Fallen Eden (3 page)

Deniability—that’s what William and I called it and next to our commitment to each other, it was a top priority. That’s why every night William was home, he would sneak out my bedroom window before Joseph or Cora roused for the morning and that’s why we planned our secret meetings with no one else around.

“I’ll come back for you later tonight once I’m done with the Council,” he said, dropping his mouth to mine. His lips barely grazed mine before they retreated, but it had been enough.

Not thinking, I pressed up on my tip-toes and smashed my mouth back into his, grabbing the back of his neck should he attempt to step back. I encouraged his mouth open with my lips, pressing my body against his with such force I imagined myself melting into him. The instant he responded, I pulled away. I wasn’t sure who it’d been harder on.

His eyes were still closed as he smiled. “You’re cruel, you know that?”

I was too preoccupied forcing my body to settle down to respond.

“How do you expect me to leave you after that?” His eyes were wide, pupils dilated. It didn’t seem possible my lack of experience in every form of male intimacy could expunge such a reaction from the man before me, but I was thanking my lucky stars it did.

“Just in case you needed a little incentive to return tonight,” I replied, sounding as breathless as I felt.

“I see your sensibilities haven’t improved any while I was gone.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, not taking my eyes from him for one blink. The precious days I had him in front of me were not going to be wasted.

“Your sensibilities regarding how there’s nothing that could or would keep me from you,” he said, as if this was as obvious as the world is round. “As long as you want me, I’ll always come back,” he vowed, reaching for me. “No matter how long they try to keep us apart.”

“I’ll be waiting,” I said, hoping I wouldn’t be waiting long.

“Bring a swimsuit.” He winked before gliding down the front porch stairs.

“Why?” I asked, turning to watch him.

He stopped, turning to face me—mischief was sparking like a flare over his face. “Actually, don’t. You won’t need one, it will be a perfect night for skinny-dipping.”

I swallowed back the heat rising up my throat imagining the two of us with nothing but a coat of water separating our bodies. “It seems tramping around Africa for a month didn’t improve your sensibilities, either,” I said, trying to sound calm.

“Or maybe it did,” he said, his face losing the mischief and growing serious. “Maybe I’m the one seeing everything clear, Bryn.”

I knew what he meant. He was referring to the impossible situation we were in. The crossroads before us, at which neither of us would yield and go down the other’s chosen path, so instead we stood at a standstill and waited. I wanted the Council’s blessing, never willing to put him in danger again and he wanted to run away and be with me—nothing more, nothing less.

The truth of the whole thing—the most agonizing bit to it—was this is exactly what I wanted, too. I didn’t care about some stupid Betrothal Ball or an over-the-top Unity ceremony. I would have been blessed beyond one person’s measure just having him, but I knew if we defied the Council, I could never be assured that William wouldn’t be forced to pay for our indignations to the Immortal way. It was a classic Bryn situation, also known as a lose-lose situation. My Mortal vex had followed me into Immortality.

“Hurry back,” I said, unable to respond. I
knew
he was thinking clearly, but I wouldn’t let his life be threatened. Ever.

His eyes embraced me one last time before he loped across Joseph and Cora’s front lawn, leapt over the fence without breaking stride, and was lost in a blur of colors. My eyes lingered over the spot he’d disappeared, hoping I could conjure him back if I stared long enough. I came to the conclusion conjuring wasn’t my thing by the time fifteen minutes had passed. I sighed and turned to head back into the house. The sooner I was done with Patrick, the sooner I could skinny-dip with William.

CHOSEN

A sweet voice broke my daydream that had involved water, William, and me sans clothing, bringing me back to the kitchen table and three pairs of eyes pointed at me.

“Done in,” I replied while Cora reached for my dinner plate that sat cold and untouched.

“Did you lose your appetite or something?” Joseph asked, sounding concerned, and rightfully so. Since moving into their house, I’d led the food-scarfing campaign that had become known as “Leave no morsel behind.” It seemed a sacrilege given Cora’s aptitude for putting together meals that Julia Child would have tipped her wine glass at.

Patrick chuckled. “I’d say her appetite has merely swung from food to something else.”

I didn’t bother to dignify his comment with a response, although he was dead on. I’d waited long enough. I’d done my part and spent the afternoon training (mostly sulking) with Patrick and I’d made it through dinner. Surely William would be back from his meeting with the Council and waiting for me somewhere out in the endless acres of the Hayward estate.

“I’m going up to my room for the night,” I said, rising from my chair. I wasn’t able to meet any of their eyes. “I’ll see you all in the morning.”

“
Sweet
dreams,” Patrick’s voice gushed with implications.

I continued my journey down the hall and up the stairs, careful to keep my rhythm slow and steady. My feet were desperate to tear at the ground beneath them until I hit Mach 3, but I couldn’t yet.

