The Darkest Song (The Eternal Darkness Duet #1)

Chapter 24

Chapter 24

W hen I woke up, he was gone. I stared at the ceiling wondering how I would face him again. How could I be so stupid? In less than a day, I went from hating Julian to fucking him! And so soon after Adam? Was I really moving on that fast? Then again, what was there to move on from? I’d only known Adam a few days, and he’d lied to me the entire time. It was his fault I was in this mess!

I threw off the blankets and got out of bed, but my troubled thoughts followed me as I went into the bathroom to take a shower. Afterwards, I put on some shorts and a tank top, and went in search of Julian.

I found him in the kitchen, placing a bottle of blood and two glasses on a serving tray. He was barefoot, wearing loose black shorts and no shirt, and my mouth watered at the sight of him.

He smiled when he saw me. “I was just coming back.”

I tore my eyes away from his bare chest and continued into the room. “About what happened,” I began, looking anywhere but at him. “It didn't mean anything, right? It was just sex.” I glanced at him, but his face had gone blank. “I mean, I was all worked up from my dream. I think we both know it wasn’t a nightmare.” I looked at him expectantly, but he remained silent. “It's just that I just met you and we don’t really know each other, and everything is changing so fast, and I don’t know what I’m feeling, and I’m super confused about you, and about Adam, and why aren’t you saying anything?”

“I think you’ve said it all,” he said quietly. He poured blood into the two glasses before walking over and handing one to me. I took it, and he continued past me out of the room.

I stood there like an idiot, not knowing if I should follow. Was he angry? Did I hurt his feelings? I shook my head and downed the blood, feeling more confused than ever, then I put my glass down and went after him. I searched all over the house, and out by the pool before finally asking one of the servants where he was. They told me he was probably at the beach, so that's where I went.

I walked down onto the beach, but he wasn’t there. I saw something dark in the sand and walked over to it. As soon as I picked it up, I realized it was Julian’s shorts. My eyes darted around and there he was, coming up from below the surface, about thirty feet offshore.

He saw me right away and lifted his hands to push his wet hair back from his face as he walked towards the shore. The water became more shallow as he approached, exposing more and more of him, until it became apparent that he wasn't wearing a swimsuit. Because I was holding his shorts. I looked away as he approached, staring off into the distance until I felt him tug his shorts out of my hand.

“Sarah.”

I shot him a quick glance and saw that he’d put his shorts on. “I want to talk.” I blurted, before he could say anything.

“Me too.”

I blinked. “You do?”

He nodded. “I answered all of your questions last night. Now it's your turn to answer some of mine.”

I’d intended to talk about what happened between us, but okay. “Fire away,” I said, sitting down in the sand.

He sat down next to me and leaned back on his elbows, stretching his long legs out in front of him. “I want to know about your life, before you were changed. I want to know about your family, and Allie.”

So I told him. I skimmed over the sad parts about my parents, choosing instead to regale him with funny stories about Allie and I as kids. I told him about my violin, and how much my music had meant to me. How sometimes when I played, I felt like my mother was with me.

I grew quiet after that, and he moved closer and wrapped an arm around me. I let him hold me, grateful for the comfort he provided. We stayed that way for hours, silently watching the ocean. Just before dawn we walked back to the house. We didn’t speak or touch on the way back, but it felt nice just being next to him.

He walked me to my bedroom door and said goodnight. Just as he was turning to leave I said, “Tell me about Valentina.” He stiffened, but didn’t turn back around.

“Who was she?” I asked. “What happened to her?”

“She’s not your concern,” he said, his back still to me. “Do not ask again.”

I watched him walk away, and wanted to scream with frustration. I’d just poured my heart out to him on the beach and he wouldn’t answer one stupid question! I went into my room and slammed my door behind me. I slammed it so hard the frame cracked and the door bounced back open and flew backwards into the wall.

“Shit," I mumbled, seeing the hole the doorknob left in the wall. I went over and tried to close the door, but it wouldn’t latch due to the broken frame. “Shit.”

