Somehow, Elissa wasn’t certain how, the vampire managed to refrain from sucking the droplets of blood that were seeping from the holes she had placed on Cassandra’s neck.
Elissa turned her attention to the finger plunging in and out of Cassandra’s nether lips. A thumb began to idly rub against the hardened, pulsating nub.
“Oh Elissa.” Cassandra couldn’t believe how amazing all the sensations felt. There were Elissa’s hard nipples rubbing against her back. There were the nips and suckling of her neck and earlobe. There was the alternating between rubbing, squeezing and pinching of her breast.
Then there was the finger doing wonderful things in her nether lips. The thumb was driving her crazy. When the ministrations were exactly in rhythm, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hold on much longer.
Cassandra began to concentrate on rubbing her buttocks against Elissa’s nether region. Up to this point, it had been her body’s natural reaction. Her hips had been moving all by themselves.
Now, Cassandra wanted to prolong her own release by concentrating on giving Elissa her own release. It wasn’t easy as every touch was nearly overwhelming her senses.
Elissa grunting in her ear informed Cassandra her concentrating was having the desired affect on her lover. It wouldn’t be long before both women were freefalling.
“Right there. Oh yes!” Cassandra felt her insides tighten and this burning deep inside her. The burning was causing a pressure. She wanted to hold on but she just couldn’t.
“I love you Elissa!” Cassandra arched her back as she found her release. It drove Elissa’s finger deep within. When she finally came in contact with her soulmate’s hot center, she felt the hot liquid.
Without preamble, Cassandra turned in her lover’s arms. She slid down until her head was hovered over the musky scent of her soulmate.
“Touch me.” Cassandra smiled at the command. She had every intention of touching Elissa. She knew it wouldn’t take much. She saw the amount of liquid flowing from her wife’s slick folds and it caused her to swallow.
Both Cassandra’s hands sought and found Elissa’s breasts. Her tongue plunged into the overly slick folds. She moaned into her wife’s sex.
One stroke. Two strokes. Cassandra lost count on exactly how many strokes it took before Elissa was calling out her name.
Elissa slid to a lying position taking Cassandra with her. She settled her wife so she was half on the bed and half on the vampire’s body. A blonde head was on her chest.
“I can see what you mean about the advantage of dresses over trousers.” Elissa felt the chuckle as well as heard it. “Though if you think about it, unbuttoning here and there plus unbuckling of a belt and a hand can slide inside.”
Cassandra giggled. “You are a sex maniac, I swear.” This was when both women felt so alive. Just after making love. They had reconnected. Their souls had touched.
“I don’t know when we’ll move on, but I do know one thing.” Cassandra was tracing lazy eights on Elissa’s firm stomach. “We’ll make time to make love. Every moment we can. I love you Elissa.”
“I love you Cassandra.” Elissa closed her eyes. Soon. It’s all she could think. For if making love was like this now, what would it be like when she could actually allow her animalistic side full reign?
Chapter 49
The war had lasted longer than anyone could have anticipated. Four years and the body count was beyond anything the immortal could have imagined.
Elissa had watched as The Plague had ravished Europe and had killed millions upon millions, but it was because of disease. It wasn’t because men took up arms and killed one another.
The vampire was grateful for all she had. There was Lily and Yohan and their expanding family. Two boys and a girl made up their family.
Emily was soon to be wed now that her beau was back from fighting in the war. He’d been assigned to The Calvary. He now knew horses nearly as well as the vampire.
Cassandra had published another book. This was based in the supernatural arena and was selling faster than it could be printed. People wanted to escape now that the war was over.
Their anniversary was fast approaching. They would have been married eight years. It also meant only another year and Elissa would be siring her first vampire.
For now, it was time to begin rebuilding the ranch and reuniting the United States. How would Elissa and Cassandra do this? Simple. They would turn day to day operations over to either Lily and Yohan or Emily and Brian.
“Thank you for taking the time to have dinner with us.” It was Sunday. It meant all the businesses in town were closed so it was only a matter of their family agreeing to have dinner.
Emily eyed her mom. Something was wrong, but she didn’t know what it was. Ever since the war had ended, both her guardians had been acting unusual.
Cassandra saw the look in her daughter’s eyes. This was not going to be an easy conversation. “Elissa and I are beginning to get the itch to travel. We don’t want to sell the ranch or the store in town. We want to leave them in good hands.”
“You don’t want to be around us anymore?” Emily was incredulous. “I never thought I’d see the day when you or Elissa wanted to leave what it took you years to build up.”
Elissa took over. “I’ve traveled all across Europe in my youth. I’ve now traveled parts of the United States. There’s Canada and Mexico to see. And I’d like to take Cassandra back to Europe one day. It’s not about the ranch. It’s about seeing things we’ve never seen before.”
Yohan looked from his cousin to her partner. “This sounds a little unusual. I heard how hard you had to fight my father and so many others just to start this ranch. Why would you give it up now?”
Cassandra took a steadying breath. This was transpiring how she had thought it would. None of them could understand why two people so dedicated to building a ranch would walk away so easily.