I shoved open the door to my room, my eyes falling on a piece of paper folded in the shape of a crane. My heart sputtered when I visualized him walking into my room and placing the note on my bed while I was chained to a table of responsibility one floor below. I sprung onto the bed, grabbing up the crane. Unfolding it, I found a map leading to a location I was unfamiliar with, but the directions were clear enough. I’d tear the entire forest up trying to find this place if need be.

My swimsuit was strategically in place beneath the training attire I’d left on for a couple of reasons. One, because I’d be taking them off soon anyways, and two, because they were pretty hot. I couldn’t help but feel a mix of Lara Croft and the Karate Kid whenever I slipped into them.

I leapt out the open window and, with one more leap, I sprung from the cedar shingle roof to the still warm earth beneath. I sprung through the yard, hurdling over the fence and Joseph’s green tractor still fresh with the smell of cut hay.

Having committed the map to memory, I sped through the fields, creating a rumbling whistle as the wheat rushed over my body. I was getting close and I knew this not because of the map etched in my mind, but because I could feel him. That feeling that was as indescribable as it was intimate. Something that wasn’t Mortal or Immortal, something that came from the soul that tied mine to his and his to mine.

My legs, giving action to my elation, leapt over a house-sized rock and then I was in view of tonight’s rendezvous location. The moon was dim, but the body of water before me was so still it glowed iridescent white. I scanned the circumference of the lake, but found no sign of him. He had to be close, I reassured myself. There was no mistaking that feeling only he could exude.

Sliding out of my sandals, I dipped my toes into the resting water and watched the silver rings spread from my foot into the heart of the lake.

“Fancy meeting you here.”

I startled, not anticipating his voice to come from the water. He rose from it with the kind of magnificence that would have made pagans believers. It didn’t seem right that this man was meant for me. Fate must have been taking the day off when our names were paired.

“No skinny-dipping?” I said eyeing his dripping wet boardshorts longer than necessary.

“I’m game,” he said, his gaze playing with mine. “You first, though.”

“Me first, huh?” I asked, channeling innocence as I thumbed at the belt circling the zippered leather vest.

He nodded, his eyes full of mischief.

“Gladly,” I said, unknotting the cloth belt and letting it fall to the ground.

The mischief in his eyes was replaced by surprise, gaping as my hands moved to my zipper.

I slid the vest’s zipper down, letting each note hang like an answered prayer, before I saw him gulp. I couldn’t tease him any longer. I rushed the zipper down, revealing the swimsuit beneath.

“Better luck next time,” I said, relishing the torture in his face. It was the look I normally wore.

He shook his head. “Temptress,” he accused, not hiding his approval as his eyes wandered over me.

“I could say the same.” I raised my eyebrows in a knowing fashion. “
Tempter
. How about that?”

“Unless you’re intent on teasing me any longer, or are planning on tossing aside any more clothing—which, for the record, I would have no problem with.” He winked, opening his arms wide. “Anytime you’re ready.”

Not wasting time answering, I let my pants fall to the sand and jumped at him. “Silly me,” I whispered, wrapping my legs around his waist. “Wasting precious time when there’s serious time to make up for and who knows when they’ll send you away again.”

He drew me closer to him and waded deeper into the water. “I don’t think you’ll have to be worried about me leaving anytime soon,” he assured, as the water continued to creep up our bodies. “I spoke with the Council today—”

“I remember,” I interrupted. “I remember you having to leave two minutes after I finally got to see you after a month. That was a low blow . . .  even for your Council.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“
Our
Council,” I corrected, although I felt like the unwanted, jaded step-child entering a family like the Cleavers.

“I was actually the one who requested the meeting.”

“You requested it?” I asked, leaning back. “Was your matter really so important it couldn’t wait a few hours? Maybe even one?”

I could tell he was trying to hide his smile from the way the skin around the outside of his eyes was creasing. “There’s nothing more important to me than being with you and since you’re the pious one”—his smile broke through now—“and won’t allow that until we’re granted a Union, the matter today was urgently important.”

I swallowed. “You spoke with the Council about us?”

“I did,” he said, ceasing his march into the center of the lake. His legs spun like motors below me, rocking our bodies together in a way that made me both grateful and ungrateful for the clothing we’d left on. Mostly ungrateful, though.

“Did this meeting go any better than the last three?” It took a noteworthy amount of willpower to summon a coherent sentence together with our bodies moving together this way.

“I think I just might be wearing them out,” he said with a grin.

“WHAT?” I shouted, grabbing his face with both hands. “They agreed to a Union?”

“I wish,” he answered. “I may be persistent, but they’re cranky, old men stuck to their ways.” His attempts to lighten whatever the Council was doing to mess with us never invoked the response he hoped it would. I felt my lips pull into a tighter line.

“What did they say then?”

“They said they would take some time to consider my request and would let me know their decision.” He shrugged, looking off into the distance. “I know it doesn’t sound like much, and it’s a long shot from where we want to be, but it’s at least a start.”

