Midnight Whispers (The Midnight Duology #1)

Chapter 27

27

I can hear talking from the other side of the house. Despite knowing I fell asleep naked, I’m dressed, and it doesn’t take me long to realize that Finn must have put clothes on me after I fell asleep. My muscles ache from laying in the same spot for the better part of the last few days. The floor groans beneath me as I step off the bed and the talking stops. I exit the room, walking down the hallway and find Asher, Finn, and Flora sitting on the coaches.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Flora says with a smile.

“Everyone’s up early. Erm, I mean Flora’s up early.” Blush creeps up my neck.

“We were just talking.” Finn Responds.

“About?”

Asher clears his throat. “The Counsel and what to expect.”

“Oh,” I sat down next to Finn. “What should we expect?”

“We were just explaining to Flora that the members of the council are very old and traditional.”

“And they already don’t like me much. ”

“They’ll require Finn to replace the life he took.”

“We’re hoping they find a stranger, but they’re unpredictable.”

“And what if they choose one of us?” Flora asks.

“That is always a possibility, but our hope is that they don’t.” Finn responds and threads his fingers in mine, his thumb brushing over my knuckle.

“You don’t… want us to become one of you?” I ask in a quiet voice.

“Eventually, yes. I want nothing more to spend forever with you,” He pinches the bridges of his nose. “But I want it to be your choice, Lillia. I don’t want this to be a life you’re forced into.”

“I see.”

“I just want you to choose on your own, that’s all.”

“We will need to leave soon.” Asher announces, standing up and smoothing the leg of his trousers.

“I wish we could have stayed. I would have loved to experience France.”

“I’ll bring you back,” Finn stands and places a gentle kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering on my skin. “We will have forever.” He withdraws his fingers from mine and leaves the room.

Forever.

My heart clenches.

“I got you some things babe.” Flora says proudly and disappears into the kitchen.

A short moment later she comes out with a large brown paper bag. I peek inside and see several books. “Oh Flo!” I exclaim as I pull them out, the contents are a combination of old and new editions of either book I’ve read and loved or ones on my Tbr. “There was a secondhand bookstore down the street. It’s your version of Heaven.”

“Thank you.” I pull her into a hug .

“You must really like the books.” She chuckles.

“Do you have everything?” Asher hollers down the hallway.

“I need coffee before we leave.” Flora responds.

Oh shoot.

“Oh my gosh, Alcott’s!” My voice is full of panic.

“I already called Sophi and told her you were away on a personal emergency. She’s holding down the fort.”

“ Ugh ,” my shoulders sag and I exhale, my tight chest begins to soften. “Thanks Flo. You’re the best.”

“Don’t you forget it.” She winks and clicks her tongue simultaneously.

“Ready?” Finn says, walking up behind me with multiple bags. Flora and I nod in confirmation.

“Good. The cars waiting downstairs.” Asher opens the door and ushers us out. The sun burns my eyes as we walk out onto the street. A large black SUV with tinted windows is waiting for us.”

“The Counsel called in a car service to guarantee our arrival.” Finn whispers into my ear. The driver opens the back door and one at a time we get in. It’s a third row, so Asher and Flora get into the back and Finn, and I sit in the middle. The driver is silent the entire ride to the private air strip.

The SUV pulls into the hanger, the jet is already open and ready for us. The pilot and the two flight attendants introduce themselves as we approach the stairs. Finn wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me tight against his side. He urges me up the stairs and walks closely behind me as we enter the jet.

“Basically, everyone who works for the Counsel are vampires, or want to become one, and I don’t trust any of them.” He whispers against the top of my ear, his voice as low as he could make it .

We sit down in seats toward the middle of the plane, Asher and Flora take the ones opposite of the aisle. Finn lifts the arm rest in between us and scoots me over close to him. The crew enters the jet, the attendants double check our needs before sitting and buckling up near the cockpit. The pilot announces our departure and updates us on weather conditions and the arrival information.

I nuzzle into Finn’s chest as the jet begins on the path toward the runaway. The engines begin to vibrate as the speed intensifies, as we near the end of the path we gain the momentum needed and lift into the air.

Even though I feel so much better, the exhaustion of healing from the whole Cedar experience has me falling asleep whenever I overexert myself. Apparently, getting into a car and loading into an airplane was overdoing it because I passed out and slept the entire two-hour flight to Ireland.

After we land, we are quickly deplaned and filed into a second SUV. This driver has a more approachable energy about him than the one in France, but he still isn’t very talkative. We pull off the road and onto a pathway that leads up to a white four-story lodge. Once we’ve come to a stop, the driver gets out and opens our doors and the trunk, unloading the small amount of luggage we have.

“You have two rooms.” The driver states, handing Finn keys. “The room numbers are on the tags. I’ll be back at nine am.”

