Raven's Rose (Charity Series Book 3) (3 page)

             
“You know, Raven,” her father began, crossing his arms over his chest—his face tight, “normally I’d have a big problem with my daughter going out with a vampire. You must know how we’ve been raised to hate you. But I trust my son very much, and he tells me you are an honorable man and one he’d be glad to have at his side under any circumstance. That says a lot for your character. I like to consider myself as an open-minded man.” He paused for a moment, and a long gusty sigh fell from his lips. “I only ask that you treat my Rose with gentleness and respect. If you hurt her then we may have a problem. Understand?”

             
Raven did. He respected her father very much for having the boldness to express his concerns. “Yes, of course, Mr. Jameson. I understand completely.”

             
“Great,” her father responded, his expression softening.

             
When Rose finally entered the room, Raven felt a sudden shiver at her remarkable beauty. She was dressed simply, in a red and white sundress with a thin, white sweater draped over her arm. Her hair was straight and cascaded in layers over and down her shoulders. Her makeup was light except for the darkness on her lashes that Raven thought accented her big, brown eyes wonderfully. Her lips were a soft pink with just a hint of shine. She was breathtaking.

             
“Are you ready?” he asked, surprised at how nervous he had suddenly become. He almost laughed out loud. Since when had he ever been nervous around women? This was a totally new feeling for him and strangely exhilarating.

             
“I’m ready,” she said, a shy smile pulling at her lips.

             
“Raven,” her father added, “I’d like her back on the premises by eleven o’clock. She starts her new school in two days and needs to have plenty of sleep.”

Rose blushed at the comment, and the sight was even cuter than Raven had imagined just moments before.

              “Yes, sir,” Raven said, pulling his eyes off of Rose. “I will make sure of it.”

             
Once they stepped out into the hallway of the D wing, Raven had a thought. “It is a good ways to the parking garage from here. I know a faster way, if you do not mind?” He gestured to the fact that he would need to carry her.

“Oh—I guess that’ll be okay,” she said with a slight nervous tremor to her voice.

He picked her up with extra care, careful to keep her body from pressing too close to his, but when he started running she threw her arms around his neck and held on tightly. He enjoyed the feeling of her wrapped around him and slowed down slightly, in no hurry to have the feeling end. It was like energy was flowing from her to him, and he sensed she felt it too. He could feel her breath on his neck and it took all of his vampire strength to remain in control. When he sat her down on her feet in the parking garage it was her touch, not the exertion that had him breathless.

He escorted her to his shiny, black BMW.

“Wow! This is your car?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes, of course.” He opened her door and she got in slowly, rubbing her hand along the black, leather seat.

“This is totally awesome, Raven. I’ve never ridden in a car this cool before.”

“Really?” he said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “I am glad you like it. Maybe I will let you drive it later.”

“Really?” she asked, beaming up at him.

He laughed softly. “Anything you like.” He shut her door, and quickly walked around the car, and jumped into the driver’s seat.

From the corner of his eye Raven watched her put her seat belt on. Her face was lit with an expression that resembled awe as they drove up the ramp, out of the garage, and into the forest. “I still can’t get over how cool that is, riding out of the garage like that,” she said a little breathlessly.

“Did you not live with a pack back in Atlanta?” Raven asked.

“No. Mom and Dad were too paranoid that a pack would ask questions about Eli. If they figured out he was Levi’s twin then their secret would be exposed. They took an oath to keep the existence of Levi’s twin a secret in order to keep them both safe.”

“I never understood why, exactly.” Raven said.

“Well, with only two other cases of twins recorded in the history books, in both cases one twin killed the other, his birth parents were afraid for them, so they separated them at birth. Levi was the oldest so they kept him and found a couple unable to have children, or so they thought, to raise Eli. They sent them off to live in secret so that they would both be protected from one another. I always felt like they would get along if they knew each other, and I’m glad to have been proven right.”

“Yes. It is nice to see them getting along so well. You would never know they were raised apart. I guess twins are like that. They always have a connection no matter how far away they are.”

“Raven, can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“How old are you exactly? I mean you talk like you were born in the 1800’s or something. Do you ever use contractions?”

He laughed. “Never. Contractions are for lazier generations, something we were not in my generation. Actually, I was born in 1846. I met Rose when she was sixteen and I was twenty-one.”

“Are you sad?”

The question caught him of guard. “Why do you ask me that?”

She shrugged, something he wished she wouldn’t do. The gesture somehow seemed too casual for her beauty.

“It’s just that you look sad sometimes, like your mind is far away. Are you thinking about Rose?”

“I guess it is hard not to think about her sometimes, but I am happy right now. I like being with you. I have felt alone for so long.” He thought her expression showed concern.

“But didn’t you have companionship sometimes?”

Raven noticed her hand start to inch near his but then she pulled it back. He was a little disappointed and unsure of what might have stopped her. “Yes. I had two companions, Cassie and Rachel. Charity killed Rachel a few months back, but Cassie is still alive—somewhere.”

She looked over at him in total disbelief. “Charity killed one of your girlfriends, really?”

He laughed at her expression. “Once you get to know her you will understand. She staked Rachel in the heart and watched with enjoyment as she disintegrated into a pile of ash. I must say that Rachel had it coming.”

“You don’t seem sad. Didn’t you love them?”

