out in a horseshoe with the living a rea covering most of the side where the garage attached and the sleeping quarters covered the opposite side. The family room opened to a u-shaped courtyard with a beautiful patio which surrounded a covered in-ground pool.
She led me to the guest suite and I sighed at the more than modest accommodations.
“This is the guest room and I don’t think Michael will mind letting you have it now that you’re back to being human,” she said and waved at the king size bed decorated with soft blues. “The bathroom reminds me of Damian’s in the old house.” Valerie swung the bathroom door open, showcasing a marble bathroom that could have been a replica of the one we used to have.
“Oh, Valerie, this is beautiful,” I whispered and the tears sprouted again, but this time I wasn’t able to stop them with a flurry of blinks. I dropped the bag on the floor and covered my face.
Her warm arms wrapped around me and I melted into her, letting myself succumb to the soul-strangling sobs.
Chapter Twenty
I don’t know how long I cried, but when my tears dried up, I hardly had the strength to stand. Valerie led me to the bed and sat me down before disappearing into the bathroom. She came back with a damp wash cloth and handed it to me before taking the spot next to me.
“What happened to you two?”
I wiped my face and balled up the cloth, tossing it into an empty laundry basket that sat by the bureau. “The cure. Damian’s allergic to me now.” I detested the whiny quality of my nasally voice and sniffled, meeting Valerie’s gaze. “And if he ever bites me, it will kill him.”
“Jesus,” she said. “How did you ever drive together in the truck?”
“It’s not like hay-fever.” I gave her a smile. “Being around me isn’t the problem. We just can’t touch; otherwise he breaks out in blisters wherever our skin comes into contact. It has to hurt like hell, but it does nothing to me,” I said and the tears threatened again.
“Oh, Naomi,” Valerie said and took my hands.
“We had five extremely passionate and affectionate years and now...” I clenched my jaw as the anger flare. “Now I want to hurt that bastard as much as he’s hurt us,” I said and met Valerie’s gaze.
“I heard you hurt him pretty bad,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t succeed in killing him,” I countered. If I had killed Lucifer, we would still be playing in the snow in Denver or wherever our hearts led us, but now, we were forever separated by sun and blisters.
“Michael said you saved Damian.”
“Yeah. Damian tried to ditch me, to keep me safe. He fully expected to die for me.”
“I think he would have,” she said and I cocked my head. “I could see how deeply he loved you just by the way he looked at you. That’s why it surprised the hell out of me that you had only known each other for a couple of days. The way he looked at you was the way my father always looked at my mother.”
“And now?”
Valerie stared at me and sighed. “It’s still there, under a layer of soul-wrenching pain.”
Soul-wrenching pain. How damn ed accurate and it made me crack a smile.
“It’s the same way you look at him.”
My chin quivered and I nodded. “I can’t go for the rest of my life without touching him, Valerie. What the hell am I going to do?”
“Can he turn you again?”
I shook my head. “I’m immune to the virus and I’ve seen what happens when a vampire bites me. It’s a horrific death...” I closed my eyes and hung my head, unable to relay the details despite Valerie’s questioning stare.
She took my hand and squeezed. “Somehow, I’m sure it will all work out in the end.”
I met her gaze but kept my mouth shut. There was no fairytale ending to our story and I didn’t want to burst Valerie’s bubble, so I just offered a smile and a nod.
“I think I’ll take a shower if you don’t mind. I’m sure I’m a bit ripe after being in a truck for a
She led me to the guest suite and I sighed at the more than modest accommodations.
“This is the guest room and I don’t think Michael will mind letting you have it now that you’re back to being human,” she said and waved at the king size bed decorated with soft blues. “The bathroom reminds me of Damian’s in the old house.” Valerie swung the bathroom door open, showcasing a marble bathroom that could have been a replica of the one we used to have.
“Oh, Valerie, this is beautiful,” I whispered and the tears sprouted again, but this time I wasn’t able to stop them with a flurry of blinks. I dropped the bag on the floor and covered my face.
Her warm arms wrapped around me and I melted into her, letting myself succumb to the soul-strangling sobs.
Chapter Twenty
I don’t know how long I cried, but when my tears dried up, I hardly had the strength to stand. Valerie led me to the bed and sat me down before disappearing into the bathroom. She came back with a damp wash cloth and handed it to me before taking the spot next to me.
“What happened to you two?”
I wiped my face and balled up the cloth, tossing it into an empty laundry basket that sat by the bureau. “The cure. Damian’s allergic to me now.” I detested the whiny quality of my nasally voice and sniffled, meeting Valerie’s gaze. “And if he ever bites me, it will kill him.”
“Jesus,” she said. “How did you ever drive together in the truck?”
“It’s not like hay-fever.” I gave her a smile. “Being around me isn’t the problem. We just can’t touch; otherwise he breaks out in blisters wherever our skin comes into contact. It has to hurt like hell, but it does nothing to me,” I said and the tears threatened again.
“Oh, Naomi,” Valerie said and took my hands.
“We had five extremely passionate and affectionate years and now...” I clenched my jaw as the anger flare. “Now I want to hurt that bastard as much as he’s hurt us,” I said and met Valerie’s gaze.
“I heard you hurt him pretty bad,” she said.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t succeed in killing him,” I countered. If I had killed Lucifer, we would still be playing in the snow in Denver or wherever our hearts led us, but now, we were forever separated by sun and blisters.
“Michael said you saved Damian.”
“Yeah. Damian tried to ditch me, to keep me safe. He fully expected to die for me.”
“I think he would have,” she said and I cocked my head. “I could see how deeply he loved you just by the way he looked at you. That’s why it surprised the hell out of me that you had only known each other for a couple of days. The way he looked at you was the way my father always looked at my mother.”
“And now?”
Valerie stared at me and sighed. “It’s still there, under a layer of soul-wrenching pain.”
Soul-wrenching pain. How damn ed accurate and it made me crack a smile.
“It’s the same way you look at him.”
My chin quivered and I nodded. “I can’t go for the rest of my life without touching him, Valerie. What the hell am I going to do?”
“Can he turn you again?”
I shook my head. “I’m immune to the virus and I’ve seen what happens when a vampire bites me. It’s a horrific death...” I closed my eyes and hung my head, unable to relay the details despite Valerie’s questioning stare.
She took my hand and squeezed. “Somehow, I’m sure it will all work out in the end.”
I met her gaze but kept my mouth shut. There was no fairytale ending to our story and I didn’t want to burst Valerie’s bubble, so I just offered a smile and a nod.
“I think I’ll take a shower if you don’t mind. I’m sure I’m a bit ripe after being in a truck for a
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