There's Always Tomorrow (Immortal Series)

by Alice Addy

  For a moment, Tony was speechless. “Wow! Get a look at that view. This place must cost you a bundle.”

  Sophie tossed her coat across the back of the sofa, and walked over to Tony’s side. She shared his view of the lights of the city and the dark waters of the San Francisco Bay. The war was over, and it was once again safe to live on the coast. There had been a time when she was filled with apprehension, looking out her window, but no longer.

  “Actually, it costs Daddy a pretty tidy sum. Believe me, he can well afford it. I became a nurse just to irritate him. He would prefer me to marry well and carry on his legacy.

  “Come on now, Tony. You must get off that leg. Your bed is ready, and I’ll bring you your dinner, as soon as it arrives.” She blushed slightly. She was a great nurse and a terrific cook, but lately, she hadn’t had the time, nor the desire, to pursue her culinary skills. “I’ll fix you something later, but for right now, carry-out will have to suffice.

  Tony laughed. He secretly doubted she knew her way around the kitchen, but that was fine with him. “Hey, I’ll take your superior skills as a nurse, anytime.”

  Suddenly, his voice lowered, as his eyes stared into the two loveliest, lavender eyes, he’d ever seen. So often, he had held on to the strength in those same eyes; eyes that gave him the will to get through the pain and the nightmares of losing a leg. “I’ve never had the opportunity to thank you properly, Bea.” He spoke softly, his voice rich and deep, and extremely seductive. He reached for Bea’s hand, and pulled her into his room.

  “I’m going to kiss, you, Bea. I’m going to show you my appreciation.”

  She blinked up at him, mesmerized by the sound of his voice. Her body trembled with excitement. He was devastatingly handsome, with a just a touch of the mystery she found so irresistible.

  As he pulled her in closely, she heard him groan with desire…or was that her?

  “Tony,” she gasped.

  His lips were warm and firm against hers. He nibbled on her lower lip, causing her to tremble with need. He feathered sweet kisses down the curve of her throat, so hot; they sent waves of heat, spiraling through her entire body.

  Bea’s knees began to weaken. It was divine torture, for her. She knew she had no right to feel intense desire, for a man she barely knew, but she could not stop herself. The need she felt was as old as time. It was raw and primitive, and she had no choice but to see where it took her.

  Tony gripped her bottom with both hands, and explored the lush curves of her slender back. His hands squeezed and felt the soft flesh of a passionate woman. His nostrils flared, ever so slightly, as her womanly scent rose up to fill the air. She was going to be his.

  His voice was hoarse and filled with longing, as he whispered loving and erotic things into Bea’s ears. “Come to bed, Bea. Let me make love you,” he pleaded.

  With her heart pounding in her chest like a tribal drum, she allowed Tony to guide her to the bed. His heat engulfed her, as his arms encircled her in an embrace of love.

  “Tony…make love to me,” she begged.

  Her low, honeyed voice sent a shiver down his spine, as his lips found their way to her full breasts. The buttons of her uniform were easily freed, and her brassiere fell away with no problem.

  “Your breasts are magnificent,” he drooled. In no time, her nipple filled his mouth, and he suckled in earnest.

  Bea cried out his name, lost in the eroticism of the moment. His mouth was hungry for her. He was a man half-starved for the touch of feminine flesh beneath him.

  For the rest of the evening, they loved and enjoyed each other’s bodies, finding solace and companionship in each other’s company. They each knew it was no love affair, but two people who cared deeply for one another, getting and giving comfort, at a most stressful time in their lives.

  As the sky began to lighten, Tony smiled, while stroking Bea’s black hair. “Bea, are you still awake?” he asked, in a whispered voice.

  “Mmmm. Can’t you sleep?” she purred.

  “No. I want to enjoy this night for as long as I can. It’s been years since I’ve held a beautiful woman in my arms, throughout the night. All those weeks in the hospital, I imagined this. Your black hair and lavender eyes never failed to arouse me. It’s such an unusual combination.”

  “A gift from my mother,” she said. “I thought about this too, Tony. You’re dangerously handsome, you know. No woman is safe around you.”

