Chapter Eighteen

Of all the stupid things... I met the surface of consciousness with Miranda's voice in my head. Cursing me out, apparently. Okay, maybe I deserved it. Feeding your vampire lover while being wholly underfed and, on the verge— in the middle— of a breakdown, was not my best idea. But it was Charlemagne, so I didn't care. Letting him die had never been an option.

Lids fluttering, I caught sight of her blurry form beside the bed as she fiddled with...something? It took me a second to realize it was an IV stand. I lifted my head slightly to find a needle secured to the crook of my arm. I dropped my head back and shut my eyes before opening them a minute later. "Miranda?" I croaked, starting to push myself up with my free arm. "Where's Charley?"

Miranda made a noise, reaching out a hand to push me back down against the pillows— I was still in his room, hospitals didn't have thread counts like this, but it was just us. "Well." She breathed out. "He still needed more blood. The few bags I managed to get out of the clinic weren't enough so the hot blonde— the other one, I mean— took him downstairs to feed. I needed him to stop hovering so I could take care of you." She pursed her lips into a tight line. "Abby—"

"I know." I sighed, dropping my head back against the pillow. "But I couldn't let him die, Mimi."

She pressed her lips into a tighter line before exhaling. "I get it. I do. But dying to save your boyfriend has got to be the worst trope ever. It's so... circa 2006. We're not killing ourselves for men, Abigail, no matter how hot they are." She tapped her index finger between my eyebrows. "Brave, but next time wait for me to get here with the blood bags."

It was my turn to press my lips into a thin line to keep from smiling. "Fair point." I said, reaching up to grab her hand and squeeze her fingers. "Honestly, I never considered that he'd kill me. He wouldn't. Even when he was like that, starving, I just wasn't afraid."

"Petite sotte." Charlemagne rumbled, appearing in the doorway to his room. He gripped the doorframe, his feverish blue eyes catching mine. Other than the jeans he wore low on his hips and the plain white t-shirt speckled with blood around the collar, he looked like himself again. Thank god. "I could have killed you, Abigail. Do not ever do that again."

I opened my mouth and then shut it again. I was too tired and too relieved to argue. I tilted my shoulders. "Miranda, can I take this out?" I asked, not looking away from Charley's face as I gestured to the IV needle in my arm.

She made a noise. "You lost so much blood, you're dehydrated, and you need to eat—"

"Miranda."

There was a pause. "Let me do it." She said, reaching for my arm.

I glanced up at her with a small, grateful smile and noticed for the first time that the skin of my underarm was smooth. I glanced back at Charlemagne with a small tilt of my brows. His eyes lingered on my face, only briefly shifting to Miranda when she took the needle out, and I winced. "Nick gave you a mouthful of his blood." He said, finally.

Releasing my breath, I nodded to myself. "I'll have to thank him." I mumbled, dropping my arm to look up at my sister. "Thank you." I said, studying her face. "You committed a felony for me, and I won't forget it."

"You better not." Miranda said, leaning down to kiss the top of my head. "I'm gonna head home. Call me later?"

I promised I would, watching her leave the room before shifting my gaze back to Charlemagne. I started to push myself up and he appeared at my side, hands hovering as if to reach for me. "I'm okay." I said softly, tilting my head to look up at him. "Are you?" I asked, searching his face.

Charlemagne dropped his hands and shifted to settle on the edge of the bed, putting a noticeable distance between us. "Seems you've saved my life for the second time." He murmured. "But now, we have a second and equally pressing issue."

"Someone poisoned you."

"Someone wanted me to believe I could kill you." His eyes held mine. "Perhaps, they even would have arranged to have you killed. Perhaps, they still might."

I tilted forward to crawl towards him and sit back on my haunches. "What are we gonna do?"

Charlemagne reached up to brush his thumb along my cheek. "I'm not going to hold you to anything you said when you thought I was dying." He murmured. "In fact, I'd understand if you wanted to be as far away from me as possible. I might even encourage it."

I blinked at him, my heart dipping into my stomach. "What are you even talking about?" I shook my head. "If you don't want me here, just say that." I muttered, starting to climb off his bed.

