Final Days (8 page)

Jacob arrived back to the table with two heaping platters of food. 

When Chione stood to go get her first meal, Ahmose was coming back with two heaping platters as well, and set one in front of her.  She didn’t know how to react.  The master bringing food to her.  That was unprecedented.

Starla watched with a smile as Chione stood frozen.

“Say thank you, Sweetie.”  She urged.

Chione dropped into her seat beside Starla, murmured ‘thank you master’ quickly with downcast eyes, and picked up her fork.

Ahmose seemed uncomfortable, too, as he took a seat closer to Jacob than the women.  He glanced up at Jacob and smiled.

Starla rolled her eyes. 
Men.  Vampire or human.  Pretty much the same.

Later that night, Jacob sat in the garden behind the yurt that would be their home.  It was nearly finished, and he had to admit it was incredibly beautiful for what he called a glorified tent. 

Fireflies.  Everywhere.  He hadn’t known there were fireflies in Africa.  As a boy, he had loved the magical insect that he could hold in his hand and study the glow. 
Bio-illumination
.  He hadn’t understood that then.  Although now he knew first blood vampires could sometimes do it.

He and Starla had been living here now for only a week and he couldn’t believe how muc
h like home it already felt. While Starla finished a shower, he waited in the enclosed garden Ahmose’s construction team had built behind their home.  The workers, who were mostly human, slept at night and worked by day.

Huge white flowers surrounded the entire garden, vining wildly over intricately detailed trellis’s that defined the perimeter.  He sat quietly watching the fireflies in their endless dance of allure and competition.  Earlier this year, he’d felt like he was dancing to keep up, too.  He
’d had no idea what was missing from his life until Starla showed up.  And now he was in love…mated…to the perfect woman.

With a vampire child on the way. He sat back
with a satisfied sigh and sipped the smooth white wine created by vineyards here in the village.  Easily the best he’d ever had.  He had found Starla just as
she
had been found by Ahmose, who knew Starla was able to bring his children into the world.  Crazily, it had all worked out, although it might not have.

Ahmose had let himself become aligned with a psychotic woman
named Crystal who had an obsession with Jacob, helped her to abduct him in the hope that Starla would come to him then, but then rescued Jacob in guilt. 

Eventually, Jacob forgave him because he knew he himself would have done whatever he had to do to keep Starla.

So now, here they were, living in a first blood village hidden from the world by first blood magics that could mask the existence of the entire village from the rest of the world.  Only first blood vampires would even know this place existed.

His son would arrive in about five months.  It was the unborn child himself that had let Jacob know he would be father, too.  The empath Cherise had connected the boy’s spirit and Jacob’s
, and while he couldn’t speak to him in words, the idea passed to him.  The child loved Jacob and called him father.  The child was happy to have two fathers who loved him.

Jacob hated to say the word
s, it was so cliché, but in this case, it was true.  In this case, a village
would
raise these children.  This village perched near the edge of the Victoria Falls in Zambia, where the largest group of ancient  vampires in the world, would care for, protect, and guide these three first blood children.

All Jacob knew was that everyone was well, and that was all he could ask for right now.  A soft snick alerted him that the door to the back of the y
urt opened, and he looked around to see Starla step out barefoot, wearing a thin, nearly transparent shirt that dropped just below her buttocks.  And nothing else.  The night was warm with a cool breeze that raised her nipples against the shirt.

The garden was completely private and it was a good thing.  Although Jacob liked Ahmose, the huge vampire lived just up the hill not far from them and he
would not like Ahmose seeing her like this.  She took his breath away.

Walking toward
s him, fresh from the shower, the shirt only highlighting her naked body rather than hiding it, Starla raised a hand to slick back her long dark hair that was still dripping. 

Jacob still
wore the harem-style pants common for people in this village, grateful for the loose fit that allowed extra room.  His cock was already in position.

“You know I’m going to get inside you immediately, right?” he said as she approached.

Her eyes smiled the answer.  “I expect it.”

“You’ll have to take another shower before last meal.”