  * * *

  Unfortunately, a benefit of Tony’s curse, was rapid healing. Within four days, he was well enough to leave Bea’s apartment. He didn’t want go. She didn’t want him to go. He thought of asking her to marry him. They got along well, but, all too soon, he’d be alone again. He had forever, but time would eventually run out for Bea. Was it worth it? Could he stand to watch her age, only to lose her in the end?

  As they say, all good things must come to an end. Tony took Bea to one of the nicest restaurants in all of San Francisco. She was surprised he could afford it. The food was sure to be delicious, but neither, Tony nor Bea, had an appetite.

  Bea’s eyes filled with tears. “I don’t understand why you won’t stay a little longer. You can’t possibly be healed enough to go out on your own. I’ve got the room. Are you tired of me? Have I done something to offend you? I’ll try harder, Tony. Please give me another chance.” Her begging embarrassed Bea, but she felt desperate to hold on to him. She was close to losing control in public, and that, she did not want to do.

  Tony stood and walked around the table to take Bea in his arms. He kissed her ear and the place on her neck, where it joins the shoulder. It was her favorite spot.

  “Darling,” he whispered, “You’ve done nothing wrong. I haven’t the vocabulary to tell you how wonderful you are. I’m not leaving because I’ve tired of you. I’m leaving because I must. There are things about me that you wouldn’t understand. Believe me when I tell you that I am hurting as much as you.” He kissed her hands and returned to his side of the table.

  Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a small square box. He opened the lid and placed it in front of Bea. “I had the jeweler chip the underside of my emerald and create this for you. It is to remind you of me and to show you how important you are to me. I’m giving you a piece of myself. I only wish it could be more.”

  Bea’s hand trembled as she tentatively touched the breathtaking ring. The emerald was part of him. She looked up and smiled serenely.

  “Thank you, Tony. I will wear it all the days of my life, and think of you.” She removed the ring from the box and placed it on her pinkie. It was a perfect fit.

  “Thank you, Bea. Thank you for everything. If it hadn’t been for you…I don’t dare think about it. I’ll never forget you.”

  No one spoke for a while. It was important to take in the moment and file it away in one’s memory. Then, Bea sighed.

  “When are you leaving?”

  “Tomorrow,” Tony replied. “I’m going home to New York. I’ll get better, there.”

  Bea nodded in the soft, candlelight. “I love you, Tony.”

  Tony’s arms tightened around Bea’s shoulders. “I know. I love you, too.”

  Later that evening, they made love, slowly, and for the last time. It was filled with an overwhelming passion, and ended with a soul-shattering climax, the kind neither had ever experienced before. That union filled the lifelong yearning in their hearts.

  Bea insisted they share breakfast the next morning, before the cab came to pick up his fare.

  “This is really good. You are quite a cook, honey,” Tony marveled. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

  Bea grinned, ruefully. “I can’t seem to find the right man.”

  The cab honked, right on time. Tony wiped his mouth on his napkin, and finished his freshly squeezed orange juice. His eyes darkened, as he reached for Bea’s hand, from across the table. His heart warmed as he noticed the glint from the fiery emerald, she wore on her left hand.

  “I’ve got to go
, sweetheart. Believe me, I’d rather stay, but there are things you don’t know about me. Things you wouldn’t understand and I can’t explain. I’m truly sorry, and I want you to know that I’ll never forget you.”

  A tear trickled down Bea’s smooth cheek. “I believe you. Will I ever see you again?”

  Tony shook his head, and again, the cab honked. He rose from his chair and grabbed his small bag and his cane. “Take care, darling. I wish you the best.”

  Bea stood on tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his, for one last kiss, and he turned and walked through the door. The soft click of the door latch punctuated the finality of his departure.

  From the window, she watched him get into the taxi and disappear. Pressing her hand to her aching breast, she sobbed. “I’ve never met anyone like you before. I don’t think I ever will again.” She turned away, and put Tony out of her mind.

  * * *

  Sophie was smiling. “I’m glad to know you were my husband’s nurse and fought so fiercely to save his leg. And it was nice that you gave him a place to sleep for the night. Who would have thought you’d meet again, after sixty-five years?”

