blush.

"I never joke about beautiful women or eye gouging," he said as he moved her shoulders once more. "Now, I need you to remain very still so that modesty of yours is protected as I arrange your robe. Do you permit me?"

He was so cool and professional, almost in the manner of a doctor that Rosa found herself nodding. He eased the robe slowly off her shoulders, letting it pool around her hips. In the reflection of the mirror, she watched his frown of concentration deepen as he unclipped her long hair and arranged it. Rosa stilled as his fingers drifted through it and on the soft skin of her back.

Breathe Rosa .

"Now, I need you looking in the mirror towards me so that I can get your reflection right," he said as he stepped backward and went to stand near the canvas. Rosa saw him run his hands through his dark hair irritably before he drank some of her neglected wine.

"Are you always this fidgety before you paint?" she asked innocently.

"It's my process. Don't move."

"I'm not moving," Rosa promised, fighting the urge to laugh at the strangeness of the moment. "And to think a week ago, I was intent on hating you."

"You said as much when you were drunk. You also called me Bertha, but I didn't take it personally," he replied as he started mixing paints.

"That sounds like me. In my defense, if Eli had told me that the Wylts were descendants of his queen and he was trying to watch out for us, then I probably wouldn't have taken it all so personally."

"I did try to tell him that you were far too clever not to work it out." From the reflection, she watched him begin putting paint to canvas with remarkable speed.

"How long have you been painting for?" Rosa asked, wanting to take the conversation away from her drunken rants.

"Since the fifteenth century," Balthasar answered. "I was taught in Florence before I threw my painting career away to become the leader of a street gang. I had my heart set on becoming a pirate. I just needed to raise enough money for a boat."

"I could see you as a pirate. This is before you were turned by Eli?"

"Yes. He was living as an advisor of sorts to the Medici and learned of one of Cosimo's unknown bastard sons living on the streets. He claimed afterward that he could smell the Medici blood in me if you can believe that. I have a theory he was hunting me and instead became attached to my charming antics."

"Charming antics? You are capable of those?" she asked innocently.

"I set up a painting studio in your lounge room when you were in the shower. I believe that classifies as a charming antic."

"If you say so," Rosa said. "Eli found you and decided to turn you? Just like that?"

"The night I met Eli, I had been ambushed and stabbed four times. He picked me up in the street and gave me a new life. After that, I was introduced to Lily, and we were a family."

"How do Saul and Pearl fit in? During our drinking session, Saul told me he was in the Russian court."

"Saul was turned in the 1850s while Eli was a guest at the court of Alexander II. I had left Eli at this stage, and I was fighting in the Crimean War. I don't believe Eli saw Saul as a replacement for me. Lily is the eldest, and she took over my responsibilities. Saul was young, charming, and good-natured. A lover, not a fighter, the complete opposite of me."

"He has a sunny personality for a Russian. He doesn't even have an accent anymore."

"They left Russia not long after he was turned, and time took care of the accent."

"So what about Pearl?"

"Lily met Pearl during the Blitz and fell in love with her. I had met up with my brother and sister in London before going to fight in France. Pearl was a singer at a club that we liked. Lily was smitten. Pearl was badly treated by her husband and perhaps like attracted like. I find her barely tolerable at the best of times. She is spoiled, quick-tempered, passionate, and base. When Eli refused to turn her, Lily did it herself. I thought that Eli would have killed her rather than let even his diluted blood pass down to her, but he didn't raise a finger against her. I think he felt guilty or that he owed my sister something. She was his firstborn, but he chose me as his heir."

"I bet she took that well."

"She accepted that she didn't have the capacity to rule alone. She has always followed Eli's decisions except when it comes to Pearl."

"I have heard that love does strange things to a person."

"Love is like fire—life giving or utterly destructive," Balthasar said sharply. He was frowning angrily at the canvas.

"Can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer it if you don't want to." Rosa bit her lip, wondering if she should be so bold. "But did you ever find out what happened to Jane?"

Balthasar stopped painting and straightened his shoulders. "No, I didn't. I left Gwaed Lyn believing it to have been Eli's doing. He has always wanted me focused, and with Jane, I was recklessly in love. You would know from the letters we didn't stand on many grounds of propriety or formality. After her death, I was away from Eli for over a hundred years, and to this day, he claims he had nothing to do with it. Despite my suspicions, I have never found out what happened to Jane. It could've just been an accident after all."

"I'm sorry," Rosa said, a sad ache spreading through her.