“It’s not exactly giving it up.” Cassandra felt Elissa’s hand on her thigh. “We’re handing it down to Emily and Brian, once they’ve married. Yohan and Lily will continue to work with them and the store. It will be just like always, except we won’t be here to oversee things on a daily basis.”
“So much for always being there for me.” Emily hastily rose from the table. “I’ve lost my appetite.” Her face was red from attempting to suppress her anger. “Brian, I’d like to go for a walk before you leave.”
Cassandra wanted to say something but knew it was of no use when Emily’s temper was flaring. She watched her daughter walk out the kitchen door. Her attention focused on Lily and Yohan. “And how do you feel about taking on more responsibility?”
Lily looked at her husband. He nodded. “Well, besides making certain the children are cared for, it really doesn’t change much. We’ll miss you a great deal. But understand wanderlust.”
Elissa couldn’t handle the sensations she was sensing from her wife. “If you’ll excuse me, I think I need to have a one on one chat with Emily and Brian.”
Cassandra barely acknowledged Elissa had spoken. She was too focused on how disappointed she was. There were many outcomes, this wasn’t one of them she had anticipated.
The vampire used her hearing to locate her daughter and future son-in-law. Elissa maintained her distance. She could hear Emily’s words of anger.
“I can’t believe they are thinking of leaving me all alone.” Emily’s voice had raised a little. “When they rescued me, they said they would never leave me.”
“Sweetie, that was when you were a child and couldn’t take care of yourself.” Brian squeezed Emily’s hand. “And besides, we’re gonna take care of one another.”
“I know.” Emily sighed heavily. “I guess I never thought of life without my moms. I mean everyone grows up and moves on. I just thought it would be me moving out, not them.”
“Life throws us interesting things.” Brian was thinking back to the day he killed someone. He knew he’d most likely killed others. But there was one day whe
n he had come face to face with a confederate soldier.
Brian had been scouting when he had run into his counterpart. He’d been able to react first. The soldier never knew what hit him. The aim had been true. Right between the eyes.
Emily stopped in her tracks. “The war?” Brian nodded. He wouldn’t tell her details. Emily understood. It was just she’d like to help him more than he allowed.
“I’m sorry. Here I am acting like a spoiled child when you’ve experienced more than most in a lifetime.” Emily pulled Brian into her arms and kissed him on the cheeks.
Elissa watched as Brian stiffened. She recognized the reaction. She’d had it when she and Cassandra had first traveled together.
Pain in one’s past life caused one not to be open to affection. Elissa only hoped that the young man was able to let her little girl see some of the scars. Or realize the scars were inadvertently hurting his girlfriend.
“It’s all right.” Brian squeezed his fiancée before releasing her. He took hold of her hand and turned them back toward the ranch. “I know your moms surprised you with this bit of news. But you have to realize they are putting a great trust in us. They worked hard for this ranch. I don’t want to let them down.”
Emily nodded. “I know. It was my first reaction. I should have let myself think things through before reacting.” She squeezed Brian’s hand. “I guess I need to give them an apology when we get back.”
Elissa followed closely behind them. She wanted to make certain Emily truly was all right. It had not been their intention to upset her so.
After a few moments, Brian had to ask a question. “Now that you’ve thought a little, do you think it’s something you’d want to do? I’m not all that knowledgeable of horses, except what the army taught me. But I do love the time we spend at the ranch and watching the hands work with the horses. Plus you know more than most of the hands.”
“True. I could be the brains on how the ranch is run and you could be the brains when it comes to finances.” Emily was beginning to like the sounds of it.
Emily would hate a life where Elissa and Cassandra weren’t there for her twenty-four-seven, but they were also human beings. They had a right to live their lives how they wanted.
Besides, life was short. Emily knew that even before the war had claimed so many lives that life was short. Who was she to deny Elissa and Cassandra their dream of traveling.
Elissa decided she had overheard enough. There was a part of her that felt guilty for listening to a private conversation. She had intended to speak with them. As it turned out, they worked things out for themselves.
The vampire made it back to the ranch easily before Emily and Brian. Elissa entered the kitchen to find the room empty. She checked the study first. There was no sign of her wife.
The next stop was their bedroom. Elissa didn’t hesitate when she heard the sniffles. Cassandra was sat on the edge of their bed. She was staring at a picture of Emily and Brian. It had been taken just after he had returned from the war.
Elissa didn’t hesitate in wrapping Cassandra in her arms. “Sweetheart, it’s going to be all right. I’m certain Emily will come around. Whether it’s to run the ranch or refuse, she’ll accept that we have our own lives to live.”
Cassandra nodded into the shoulder giving her unconditional support. “I know. It’s odd. I’m not that much older than Emily, yet I feel a zillion years older. If only because I’ve thought of her as my daughter for so long. I was hoping she’d see we’re still young and wanted to see more of the world.”
“Just give her time.” Elissa kissed Cassandra’s temple. “We still have about a year before we’ll begin traveling. In that time, should they agree to take over, we can make a smooth transition.”
“We do have time.” Cassandra wiped the tears with the back of her hand. “I guess I’m just being silly.” She sighed heavily.
“You are being a human being.” Elissa squeezed her soulmate. “As human beings, we are allowed to be emotional. Especially when it comes to our charges.”