“No, I won’t.   I want to smell you on me all night.  Tonight, I want you to take me here in our new home.  Like you will every night for the rest of our lives.”

“Hmm.”  Jacob got up to meet her.  “In that case…practice makes perfect.”

They met in the middle of the garden, and Starla jumped on him, twisting her arms around his neck.  He slipped his hands under her buttocks and lifted her up as she pulled herself against him.  She buried her teeth in his neck as he used one hand to drop the harem pants and fitted himself into her.  They both fell onto the cool grass.

“You smell so fucking good,” he whispered as he lifted his hips and moved slowly up and down inside her.   She drew harder on his blood, which compelled her to move faster against him, and he matched her speed.  They groaned together moments later before they came, Jacob just seconds before Starla, then their bodies dropped back, resting completely on the ground, tangled limb for limb.

She blew out an extended breath once she pulled away from his neck.

“Buddy, practice you do not need.  Stamina, you do.  Because I am
so
not finished with you.”

“Lady, I can match you move for move.  And for a much longer period of time because I think that little boy in there is goi
ng to make things harder for you soon.”

Starla’s
hand went immediately to her belly.

“Yeah.  Eillia said it got pretty rough the final two weeks.”

“See?  I win already.”

She threaded her hands through his hair that had grown considerably since they’d been here.

“We all have, husband.  Let’s get some food.  You give me a ferocious appetite.”

He rolled over
and up, lifted her into his arms and carried her into the house.  This see-though top was all he wanted to see her in right now, but there was no way she was leaving the house like that.  Jacob watched her as she slowly peeled away the damp fabric and disappeared into the big walk-in closet that held only the few items they’d brought with them from France.

Ahmose glanced up as Starla and Jacob entered the garden for final meal.  They looked beyond happy.

H
e had almost messed this up.  After all those centuries of waiting for his Shoazan to show up, she had finally done so.  On a hot night, just above his village beside the spectacular Victoria Falls, Ahmose had watched the woman fated to be his woman lay naked, drying off from the heavy sprays of the waterfalls.  As destiny had proclaimed, she had finally come to him.

He’d found her, nearly won her, and the
n lost her to another vampire before he even had a chance to put a child within her belly.  And he’d been devastated.  She had, too, but her heart has already been won by a lesser vampire, a made vampire, who she could not even breed with.  And even though the universe promised her to him, love and free will had taken her from him and the children destined to be.

His Shoazan, the new vampire Starla, had returned to France with Jacob Ward to begin their life because Ahmose could not bring himself to force her to stay with him. 
He cared deeply for her and had already done her and Jacob a terrible wrong.  So he had accepted his fate…the childless leader of his people.  A failure.  At least he hoped to earn back some of the honor he lost by helping a crazy woman named Crystal kidnap Jacob in the hope that once he was gone, Starla would return and take her place of destiny by his side. 

Only weeks later, though, Ahmose knew how wrong he was, knew he could not live with that horrible choice, so he had personally gone
to rescue Jacob, compelled the crazy Crystal to spend the rest of her life in the menial job of late-night waitress, and come home to his empty life.

Then, just a month ago, Starla had called him and told him to fly to France immediately.  A member of her new family was a geneticist, and a first blood vampire, and would inseminate Starla with
Ahmose’s seed.  The three children
would
be born.

Ahmose admitted, only to himself, that he had cried that night when he found out that his family might not be lost after all.

The three would parent the children of the moon together.  Ahmose hadn’t thought it could work out, but now he knew it would.

So, in spite of all the craziness it took to get them here, their lives were enriched by new friendships and the extraordinary children who would come over the next three years. 

Watching the two new members of his family, Ahmose thought Starla glowed, and almost literally.  Her skin had a sheen of early morning sunlight and rose petals.  It was not uncommon for a first blood’s eyes to glow, but rare for a made vampire like Starla.  Yet hers did.  Of course, as one of the few humans who could bear a vampire child, and now carrying one inside her, who knew what kind of talents she might display.  First blood magics were powerful and the child inside her would manifest through her.

