The Devil Wears Black- Completed

Chapter 43

Slowly, he moved against me. Shifting us both till I was propped on my pillow beneath him. It seems this was his favourite position for me. I didn't mind it too much. It gave me too much freedom in my roving hands.

His smirk was sensual and knowing as he reached down to brush our passion swollen lips together. The pressure was as always electrifying and this time it was he who groaned painfully before wrenching us both apart.

"You will be the death of me," he muttered ruefully before with an inner strength I didn't possess he hefted himself off me and the bed in one go.

I watched him stride away in all his naked glory. Marriage to that couldn't be all that bad afterall. He was glorious in every way. But what had me on cloud nine was his excellence in bed. Not that I had anyone else to compare him too but I  doubted I could survive any claims of excitement thats even a tad more than what Raven had to offer.

He simply pushed all the right buttons with me in bed. Out of bed however, he left a lot to be desired.

Marching back from the bathroom he declared in no uncertain terms. "Get your ass out of bed. We have a long day before us before mother's cocktail party does its trick to smother us alive with infinite b..boredom...."

I hastily clambered out of the warm bed and in my hurry to the bathroom missed out altogether on how his conversation stuttered to a halt as his eyes took in my nude figure.

I grabbed the discarded tshirt that surprisingly laid on the floor at the opposite end of the room before I hurried past him to wash up as best I could.

When I emerged a short while later, Raven was dressed and looking immaculate in a suit. I stumbled over a necessary breath but managed a relatively calming breath before I uttered," Right, I am ready to leave. I think I can manage the distance on my own."

So saying, I grabbed my belongings, placed my feet in my shoes and prayed that was true as I misted away from Raven's home and reappeared a moment later in my own dorm room. My phone was beeping with messages. The very last was from Lavinia Blackthorn. The invitation to the cocktail party. The venue was surprisingly not at Raven's Sydney based home but in his mother's Melbourne based home instead.

I hurriedly got dressed for classes and then joined the throng marching the corridors heading for class. I was bordering on late today.

"Hi!"

Turning to the greeting echoed right in my ear, I found myself staring at Ralph. Ralph with whom I had agreed to go on a date tonight.

"Hi," I muttered back. Staring up at his good looks, I found I was no longer impressed. I was ashamed at my own shallowness that allowed me to get smitten by Raven Blackthorn of all people and that too purely on account of his looks.

I was very disappointed with me.

But that didn't stop me from saying,"I am sorry but I can't make it on our date tonight."

"Why?"

I shrugged my shoulders and murmured non-committally," Something came up."

It was not far off. That something was my marriage. Less than thirteen days away. That number itself was omnipotent to the disaster that event would bring. Was I the only one that saw the doomsday for what it was?

Physical attractions aside what did we have going for us?

The day progressed on as quietly unobtrusively as it commenced. And that simply meant at all mayhem broke loose. At least as far as I was concerned. Not a single spell went right. It was always the same either too much power or too little. In the end the professor summoned me to his room.

"You might as well simply head off now. I doubt the institute can take any more disasters this day," observed Trentham Creed mildly. "Besides Raven informed the two of you have something planned this evening and you will be needing to leave early today?"

I nodded my head in ascent.

"Well then I hope to see you tomorrow prepared and focused," murmured Trentham as he looked me over consideringly. "You know if you need to talk... about anything at all... I am here for you," he offered generously.

In any other given scenerio I would have been touched by the offer but not so now. Trentham was close friends with Raven and I wasn't under any illusion that anything I related to Trentham would not go on to get whispered in Raven's ears. Nodding my head again more out of politeness than anything else I got up and left the professor's room.

I returned promptly to my dorm and proceeded to rummage through my meagre belongings for something wearable that evening. Giving up after a short forey into my sparse wardrobe I let my hands linger over the dress I wore recently for my attendance before the moon goddess then decided on the more somber hued navy blue straight cut dress that covered my knees. It was what I usually wore to any of the sparse invites the Blackthorn occasionally awarded me.

As Raven Blackthorn's ward, it had been necessary that I attend some of the functions he hosted at his place and even those hosted by his mother. At those events, this was the dress I wore. Back then the dress fitted nondescript me well enough to have me fade away into the background. It was this same dress that I wore now with the same intentions in mind.

Rushing over my toiletries I misted away to Raven's mother's in time to have her intercept me at the door.

"Darling? A moment if you please," said Lavinia Blackthorn as she greeted me at the entrance then swiftly ushered me aside. Looking over her shoulders to make sure no one else was attending to us she  murmured in a low whisper," You don't plan to attend like that do you?"

Glancing down at my dress I wondered what was so wrong about it now that was not wrong at all before?

"Not your dress dear. I meant you. You are without glamour. We can't have our guest thinking you've gotten your powers back can we. Not until the wedding at least. I can't even begin to imagine the chaos that will cause. You know there are those who believe that the pure blooded aught not exist at all. Lording over the rest and all. This is just a friendly cocktail to introduce the idea of the engagement between you and my son. There'll be enough time for a more momentus announcement of your powers in the days to come," said Lavinia soothingly. "But again, I advice to wait till after the wedding is best."

Nodding my head I didn't hesitate but doned on the clock of glamour that muted the sparkle that was me to who I was before power. Smiling up at Lavinia I was awarded with her nod of approval before I followed her in to greet the guests.

Here we sat deploring the economy, the politics and naturally the weather, in that order. Always the case here in Melbourne.    Three weather's in a day being the norm and all, sun, rain and the chill. Made for lots of difficulty in dressing up or down for the day.

But to sit here for over a good hour lamenting over just that made me wonder at the poor mind behind the dialogue or the lack of one all along.

But having partaken myself in the discourse and quite heatedly at some point, I really was in no position to say anything at all.

So I didn't. I simply joined in as I waited. Waited for my recalcitrant fiancé to do the right thing and turn up at all.

Then he did. He turned up looking immaculate in his suit and resplendent with an equally lethal albeit bottle blond woman in tow. Her hand draped over his. I watched him escort Kitty Farquerson to the event that should have marked the subtle announcement of our engagement.