by Lori Sjoberg
And then nothing.
“What—what next?” Gwen asked, her eyes wide.
“Patience.”
The hand Fate rested over his heart began to glow, a soft pale yellow at first but then brightening in intensity until its light flooded every corner of the room. Gwen squinted, shielding her eyes from its brilliance. After a minute or two the glow subsided, and Fate’s skin returned to its normal hue.
Seconds passed.
A minute.
Suddenly, Dmitri’s eyes flew open. His back bowed and his chest expanded as his mouth sucked in a lungful of air. Every muscle in his body flexed and contracted. Warmth flooded his skin as his heart began pumping blood. He blinked, and then his eyes gained focus and locked squarely on Gwen.
“Welcome back,” she said, her voice shaking. Lovingly, she stroked his hair back from his forehead.
Dmitri stared at her for almost a full minute, not blinking, not speaking. He swallowed, licked his lips, and then said in a deep raspy voice, “Marry me.”
The proposal knocked her completely off balance. His gaze met hers, so filled with emotion it swelled her heart with joy.
“Samuel was correct, of course,” Fate said, breaking the moment. She cast a quick glance in Samuel’s direction before turning her attention back to them. “Once the spark of immortality is severed, it can never be restored.”
With a grunt, Dmitri pushed himself to sitting. A bewildered look crossed his face as he stared down at his flexing hands.
“Are you saying he’s mortal now?” Gwen tried to gauge the strength of his life force, but for some reason she detected nothing.
“Yes,” Fate replied, her expression tinged with a touch of sadness. “And so are you.”
Gwen’s jaw went slack. “Excuse me?”
“My lady, you cannot afford to release her from service,” Samuel insisted. “We’re stretched thin enough as it is.”
“What’s done cannot be reversed,” Fate said, her voice soft yet resolved. “We’ll manage. We always do.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Gwen said.
“A simple thank you will suffice.” Fate smiled, and wrinkles fanned out from her eyes. “The stains have been removed from both of your souls. What you do with the remainder of your lives is up to you, but I hope you make better choices this time around.”
“I—we will. But how can we—I mean we don’t have any—”
Fate shushed her. “Samuel will secure the necessary documentation and sufficient assets to begin your new lives. Won’t you, dear?”
“Of course,” Samuel replied, even though he appeared thoroughly put out by the prospect. “I’ll take care of it immediately.”
“See? All set.” After patting Gwen’s shoulder, Fate rose and strode to where Samuel stood. She touched a hand to his arm and his expression brightened considerably. “That means there’s only one thing left to do.”
Gwen’s brow crinkled. “What?”
“Answer the man’s question, of course. You can’t leave us all in suspense.”
Gwen’s gaze darted back to Dmitri, and she couldn’t help but smile. “Did you mean it?”
His lips curled up. “I never joke about such things.” In his eyes, she saw the true depth of his love, so absolute it left her light-headed. “Are you going to give me an answer, or do I have to get on one knee?”
“Like there’s any chance I’d say no.” Framing his face in her hands, she kissed him with every ounce of her love. He kissed her back, his arms wrapping around her, and every bone in her body melted.
Chapter 27
He’d almost forgotten what it was like to be mortal.
Dmitri leaned against the wood balcony rail, watching the sun dip below the horizon. Warm ocean air whipped through his hair and brought the blood into his cheeks. There was still enough light to see the choppy waters of the Atlantic, stretching out as far as the eye could see. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, savoring the feeling of serenity.
The Rhapsody of the Atlantic had set sail from Miami three days ago, heading east toward Spain. The ship was huge, holding over eight thousand passengers and crew, with twelve decks and endless entertainment. The last time Dmitri had boarded a cruise ship, it was with orders to exterminate a rogue demon. What a difference a year made.
Six months had passed since Fate made him and Gwen human. It had taken some time to adjust to the changes, like not being able to gauge the life force of others or compel them to do what you wanted. He missed the latter, although he was still pretty good at talking his way into and out of almost any situation.
There were a few residual effects from their time as reapers, like being able to sense each other’s presence, but for all intents and purposes they were mortal. They healed like humans, would grow old like humans. He’d caught a cold the month before, the first time since 1962.
If given the choice, he wouldn’t trade it for the world. He’d been given a second chance to live a full life, and he planned on making the most of it with Gwenya.
My Gwenya.
They’d traded vows three months earlier on the sands of Vero Beach. Nothing fancy, just the ocean and a handful of friends who could scrape enough time away from their jobs to attend. Adam had gone so far as to get ordained online so he could perform the ceremony. Among their vows, Gwen promised not to keep any secrets, while Dmitri promised not to kill anyone unless they really deserved it. He smiled at the memory of Gwen in her simple white wedding dress, walking down the aisle toward him at the seaside altar. Her smile. That radiance. All for him. He was the luckiest son of a bitch on the planet.
