Reclaimed

by Diane Alberts

  He continued to move in her as he stroked her. Pressure built up inside her again. She would die. But man, it would be the best. Death. Ever. She cried out and met his every push as burning need encompassed her, the greedy need to feel more pleasure, to fall to pieces once more. He cried out her name, and as she watched his face as he climaxed, she let go of herself and joined him, allowing satisfaction to overtake her once more.

  Lightning flashing illuminated her closed eyes, thunder boomed, and the house groaned under the force of the winds outside, but neither occupant noticed. She was too busy staring at him in awe, and he did the same.

  When they both crashed back to reality, she giggled as she realized a freak storm had wiped out the power. Apparently, the darkness that had overcome her during sex turned out to be more than a climax. It had been a power outage. Isaac groaned in despair and hid his face.

  “Oh, don’t do that! Obviously, we did a good job if we caused that to happen.” She wiggled her eyebrows, but he still looked bashful. “Don’t make me hurt you, boy,” she warned.

  She finally got a reaction out of him, even if it had come from laughter at her weakness. “Now, that is a funny thought,” he teased as his lips quirked. His eyes were sparkling.

  “Oh, you think I’m amusing, do you?” She jumped on him and tickled him, but only got a grunt for her efforts. Okay, not ticklish. She studied him, determined to get a reaction. “I have other ways of torturing you, you know,” she whispered in his ear. Her fingers trailed down his taut abdomen, and when he realized her intentions, he bolted into a sitting position. She giggled at his reaction.

  “Oh no, you don’t.” He gripped her wrist firmly and pulled it close to him, making her drape across his chest even more closely. “Let’s give England a break from the storms for a little while.” He kissed the tender inside of her wrist and smiled at her.

  God, she loved him.

  “We’ll figure it out, don’t worry. We just need more practice. Given time, we can probably avoid the storms entirely, and instead it’ll be sunny out.”

  “I don’t think you’ll ever not cause storms with me.” He smirked. “The weather reflects my emotions, and how I am feeling at a particular period of time. When I am inside of you, I do not feel sunny and calm.”

  She laughed. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t strive for sunshine, huh?”

  “Hell, no,” Isaac mumbled. He tackled her beneath him and pressed his lips to hers. When it started getting too passionate, she regretfully pulled her mouth away from his. This didn’t deter him; he just kissed a trail down her neck, and suspiciously seemed to be heading for her breasts.

  “I thought you were giving the people of England a rest from the storm.” She breathed deeply as her heartbeat quickened and her legs trembled.

  “Screw the people of England,” he muttered. A low rumble of thunder boomed in the distance.

  “Well, in that case….”

  His moan matched the loud boom of thunder outside as she flipped him over on his back and straddled his hips.

  “Let’s give them a show,” she whispered.

  ***

  The storm passed, and the sun shone brightly. The weathermen of England were completely mystified, and even more so frustrated. Sabrina, on the other hand, had never felt happier, or more deliciously, perfectly, completely satisfied. The lights flickered and turned back on, and she wiggled her eyebrows and asked, “Wanna go again?”

  He laughed and smacked her butt. He jumped out of her reach and declared, “I need food first. I wouldn’t want to be found lacking due to hunger.”

  “Ow, that hurt.” She pouted as she lurched to her feet and rubbed her butt while grimacing. It didn’t really hurt, but if he thought it did, maybe he’d kiss her to make it better. She sneaked a peek at him, only to see him pulling on his pants with his back to her. She sighed and gave up her show of pain, and dressed before following him into the kitchen.

  As they prepared dinner, Sabrina studied Isaac as he strolled around the kitchen. He wore only a pair of jeans, and every movement of his muscles taunted her. She found it hard to focus on cutting boring potatoes. He looked like much more fun to watch. His chest muscles flexed as he prepared the steak with seasoning, and his arms contracted as well.

  Mmm, she’d love to run her fingers over those arms, to kiss his chest….

