Eternal Fire (33 page)

“
My love for her is deeper than the ocean,” he said.

The way he said the words so effortlessly melted my heart, and I simply had to kiss him.

“
That’s so sweet!” Liz squealed and nudged me in the ribs. “You got yourself a great man.” She glanced around. “Speaking of that, where’s mine?”

“
He’s on his way,” Victor said. “Della asked to speak with him in private. We are to meet them at the front entrance. Della—”

I rolled my eyes and cut him off. “Charming ex you have.”

“
I realize you do not like it that she is here, and I am sorry it’s so awkward.”

“
I’ve gotta get Liz home,” I said, opening the car door and helping her in the passenger seat. I made sure she had her seatbelt on, then shut the door. When I turned around, I met Victor’s gaze. “I’m sorry.”

“
Me too.”

“
I cannot promise you that everything is going to be perfect,” he said, “but I can assure you that you have my heart forever.”

I stared into his blue eyes. He didn’t know how relieved I was to hear those words.

“
Do not doubt my love for you just because an old flames blows into town. I don’t love Della. I feel nothing for her other than friendship, but I do care about her as such, and I cannot knowingly allow harm to come to her. When it comes to my love, that is all for you and only you, my dear.” He touched my face. “We’re going to have a baby and be a family, and I will make the best life for you that I possibly can.”

He tilted my face up and brushed his lips softly against mine. I believed every single word he said.

* * *

Thunder roared, and lightning flashed. Rain pounded against the window as I snuggled against Victor and he held me in his arms. Being back in my old bedroom brought back so many memories.

“
I love listening to the rain,” I said. “It makes me forget about all the pain, like it’s washing it away with its peaceful rhythm.”

“
I’ve always loved the rain as well,” he said.

I turned and almost fell off the bed. I laughed. “Spending the night in a twin bed isn’t the same as our wonderful bed back in the castle.”

“
I’m with you, and that is all that matters. This small bed allows us to be closer.”

I twisted my head so we were lying face to face. “I love you, Victor. I’m sorry I got jealous of Della.”

His blue eyes twinkled. “I love you, not her.”

“
And I believe that with all my heart.”

He softly touched my face. “You’re my life now, Sarah—forever.”

“
Victor, I can honestly say my life changed the day you kissed me.”

He kissed my lips, and I cupped his face.

It was still funny to me that we’d shared our first kiss the day we got married. I only married Victor to steal the ruby ring that now adorned my finger, and I was sure Victor had no intention of falling for me; all he wanted was revenge and power. But when we kissed, there was something truly amazing and magical about it, and we couldn’t control the attraction we felt. Love doesn’t discriminate, and despite our differences the fact that we came from two completely different worlds, we were two lonely souls meant to find one another.

In the beginning, I tried to run from Victor and ignore the feelings I was starting to feel, but when fate threw us back together, I couldn’t deny my heart any longer. When you meet the man you’re supposed to spend the rest of your life with, your heart will tell you, his kiss will tell you, and his touch will tell you. It was a once-in-a-lifetime feeling, and there was no denying it.

“
I thought I’d never see you again.” He’d truly rescued me from the depths of hell, when my grief threatened to destroy my sanity. My voice wavered. “I want to stare into your eyes and never look away.”

He smiled, and I loved his smile more than anything. “I thought about you every single minute we were apart. I hungered for your touch, your kiss, the warmth of your skin against mine.”

Thunder crashed as a flash of light lit up the sky.

“
The storm grows stronger by the minute,” Victor said, holding me close.

My fingers ran across his lips. “Want to make an electrical storm of our own?” I’d been aching for him since the second I’d found out he was alive. If I’d have had my way, I’d have taken him straight to a hotel the second I arrived back in California and made crazy, wild, passionate love to him all night long, but we had to settle for cuddling in the back of a pickup, under a stranger’s blanket.

He smiled lustfully.

“
I need you now more than ever. Make love to me, Victor.”

He ran a hand through my hair. “I want to, but we are guests in your mother’s house.”

“
We’ll be quiet,” I whispered, stripping off my white silk nightgown. Hot passion shimmered in his blue eyes, and I knew he wanted me as much as I wanted him. “I want you so bad. I just need to feel you deep inside me.”

I leaned forward and held his lips for a long, eternal minute. It was sweet and romantic. At one time, I thought I’d never feel his soft lips on mine ever again. The dark shadow of death had apparently taken him away from me, but love had brought us back together. He pulled me tight against his body. The world fell away as he wrapped me in his arms, deepening the kiss as my tongue danced in perfect unison with his. Emotion overwhelmed me; it was the first time we’d been intimate since I’d thought him dead.

A tear rolled down my face. “I can’t believe this is real.” When he wiped my tear away with his thumb, I reminded him, “I’ll always love you.”

“
I have learned much in my hundreds of years of living,” Victor said.

I kissed his lips. “Like what?” I still couldn’t believe he was really in my arms, stoking my hair and face.

