“You’ll be fine, trust me.”
“I think you’re forgetting my fragile mortal status means that if I fall off, I could break my neck and end up dead or paralyzed. I think I’ll stick to walking today. Maybe another time,” I said back, only half joking.
“Lucky for you my immortal status means I’m fast enough to get off my horse and catch you if you start to come off. Your pretty little head won’t have a chance to hit the ground. I will never let you fall.”
His words, while said in jest, resonated deep within me.
I will never let you fall. There I was, feeling safe again because of a vampire’s arms.
“Well? What do you say, human? You want to take advantage of my immortal gifts?”
“I say... you’re on!”
Belmira felt my energy shift and danced for a step before Alfonso leapt into a powerful gallop. I grabbed her mane and smiled wide when she surged after him. The wind whipped through my hair and tore at my skin as we raced across the field. I had never ridden at speeds like this because of my fear of falling. Tonight I felt safe knowing Aiden would never allow harm to come to me. I kissed to Belmira and smiled as she pushed on.
We pulled up when the horses were puffing. Aiden smiled wide, his perfectly coiffed hair blown into a haphazard heap that looked surprisingly modern.
“Well?” he asked as Alfonso danced beneath him.
“You didn’t need to save me, so I’ll call that a win.”
“Did you enjoy it?”
“Every second.” My smile had already given it away.
“I’m glad you enjoyed yourself. I certainly appreciate a good run, as does Alfonso.”
Alfonso yanked the reins and snatched a bite of grass. “Manners, Alfonso. You can eat when you get back to the stable.”
Eat!
During the exhilaration of the ride, I had forgotten my whole reason for being here. And I hadn’t fed Aiden since he woke up.
“Aiden. I just realized you haven’t eaten yet tonight. You must be starving.”
“No need to worry. Just enjoy the ride.”
“I’ll enjoy it much more if I know I’m holding up my end of the bargain.” With a cluck I urged Belmira to Alfonso’s side. She stood obediently hip to hip while I slid my hair from my neck and looked up into Aiden’s eyes. Just moments before he fed, they took on a certain glow. Those eyes made my pulse quicken every time I looked into them.
The now familiar click of his fangs caused my heart to flutter in anticipation. His hand, smooth and muscular, slid behind my head, grasping me tight as he leaned down. The coolness of his skin was a stark contrast to the heat I radiated from the run and from the desire he evoked in me. His breath caressed my neck as he leaned down, pausing for a moment while I begged his fangs to enter me. My skin tingled in anticipation.
Scalding heat flashed through my neck as he slid them deep inside of me. My eyes rolled back, and my breath hitched in my chest. My body pulsed, a rush sliding over every inch of me as he held me tight. I dissolved into him, the intimacy of it leaving me completely exposed. The peak of pleasure heightened in my body, hovering there and washing over me in wave after wave of exquisite delight. Raw desire and passion flowed through me and into him. I could feel him, all of him, as he drank me in.
The moan escaped my lips as his fangs slid out.
“Are you all right?”
His voice pulled me back into my body. Every feeding was intense but this one contained an extra level of intimacy that deepened the pleasures and heightened the ecstasy.
It took me a moment to regain my senses enough to speak. “Yes, I’m fine.”
“I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, his eyes searching mine.
“You don’t hurt me, I promise.” Hurt was the opposite of what he did to me.
“Good. Feeding on you reminds me of...” His voice trailed off, but I could anticipate his words. Feeding on me reminded him of Isobel. An honor I wasn’t sure that I deserved. “We should get back. Is that all right?”
I smiled and nodded my head. “I’m ready for a soak in the hot tub. My muscles aren’t used to riding and they are all screaming at me already.”
“Then let’s get you back.”