"Thank you. It was a long time ago now, and while I cherish the memories, I can't wade too deeply in them anymore. When you become as old as I am, you have to be careful not to get buried in the past."

"Do you ever become tired of living?"

"Sometimes, but a few years back out in the world will generally set me straight. Humanity is in a constant state of flux. The changes in the last century alone are mind-boggling. I never thought I wouldn't have to hunt, but blood donations ensure that no human has to be hurt, and our existence, if we are careful, can remain hidden from the world. Now is the perfect time to be Unseelie or one of the Gwaed Gam. That is why the Gathering is so important."

"Eli said to ask you what it actually is. It isn't only a Winter Solstice party, is it?"

"No," Balthasar said, looking around the canvas at her. "It is hopefully going to be a peace treaty between the Gwaed Gam and the Seelie Court. Eli has been trying to make it a reality for the past fifty years. At first, the clans in Albion wanted nothing to do with it. We've convinced them, but they're like squabbling cats. It's going to be the first time Ryn's people and Eli's will be meeting off a battlefield. That is where I have been going every night, to check on the faerie ring. It's a touching point between our world and theirs. It's growing powerful every day, so that the night of the Solstice, they will be able to cross over into our world. They'll come here and meet with us, and with any luck, it won't end up being a blood bath."

"That makes a lot more sense than what the current gossip is," she said, her heart pounding with relief.

"What gossip?"

"The rumor is that you are meeting a lover in the forest."

Balthasar pulled a face. "I'm surprised they would think I have the time for something like that."

"I know, because a great faerie party is so much more believable," Rosa said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes at him.

"The truth should terrify them. They are the most beautiful, cruel creatures that you will ever imagine. Eli wanted you to be back in the safety of Gwaed Lyn so that you will be protected from any Gwaed Gam wanting to disrupt the treaty, but I'm more concerned about the Seelie."

"Don't worry. My head is not so easily turned by a pretty face. You should know this by now." Stop trying to flirt with him, Rosa. You are sitting in front of him, stark naked right now, and he hasn't even batted an eyelid.

"Saul is the pretty-faced one, and you are not so unsusceptible to his charms if drinking in the cellar is anything to go by," he replied coolly.

"I only did that because I was upset, and I wanted to annoy you," Rosa admitted.

Balthasar caught her eye in the mirror, and heat flared up her spine. "I wanted to throw him through the cellar wall. It takes a lot to annoy someone as old as me, but congratulations, Miss Wylt… You succeeded."

"It's a special gift of mine."

"One of many, I imagine," he said before clearing his throat. "What did I say about moving?"

"I haven't budged! I don't think I have ever stayed so...still," Rosa managed.

He was standing behind her, and she hadn't heard him move. He lightly touched her bare shoulders, guiding them back into place.

"Why did Saul drinking with me annoy you so much?" she asked, trying desperately not to think of his hands on her.

"Because you are clever, kind, and beautiful, and you deserve more than being another of his doomed conquests," he admitted, his hands shaking as he fixed her hair where he wanted it.

For once in your life be brave, Rosa .

"Saul is not my favorite Vane," she whispered, and his hand stilled. Her breath caught in her throat as he ran his fingers along her neck.

"Rosa, we can't..." Balthasar said, his fingers moving down her shoulder despite his words.

"Because I'm a Wylt?"

"It's one of Eli's only rules...and..."

"I'm sorry. Forget I implied... I misread..." Rosa cringed.

"No, you didn't misread anything. It's not you at all. It's just too dangerous."

"I'm not afraid of what you are," she said, looking over her shoulder at him.

" You are the one that is dangerous," he interrupted. "You are a distraction and would be a weakness, something they could use against me should the treaty go poorly. I won't risk your life like that." He kissed her bare shoulder before he lifted her robe back up. "I'm sorry."

Before she could reply, he was gone, the door closing firmly behind him.

"You idiot, Rosa," she muttered as she stared at the fire, wondering how she would face him again.

Eventually, she got the courage and went to look at her painting. He worked so quickly that to her untrained eye, it looked near completion. There was a gleam in her eye that she didn't fully recognize. She'd been looking at him with open passion and desire.

A sharp pain pierced her chest, growing stronger the more she stared at the portrait. He would have known she wanted him, heard it in her heartbeat every time he was near her. You silly, naive girl . How ridiculously good you are at lying to yourself about your own feelings . She drank his wine, her shoulder burning where he had kissed her.

Tears pricked at her eyes, and she hastily blinked them away. "Get it together, Rosa. He's only a guy."