  “Here, give me the knife before you cut off your finger,” he joked as he pulled it from her fingers, effectively ending her delightful fantasy.

  She jabbed his shoulder with her finger, scowled, and asked, “Why are you always taking my knives away?”

  “Why are you always carrying them, and not paying attention?”

  “Hey, I’m distracted, what can I say? It’s not often I have a half-naked immortal cooking in my kitchen.” Expecting him to laugh, she got surprised instead to see him turn somber. Oh boy, here comes the talk.

  Crap, take a sip of wine, girl.

  “I’m sorry for how I acted. I have no excuse, except to say I love you so much. Sometimes my thoughts are nowhere near rational when it comes to you.”

  “It’s okay. I’m sure I would have been upset if I walked in on you kissing someone else, too.”

  “Yeah, but for me to have left you like I did. I didn’t even stop to see if you got inside. It’s unforgivable,” he whispered.

  “Really, it’s okay. I didn’t stay out for long.” She flushed when he arched an eyebrow. “Or, it didn’t seem long. I honestly don’t remember.”

  “I got told two hours.”

  “Oh.” She inhaled.

  “But when I came across the two of you, I have never been so angry in my life. I felt ready to kill him with my bare hands. Even when I found him and Amelia naked together, I didn’t get so livid.”

  “You were angrier over me? Is it wrong of me to say it pleases me to hear that?”

  He laughed. “No, I think it’s fine. Natural, even.”

  “Good, because it does.” She kissed him and trailed a hand down his chest to rest upon his heart. His heartbeat accelerated at her touch, and she smiled.

  “How about we make a pact?” he drawled.

  “A pact?”

  “Yes. How about from now on, we only kiss each other. At least, until one of us decides otherwise.”

  “Oh, I’m not gonna change my mind,” she whispered. “You’re stuck with me.”

  “Is that a promise, lass?”

  “Aye, it is.” She mimicked his soft accent.

  He chuckled and replied, “Music to my ears.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Later that night, Sabrina jerked awake and gasped for air. Isaac’s pale face hovered over hers, and she groaned as she covered her eyes. She tried to jump to her feet, but collapsed on the floor. Pain coursed throughout her body, and she felt paralyzed.

  Isaac rushed to her side and pulled her into his arms. “What’s wrong? What did you dream this time? Is it Elijah again? Louisa?”

  She clung to Isaac, needing the feel of his arms around her to assure herself he hadn’t been hurt. Last time she’d seen him had been in her dream, and he’d been on the ground, dead for all intents and purposes. She never wanted to see anything even remotely like it ever again.

  “I saw it,” she whispered against his chest. “I saw Amelia die. I don’t know why, or how, but I saw it.”

  His muscles tightened beneath her cheek at her words. “How could that be?” he breathed.

  She relaxed against his body and sighed in relief. The pain faded rapidly from her body, and she moved her fingers in careful consideration. Yup, definitely better. Now, if only the horrors she had been forced to witness would leave so easily as well.

  “I don’t know. I got trapped in Amelia’s body. I saw it all—felt it all. The pain. Oh my God, the pain. It felt horrible.”

  “What did you see?” he whispered. She had the distinct impression he didn’t really want to hear what she had to say, but felt he should. “I can tell you how accurate it sounds.
”

  “The sun shined down on me, and in the dream, I actually became Amelia. So everything Louisa did to Amelia, she did to me, too. Does that make sense?”

  “Yeah,” he said in a broken voice.

  He ran his hands down her back as he listened to her, and she felt her body relax into his even more. His fingers were pure heaven. Pulling her thoughts away from his tender ministrations, she resolved to get the story told as fast as possible, and hopefully she could begin to forget it as well. “My nose hurt—turned out it was bloody. Louisa came over. It surprised me to see her. I remember worrying about whether you were there, too.” She paused and looked at him. “She worried about how you were doing, if you had found out already.”

  “You or her? You keep switching back and forth.” Isaac pursed his lips and studied her.