He would have loved her and made her his queen.  Even now, watching her laugh, coming toward
s him with Jacob, their hands clasped, he felt the sting of loss.  But the seer and empath had told them they were meant to be parents together, they were not meant to be lovers.  Ahmose understood the will of destiny.

He still thought her smile could light up the nighttime sky. 
As they approached, she released Jacob’s hand and came to him with a hug.

Jacob looked away.

Koen had finally gotten the call.  His team had found her.  Alisa.

Alisa Ison.  Reporter for a small, well respected newspaper in Chicago.  The morning the call came through that they finally located her, he’d stared at the publicity photo sent to his cell phone to verify it was her. 

His memory had been unreliably inaccurate.  The face that haunted him was even more lovely than the memory trapped in his mind these past three months.  The second he saw those brilliant eyes, that disarming smile, his body clenched and his respiration shot up.  He hadn’t expected a reaction of this magnitude.  He’d missed her more than he’d let himself accept.

Well.  Time to go get her. So he’d immediately alerted his pilot they would be flying to the U.S. 
That night.

TEN

Alisa threw her bag down on her large beige sofa, kicked off her shoes, and pushed open the balcony doors.  Since she was on the eighth floor, she didn’t worry about locking the wide French doors.  There were times lately she just left them open because there was no reason not to.

Now, though, she really needed the fresh air.  Lately, she’d been seeking the outside, barely able to tolerate being inside for more than a few minutes.  She knew why.  Because she was going to be trapped inside for so much of the rest of her life, however brief.  She had always been an outside girl, anyway, passionate about anything natural.

And her clothes.  They
had been feeling too restrictive.  She dropped her dress and reached for a sheer robe she kept on the lounge chair so she could get out of cloying clothing as soon as she got home.  Her bra joined the dress on the tile.  No one could see her, although she wasn’t worried about it even if they did.  This body,
her
body, was fit and beautiful now.  She would miss it so much when it no longer worked.

Another round of frustrating doctor’s visits.  Assessing her condition, they said.  It was nauseating.  Because when it came right down to it, there was little they could do.  So she’d made the decision.  She was finished with medical intervention for now.  It wasted precious time and energy she no longer had.  She would take the meds he already
prescribed that he
thought
might help because in spite of the odds, she still had a glimmer of hope. 

Alisa had been wandering in the park across from her apartment building for the past hour, watching late evening joggers as she waited for the sunset.  She’d decided to never miss another one.

Breathing in the cool night air, she leaned far out on the railing again, as she had taken to doing lately.  Was that incautious?  She didn’t care.  Somewhere inside her she felt as if she was invisible to the fates now.  She could do anything she wanted and nothing else would happen to her because the universe had done its worst.  It wasn’t interested in her now.  She was planning to jump off a mountain wearing only a wingsuit.  She knew she’d be okay.  And she was going to jump out of an airplane again, too, because the first time fear had been mixed with the elation.  She wanted just the elation.  Although she might not have a lot of time left, by God, they were going to be sweet days.

For the first time since yesterday
, she actually felt hungry.  Her favorite mom and pop Italian restaurant was just at the edge of the city near a cute little flower shop she loved.  That was the plan.  Go to Mama Giovanni’s for some lasagna, the best on the planet, and get a huge bouquet of sunflowers from Floral Magic.

She pushed away from the railing,
her eye on a plane circling to land at O’Hare.  So beautiful, the way the big awkward heavy-looking plane glided so effortlessly on the air. 
Everything
was beautiful to her now.

Glancing up as he approached the tall apartment building, Koen knew she was up there on the eighth floor.  He’d watched her come in several minutes ago.   And although he wasn’t sure how welcome he would be, something inside him acted like a powerful magnet, and yanked him forward, powering him up the stairs until he stood in front of the door eight floors up with the curly embellished number 817.  He couldn’t wait to see her and yet he hesitated.