W hen I woke the next night, I didn't know what to expect. Was Julian going to be in a good mood when I saw him, or was he still pissed? Life with him was an emotional roller-coaster.

I showered and dressed, choosing a white camisole and a flowy blue skirt that hit just below my knees. Deciding to forego shoes, I went in search of Julian.

I found him in the living room, sitting on a dark leather couch, with a bunch of papers spread out on the coffee table in front of him. He was reading something, but he dropped the paper when I entered the room.

“I-”

“I’m sorry,” he said, interrupting me. I paused, not sure what to say. He ran a hand over his jaw. “I feel like I’m always apologizing to you. You have every right to ask about Valentina. Please sit down.”

I perched on the edge of a leather armchair. Was he finally going to tell me about her? I was positively buzzing with anticipation.

“Valentina was changed by her sister, who was one of the original eight. When I met her she’d been a vampire for one hundred and sixty years. We fell in love, and she changed me. For the longest time it was just the two of us, and we were happy. There weren't many of us back then, a couple hundred maybe. As more vampires were created, a hierarchy fell into place, and not everyone was happy about it. A few vampires started changing humans like crazy, creating families so large and powerful that no one could control them. They were creating armies. Feeling threatened, Valentina decided to do the same. But it changed her.”

He tipped his head back and looked up at the ceiling. “The world was a cruel place back then. She lost a little of her humanity with every vampire she created. But I still loved her.” He looked at me. “Until Adam killed her.”

I stared at him. It couldn’t be true. Adam would never kill someone. “Why?” I whispered.

“Because he blamed her for his fiance's death.”

“I don't understand.” My heart was thundering. Adam was engaged?

“Valentina changed Adam, but he did not transition well. He killed his fiance, and blamed Valentina for it, since she was the one who made him a vampire.”

My mind was buzzing. “I don’t believe you. He would have told me.”

Julian laughed harshly. “Because he was so honest with you about everything else?”

He had a point.

“He killed Valentina, in such a horrific way-” He closed his eyes, his expression pained.

Seeing him like that did something to me. I stood and walked around the coffee table to sit down beside him. I put my arms around him and laid my head against his chest. After a moment he wrapped his arms around me and rested his head atop mine.

I wasn't about to apologize for what Adam had done. If Valentina hadn’t changed him, he wouldn’t have killed his fiance. Adam once told me he wasn’t given a choice when he was changed, and if that was true, Valentina was one hundred percent to blame. But Julian had loved her, so I offered him comfort.

I could feel Julian’s heartbeat against my cheek as I held him, and my own heart began to beat in tune with his.

After a while he lifted his head and I leaned back to look up at him. “I have a gift for you,” he said.

I leaned back further, releasing him. He had a gift for me?

He slid to the edge of the couch and reached down to lift something off the floor. It was a violin case. My eyes widened when I saw it. He handed it to me and I ran my hand over the case before opening it.

I gasped when I saw the instrument. It was a Palo Greiner violin. An instrument I had only ever dreamed of playing.

“Where did you get this?” I ran my fingertips over the smooth wood, in awe of its beauty.

He looked at me hopefully. “Do you like it?”

“I love it,” I breathed. “How did you get this so fast? I only told you I played violin last night.”

He smiled. “You can thank Maria for that. She’s a miracle worker.” I shook my head in disbelief. “Would you play for me?” he asked.

I nodded and carefully took the violin out of its case. My heart began to pound as I stood. I felt suddenly shy, and was confused by it. I’d never been shy or insecure when it came to my music. Why was I feeling that way now?

“Any requests?” I half-joked, trying to shake my nerves.

He just smiled and leaned back against the couch.

I took a few steps away, fidgeting. God, what was wrong with me? I felt bare and exposed. I closed my eyes and imagined that I was alone. I drew the bow across the strings, and as soon as I heard those first notes, I was calm. The violin felt like it was made for me. Like it was part of me. The rest of the world faded away, until I was alone in the dark with my music. When the song ended, I opened my eyes and looked at Julian.

