“No. First you must say goodbye to your family. I have taken the liberty of inviting them here today. They are all waiting for you in Corey’s study. Go to them. Say your peace. Then come back to us.”
Eunavae kissed Taylia’s hands. “Thank you, Taylia. Please get some rest. I will wake you when I am ready.” She rose and walked through the door to the adjoining room.
“I do need to rest up, this could take a while.” She put her head back on her pillows and closed her eyes. “Corey, will you please give Kate the tour of the garden? It is lovely this time of year. I will send Jacek for you when we are ready.”
Corey took my hand and led me to a veranda off the side of Taylia’s room, and we walked down a spiraled stair to a garden built on a series of platform levels. Multicolored flowers were in bloom and cascading out of hollow log containers. Green moss ran along the floor and the scent of the blossoms infused the air with a heady aroma.
“She’s dying, isn’t she?” I whispered.
Corey nodded. “Yes, we are surprised that she has lived this long. We thought she would be gone a year ago.”
“I am so sorry, Corey.” I stopped and touched his face.
“We have had plenty of time to say goodbye. She has chosen her successor as chief, all is in order.” His lip quivered.
He leaned his forehead down to touch mine. “I have loved her, too, Kate, in a different way, of course. I now understand how conflicted you were…are…between Trip and me. She has been my best friend for 45 years. You have been my true love for a thousand. I love you, both.”
“I know. I love her too, and I have just met her. I can only imagine the grief you must be feeling.”
He pressed me against him and held on to me. “Not grief so much. I just hate to see her in pain. She has suffered so long. We’ve talked and she is ready to go, even more now that you’re here. I think she worried about me losing hope that you would come. She is truly giddy that you are here and that you love me as much as she hoped you would.”
A mix of sorrow and longing rose up inside of me. “Corey, I love you. I do love you.”
His sharp intake of breath and the passionate kiss that followed tipped me over the edge. I dove into his love with relish and fervor. We spent the morning wrapped in each other’s arms on the mossy floor, talking, kissing, and touching, exploring each other. I traced his laugh lines with my fingers and kisses and we talked about the song.
“When did you realize there were words to our Immortal song?” I asked.
“I remember hearing words about love, but did not know that I actually knew them until I began telling the story to one of the children. When did you first sing them?”
“On the trail as we brought the Tondo home. I felt compelled to sing to it and the song just came out.”
“I was so surprised when you began singing it with me last night. I guess I thought I had somehow made the whole thing up.” He kissed the skin at my chest and I shivered and stroked his hair and held him to my heart. “The Tondos told me last night that the reason they didn’t kill you on the trail was because you sang of love.”
“They watched us? That’s frightening. You talk to them?”
“Yes, yes, and yes.” He laughed. “They ask permission to create a mind link with certain individuals. Once you give them permission, they’ll speak to you anytime. They’re a bit picky about who they link with, though.”
“What’s the criteria?”
“True love.”
I raised my brow.
“They’ll only speak to a heart that is in love. Believe me, they know the difference between love, lust, friendship.” He laughed. “They were very perplexed with me. They sensed my love, but couldn’t find the object of it. They brought every single female with in a 50 mile radius here for me to ‘taste’. That is what they call kissing. They said I had to taste the women to find the one I had lost.” He rested his head on his hand and twirled a strand of my hair.
“They were match making?” I giggled.
“No, they feel emotions of those they bond with, and they couldn’t stand my loneliness. They thought they could find my true love and bring her here.” He wrapped his arm around me, planted his face in my chest and breathed in the scent of me. “You wouldn’t believe how thrilled they are that you have arrived.”
I steadied my breathing. I was on fire again, but I wanted to say something so I held myself in check. I whispered, “two hundred years is a long time to forget our pink clouds, Corey.”
“Never! I could never forget. I thought of you, like this, every day.” He kissed up my neck to my lips, drew back and then locked eyes with me. “There is another reason I couldn’t forget. Not only is the Scriptorium memory fused in my heart because of you, but it was the first time I ever believed in God.”