  Tony and Bea shared a silent moment. In the telling of their story, Tony had intentionally omitted a few of the more intimate details. As loving and understanding as Sophie was, she was, first and foremost, his wife, and she possessed a very healthy jealous streak. He figured she didn’t need to know everything, and Bea must have agreed.

  Bea chuckled, then looked directly at Sophie. “Yes, dear. After sixty-five years, I run into an old friend, and oddly enough, he hasn’t appeared to have aged, a day. How do you explain that, Sophie? Why does your handsome husband look to be in his early twenties, when he should resemble a man of eighty-six?”

  Sophie suddenly looked like a deer caught in headlights, and turned to her husband. “Tony? What should I say?” she whispered, a little too loudly. Clearly, she had no idea how to answer the old woman’s question.

  Tony cleared his throat, and patted his wife’s arm. He winked and smiled to reassure her, then turned his attention toward his guest. “That’s why I brought you here, Bea. I want to tell you everything, but I’m afraid it might come as quite a shock to you. You may not believe it.”

  “Think you’ll put an old woman in her grave, do you?” Bea challenged. “I’m not as fragile as all that. I’ve buried two husbands and one child. I guess I can stand anything you have to tell me.”

  Tony stood with his mouth ajar. “You had a child? When?” He could barely swallow. Surely, he didn’t leave her with his child. His heart pounded so loudly, he was certain Sophie could hear. All the color left his face. What had he done?

  Bea smiled and grasped his hands in front of her. “Oh, it was several years after we met, Tony. Charles was a doctor at the Veteran’s hospital, and a damn good husband. He gave me a delightful daughter, whom I named, Irene. But she fell off a horse when she was sixteen, and it broke his heart. Charles died the next year.”

  “I’m sorry, Bea. I’ve lost a few children of my own. I know what pain that causes.” Images of dark, curly heads with big shining eyes, flashed through his mind, bringing with it the familiar pain he tried so hard to keep at bay.

  It was Bea’s turn to be surprised. “You had children? When did you marry?” She looked at Sophie. Surely this young bit of thing hadn’t given him a family, yet. How many times had he been married, she wondered?

  “That’s what I want to tell you. I am much older than I look, Bea. I’m much older than you, in fact. Some people would say I have been blessed with longevity, but I feel as if I’ve been cursed.”

  “It’s all a matter of perspective, darling,” Sophie interjected.

  Tony shot her a look and frowned, “Yes, sweetheart. I realize that now.”

  He sat down next to Bea and looked her in the eye. After clearing his throat, he spoke in a hoarse and unfamiliar voice. “It is my fate to outlive all my loved ones, Bea. Through a flaw of nature, or some cosmic joke, I have become immortal. I will always be, as you see me, now.”

  Tony waited for the gasp that was sure to follow, hearing her one-time lover was now a monster, or the hysterical laughter that would tell him she thought he was insane. Instead, Bea just sat there, deep in thought.

  “I wouldn’t want to live forever,” she declared, finally. “In fact, I’m ready to go right now. I’ve had a good life and I’ve had one spectacular lover.” Her eyes sparkled with mischief. “If you say this is your life, then I believe you. After all, what else could explain what I see with my own two eyes?” She grabbed his chin and turned his face one way, then the other. She lovingly patted his cheek.

  Sophie and Tony let out the breath they had each been holding. This was a very intelligent woman, sitting in their living room, and Sophie realized, she would like to have known her better, back in the day. There was no doubt they would have been fast friends.

  “Well, that’s great, Bea,” Tony exclaimed, feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. “I felt you deserved to know why I left you, the way I did. You don’t hate me?”

  “Hate you?” She rolled her eyes. “I love you, dear boy,” she cajoled. “You know, Tony, each birthday is a priceless gift and every day is to be celebrated. Remember that, darling.”

  Glancing up at the clock on the mantel, Bea was astonished to discover the hour. “Oh, my, just look at the time. I’ve got to get going. My friend, Alice, and I have tickets to see a Broadway show. Can you have that nice driver of yours take me to my hotel, Tony?”