His eyes were focused on my face, his expression intense. “Play it again.”

I looked at him with confusion. “The same song?”

“Yes.”

I played it again. Then I played another song, and another. I played for hours, at Julian’s urging, until my internal clock told me that sunrise was approaching.

I stopped mid-song and looked at him with wide eyes. I had played the entire night, and my hands weren’t sore or tired.

“You’re incredible,” he said, standing. “The way you play- I was transported.” My heart swelled with pride at his words.

“I mean it Sarah,” he continued. “Talented musicians are a dime a dozen in our world. Vampires have centuries to master their craft. But you… Watching you play felt like magic.”

I didn’t know what to say. His words touched me. I felt so close to him at that moment, I was afraid if I spoke I’d say something I’d regret. I looked away.

“I think it's almost sunrise,” I said, as I gently placed the violin in its case and laid it on the coffee table.

“You can take that to your room if you want.” He nodded towards the case. “It belongs to you.”

Neither of us spoke as he walked me to my room. We were so close as we walked, our bodies nearly touching. Thoughts were flying through my mind a million miles per second. Naughty thoughts. Memories of the night before.

When we got to my door, I looked up at him and our eyes met. I wanted so badly to know what he was thinking.

“Well, goodnight,” I finally said.

“Can I stay?” he asked.

His words nearly made my legs give out. “Yes.”

He lowered his head and brushed his lips softly across mine. I rose on my tiptoes and wrapped one arm around his neck, my other hand still holding the violin. I pressed my lips to his, and he groaned. He grabbed me and lifted me off the floor, and I wrapped my legs around his waist.

Without breaking our kiss, he opened the door with one hand and kicked it closed behind us. It bounced off its cracked frame and swung back open, but neither of us cared.

His tongue swept into my mouth as he carried me towards the bed. He lay me down and straightened to look down at me. I watched his pupils dilate until his eyes were completely black, and I shuddered with anticipation.

He roughly yanked his shirt over his head, and I went to do the same before realizing I still had the handle of the violin case clasped in my fist. I released it and pushed it towards the bottom of the bed before yanking my tank top off.

He leaned over to grab the waistband of my skirt, and I lifted my hips, allowing him to pull it off me. He tossed it to the floor, then he wrapped his hands around my legs and pulled me towards him. I let out a yelp of surprise, and his mouth curled into a wicked grin.

He pulled me snug up against him, my legs spread wide and dangling off the bed on either side of him. He grabbed my underwear with both hands and tore the fabric, ripping them right off me. He looked down to where our bodies meet, and I wriggled my hips, wishing his shorts weren’t in the way. He ran his hands up my thighs, then he pushed my legs wide. I started to sit up, to reach for his shorts, but he pushed me back against the mattress.

“Not yet,” he said, shaking his head. Then he dropped to his knees.

My eyes closed as he brought his mouth down on me. He moaned against my flesh, and his hands slid under my ass, lifting me off the bed. He pushed his tongue inside me, and my hands fisted in the blankets. He tortured me with his tongue, until I screamed his name, then he turned his head slightly and sank his fangs into me. I grabbed his head, holding him to me as he drank.

The tremors from my orgasm were just beginning to fade when he pushed two fingers deep inside of me. I gasped, my eyes flying open, and tension immediately started to build again as he slid his fingers in and out of me. My body tightened around his fingers, and I knew I was about to come again. He must have known it too, because he withdrew his fangs from my body and flicked his tongue over my clit. I went spiraling over the edge, lifting my hips to thrust against his hand. My body was still throbbing when he removed his fingers and stood to slide his cock into me.

There was no slow teasing this time. He pounded into me with inhuman speed, never giving my body time to recover. He stood at the edge of the bed, gripping my thighs, holding my legs up and spreading them as he wrecked me. I watched him through the red haze of lust, marveling at the site of his body. After two powerful orgasms, and the effect of his venom, I was too weak to do anything but lay there as he sought his release. I watched his face as he came, loving that I was the cause of his pleasure.