I’d hurt his feelings. As good as he could be at hiding his emotions, he couldn’t hide that. Here he was repeatedly petitioning and being rejected by the Council who held him in such high esteem and I was acting unappreciative. “Of course it’s a start.” I tilted his face back towards me. “It’s a great start. Any progress with the Council is a victory.” I decided to stop letting my vocal chords demonstrate my gratitude and let my lips pick up right where my words left off.

“Thank you,” I whispered after pulling my lips from his.

“No, no. Thank
you,
” he said, running his fingers up my back. “However, I think I deserve a bit more thankfulness,”—I eyed him and he eyed me right back—“all things considered.”

“I’m not so sure about that,” I teased. “But let’s find something to do to fill the time while I consider.” I wasn’t sure if I initiated it or he did, but either way, neither one of us would be ending it anytime soon. His fingers knotted into my hair, crushing my mouth harder into his, and his body pulsed heat in such a way it made the fear of what could happen to us if we let one thing lead to another fade to near invisibility.

“Good evening.”

My lips turned to ice over William’s when I recognized the voice behind us and its anything but ambivalent tone.

William’s shoulders stiffened. “Father, what can we do for you this evening?”

Barely a whisper, I asked, “How did he find us?”

“He hasn’t told you?” Charles answered my all-but-silent question before William could. “My gift happens to be the ability to locate any Immortal anywhere in the world. A gift that comes in handy when you’re searching for a delinquent son.”

Mortified Charles had found the two of us so engaged, I attempted to remove myself from William’s vice-like hold. It only tightened the more I tried, so I succumbed, but I wasn’t able to look Charles in the face.

Now, Charles was no fool and I’m sure he knew more than William or I would have liked about our secret meetings and forbidden embraces, but this was the first time he’d ever caught us with our lips locked and I wasn’t sure how he’d respond.

“The Council came to a decision tonight regarding the request you made this morning,” Charles broke the fragile silence. “A
final
decision.”

“And what was your decision, Father?” William asked, trying to keep his voice level.

I chanced a glimpse at Charles. His face was tilted down, looking almost sad, but when he looked up at us, there was no emotion written on his face. “Your request is denied.”

The words fell like a window, shattering through me. My fingers curled deeper into William’s flesh, as if fearing Charles would rip him away from me.

A spasm ran up William’s back, branching into his chest and arms until his whole body was quaking. His jaw was locked and I was speechless, so neither of us responded. But really, what could we say? We’d just been told—for a grand total of four times—that our request for a Unity was denied. There was no negotiating around it; the Council’s decision was law. Our silence lengthened.

“An emergency has come up down south and you’re needed there immediately,” Charles directed at William, somehow spiraling my nightmare a level deeper. “You leave first thing in the morning.”

I hadn’t noticed the leather book in his hands until he rested it on the blanket William had laid out for us. Although I’m certain William hadn’t had reading on his mind when he’d spread it out. “I thought you might want to take this along for some light reading since you could be gone for quite a while this time. I’ve bookmarked a couple areas you might find compelling,” he said, turning to leave.

All signs of lightheartedness had drained from the man clutching me to him, still quivering in anger. It never ceased to amaze me how life could change in an instant; how one moment could be euphoric and the next could be devastating.

This wasn’t a time to delve into life’s philosophies, though. The trembling diminishing, his body went rigid and for the first time, his body felt cold against mine. Unable to think of anything other than easing whatever torment ailed him now, I attempted to lighten the mood. “You were saying what about cranky, old men stuck in their ways?”

His face remained unchanged, confirming my attempts to lighten anything failed miserably.

“Okay, say something—please,” I begged. “Because I’m not used to being the calm one and I don’t have a clue what I’m supposed to do or say next.” I slid the wet tuft of hair over his forehead to the side.

“Do I sound as miserably unconvincing when I try to cheer you up?” He looked at me and I could tell from experience he was doing his best to hide what he was really feeling.

“You’re much better actually,” I assured. “But you’ve got a bit more experience.”

“Just a bit,” he said, drawing me into an embrace that felt more desperate than passionate . . . more fleeting than welcoming, like he was saying goodbye—the forever kind. “You know how much I love you.”

It wasn’t a question, but I felt the need to respond. “Of course I do.” How could I ever doubt his love for me with the history of life threatening circumstances we’d encountered? How could I doubt his faithfulness to me when he’d spent a couple centuries searching for me? Did it make sense for him to love me? No. Did I deserve his love? Most definitely not. But did I doubt his love for me, misplaced as it may have been? Never once.

“Good,” he said, releasing me from his arms. “Let’s get out of here. I think it’s fair to say tonight didn’t exactly go as planned.”

“Really?” I didn’t hide my sarcasm as he led me out of the water. My thumbed hooked under the leather bracelet I’d made him. “You know, you don’t have to wear this thing until the leather disintegrates.”

He glanced at his wrist, smiling. “How about this? I’ll take it off when you replace it with a band on the ring finger of my left hand.”