Last Kiss (7 page)

Alexei is ready to come out and play.

Dropping a kiss on his shoulder, she moved to stand in front of him. His eyes flickered open, his pupils dilated with lust. She spread her thighs and sat in his lap, his cock tight against her silk-covered crotch. His hands came to rest on her legs, his thumbs digging into her sensitive flesh. Sliding her fingers around his wrists, she pulled his hands away and curled his fingers around his staff. At his perplexed look, she brushed her lips over his.

“I want to watch,” she whispered.

He cleared his throat. “You want me…to pleasure myself?”

She licked her lips and nodded, her throat suddenly dry.

A devilish smile curved his mouth. “Your wish is my command.”

Alexei released his turgid flesh and snaked his arms around her waist. Rising, she shrieked as he carried her to a rocky ledge and set her down. Her nipple grazed his chin and he couldn’t resist taking it into his mouth. She moaned as he suckled her flesh, her thighs tightening on his waist. He released one and moved to her other, lavishing it with the same attention.

“This isn’t what I had in mind,” she panted.

He licked the water from her skin between her breasts. “You told me to pleasure myself and I am.” He ran his tongue along the fold below her breast and she arched against his mouth.

Trailing kisses down her stomach, he wrapped his fingers in the narrow elastic band of her panties. Urging her hips up, he stripped off the material to feast his eyes on the mound of soft dark hair between her thighs. He dipped his head to tease her belly button before blazing a path of kisses farther south.

As he sank, her thighs opened to reveal her moist entrance. He draped her thighs over his shoulders as he parted her lips and supped on her hot, pink flesh. Closing his eyes, he lost himself in the heat and scent of her arousal as he stroked, teased, and cajoled her into release.

He lost count of her cries of completion when he finally rose. His blood ran thick in his veins, his cock hard and straining for release. Elaine lay on her back, eyes closed. If he didn’t know better, he’d think she was asleep.

As his fingers closed around her wrist, her eyes opened. He stepped close and pulled her upright into his arms. Without asking, her legs twined around his waist and he picked her up to carry her to the rock where it had all began.

He groaned as she sank onto his cock, her aroused tissues surrounding him like a glove. Rooted to the hilt, he stared deep into her emerald eyes.

“Do you believe in love at first sight?” His voice was low, husky.

Her eyes widened and he was caught by the pain in their depths. She looked away, her neat white teeth digging into her lower lip.

“Elaine—”

She rolled her hips, breaking off his words. She turned to gaze deep into his eyes. “I believe in this.” She rolled her hips again. “I believe in this as well.” Her fingers curled in his damp hair as she pulled him into a kiss that was sensual, earthy.

His arms slid beneath the water and around her waist. Their joined movements were slow, sensual.

“I think,” she panted. “At this moment, we have more than most people ever have in their entire lives. That’s what I believe in.”

I love you.

In his mind, he said the words over and over as they moved together. Each moment a shining drop of brilliance in his mind as they teased each other into completion. Their cries mingled with the mist from the pool to swirl into the heavens above.

* * * * *

“What did Dirk say when he found out about the altered wine?” Alexei drew his fingertip in a lazy trail down her arm, marveling in the silken feel of her. They lay on the warm rocks, long limbs entwined. The torches burned low and the heat from the rocks kept them comfortable in each other’s arms.

She gave a soft laugh. “He said he’d rather we cut his heart out than tamper with his wine.”

Alexei grinned, reveling in the changes wrought by their time in the pool. Soft and warm, Elaine lay beside him unconcerned about her nudity. The shifting moonlight painted her skin silver and, with her tangled dark hair, she resembled a temptress of old. His beautiful gypsy.

“I want to paint you,” he said.

She blinked, a soft flush moving across her cheeks. “Me?”

“Yes, you. Do you not know how beautiful you are?”

She shrugged. “I am what I am.”

“So modest.” He lifted her hand and raised it to his lips. “Will you sit for me?”

She hesitated.

“Please?” He kissed her palm.

“Someday.”

