Eternal Promise: (The Cursed Series, Book 5)

by Kara Leigh Miller

  That did sound pretty incredible. I still couldn’t shake the guilt, though, knowing Jax wasn’t going to have his brother in his life like he used to. But he had Colt now, so that had to account for something, didn’t it?

  “Hey, everything okay over here?” Ellie asked, bouncing over to us.

  “Yeah, it’s fine. I’m just sad,” I said.

  “Aww.” Ellie hugged me, which did not help keep the tears at bay. “Just because we’re all going different directions doesn’t mean we won’t still be friends.”

  “I know,” I said, even though she was wrong.

  Once I became a vampire, my friendships would be on a short deadline. I could stay in touch via phone and text, but moments like this—hanging out—would be over, because I wouldn’t be able to explain why I hadn’t aged.

  “No sad stuff,” Ellie said, releasing me. “Tonight’s a happy night. We’re celebrating.”

  I laughed.

  “C’mon.” She looped her arm through mine.

  Only then did I realize Trent wasn’t next to me. He was now sitting near Jax, the two of them laughing. I studied them a moment, my heart filling with more love than I could fathom—for both of them. For the guy I loved more than anything else, my soulmate and future husband. And for the guy I wanted to love but couldn’t, my friend and future brother-in-law.

  As if they both somehow knew I was thinking about them, they looked at me at the same time. Jax’s eyes full of longing, Trent’s full of love. I turned away from them and sat down next to Ellie.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE:

  Another Year

  “ARE WE ALMOST THERE? THIS THING is driving me nuts.” I fidgeted with the blindfold Trent had insisted I wear.

  Today was my nineteenth birthday, and I wasn’t expecting a party, or anything really, considering I was getting married in a little over a month. In fact, I didn’t want anything for my birthday. And I thought I might actually get what I wanted, but I should’ve known Trent wouldn’t let it slide by without doing something. He’d waited until dark, though, to tell me he had a surprise for me.

  He chuckled. “Yes, now stop messing with it.”

  Next thing I knew, his hand was wrapped around mine. I sighed with fake annoyance and settled into the seat of his truck for the duration of the drive—however long that might be.

  Turned out, it wasn’t that long at all. Minutes later, the truck slowed, then stopped. The engine no longer rumbled. I sat up straighter, a surge of excitement barreling through me. Despite not wanting to make a big deal of my birthday, I was thrilled Trent had planned something.

  My door opened, and I was blasted with a cool breeze. Trent’s lips barely grazed mine, startling me.

  “We’re here,” he said, unhooking my seat belt and lifting me out of the truck.

  I yelped with surprise and wrapped my arms around his neck. “I can walk, y’know,” I said.

  “Not when you can’t see anything,” he said, his tone amused.

  “And whose fault is that?” I asked.

  His warm breath puffed across my cheek when he laughed. “I’m going to put you down now,” he said.

  My feet landed on a hard surface, but Trent kept his hands on my waist, steadying me. “Can I take this off now?” I asked.

  “Not yet.”

  One of his hands disappeared from my waist, there was a soft click, and then his hand was back on my waist.

  “Now you can take it off,” he said. His voice was low and deep against my ear, his body safe and unyielding behind me.

  I didn’t hesitate to rip the blindfold off my eyes. I blinked against my suddenly bright surroundings. It was dark outside, but I was facing the interior of the cabin. Trent had brought me to our house. That was… odd.

  Cautiously, I stepped inside, fully expecting people to jump out and yell, “surprise.” But the house was silent. The lights were on, though, and I glanced around. A simple “Happy Birthday” banner hung from the ceiling above the dining room table. A bouquet of various colored balloons sat in the center of the table, surrounded by magazines and catalogs and decorating samples.

  “What is all this?” I asked, approaching the table.

  I picked up a carpet sample and ran my fingers over the plush fibers. There had to be several dozen samples like this, and not just carpeting—there were tiles, hardwoods, fabric that I assumed was for drapery.

