by Amy Richie
Maybe it was just Elizabeth. I couldn’t imagine her getting up this early, but it was possible. And if she was searching for me she must have something important to say. Maybe she had heard from Dominick. Or maybe David had called.
“It sure is a lovely morning,” said a voice that made my heart stutter and then stop all together.
Chapter Forty-Five
It wasn’t until after I looked up into his familiar dark brown eyes that my heart started again. “Dominick.”
“Hello Eva.” He sat down heavily beside me. “Kiera told me where to find you.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off of him, drinking in his every feature. His dark eyes weren’t resting on my face. I noticed a rugged scar that went down the length of his chin and disappeared in the shadows of his neck. Someone had gotten awfully close. My eyebrows furrowed at the thought.
“I know you must be surprised to see me here so soon.” So soon? It had seemed like ages to me. “I had every intention of staying away for a while longer. Maybe even go to India and see what kind of trouble I could stir up there.” He grinned slightly.
“With the wolves?”
“With Neleh.” My mouth dropped open.
“I’m glad you didn’t go.”
He raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t make it that far.” The way he looked at me made my breath catch. His eyes seemed to blaze into flames, burning into me.
“What made you come back?”
“This.” He placed a squared shaped package next to me on the bench. It was wrapped in pretty pink paper.
“What’s that?”
“It’s a gift.” He looked angrily at the pink wrapping paper and then turned those same eyes on me. I tried to hide my smile. “I was in London, at the airport, and this,” he gestured to the offensive package, “was there-taunting me. I left the airport and stayed at a hotel that night. The next morning,” he paused dramatically, “it was still there. So I bought it and came back here to give it to you.” He barked his narrative out in harsh tones, contrasting comically to the actual words he said.
“Why did it take you so long to come back?”
“It didn’t. I got here the morning Nadia and David left,” he admitted.
“What? You’ve been in Blakesly House for four days now?”
“Not here, but close.”
“How close?” My eyes flashed my anger.
“A ten minute ride,” he shrugged.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were here?” I wondered if Elizabeth had known.
“I knew you would be angry to see me. And…”
“And what?” I was still outraged that I had been miserable and aching for him and he had been here all along.
“And,” his eyes narrowed angrily, “I didn’t want you to see how weak you make me.” He bit the inside of his cheek and glared at the ground. “Don’t think you have control over me,” he warned harshly.
My smile grew wider with each new realization. I heard his low growl and almost laughed outright. My heart danced. “You bought this for me?” I picked up the gift.
“Yes, open it.”
Being very careful not to rip any of the precious paper, I slowly opened Dominick’s gift. A book. I fondly traced the gold letters on the front. Jane Eyre. A lump formed in my throat that I couldn’t swallow past. My bottom lip quivered.
“There’s no need to be so emotional,” he said uncomfortably. “It’s just a cheap book from the airport book store.”
“No one has ever gotten me a gift before.” One tear managed to slide down my cheek before I got control of them.
“Eva,” he growled my name. “I should have never gotten you the stupid book.”
I sniffed and ran my hand under my nose. I placed my book on the other side of my leg and turned my full attention to Dominick. I took his head between my two hands and brought my lips gently to his. He stopped breathing completely. I wrapped my arms around his neck and buried my face in his shoulder. “Thank you,” I whispered hoarsely.
“You don’t have to…”
I pushed myself away far enough so I could be face to face with him. “I need to tell you something.”
“What?” he demanded darkly.
“Dominick Letrell,” I tilted my head dramatically while he rolled his eyes. “I want you too.”
He was stunned into silence for a moment. Then he forced a small chuckle. “All because I bought you a book?’
“No. Because I love you. I wanted you to come back as soon as you left. And I’ve waited six days for you. You were here for four of them.”
I felt his tremor when I touched his face. Very slowly, he reached behind me and pulled me to his body. He didn’t resist when I pressed my lips to his. He deepened the kiss and I climbed on his lap so I could mold my body closer to his.
I had to break the kiss off first so that I could breathe. “Maybe I should have brought you a present a long time ago,” he murmured against my temple. His hot breath tickled the exposed skin there.
His lips traveled down the length of my jaw and into the soft flesh of my neck. He came back up to catch my bottom lip between his teeth. He seemed to enjoy the havoc his lips were causing to my heart.
“What made you change your mind about me Eva?’ his lisp never stopped caressing my face.
“I didn’t.” He hesitated. “I changed my mind about Neleh.”
He looked at me, confused. “Explain why Neleh has anything to do with this.”
“Well since I have gotten to know Elizabeth better I’ve come to realize that Neleh may have been wrong about the Letrell’s.” He watched me curiously, already knowing where I was going. “And then I thought if Neleh was wrong about them then maybe,” I took a breath, “maybe she was wrong about me too.” My voice broke slightly.
