Page 48 of Into The Light

After pulling me to my feet, he led me to the tri-fold mirror in the corner of my room. When I stepped in front of it, the air refused to release from my lungs. My reflection startled me. Classy and sophisticated, beautiful and powerful. I hardly recognized myself. Not because of the perfectly applied makeup or the professional hairdo, but because I radiated something from inside... something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I felt beautiful.

My auburn hair fell in dark barrel rolls past my shoulders. Hints of red twirled along the tips. Dark kohl shadowed my eyes and my lashes looked significantly larger than my natural ones. The fiery red lipstick contrasted with my ivory skin and made my lips look plump and full.

Mark stood behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders. “You. Look. Perfect.”

Tears threatened to spill from my eyes.

“No crying! You’ll ruin your makeup!” Mark laughed and shook my shoulders.

“Thank you, Mark. This has been the most incredible day!” I turned and tossed my arms around his shoulders. He hugged me back before stepping forward and grasping me by the arms.

“The day isn’t over yet. The sun is setting in just a few moments. When it does, come downstairs and Aiden will have his surprise for you.”

Aiden. The kiss. Oh, God.

“Mark, he kissed me.”

Mark’s eyes saucered when he turned back around. “What?”

“He kissed me. Last night. Or maybe I kissed him. No, he kissed me. We kissed. I’m freaking out. I don’t know what to say when I see him. I’m not going to be his fuck buddy. After my ex, I promised myself no more bad boys. This is so awkward. Help. I need help.”

Mark stood unmoving and silent, not a natural response from him. It made me nervous as he stared at me in disbelief. “He kissed you?” he asked, as if he hadn’t heard a word I just said, his mouth falling open. I couldn’t tell if shock or anger caused his face to turn red.

“Yes, we kissed,” I whispered, searching his face for the answer to his emotion.

“As in your lips and his lips touched?”

“That is what a kiss is, Mark.”

“Emilia, he hasn’t kissed a woman since his wife, Isobel, died. You’re the first.”

My stomach plummeted to the floor. The height of the heels gave it all the further to drop. “What?” I swallowed hard.

“Honey, those succulent lips of his have never touched another woman’s since he last kissed his wife... centuries ago. He kissed you. He kissed you?”

I nodded my head, words refusing to form. What did Mark mean Aiden hadn’t kissed a woman since Isobel? That shocking tidbit of info didn’t indicate he only wanted me as a quick lay as previously thought.

“Emilia, this is a big deal. Huge. Gargantuan. Mammoth. He doesn’t kiss women. He’s slept with a few since he lost Isobel, because, well, hello... no one can be abstinent for eternity, but he has never kissed one of them.”

“So, what does it mean? What do I do? I don’t want to get hurt again, Mark. I can’t.”

“I don’t know what to tell you to do, sweetie. All I can tell you is that if he kissed you, then there is something much deeper than just sex happening here. And I say go for it.”

My head spun. Tonight would be awkward enough when he fed on me and I had to have the “I’m not going to sleep with you” talk. Now while he fed on me, I would know I was the only woman he’d kissed in hundreds of years. My head threatened to pop.

“Oh, my God, it’s time. He’ll be waiting for you.”

“For what? What’s happening? I’m freaking out, Mark!”

Mark shook his arms as he hopped up and down, then stopped and blew out a breath. “Okay, the kiss definitely is a big deal. I wish you would have told me about this earlier, so we had time to talk. But there’s no time now. Aiden is waiting. He hates waiting. Just go downstairs and enjoy your night. Okay?”

My heart raced at the thought of seeing him again, but I nodded and followed Mark out the door to the top of the stairs. He gave me a tap and sent me on my way. I felt similar to how I imagined arranged marriage brides felt when they headed down the aisle. Total terror and no idea what to expect.

One step at a time, I made my way around the bend to the center of the stairs. Aiden stood at the bottom, his arms clasped behind his back. He wore jeans that fit impossibly well, and a white shirt popped out from behind his opened grey suit coat. Casual but dripping with sexy style. He’d styled his hair into a rough tousle, much more casual and trendier than his usual smoothed back style. The sight of him looking that good nearly sent me tumbling ass over teakettle down the stairs.

He smiled wide as I got closer. Another new look for him. I stepped off the last step and moved toward him, the pull between us so strong I couldn’t have stopped if I’d wanted to. As I closed the distance between us, he pulled his hand out from behind his back. A single red rose extended with it.

“Happy birthday, Emilia. You look...” He scrubbed a hand across the five o’clock shadow on his jaw. “There are no words in any human language I have heard to capture how incredible you look. We’ll go with beautiful, but it is a vast understatement.”