With a cluck our mounts picked up a trot and headed back toward the stable. I touched my neck and found the absence of fang marks. Despite no external proof of his feeding, the internal proof still raged on. The buzzing in my body continued all the way back to the barn and I started counting the hours until he would feed on me again.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Aiden
EMILIA GAVE BELMIRA one last scratch before she stepped out of the barn. As I had hoped, the ride had invigorated her. She glowed pink, a mixture of windburned cheeks and flush from the exercise.
We walked in silence while we headed back to the house. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk with her more, but the words she’d said on our ride continued to bounce around inside my head and resonated in the pit of my stomach.
Is she right? Would Isobel be ashamed of this shell of a life I live?
It startled me that the thought hadn’t occurred to me before. I came from a time where loyalty and honor still meant something. My love for Isobel had been a promise I never intended to break. It was absolute. Unwavering. Honoring her meant never allowing the memory of her fade. Never allowing my heart to heal and move forward.
As much as moving on pained me, Emilia had struck a chord. Isobel had been full of life and laughter. It had dripped from every pore, radiated throughout her entire being. It had been intoxicating and contagious. When we were together, she’d made me feel alive as well. Thinking of Emilia’s accusations conjured a vision of Isobel in my mind.
Quit wallowing, my love. Go. Live. Suck every last drop of joy from this world. Fall in love again. That is how you will honor our time together.
Even though she’d never said them, I knew in my heart if she’d had a chance, those are the words she would have said. Whether I could bring myself to listen presented another problem entirely.
When we arrived at the front door of the house, Emilia’s voice shook me from my thoughts. “Thank you for the ride.”
“You’re welcome. I hope you enjoyed it.”
“I did. A lot. But I’m not tired yet, so I’m going for a swim. Join me.”
It wasn’t so much a question as a statement.
“I don’t swi—”
She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You don’t swim unless it’s a necessity. Try it. Try having some fun. What the hell is the point of your immortality if all you’re going to do is stomp around and brood? Hmmm?”
Her blue eyes coaxed mine as I struggled for a defense.
“I don’t have a suit.”
“Borrow one of Mark’s.”
“Borrow a suit? From Mark? You must be joking.”
She challenged me as she arched a brow and propped a hand on her hip. “Why not?”
“Men don’t share trunks. It’s just not right.”
“Don’t be such a prude. I’ll ask him.”
Prude? That was a word I’d never heard myself called before.
She continued the stare down. “Well?”
Go. Live. Enjoy your life. Isobel’s voice flashed again in my mind.
“Okay.”
“What?” Her voice echoed the shock I felt in saying the words. “You will? You’re coming swimming?”
I nodded, and before I could change my mind, Emilia popped open the front door and stepped inside. “Mark! Where are you?”
“In here!” he called back from the den. He appeared a moment later, his eyes searching us both for some description of the ride. “Well? How was it?”
“Wonderful,” Emilia said before I could respond. “The evening is still going. Aiden here would like to borrow a pair of swim trunks and join me in the pool.”
Mark’s eyes grew to rival the China plates that sat in the hutch behind him. “Aiden? Swimming? I must have bumped my head. I’m
passed out somewhere on the property hallucinating while I slowly bleed to death, aren’t I? Damn it! NO! I can’t die before I become a vampire!”
Emilia giggled and shook her head. “Nope. He agreed to swim, didn’t you Aiden?”
Both sets of eyes turned expectedly to me. A heavy sigh and a slow nod answered them both.
“Holy shit,” Mark said. “Let’s go pick out a suit. I only have a few clean ones, but they are all yours!”
Emilia turned back to me and her eyes danced with excitement. It seemed I was going swimming, because being the one to take away that joy on her face wasn’t something I ever wanted to do. “Let’s go before I change my mind.”
Mark gestured for me to follow him.
I can’t believe I’m going swimming. For fun.
I followed Mark to his room. Coming to this part of the house seemed odd as I didn’t make it into this wing often. He pushed open the door to his room and I followed him in, realizing I’d never been in here before. It looked very different from the rest of my house, with modern lines and bright colors splashed throughout the fabrics and paintings on the wall.