“
I’ve learned to quit dwelling in the darkness of my past and to appreciate life. I didn’t really appreciate it until you were taken away from me and I feared you dead.” His voice wavered and trailed off.

I cupped his face and stared into his eyes, “I’m going to cherish and treasure every day with you.” More tears welled up in my eyes as his soft lips touched mine. I had mourned Victor with all my heart and soul and thought I’d never see his sweet face ever again. I was certain I’d be doomed to a life of misery without him. But there I was, in the room I’d grown up in, making love to my beautiful king. It was nice and slow, tender and romantic. It felt like fate had given us a second chance, and I, for one, couldn’t have possibly been happier.

Chapter 22

I grabbed my purse from the living room table and turned to Victor. “Ready?”

“
Hold up!” my dad said.

“
Dad, I told you that Victor and I are going to run some errands.”

My dad patted Victor on the back. “I’ve got other plans for Victor.”

I smiled. “What, Dad?”

He looked at Victor. “We don’t use horses to get around, so it’s about time you learn to drive. If Sarah goes into labor and we’re not around, you’ll need to know how to get behind the wheel, son.”

Victor cocked a brow, intrigued by the idea, though he did look a bit worried.

I looped my arm in his. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” I kissed him on the lips. “Don’t let my dad drive you nuts.”

“
I heard that, honey,” my dad said with a chuckle.

I kissed Dad on the cheek. “Go easy on him, all right? And give Charles a few driving lessons while you’re at it.”

“
Of course.”

I laughed inwardly, imagining the two of them fumbling around behind the wheel. It would be a good skill for them to have, a necessity in our world, even if we run at supernatural speed. We had to hide our identity and couldn’t be tracing everywhere.

I went about my day, running errands. I planned to take some money out of my savings account so Victor and I could get our own place. Living with my parents on a long-term basis was out of the question. I’d always been on my own, since the second I’d turned eighteen.

Finally, I had one last stop to make, and then I planned on returning home to have dinner with everyone. My mom was making her famous pot roast, and I couldn’t wait for Victor to try it.

As soon as I walked into the mini-mart, trouble presented itself. With my Immortal ears on high alert, I heard a man demanding money.
Not good. How do I manage to end up in the middle of trouble all the time?
My stomach clenched as I walked down the aisle and peeked around the corner. I gasped instinctively.
Wait. I have nothing to be afraid of. I could stop this robbery with a blink of my eye.

The gunman had obviously thought the store was deserted and that it was the best opportunity to strike. He had scraggly brown hair and was dressed in jeans and a faded denim jacket.

Concentrating, I focused all my energy into my hands, but a thought occurred to me:
I can’t go around throwing fireballs! I’ll just have to render his weapon useless, like I did that burglar who tried to mug me outside the club.

The cashier froze, unable to move a muscle.

“
Give me the money or you’re dead,” the robber roared.

I focused my energy but suddenly lost the connection.
What the heck?
I attempted once again, but my powers had been subdued.
Why
? I tried using my powers once again, to no avail. My heart began to race as Ethano’s name ran across my mind. He had the ability to render any Immortal powerless; it was the gift he’d been born with. I worried that he might have found his way through the portal, and terror flooded through me. I frantically glanced around but didn’t see him anywhere.

“
Give me the money!” the man demanded.

I could hear the gun cock. My powers weren’t working for whatever reason, but I was still Immortal, and the poor cashier wasn’t; she couldn’t take a bullet like I could. I tried to remind myself that even if he lost control and shot me, I’d survive, even if it hurt like hell. After all, I’d had survived being shot through the heart with an arrow.

I raced toward the man and tackled him in a blur, and he tumbled backward. Before I could even knock the weapon out of his hands, the gun went off with a loud
boom
. The cashier screamed.

I felt the sharp pain of impact. Throbbing pain exploded in my chest as the man took off running out the door, with angry patrons chasing after him. A shiver shot through me.
Was I hit?
My hands flew to the site where all the pain was coming from, and I pulled them away and saw they were covered in blood. I’d definitely been hit. It felt like being burned with a red-hot piece of coal and Arnold Schwarzenegger hitting me with a sledgehammer all at once. I coughed up blood as I struggled to breathe, and my body was numb and weak all over. “The baby,” I moaned, holding my stomach.

A woman threw her coat on me and applied pressure as more waves of pain exploded through me. “You weren’t hit in the stomach.”

“
Why the heck would an unarmed pregnant woman tackle a gunman?” a voice called out.

“
She’s braver than you,” a woman’s voice shouted back.

“
The woman’s a hero,” somebody from my right shouted.

“
She took a direct hit. No way she’s gonna make it. Damn! That’s why you wait for the police,” another voice said.

“
What possessed you to tackle him like that?” a woman asked.

“
I thought I could take him down,” I whispered.
If only she knew how strong I am.

“
I don’t care if you’ve been lifting for your whole life, you don’t do something crazy like that, honey!” she said.

“
Better me down here than the cashier. She’d have been dead already,” I whispered, but I was sure they didn’t hear.