Until the Sun Falls from the Sky (The Three #1)(24)
Author: Kristen Ashley

“You’re ordering me to call you ‘darling’?” I asked with disbelief.

“Yes.”

“That’s crazy!” I protested.

“You’ll do it,” he demanded.

I looked to the ceiling and muttered, “I’m such an idiot.”

Since I was looking at the ceiling, his mouth brushing mine came as a surprise. When my eyes rolled to his, I could see close up his were smiling.

“You’re adorable,” he whispered.

And with that, he left.

And with that, I was left with wondering how I could detest a being so much and still feel a little thrill at his calling me adorable and his giving me a brush on the lips.

* * * * *

My plan to escape was thwarted.

See, I’d decided to let Lucien hunt me down and kill me.

I didn’t want to die. I also didn’t think he’d do it.

Kill me that was.

It seemed, weirdly enough, he actually liked me in his freakish vampire way.

When he found me (and he would), I was counting on the fact he’d give into me pleading for my life, figure out I was more of a pain in the ass than I was worth, he’d release me and I’d be on my way.

It was a ludicrous plan hatched in a hysterically angry frame of mind.

However, my day turned out rather busy and I never had the chance to put it into action.

First up, I tried to get Edwina to tell me if she knew what happened with my aunties. She said she didn’t know. I didn’t know her enough to know if she was lying or not but I let it go.

Next, I started to plan my getaway.

Obviously, I’d need cash, credit cards and identification. So, logically, I started with my purse.

There I found the dread, detested Lucien had not only confiscated my phone; he’d also taken my wallet and my passport.

The bastard.

That was okay. I had a few pieces of jewelry that were worth some money. I’d pawn them to get some cash.

I went to the drawer in my dressing table that had an inbuilt, velvet lined jewelry section.

My jewelry was gone.

Damn!

What? Did he read my mind at breakfast?

Undeterred, I decided just to go. Upon examining the house two days ago, I’d also examined the garage and saw the Cayenne which Edwina told me Lucien had bought for me. I could sell the Cayenne for a shed load of money.

Upon thoroughly searching and eventually asking Edwina, I found there were no keys. Lucien had taken them.

“He’s concerned about you, dear,” Edwina explained what she thought was the truth. “You weren’t steady on your feet yesterday. You need a bit of time to get settled in and it won’t help to go gallivanting around the countryside.”

After offering that pearl of wisdom, she flitted away.

I was glaring at her back while considering loading the silver in a pillowcase and hitchhiking to the nearest town when the next thing happened.

The doorbell rang and Edwina and I both reached it at the same time. Me hoping it was my aunties or better yet, my Mom. Edwina knowing who it was.

It was two men who came bearing lots and lots of boxes.

Edwina was obviously expecting this and although she acted a little bit weirded out about it but didn’t share why, she started to order them around as to where the boxes went.

When the men took some into the bedroom, I followed them and Edwina was waiting for them in the dressing room. Without hesitation she tore one open and started to pull out the things in the box.

The things in the box, by the way, were men’s clothes. Expensive, well-tailored, designer-label men’s clothes that looked like they would fit Lucien.

There were a lot of clothes.

I wandered out of the dressing room and down the stairs and saw other boxes were being placed in other rooms. Mostly the study.

I stood amongst this hubbub, perplexed.

Was he moving in?

I mean, I was pretty certain Rafe didn’t live with Lana. I was equally pretty certain that Duncan didn’t live with my cousin Natalie.

By the way, I’d learned Natalie’s (my favorite cousin) vampire’s name was Duncan after my Selection, when I learned all my cousin’s vampire’s names. I had six cousins, four of them Selected, two of them not yet.

All of them, I was pretty certain, didn’t live with their vampires.

Furthermore, I was sure my mother didn’t live with Cosmo.

As I was standing in the hall watching the men go back out to their truck to get even more boxes, Stephanie waltzed in the opened door.

She looked fantastic in a royal blue satin blouse and matching skirt that fit her like a second skin and hit her at her knees. Her high-heeled, royal blue, strappy sandals were, no other words for it, the bomb.

As a woman, regardless of my current tumultuous state-of-being, I couldn’t stop myself from crying, “I love your outfit!”

She put her hands out and smiled. “Fab, isn’t it? We’ll get Lucien’s card and I’ll take you to the shop where I got it, kit you out.”

My pleasure at her outfit disappeared and I wrinkled my nose.

“I don’t think so,” I said.

She got close, her brows drawn, a small smile playing at her mouth. “Why’s that?”

“I don’t want anything from Lucien,” I announced grandly.

For some unhinged reason this made her laugh out loud like I was hilarious.

Then, eyes on me, she whispered, “God, I envy him.”

Boy, vampires were weird.

Suddenly something occurred to me and I looked out at the blazing sun Stephanie had just walked through to get to the house.

“You can’t be in the sun!” I shouted and it sounded like an accusation.

She asked through a chuckle, “What?”

“You,” I stated, pointing at her, “just walked through the sun.” I pointed out the door before dropping my hand. “I thought sunshine was deadly to vampires.”

Confusion washed through her face before she muttered to herself, “Vampire Studies aren’t what they used to be.”

“I was expelled,” I divulged.

Her beautiful blue eyes widened then she threw back her head and laughed, uproariously I might add, all the while coming toward me and sliding her arm around my waist. She moved me forward into the family room where she seated us facing on the couch.

“Vampires are human,” she told me.

I waved my hand between us and said, “I know that. Lucien explained that last night.”

“Sun isn’t deadly to us.”

I didn’t know that but I didn’t share mainly because she already knew I didn’t know that from my reaction.