EPILOGUE II

Florence

Part V

Caution was quickly thrown to the wind. Years of yearning had built up and finally broken under the tension. Muscle memory took over - the instruction manual she'd gleaned from all their past sessions of lovemaking combined meant that Karou knew precisely how to touch Warren to please him. He was already riled up and readied the moment they kissed.

Warren knew that this time Karou wouldn't stand for any of his usual teasing foreplay; she needed him right now. Instigating the urgent mood, he hitched up her dress while she sat on the very edge of the tabletop.

Taking her cue, Karou's dainty hands made quick work of unfastening his belt and pants to get to what she wanted, all while never breaking her lips from his. Now that he was exposed to her, she let her hands run wild, exploring his torso, abdomen, and beyond. He felt electrified in her hands, but just as she wasn't going to be patient enough to be played with, neither was he. Reaching between her thighs, he delicately pulled the last barrier of clothing aside and with his other hand at her rear, he tugged her closer to him as he advanced himself between her hips until they fit together how nature intended.

Vocalisations of pleasure rushed from each of their mouths amidst the frantic kisses they planted on each other; lips, necks, shoulders and any bare expanse of skin in sight. Warren took the time and relieved himself of his shirt with the rhythm between their hips set. Until now, it had hung awkwardly, restricting the moment of his arms somewhat. With his pants hanging open, its tucked in edges came loose, allowing the fabric to float down past his rear to the floor at his ankles. He had eyed over Karou's dress already, eager to let her free of it so that he could lavish his lips over the bare skin he wanted to unveil, but it looked like it might be difficult to remove without parting themselves. Still, he hoped that how he touched her was enough for now.

In the rush of everything, the pleasure was instant, but Karou felt like she couldn't quite relax and submerse herself in it while sitting awkwardly atop a dining table. Sure, it was hot... but considering she didn't want a brief liaison, she wanted to savour him, and she doubted she'd be able to on a table.

Warren seemed to sense this and figured it was time to move to a more comfortable location. He lifted her petite frame into his arms and supported her rear so that he didn't part his hips from hers. It was thrilling how Karou's breath hitched in her throat when she felt him sink as deep into her as he possibly could.

It only became apparent that he'd carried her to the villa's lounge when she found herself sprawled back over a comfy couch.

All while being carried from the dining room, Karou had kept her eyes closed and concentrated all of her energy and attention on kissing Warren's neck and face. When they reluctantly parted, Karou laid back and watched Warren relieve himself of his clothes. Though he didn't want to leave her alone for too long, he needed to rid Karou of her clothes before they could continue. Naked, he beckoned for her to stand so that she could join him in his nudity. Stood, turned facing away, Karou obliged by revealing where the zipper to her dress was by pulling her hair over one shoulder. Moving in to kiss over her neck, he closed his eyes and listened to the noise the zipper made as he tugged it towards its undoing. The floral fabric of her dress pooled at her ankles. Karou turned around to face her Sire once more and led him back to her lips with a gentle caress of his cheek.

Willingly Warren devoured her just how she wanted him to but continued on his crusade to have her naked. First, he unclasped her bra, and the moment she was free of it, his hands and lips worked eagerly, teasing at her nipples and massaging her flesh in a way that made Karou wild with lust. How it felt to have lips suckling at her chest, along with the odd adventurous nibble, did things to her that made her feel twenty all over again. Much had happened in her life since she lived at the Compound. Still, she had remembered exactly how it felt to be with him - how tantalising the wait to make love to him again had been! That was how she felt now as she combed her fingers through his hair and messed up whatever style he'd waxed it into that morning; she was eager for him to get on with it. Karou made that evident in how she arched her back and pushed her hips up against his hips. She needed him to know that the brief taste she'd had on the dining room table wasn't enough. Whining his name seemed to be the last sign he needed to stop his teasing.

He just wanted to savour her; that was all, but he had gotten the message; loud and clear.