Finn and Asher grab the bags, and we walk into the entryway of the building and toward the elevator. He looks at the key tag and hits the number four, the door shut, and we begin to ascent to the fourth floor.

“We’re going to stay in and order room service since it’s on the Counsel’s dime.” Finn says handing a key to Asher.

“That sounds nice. We’re going to do the same.” Flora giggles and wraps her arm around Asher’s bicep.

She winks at me as they disappear behind the door marked 413. Finn unlocks the room next to theirs and holds the door open for me, urging me to go inside. He sets the bags down on the floor as we explore the room.

“Are you hungry? Do you want me to order you food?”

“I could eat. Surprise me.”

He picks up the phone and calls down to the front desk.

“Good evening. Can I have an order of French fries, macaroni and cheese, and a grilled cheese sent up to room 414?” The person on the other end says something. “Yes, chocolate cake also sounds delicious. Oh, and whatever kind of tea you have, please.” He hangs up the phone and turns to look at me.

“There’s no way I’m eating all of that.”

“Eat what you can, my love. Why don’t I start you a bath?”

“You know, I’m going to expect this treatment forever if you keep this up.”

“I will never not be utterly obsessed with you.” He whispers as he trails kisses down my neck.

“We never got to finish what we started in France.” I say breathlessly.

“Remind me.” Turning to face him, I wrap my arms around his neck. He grips onto the top of my waist and pulls me into him. My mouth crashes onto his, my lips part to allow his tongue entry. He pulls my bottom lip in between his teeth, the taste of iron plays on the tip of my tongue. A moan escapes from deep within his throat sending vibrations through me.

He lifts me, I wrap my legs around him, and he carries me across the room, laying me on the mattress. His kisses are rough as he places them along my jaw and down to my collarbone.

“Don’t hold back.” I whisper into the thick air between us.

“You don’t know what you’re saying.” He says between kisses.

“Yes. I do.”

He stands up and takes off his shirt, tossing it across the room. Maintaining eye contact with me the entire time, he pulls off his trousers and underwear and throws them onto the pile with his shirt.

“Your turn.” He demands, running his hands on the outside of my thighs and gripping onto the fabric of my waistband. In a quick movement, he pulls them off and throws them. “You say stop…”

“And you’ll stop.” I interrupt. His lip curls into a wicked smile and he leans down and kisses just below the hem of my shirt. Gripping on to the bottom, he pulls it up over my head.

“You have the most perfect body, my love.” Finn says as he takes my nipple into his mouth, his tongue swiping over it before he takes it in between his teeth. My back arches in response.

“Please, Finn.”

“What do you want?”

“You.”

“Be more specific, my love.”

“I need you inside of me.” He lets out a chuckle and slides two fingers into me. He groans as he pumps his fingers in and out, curling deep inside of me, electricity courses through me. “Finn!” I moan.

“Flip over.” He demands, the tone of his voice sends a shiver down my spine.

I adjust myself onto my hands and knees, arching my back as he grabs onto my hips. He nudges my legs apart and teases my entrance with his tip, I whimper in desperation. Heat fills my core as he enters me, stretches me, fills me.

Finn squeezes my hips, driving into me hard and deep. My vision blurs, stars erupt around me, as my climax begins a rapid release. He’s relentless and doesn’t let up, instead he quickened his pace through my orgasm.

His hand releases from my hip, softly running his hand against the sensitive flesh of my behind. The presence of his hand is no longer there, only a second later returning when his palm strikes the skin. I shudder at the sensation, my vision blurs as my orgasm crashes around me. A deep groan escapes his mouth as my inner walls clench around him, pulsing as he releases deep inside of me. His hand returns to my hip, he squeezes tightly as he pushes deeper once more.

“My god you are nothing short of exquisite.” He groans with one final thrust before withdrawing from me. My head jerks in the direction of the door when someone knocks.

“Oh shoot, I forgot about the food.”

“You go start the bath and I’ll bring in the food.” He states, wrapping a robe around himself.

I scoot off the bed and hurry into the bathroom to start the bath. Finn waits until I’m out of sight and opens the door. After a moment he thanks the hotel employee and comes into the bathroom with the tray of food.

“Do you want it in here or do you want to wait?”

“ Hmm. I think I’ll wait. Nothing is grosser than soggy French friends.” I make an exaggerated gagging motion before I get into the bathtub.

“If they get cold, I’ll order more.”

“That’ll be wasteful.” He shrugs and slides in behind me. “Are you scared for tomorrow?”

“I wouldn't say I’m scared, but I am on edge. I feel very protective of you, and I know I’ll challenge the Counsel if any harm is threatened.”

“You can’t just challenge them, Finnian. You said they're basically your government?”

“Something like that, yes.” He replies as he adds body wash to a washcloth.

“So shouldn't you respect them?”