He grabbed my wrist to tug me to a stop. "I do. I want you here, Abigail." He said softly, his eyes sweeping over my face. "I'm trying to be noble."

"Don't. It doesn't suit you."

His mouth twitched as he tugged me back towards him. "It didn't feel right to me either." Charlemagne slid his fingers into my hair, his thumb brushing along my cheek again. "I just need you to be sure. About me. About everything."

I studied his face before leaning towards him to brush my lips over his. "I'm sure." I said softly, looking at him up close. "Take a shower with me?"

He dipped his chin in a nod. "Undress for me."

A flutter went through my abdomen as I stepped off the bed to stand in front of him. I peeled off my shirt first before dropping my hands to the button on my jeans. My fingers trembled. "Help." I breathed out, swallowing hard.

His features softened as he leaned forward to undo the button and lower the zipper for me. "Ca va?" Charlemagne murmured, bringing his painfully blue eyes back up to my face.

I bopped my head. "Thank you." I hooked my thumbs in the waistband of my jeans and pushed them down my hips, stepping out of them and my socks so that I stood in front of him wearing nothing, but my bra and panty set.

His eyes scorched me, drinking me in from head to toe. "Do you need a little more help, mon coeur?" He murmured, slowly walking his gaze back to mine.

I nodded again, stepping in between his parted knees, to lift my hands and curl them around his shoulders. "Please." I swallowed as his fingers slid along my hips, up my sides. He took off my bra first, discarding it with my jeans and t-shirt.

I sucked in a breath as his fingers curled in my panties and tugged. He pulled them down my legs and I stepped out of them for him. He raised his head, his nose brushing along my abdomen before he kissed my sternum, sending a shiver of warmth through me. "Undress me."

Swallowing, I dropped my hands from his shoulders to curl them in the end of his shirt, and for the second time that night I undressed him.

Charlemagne took my hand and led me into his bathroom. The blood had been cleaned out of the tub. No trace of the trauma that had taken place there over an hour ago. My breath still hitched when we stepped inside. I'd never unsee it. I turned my face into his arm, shutting my eyes, as he led me past it to turn the shower on. "I was so scared earlier." I admitted. "I thought I was going to lose you."

"I thought I was going to lose me too." He murmured, raising his free hand to slip it through the ends of my hair, and then up along my shoulder until he was tilting my head back, his thumb slipping along the curve of my neck. "I dreaded the thought of leaving you."

I swept my gaze over his face before I raised my hands to frame it between them. "No more talking. Just kiss me." I sighed.

Charlemagne swooped down to brush his lips over mine before he kissed me tentatively. I leaned up on my toes to deepen it, wanting the taste of him in my mouth. He growled low in his throat when I slid my tongue against his. An electric spark burst in the pit of my stomach, pooling low in my abdomen. I rocked on my heels, starting to squirm as an unbearable ache started between my legs.

He dropped his hands to my hips to tug me into the hard planes of his body. "Abigail." He sighed into my mouth before kissing me again.

I slipped my fingers into his hair, anchoring him to me when I felt the brush of something poke into my abdomen. His lips brushed against my forehead as I dropped my head to look between us. Heat filled my face while I allowed myself to look at him. His cock twitched, the head tapping against me. "Will it fit?" I blurted out, my face going red.

Charlemagne sputtered a laugh before tilting my head back to kiss me. "It'll fit." He chuckled into my mouth, brushing the tip of his nose against mine. "Do you like looking at me?" He murmured, taking my hand to lead me into the shower.

The hot spray felt good against my skin as it sluiced my hair down around my face. "I've always liked looking at you." I said, reaching up to push my hair out of my face. "It just didn't feel allowed."

"You are always allowed." He said, bending to press his forehead to mine. "I've always wanted you to look at me. Touch me."

I studied his face up close as I raised my hands to drag my fingertips down his chest, along the hard planes of his abdomen, over his hips. "Like this?" I murmured, dropping my gaze as I slid the tips of my fingers along the smooth, warm skin of his length.