He nodded. “Fair enough. Now I have another question for you.” He slid his fingers around her slim wrist, marveling in the delicacy of the bones beneath her skin.

“I might have an answer for you.” She purred as he pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist, her pulse fluttered beneath his mouth.

“What do you think of vampires?”

“Do you mean theatrical vampires or literature vampires?”

“Neither. I mean the real thing.”

“Vampires don’t exist.”

“Says who?”

She shook her head. “It’s physiologically impossible to survive on blood alone. It can’t be done.”

“If you’re human, it can’t be done. But what if a human was changed on a molecular level? Their metabolism is frozen in time with their digestive system. All they need is a dose of fresh blood, say once a week, to keep their other systems functioning normally.”

“I think you should become a writer as you have quite an imagination.” Her tone was dry.

“I’m serious here.”

“So am I.”

“Would it be so bad, being a vampire?”

Her eyes narrowed, her hand tensing beneath his. “Do you believe you’re a vampire?”

He saw the doubt in her eyes. She wasn’t ready for the truth yet and, if he uttered the one word that would set him free, he would lose her.

“I’m open to the possibility of vampires is all I’m trying to say,” he said. “There is a lot in this world that we can’t even begin to explain.”

“You’re right about that.” The suspicion faded from her eyes.

He pressed another kiss to her wrist and she sighed. “Do you believe in destiny?” he asked.

“Hmm, destiny as in people being destined to be something or a predetermined course of events?”

“Yes, to both.”

“Well, I guess so. But I also believe that people can alter their own destiny by their actions, or non-action.”

He nodded and twined his fingers through hers, his gaze lifting to meet hers. “What about reincarnation?”

She frowned, small wrinkles distorted her brow and he wanted to kiss them away. “I like the idea of it. I mean, we live our mortal lives and, when we die, we can do it all over again. That next time around, hopefully, we don’t make the same mistakes though.”

“Can you imagine us doing this over and over again?”

“I think we already did.” She wiggled her brows.

“That’s not quite what I meant,” he chuckled.

Her expression turned surprised, then thoughtful. “Do you think we’ve been here before?”

“Can’t you feel it?’ He untwined their fingers to lay her hand over his heart, his hand covering hers. With his free hand, he covered her heart, the beat familiar against his palm. “Your heart knows mine as well as mine knows yours.”

She covered his hand with her free one and her eyes widened. “Oh my,” she breathed. “They beat in rhythm. How is that possible?”

“We’ve been here before. On a physical level, you don’t remember, but your heart does, as does your soul.”

Her expression was doubtful. “Do you really think we’ve been here before?”

“I have no doubt in my mind that we have been here many times before.”

For a few seconds she was silent and he could almost hear the wheels turning in her head. “Do you think…?” Her expression turned sad. “Did we ever get it right?”

He pressed a kiss to her palm. “I think we got it right every time. How could this be wrong?” He watched her eyes fill with tears. Alarmed, he pulled her into his arms. “Why are you crying?”

“If only it were true,” she sniffed. “It’s a beautiful thought.”

He hugged her. “Who said it wasn’t true?”

“Imagine an eternity of this.” She slid her arms around him and squeezed.

He smiled into her hair. He didn’t have to imagine it, he’d lived brief episodes of it several times, but she didn’t remember. He felt a pierce of sadness that she didn’t remember all the times they’d had together. When the time was right, he would tell her what she didn’t remember. But first, he needed to retrieve something.

“The party is over tomorrow,” he said.

Silent, she nodded, her tightening grip telling him exactly what he needed to know.

“I need to leave here and get something for you, something I forgot.”

She pulled away, puzzlement written across her features. “How could you forget something for me when you didn’t even know me?”

“Let’s just say that I knew I would meet you here.” He smoothed away the frown from her forehead with a fingertip. “Will you wait for me? I’ll be but a day, two at the most.”

“You want me to wait here?”

He nodded.

“What if you don’t return?”

“I’ll return for you.”

“Yeah, you say that now, but what if you don’t? How long do you expect me to wait?”

“I promise you this, I will return for you. It will be two days at the most.”

