The Sibylline Oracle (18 page)

Jenni whispered, “I will dream of that day, Alex,” She said as she pulled herself away from him. “I must…go now, and see to the preparation of our Christmas meal.”

Alex’s heart soared! He would have to endure a dinner with the return of the overly polite conversation that was appropriate for a mistress of the house and an employee. But Alex now knew that Jenni loved him.

Hours later, Christmas dinner was about to be served, but the lady of the house was missing. He was prepared to check on Jenni himself, knowing that she had been conflicted about the kiss. But after considering it, he decided that his presence at her bedroom door might increase her discomfort. Alex asked the housekeeper to go check on Jenni.

A few minutes later, Alex heard the housekeeper’s scream. He bolted up the three flights of stairs to discover Jenni lying on the floor of her room, her body long cold.

∞

Despite his inconsolable grief, Alex forced himself to write the letter to Harleton and handle the funeral arrangements. Alex knew that Harleton would not take the time to attend the funeral, even if he’d been able to return in time. The cause of death was pronounced as a brain aneurysm. Mani asked Alex if he could perform an autopsy. As heartbreaking as it was for Alex to think of his beloved being violated by knives for the autopsy, Mani convinced Alex that the information might prevent this tragedy from occurring again.

Waiting in the corridor of Mani’s lab, Alex regressed into self-loathing. If only he had not kissed her, then maybe he would have been with her when she needed him most.

“Alex,” Mani said softly.

Unable to speak, Alex waited for the news.

“There were severe burns through her brain. I can find no medical cause for this. The assumption of the curse seems to be most logical. But Alex,” Mani said, placing his hand on Alex’s arm. “She could not have suffered long.”

Alex knew that his good friend was trying to give him solace. But there could be none. He had seen Jenni’s room, and how her dressing table had been over-turned. He had found her kerchief, damp with tears, pulled to the floor with the rest of the contents from her dressing table as she attempted to drag herself to the door to alert him. She had known that she would not survive and she had died with her arms stretched out toward the door.

A few days later, Alex watched the casket as it was lowered into the ground. How many times had he seen this now? He didn’t want to count. He had held off burying her, clinging to the dream that she was now immortal and her body would heal. But he knew better this time than to wait for a rising that would never come.

As the morning birds began their melodic song of a new day, Alex woke with a start. Although his neck had cramped—he had slept all night sitting up—there was something that thrilled him that he couldn’t quite recall. Immediately, the feeling of Valeria’s body, gently sleeping against him and the memory of the previous evening caused a thrilling wave of excitement that brought every nerve in him body to life and stirred his emotions as he saw her beautiful face sleeping in his arms. She was alive!

He brushed his fingers along her hairline, as she lay cradled in his arms. He saw her eyes move under her lids, rimmed with long dark lashes. Then brushing back the curls that stubbornly stuck to her cheeks and neck, he stared at the delicate curve that ran from her ear to her neck and again had the urge to brush his mouth along it.

Alex rejoiced with the feel of her warmth and breath on his chest. Joy and relief relaxed the knot that always seemed so close to his heart. He wanted to let her sleep a bit longer but, as if it were beyond his own volition, he pulled her into him and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. He knew, without question, that whatever he needed to do, she would survive this time!

Under his gentle hands and
with the warmth of his mouth, Valeria stirred. Her lips slowly turned up at the corners before she even opened her eyes.

“Good morning, beautiful!” Alex said, having completely shed the horror of his dream from the night before as he smiled with their gift of a new and glorious day. When she looked up at him, she realized that she had a nearly overwhelming need to kiss him.

Turning her face into his chest, she breathed in the wonderful scent that was so distinctly him, and wrapped her arms around his neck. He was intoxicating! Then she heard him chuckle nervously, before pulling her in closer. Slowly becoming more alert, she realized that she must be a mess. She pushed herself away and sat up. Valeria desperately wished she’d had a chance to wash her face, brush her teeth, and throw her hair up in a ponytail. She wondered if any of her make-up had survived the tears from the night before; and if so, was she wearing it below her eyes?

Leaning back, Alex put his arms behind his head and stretched out a bit. “If you want to shower first, I’ll get us breakfast.”

“That would be wonderful,” she said, wondering if her eyelids were swollen in that perfectly awful way they did when she cried.