I gazed through his blue eyes right into his soul. “I think I’ve always believed in God, but the Scriptorium was the first time I ever realized he loved me.” I traced the line of Corey’s collar bone and his jaw, content to study this beautiful man for hours.
He was not content to be studied though, and went back to the business of adoring me. He blessed up my shoulders and neck with kisses climbing up until he found my face and then laced it with tender kisses. Then tilted my head back and began kissing my neck again. My eyes were closed in sheer ecstasy. I opened them to find we had an audience. Fear spiked in my breast. “Uh…Corey,” I whispered.
He continued to nuzzle at me. “Mmmhmmm.”
“We have an audience.” My voice trembled with anxiety as I sat up.
He lifted his head to see we were surrounded by Tondos. They had taken up perch on every available stable surface around us. He chuckled.
“They are attracted to our love.” He laughed.
“I don’t understand.” I had just battled with one of these creatures and knew what those talons could do. I practically crawled into Corey’s lap in fear.
He chuckled again and held me tightly. “Don’t worry, love. They’re severely drunk on our pheromones. They live here in the garden.”
“Like pets?” My voice quavered as my eyes darted around at the massive collection of Tondos.
“No, they care for themselves. This is the lover’s garden. We bring our mates here, and they are drawn to the atmosphere created.”
“We? Really. How many times have you been here, Corey Chastain?”
He jerked his head at me in surprise. “Once. Right now. Don’t you know yet how much I have longed for you? Waited for you? You are the only woman I have ever wanted.”
I fell into his arms again and kissed him with such passion, the Tondos hummed along in satisfaction.
Jacek ran into the garden. “Father, come quickly!”
We broke apart, startled, jumped up and ran after him. He led us into Taylia’s room where the elders, senior med students, and all of Eunavae’s family were gathered. Trip, Tara and Donnie stood to one side. The Tondos flew after us, perched on the veranda and craned their necks to see into the room.
“She summoned us,” one of the elders stated. “She said it is time.”
Corey rushed to her side, crawled onto the bed with her and propped her up against his chest. “Taylia, I am here.” He whispered and kissed her cheek, tenderly.
“Kate, where is Kate?” She croaked in a mere whisper.
“I’m here, Taylia,” I said from the back of the room. She held out her hand to me shakily and I stepped forward and crawled up beside her. I took her hand and kissed it.
“Kate,” she pulled me close to her. “Love him well. Love him for the both of us. Love him in all the ways I never could. He deserves it.”
Tears streamed down my face. “I will, Taylia. I do. I love him for the both of us.”
She smiled and squeezed my hand. “Corey, love.”
“Yes, darling.” His voice was so tender and sweet it pierced my soul.
“Take them home. It is you. It is you.” She reached under the pillow and drew out his backpack.
; “I don’t understand, Taylia, what is me?”
“The jump was for you.”
“No, it can’t be, what could I have…I don’t understand.”
“You brought love to us. You taught us to love even in the face of lost hope. You introduced us to the One. We had no god before you told us of the love that the One brings and the hope of its coming to our lives. You learned that there are many ways to love and all are beautiful.”
“Eunavae’s fire was to bring you here…to learn…to learn…” She coughed and gasped.
“To learn about love.” He looked at me as he pressed his cheek to Taylia’s.
She sighed her last breath, and the sphere fell.
Corey cried out, “Taylia!” His voice, filled with the echoes of hundreds of years of agony, loneliness, friendship, and love, ravaged my heart. I wrapped my arms around him, and he sobbed into my hair. Eunavae fell beside us and wept. Donnie and Tara gathered her in their arms, and Trip knelt down between them with a hand on each one.
The medics ran in and began trying to separate us. “BACK OFF!” I snarled at them and Trip stood up and blocked them from reaching us.
“Give us some time,” he commanded.
They reluctantly backed down. I think it had something to do with Trip’s sheer size and the sword strapped to his side.
He crossed his arms and stood guard while we soothed and cooed and held Corey and Eunavae.
