Lost Wanderer Awakened - Book One of the Airendell Chronicles (17 page)

“Not as much,” she admits shakily, laughing
at herself.

“Okay, I will be patient. Resume your
questions whenever you feel ready.” He takes her hands into his and
holds them gently, slowly running his thumb up and down her
fingers.

Two more minutes go by as she frames and
re-frames her next two questions in her mind. Finally, she gets
disgusted with herself and blurts out, “We have known each other
before, haven’t we? When we met at the hospital, when you came to
my room with Seth Bailey, that wasn’t the first time we ever met,
was it?”

He shakes his head no, searching her eyes
carefully, gauging her readiness; “No Morna. That wasn’t the first
time we met,” he replies softly.

I knew it! My heart recognized him! My
Luca.

She fiddles with his fingers for another
minute. He brings her hand up to his lips, kisses them gently, and
strokes them reassuringly. “Say it, Morna! Ask me when we met the
first time?” he whispers eagerly.

“I feel like I have known you forever…. How
long? I mean… when was the first time we met?” she asks, nearly
inaudibly.

He reaches out and tips her chin up and looks
in her eyes. “In October of the year 1260,” he says quietly.

His face seems to be swaying in and out of
her field of vision. She opens her mouth to speak, then the
blackness takes her under.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

When she comes to, she is lying on the couch.
She is trying to make some sense of all the images that have been
flooding her mind. She feels chilled and clammy and very weak. Her
hair and clothes are damp. Luca is sitting on the floor by the
couch. He’s holding her hands, and he looks very concerned.

She smiles at him, and then tries to sit up.
Her head is throbbing and she reaches up to massage her temples.
Luca helps her sit up, and then sits beside her on the couch. “Are
you cold, baby? You are shaking. Are you in any pain?” he asks
softly. Morna can hear his worry in his voice.

She nods, and murmurs, “A little bit chilly.
And my head hurts horribly. And my mouth tastes like something died
in it.”

He gets the soft bright turquoise throw from
the back of the sofa and drapes it over her, tucking it in around
her body. “Let me get you a coke to wash that taste out of your
mouth. Do you want some Advil for the head?” he asks quietly.

“Yes, please,” she whispers.

He disappears for a second, and then he’s
back with four small brown pills in his hand and a glass of coke.
She takes the Advil and sits up a little. She swallows the pills
and a big drink of the water. He puts the glass on the coffee table
and sits on it facing her as before. When he finally meets her
eyes, she can tell he’s very worried about her.

“Why am I wet?” she asks, feeling
confused.

“Perspiration,” he answers.

“Wow! Did I get up and run around the block a
few times?” She giggles in her confusion.

“No,” he snorts at her silly, wry sense of
humor. Then he chuckles softly. But his eyes are quickly serious
again. “Accepting the truth takes a Herculean effort on your part,
I am afraid. You have been unconscious for nearly four hours, it’s
after midnight.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Are you hungry?” he asks. When she
shakes her head no, he asks, “Would you like for me to run a bath
for you?”

“Not yet,” she whispers.

“Do you remember who I am? Who you are?” he
asks softly. She can plainly see the need, the fear and longing in
his face and reaches out to stroke his bewhiskered jaw without any
conscious thought.

Morna’s brows draw together for a moment and
then she smiles brightly and says, “Yes, you are my husband. My
mate for life, Lucian Michaels. My “Man of Light”. My Luca.” She
kisses him tenderly and strokes his face in awe. “I am your wife,
Morna Glynn Michaels. We married March 22, in the year 1316.”
Morna’s smile broadens and then a frown creases her forehead. “Can
that be right? Or am I losing my mind?”

“That is exactly right! You are definitely
not losing your mind, my beloved!” Luca scoops her into his arms,
and straddles her across his lap and rains kisses on her face.

She laughs ecstatically. “I love you, Luca,”
she says breathlessly.

“I love you, Morna. Welcome back, baby.” He
kisses her lingeringly.

They spend several minutes locked in a
lover’s embrace, and then she says, “Sorry, but I am sticky and
feeling very self-conscious about it.”