Was it her imagination? The world looked brighter! Avoiding the mirror, Valeria jumped into the shower. She dried her hair, put on mascara and a bit of lip gloss, and threw on her blue jeans and a blue, V-neck sweater. When she stepped out of the bedroom, she saw that Alex had already set the table and breakfast was waiting. He offered her a cup of coffee just the way she liked it. This time she noticed the Limoges china and
was grateful for everything he had done.

“Thank you,” she said, blushing.

“I wish we could have a more leisurely morning, but everyone’s meeting in about thirty minutes.”

They ate the fresh fruit and yogurt. Alex had toasted up a brioche and brushed it with what he told her was a combination of honey, butter, and a hint of orange juice. “I’d like you to have some protein,” he said, as he ladled scrambled eggs onto her plate and she ate every bite.

After breakfast, she offered to wash the dishes while Alex showered and changed. There was a great energy and joy to the morning that consumed them both.

“We need to go,” Alex said, as he walked from the bedroom dressed in his blue jeans and navy blue sweater. As they started for the door, Valeria tugged on Alex’s hand to stop him.
How do I do this kind of thing?

“Alex?” she said.

He turned to her, unable to remove the smile from his face. “Yes?” Sensing something sensual in her mood, he stepped closer.

“I was wondering something...”

The smile spread to his eyes, reflecting the electricity she could feel buzzing between them. “Anything, beautiful.” She bit her lip, hesitating. Alex became even more intrigued and distracted by her teeth working on her soft lips. “Yes?”

“Well, in all of those lifetimes, did we…I mean, you said that we weren’t ‘together,’ but did we ever…well, you know what I mean…” Her face flushed scarlet.

In one fluid movement, Alex framed her against the wall. His heart started to race as he brushed the side of her face with his hand.
God
,
she so desperately wanted to kiss him.

“Well,” he said, raising an eyebrow and flashing his brilliant smile, “I
may
have stolen a kiss here and there.” The fact was, it had only been the one time. But Alex didn’t want to talk about it. He wanted to pull her into his arms and cover her mouth with his. He could feel the trembling of desire beginning and cursed that there was no time for that now. Still, he couldn’t pull himself from her—the look in her eyes held him like a magnet.

“May have?” Valeria teased, as she moved her hand across his cheek and then around to his neck. Her heart racing from his closeness, a luscious anxiety rising up her chest. She swore she could already feel his lips touching hers, even though he was still almost a foot away. His blue eyes were so close that she could see every detail of the extraordinary shades of blue.

“Well…” She sighed when his hand moved to her neck. She brushed her lips against his arm instinctively and heard Alex’s low groan in response.

“Yes?” He knew that he should not continue this line of conversation. He knew that he should be sensible and tell her that they would have later, though a part of him wasn’t so certain. If Alex had been able to reason, he would have justified that Valeria wanted or needed something and that it was the least he could do to give her that chance. But, there was no reason in this conversation, only a lifetime of desire.

“Well, I was thinking that,” Valeria gulped from nerves and anticipation.
Courage!
“I feel like you remember everything…and I don’t.” Alex nodded slowly. “Anyway” she began, but her voice faded as his thumb brushed her lower lip where her teeth had been, sending a current of heat all the way to her toes. Her mouth caressed his thumb. His eyes closed, but when they opened, Valeria could see they had clouded with desire. She continued softly, “I was just thinking...this is the 21
st
century. And women…women kiss men all the time.”

Alex cocked his head to the side, a crooked smile turning the corners of his mouth in the most amazing way. “Of course,” he agreed.

Leaning his face inches from hers, he moved his arm around to the small of her back. Willing his hand to stay where it was, he ran the fingers of his other hand up her jaw line and tangled them in her hair.

There was a deep trembling inside her. Before she even made the decision, she found herself kissing that beautiful turn of his mouth. Alex moved to close the distance, groaning as the warmth of her soft lips finally met his. His heart slammed against his chest and he longed to taste more of her. He moved his fingers up her spine, aching to pull her in closer.

When he regained his senses, he pulled away, his voice hoarse. “You know,” he whispered, as he lightly ran his hand along the rise of her cheek, “I wish to God we had more time for this.” Valeria saw the regret in his eyes, as he took a deep, jagged breath. He leaned in and brushed her temple with his lips before continuing. “But we need…” He corrected himself. “
I
need to stay focused. And right now just isn’t the best time for us to…for me to…” Alex forced himself to pull back from her, shuddering as he recalled his dream.