Finally, Corey sat up. “It was true. It was my quest. I didn’t believe in love before I came here.” He touched my cheek. “You opened my heart in the Scriptorium, but I didn’t believe any other kind of love was real. That is why I had such a hard time with you and Trip.” He drew a shuddering breath. “My own parents…” He broke down and sobbed and I wrapped myself around him.
“I love you, Corey. I love you, so.” I sighed into his hair and he clung to me.
He settled again and turned to Eunavae, Tara, and Donnie. “I am so sorry I stranded you there so long…so, so sorry. I love you, guys. You are my family.”
They all hugged him and cried together. When he pulled away he gawked at Eunavae. “Your eyes! Your skin!”
Her face mutated from sorrow to shock, “I can see!” She looked down at her baby soft and smooth arms. “I am not scarred? But, I thought we kept the scars.” She touched a thick scar on Tara’s arm.
“Mine was from the Scriptorium. I guess it’s different there.” Tara wiped tears from her cheeks.
“Yes, the Scriptorium changes us forever.” Corey grabbed the back of my neck and pulled my forehead to his.
“Can we get in there now?” One of the medics asked.
We laughed, wiped our tears, and Trip stepped aside and waved his hand in our direction.
They began to separate us, but Corey refused. “No. We stay together.” He locked his arm around my shoulders. I noticed he was shorter and turned to stare at his face.
I lifted my hand to his soft skin and fingered his blond curls. “There you are,” I whispered. “My Corey.”
He raised his eyebrows and touched his cheek. “Young again?”
I nodded and cocked an eyebrow suggestively. “Remember my promise to you about when you were my Corey again?”
“Hey,” he called to the white coat. “Let’s get this over with as soon as possible!”
I giggled and ran my hands along his cheeks and through his hair in complete glee over his transformation. My Corey was back. I couldn’t wait another second to have his tender lips on mine.
“Kiss me, old man,” I whispered.
He obliged. Bliss. Kissing Corey was my all-time favorite thing to do. We lost ourselves in tender kisses until I heard one of the white coats say, “Er…are they allowed to do that?”
“Dude, that kid has been away for over 200 years. Give him a break,” the other white coat answered.
We started laughing in each other’s arms, and Corey picked me up and spun me around.
“Okay, you two, this way.” The medic grinned at us. We headed down the hall and a loud crash drew our attention. Mel burst through the door at the end of the corridor and ran into Donnie’s embrace.
“You’re back.” She jumped into his arms, wrapped her legs around him, and they fell against the glossy gray wall.
We smiled and followed the medic into our processing room. They had a lot of questions for Corey. How long was he gone? Why didn’t they age? Whose jump was it? Why did he still speak English? We answered each one with our fingers intertwined and my legs wrapped around his under the table.
They left us alone for a moment and we wasted no time. We grabbed each other and resumed our kissing. Arms, legs, and lips intertwined, I couldn’t get close enough to him. Delicious tension built up between us with every moment that passed. Passion spiked in me and he ran his hand across the skin of my lower back. I moaned in his mouth and his tongue stroked my lip. Oh, dear God, we have to get out of here!
The door opened and we broke apart, our breathing heavy and the air tinted with desire. The medic, looking down at his clip board, announced we were free to go. We jumped up and ran out of the room, hands locked. We whipped around the corner and Corey pressed my back against the wall. Slowly he leaned into me and kissed me with such pent up passion, I thought I would melt. Needing him desperately, I wrapped my leg around his and surrendered to his soft lips. Desire bloomed and I ached with the intensity of his need of me. We broke apart panting, our eyes hazed with passion, and then we ran on along the corridor to the exit. We burst through the double doors into a star spangled night sky.
“Wait!” The medic chased us down. “You forgot your new jumpsuits.” He threw them to us and waved us on.