The vibrant décor screamed Mark.
He opened a drawer in the mahogany dresser and pulled out a stack of folded swim trunks in a rainbow of colors.
“You can wear any of these.” Before I could open my mouth, he lifted a hand. “I know, I know... before you say it, they aren’t your style. But they will work, and I will head out first thing tomorrow and get you a pair that are ‘Aideny’. AKA black and dowdy.”
I ignored his jab and picked through the pile trying to find the least offensive fabric.
“I’m proud of you, Aiden. This is a good thing.”
“What?” His words and his brazenness stunned me.
“You like her. I can tell.”
I opened my mouth to respond, but again he lifted a hand to silence me. “Now before you go saying something cold and mean, just hear me out.”
I narrowed my eyes but stood silently in front of him.
“She makes you happy, Aiden. I can see it. You laugh. You smile. You light up when she’s around. I’ve known you going on seven years and I have never seen you like this. So just try not to get in your own way. She likes you, too. The energy buzzing between you two is enough to cause this house to explode. Go have fun. Try, for once in your eternal existence, to just let go and enjoy yourself. You deserve it. Now choose a pair of fabulous shorts and go out there and change your life.”
He didn’t give me a chance to respond. He held up his hand until he had safely backed out the door. My jaw hurt from clenching it so tight but, hard as it was to admit, he was right. So was she.
What is the purpose of living forever if I’m eternally miserable?
With both their words ringing around in my head, and Isobel’s imagined speech joining them, I got undressed and grabbed the least offensive pair of shorts of the lot and slipped them on. With a whoosh I stood outside in the pool area in front of Emilia and Mark. They both turned and eyeballed me in unison.
“Don’t laugh.” I arched my brows in warning.
Emilia continued staring at my shorts, and her eyes grew wider as she took in the vibrant pattern. “Are those... hot pink crabs all over your shorts?”
“They are,” I said, trying to retain my stoic demeanor while I stood before her wearing pink crustaceans set against a light blue backdrop. “They were the mildest of the selections.”
“The Vineyard Vines crab shorts! Good choice. I love those.” Mark nodded his head in approval.
My eyes left hers and turned to meet his. “Tomorrow. New shorts. No animals. No pink. Got it?”
Mark nodded enthusiastically. He leaned over and kissed Emilia on the cheek. “You kids have fun. I’ll be upstairs if you need me.”
“Goodnight, Mark,” she said, reaching out and squeezing his hand.
Mark shot me a look and mouthed “have fun” before disappearing into the house. My attention turned back to Emilia. She stood before me in a black one-piece suit. The halter top plunged low between her full breasts. Cutouts on the side showed the soft curves of her waist and pulled my eyes down to the hips that filled out the suit perfectly. She shifted on her long legs and wrapped her arms around her waist when she noticed me drinking her in.
“Hot tub or pool first?” she asked.
“You decide.”
“Hot tub it is. I got a little chilled on our walk back from the ride. We’ll warm up and then cool down. Deal?”
“Deal.” I nodded.
She turned and started toward the hot tub. The already lit fire danced amidst the turquoise blue lights that radiated around it. Her hips swung with each long, deliberate step and induced desires in me that surpassed just wanting her blood... and left their proof in my pink crab shorts. I followed her into the warm water and concealed it beneath the bubbles before it gave me away.
“Well?” she asked, looking over at me where I sat chest deep in the warm liquid.
“I have to admit, it feels pretty incredible.”
“Right? Relaxing! It’s awesome!”
“It’s awesomesauce,” I added. Her face lit up and her laughter filled my ears. It was quickly becoming my favorite sound.
“Just kick back, relax, and enjoy. This is all yours. You should enjoy it.”
The tiny bubbles tickled my skin, creating an interesting sensation not at all unpleasant. My shorts filled up with air and I could feel them floating toward the top. Furrowing my brow, I pushed the air out of them. A large bubble exploded out of the water and splashed me in the face.