What if the connection they felt so strongly in Paris was gone?   What if that magic they both had felt in each other’s arms was just fleeting…a memory too wonderful to be true?  Only one way to know…

He ignored the door chime and rapped on the heavy door, the sensation of his knuckles on the wood satisfying as he tried to be patient and waited for her response.

As Alisa turned to get dressed again to go out for her lasagna dinner, a loud knock on her door interrupted the silence. 
Who the hell?
  She’d just left Percy, and no one else knew she was in town.  She walked barefoot to the door, curling her toes into her soft carpet, and called out.

“Who’s there?”

Complete silence for a few moments concerned her.   Then a voice she never expected to hear again came clearly through the paneled door.

“It’s me.”

Koen.
  His voice was deeper than she remembered, but she recognized it instantly.

Alisa stepped back away from the door and stared at the slab with a peephole at eye level.  Sh
aking her head, she was frozen in place. 
How?

Then he spoke again.

“Alisa, open the door.”

She hesitated again. 
How the hell had he found her?  Why had he come? 
He shouldn’t be here, she shouldn’t
allow
him to be.  Koen was just her perfect fantasy, how could he be here?

“Koen?” she whispered.

Forcing herself to move forward, she turned the deadbolt and pulled the door wide.

He heard her vo
ice and his breathing quickened.  It was like Paris all over again.  Her voice struck him and pushed him back. 
Alisa.
  On the other side of the door he so desperately wanted to shred because it stood between them.

When it opened and he saw her, only partially dressed, breathing hard too, a look on her face of complete elation, he was lost.  He surged forward as she came to him
, and they met just outside her door.  Koen drew in her scent, and as his body recognized her, knew, at that moment, he would never let her go again.

She just stood there, absorbing his face, that beautiful face, those eyes like no one else on earth could have.  When he smiled, she launched herself into his arms, legs around his waist, arms so tight it hurt.  She buried her face against his.

Koen could feel the moisture as tears slid down her cheeks and onto his.  He held her, just as tight, until he realized he might hurt her, so he loosened his grip, but only slightly.  They stayed like that for moments, unaware of time passing around them.  When Alisa finally pulled back and looked into his eyes, she wasn’t crying, but her huge blue eyes glistened.

“How did you get here?  I didn’t leave you with anything except my first name.  How did you find me?”

“I think the question is why did it take so long?  There was never any question as to whether.  You make a guy work for it, beautiful.”

“I never intended to.  You shouldn’t be here.  Koen, you should never have looked for me.  I thought I made that clear.”

“After our night together, there wasn’t anything on this earth that would have stopped me.  I told you to stay that night.”

“I told you I couldn’t.”

A door opened across the hall and Alisa’s neighbors came out, a middle-aged couple who’d been in the building as long as she had.  They stared at their quiet, proper neighbor, barely dressed, with her legs wrapped around the biggest man they had ever seen.  Koen didn’t care, but he noticed the man staring at Alisa’s almost bare breasts and pushed into her apartment, nudging the door closed with his foot.

He didn’t put her down and she showed no interest in being put down until he crossed the room near the
sofa and she wiggled free.  Once she slid down and her feet touched the floor, she shoved him onto the sofa and climbed on top of him.  Koen landed with a “woof,” grateful she crawled on top of him because even those few seconds away from her had already felt too long.

Alisa twisted her arms back around his neck and kissed him aggressively.  Later, she would admit there was no other word for it…she
attacked
him.

Which was okay, because he counter-attacked as they sprawled on the
sofa that was too small for him, bodies nearly merged, as they continued explorations with their tongues.

Eventually, Alisa sat up on the huge man who was only partially supported on the normal-sized
furniture.

“I can’t believe you’re here.  I’ve been in a constant state of arousal since we were together.”

Koen’s eyes sharpened.

“Have you been with someone else?” he asked quietly, violent worry in his eyes.

“No.  God, no, Koen.  I guess I didn’t make myself clear, but you were not only the first in a long time, you are my last.  After you, no one would ever be enough.  I didn’t want anyone else, believe me.”