He hissed through his teeth, brows furrowing against mine, as I continued to explore him, bringing my hand down his length to cup the tip of his cock. "You are going to kill me."

"Oh!" I started to take my hand back when he caught my fingers. "Did I hurt you?"

"Non." He tilted his chin to kiss my forehead. "No, mon coeur, but I am aching for you. I have not had relief in quite some time." Charlemagne sighed.

"Oh." I said, softening my tone, as I lowered myself into a crouch, grasping his thigh to steady myself as I wrapped my other hand around his length. I leaned up to flick my tongue along the head, shower water filling my mouth at the same time the taste of him did. Warm. Salty. Not bad.

I licked at it again, exploring the rest of him with my fingers. A purr hummed through his body, dragging my gaze back up to his face. He was watching me. The shower had slicked his hair to his face and shoulders, the pupil of his eyes had dilated until there was only a glowing, blue ring around them. Hunger. Desire. It both terrified and elated me. I'm going to eat you up.

Holding his gaze, I leaned forward to take his tip into my mouth, letting it slide along my tongue, careful of my teeth. I closed my lips around it and explored him with my tongue. I started to shut my eyes when Charlemagne made a noise and reached down for me. I made a noise back at him as he pulled me back to my feet. "What—?"

"When I have my release, I want to be inside of you." He rumbled, slamming his mouth into mine.

The kiss was hard and fast before he spun me around, arm wrapping around my waist, as he held me against him. "I want to touch you." He murmured, bending his head to nuzzle into my neck.

Heart throbbing in my chest, I bopped my head. "Touch me." I said softly, lifting my hand to bury my fingers in his hair. "Please, touch me."

His fingers grazed my hips. One of them paused there but the other one slid along my abdomen. My muscles corded beneath his touch. The ache deepened. My breath trembled in my mouth. He slid his hand between my legs, his fingers stroking the soft, downy hair along my slit. I bit my lower lip, brows bending, as he began to part my nether lips and run the pad of his middle finger along my moist slit.

I reached up with my other hand to curl my fingers around his arm. He paused, questioning. "Keep going." I breathed out, tilting my head back against his shoulder. "Please."

Charlemagne grinned against the side of my neck as he started to move his hand again. Teasing me. A tremor moved through my thighs into my hips. Squirming, I pressed my legs together, trying to ease the bubble of tension with friction. "Charley—" I gasped as his middle finger dipped inside of me.

I tightened my grip, my navel drawing towards my spine, as his finger stroked along the narrow passage of my sex. My heart fluttered in my chest, starting to brace myself when his voice rumbled against the side of my neck. "Se détendre."

Releasing a breath, I forced myself to relax. I bopped my head in a nod, parting my lips to speak when he moved his hand. A brief flash of discomfort before he brushed his palm against my clit. He held his hand still until the tension slid away from my body and I started to squirm again, wanting some kind of friction. I felt his mouth curve up into a grin against my skin. "More, ma cherie?"

"Uh-huh." I sounded out, a tremor moving through my lower body, and spasming through my sex, clenching around his finger. "Please."

A second finger joined his first as he stroked my sex. His movements were slow, stoking the heat in my lower belly into a steady inferno. I whimpered, my knees starting to come unhinged. "Charlemagne." I breathed out, starting to tilt my hips against his hand.

A growl rumbled through his chest. "I cannot take this anymore." He murmured, dragging his hand away despite the noise of disapproval I made. Charlemagne reached around me to turn the water off before he scooped me up in his arms and carried me out of the shower.

I made another noise, draping my arm around his shoulders. "We're gonna drip water all over the floor." I pointed out, pressing a kiss to his cheek, tremors still moving along my thighs.

"The floor will be fine, Abigail, I will not be." Charlemagne replied, bringing us into his bedroom with a single step. I barely felt it, too distracted by him to feel anything but a cool breeze against my wet skin. "I need you now."

A flutter went through my abdomen. "I need you too." I murmured, curling his hair around my fingers. "I'm aching, Charley."

A shiver went through his body as he settled me on his bed and straightened to look down at me. I watched his face as I lifted my knees up and spread my legs. His eyes dipped down my body to linger on that place between my legs. He raised his gaze back to my face. "Tu es si belle."