Sensing the cloud over his happiness, Valeria stroked his face. “It’s all right, Alex. Nothing bad is going to happen to me this time. We have all the time in the world.”

She would know the rest soon, but he wanted to give her a few more moments of innocence. He could so clearly see her trust in him. Then he pushed away the darkness that had been his nearly constant companion.

“I know,” he said resolutely. He stepped away from her while gently squeezing her tiny hand. Then he took appraisal of her to ensure that she was all right with all that had happened. She composed herself and nodded in an attempt to feel calm and collected—while her heart was still pounding so loud she was certain he could hear it too. Pleased with his level of control and from recovering his sense of rationality, they stepped outside and
onto the deck. They could be sensible about this!

Then suddenly overwhelmed with desire, they synchronously pulled together and his mouth came down on hers like that of a starving man. Her hands knotted in his hair, feeling his lips hot against hers. Her mouth parted and his tongue gently, hesitantly, moved inside. She moaned into his mouth and he immediately lost all of his tentativeness. His hands streaked down over her hips, and up her back, pulling her into him as his mouth worked over hers. She pressed her hips into him, forgetting everything except for him. Alex moaned, deeply. She felt her head spin and her knees weaken. He felt her body go lax. He raised his face inches from hers, his brows raised in concern.

“What happened?” he asked, his voice still husky with desire.

Not ready for it to end, Valeria held him close. “I don’t know. My knees just went…weak,” she said softly, and leaned back in to kiss him.

Amusement played on Alex’s lips as he kissed her lightly. “I made you weak-kneed?”

She traced her fingers down his arms and back up again, somewhat embarrassed by her response. “Yeah, it seems so,” she admitted, sheepishly.

“That was…” He moved his thumb across her lip again, the glint in his eyes still full of heat. Suddenly distracted, he looked up toward the main house. He took another jagged breath and said, “Caleb’s here...”

Caleb’s voice came from the trail. “Daph says you need to get your ass—well, she says you need to knock it off.” Then, he laughed. “But me, I say go for it, Alex!”

Lowering her brow in amusement, Valeria asked, “How did they know?”

With effort, Alex pulled his hands from her back and face. Though he’d ended the embrace, his heartbeat continued
exploding in his ears. “I’m afraid that I responded to them while we were…” Alex shook his head with contrition. “Sorry!” He let out a ragged breath and then bit his lip in a smile that betrayed his desire.

“More company,” he said, as he stepped further away from Valeria and Mani rounded the road, heading towards the cottage. Valeria was surprised at how pleased she was to see him and for Mani to see that she and Alex had become closer.

“Hello, Valeria!”

“Mani! I’m sorry, you had asked me to stop by your lab in New York but everything just happened so fast!” she said, as a deep flush moved over her face. “And, well…here I am!”

“It’s perfect! My personal lab is here.” Mani offered Alex a knowing smile and then kissed Valeria on the cheek. “Love looks good on you!” Valeria beamed in response. “I apologize for the interruption.” He said to Alex with a wink.

“Not a problem, doc. We were just…” Alex cleared his throat while he attempted to remove the smile from his face. “We were just walking up to the main house.” Valeria bit her lip as she smiled playfully at Alex.

With a subtle hint of amusement in his eyes, Mani nodded. “Yes…I could see that.” He took Valeria’s arm and guided her to the rocker. “Have a seat, Valeria. This won’t take but a few minutes.” Mani sat on the footstool and placed a case on the table. “I want to test your blood so that we can develop some answers about your future. May I have your arm please?”

She glanced quizzically to Alex.

“Beautiful, Mani identified a difference in our DNA from that of others. This will be the first time we can test your DNA to find out if you are like us. He also needs to test for any other potential issues.”

“Well, thank God! I thought this was going to be another transference!” she offered with a mock wince.

Having tied an elastic band around her arm, Mani removed several tubes from his bag and then began to tap on the inside of her elbow. He painlessly inserted the needle and drew her blood, changing tubes several times before removing the needle. “That should do.” Mani smiled. “It will be about a week for us to get the results of the DNA test. I’ll have the other results within the hour.”

Mani left to attend to the samples.

Alex took Valeria’s hand and they headed up the trail to the main house, a new lightness in their steps. “Well, I think that kiss should last me a while,” he teased. But now that their passion had been fueled, he was certain that it would haunt him until she was alive and safe and his for eternity.