We ran down to the lake, scattering the peacocks and peahens, and ducked under one of the willow trees. Corey had me in his arms before the branches fell shut behind us, kissing my neck, my face, my lips. His kisses became urgent and hungry and I thought I was going to explode into flame. He unzipped my jacket, and I peeled off his shirt and we kissed every inch of skin we could find. He pulled me down to the grass and stretched me out on top of him. Corey was everywhere. His hands were all over me, as though he couldn’t find enough places to touch.
“Corey!” I moaned. There were no words to describe how I needed him. He flipped us over until his body covered me.
“Kate, my Kate, I have waited so long.” His voice broke with glorious agony and he kissed down my neck to my shoulder. “You are so beautiful.” His eyes grazed over my body, then locked onto mine. Desire became a tangible force connecting us, locking us together in passion and love.
I thought I would cry so intense was my love for him. I just wanted him to be forever mine, in every way. I wanted to bond myself completely to him, permanently. He couldn’t possibly be more mine than he was right now, could he? I was determined to find out and do whatever was required to cinch our bond.
My hands ran down his bare chest, so smooth and strong, his muscles lean and sculpted to perfection. I traced each one with my fingers and he sketched patterns on my skin as well.
“I love you, my Kate,” he whispered.
“I want you, Corey.” My voice was almost pleading.
He leaned down, eyes burning with desire, wrapped his arm under my back and lifted me to him. He hovered over my chest. I could feel his breath between my breasts, and every cell in my body screamed for his touch.
“Give them a few more minutes.”
We froze when we heard Mel’s voice.
“Sounds good to me. Come here, wife.” Donnie said.
I let out an exasperated sigh. Were we never going to get a break?
Corey, refusing to be jerked away from his bliss, nuzzled my neck and kissed me slowly, luxuriously, as he sat up and tucked me back into my jacket. Then I wrapped my legs around him and kissed him while I put his shirt back on him. We sat with me on his lap and kissed for as long as we were able to, savoring each moment.
“Mmmm,” Mel sighed. “Just a little longer?”
Donnie chuckled and we peered out through the willow branches to see them in the golf cart, Mel kissing his neck. We resumed our own kissing.
“Okay, you four, come on out,” Donnie growled. Then we heard whispers.
“Four?” I repeated.
We stepped out from under the willow tree just as Trip and Tara stepped out from under a willow tree a few feet down the river bank. We grinned sheepishly at one another. Corey shrugged and wrapped me in a bear hug and spun me around again.
“Dude, we don’t need a chaperone, Tara and Corey are 220 freakin’ years old!” Trip growled.
I looked up at Corey and we burst into laughter. Mel and Donnie caught the laugh bug and it finally spread to Trip and Tara. Sheer joy changed our outburst into uncontrollable laughter. We laughed until our sides hurt and our eyes misted.
Trip laughed so hard he ended up flopping onto the ground on his back side. Corey’s legs gave way and we all sprawled on the grass, hysterical in our happiness.
It was so good to be home, together, young…safe…in love. We finally pulled ourselves together and stood up. I jumped on Corey’s back, and he carried me to the golf cart. Trip and Tara sauntered up, pinkies linked.
“Hop on. We are cooking out cheeseburgers tonight,” Mel said.
“How long were we gone?” I asked.
“About 5 hours, everyone is still adjusting to English, spandex, hot and cold running water.”
“I could eat about a hundred cheeseburgers,” Trip said.
SCCCCRREEEECCCHHH! The sphere announced itself.
“You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding!” Tara shouted and threw her arms up in the air.
The sphere fell on us. Corey and I wrapped our arms around each other and held on.
We landed in the dark on a high butte. On one side a dark copse of trees spilled down a hill, on the other side a vast plain opened up and a ghostly green mist billowed around our knees and trickled down the hill in all directions. The scent on the air was of rotten eggs, but sharp and metallic. Ocean waves crashed behind me and I turned to see the foaming surf about a hundred feet below a sheer cliff. I lifted my eyes to see the brightness of the moon and gasped. The other members turned to see what was wrong, and we all stared into the night sky with our mouths hanging open.
The Torn, Book One of the Holding Kate Series Page 21