Karou barely noticed his hands at her hips; he made such quick work of sending down her remaining underwear. Before she could comprehend the change from vertical to horizontal, she was laid back in the plush cushions of his couch, and they were once again one. With their limbs coiled about each other and doing whatever the other needed to get to a mutual state of ecstasy, pleasure came easy, and Karou's climaxes seemed to come in endless waves.

During one such moment when she was overcome by how her entire body spasmed, Karou released her arms from him and succumbed to the stimulation Warren enacted upon her. With her dainty fingers clutching at the fabric of the couch, her face contorted in pleasure as she cried out his name. Warren lent back to watch the parade her body put on for him and praised her; she loved being told she was a good girl, especially in the moment and the way Warren said it turned her on so much. How her naked body quivered for him and because of him was what ultimately did it for him. As a result, he quickly came to his own vigorous undoing. Karou's eyes fluttered open just in time to watch how it all culminated for him and simpered before she bit her lip at the sight of the expression he had on his face. It was all so perfect.

Finding their place back in each other's arms, once it was all over, they relaxed back into the couch. Naked and slightly damp from perspiring, Warren curled up behind Karou's back and wound one of his arms around her waist. Free to stroke over the black-blue plumage of her wings, Warren stole the odd kiss, pressing his lips to the nape of her neck here and there. It was taking him a little while to calm down even though he was now very much spent.

Snuggled back against Warren's chest, Karou felt completely content and safe, but it was bittersweet that this moment only made her think that this was how love should be. Warren's fingertips tracing over her feathers told her this alone, that he enjoyed and cared for both of her respective sides, vamperic and nephilim, equally. To him, she was nothing but her complete self, and he found perfection in her.

"Warren." Karou started.

"Hmm?" He sounded contented and sleepy by now. Night had fallen, and all the downstairs shutters had been closed over the windows by Paloma before she went home for the evening. Only the lamps that were on in the lounge lit the room in a gentle orange glow that was cosy.

"You didn't say it. I mean, you didn't think it back."

"I'm not following your meaning Karou," Warren muttered into her hair as he resigned both of his arms to coil about her waist.

"When I told you I love you. You never replied..." Karou said, a bit embarrassed to have to say it but mostly disgruntled by his obliviousness.

Firstly she felt how Warren's chest vibrated through her back when a chuckle rumbled up from his stomach. He sounded rather devilish. "You're not honestly feeling insecure about that right now, are you?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, I am." Karou shuffled about so that she could face him. She cupped her tiny hand to his cheek so that he couldn't escape her gaze. "I'm... happy that after all this time, you haven't changed in the slightest, but maybe I'm not so thrilled that you still have trouble saying it. You wouldn't even kiss me at the conference." Karou blinked at him, her gun-metal blue eyes bright and as contrite as they could be.

"I did kiss you at the conference." Warren corrected, he kissed her everywhere but her lips, and he knew that was what she was getting at. "But I didn't want to kiss you and jeopardise your marriage."

"My marriage is beyond being in jeopardy, Warren. It was even then." Karou rolled her eyes and combed his brown bangs back from his forehead. "Trying to fix it is futile at this point, I think."

"I'm not trying to flatter myself in saying this, but am I still making your life difficult even though I've tried to stay thousands of miles away?"

"You mean did my always wanting only you cause the breakdown of my marriage?" Karou mused before giggling at the idea; it was half true. "No. Not really. If he wasn't a sociopath, we could have at least got along a little bit. I think I could cope with being in a loveless marriage. At least we could have some kind of understanding, a friendship that didn't make co-parenting Alice so God damned difficult."

"That isn't what I wanted for you... That isn't the life I thought you'd have in Enoch." Warren's brows knitted together as he frowned. A 'loveless marriage' sounded miserable; he wanted her to be anything but miserable. "You're going to go back there, aren't you?"

"Yes. I have to, for Alice's sake. I'm not intending on trying to mend my marriage. I'm not going to grovel anymore just to appease his foul moods. His expectations of me, as his wife, have always been beyond ridiculous. I'm so through with playing his games. It's really about time that someone knocked him down a peg or two. Let's face it I'm the one entitled to Enoch's throne; I'm the one who is going to be the cities Monarch, not him. His title would have only ever been a courtesy, for show."

