He could not bear any more. He pulled her into his arms. She came easily as if she had no energy left to fight him. “I was wrong.”
“You were an asshole.”
He shut his eyes and kissed the top of her messy head. “Yes, I believe that is the correct term in this case.” He would welcome any number of vulgar names for himself at the moment. His lips went to her temple and traveled down to the curve of her cheek. “I will never leave you again, Anna. You are my mate.” His hand went to her soft belly. “This is our child. No man and no God will ever convince me I do not belong in this house with you. You are my family.”
She began to cry again, but this time a bit of life seeped back into her as her arms slowly squeezed around him. “I would not have gone to Cain. I would have left.”
“I know. And I would have followed you. Wherever you go, Annalise, I will be by your side, always. Eawichkeit.”
“Eawichkeit, Adam.”
“Do you forgive me?”
“No, but there is time for that. When the pain fades I’m sure I will, but for now I am still angry.”
It hurt, to know his words could not rectify what he had broken between them. Still, he admired her honesty. He would show her in action, rather than word, that he was an irrevocable part of her soul she could trust and depend on. It would just take time. Time was what he had most of. “Be angry with me, ainsicht. Be angry with me for as long as it takes. I will rebuild your trust in me. I promise you that. And I will show you I am a man who will never break his promises to you again.”
* * * *
Eleazar went to the door just as dawn’s light broke over the amethyst-tinted fields, bathing the earth in livelier shades of russet greens. Whoever was knocking must have quite urgent business. He pulled the door open and barely escaped being knocked in the face by the pounding fist.
“Silus.”
“Bishop King. I am sorry to bother you at this hour, but it is an emergency. My wife has gone missing.”
Eleazar knew Silus well enough from dealing with the older males in his family. He was no expert on the particulars of the man, but he knew he was an obedient member of The Order who attended service regularly and kept his land well maintained.
He welcomed the man into his home and waved him to a seat at the table. “When was the last time you have seen your wife?”
“At the wedding yesterday, just before supper. I have knocked on every door I could reach, and I am beginning to suspect she has left the farm. Other than chaperoned trips to town, my wife has no experience in the English world. She will be afraid and alone. I have come to ask the council’s permission to leave the farm so that I may search for her.”
“What makes you so certain she has left the farm? Did you quarrel before she left?”
“No. I believe she was displeased with me after I addressed her discourteous behavior before the ceremony, but I could not allow her to speak so disrespectfully to you, sir.”
“To me?” Eleazar did not know what Silus was speaking of.
“Yes. You and Larissa shared a clash of words just before you had Cain removed.”
“Larissa? Larissa Hartzler?”
“Larissa Hostetler,” the man corrected. “But yes, she is a Hartzler. She is my wife.”
Eleazar had forgotten the woman was married. He had not performed the ceremony, so he knew she was not bonded. “My mistake. I had forgotten your union with the Hartzler female.”
“Yes, well, we have only been married a year,” Silus shook his head as if to get back on track. “Do you think the council will approve my going after her? I would like to search for her before too much time passes. She had my blood yesterday. So long as she does not get too far too fast, I should be able to track her.”
Eleazar steepled his fingers and looked at the man for a moment. Typically in such a situation he would give the permission to retrieve one’s wife without even consulting the council, yet something had him hesitating. Some instinct had him wavering to allow this man to chase his wife, but Eleazar could not for the life of him understand why.
He focused on the other man’s thoughts and read intense frustration. The man was furious with his wife’s disobedience and had already decided she would be kept in the house for an undetermined length of time once she was returned to him. Eleazar knew she would suffer other punishment as well, but it was The Order’s policy not to get too involved with the private politics between husband and wife. It was of their beliefs that the males ruled the households, and the women were intended to honor and obey.
Eleazar held no respect for males who used force with females. He believed in the privacy of marriage, but he held more belief that over the course of evolution, the need for violence had faded. Any male of worth should be capable of taking his female in hand without actually laying a hand on her. Females were fragile and meant to be protected. For some reason, he felt sending Larissa’s husband after her would be a mistake.
“No, I do not believe you leaving the farm is necessary.”
“But—”
“I am planning on traveling out of the area in the next few days. I will keep my eyes peeled for signs of your wife. You should remain here in case she returns.”
He could sense the other man’s displeasure with his decision. “I was not aware you were leaving. There was no announcement at the last meeting.”
That was because Eleazar had just made the decision while sitting there contemplating the young, unruly female. “It is confidential council business. I should not have even mentioned it to you. You, of course, will not say a word.”
“Of course not, sir.”
“Very good. Now, I suggest you visit the homes you have not inspected. Inform the others to contact you if they see your wife. At that point the most you can do is return home and wait.”
“I cannot help but think there is something more effective I could do. If we both searched for her—”
“No. If she is gone, I will find her.” He did not understand why he needed to be the one to locate the female, only that his instincts were shouting at him to find her before this man did.
Eleazar stood, intending to walk Silus out. His hand quickly reached for the other man as his body wavered, and he almost fell back into his seat. He cleared his head and focused on his footing. His head felt off, dormlich, dizzy.
