Blood of the Rainbow (36 page)

 Sara smiled and walked towards the door. “Good.”  Jared groaned and followed her. To her surprise, when they got outside, the Mercedes was sitting in the drive. Sara glanced at it and then back at Jared in confusion.

Jared smiled. “They’re in Myra’s car. They switched when we got back from the funeral.”

“Oh,” Sara said, sitting on the supple black leather seat. She enjoyed riding in Tom’s Mercedes, but then she liked Jared’s BMW also. One was geared for comfort and the other for speed.

Jared kept glancing across at Sara as he drove. Then he would sigh deeply, and concentrate on driving. He did this several times until finally, without warning, he pulled to the side, putting the car in park.

Sara furrowed her brow. “Why are we stopping?”

Jared cradled the right side of Sara’s face in his hand, and leaned closer, looking into her eyes. “Because I can’t stand this any longer,” he whispered, and kissed her passionately. “You are breathtakingly beautiful,” he said and kissed her again. “Ok we can go now. I think I can last until we get in the city.” Jared waited for a break in traffic and pulled back on the highway.

Sara smiled, and touched her face where Jared’s hand had been. Jared hadn’t bothered to tie his hair back; he’d just combed it, leaving it to spill over his shoulders. Reaching across, Sara ran her fingers through it. Jared softly groaned as though in pain. Sara bit her lower lip and smiled.
Maybe Myra was right about this dress after all….

------------

When they shopped for clothes, Sara planned on buying a couple pair of jeans and some t-shirts, but by the time they’d finished, Jared had practically bought her an entire new wardrobe. It was obvious he was enjoying helping Sara choose what he thought looked good on her. Sara had to admit, she liked Jared’s taste. He gave her free range, helping him choose.

It was fun shopping with Jared. They went to the bookstores and the music stores also. Sara’s music collection grew considerably. By the time they left the mall, Sara was already exhausted, so they decided to stop at one of the local parks. It was a pleasant, peaceful place. There was a rock waterfall nearby that spilled into a surrounding pond filled with waterfowl. They sat on a bench near the pond to enjoy the scenery.

Jared put his arm around Sara’s shoulder and kissed the side of her neck. Sara took a deep breath and sighed contentedly. “This is how I like to spend my time,” she said. “What did I ever do to deserve you?”

Jared laughed softly. “I wonder what
I
did to deserve you.”

“Jared, why did we buy winter clothes in the middle of the summer?”

Jared grinned wryly. “Because we’re going to do some travelling soon. I thought we’d go to Colorado and spend some time camping out in the Rocky Mountains. Would you like that?”

“Yes. I’d love to do some travelling. There’s so much I haven’t seen.”

Jared’s mood turned melancholy, looking as though he might start crying. “We’ll go wherever you want to go. Do whatever you want to do.”

Sara softly chuckled. “Unfortunately, the place I need to go right now is the bathroom.”

“Do you want me to go with you, and wait outside?”

Sara kissed Jared. “That’s sweet, and I appreciate it, but, I’ll be fine,” she said, moving to get up.

Jared wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on his lap, kissing her long and passionately. “Hurry back,” he said, with a touch of sadness in his voice.

Sara studied his eyes for a second, and then smiled. “I will.”

Sara couldn’t have been gone more than five minutes. She was a few yards away from the bench, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. Jared was sitting on the bench, smiling. A strange woman walked up behind him. She put her hands over his eyes, and started kissing his neck. Sara watched. Jared seemed to be enjoying himself. He was letting her touch him and kiss him.

Is this real?
Could this be an after effect of George Thundercloud’s book? Was this part of the curse that went with it?

Sara’s eyes filled with tears. She felt like she couldn’t breathe. Time seemed to stand still. The world around her looked as though it were moving in slow motion.
Nothing
around her seemed real. Sara couldn’t think straight. Her heart felt as if it was being physically ripped from her body and torn to pieces before her eyes. “This can’t be true!” Sara mused. “Why would he do this to me?” She moved a few feet closer, until she could hear what he was saying.

“All right, you’re not being fair. The dress was hard enough to deal with. You know that sets me on fire. You’re going to get raped right here in the middle of this park, with everybody watching….”

