Chapter 25

Loving him.

Charlotte’s house reminded me of my grandparents’ mansion; it was old and filled with antique furniture, dust and French art. I didn't understand why two vampires occupied such a huge space, but it wasn't my business to ask. I thought that it was such a cliché: vampires living in an old haunted mansion away from humans.
"There you are. We were beginning to worry," Philip said as we walked back downstairs. He looked much more alive than when I last saw him yesterday, smiling widely.
"The house is beautiful."
"Yes, it was a present from me to my daughter when she got married," he explained while we walked to the large light living room that was more modern than the rest of the house. Large windows were shaded by curtains. Two other vampires approached me. I was glad that I remembered to use a cover charm. As it was, my scent intoxicated them—I could see their eyes widen as they inhaled my scent.
"Julia, I'm glad that you’re here. My brother has told me so much about you," Charlotte said, hugging me.
"Yes, thank you for my clothes; they fit perfectly."
"Great, you’re welcome. This is my husband Jacque."
"Pleasure," Jacque said with a thick French accent and squeezed my hand. He held on to it for longer than acceptable, but eventually let go of me. He must have been in his late thirties when he was turned, and I couldn't imagine him with Charlotte. His hair was black but there were patches of grey at the temples. He had bushy eyebrows and dark brown eyes, dressed in a suit. He reminded me of an aristocrat from those 1920s films.
"So, what do you think of Paris, Julia?" Charlotte asked, taking me away from the other vampires.
"Hmm, I haven’t had a chance to see anything yet. The fire started in the hotel and we had to be evacuated."
"Mon dieu. Of course, silly me. Nathaniel, you have to take her around this incredible city. I don’t understand why you only came for a few days."
"It’s a short break. I couldn't get any time off."
"Nonsense, darling, you won’t have time to see the galleries and truly discover Paris. You need at least a month," Philip interrupted, holding a glass with red liquid.
"Julia is focused on her career, Father," Nathaniel said. "Her boss is missing so she’s looking after the office."
"Yes, I heard the rumours," Philip muttered.
The vampire housekeeper announced that dinner was served, so we all moved to the dining room. I felt an odd vibration in the corridor; the floors were creaking as we sat down to the table. The air was thick, filled with paralleled energy.
The La Caz family was wealthy; they had servants, expensive art and an endless supply of blood. I decided not to ask about the source while I was eating. Jacque wasn't saying much, but he kept looking at me throughout dinner. Later on, I found out that he and Charlotte had recently gotten married. They’d met in Marseille.
"This is Nathaniel’s mother. Philip insists that we keep her portrait in the dining room," Charlotte said, pointing at the large painting of a woman hanging above the fireplace. I remembered that Philip mentioned Beatrice during the night that I was out with Nathaniel. She was beautiful; dark-haired, and Nathaniel had her eyes.
"How old were you when she died?" I asked him.
"Twenty, it was just before I went to Oxford."
"What happened?"
"Cancer. Beatrice’s health had never been strong. It spread too quickly. We tried to give her blood, but it was already too late. She never cared about her health," Philip said. Nathaniel kept looking at the portrait, maybe I shouldn’t have asked about her. He probably still missed her, but I couldn't read anything from his expression.
"My mother was an incredible woman; she was brave and intelligent, but she’s gone and I have to accept that," Nathaniel said sounding tense. Philip gave him a sharp look, but he didn't say a word. Jacque kept looking at the portrait tapping his fingers on the table.