“Respect is earned, and they are nothing but tyrants. I will give my respect when it's due.”

“What if they want you to change me?”

“Let’s hope it doesn't come to that.” He takes the washcloth and rubs it against my shoulders and down my breast. I lay my head back, resting it on his chest. My hands float along the top of the bath, creating ripples as they glide back and forth.

We finish up in the bath and Finnian wraps me in an incredibly thick and plush rope. He swoops me up and carries me to the bed, setting me gently on the side away from the door.

“What do you want first? Your macaroni? Fries? Sandwich?” He lifts each silver dome lid up one by one.

“ Hmm,” I tap on my chin and purse my lips. “The mac and cheese, please.” He walks to his side of the bed and sits down, handing me my food before he lays down. We scroll through the channels on the TV before agreeing that nothing sounds good and deciding on Chopped for some background noise.

As expected, I only got about halfway through my mac and cheese before I was ready to call it a night.

The castle looks like something you’d imagine out of a medieval storybook. Secluded on a cliffside, the home of the Counsel is surrounded by rolling hills of lush green grass with the sound of waves crashing just below.

I smooth out my dress, feeling drastically underdressed in the cotton cream-colored midi dress that Finnian picked out for me.

His fingers lace through mine, and he looks down at me with a closed lip smile. I can tell he’s nervous but is trying to play it off. The rustic arc doors of the entrance groan as they slowly swing open, he squeezes my hand in reassurance.

“On time, excellent. Come with me.” The petite woman says, turning on her heels and walks down a long hallway.

The stone lined walls have assorted paintings hung beneath gothic sconces. I study each of them as we follow the woman, realizing each of the art pieces looks like they are of the same people spanning over different times.

“Is that all the same people?” I whisper to Finn.

“The Counsel likes to get their portraits painted every twenty years or so.” Finn’s jaw feathers when the woman responds.

We enter a room with four empty chairs, or thrones rather, sitting on top of what appears to be a stage. The four of us are stopped just a few feet from the first step. Not including the vampire who escorted us in, there’s four others strategically placed around the room. Two of them stand next to the door and the other two against the wall beside us. A chill that flows through the room and everyone tenses.

Octavia, Griffith, Eudora, and Balthazar glide into the room one by one in their floor length robes. Each of them is beautiful in their own way, but ridiculously strong in ways far more dangerous.

The females were both turned sometime in the 1500’s. Octavia had honey blonde hair pulled back into a tight bun. She is the shortest of the four, but her face held the most anger and truthfully, she was the scariest. Eudora has crimson hair that she allowed to flow down in its naturally curly state. Griffith, being made sometime in the late 1600’s, was the newest but also the youngest in age before he had been turned at only sixteen. His shaggy light brown hair adds to his youthfulness. The oldest, Balthazar, was made sometime in the 1400’s during his thirties. He’s the tallest out of them, but also the one with the most intense stare.

They’re all terrifying, but the woman who walks in first is the most intimidating. Besides being breathtakingly beautiful, there’s something about the intensity in her eyes that makes me feel uncomfortable maintaining her gaze. I let my eyes drop to the ground, staring at my feet and for some reason the only thing I can think about is how much I wished I painted my toenails.

“Hello Asher, old friend.” The older male says.

“Balthazar.” Asher bows.

“Ready to join us, yet?”

“You know me, Zar. I’m too restless to tie down.”

“Finnian,” the woman next to him says sternly. “We really need to stop meeting in this manner.”

“I understand, Octavia. I am sorry for the disturbance.”

“Again,” she corrects. Finn adjusts his shoulders, straightening his stance.

“Yes. I realize I’ve made this mistake before.”

“What is your excuse this time?”

“He…” Finn quickly looks at me from the corner of his eye, inhaling deeply before continuing. “He took my mate and hurt her for revenge.”

Mate .

“Your human mate?” Balthazar asks with an obvious disgust in his voice.

“That is correct.”

I stare at the side of his face, his jaw flexes and it’s obvious this isn’t something he wanted me to know right now.

“Was it worth the life you took? Taking the life of one of your own for this human?”

“Absolutely. And I would do it again. I will do whatever it takes to keep Lillia safe until the day someone rips the heart out of my chest.” A small gasp erupts from the vampires that stand around us and it doesn't take me long to realize how he just spoke could be considered disrespectful.

“So, I think it’s only fair that she gives her life for the one you took.”

Flora chokes on a sob and steps forward.

“I volunteer my life in exchange for her safety. Let me be the one who is changed, not Lillia.” She looks back at me with tears welling in her eyes.

“Flo. No. I won’t let you.” I choke back a sob.

“It was already decided.” She whispers.

I look back and forth between Asher and Finn, both staring forward refusing to look back at me.

“Before we left France… You three were talking, planning this weren't you?” I say toward Finn. A slight dip of his chin gives me the answer I need.