  “No problem, but wouldn’t you rather have me drive you? I’ve got a Porsche.” He grinned, dangling his keys in his hand.

  Bea smiled at Sophie, and then looked back at Tony. “I think you should stay here, with your beautiful wife. You might have a little explaining to do.” She chuckled, as she stood up and gave them both a friendly kiss on the cheek.

  “Life’s full of surprises, isn’t it?” she exclaimed, with a smile upon her lips. “I wish you both well.”

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  “Who would have thought the old gal would have taken that revelation so calmly? I guess some people grow wise with age, is that right, Tony?” Sophie could barely contain her laughter.

  “Are you saying I’m not wise, wife? I was wise enough to have married you, yes?”

  “That’s well put, but I still think she was remarkable. Was she very beautiful when you knew her?”

  Here it comes, he thought. “Yes, darling, she was amazingly beautiful and uncommonly kind. And before you ask…I thought I loved her. Does that make a difference?” Tony worried that maybe he’d made a mistake by discussing his past life with Bea, in front of his wife. He should have talked to her privately.

  Sophie nodded, her forehead wrinkled in thought. It was several minutes before she responded. “I thought I loved you, Tony.”

  Tony jumped to his feet and rushed to his wife’s side. His mouth went dry with the fear. What did she mean by that?. “Sophie, I...”

  “Please, Tony, let me finish. I thought I loved you more than was humanly feasible, but after seeing you with Bea, I found I love you even more—if that’s possible. After all these years, you still feel something for her. It’s so beautiful it almost breaks my heart. I liked her, and she has exemplary good taste in men. I am a very lucky woman.”

  Tony was awestruck. “You’re not mad or jealous?”

  She laughed. “I hope I haven’t bruised your male pride by approving of your choice of lady friends. How can I be jealous of a relationship that occurred before my mother was born? Get real, Tony. Life goes on, after all.” She swirled around the chair and grabbed her husband by the front of his shirt.

  “Kiss me, or else,” she purred.

  Tony grinned. “Or else, what?” he teased.

  Sophie’s small but agile fingers worked the buttons on his shirt. “Or I’ll have my way with you…willing or not.” She watched Tony’s eyes light up, and noticed a deep, red blush
start to creep up from below his collar. “Well?” she asked, as she lowered his face, bringing his lips within kissable range.

  Tony loved it when his wife took the initiative. She was very seductive, in her innocence, and it was an incredible turn-on for him. “Ordinarily, I would like nothing more than to kiss you senseless, but in this instance, it may be more fun to let you have your way,” he chuckled.

  “You asked for it,” Sophie giggled, pulling Tony toward their bedroom. The thought of having control over such a magnificent man was delicious. Her body tingled and her mind conjured all the wonderful things she wanted to do with him. She was breathless by the time she pushed him down across their bed.

  “Unzip ‘em,” she ordered, looking down on her captive.

  Tony wasted no time in complying with her wishes. He unbuckled his belt, slipped the button, holding the waistband together, through its hole, and slowly slid the zipper down. He could feel his cock coming to life and trying to free itself from its confines. He watched Sophie run her pink tongue across her upper lip. “Dear God, make this quick,” he prayed.

  Sophie saw the bulge in his trousers and the dark, desirous look in his eyes. Her husband was sufficiently aroused, and now she intended to make him explode with passion.

  Unexpectedly, Sophie stepped back from the bed, and slowly unzipped the back of her dress. She let her fingers glide down the smooth fabric and end just below the waist. Then grasping the thin spaghetti straps on her bodice, she eased each one over her shoulders, one at a time.

  Tony groaned. He adjusted himself, as the open zipper had gotten quite uncomfortable.

  Sophie saw his discomfort, and smiled seductively. She continued with her slow strip tease, kicking off one shoe, sending it halfway across the room, and then sent its mate following it. With small, deft moves, she slowly let the dress peel its way down her body, revealing her curves and her new French lingerie. She smiled.

  “Ah, Magnifique,” Tony sighed, as he gazed up from the bed. Sophie had the face of an angel and the body of a temptress.