The Harem- The Burning Beauty

Chapter Seventeen- Before The Rising Sun

Before The Rising Sun

“Talk to me, please…” Julius pled and he’d been doing a lot of it for the past two hours since the incident, with no positive cessation.

     Cassandra- or the succubus rather, refused to utter a word in his direction. It made him wonder who the real master was here, but the time to remind her of such had not yet shown itself. She had all rights to be upset with him, but she would not even look at him; as if he didn’t exist. After being without her all those years and knowing she wouldn’t recognize him even if they had bumped into each other, it was torture to have her like this now. He suspected that she knew and this was his punishment. He trailed behind her as she walked through his private garden and trailed her fingers over the silk like petals. The moon was high in the sky and it did wonders to her pale skin. Her hair was a soft tumble of onyx that whispered over the bare skin of her back. The sky blue dress she wore hardly covered her but concealed in all the right places. Oh his beautiful Cassandra; so graceful and lithe! What had he done to her? Why was it that he kept hurting this woman he claimed to love? Julius ran his fingers through his curls and stopped walking. His shoulders were bowed and he looked lost; a defeated man. He watched her take the six steps to the up-rise that served as a place for one to lounge. It would’ve been perfect for a place to lay and read in the balmy sun as cicadas sang and bees lulled by, but Julius’ time for that had died when he did. He wished he could give her that wish. As he watched her recline on the chaise and close her eyes to the sounds of the night, he remembered their dream and how happy she was to lay between them with the cobalt sky above them. She was so contented. It was just a dream, but her happiness was real.

     He stared after her and sighed in disbelief at how beautiful this woman was. A light breeze caught her hair and she took a deep breath and opened her golden eyes to stare back at him. They were quiet eyes; revealing nothing but they didn’t need to. He knew she was still upset with him and his world felt as if it was falling into vertigo because he stole her happiness. His Cassandra; what had he done?

“I said I needed the night’s air to myself Julius. So why are you here sharing it with me?” she said in a low lull with that deep rolling accent. At least she had spoken to him. His body released some tension he hadn’t noticed and he continued on taking the six steps and leaned against one of the tall white pillars that supported the shading above. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked down as he searched his mind for the right words to fix this. He was wondering if they even existed. Finally, he returned his gaze to her and found she hadn’t moved an inch. She was expecting an answer.

“I can’t help wanting to be where you are; it is an obsession. You are…” He paused and swallowed the words. He was afraid to say them because they may not be what she wanted to hear right then. But he saw her curious brows rise as if she was waiting to hear the tail end of that declaration.

“I am what?” she asked as she crossed her left leg over her right knee; giving him all the view of her legs.

      Instantly Julius was rigid for her and this was what he meant. No matter what Cassandra did, he always wanted her. When she threw a tantrum; cursed him and broke things, he wanted her. When she looked up at him with her eyes wide, innocent and apprehensive…he wanted her. And even now, when she was quiet, still and solemn, he wanted her completely. This was love and all of it was for this woman.

“Julius…” She called and he had to shake himself physically to come back to the here and now.

“Everything…” He confessed; the word choked but full of emotions. He saw her eyes widen with surprise and then soften with love. Yes, she still loved him. He’d been stupid with his power and placed her in harm’s way, yet she still loved him.