A blush warmed my face. "You really mean that?" I murmured.

"With every bit of my heart and soul." Charlemagne said softly, climbing onto the bed to crawl over me, his hands resting on either side of my head. "You're beautiful, Abigail."

My heart fluttered in my chest. "So are you." I breathed out, raising my hands to slip them along his chest, over his shoulders. "Don't take this the wrong way, Char, but I think you're the most beautiful person I've ever seen."

His mouth twitched up in a grin. "Am I?" He purred, dropping his head to brush his nose along mine. "Say it again."

I rolled my eyes. "See, this is what—" He kissed me, swallowing up what I'd been about to say. I made a sweet, little noise. "Are you trying to shut me up?" I murmured into his mouth.

"I would never."

I opened my mouth when he slipped the length of his cock along the warm, wet seam of my sex. Warmth spiraled through me as my breath hitched. My brows pinched, eyes watching his face, as he reached between us with one hand to guide the tip inside of me.

"Something to say, mon coeur?"

I snapped my mouth shut and shook my head. My eyes widened, but I kept them on his face as my sex began to stretch around him. My toes curled. Tension slid up my spine. There was more discomfort than I thought there'd be. "Char—?"

He bent his head to kiss my mouth gently. "Breathe, Abigail." He murmured, pausing to let me catch my breath. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Swallowing, I bopped my head against the sheets, and curled my fingers tighter around his shoulders. "Keep going." I said softly, my heart throbbing in my breastbone.

Charlemagne kept his gaze on mine as he began to move his hips, sliding further into me with each thrust until he was buried inside of me. He paused there. Breathing hard, I flexed my toes again, aware of the sudden fullness, the slight pinch of pain. And then he moved, just slightly, and a spiral of pleasure fluttered through my abdomen.

Mewling, I dropped my head back against the sheets. "Do that again." I breathed out.

He ran the tip of his nose along the curve of my exposed throat, his mouth spreading into a grin against my skin. "This?" He murmured, rolling his hips against me.

My lips parted, brows bending, as more sparks of pleasure began to dispel the discomfort. "Uh-huh." I sounded out, coherent thought becoming next to non-existent. All that mattered was our connection. The place where we met over and over again.

His breath warm on my skin. His wandering mouth. The sharp, hint of fang. A bubble of pressure was starting to build in my lower abdomen. God. Why had I waited so long to do this?

Charlemagne shifted, pressing more of his weight against me as he dropped to his elbows and slid his fingers into my hair, dragging my gaze back to his face. "I want to look at you, mon coeur." He murmured, brushing his nose along mine as his strokes deepened. "I want to see your face when you come for me."

A shiver rolled through my thighs, up the length of my spine, as I met his gaze. I'd give him anything he wanted. I slid my hands up from his shoulders and into his hair. "Charley, Charley—" I breathed out, his name the only thing in my mouth when the center of my face scrunched up, tears prickling at the corners of my eyes.

The bubble of pressure built to something unbearable, drawing me tight like a bowstring. His eyes filled up my world. His voice rumbled through me. Coaxing. All sweetness. All French. Abby. A shudder rolled through me as the bowstring snapped. My back arched as a deep spasm started in my lower abdomen and rippled through my sex. I clenched tight around his length, whimpering. "I love you. Charley, I love—"

He cut me off, his mouth catching mine. Charlemagne kissed me deeply, swallowing up my whimpers as his continued movements extended the feeling of pleasure rippling through my body. Holy shit. Another orgasm hit me hard. My thighs trembled and I had to lift my heels up from the mattress to rest them against the back of his thighs. "Char—" I tried again, bucking against the mattress. I needed him to know. He had to know. "I love you." I breathed into his mouth. "Did you hear me? I—"

Charlemagne kissed me again. "Je t'aime." He whispered, pressing kisses to my mouth. "Je t'aime, Je t'aime, Je t'aime." He dug his brow into mine, his movements growing jerkier, tighter against my body. "You're mine now, you're mine forever."

And I was.