  “It doesn’t matter.” She waved her hand in front of her face. “In my dream, we are interchangeable. I became her.” At his tight nod, she continued. “Louisa grabbed me by the hair and threw me. I landed at Elijah’s feet. When I looked past him, I saw you. You looked dead. Your neck had been twisted to the side, and it looked broken.” She covered her eyes and moaned. “It hurts to see you there, Isaac. I can’t stand having the picture in my head.”

  He squeezed her. “It’s okay. Try not to focus on it.” He smoothed back her hair and kissed her forehead. “I’m here.”

  She took a calming breath. “I asked if you were dead, and Louisa laughed. She said she had other plans for you, but by the end of her fun I’d be dead. Elijah tried to keep her from me, but she grabbed him and shoved him against a tree. She broke another smaller tree, and slammed it through his shoulder so he’d be stuck there. Forced to watch.”

  “Jesus,” he whispered as his face paled.

  “First, she broke one arm, followed by the other, before I passed out. I could still feel the pain, and hear everything going on. Even unconsciousness didn’t give me any relief.

  “I heard Louisa go to Elijah and bite him. I think she worried whether he bled too heavily and would die,” she said in an afterthought.

  “Probably. It wouldn’t be any fun for her…if he died when she didn’t pay attention, he wouldn’t get to live through eternity with her.” Bitterness laced through his tone, reminding her of all the evil woman had put him through.

  “Yeah, it makes sense. Anyway, she broke both my legs and I looked at Elijah. She tried to focus on him as she died. Elijah screamed, and my chest hurt. I looked down and saw a dagger sticking out of it.”

  Isaac paled before asking, “Do you remember what it looked like?”

  Remember? I’ll never forget.

  “It looked silver, and had a jagged edge. One of those really lethal-looking weapons you see only in movies? On the hilt it had two blue topazes side by side. Above them was a ruby, and below, a diamond.”

  Isaac cursed and nodded. “The two blue topazes are me and Elijah, the ruby is my mother, and the diamond my father. We each received one on our seventeenth birthday.”

  She couldn’t help but be shocked Louisa had used Elijah’s treasured gift as a weapon to finish off Amelia even though she’d proved herself to be a ruthless monster. “I see. Well, after that she died. And I woke up. I could feel the pain as she felt it. It hurt. It was excruciating. And the look on Elijah’s face. It killed me. So horrible.”

  She shuddered and buried her face against his chest, inhaling his scent in a plea for sanity. God, the pictures would not stop barraging her. Isaac lay on the ground, neck bent; Elijah crying out her name while pinned to a tree; Louisa taunting her as she broke her apart, bone by bone; the dagger sticking out of her chest. And the pain—oh God, the pain.

  Isaac pulled her against him again and tucked her head under his chin. “Yes, it was.”

  “Where is the clearing? Is it the one you don’t like me being in? The one where I found you the other night? The same one from my dreams?”

  Isaac sighed, and replied, “Yes, it is. In your dreams, Elijah is showing it to you like Amelia remembered it. It was a meadow we often visited.”

  “So you all died there?”

  “Yes,” he stated.

  “But if you were there, then you lived near here? And so did Amelia?”

  He tensed and looked away. “I lived down the road,” he admitted sheepishly.

  “And now?”

  “Still do,” he replied.

  “And Amelia?”

  “Are you sure you really want to know?”

  “Um, yes?” She wondered why she wouldn’t want to know.

  “A few thousand feet from here.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You’re living in what used to be Amelia’s father’s barn.”

  “Oh. My. God.”

  “Yeah, I know. I couldn’t believe it when you told me where you lived. Unbelievable. Why did you pick this place?”

  “I don’t know, it just seemed…right. Like it had been made for me.” She caught the look of amusement on his face and glared at him. “Oh, shut up.”

  “Sorry.” He laughed.