The woman didn’t say anything. She kept tracing kisses along his neck. Jared leaned his head to the side and groaned. Sara couldn’t stand anymore. She walked up to them. The woman glanced up at her but didn’t pay Sara any notice. Sara walked in front of Jared. His eyes were closed, obviously relishing the attention. Sara stared at him for a few seconds. “I can’t
believe
you would do this to me!”

Jared’s eyes flew open. He looked at Sara for a split second, his eyes burning crimson, full of confusion. Immediately he whirled. “What the…?” He sighed deeply and groaned when he saw who it was behind him. “Eve! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He growled and jumped up, glancing from Sara to Eve. “Sara… I… I thought… Eve what are you doing here?”

Eve smiled seductively. “My parents came back to visit friends. I’d hoped I might get a chance to see you. I’ve missed you terribly. I made a horrible mistake Jared. I never should have left you behind.” She attempted to kiss him.

Jared jumped out of her way and glanced from Eve to Sara again.  “Eve, you said you didn’t love me!”

“I know,” she cooed. “I didn’t realize it until I got back home. We were so far apart. I was scared. I’m not scared anymore. We’ve moved back to the States permanently. We’re living in New York.  Don’t you understand? We don’t have to be apart anymore Jared. ”

Jared growled. “It’s too late, Eve!”

“No Baby, it’s not too late. I’m here. We can pick up where we left off.”

Sara couldn’t bear to hear anymore. “That seems like a good idea!” She started crying and running, blinded by her tears. She had no idea where the exit was, or if she was even running in the right direction. Her heart was pounding, her head spinning, throbbing with every beat of her heart. She was hurting so bad she couldn’t breathe. Finally, she collapsed at the foot of a large palm tree, burying her head in her hands, crying hysterically, silently praying to die. She vaguely became aware of footsteps near her. She lifted her head to see who it was. It was Jared. She hugged the trunk of the palm. “Go away! Go back to your… your… whatever she is.”

“Sara, please, let me explain….”

“There’s nothing to explain Jared. Did you contact her and tell her to meet you here? Was that what you did? So you could humiliate me in front of her? Just go away and let me die in peace!”

“No! I won’t go away! I didn’t call her. I didn’t know she….”

“She was
kissing
you Jared, and you were enjoying it. Just go away!”

Jared knelt beside Sara, his eyes glossed with tears as he looked at her. “Sara, I’m sorry. I thought it was you!”

“What?” Sara shouted. “Jared, how could you mistake her for me? You should have remembered her touch. You proposed to her first. How dare you compare me to that bitch!”

Jared rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. “She’s not a bitch Sara, and I’m not comparing you to her. There
is
no comparison Sara,” he sighed again. “Honey, please listen to me. She walked up behind me and put her hands over my eyes. I honestly thought it was you. I would never do anything to hurt you Sara. I love you. You’re the only one I love and the only one I want,” he said, reaching to touch her face.

Sara’s eyes were filled with mingled tears. A mixture of pain and anger. She moved away from him. “How could you not know when a strange woman is trying to seduce you?” A part of Sara wanted to believe it was all a mistake, but part of her didn’t know how to deal with this. Sara didn’t
want
to deal with this. Her head was still pounding, and Jared was blurry.

“Sara, I thought it was you,
honestly
. You have to believe me. I’m going to marry you. I love you Sara. No one has ever held the part of me that you hold. No one has ever meant anything to me but you. You mean the world to me Sara,” he said through tear glossed eyes. “You’re
everything
to me. I’ve spent my whole life trying to find you.”

Sara looked up, and behind Jared, stood Eve. “You better tell your neck nibbler that!” Sara scowled.

Eve was almost as confused as Sara. “Jared, what’s going on? Who is that? Why were you chasing her?”

Jared stood and grabbed her by the forearm. “Eve, tell her this was all your idea. Tell her I didn’t know it was you,” he ground through his teeth, squeezing her arm hard, fighting to keep his eyes from changing again.

“Jared, you’re hurting my arm!”

He tightened his grip. “I’ll hurt a lot more than your arm if you don’t tell her!”

Eve grimaced. “Ow! All right, I don’t know who you are, or what you’ve got to do with this, but he’s right. I walked up behind him and covered his eyes. I guess he thought it was you.” She glared at Jared, her eyes still full of fear and confusion.  “Now will you let go, and tell me who
she
is, and what she’s got to do with
us
? If she’s the little fling you’ve been using to keep me off your mind… you don’t need to bother anymore. I’m here now.”