“Think we’re out far enough?” Gwen asked from inside the cabin. The memory faded, and he turned toward the sound of her voice.
The high heels were gone, but she still wore the skimpy red dress that made him wish they’d ordered room service. A teardrop sapphire pendant hung from her neck and lay between her breasts. She’d pierced her ears a month ago, and tonight they were decorated with a pair of delicate gold hoops. Barefoot, she walked toward him, a glass of vodka in one hand and some type of girly drink in the other.
“Yes. It’s time.” Dmitri accepted the drink and thanked her with a kiss to the lips. Just being close to her made his body hum. “Will you miss it?”
“A little,” she admitted with a shrug. “It caused so much trouble, but in a way it brought us together.”
“True. But Fate charged us with keeping it hidden, and I can’t think of a better place to put it.” As mortals, they were at a distinct disadvantage against dark forces that might seek out the artifact’s power. But this stretch of the Atlantic was thousands of feet deep, and without knowing its exact location, finding the relic would be nearly impossible.
Dmitri clinked his glass with hers before raising it to his mouth. The vodka went down smooth, leaving a warm trail in its wake. He turned his gaze back toward the ocean. The early evening sky had darkened to navy, the waters black as the ship cut across the waves. “Ready?”
Gwen set her drink on the small table between deck chairs. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” She walked back into the cabin and unzipped her suitcase. After rooting around for a minute or two, she pulled out a black cloth bag. Inside, wrapped in a towel, was the artifact. She unsheathed the stone and tossed the towel on the bed as she walked back to the balcony.
“Funny, it doesn’t look so powerful now,” she said as she handed it to Dmitri.
The relic felt cool in his hand and lighter than he remembered. He ran a finger over the ancient etchings, remembering the history of the Akkadian empire and the horrors that fell upon their people. “Do you want the honors?” He held it out to her. With all the work she’d done translating the cuneiform, he thought it was fair to give her the choice.
Gwen shook her head, a wistful expression on her face. “No, you go ahead. I don’t know if I could do it.”
He paused. Deep down, he believed this was the right thing to do, but he wouldn’t do it if she wasn�
��t on board. “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Of course. Now hurry up so we can go dancing.”
He huffed. “It’ll be crowded. And noisy. Wouldn’t you rather stay inside tonight?”
“Dimusha,” she said, the warning clear in her voice. “You promised.”
“Under duress.”
“Oh, is that what you call it now?” She inched closer and took his free hand. From where she stood, he could see straight down her cleavage, and the sight was making him hard. “Take me dancing,” she said in a husky voice, “and I’ll do that thing that you love afterward.”
Dmitri arched one eyebrow. He had every intention of taking her dancing, but he enjoyed their game too much not to play. “Which one?”
“All of them.”
Every hormone in his body snapped to attention. “Promise?”
Her mouth tipped up in a wicked smile as she drew an X over her chest with her finger. “If you’re really good, I’ll leave the heels on while I do them.”
The mental image of Gwen in nothing but her heels flooded his brain and tightened his groin. He cocked his arm back and hurled the artifact toward the open ocean. It sailed in a high arc through the air before splashing into the water.
It felt like a great weight had lifted from his shoulders. The last tie to their immortal lives was sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic, leaving them free to start fresh. They hadn’t decided what they wanted to do next, but they had a few options on the table. His Gwenya shared his taste for adventure, and the possibilities were endless. He turned toward her and extended his hand. “Ready?”
“Always,” she said, the love plain on her face. She twined her fingers with his, and everything felt right in his world.
Growing up the youngest of three girls, Lori Sjoberg never had control of the remote. That meant a steady diet of science fiction and fantasy: Star Trek, Star Wars, The Twilight Zone, The Outer Limits—you name it, she watched it. It fed her imagination, which came in handy when she needed a creative excuse for being out past curfew. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Lori worked for nearly a decade in retail management, then switched to financial planning, and then insurance.
The writing bug bit a few years later. After completing her first manuscript, Lori joined the Romance Writers of America and Central Florida Romance Writers. Now she exercises the analytical half of her brain at work and the creative half writing paranormal romance. When she’s not doing either of those, she’s usually spending time with her husband and four-legged children.
Readers can visit Lori online at www.lorisjoberg.com or www.facebook.com/AuthorLoriSjoberg.
LYRICAL PRESS BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2015 by Lori Sjoberg
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
Lyrical and the Lyrical logo Reg. U.S. Pat. & TM Off.
First Electronic Edition: January 2015
eISBN-13: 978-1-60183-269-6
eISBN-10: 1-60183-269-9
First Print Edition: January 2015
ISBN: 978-1-6018-3269-6