She looked at the painting a moment longer before switching off the hallway light.

Outside, someone knocked on her door. Putting down the glass, she tightened her robe around her and opened it.

Snow stuck to Balthasar's hair and on the shoulders of his coat. His dark eyes filled with unexpressed emotion, and she looked away under their intensity.

"I'm not angry, Balthasar, so don't think you have to come and apologize," she said quietly, fiddling with the tie of her robe. "I'm not offended that you aren't interes?—"

She didn't have a chance to finish as he grabbed her around the waist, pulling her up to kiss her violently before releasing her just as quickly.

"You don't understand, Rosa," he whispered breathlessly, his eyes filled with fear. "From the moment I saw you step out of the car at Gwaed Lyn, I have craved to be with you. If I let it, this fire will burn me up completely. I can't allow it, not now, not again."

Rosa gripped the collar of his coat, bringing him back to her mouth before he could back away from her. Strong arms lifted her, pushing her up against the wall. Her legs wrapped tightly around him as his hand shot out, slamming the door shut against the world.

Her hands pulled at his coat, letting it fall to the ground in a heap. She gasped as his mouth found her shoulder before moving back up her neck.

"What about Eli's rules?" she asked between kisses.

"Eli's rules can go to hell," he said as her hands pushed through his hair.

With his impossible strength, he carried her up the stairs to her bedroom. His shirt buttons tore as she fought at the fabric that separated them. He placed her down on the bed gently, smoothing her hair back from her face as he kissed her slowly, testing the softness of her lips. Blood pounded in her ears as his hand ran under the edge of her robe and along her thigh. Tentatively, she moved her hands down the scars on his torso, admiring the feel of the hard muscles underneath. He moved to kiss her collarbone and chest, his hand resting on her hip.

"May I?" he asked as he gripped the tie to her gown. She nodded, too nervous to move as he unwrapped her slowly as if to savor the moment. His face was smug as he looked down the shape of her body. "What did I tell you? Made for seduction."

Rosa's relieved laugh was smothered as his mouth found the curve of her breast. Her hands gripped his bare shoulders tightly as he lifted her up onto his lap. Rosa touched his face, running her fingers along his cheekbones and kissing them as she had longed to do. She had dreamed of this moment, the reality outweighing anything she could have imagined.

"You are so lovely when that mask is down," she whispered, kissing his temple.

"I'll leave it down, but only for you." Balthasar smiled, sweet and genuine as he twisted his fingers in her hair. The tender moment passed, and Rosa was kissing him again, pulling him down to her in a driving hunger to have his weight resting on top of her, inside her. He met her demanding hands as she relieved him of the rest of his clothes. He smoothed the hair from her face.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked, the confidence he always exuded abandoning him.

She kissed him roughly. "You know that it is. You can hear it in my pulse, the tremor in my voice... You painted it in my eyes."

"Yes, but I must ask," he said, his hand moved to grip her hip tightly. She brushed her fingers down his spine.

"You don't have to question my motivations. I want you like I haven't wanted anything else in my whole life," Rosa said as her legs wrapped around him, bringing him down on top of her. Balthasar didn't ask her again but covered her face and mouth with soft kisses.

She cried out as he entered her, moving steadily as she held onto him. His eyes pinned her with a look of passion that mirrored her own. It wasn't just his masculine beauty that she was drawn to, but his complicated heart and mind, his words and art behind all of his physicality, that sent pleasure coursing through her. She felt possessive of him, wanting to hold onto the stolen moment forever.

Rosa let her herself go in a heat of yearning and lust until they were both gasping, tangled in neglected clothes and sheets.

"There is something I want to know," Rosa said an hour later. She lay with her back to him, his warm body beside her.

He propped his head up with his free hand, "Ask it."

"Why didn't you bite me?"

"I'm sure I did a few times," he said, nibbling on her shoulder.

"That's not what I meant, and you know it." She rolled onto her back so she could look up at him.

"When we feed, it's not only blood that we are taking. Have you heard the saying of 'there is memory in the blood'? Well, it's true. When we take it, we see people's memories and feel their emotions as if they're our own. If I were to take your blood, I would know everything about you in a moment, everything you have done and felt." He stroked her cheek. "I would rather do it the old-fashioned way and try to unravel the mystery that is Rosa Wylt."

"If you ever figure her out, please let me know," she said seriously.

"I have to warn you," he said, making her shiver involuntarily as his hand moved down between her legs and stroked her, "it may take a while."