“Bishop King, are you okay?” Silus asked as he steadied him.
“Yes. I’m sorry. My foot…it seemed to have caught on a nail in the floor.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. I’m sure my clumsiness is more a result of being woken up last night by your in-laws than anything else. Come, I will walk you out.”
* * * *
Had his carriage crashed? Where was he? He looked around for the wreckage of his buggy, but found nothing. No signs of his horse or even broken pieces of wood. How did he get to this place?
A breeze picked up the hair across his neck, and the wind seemed to sing. He turned and saw swirling instruments that moved and tinkled in the breeze. Clever mechanical sculptures of recycled metals twirled as the breeze passed through spokes and wheels suspended in trees and hanging from Shepherd’s hooks. Wind chimes he believed these sculptures were called.
He walked past the various dancing metals and came upon a tree covered in glass bottles of every magnificent color he could imagine. They were strung from every branch of the willow tree, catching rays of light and sending crystalline prisms and rainbows through the open air. Lovely.
He walked further, climbing up a slight hill of waving grass and saw a house. It was a busy place, pots and clay bowls stacked in piles and grouped by the hundreds. Colorful glass balls sat upon cement pillars. He looked into one plum-colored globe and saw his reflection shining back at him.
The swing of a door opening sounded in the distance. It sprung closed with a snap. He stilled as a woman with hair as white as snow stepped out onto the porch. She was speaking to someone he could not see. He wat
ched her, keeping his form camouflaged in the clutter of shiny balls and glazed pots.
Despite her white hair, she appeared youthful. Her skin seemed a contradiction of tanned and weathered flesh that still somehow maintained its smoothness. He found her pleasant to look at. Clothed in serviceable, men’s denim pants and a cotton shirt, her slender form boasted of confidence and pride Jonas did not often see in the women on the farm. Several strands of white hair had slipped loose from the loose tail she had tied. They waved in the breeze. She tucked a quill-like strand of hair behind her ear and that was when he noticed the telephone pressed to her cheek.
As she spoke, she moved around the porch. She busily sorted through clay pots. There was paint on her narrow thumb and under her nails. Her cracking voice carried to his ears, and he focused on her words. “Sweetheart, I’ll be fine. You just worry about my grandbabies. The doctor said it’s probably nothing.”
She paused a moment and listened. She chuckled. “You sound like your father. That man spent most of his days on this earth worrying about the next catastrophe. I told him then, that was no way to live a life and I’ll tell you the same now.”
She was quite beautiful. He would guess she was in her late sixties, yet there was a self-possessed sense of vitality about her.
“Of course I will call you the minute I hear back from the doctor. Who else would I call? Now, let me say hello to my sweet grandson I hear chattering beside you and then I have to go. I have a customer coming out to look at some paintings later this afternoon.”
As the woman spoke sweetly into the phone, he took a step back. He should not be here. He needed to get back. He did not want to know this place with sparkling sculptures and dry, singing winds.
His hands went to his head as he took another retreating step and then another. How did he leave? A white haze began to creep into his peripheral vision. The world began to falter. He blindly reached for balance in the sculpture to his left. His grasp slipped through the hard object like a knife through softened butter. What was happening? Was this a dream?
He wanted to go home, but he did not know how to escape this place, this retched dream. As panic charged his senses, Jonas covered his eyes from the mystic place and screamed, “Abilene!”
The singing wind and chiming sculptures faded until all he could hear was his heavy breathing. He kept his palms pressed into his eyes, afraid to see the world surrounding him.
“Jonas?”
At the sound of his wife’s voice, he slowly removed his shaky hands and opened his eyes. He was home, in his bed, beside his beautiful wife.
“Jonas? Are you ill? What has awakened you?”
His heart beat as his breath passed over his lips. His wife’s eyes scoured his face, and he slowly reached for her. He needed to know she was truly there. Tucking a long strand of blond hair behind her ear he said, “Nothing, my love. I thought I heard an animal scratching around downstairs. It is probably just Gracie. Go back to sleep.”
She rested her head across his bare chest, and he watched her slowly drift back to unconsciousness. He would not tell her. He could not.
Chapter 31
Annalise sat in the field and waited. He would be there soon. He never went longer than a week without coming to her, and it had been six days since she’d last seen him. There was a small flicker in the distance, and he suddenly took form there. She smiled. This was how it always was, always this same field, always starting far away and working closer.
He sat down on the grass mirroring her pose. He was a bit more graceful about finding a seat on the grass than she. Of course he did not have the slight bulge of a belly to maneuver around either.
Another flicker and his seated form disappeared and moved again. He appeared across from her. His smile was as mischievous as ever. “Beautiful Annalise, how are you?”
“Cain.” She smiled at him, glad to see him. “You are a rat for making me wait six days. I am well. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, many un-Christian things. It seems the Devil’s playground is actually quite entertaining.”
“Will you be coming home soon?”
“I will be there before the baby is born, but there is still time yet, correct?”
“Yes, you have time. I look too fat for two months, don’t you think?”
“You look beautiful. Healthy. Perhaps you are carrying twins.”