Charlotte forced a smile. Nathaniel was angry about something and I was curious why. Philip watched him for several more seconds.
"Julia, tell us about your regional manager?" Philip asked, breaking the silence. "He has been missing for some time now?"
Nathaniel relaxed, drinking Scotch, so I talked about Rufus and the most recent events. It turned out that La Caz senior was well acquainted with McGregor. He was the one who had introduced him to Nathaniel. He told me later that he knew McGregor’s maker. Then I had a chance to talk a little to Jacque. It turned out that he was teaching at Sorbonne University. He didn't want to give up on his career. He was difficult to read, and I didn’t quite understand what Charlotte saw in him.
I warmed towards Nathaniel’s sister straight away. She was fun, cheerful, and nosy. She asked me a million questions about my family and London. She was hoping to set up her own finance company, so she didn't have much time for travelling.
The dinner stretched over a few hours. The hosts were drinking blood. My meal was delicious, but even with Nathaniel’s blood in my system, I needed to go to bed when the clock struck three o’clock in the morning.
Once we were alone again, Nathaniel warned me not to wander the house. I was still an elf and the house was filled with vampires. He just didn't want to take chances. This whole evening felt so surreal. In bed Nathaniel looked more relaxed; I didn't know what was bothering him, but I was too tired to ask. We fell asleep quickly after another slow session of lovemaking. During that night it was just us.
***
We woke up late but not too late to take a trip to the city. Charlotte was right; it was a sunny day and Nathaniel wanted to show me the most beautiful places around Paris. We were going back to London on Monday morning, so we still had all day to ourselves. I felt relaxed and happy waking up in his arms.
"You need to prioritise what to see. It’s already after twelve and yesterday our plans were slightly ruined," he said, kissing my hand.
"I’ll leave this to you," I said, feeling light-headed. It was official: I was in love with him. I had been telling myself that I couldn't love him, that he wasn't the man for me. Now I’d fallen in love with him—and I was truly fucked.
Even though he proved that he was serious, I was sure that after his last fiancée he wouldn’t want to discuss love.
When he parked his car, I had to use his phone to call my mother. She sounded worried, so I had to tell her that I lost my phone and I wasn't engaged yet. Nathaniel smiled, taking my hand. Mum seemed disappointed. The worst part was that he could hear everything my mother was saying. I was ready to kill her the moment I got back to London.
Our first stop was the Eiffel Tower, then we visited the Louvre, admiring the famous art. I couldn't quite believe that I was really here with Nathaniel in the most beautiful and talked about place in the entire world.
We were going to be back to London tomorrow, back to all the problems. After lunch and more kissing, Nathaniel took me to Notre Dame de Paris, The Arc de Triomphe and a few more galleries. Then he spoiled me with clothes, sweets and jewellery. We held hands most of the time, enjoying the beautiful day in this romantic city. We understood each other and maybe I was making the biggest mistake of my life, but I was in love with him despite what everyone else was saying.
In the early evening while getting into a taxi, a man ran toward us and took our picture.
"Who was that?"
"French reporter."
"What? A reporter? Why did he take our picture?" I asked, bewildered.
Nathaniel frowned and gave the taxi driver the address.
"I'm famous in France."
"Famous?" I laughed.
"Yes. I still have a business here, and a lot of paranormals are aware of who I am."
"So, I’ll be in the papers?"
"You will be, mainly here, and in most paranormal magazines. I don’t think anyone from Britain is that bothered with my private life," he explained. "Besides, I want to keep you to myself."
"I can’t believe that you didn't mention this."
"What?"
"That you’re famous!"
"Known rather than famous," he said. "You see, Julia? Now you’ve got the perfect package: great in bed, rich, and famous."
“Jerk."