Her gaze searched his face as if she could find evidence of his promise stamped there. Finally, she nodded and he tugged her back into his embrace, tucking her head beneath his chin.

Soon she would learn that not even time could keep them apart.

Chapter 7

He was gone, both from her dreams and her bed.

Elaine lay still in her bed, the faint throbbing in her head causing a twisting pain in her stomach.

No, not now…

She raised her hand to massage the base of her skull, her mind willing her body to relax and release the pain. She rolled to her side, groaning as her thighs, overworked from a night of lovemaking, protested the movement. Her eyes flew open to have the liquid sunshine sear the backs of her eyes.

That’s exactly what it was… lovemaking.

Everything she didn’t want to happen had occurred in the past forty-eight hours. Their relationship had progressed to the next level, no, beyond that, beyond lust and into happily ever after.

Except there would be no such thing for her.

She stretched out her arm, her fingers rubbing the indentation in the pillow where Alexei had laid his head. Even her dream lover had abandoned her. A constant companion, he’d failed to make an appearance since Alexei had entered her life. She missed him. She didn’t realize how much she’d depended upon his nocturnal presence in her life. He’d been with her every night, no matter how complex her life had become and, now, he was gone too.

Unutterably sad, she closed her eyes, her fingers continuing the slow massage on her neck. Here, four days from her forty-second birthday, she’d met the real, flesh and blood man of her dreams only to realize that she would lose him.

Her disease was progressing. For the past few weeks, she’d awakened with the headache that marked the passage of time for her. It wasn’t a simple hangover nor due to a lack of sleep, it was her cancer coming back to claim her for the last time.

Elaine opened her eyes, fixing her gaze on the sun-drenched outdoors. Had she ever seen anything more glorious than a golden Colorado morning? The sky was a brilliant blue without a cloud to be seen and the flowers in the garden were blooming profusely thanks to the recent rains. Only the sight of love reflected in Alexei’s eyes could stir her more than the Colorado landscape.

Alexei.

Her heart gave a painful twist at the thought of her absent lover. It was entirely possible that she would never see him again, never touch him, never be touched by him.

But you have been touched by him, and with that you have to be content.

She sat up. Why? Why did she have to be content with only a small slice when she could have had the entire pie?

Because that’s all you can have…

Her shoulders slumped. A few days weren’t nearly enough, nor were a few years. With the way she was feeling now, eternity wouldn’t satisfy her.

But you don’t have eternity, do you?

If only Alexei were right and they had an eternity together. If she knew that in her next life she’d have a chance at the same type of ecstasy she’d known in the past few days, she would face her death with greater bravery knowing that somewhere in the future, he awaited her.

What a beautiful dream that was.

But reality was that she was dying, slowly, day by day as her life slipped through her fingers. She only had today, that she knew. For her, the future was no more than five minutes ahead. More than that, she couldn’t count on.

* * * * *

Clouds obscured the sun as Elaine stood with Dirk on the deck, a glass of chardonnay in her hand.

“It’s beautiful here.” She sipped from the drink.

“It is, but I never appreciated it when I was younger. I saw only the ostentation of the place, never the beauty and the quiet it offered.”

“Youth is wasted on the young.” She shook her head. “We spend our childhood racing to grow up. We spend our twenties trying to make our mark in the world, our thirties looking for the perfect mate only to find that no one is perfect and it’s all a matter of what we can put up with.”

He laughed. “You’re right. But what happens when we hit our forties?”

“I don’t know, Dirk.” She looked up at him, his face as familiar to her as her own. “You’ll have to figure that out for me.” She longed to take back the words as she watched his smile fade. She wished she could’ve made some glib remark and let the moment pass, but she could never do that with Dirk, he always saw through her.

He set his glass down and pulled her into his arms. “I can’t imagine my life without you, little sister.”

She rubbed her forehead against the soft cashmere of his sweater. “And I, you.”

His grip tightened. “All the money in the world and I can’t help you.”

