Dark Beauty

I woke up in the late afternoon. I was alone in the room, blind without my contacts, and naked under the dark wine red sheets and white comforter. It took me a moment to remember what had happened last night and it was almost totally consuming when I did remember. I would have cried more if I had any tears left. There weren’t any though. Instead I was stiff and empty. I managed to drag myself into the bathroom and filled up the claw-foot bathtub with hot water before getting in. What was I supposed to do now?

What would I do when night came? I would have to face him…Andreas…my lifemate. He was my lifemate too, for better or for worse. There was a pile of warm, fluffy, white towels and I used them to dry myself off as I scrubbed myself down as best as I could. I used one of the towels as a turban for my very wet hair. A robe hung from the hook and I threw it on as I walked to the sink. A contacts case sat on the edge of the counter and I knew without a doubt that they were my contacts so I put them in. Finally able to see again, I walked back into the bedroom. I fished a pair of black sweatpants out of my pillowcase along with undergarments, a plain black t-shirt, and a sweater.

I didn’t even bother to brush my hair or pull it back as left the room. I walked down the hall and to the stairs. I had always read you were supposed to be tender, but I didn’t feel anything making me suspect my guilty lifemate. At the base of the stairs, I was met by the chauffeur Antonio. “Can I help you miss?”

“Call me Layla, please.” I insisted. “And you could start with directions to the kitchen.”

“No familiarity miss,” Antonio insisted. “And the kitchen is right this way.” I followed Antonio through the house memorizing what I could. I was going to have to go back to the kitchen at some point and the less I asked the better it was. I looked into the fridge first and pulled out a half gallon of chocolate soy milk before closing it and opening the freezer. There were boxes of frozen waffles and burritos, raw chicken and beef, and frozen vegetables. I contemplated for a moment and took out two frozen beef and green chili burritos. Antonio was behind me with a glass plate taking me by surprise. I put the frozen burritos on the plate and Antonio whisked them away to the microwave. A clear glass cup sat on the counter waiting for my soy milk.

“You know, I could do this myself,” I muttered.

“Would you really keep me from doing my job miss?” Antonio asked with a half-smile.

I just shrugged. “Maybe.” Antonio laughed in response. I drank my soy milk and ate my burritos after they came out of the microwave. Antonio stole my dishes before I was able to try and wash them. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. “Is there a phone with long distance around here Antonio?”

“There is a phone down the hall. It is the first door on the right.” Antonio said his sleeves rolled up past his elbows and his hands immersed in sudsy water.

I gave him thanks as I walked out of the kitchen. I could see the sun setting through the picturesque windows as I walked to the first door on the right. It was a large study with dark colors and a Victorian feel. The phone sat on the large writing desk that stood in front of the single large window that faced a courtyard with a garden. I dialed a number and had to wait until the third ring to get an answer. “Hello?”

"Hey mom.”

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Andreas rose as the sun began to sink. As he closed the earth in his sleeping chamber, he clothed himself in the manner of his people in black slacks and a dark silk shirt. He reached out to touch Layla’s mind and found her in the public study talking on the phone. She cut off his mind to the conversation and Andreas glowered darkly. He stalked up through the passageways and to the first floor of his mansion. He stormed into the study to see Layla silhouetted by last light of the setting sun. The sun caught red and blonde highlights in her hair and made her skin glow. He was captivated a moment by her beauty.

“I love you too,” she said with a smile to whoever was on the phone and Andreas felt his anger surface again. “Alright, I’ll talk to you again later. Be good. Bye Nathaniel.”

Layla hung up the phone and turned to look at him. Her dark eyes were solemn as she looked at him. “Who is this Nathaniel?” Andreas asked quietly.

“Jealous Andreas?” Layla asked softly. “Don’t be worried. He’s one of my younger brothers. There are two of them: Nathaniel and Thomas. I was just talking with them and my mom.”

Something like guilt rose up and cinched his innards. He was acting like a fool. “I am sorry for acting so irrationally my love. I am a jealous man an I didn’t like to hear that you might say such things about any other male.”

“Does my brother even count Andreas?” Layla asked sharply.

“Of course not honey,” Andreas said quickly moving forward. He stopped as soon as Layla took a quick step back. “They are yours Layla and are therefore under my protection. No harm will ever come to them unless they were to harm you. Then I would not be able to speak for my action.”

“My brother’s wouldn’t hurt me,” Layla said staring coldly at Andreas.

He winced. He would have had to have been deaf and blind not to catch the reference. “It has never been my intent to harm you Layla.”

“But you did Andreas. Whether you meant to or not, you hurt me. You took something very precious that was only mine to give. And what makes it worse is that I can’t hate you.”

The tears that welled in her eyes broke Andreas’s heart. She was his and he had done this to her. What a fool he had been? “I do not want you to hate me or to fear me Layla. Tell me what I can do to gain your forgiveness and it will be done. I swear it.”

“Wait,” Layla said holding her head up high. “I want you to wait to touch me again. I know according to Carpathian law we’re married…but I need more. I want you to meet my family. I want a wedding first. I want my adopted brother to walk me down the aisle. I want to have a dance with my mom at the wedding reception. Could you give me that first?

Andreas felt his body rally in protest. But he had to do it for her sake. It was his duty and his privilege. “I will wait Layla…if that is your wish.”

“Yes, it’s what I want.”

“So be it.”