***

It was evening when we went back to Charlotte’s home. Everyone was settled in the living room when we entered. Charlotte was reading a book in the corner, looking more like a teenager rather than a grown vampire.
"Back already?" Philip asked.
"Yes." I sighed. "We had a great day. I'm officially in love with Paris."
"You aren’t the only one, my dear." Philip passed me a glass of blood. "I have to take care of my business in the UK."
"Enough Father," Charlotte snapped, pulling me away from him. "I need to talk to her before she leaves."
"Our plane is at eleven tomorrow morning."
Charlotte assured me that she was going to visit me and Nathaniel soon; she had a few friends in London. We talked a bit more and then I went to my room to change into something more comfortable. Nathaniel insisted on paying for the clothes.
When I was putting a T-shirt on I noticed that he hadn't left any marks on my skin from his bite. At least I didn't have to worry about my dad seeing anything. He would go mad if he knew that Nathaniel had tasted my blood, and I couldn't even think about my grandmother.
The housekeeper informed me that dinner was going to be served in a few minutes. I hurried downstairs to find Philip playing the piano in the living room while Nathaniel sat talking with Charlotte in the study.
"Nate, Julia is wonderful. I don’t understand why you haven’t brought her here earlier," she said. I stood by the door, wondering if I should interrupt, but something stopped me, so I stood and listened.
"I was going to, but things happened." He shrugged.
"What things? Why don’t you forget about other women and settle with one?"
“That's what I'm trying to do."
"Good, because I like her, and I don’t want you to upset her."
“I've made this mistake once already," he muttered sounding tired. I hesitated to enter.
"Have you told her about Isabelle?"
"She knows."
"I'm glad, because I’ve never seen you so happy, not since—"
“Don't Charlotte, don’t even go there tonight," Nathaniel warned her.
"All right, I'm just saying that I could see you marrying Julia. You’re crazy about her."
"You know good and well that I'm never going to get married."
I walked back to the living room, knowing that I didn't want to be caught overhearing their conversation. It wasn't a mistake; I heard him right. Nathaniel was never going to marry me. He made a huge effort in bringing me to Paris, introducing me to his family, but marriage was out of the question. My body felt numb and my heart was racing. I shouldn’t have stayed there and listened.
I shook my head, knowing that it was silly to even consider marriage. I reminded myself I was only twenty-two years old, that I had plenty of time to think about that. Eventually I wanted to get married. I wanted to have a family—but I could forget about that if I was still with Nathaniel La Caz.
I felt sick, but I pasted a smile on my face and sat down on the sofa. There wasn't any point dwelling on his words. We’d only been together a few months and he never promised me anything. Charlotte and Nathaniel came back with more drinks. I kept smiling, ignoring the sorrowful feelings inside. We were only dating; he had no idea how I felt about him, and I wanted to leave it like that.
Jacque sat by me and started a conversation. He was more talkative than the previous evening. He asked me if I had any reservations dating a half vampire.
"My grandmother doesn’t accept it. She went mad seeing us together."
"That doesn’t surprise me," he said, drinking thick red liquid out of a wine glass. "Don’t misunderstand, but relationships between vampires and elves are rare."
"Yes, I know, but Nathaniel is a Dhampir."
"Of course. He’s still partly human. That’s why you’re still together. I wouldn’t be able to be around you all the time. Your scent is intoxicating."
"Thanks."
"That’s my theory, he added. "You two seemed madly in love."
We had dinner and after assuring Charlotte that I would be back, I excused myself to my room. I was exhausted and fell asleep quickly—alone. Nathaniel stayed up longer, and in the morning, I found him wrapped around me. He was still fast asleep. I gently pushed him away and went to the bathroom. Despite long hours of sleep, I looked tired. I kept thinking about his reluctance to the idea of marriage. Maybe right now he didn't want to hear about this, but who knew what the future would hold for us? I brushed my teeth and washed my face. By the time I came back Nathaniel was awake.
"How are you feeling this fine French morning?" he asked, pulling me back to bed.
Desire flew through my body as he wrapped me tightly around him. "Relaxed and happy. What about you?"
"I'm hard for you," he growled, kissing me. "We should take this last opportunity and fuck."
"Can I think about it?" I teased.
"No, the jury has decided that we should have sex right now." He kissed me softly.
I wanted him, but I also wanted to talk about what I heard yesterday. Lame or not, we had to discuss it at some point. When he climbed on top of me, I was at a loss for words. The flames of lust and desire were back burning between us. He stopped kissing me and stripped off his boxers. He stood from the bed, naked in front of me.
"Come on, firecracker, let’s have some fun."
A small gasp escaped my mouth as I tried to construct a response. He walked me to the table by the window. I was wearing a short nighty that didn't cover much at all. His pupils dilated as his eyes darted down my body.
"What are you doing?" I asked with an uneasy voice. My heart was pounding hard.
"Admiring," he said and parted my legs pushing me down onto the table. His mouth was on mine again but only for a brief moment. Then his hands ripped my nighty off and I was sitting naked; nothing more divided us. We were both aroused and ready. I arched backwards, allowing him to kiss my neck; his hands were on my breasts. I tightened my core, feeling him between my legs. Before I knew what he was going to do next, he pushed himself inside me. My legs tightened, and I whimpered with pleasure. He was hard and thick, filling me. I moaned, biting his arm as a wave of electricity passed through my core.
He pushed my hips towards his, slamming into me hard. My heart gave me a giant smack in my chest, my head was throbbing as the heat shuttered through me. He roared, burying his head in my breasts.
"Oh, God, Nathaniel I can’t…" I begged, but he didn't stop, and continued pushing himself inside me faster. The orgasm rocked through me shortly after that and I screamed. He came, pulling me closer. I fell on his body, exhausted and drenched with sweat. This orgasm was intense, and my mind buzzed as my energy settled back. Nathaniel cupped my face and kissed me gently, carrying me to bed. I lay on top of his chest for a long moment. We fell sleep after that for another hour or two. We didn't have to talk. We held each other, and I thought about that emotion of love crawling and pinning itself in my heart.