“Bite your tongue! Gracie assures me there is only one baby in there.”
He laughed. “Speaking of twins, how is my brother?”
Annalise sighed. “Perfect as ever. He is having a barn built closer to our house so he can set up a workshop. He finished the baby’s cradle this week and is now working on whittling a collection of toys to fill the chest he built last week.”
“He always did have a gift for building. Send him my love.”
“I will. And what of Larissa? Have you found her yet?”
He pursed his lips. “No. Has the Bishop returned?”
“Not yet. Silus is furious. He walks around like a storm cloud threatening to disobey the council’s order and go find his wife himself. Honestly, I do not know how your sister tolerated him for the better part of a year.”
“She holds more temperance than the rest of us, that’s for sure. I would have smothered him in his sleep after the first week.”
Anna laughed. “Your father seems to be recovering.”
Cain’s relief at her news was evident in the way his posture changed. “Did they determine what was ailing him?”
“The healer said it might have been some odd allergic reaction. Once Jonas finally admitted that something was wrong, your mother contacted the healer right away. It seems something is giving him headaches. The healer suspects it is some new fiber. They used a new bull for breeding this year and some suspect it is the cow dander in the air that is causing his illness. Your mother has forbidden him to work with the animals for the time being, and Adam has taken over his chores with the livestock. He says his head is worse during the day so he has been working mostly at night and keeping to the house during the day.”
“Is he sleeping?”
Anna sighed. “Not really. He works all night and he refuses to rest during the days. He seems to have some revulsion to sleep lately. It is noticeably aging him.”
“You tell him I said to get some rest for my mother’s sake. And tell my mother if I can be of help, all she needs to do is send you with the request.”
“I will.” Anna felt a tugging inside of her and smiled then blushed.
“I suppose that is my brother waking you up.”
She smiled bashfully. “You know he gets jealous of our dreams. He doesn’t like me to be away from him for too long.” She turned her head and thought for a minute. “Do you think we will always share this gift?”
“I hope so. I may not have gotten your heart, but I am glad I was able to keep this. I like our conversations, Annalise.”
“I like them, too, Cain.”
“Well, I had better be going. I know how my brother can be when he is feeling possessive of his mate.”
He began to flicker. “Cain?”
“Yes, sister?”
“You know you did get part of my heart. Just not the parts that already belonged to Adam.”
He smiled. “I know.”
Cain disappeared and the dreamscape faded to whiter shades of pale then to black. Anna arched as her husband kissed her neck and smiled. Without opening her eyes she teased, “You know you are a territorial male.”
He chuckled and nestled the soft spot of her throat below her hair. “I never claimed not to be. Do you know you smile in your sleep?”
“Do I?”
“Yes.” He kissed a line to her breasts, and she arched into his caressing mouth. “How is my brother?”
“He is well. He misses you.”
“I wonder if he misses you more.”
“We are friends, Adam. That is all.”
“I know. Yet for some reason a
fter you dream with him, I always have a need to remind you the difference between friends and mates. Shall I show you now?”
Her legs spread as he climbed over her, careful not to put too much weight on her abdomen. “Yes, please.” And he did.
His body molded to hers like a second skin. His mouth kissed and sucked and soon it was her mouth doing the same. His arms formed a strong band around her as he seated himself deep inside of her. There was no other place she would rather be than in his arms.
Over the past two months, Adam had more than proven he was a man worth trusting. He had shown Anna there was a God that watched over them, and she thanked The Almighty for giving her Adam every day. She also thanked him for the grace of forgiveness. She would never forget the way Adam had walked away from her on the evening of their wedding, but she had forgiven him. He was her mate, for now and for always, him and no one else.
“Adam, I need you,” she moaned as her tongue traced the strong cord of his neck.
He thrust deep inside of her, his soul attaching more to hers with each powerful stroke. “Take what you need, ainsicht. That is what I exist for, satisfying and loving you.”
Her fangs scraped over his pulse as her body tightened around him. Her heels pressed into his back, and he lifted her more onto his lap. As she moved up and down over him, their dewy flesh pressed together and heated. “I love you, Adam. You, for all eawichkeit.”
“For all eawichkeit, ainsicht. You are the one, my only one,” he said reverently and she sunk her fangs into his throat, sending them both into ecstasy.
THE END
WWW.LYDIAMICHAELS.ORG
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lydia Michaels is an author of paranormal and contemporary erotic romance. She lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, with her wonderfully supportive husband, beautiful daughter, and her two ridiculously spoiled dogs. After graduating college, Lydia became a mother and discovered her love for literature. The only hobby she enjoys more than reading exciting romance novels is writing them! If she is not off spending time with her family, you can usually find Lydia at her computer, working on her next story or hiding somewhere quiet with a great book. She loves taking a romantic plot with steamy chemistry and pushing the characters through an evolution of emotion by creating real-life challenges any hero or heroine worth their salt could overcome. She presses the bounds of love and surprises readers just when they think they have her stories figured out. Her books are intellectual, erotic, haunting, and always centered on love.
Called to Order [The Order of Vampyres 1] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 37