He smirks at that, she‘s always been that
way… since he was changed into a vampire she knows his heightened
senses can detect the slightest odor. He loves her scent always but
has never been able to reassure her of that completely. “Do you
want me to draw a bath for you?”

“Yes please. And can I have another Coke?”
He’s standing in front of her with a tall glass of ice and Coke
before she can blink twice. She laughs, and looks into his face,
“Have I ever gotten used to that?”

“No,” he chuckles, “you haven’t. But I enjoy
your reactions, so I am always showing off for your benefit.” He
winks at her. And she giggles in reply. “Morna, do you want the
eucalyptus bath salts or the lavender oil in your bath?”

“Both, I think. Thank you, Luca. You always
spoil me.” She smiles up at him. Then he’s gone before she can
blink.

“Show off!” she whispers, and this time she
is certain she hears him laugh from the bathroom. She chugs down
the coke in three drinks. Gets up slowly and takes the glass to the
kitchen sink to dump out the ice before putting the glass in the
dishwasher. She then walks toward the bathroom slowly, feeling
shaky on her own feet. She stands in the doorway off the hallway
watching him fiddle with the water temperature. Then he adds more
bath salts and lavender oil.

He doesn’t look up from the task at hand, but
says, “I was planning to carry you in here, you know.”

“No need, Luca,” she assures him. “But I do
need a human necessary, if you don’t mind. You can come right back
when I am finished.”

He shuts off the water. Rises smoothly to his
feet and comes to her. He takes her hand and pulls her to him. He
wraps her in his chilly embrace. He leans down and kisses her
urgently. “Hurry Morna! Now that you have your memory back I can’t
stand to leave your side.”

“I know, love,” she whispers. “I feel exactly
the same way.”

He’s gone in an instant. She reaches behind
her and closes the hallway door. She knows without looking that he
has closed the door going into their bedroom. She uses the toilet,
flushes then washes her hands. She decides to brush her teeth to
try to get rid of the foul taste in her mouth. She sees him
materialize behind her as she’s finishing up and washing her hands
again. He gives her a towel to dry her hands, and then encircles
her waist and nuzzles her neck. She leans into him and sighs
contentedly, finally feeling at home in his arms as she dries her
hands.

She sets the towel down, and leans toward the
mirror, looking at herself with new eyes, from a new perspective.
Her fingers trace the faint wrinkles. Then she drags her fingers
through her reddish-blonde hair, frowning at the gray streaks she
finds there. She traces the scars on her face and arm. Her hand
falls to her left leg, to the vicious scars she knows are there.
Her face sets into a hard, angry mask. She looks up into the mirror
to seek out his eyes in the reflection, then asks in a fierce
whisper, “This wasn’t just a random accident was it?” She sees Luca
shake his head no in the mirror. “Kyera did this?” she asks
stonily.

“Yes. I am sorry. I wasn’t able to find you
until four days after it happened. Can you forgive me?” he asks
quietly.

She turns around in his arms. Her face has
softened and her voice is soothing as she strokes his cheek.
“There’s absolutely nothing to forgive. You didn’t do this and it’s
not your fault she found me before you did. Sometimes it can’t be
helped.” She kisses him tenderly and pulls back to ask; “How long
did you have to search for me this time?”

“Sixty-two years,” he whispers.

“So long!” She whispers feeling sad for him
knowing how painful their lengthy separations are for him. Her
heart stutters when she imagines living with the grief of one’s
mate dying. He smiles sadly and kisses her cheek. “Thirteen years
in limbo? I wonder why so long?” she asks.

His answering shrug prompts her to say, “I am
so very sorry you had to search for me for so long! We must find
another solution this time. I can’t stand to put you through this
again, and again,” she says impassionedly.

Then she buries her face in his chest and
sobs. “And I just cannot bear another man’s children and then live
through them dying again. I just can’t ever endure this again! I am
so sorry Luca, please forgive me for that, for taking another
husband,” she whispers brokenly. Shame and regret are choking her
spirit and filling her heart with pain and guilt.

He wraps her up his arms to let her cry it
out and he vows, “Morna, there’s absolutely nothing to forgive.
Sometimes it can’t be helped, just like you said. You didn‘t
remember me, about us. You did nothing wrong, baby.”