“No. I am sorry to admit they were merely companions to keep me preoccupied. You see, I have spent the better part of my vampire existence being angry at my circumstances. Although I am the youngest of my three brothers, I was always considered the most vicious. My anger ruled me. My brother, Stephen, was killed by Levi’s pack 10 years ago when my coven secretly attacked them. They were outnumbered. We knew my brother was making a bad decision, but we were in London and were unable to talk him out of it. When we got word that he had been killed, my anger reached a new high. I waited until the right time, and they had gotten comfortable, to plan my revenge on Levi. But something happened the day I had Charity kidnapped in order to bring Levi to me. Once I had gotten to know her, however, I felt a sort of kinship with her. It is hard to explain really. There was something familiar about her. I knew I could not kill her, and soon her happiness became very important to me.

“A few months ago, my vampires attacked the pack in the clearing. During the battle, I spotted a vampire with a death grip on Charity’s neck, and so, without any hesitation whatsoever, I killed him. As a result, as an act of betrayal, I have ostracized myself from my people. They will never have me back now and will most likely kill me if they ever find me. Despite all I have done to the pack, Levi was gracious enough to invite me into their home. I didn’t want to admit it, but he truly is an honorable man.”

“Wow. It’s true what they say. This pack is totally weird.”

He smiled and turned to peer at her. “Yes, but they are ours now.”

She smiled at him for the first time tonight. “Yes—I guess they are. I bet that’s something you never thought you’d ever say.”

He laughed loudly this time, and she seemed to enjoy the sound. “Yes, you are right about that.”

At the restaurant he watched silently as she ate. He watched her pick up her fork with gracefulness and marveled at how different she seemed from his old Rose. She was meeker, and yet he sensed she had it within her to be downright vicious if need be.

“May I ask you something?” he asked.

“Sure.”

“May I call you Sophia?”

She glanced up at him then. “How did you know that was my name?”

“Your father told me.”

“Oh, um—I guess that would be okay. I’ve always liked it, but everybody calls me Rose or Rosebud, which I hate.” She shrugged her shoulders and scrunched her nose.

He liked it when she scrunched her nose. It was a cute gesture that showed her sweetness. It hit him then.
That’s it! That’s the difference he was searching for.
She’s sweet—a characteristic unlike his old Rose.
He found that he liked it a great deal. It made him want to protect her. He suddenly felt alive and useful somehow.

He remembered Charity’s advice about staring at her like she was the only girl in the world and realized he was doing that without any real effort at all. She
was
the only girl on this earth now. There would never be another one for him, of that he was certain.

They laughed a lot throughout dinner, something Raven didn’t do very often, but something he realized he missed. It felt nice—refreshing.

He liked the way she lit up when she talked about her brother, Eli. He seemed to be the sole source of entertainment in their family. Raven had actually found himself drawn to the edgy twin himself. At first there had been friction between the two of them, but it had soon faded to a friendship and mutual respect. Eli had asked, more than once, if he would be open to helping him with something that may be considered, as he put it “unmoral”. Raven always laughed at him and his mischievousness, but usually said yes. After all, he figured that was what friends did for one another anyway.

After Sophia finished her last bite, she set her fork down, wiped her mouth, and then took a sip of her drink. She suddenly appeared very serious. “Raven, before this goes any further I have something I need to say to you. I know you were in love with Rose, and that you still love her, but I want to make it very clear that I am not Rose. I may look like her, and be named after her, but I’m my own woman. I didn’t know her, but I’m sure that we’re totally different. I just want to make that clear. I mean just because you loved her doesn’t guarantee you’ll love me, and I’ve had enough trouble with guys lately. I don’t want any more if I can help it.” She searched his face for a long moment before she asked, “Does that make sense?”

Raven was slightly surprised at where this conversation had turned. He actually stiffened, if that were more possible. “Yes, of course. I only want the chance to get to know you. I feel like we have a chemistry, and I would like very much to explore that. But I will never pressure you in any way.”

With that she smiled at him. “I knew you’d say something like that. Isn’t that weird?”

Without warning he reached over and took her hand in his, a quick movement that startled her.

“I am sorry, Sophia. I just wanted to know how it felt.”

She smiled sweetly and blushed. “No, it’s fine, really.”

“So, what is this about trouble with your boyfriends?”

“Oh, well my last boyfriend was a real jerk, very possessive. He kind of mistreated me. Eli tried to warn me, but I didn’t listen.”

Raven tensed, his face becoming hard. “He hit you?”

“It’s okay, Raven. He never hit me, just pushed me around and yelled some, but the night I broke up with him it could’ve been nasty. He grabbed me by my hair and told me I couldn’t leave him.”

He made an effort to soften his expression. It was exhausting trying to impress. He had never had to do this before. “What happened?”

“I punched him in the nose.” She giggled. “I think I broke it actually, and then I ran away. Thankfully my dad had the insight to follow me that night. He picked me up before the psycho could chase me.”

“Have you seen him since?”

“No way! That loser’s history. The truth is, I didn’t think I had the guts to hit him until I did. I’ve always felt weak, but in that moment I knew I had it in me to be strong. I guess in that case I can’t regret it, huh?”

“Well, he is just lucky I was not there or he would be dead.”

“Oh, Raven, you say the sweetest things.” She batted her eyes at him causing him to laugh. “So, have you ever heard of a vampire/werewolf hook-up before?”

He shook his head slightly. “No. Never. We are natural enemies. Before I met Charity I would have killed any werewolf once I caught his or her scent. Actually, I am surprised you are not having more trouble with this than you are.”

She shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t raised in a pack, so I didn’t really know about the war between us. I mean my dad has mentioned it, but it’s not something we talked about. I guess they shielded me from that stuff, for the most part. Lucky for me, huh?”