"Just don't go getting into any confrontations with him that you can't win, Karou..."

"Do you doubt that I can handle myself, Mr Howard?" She prodded a finger firmly into his pectoral.

"Certainly not." He replied, rubbing at his bruised muscle; she was as feisty as ever.

"You know you still haven't said it." Biting down into her lower lip Karou looked at him through her thick black lashes in a rather pouty way.

"You want me to even though you've had to ask... Won't it feel meaningless now?" At her expression, Warren rolled his dark eyes, but he knew that she wasn't going to let it go.

"I know you won't say it if you don't mean it; you'll just continue to make excu-..."

"I love you." Warren interrupted her. "Always."

Karou instantly cried a flood of happy tears that Warren kissed from her cheeks.

The night was winding on, and they laid in contented silence. The heat of an Italian summer's night and their shared body heat was enough to stave off any feelings of cold. Karou snuggled her head into the crook of Warren's neck and traced her fingers in non-descript patterns over his chest. With their naked bodies pressed together and their legs entangled, their eyes fluttered closed every so often as sleep threatened to claim them.

It eventually did, and the next thing Warren could recollect was waking up at an hour that was rather late for him. The clock on the wall informed his sleepy eyes that it was almost nine am. Karou was still curled up against him, fast asleep but stirred when she sensed he was awake next to her. Grumbling into wakefulness, Karou blinked open her blue eyes to find Warren looking at her affectionately as he combed her messy, slept on hair back from her face. She still looked flushed from sleep, and the golden blush on her cheeks made her look cute.

"Good morning." He whispered.

Hearing his voice greet her was dream-like, and how she longed to wake up every morning, and that's when her thought turned bittersweet. "Mmm-morning." She touched the spot just beneath his eye, concerned. "Warren, your eyes look really thirsty..."

"I'll live, don't worry. Yours are blue and beautiful as always." Warren smiled before pressing his lips to hers briefly. "Should we get up and get ready for the day?"

"Hmm yeah, a shower sounds nice around about now?"

"I'll show you to the bathroom."

Stepping up the marble staircase, Karou followed behind Warren feeling like she was sneaking through someone else's house. Fortunately, they had the place completely to themselves, seeing as they were wandering around nude. The master bath wasn't anything short of luxurious but having seen what little she had of the rest of the villa; she expected nothing else. She climbed into the shower and under the hot water while Warren fetched them some fresh towels before he joined her. Under the water, the steam built up in the enclosed tiled space. They messed around, and happy laughter filled the bathroom. Every interaction was tinged with bittersweetness as this wasn't her real life. It was just a vacation from it. A dream and one that would end too soon.

Back in their Compound days, this is what she'd imagined her life would be - fooling around and making love in beds and couches all over Europe. Taking each day as it came with no particular agenda other than being at his side and happy. Content in the knowledge that if she had nothing else, she'd have his love. She had imagined that that would be enough.

Once he'd rinsed the suds from his hair, she reached up and took his face into her hands so that she could look deep into his eyes.

"Can't we do this every year?"

"Do what?" He asked though he had a feeling he knew what she was going to propose. Honestly, he'd already thought about it and considered it in great depth, but ultimately he'd come to a conclusion.

"Meet up somewhere. See each-other. I know we have busy lives, but I-... I still want you to be a part of mine."

"And I'd give anything to have you. Even if just once a year, just for one night, to have you all to myself... but I can't, Karou. I've already let go of you once. No, twice now, and I've no idea how I'm going to do it this time, never mind every year. The first time you left, it nearly killed me. Besides, can you really promise you just a night here and there? You know it would never be enough. Over time, it would grow harder and harder to let you go." Hoping that she could understand, he pulled her hands from his face and let her hands into the back of his hair so that he could do the same to her while he focused intently on her eyes. "What if, in the meantime, you meet someone who ticks all of the boxes for you? What if you fall in love? What happens when we arrange to meet, and we have to let the other down for whatever reason? Can you imagine how much it would hurt? How much paranoia would torment us? It wouldn't make us happy."

