"You do not know me. You do not know who I am or what I value. You do not know how long I have walked this earth alone and never dreamed that Fate would ever grant me such a gift. I did not earn this. There is no charity or goodness in me, and as far as standing, I lost that many centuries ago." He held Cooper's hands and continued to blast the supposition that Cooper was not good enough.
"I betrayed and disappointed my father and lost my birthright due to anger, hatred, vengeance, and blood-red blindness that would not release me. I turned my back on him and denied his grief while satisfying and fulfilling my own need for retribution, and nothing was ever enough. It's a need that once fed is never sated." He dropped his head and placed a light kiss on the top of Cooper's hand, and the contact was pleasing. His touch was soothing and reassuring even as his words were harsh.
"You're the prize, my love, a sweet, innocent beauty so much more than I deserve." Edward finished. Cooper had to be honest with him.
"I am neither sweet nor innocent. As I told you, I'm hiding out here because I was running a con in Florida, claiming to be able to predict wins at the track. I've been at it for a while, and my odds are a lot less than 50/50, but I keep getting takers, so who am I to turn down easy money." Cooper glanced to the side, wondering if he needed to confess everything or just keep it short and tight. Then he felt that same push to be honest, something he didn't do all that often, but lying or even omitting with this man seemed wrong.
"I was left at a fire station when I was a baby; I don't know my parents or any of my family, and no one I talked to over the years could give me any information. I wasn't adopted, so I grew up in care. I ran away at fourteen and have been surviving on my own since." Cooper took a deep breath, and with the help of Edwards's strong hands still holding him, he continued.
"Did you run away because your magic was presenting?"
“Yes, and the situation was not ideal.”
“Abuse?”
"I was in three different homes over my course of foster care, and they were all cold and distant. It wasn't so much abuse as uncaring, and I thought I'd be happier on my own, and I was right." Cooper forced a fragile smile.
"I met up with a mage who was working the desk at a shelter, and he told me what I was and gave me some information, but he couldn't tell me where I came from. After a few years, I didn't care anymore. I was a water mage with limited skill, and that was fine. It helped me survive and to thrive." Cooper smiled again but with more authenticity.
“How old are you now?” Edward was calm and measured with his questions, but his interest was clear.
"Nineteen last April," Cooper responded.
"You handle yourself well and have a very mature way of thinking which is a valuable asset. Whatever you had to do to survive and thrive was a necessity, and no one will hold that against you." Edward stood and pulled Cooper to his feet. The act felt intimate, and Cooper swooned slightly when Edward brought him close. He wasn't sure what was happening, but whatever it was, he didn't want to miss it.
Edward was dressed in a charcoal grey shirt, perfectly pressed and probably expensive as hell, as were his black perfectly tailored pants. His boots, also black, were shiny black leather, and the cape he tossed on the bed was killer and looked so damn good. He never thought a cape could work on anyone, but it was made for this man. What a persona he presented lethal, killer, and yet sexy as hell.
He was in over his head, and yet he could not deny this man, and he didn't want to. He wanted whatever Edward had to offer. He was his mate, and whether that meant forever or for right now, he didn't care.
CHAPTER FIVE
Edward had gone further than intended, but he couldn't pull back or slow down when Cooper was playing along, and their relationship was becoming clear. He wasn't afraid, just skeptical, which was expected, and Edward could deal with that. Any lingering distrust would fade away with time and proximity.
"Are you seriously considering me as your beloved?" Cooper asked, and Edward was taken aback since he thought they had gotten beyond the acceptance stage of this relationship.
"I thought I made that clear. You, Cooper Sloane, are my beloved gifted to me after all these years as a token of Fate's mercy." Cooper pulled away a few inches and looked up at Edward.
"Why do you speak as if you are undeserving? Why did Fate leave you on your own for so long? You're a powerful vampire with a fierce magical repertoire from what I've witnessed." Edward wasn't sure where Cooper was headed with this, but he listened and waited and continued to hold him. Cooper wasn't trying to get away from him, which probably spoke more to the natural pull, but it still felt good.
"I've lived a long and often inglorious existence which, as I've stated, left me an outcast in many ways. Vampires with a past like mine rarely are awarded the splendor that is a predestined lifetime bond. We are ignored and discarded, and our deeds pushed to the back of paranormal history with the intent to try and forget.” He gave a rough unfunny laugh at the memory of his life before moving to California so many centuries ago.
"You can talk yourself down all you want, but we can both see very clearly that you are a gentleman, a nobleman, a man of particular breeding, and I am a street urchin, to put it nicely. Fate would never do this to you, no matter how dastardly you might have been." Edward was on the verge of simply scooping up the clueless young man and spiriting him away to his castle in California.
They were abruptly cut off from continuing their discussion when three armed men appeared in the room. Edward instantly pushed Cooper to the floor and commanded him to stay down. “They’re after me, Edward. They’re Norman’s men.” He told him and crouched using the bed as cover.
They made a move on Edward, who, in one sweeping motion, slid his sword from his cape that lay on the bed and cut the first of them clean in half without word or warning. The other two faltered for a second and then started shooting, but no bullets penetrated, so they came at him armed with daggers, and Edward cut them down. It was quick and clean; death came fast for the three intruders.
"They wanted to kill us, or just me, and you got in the way." Cooper was looking at the carnage, and he started to freak.
"More will be coming. I need to get you somewhere safe." He said and picked Cooper up in his arms, grabbed his cape, and they vanished from the room. He brought Cooper to his study. It was a quiet room of beauty and balance, a place to talk and relax. He would be comfortable there.
He sat him down on the golden brocade sofa and crouched down in front of him while still holding his hands, channeling their bond and alleviating his confusion as best that he could under the circumstances.
"Where are we?" Cooper asked. Edward noticed his previous confidence had faded, and he looked small and scared. The attack back at his hotel room had been violent and brutal, and although he claims to be worldly, Edward could see his innocence the moment they first met.
Cooper had a kind soul, and violence such as this was very jarring. If he could have spared him, he would have, but the intruders were not there to talk, only to kill and take what they wanted.
“We’re at my castle in a vast forest in southern California.” He told him and watched as Cooper’s eyes got wider.