  “I told you I wanted to make this place our home,” he said, slipping his arms around my stomach and resting his chin on my shoulder. “So, I thought we could redecorate it together.”

  My brows shot up, and I stood there, stunned. This place was already so beautiful. I couldn’t imagine changing a thing about it, but it was also very… male. It needed a woman’s touch, and with a potential baby on the way, we would need to redo one of the bedrooms into a nursery.

  “I know it’s not as fancy as your last birthday, but that didn’t exactly end well, so I figured it was better to do something a little more low-key this year,” he said.

  I laughed and spun around in his arms. “It’s perfect.” I placed a chaste kiss on his lips. “And I love that it’s just you and me tonight.”

  He graced me with a breathtaking smile, and my knees weakened. Would he ever stop having that effect on me? I hoped not.

  “C’mon, then,” he said, taking my hand.

  We started at the end of the small hall that jutted off the living room. There were two bedrooms and a small bathroom. One of the rooms had two twin beds—this was where Whitney and Wyatt had stayed last summer. The other room was sparse with just a bed and nightstand.

  “This is where Sean stays when we’re here,” Trent said.

  I nodded. I knew for a fact there were three bedrooms and another bathroom upstairs, too. What on earth were we going to do with all this space when it would be just three of us living here?

  “I don’t want to do anything with any of the walls,” I said. “I like the natural wood.”

  “Okay,” Trent said.

  “And I want to decorate the bathrooms in aquatic themes,” I said, stopping in the downstairs bathroom doorway. “Dolphins down here, and seashells upstairs.”

  He raised a brow. “Dolphins and seashells?”

  “Yeah,” I said, my tone slightly defensive. “That’s how my mom had our bathroom decorated. Every time we’d go somewhere and there was something with dolphins or seashells, she’d buy it. We had quite the collection of stuff.” I laughed. “Then we ended up selling everything.”

  Trent pulled me into his arms. “We can do whatever you want.”

  I sighed and wiggled free from his hold. “Please don’t do that,” I said, crossing my arms. “This is our house, remember? I want you to love it here as much as I do, so if you really don’t like something, say so.”

  “Okay. Then I want to leave Sean’s room as is,” he said. “If he ever wants to come visit, or if he wants to stay here while we’re traveling, I want him to have his room.”

  I grinned. “Okay.”

  “All right.” He smirked, his eyes sparkling. “I really like it when you get pushy like that.”

  I rolled my eyes but couldn’t stop from laughing as I headed back toward the living room. “I’m not sure I want to change anything in here,” I said, glancing around.

  I loved the large sectional sofa and the layout of the separated living room with the fireplace on one side and the TV on the other. I could totally see myself curling up on one of the stuffed beanbag chairs and reading in front of the fireplace.

  “Not even new furniture?” he asked.

  “No.” I shook my head. “I have some good memories on that couch.”

  Trent chuckled. “Fair enough.” He turned toward the dining room and kitchen. “What about over here?”

  “Definitely new dishes and stuff. Maybe a new kitchen floor,” I said. “I like the table, though.”

  “Well, this is easier than I thought it would be.” He winked at me, and a tiny thrill wiggled do
wn my back.

  “We still haven’t made it upstairs yet,” I said with a shrug. “I have big plans up there. Knock down a few walls. Tear up all the floors. Expand the bathroom.”

  “Is that so?” He flashed a devilish grin.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  Before I could say anything else, he tossed me over his shoulder and raced upstairs. Then, my back hit the mattress, and Trent was positioned over me, his weight suspended in his arms. He peered down at me, his eyes crisp and mischievous.

  Dizziness hit me in waves. “Stop doing that,” I said with very little conviction.

  He laughed, then kissed me. “This is going to be our room,” he said, dragging his lips across my jaw. “I like this room. And this bed.”

  “Me too,” I whispered and tilted my head.