  “What happened to the house? I’m trying to remember. Oh, right, a tornado took it down.” Isaac blushed and looked away. “Are you blushing? Why in the world would you be blushing?” And suddenly, it dawned on her. She gasped out loud and exclaimed, “It was you! You caused the tornado, didn’t you?”

  He grimaced and nodded. “I hadn’t yet learned how to control my emotions. I’d been moping about the house, and the next thing I knew, a tornado came ripping through. Luckily, no one had been inside.”

  “Don’t feel bad. It’s not your fault. It’s not like you do these things on purpose.”

  “No, I don’t.”

  “Can you do it on purpose? Cause tornadoes?”

  Isaac paused and studied her. “I’ve tried to create tornadoes here and there. I’ve gotten close, but it’s not easy. It takes a lot of energy to produce a storm from willpower alone. When I’m angry it just kind of happens. That’s when it’s dangerous, because I’m not in control of the situation. When I’m purposely causing a storm, or wind, I can decide how strong I need it to be. If I lose control, or my emotions cause storms, it can be devastating.”

  She paled, and bit her lip nervously. “So that’s what made you nervous earlier.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t want to bring a tornado on our heads.”

  She nodded. “Is there anything I can do to help?”

  “Hmm…not look, or feel, so good?”

  She scoffed. “Not possible, sorry.”

  He smiled. “I didn’t think so. Now, back to bed for you. Hopefully your dreams will leave you alone for once.”

  Sabrina’s head spun busily with all the new information she’d learned. And he wanted her to sleep? Was he insane? “I’ll never fall asleep. Are you crazy?”

  “I think you’d be surprised. Lie down and close your eyes. If you can’t sleep, I’ll stay up, too. Just try for me?” he pleaded.

  “Fine,” she gave in. “But it’s not going to work, so be prepared for a late night.”

  She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

  ***

  Elijah studied the turbulent waters below as he perched on the edge of the cliff. It’s not like he needed to worry about falling in. Hell, if only it were so easy.

  Hunger gnawed at him, yet he didn’t feel in the mood for hunting. He liked to wait as long as he could, to deny the beast in him what it most wanted.

  Blood.

  It tortured him alone, yet he still persisted. He enjoyed the pain it brought about, enjoyed feeling something. Something besides the misery that always plagued him over the loss of Amelia. And now, Sabrina too. She had chosen Isaac, and he’d been left to wander the world alone and miserable once more.

  When she had come back into his life, he had seen a light at the end of the tunnel. He had pictured a future, bright and sunny, by her side. He’d change her into a vampire, of course, because life without her would be meaningless.
He damn well wouldn’t have watched her die again. Hell no, he’d seen it already. And never, ever again would he watch that.

  But in one sure move, she had ripped those dreams from him by falling in love with Isaac. And really, he couldn’t blame her. Isaac had always been much purer of heart than him. He was a monster, after all. One who should die. This brought him back to his earlier thought—death.

  He stiffened as he studied the water. Someone approached, and he knew exactly who. He’d recognize her stench anywhere.

  “Come to push me in, Louisa?” he asked, not bothering to turn around to face her.

  Her laughter tinkled through the air as she approached. She stopped just short of arm’s reach. She might be confident, but she was not reckless enough to stand on the edge of the cliff.

  Not like him.

  “Now, why would I do that, Elijah? To ruin a beauty such as yours would surely be a sin.”

  “The fact we exist is surely a sin,” he growled in response.

  “You always say the same things. Can you not accept your lot in life?”

  “If I had a life to accept, maybe I would. But I’m not alive, Louisa.”

  “You aren’t?” Her voice shook as she cried, “Do you get angry? Sad? Can you still love?”

  “Do not speak to me of love, Louisa.” He stepped toward her, ready to pound her into the ground.

  “I happen to know for a fact you can, and so can I. So you tell me how we are not living right now?”

  “Hatred for you doesn’t make me feel alive,” he insisted.

  “Maybe if you allowed yourself to feel happy every once in a while, to care about something other than your dead whore, you’d feel more alive.”