She paused and hated herself for asking.  “And you?  Has ther
e been anyone else?”  There should have been.  She hoped there had.  And hoped there hadn’t.

He shook his head, his hands sliding around her waist and slowly up her sides.

“I told you.  I told you to find love.” Alisa admonished.

He was silent again.  Their eyes met and nei
ther spoke.  Then he said, quietly, as if he could barely believe it himself, “I think I already have.”

Alisa pushed off him, and went back out to the balcony, moving fast, in need of air.  She was breathing too deeply, almost hyperventilating.  He followed her.

“Alisa…” he started to say.

She turned on him. 
He was so big, his presence ate up the space of her balcony.   Her eyes traveled over this amazing man, standing in front of her, his jeans showing his arousal.  Right now, she wanted him more than anything else on this earth.

“I can’t…you shouldn’t…”  She turned toward
s the city and looked out at the city lights dancing in the river as she looked over the edge of the apartment building.

Once she got her brea
thing under control, she turned back to him.  Her chest was still rising and falling and Koen could barely take his eyes off her breasts, full and high, the nipples erect, waiting for his lips and teeth.  He raised his eyes to hers.

“You can’t love me,” she said quietly.

“I can’t change how I feel.  I don’t want to. And I know you feel the same way.”  He watched her expression for a few moments to confirm he was right.  He knew he was.  “Why can’t I love you?  What is stopping us?  Tell me, Alisa.”

He could see the indecision in her eyes before she turned back around and faced away from him
.  He almost broke his promise to himself and compelled her to tell him the truth.  Something was wrong.

“It’s just…you have to trust me, Koen.  I can’t be in a relationship right now.  I can’t let you fall in love with me.”

He nodded, watching the water sparkle below.

“Okay.”  He paused. Then again, “Okay.  Well, how about we just fuck the night away?  I came all this way.  The least you could do is let us enjoy each other.”

She shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I think it’s a fucking brilliant idea.   Look, you know you love what I do to you.  How is that a bad idea?”

“I can’t let you fall for me.”

He pushed closer to her, but Alisa backed up until the railing and open sky met her back.

Just inches in front of her, Koen leaned down and whispered in her ear.  “Too late.”

He undid her.  He overwhelmed her.  His scent assaulted her and she jumped him for the second time.

“Where’s your bed?” he barked gruffly.

“Inside.  To the right.”

He moved so quickly she didn’t even realize she was already on the bed, her robe discarded on the floor and his fingers sliding around the edge of her satin boy-cut panties.

“Disclaimer.  I don’t want you to feel you have to do this just because I flew around the world for you.  If you really don’t want this, I will leave.  So. Tell me.  Do you want me to make love to you?”

Alisa lay there silently looking at him above her, his thighs pressed against her legs.

“More than anything.  Thoroughly.  And take your time.  If we’re going to do this, we may as well do it right.”

He gave her a slight nod, moving his fingers slowly around the edge of the panties.  He slid them deeper, the tips brushing the lips of her sex, firing off every nerve in the area.  He stopped and looked back at her with a wicked smile.  Suddenly the panties were gone too.

“You’re sure?”

“Oh, hell, Koen, would you just get inside me?  And why the hell are you still dressed?  I want you naked.  Now!”  She sat up and ripped his shirt open, unzipped his pants and slid her hand in to touch him.  His cock reacted instantly to her touch.  Koen exploded out of the bed, threw his damaged shirt on the floor and pulled his pants off to stand before her as she asked, naked, breathing hard, his erection full.  Alisa pushed up on her knees and came to the edge of the bed to pull him down.  She rolled him over, then eased on top of him.

“You are a dream I have every night.  You can’t be here.  But if you really are, don’t move.”

He didn’t.   His eyes locked on hers while his hands rested at the top of her thighs, his thumbs moving towards her center, where they met right where she needed them to and moved back and forth along that exquisitely sensitive opening.  Alisa gasped and lifted up, then slid down over his penis, hard and hot inside her, like in the dreams that had left her wet many mornings since Paris.