Chapter 187

Sex with Adele was every bit as wonderful as Christian assumed it would be. He could spend all day and all night kissing her breasts, and whenever his French flower spread her legs for him, it was as if he was entering the Garden of Eden. She didn’t always seem as blissful when they finished as he felt, but he had to assume that was because she was French and had a highly active sex drive that simply couldn’t be satiated by any one man. Not that he would permit her to step out with anyone else. She’d just have to remember that the act of carnal love was truly for the man’s benefit. Any pleasure a woman received from intercourse should be considered a gift from the man to the woman.
She was living with her parents, and he was as well. Since his mother was aware of the relationship between them and had promised to say nothing, Christian often brought Adele to his room. Thankfully, his mother generally had the decency to step outside while they were in the act so that they wouldn't have to worry about being overheard. That would just be… strange.
He always invited Adele to stay for dinner afterward, and she usually accepted. Since Peter returned home just in time for the evening meal each night, he had no idea what went on while he was at the trading post. He approved of Adele and thought she was a lovely creature. Christian supposed if he knew the truth, that she was only a few steps away from being a streetwalker, perhaps he wouldn’t encourage his son to continue to pursue her.
He did seem to hope that Christian would marry the woman, though. At first, Christian thought that might be what he wanted himself as well. But the more time he spent with the Hunter, the more he realized she wasn’t quite what he was looking for in a spouse. Even as women went, she wasn’t intelligent. She was somehow even more emotional than most women he knew, which was saying something, and she often wanted to chat after he finished. She wanted him to wrap his arms around her and listen to her prattle on about her hopes and dreams. It was all a bit too much.
No, Christian wanted a strong, intelligent, independent woman. Someone who would do exactly as he said but also hold her own with the rest of the world. Someone sort of like his mother, except for less rebellious when it came to following her husband’s commands. If he could find someone like that, then he knew he’d be ready to marry. In the meantime, Adele certainly served a purpose, and he wouldn’t be letting her go anytime soon.
One evening, after the Goodies had met to plan a hunt, Andre pulled him by the shoulder. They were leaving the parlor in his home where they frequently met because the Henrys’ home was the largest of all the team members’. “May I have a word with you, Christian?” Andre asked, hanging back, his thick accent making it difficult for Christian to understand every syllable, though he understood the context.
“It’s about Adele,” Andre said, keeping his voice down. The Hunter was up ahead, walking next to Christian’s mother as they made their way to nearby carriage and horses to go out into the country a little ways to an abandoned barn they believed was currently inhabited by the undead. Peter would lead them on a hunt to destroy the bloodsuckers there. If Andre ever let him go.
“What about her?” he asked, sighing. He didn’t have time to argue with the big brute at the moment and didn’t see how Adele was any of his business.
“I understand you are not officially courting her, and I just wanted to say, I hope you intend to ask her soon. She is a beautiful woman, but beyond that, she is kind and gentle. She deserves to be treated with the respect she deserves.”
“What are you saying, Andre? That I’m disrespecting her?” Christian felt anger welling up inside of him. Who was this hick to accuse him of anything? “Listen, you had your opportunity to ask Adele to court you, and you didn’t do it. That’s not my fault. Now, please, stay out of it.”
“Christian, wait,” Andre said, but this time, he did not pull him by his shoulder. Christian didn’t wait. He didn’t look back. Instead, he hurried to the carriage where Adele and his parents were waiting for him, only pausing to scowl at the Guardian once he was in his seat.
“Is everything well?” Adele asked, slipping her arm through his.
“Wonderful,” Christian said through clenched teeth.
She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, lowering her voice. “You have to forgive him,” she said in a whisper. “He is only trying to protect me.”
“Do you need protecting?” Christian asked, the angry tone of his voice causing his mother to turn her head slightly and look behind her at the second row where the younger couple was sitting.
“No, of course not,” Adele said, raising and lowering her thin shoulders. “I only meant….”