"So we should just let the universe decide if and when we see each other again?"

"Neither of us are to blame for the fallout that way..."

How could she argue with his point? It was clear to see that he'd put some thought into it. Once Warren had himself a conclusion, it was usually water-tight. She sighed in defeat and rested her forehead to the centre of his chest.

Karou wandered around the first-floor landing in her fluffy towel, looking at the hung paintings. Meanwhile, Warren had dashed downstairs to gather her clothes from the evening before. She would have to redress in them, and there would be a walk of shame to come at some point, not that it bothered her in the slightest.

No one in Florence knew her, and by now, she'd decided that she wasn't going to go back to the hotel she and Eamon were staying in. No, she was going to go straight to the airport and buy herself a ticket to the nearest commercial airport to Enoch. She could have someone collect her from there and take her back home to Morningstar palace. That way, she was sure to make it back before Eamon. From there, she could pre-emptively handle whatever fallout there was going to be. She was daydreaming now and imagining the look on Eamon's face when he returned. No doubt he'd be playing the concerned, distressed husband, but she would have already filled in the Court on his game and have them singing her tune. Finally, it was time for his games and lies to be revealed! Karou was anticipating watching how his eyes and expression would alter before the Court when he was eventually found out - the idea of a big reveal thrilled her.

Her plotting was interrupted when Warren said, "You don't have to loiter on the landing..."

He was making his way up the last few marble steps with her clothes neatly folded over his forearm. With just a fluffy towel about his hips and his hair still damp and unstyled, just a glance in his direction had her heart pounding. Before long, she was staring at him as he approached her.

"Where else am I supposed to go?" She asked, pulling the towel that was wrapped around her drying hair free.

"I thought your inquisitive nature might've led you on a spontaneous solo tour of the villa, that's all." Warren gestured for her to follow him down the hall - he led her to his bedroom.

Karou sat on the edge of his bed, fully dressed, feeling despondent. The end was coming, and foreboding was almost unbearable as the sadness.

Warren held his cellphone to his ear; he talked to the taxi cab driver waiting for Karou on the villa's driveway. Once he'd ended the call, he sat himself down next to her.

"Your cab's here."

"I guess this is goodbye then?" Karou asked.

"Goodbye sounds very final, don't you think?"

"You say that like you truly believe that we'll see each other again." Karou sniffled and wiped her cheek. "Ugh, I'm crying already."

"Shh, don't cry. This feeling won't last forever." Warren stood and offered out his hand to her. Karou took it and smiled up at him faintly. The truth was that she'd never stopped missing him; she doubted the feeling would fade with time; if anything, it grew stronger.

Together they walked, hand in hand, through the villa and out onto the driveway to meet Karou's cab. Stood in the void, the open door left. Warren embraced his fledgeling one last time. Despite the tears that slowly trickled down her cheeks, she was still the most stunning creature he'd ever seen, especially as he held her face gently between his hands and stared down into her eyes.

"Promise me I'll see you again. Even if it's a lie..." Karou begged as she clutched his wrists to keep his hands on her.

"I don't need to. Do you believe in fate, Karou?"

"I used to, but not anymore." She admitted helplessly.

In response, Warren chuckled at the irony he was about to reveal. "You know I never believed in it until I met you. But that's how I know I'll see you again one day. Fate has had a way of bringing you back to me over and over again."

"I really hope you're right, Warren."

Warren glanced at his wristwatch. "You need to go now, so you don't miss your flight."

"I love you," Karou uttered.

This was the last thing she said to him before she sunk down into the cab's back seat. Warren closed the door behind her and waved her off. She watched him shrink smaller and smaller into the distance through the rear window as the cab pulled away down the drive. Stood with his hands tucked into his pockets, he removed one to wave her off before the cab peeled out onto the road.

I love you.