She closed her eyes and inhaled the scent of her best friend, a mixture of sandalwood, tobacco and memories. Tears stung her eyes at the thought of leaving him behind. They’d been friends for more years than she cared to count. Every major event in her life, Dirk had been by her side and she by his.

“I need a favor from you,” she sniffed.

He dropped a kiss on her head. “You only have to ask.”

“When the time comes…” He stiffened in her arms. “I want to know that I can depend on you to take care of the arrangements. I’ve outlined what I want for the funeral and the internment. The documents are in my New York apartment safe and my lawyer has a copy as well.”

“Shall I hire a brass band?” His voice was raw and his chest shuddered beneath her cheek. She knew he was crying.

“Nope,” she sniffed. “Keep it simple, you know what to do and who to invite.”

She felt him nod.

“Don’t forget to call Jeff.”

Dirk gave a broken laugh at the mention of their drag-queen friend. “Okay.”

“He can come only if he promises not to wear a red boa and I don’t want anyone throwing themselves on the casket, either.”

“Now there’s an image.” Dirk gave her another squeeze before releasing her. She looked up at his dear face, streaked with tears, his expression uncharacteristically serious. “What am I going to do without you, Laine?”

She smiled as her vision wavered and her eyes filled with more tears. “You’re going to marry Veronique and be blissfully happy. Then, in a few years, you’ll start squeezing out some pups, buy a mini-van, run a soccer camp and retire to the country in domesticated bliss.”

A look of abject horror crossed his face and she laughed.

“You’re an evil woman,” he said.

“Yes, I am. I will be watching you, every step of the way and I’ll be taking notes. When you die… “ She turned away and pointed to a fat cloud on the horizon. “I’ll meet you there and we’ll share a bottle of celestial wine and compare notes.”

“That sounds like a plan to me.” He laced an arm around her waist.

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.”

“Tell me, do you believe in destiny?”

* * * * *

Elaine slipped into the cool silence of the gallery, grateful for the only oasis of stillness in the house. The partygoers were leaving and the constant stream of cars, luggage, and people saying goodbye to their host was giving her a vicious headache. She shut the glass doors behind her, entombing herself in silence.

All day long she’d been plagued with the ache in her head. Not enough to completely disable her, but enough to remind her that time was running out. As if she needed to be reminded of that.

She pushed that thought away. Some people lived day by day. She’d learned to live hour by hour.

She drifted past the masterpieces by Monet, Picasso, and Dega. Committing each one to memory before moving to the next, every one was a treat to the senses. The silence soothed her aching head as well as her soul.

At the far end of the long room, she found the new painting Dirk had mentioned. Sealed behind glass, she had to step closer to get a good look. Not much larger than a sheet of writing paper, the images were dark and erotic in tone. The subjects, a man and a woman, clasped in a torrid embrace. The man was shown only from the back, his hair long and dark as he bent over his companion to feast on her exposed breast. She blinked as she took in the woman’s face, her ecstasy painted for the world to see.

My, it looks like me!

Startled, she stepped back, her hand going to her throat. Well, it really wasn’t her but there certainly was a strong resemblance. The hair was lighter in color and much longer than she normally wore hers. But the heart-shaped face and the small birthmark on her breast were exactly the same. She gently rubbed the matching spot on her own breast, aware of a faint tingling sensation just under her skin. Was it possible that an ancestor had posed for the portrait?

Do you believe in destiny?

As if he were standing next to her, Alexei’s voice echoed in her mind. She wrapped her arms across her chest as a shiver ran down her spine. Had he known about this painting? Was that where he’d hatched the idea that they’d known each other in another life?

Beneath the painting was a discreet brass plate proclaiming the title and painter’s name. She was dismayed to find that it contained only initials,
Redemption by A. R
.

Alexei?

She stepped back to study the painting. Judging from the clothing, the portrait was painted around the turn of the century, give or take twenty years. The woman’s burgundy skirt was long, ankle length and with the man’s thigh insinuated between hers, the hem had crept up to reveal her white stockings and button-down shoes. Her eyes were half closed, her lips parted in ecstasy as she enjoyed her lover’s attentions.