He rolls his eyes inwardly at this admission as he sits up and drops his feet to the floor. “Sorry, Veronica, it has run its course.”
“No, Devon, please.” She pushes her dark curls out of her eyes, the tears welling up.
Please, not the crying thing. Have a bit of backbone, woman, he thinks to himself, you are seven hundred years old. He didn’t really want to come here today. He only came because he is in the country and she wanted to see him. The three-hour drive was so not worth it. After Cole told them what Liv had said, he left straight away. He was restless and needed the time away from Cole. He has shown his hand a lot sooner than he had intended. Both with regard to his feelings towards Lizzie, but also towards his sibling. Not that he thinks Cole has any idea what those actually are. He didn’t outright say it.
He really doesn’t want to be here, especially now that is one hundred percent committed to his plan.
“Devon?” Veronica is weeping and asking him something, but he has zoned out and has no idea what she is saying.
He stands and pulls his pants and t-shirt on. Shoes and jacket next. He picks up the keys, wallet and phone from the nightstand, and turns to leave, never to return.
“Devon, please,” she begs. Fuck. He hates begging. Why do they always beg? Well, actually he doesn’t mind when Lizzie begs him to fuck her and to never leave her, he loves it, in fact. He loves that she needs him that much. But the others...it is such a pain in the ass.
“Veronica, I’m to be married. I just think it’s time to cut a few ties, that’s all. It’s nothing personal,” Devon says.
“Married?” Her tears start afresh, and he wishes that he hadn’t said that. He was trying to deter her, but clearly that didn’t work. He turns to the door and with his hand resting on the handle, she is there in a flash behind him, holding it closed. She is stronger than he is, and he isn’t going anywhere just yet. He doesn’t usually go for older Vamps. He gets enough of the domination from his sire. He prefers younger, pliable Vampires, or humans who will let him bite them. Mind you, that’s how he ended up in this mess with Jess.
“I can be just like her,” she says. “You can call me Elizabeth and tell me how to make love to you like she does.”
He closes his eyes and breathes in deeply. This is dodgy territory. Yes, he likes his women to look like her, yes, he wants them to be her, but they don’t understand that he wants them to be her. Not a pretend version of her. They could never be her. God knows he thinks about it. Of course, he does, but if she ever found out he had actual Substitutes stashed away, she would stake him. Then she would find a way to bring him back to life just so she could stake him again. It’s a sore subject for her after what her sire did, and Devon knows she had issues with Jess looking like her. He thinks she has mostly gotten over that now as she knows he doesn’t want her to be Elizabeth.
“Have a bit of dignity,” he says to her quietly. “You are better than that.” She drops her hand from the door then and lets him go.
He leaves without looking back and the tension leaves him as he opens the car. He swiped the McLaren this morning. It’s no Veyron, but it’s the next best thing. Cole has driven it recently. He can smell his scent, along with something or someone else. It makes him wonder who, when, and to where he drove? That feeling he has been pushing away recently flares up but gets replaced as he suddenly jumps a mile.
“Hey, baby,” Liv says from the seat next to him.
“Fuck sakes,” he says and casts his gaze over her. “What are you doing here?” he sneers at her. It’s not Liv, it’s Other Liv.
“I came to play. I did not expect you here though.” She waves her hand around the car.
“How did you even find me?”
“Works the same as Astralling, in a way. I think ‘you’ and here I am,” she explains.
“Well, fuck off. Go back to your own me,” Devon says.
“Ooo, such nasty words,” she drawls at him. “He’s no fun. I want to take you for a test drive.” She smirks at him as she draws her hand up his thigh. Despite how much he despises this woman, he feels himself go hard. “Get your hands off me.”
“No can do. I know you can feel the bond we have,” she says shrewdly.
He can. It’s slight, nowhere near the intense love and passion that he has with his real sire, but it’s there, nonetheless. That’s disconcerting.
“I wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole, now get your hands off me,” he snarls at her, as he roars the engine to life.
She touches his cheek and he flinches. “How about now, my darling boy?” she purrs at him in Elizabeth’s accent, and as he looks at her as his true sire, he stalls the engine and they both rock forward. He grows harder as he sees her blue eyes full of mischief and so help him, he wants to take her right there. He can’t resist her. He can’t resist her when she looks like this. Even though his brain knows it isn’t her, his dick has other ideas.
“Change back before I get her sire here to kick your ass,” he says to her as he restarts the engine and pulls away.
“Mm, her sire is delicious,” she draws the word out as she licks her luscious lips. “If you can call him here, I wouldn’t object to a three-way.”
“He wouldn’t touch you with a barge pole either. Say what you like about the man, but he has high standards.”
“You still have some fire to you. My Devon lost his a long time ago.” She sighs.
“No doubt stamped out by you and your whoring ways.”
“Ouch,” she says with a sidelong glance. “Does she know you talk about her like that?”