Emilia doubled over with laughter as I wiped the water from my eyes. Her contagious laugh consumed me, and I joined her.
“Well I wasn’t expecting that,” I said, my laugh breaking up the words.
“It’s a hot tub hazard.” She chuckled. “How do you have all this?” She gestured to the house and the pool area. “I mean, where do you get all your money, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Not at all. One of the powers I have is mind control. I can ‘persuade’ people to do whatever I ask of them. All I have to do is look into their eyes and they will do whatever I say and never realize it came from me. Let’s just say over the centuries some very wealthy people who didn’t deserve their money simply decided to hand it all over to me.”
“You thief!” She smiled.
I shrugged and matched it. “They weren’t exactly the best people. I have no regrets about leaving them penniless. They had it coming.”
“So, you can just look me in the eyes and make me do anything?”
“Yes.”
“Do it. Try to make me do something.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” I shook my head.
“Come on, I trust you. Something funny. I’ll try to resist you.” She baited me with her eyes and leaned forward, staring into mine.
“Very well,” I said, and I closed the distance between us. I fixated on her pupils while I pushed into her mind. “Emilia, you will bark like a dog and scratch your head until I say stop.”
Emilia began barking and scratching her head. She looked adorable sitting there yapping away. “Stop.” She stopped immediately.
“Whoa. Okay. So that power works,” she said, her eyes wide. “That was amazing. I didn’t even question it.”
“It comes in handy.”
“I’ll say! Wait, you can mind erase as well, right?”
“Yes, that’s a little more complicated but essentially I can wipe out your memory and tell you what to replace it with. Your own mind fills in the blanks. It’s necessary to keep the secret that there are vampires out in the world drinking people’s blood. We drink and erase quite regularly. Well, I did until I got donors.”
“Have you ever wiped me, and I just don’t know it?”
“No. Your mind is entirely your own.”
“Good.” She sat back against the side of the hot tub. “So you have money because you just tell people to g
ive it to you and then you can make them forget the whole thing?”
“That about sums it up. Although, now I have money because of the stock market and changing out my identity every few decades or so. I often need to do some compelling of the folks at the IRS when they get curious.”
“You’re amazing,” she said. “Well I’m glad you spent some of it on this pool area. It’s incredible. Ready for a swim?”
The casual words set me back. I wasn’t a monster or a creature to her. I was... amazing.
I nodded, and she slipped over the edge of the hot tub and into the connected pool. When she slid beneath the surface, ripples of the glowing water’s reflection washed over her figure and illuminated her perfect curves.
Her head popped up, and she wiped the water from her eyes. “You coming?”
I followed her lead and dove into the water, shocked by the cool temperature after being in the hot tub. When I emerged just beside her, she was lying on her back, hands outstretched while she floated over the soft waves my presence had created.
“Lay back, try it,” she said as she reached for my hand. Sensations so far gone I had forgotten they existed washed over me when she tugged on my hand. I squeezed hers back before it slipped from my grasp. I lowered myself backward beside her and let the water lift my body and float me to the top.
We floated side by side, and her fingers brushed mine. It took every ounce of my willpower not to slide her small, fragile hand back into mine. She tipped her head toward me and her eyes met mine. The lights reflected in them and caused beautiful blue ripples to dance across her irises. We lay side by side staring at one another, and I could hear her heart racing as she looked past the wall centuries of pain and agony had constructed.
She saw me. All of me.
Her gaze drifted to my lips for a moment, and when she looked back up, I saw the desire in her eyes. When she noticed it hadn’t gone unseen, she cleared her throat and looked away. “I love swimming; I find it therapeutic. I’m glad you joined me.”
“Yes, I can see why. This is quite wonderful, I must admit. You have good ideas, Emilia.”
Into The Light (Immortal Hearts Book 1) Page 10