He picks her up and carries her to the chaise
lounge where he gently undresses her and then carries her to the
tub where he gently bathes her body. Every so often he stops to
kiss her tears away. Her hard, body wracking sobs finally stop
before he washes her hair. Eventually the tears stop rolling down
her cheeks. She looks up at him as though she’s just noticing him
again and says, “I’m sorry that I did that in front of you.”

“Morna, you have nothing to be sorry about.
Your family deserves to be mourned.” They both fall silent and he
continues to gently caress her face, and smooth her wet hair away
from her face. When he notices how cool the water has become he
asks if she is ready for bed. She nods silently, with a sad smile
on her face.

He pulls the plug, then lifts her out of the
tub, uses a bath sheet to dry her off. Then he grabs the brush from
the vanity and brushes the tangles out of her short, wavy hair.
“Can you stand alone, baby?” She nods again. So he steps away to
take off his pajamas and toss them into the hamper. He picks up her
discarded clothes and tosses those in the hamper too. He wipes out
the tub with the bath sheet and tosses it into the hamper, and
scoops her up and carries her to bed. The whole process takes maybe
two seconds. She chuckles again and mutters, “Show off!”

He laughs happily, and says, “Guilty, as
charged.”

CHAPTER 9 - RENEWING THE BONDS OF
FOREVER

Once he has settled her into bed, he asks if
she’s cold. “No, actually I am kind of hot and hungry.” She pushes
back the covers and sits up. He’s gone and then back with the
tiramisu and a bottle of water before she can cross her legs. She
pulls the sheet up to her belly as she reaches for the dessert. He
hands it to her and sits cross legged facing her so he can watch
her eat. She slowly savors four bites of the rich dessert before
she realizes she really doesn’t want any more. Her hunger is for
something else, much more satisfying. He takes the container from
her and hands her the bottle of plain water. “Hydrate,” he
commands. She obeys willingly. After she has drank half of the
bottle of water she sets it down on the bedside table and returns
her full attention to her beloved, her long lost mate.

She reaches for him and kisses him soundly.
He smacks his lips and says, “Tiramisu is kind of tasty.” She
giggles and kisses him again.

“I believe you told me that we have sixty-two
years of love making to catch up on, we had better get started,
don’t you think? I mean gee, it‘s after one already.” They both
collapse in spasms of laughter.

“Morna I am really liking this incarnation of
you. You are so direct, so earthy and passionate. I was so shocked
when you mounted me on the sofa Monday morning,” he whistles softly
and kisses her lips. “Baby, I almost couldn’t make myself stop
you.”

“Why did you stop me?” Morna asks,
remembering the sting she felt at what she had perceived as his
rejection.

“I hadn’t hunted in nearly three weeks. The
scent of your blood was overwhelming me. I was afraid of losing
control with you,” he admits reluctantly.

She frowns at him but nods. She knows he is
always afraid of that. “Yes, I remember how dark your eyes were
that day. You must have been very thirsty.” She clasps his beloved
face in her hands. “Luca, why did you wait so long to hunt? You
usually go every week or two when you first find me again.”

“I know,” he says. “I thought I was
conditioned pretty well by this time, it has been nearly a year.
But lately you’ve been saying and doing things that made me think
you could remember me at any moment. I was afraid to be gone from
you for too long.”

“You shouldn’t deny your needs like that,”
she chides him as strokes his cold cheek with her fingers,
marveling as she always does at his perfection. “What kind of spell
did you use to keep me from noticing how cold your skin is?”

“I modified a buffer spell. It basically put
a barrier around my body. You would perceive that I was cooler, but
not the ice cold, marble like feel of body.”

“Ingenious, you have always been one of the
best of our kind, my love,” Morna says with immense pride.

They both fall silent, and just enjoy
touching each other and exchanging soft kisses when Morna says, “I
wanted to make love with you, my dear fantasy, you know Sunday
night at the other house. Did you realize that?”

“No I didn’t,” he admits, “I was so shocked
when you spoke to me. I couldn’t believe you knew I was there.”

“I could sense that you were there. Even
smell you,” She admits quietly.

“Yes, I finally figured that out. But you
just needed me to chase back the sadness that night, didn’t you?”
he asks uncertainly.