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 put 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.