Panting with emotions she could barely contain, she kissed his hand before lacing their fingers together. “I’ll never go,” she promised shakily. “I’m gonna make life so good for you. I’m gonna be better than anyone you ever had.”
Sam had never wanted anyone more than she wanted Cole at that moment. He’d given her his heart completely and without reservation. Despite all that had happened to him, he was willing to trust her with his love. She was astounded that he trusted her so much, and she intended to prove to him why she was worthy of that faith.
Cole murmured his assurance that he already knew she was worthy of that, and so much more. Holding tightly to his lover’s hands, never looking away from her face, he began to move gently and slowly. He was accounted a stellar lover and he intended to use every skill at his disposal to show his love for her.
Sam was devoted to showing Cole how good loving this way could be. She swore that Cole would have no regrets for the gift of trust and love he was giving her or for whatever time they had together. She would prove to him that there was more to sex than simply two bodies seeking pleasure. She’d show him what real love was.
When the stars themselves exploded for them and they cried out their love for each other, Sam’s joy was boundless and she knew she had everything she could ever want.
Chapter Nine
As another month passed in safety and there was no sign of any of Falcon’s henchmen, Cole relaxed more and more—and thought of his former lover less and less. Sam watched joyfully as he built the life he wanted rather than the one fate and Falcon handed him. He bought art supplies and sketched life on the beach, and jotted down his thoughts in little spiral notebooks. Sam teased that he was a poet at heart and should never have tried to be anything else. He countered that all Irishmen were poets, and how could she have thought differently?
One exceptionally sunny afternoon while they were hiding from the bright daylight, he cajoled her into posing for him, laughing when she blushed and reddened. She stoutly declared that naked when she was in bed with him was one thing, but naked just so he could draw pictures was something else completely.
He laughed so hard at the convoluted morals of her statement that he spilled all of his pencils across the floor. They spent an hour searching them out from all the places they had rolled into and under. It wouldn’t have take so long, but Cole insisted on stopping after each five minutes of searching for fifteen minutes of kissing and cuddling.
As Cole’s life became more and more what he wanted, Sam’s life settled into a lazy, bohemian haze such as she’d never experienced before. Surprisingly, she found it as pleasant for her as it was for Cole. She’d never thought she’d like an easy, free-spirited existence. All the years of working and striving just to stay afloat had convinced her she was too driven to appreciate just waltzing through her days doing as she pleased. But under Cole’s influence, she discovered that her ambition had been nothing more than a survival instinct. She worked hard because she had to, not because she enjoyed it.
Freed for the first time in her life from concerns about money and bills and taking care of everything that life threw at her on her own, she rediscovered a lost interest in reading and history. While Cole recorded the life around them in drawing pads and notebooks and contemplated writing a novel about it all, Sam found herself immersed in the memoirs of a frontierswoman and rancher from Texas.
At some point, their interests collided and merged. Cole’s novel of their California beachfront life turned into an historical account of a cowgirl’s life. His remembered details of the time period, breathed life into what could have been a rather dry telling of early feminism. Sam’s knowledge and love for Texas gave the central character a verve that leapt from the pages Cole wrote. The tale of a woman forging a new life in a new world became as much the story of Sam and Cole as it was the history of some long-dead pioneer. Cole embodied his heroine with the sensibility and sheer will to live that he saw in Sam, showing through his flowing words how he perceived her.
Sam had never been so happy.
* * * *
The specter of unreality that had so troubled Sam faded and her old life began to seem the one that had been the dream, not the one she now lived. She and Cole discussed the possibility of contacting Wynn again and this time they agreed there was no reason for it. Neither had the least wish for Sam to return to her world or her old life, though Cole tried to be rational about it at first.
“I’m sure you have a great many reasons to return,” he said, staring out the bedroom window while he held her a little too tightly.
Samantha didn’t protest that he was squeezing her. It comforted her as she thought of life back in Odessa. There was nothing waiting for her back in Texas. There were a few friends, Lurleen, a little apartment, and some relatives that probably wouldn’t even notice she was gone. There was no lover waiting; there had been no boyfriend for a long time now. There’d been no one special since high school really, no one that mattered. Over all, there wasn’t much back there. Her life before Cole was empty.