“Adele, what transpires between the two of us is no one else’s business,” he spat. “If you would rather concern yourself with Andre than me, by all means, you may ride with him.”
He’d hurt her. He could see it in the pucker of her lips first and then the tears that wet her eyes. Even when his mother turned and looked at him harshly, he didn’t regret it. If there was any chance at all that Adele would be his wife someday, she’d have to learn to take his part. Always. There could be no standing up for another man, not in any capacity.
By the time they reached their destination, she’d managed to conceal the few tears that had fallen down her cheeks. Christian’s anger had only grown worse, though. Rather than killing Vampires, he wanted to test the theory that a Guardian couldn’t kill another Guardian. Who was Andre to tell him what to do or how to feel?
His parents were out of the wagon before them. On his mother’s part, he was certain it was to give them a little privacy. His father was likely already moving in on the barn. He wouldn’t let what he assumed was a spat between two people who were merely courting slow him. He had no idea the true nature of their relationship. If he did, he would think it an abomination and tell Adele she could no longer participate on the team. Christian would likely get a stern talking to about relations outside of marriage, but there would be no punishment for him. He was a man, after all.
Other carriages and horses arrived and were tied out in the thin line of trees where his father had parked, away from the barn but within line of sight. The others assembled a short distance away, and Christian could hear his father giving some final directions. He needed to be over there, not here, but Adele’s thin fingers wrapped around his wrist. “What is it you want from me, Christian Henry?”
His eyes immediately dropped to her breasts. He couldn’t help himself. It was an honest reaction, one that abhorred her. Adele sucked in a stuttered breath. “So… that’s all this is to you? Just… a physical relationship?” She grasped at the thin material that partially covered her bosom, but there wasn’t enough there to actually cover her cleavage.
“I didn’t say that!” Christian’s arms spread wide as he attempted to think through the situation. He was aware that sometimes the truth of the matter and what he should say were not the same thing. He believed that to be the case in this instance, but Adele was so angry, it made it difficult to lie to her. Seeing her so appalled by his behavior seemed almost comical. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his father turn back and look in his direction, for only a second, before the majority of the hunting party headed off toward the barn at such a speed, it was impossible to track their movement since he wasn’t looking directly at them. To a human, it would’ve looked like a blur.
One figure still stood there, though. His mother. She was waiting for him, calling to him silently with her mind. “We need to go,” he said to Adele. Her discomfort was a pity, but it truly wasn’t his concern. If she was angry at him and no longer wanted to have sexual relations, he could find someone else. It wasn’t as if he loved Adele and couldn’t find anyone to take her place. It was difficult to imagine there might be a woman someday that he cared that way for, though he thought it might be possible.
Christian hopped down from the carriage and offered her his hand. She turned away, those tears back in her eyes. Shrugging, he hurried off to meet his mother.
Elizabeth had that look on her face, the one that told him he had done wrong by her as well. “She’ll recover,” he said to his mother as he walked past her.
“Christian Peter Henry,” she muttered under her breath, picking up her pace to catch up to him. “Truly, I thought I’d raised you better.”
“You thought wrong then, I suppose.” It was simply a statement of fact. How could she argue with that?
Before she got a chance, there was a tremendous roar from the barn and several blasts from pistols. Shouts and screams followed, and then more gunshots.
Christian turned to look at his mother. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his gut. Both of them took off running toward the structure just as a hunched over creature, covered in fresh blood, came streaking through the door.
It was a man--or at least it had been. At the moment, it looked nothing like a human except for the fact that it had two arms and two legs. It was hunched over, covered in hair, its teeth protruding from its face well past its chin, with blood pouring from the spiky tips, dripping down its front, and covering its white shirt, which was unbuttoned down to the navel, the trousers ragged up to the knee. It wore no shoes, no hat, and carried no weapons, but when it shot out of the barn and saw it had yet to escape its first line of predators, it hesitated for a second, just long enough for Christian to hurl himself after it.