  “Anything you want to change in here?” he asked, his mouth now working down the column of my neck.

  My pulse pounded, and my ears rang with how hard my heart thundered. Did he really expect me to answer coherently when he was kissing me like that?

  “Carpet,” I finally managed to say.

  Right now, the floor was the same hard wood as the walls. While there was an area rug that covered a large portion of the room, I wanted the entire floor covered with a soft, fluffy carpet.

  Trent nipped at the mark on my neck, and my skin prickled seconds before a tsunami of heat rolled through my body. “What color?” he asked.

  “Uh…”

  Chuckling, Trent pushed away from me and stood. “Clearly, you’re much too distracted right now. I’d better stop so you can focus.”

  I groaned. “You’re a jerk.”

  He laughed and helped me to my feet, his lips landing on mine in a soft kiss. “You really only want to put carpet in here?”

  I nodded. Then I walked out of the room before he could distract me again, or before I shoved him onto the bed and had my way with him. I went to the room next to ours, the room that had started out as Trent’s when we’d first arrived here. That had lasted all of one night before he’d moved into my room.

  “I want to turn this room into the nursery,” I said.

  We spent the next hour talking about how we wanted to decorate the nursery, and how we’d change the final room upstairs into a guest room, which then led to me suggesting we switch the other room downstairs into a playroom. Trent loved the idea.

  Once downstairs, I stepped out onto the back porch, still stunned that Trent had a pool installed for me. Admittedly, I couldn’t wait to officially move in and… A thought struck me just then.

  “Why don’t we move in here now?” I asked. “I mean, we’re getting married soon, so why wait?”

  “Because I don’t want to,” he said simply. He rested his arms on the railing and stared down at the pool.

  “You don’t want to?” I asked, hoping I’d misheard him. “Why? We both hate being away from each other, and I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s getting harder and harder every day.”

  He twisted so he was facing me, one arm still propped on the railing. “I know. It is for me, too, but I want to be able to carry my wife over the threshold of our house on our wedding night, knowing that we’re both officially home. Together.”

  “You are so old-fashioned,” I said.

  “Well, I am significantly older than you,” he said with a teasing smile.

  “Technically, I’m older than you now. In human years, anyway.” I frowned. “You realize I’m going to be twenty before you change me, right?”

  Once we accounted for the time remaining before our wedding, however long before we conceived, the entire pregnancy, and then a couple months after that, I’ll have had yet another birthday.

  “So?” He pushed away from the railing. “Human years mean nothing to vampires.” He brushed hair from my face, trailing his fingers down my cheek. “Staying human another year is insignificant when you’re going to have a literal eternity at your disposal.”

  “It doesn’t bother you?” I asked.

  “Nope. Does it bother you?”

  “Not really,” I said.

  “Good.” He smiled. “Are you hungry? I can order some food.”

  “No,” I said, my gaze wandering back toward the pool. “But there is something I want to do.”

  I raced down the steps, Trent right behind me, and as soon as I reached the concrete around the pool, I kicked off my flip flops and tore my shirt off over my head.

  Trent stopped abruptly, eyes wide. “What’re you doing?” he asked.

  “Ever been skinny dipping?” I asked as I reached around behind me and unhooked my bra. “Because I haven’t.”

  He swore under his breath, his eyes darkening several shades. “And you want to?” he asked.

  “Yeah. Why not. I mean, this is our house, right? Our pool? We have total privacy.” I unbuttoned my shorts and shimmied out of them; then I slid my panties off. “You in, or are you just going to stand there and stare at me?”

  “I haven’t decided yet,” he said, his gaze ravenous.

  “Well, don’t take too long,” I said and then dove into the pool.

  I LAY ON THE couch, my head in Trent’s lap. He stroked my back, lulling me into a state of blissful peace. His feet were propped on the coffee table, which was scattered with half-empty take-out food containers.