“You?” Clearly he thought I was going to say him.
“Neleh once told me that I would never find anyone to love me.” My lip quivered again. If I kept breaking down, Dominick would run away from me. “But then I remembered,” I forged ahead with a shaky voice.
“You remembered what Eva?” His voice was so gentle; I felt the jagged pieces of my heart start to heal.
“I remembered what it felt like to be loved by you,” I said in a breathy whisper.
His smile was as gentle as his words had been. “That’s my girl.” I brought my lips back down to his.
“I could get used to this.” I felt his lisp curl up in a smile.
I pulled my head up and stared at him. He was two men in one. I saw him as Dominick the warrior. The man who was vile and evil; who made grown men shake in fear. But I also saw Nickolas in him. The man who was gentle; my would be hero. I loved both of them. I loved all of him, in every way that he was.
“What are you thinking?” he asked with a boyish smile.
“When are you going to change me?”
“That’s not what you were thinking.”
“Now?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Yes you do.”
He laughed. “I do, but not today.” I arched my eyebrows. “I like that you came to me willingly.”
“And I am asking you to change me — willingly.”
“I came here to take you by force.”
Was he trying to scare me? “Now you don’t have to. You’ll have to force me to stay away from you.”
“Why would I want to do that?” He pulled my head down to him.
“Dominick?”
“Hmm?”
“Will Neleh leave you alone now?”
“I certainly hope not.”
“What?”
“She makes it so much more interesting.”
“Maybe she used to, but now you have me.” We both chuckled.
“I want to show you something. Will you come with me?”
“Do you really need to ask?” I raised an eyebrow. “I’ll go with you anywhere.”
He rolled his eyes and pu
t me gently on the ground. I reached for Jane Eyre but Dominick grabbed my hands. “It will be fine here.” He kissed my fingertips. “Come on my love.”
***
When I was little, my Reva used to tell me of a magical place where the grass grew up to tickle your legs and butterflies flew freely. It was a place where magical things happen. She told me that one day she would take me there.
This was the place Dominick wanted to show me.
We rode on snow white horses to get there. I wasn’t scared with Dominick beside me. I rode so fast that the wind felt like water through my hair. It billowed out behind me like a cape. The steady clap of the horse’s hooves was like a lullaby written only for me.
I felt like I could fly, like I was finally free, completely happy. Dominick laughed from somewhere behind me and the noise sent my heart fluttering. I laughed back.
After a short time, he went ahead of me to lead the way. When his horse stopped, I pulled mine to a stop. I hoped down gracefully and joined Dominick . He didn’t try to hold my hand.
I didn’t see anything in front of us except trees, but then Dominick pulled back a low branch. There, laid out especially for us, was the magical place that Reva saw. It was just a small clearing in a cluster of trees, but I saw so much more.
I took two steps into the long grass. It tickled me ankles. I looked up at him in amazement. “How did you know?” I asked
He only smiled in response. Very gently, he took my hand and led me a few more steps. I gasped when the flowers came to life. Hundreds of butterflies took flight, blocking out everything in the world except me and Dominick. I watched as they flew around us.
When I looked back at him, he was staring at me. His dark brown eyes were lit with a familiar excitement. Suddenly I saw everything through his eyes. Our future, the one he had already planned out.
In his mind there was a small wooden house, not far from where we stood. There was a white horse grazing nearby. And standing in the doorway was me, shining in immortal beauty. I was wearing a long gown made of pale gold. My hair cascaded freely down my back. I was smiling and waving.
I met his eyes again as the image faded. I smiled when he touched my face. Maybe he was going too far with the dress, but one thing I had learned in my life was that you never could tell what was going to happen next. Just when you think you have it all planned out, a storm comes along and forces you to change your plans.
After all, I was created to kill Dominick Letrell; not fall in love with him.
About the Author
I wear many hats. Author, mother, cook, housekeeper, laundry-doer, sister, daughter. I enjoy writing, it allows me to escape some of the realities of life - bills, supper, baths, a day job, dieting, cleaning the litter box.
My writing is usually romantic in nature with a bit of humor and a bit of surprise. My books range from Vampires who fall in and out of love so often that I had to make it a series to inspirational stories of finding what is important in life. During my high school days I wrote one book. It was a vampire love story. It took me so long to write it that I began to think of the characters as real people. I still do that today.
On a personal note: I have three wonderful children - Gavin, Arabelle, and Elijah , two not so wonderful cats, and two rats. We all live in a small town in northern Ohio. There is more corn here than vampires or werewolves, at least that I know of.
amyrichie.weebly.com