Jared turned his full gaze on her, glowering, desperately trying to control anger that had turned to fury. “Eve… I tried to use
you
to forget about
her
.”

Eve laughed skeptically. “You used
me
to forget about
her
? How long have you known her?”

Jared lovingly smiled at Sara. “Since she was ten years old.” Eve stared at them. Jared held out his hand, helping Sara to her feet, and embraced her. “Sara, I could never hurt you. Especially not with Eve. I love you too much to do that. Do you believe me?”

“I’m trying to….”

Eve scoffed. “Oh please, you’re making me sick.”

“Eve, this is my fiancée, Sara Foster. Eve, Sara is the one I told you about years ago. The girl from my dreams. Sara, Eve King, my
ex
-girlfriend. I’d still
like
to think we’re friends?”

Eve smiled awkwardly and offered her hand. “I’m sure we’re all going to be
good friends
,” she said, shaking Sara’s hand, as though Sara had used her hand to clean her ass.

Sara couldn’t tell if Jared was buying Eve’s sugar-coated lemon, but Sara wasn’t. She knew, sooner or later, Eve would be trouble for them. Sara was more bothered about the amount of grief Eve would cause Jared. She smiled sharing a warm glance with Eve. “Of course.” If Jared had wanted Eve, Sara would have let him go. But, since Sara knew differently, if Eve wanted Jared now, she would have a fight on her hands. Sara was
not
giving him up!”

Eve’s eyes glossed with tears, she was stunned, and for a while, at a loss for words, trying to process the fact that Sara obviously wasn’t a figment of Jared’s imagination. Eve never expected Jared to get over her, because Eve never expected Jared to find Sara, she didn’t believe Sara existed. In fact, she wasn’t convinced that the woman Jared had introduced her to,
was
Jared’s dreamgirl.

Eve wiped her fake tears on the back of her hand and sniffed. “Well, it was very nice to meet you Sara. I think I better be getting back. Mother will start looking for me,” she smiled.

Sara studied Eve’s eyes. She wasn’t buying this noble display. “It was nice to meet you too Eve. I’m sorry for the misunderstanding….”

Eve put on a perfect painted smile. “Oh don’t worry about it. It was my fault anyway. I should have known someone as handsome and sweet as Jared wouldn’t stay single for long.” She smiled and touched his cheek. “I hope you’re both very happy. I’ll see you around. Well, bye now,” she said and walked away.

Sara turned away from Jared, tears streamed down her face. She wondered how she could make this right. She should have trusted Jared. She should have known he would never cheat on her. “I’m so… sorry I doubted you Jared. I’m not good enough for you. All I do is hurt you, one way or the other. I don’t deserve you.”

Jared put his hands on Sara’s shoulder and turned her. “Sara, will you stop blubbering about something I’ve already forgotten about. I don’t care. If I had been in your place, I probably would have reacted the same way – maybe worse.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

Jared smiled, lifted her chin, and crushed his lips against hers, devouring her, pressing her hard against his body. He ended the kiss, looked into her eyes and smiled again. “No, I’m not angry with you. I find it very hard to stay angry with you. When I come anywhere close to it, one smile, and it fades on the breeze,” he said, kissing her again. “There is one thing I wish you would stop doing.”

“What’s that?”

“This
does
make me angry!” Jared forcefully said.

“What?”

“Stop thinking you’re not good enough for me.”

Sara smiled, “I’ll try.”

------------

They drove to ‘Mastro's City Hall Steakhouse Restaurant’, where Jared ordered Sara, probably the most expensive meal she’d ever eaten, but it was delicious.

For a starter, they had Caesar Salad with Cool Ranch dressing. Then the waiter brought out the main course - jumbo lobster tail with creamed spinach, crepe suzette for dessert, and a bottle of Veuve Clicqout Champagne.  Sara had two glasses. Jared wouldn’t have any since he was driving. Even, though Sara only had a small amount of the Champagne, it was enough to make her tipsy and giddy. At least it dulled her headache.

Jared was enjoying Sara like this. By the time they got home, Sara was pretty spaced out, and again,
extremely
aroused.

Jared parked the car. “Now, stay where you are until I get to your side. I’m not sure if you can walk straight.”