  After our impromptu swim, I’d been starving, so he’d ordered way too much food. We’d pigged out, and now we were watching a movie. It was one I hadn’t seen before—a thriller of some sort—and I was more content than I’d ever been in my life.

  “Happy Birthday,” he said suddenly. “I just realized I hadn’t said that to you yet.”

  I snuggled deeper into the couch and sighed.

  “Are you happy?” he asked, his fingers stroking through my hair. “Or bored?”

  “Very, and no,” I said and rolled onto my back so I could look up at him. “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Just wondering what that sigh was all about,” he said.

  “Trust me. It was a happy sigh,” I said with a laugh. “I was actually thinking how perfect all of this is. Just you and me being lazy on the couch. Eating. Watching movies. I realized that this is going to be my life, and I couldn’t be happier about that.”

  “Yeah?” He sounded pleasantly surprised by my confession.

  “Yes.” I sat up.

  He hauled me over onto his lap so that I was straddling him, his hands resting on my legs. I rested my hands on his shoulders and kissed him slowly. He groaned and tugged me closer.

  “I’m excited about someday traveling the world with you, but I’m just as excited about living here with you and having quiet nights at home,” I whispered and scooted back far enough so I could kiss his neck.

  “I love you so much,” he said, his voice raspy.

  “I love you, too,” I said, bringing my mouth back to his. “I was thinking… and this is probably going to sound really stupid, but…” I took a deep breath. “I don’t want to have sex again until our wedding night.”

  Trent laughed, his eyes twinkling. “We kind of blew that already, didn’t we?”

  “I know we’ve been having sex for months now, but I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I think if we don’t for a while, it will be more special on our wedding night. You know, the anticipation of it.”

  He probably thought I was an idiot, and I wasn’t sure he was wrong. I mean, it was silly to suddenly stop having sex for a month—and it was probably going to be impossible, too. God knew we couldn’t keep our hands to ourselves.

  “This will probably kill me, but okay,” he said with a nod. “If that’s what you want, then I’m on board.”

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “But”—he spun me around so I was flat on the couch and then lowered himself down on top of me—”we start tomorrow.” He kissed the tip of my nose. “It is your birthday after all.”

  Laughing, I snaked my arms around his neck. “Are you trying to tell me that you are my birt
hday present?”

  “Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

  “No.” I licked my lips. “In fact, it’s the best gift ever.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR:

  Double Crossed

  IT WAS THE EVE OF MY wedding, and all the final touches were being made. Whitney insisted everything be taken care of today so that tomorrow all I had to worry about was looking beautiful.

  Little did she know I hadn’t even finished writing my vows. It hadn’t been for a lack of trying, though. That’s all I’d been doing—writing something, throwing it away because it sucked, writing something else, throwing that away because it sucked even worse. I just couldn’t find the words to tell Trent how much I loved him.

  My vows might be a total bust, but at least the decorations would be pretty.

  Large white canopies had been set up—one for the ceremony on the top of the mountain, and two more for the reception in the backyard, much closer to the house. Tables and chairs were arranged in a very particular way that Whitney had coordinated.

  Tiny white fairy lights were intertwined with strands of flowers that hung from the top of the canopies. She’d even included a small stand near the alter that held a framed photograph of my mom along with her urn, so it was like she’d be here with me, too.

  Whitney had everything under control, and there really wasn’t much for me to do other than watch everyone else bustle around.

  I leaned against the massive weeping willow tree and smiled. I couldn’t believe I was actually getting married tomorrow. For so long, this day felt like it would never arrive, and now, in a little over twenty-four hours, I would become Mrs. Trenton Halstead. And I couldn’t stop smiling.

  My dad, Larissa, and Little Frank had arrived earlier today, and they were now chatting with Aunt Beth and Uncle Dean. My father had grumbled about me getting married on a Wednesday night, and he was right—it was highly unusual—but wasn’t everything about this wedding unusual? I didn’t care, though. I wanted to get married on Mom’s birthday, and that’s what we were doing.