Cassandra pulled away. She wondered how many times Elissa thought about such things. “You mean like when I nearly died from fever or the time I was shot.”
The vampire gave her wife a squeeze. “Those memories will never leave me. I just wonder if I overreacted when your uncle showed up. I could have merely taken him capture. I just reacted.”
“As Emily just reacted to having her world turned upside down.” Cassandra understood what her daughter was going through. It just didn’t make it any easier to handle the nearly hateful words that were said.
The knocking on the door caused both women to jump. Normally Elissa would have heard whoever was outside the door but was distracted by her soulmate’s emotional state. “Come in.”
Emily slowly opened the door. She always felt a little uncomfortable being in her moms’ room. With the exception of when she’d had a nightmare in her youth. “I just wanted to say I’m sorry before Brian left. I’m not going to town with him.”
“I was worried about you.” Cassandra stood. She hesitantly made her way to her daughter. Emily didn’t hesitate in hugging her momma. “I’m sorry we sprung this on you. I hope we can talk more about this.”
“Actually, Brian and I would like to talk more about it. But I want to get my emotions better under control first.” Emily squeezed her momma one more time. She saw the expression on Elissa’s face. Their glance shared more than words.
“I think we all can use that before we make final plans for the future.” Emily nodded at Cassandra’s suggestion. “Now, you go and say goodnight to Brian. Tell him we’re sorry for the emotions we caused. And that we love him.”
Emily beamed. She was grateful her moms liked her fiancé. It had worried her when she had first been courted by him. But they had accepted him as easily as they had her.
Cassandra watched her daughter practically skip out of the bedroom. She felt long arms wrap around her. A chin leaned on her head.
“Everything is going to be all right.” Elissa squeezed her wife at the sentiment. Emotional days. They weren’t what the vampire ever wanted to deal with. But with the woman in her arms, she could handle anything eternity threw at them.
Chapter 50
Six months. Elissa and Cassandra had basically handed over the day to day operations six months to the day of their conversation with their charge. It was winter and not a good time for traveling.
Of course, Elissa didn’t want to begin traveling too far until after Cassandra was turned. Until her wife understood exactly what it meant to be a vampire.
There were urges and darkness one had to learn to control. The biggest was the natural thirst for human blood. It was something Elissa had only vaguely had as she normally fed upon animals.
Living with a vampire for nearly thirteen years was not enough to prepare Cassandra for how everything would once again change.
Cassandra had already undergone so many changes. But the biggest was yet to come. And as much as Elissa wanted to gift her with eternity, she knew that the first two or three months would be the most difficult.
Every day, Elissa attempted to convey what it was Cassandra would be experiencing. The vampire finally had decided there was only one way for her to fully understand. In eight months, she would be turned.
The young woman was in the study. It was where she spent a majority of her time now that Emily and her husband were running the ranch. Every so often, her daughter would come to her with a question. For the most part, Emily was doing a fantastic job on her own.
Cassandra was placing the finishing touches on her latest story. It wasn’t in the supernatural arena like her previous book. It was true life. It was adjusting to the aftermath of war and attempting to bridge the differences between people.
The writer wasn’t certain it would be well received, but it was something she just couldn’t not write. It was the oddest thing. One night about five months ago she had awakened in the middle of the night. She
had written nearly thirty pages before Elissa had insisted she come to bed and attempt to sleep.
Elissa deftly opened the door without knocking. The vampire wondered how many times over the past few years she had done the same thing.
The vampire carried a tray of food and coffee and placed it before her soulmate. It took a moment for Cassandra to glance up from the page she was working on. Her smile was as bright as the sun seeing her soulmate had brought her breakfast.
“Hey you.” Cassandra stretched and moved her latest book to the side. Elissa eyed it momentarily before giving her wife ‘the look’. The one that said you’ve not been taking care of yourself now eat look. “While I eat, you can read this.”
Cassandra handed the book to her soulmate while she picked up her mug of coffee. She took a few sips enjoying just how strong Elissa had made it for her.
A dark eyebrow rose. Cassandra had never allowed her to read one of her stories that wasn’t written specifically for her before it was published. A shrug was Elissa’s answer. The vampire watched her soulmate eat for a few moments before scanning the many pages.
After taking the last sip of her coffee, Cassandra leaned back in her chair. She waited until Elissa was looking at her. “So, what do you think?”
Elissa shook her head. “Outside of the lead not being a vampire, this is our story.” Cassandra nodded. “Do you think the world is ready for something like this?”
Cassandra stared at her empty plate for several moments before her penetrating gaze found azure eyes. “At this point, I don’t care. And besides, I made it seem so much like a friendship. I don’t think many will make the connection.”
“Not certain about that.” Elissa reread the last twenty pages. “The dark-haired lead kisses the blonde lead. I don’t know of too many best friends who would kiss on the lips.”
“We do.” Cassandra giggled at the low growl. “I know. Not all best friends are also lovers. I’m at the point where I guess I don’t care. I have five books out there. Only one actually was a huge success. I only think that’s because people needed a distraction. They needed something to forget all the pain of the war.”
Bonded Souls Page 31