“I don’t have any reason to go back. Not a single one that I can think of. I’d rather stay here with you.” She drew a long, shuddering breath and let Cole’s relief flood her mind.
“Thank God!” He buried his face in her hair. “I know you can hear everything I’m thinking,” he said as violet fire swirled through his eyes. “But I want to say this out loud.” He pulled back and looked at her seriously. “I have fallen in love with you, Samantha Bailey. I made the right decision when I decided to take you into hiding with me to see if we had a chance as some sort of relationship. If I tried to romance Falcon again, I have no doubt it would end up just as it did before. She would simply manipulate everything to her own ends. She’d only use me and in the end, one, if not both of us, would die.”
He didn’t need to say that he would be the one to end Falcon’s life. Sam knew that saying the words hurt too much.
Instead he shrugged elegantly. “She never really loved me. I was simply a means to extract revenge on her father, and I played the fool admirably.”
Sam wanted to console him somehow but she didn’t know how. She knew everything he was saying was true. Falcon Matthews had wanted to rule as a vampire queen and when that was denied her, she’d used Cole’s infatuation to strike back at Wynn. She blamed her father for denying her transformation into a vampire and the power that went with that transformation. It had warped her thinking until all she could focus on was retribution. Cole’s love hadn’t mattered to her except as a way to twist him to fall in with her schemes. By the time Cole realized she didn’t care about him, that she never had, it was too late and he’d been ostracized by his vampire family and stood awaiting execution. Falcon’s lies had ultimately led to his death.
Sam reached out and touched his fingers where they played with a lock of her hair. It was nothing more than the barest brush of her fingertips against his but it brought a smile to his lips. Faster than she could see, his hand shot out and wrapped about hers.
“The stronger, more realistic part of me realizes that whatever I had with Falcon wasn’t real,” he told her. “That relationship was as fanciful as....” he paused and laughed. “I stated to say as a paperback novel, but considering the current company, that isn’t a very accurate simile.” He turned serious. “No, anything I might have had with Falcon is over. I don’t want to go back to where I was. I don’t want to face being alone, living with that sort of hurt.” He fell silent, not speaking for long minutes, simply caressing her hand lovingly.
Sam remained silent. What could she possibly say to him? That she understood? He already knew that. That she was sorry life had dealt him so many cruel blows in the last decade? He knew that, too. She simply concentrated on letting him know much she cared. She hoped they were still connected enough from their last bout of lovemaking that he could feel that.
Seeing him as he’d been when they first met, so alone and friendless, hurt more than r
eading about it had. Then, she had only wanted him to know that there was someone who cared. Now, she had no doubt he knew it was so.
“We need to consider the future,” Cole said briskly.
Sam started when he spoke so suddenly. She had been drifting in her own thoughts and hadn’t realized he wasn’t through with the conversation just yet. Cole settled them so they were side by side on the bed and his lavender eyes were level with her more prosaic hazel ones.
“There’s a part of me that desperately wants to stay right here and build something with you in these rooms, but I don’t think it would be entirely safe. Though we’ve seen no sign of Falcon, she’s still out there somewhere. If she finds us now, she won’t be in a forgiving mood. I left her without a word and it will take little for her to figure out, if she hasn’t already, that I took you with me. If she finds either of us, she’ll kill us. Much as I love this place and what we have here, I love you more and I won’t risk you. I’m leaving. I’m not sure where I’ll go. Perhaps I need to just ramble the world for a while. Get my head together. I’ve been given a chance to start over and I’m going to take it. And you’re coming with me.”
She smiled. “It sounds like a good plan.”
He gave her a tiny wink in return. “Yes. Wynn and the others will probably never even notice I’m gone.” He took her hand and wove his fingers with hers. “I realize Odessa, Texas has a great lure, but might I convince you that the original Odessa has a few glories that might interest you?”
She felt her mouth drop open. She hadn’t heard him correctly. There was no way he was saying what she thought. She tried to say something, though her brain was refusing to from coherent words. Her mouth wasn’t cooperating, either. It just moved but no sound came out. She had expected San Francisco or maybe New York City, but... “Russia? You want to go to Russia?”
He smiled at her, all smooth charm and urbane grace amidst tousled black hair and rumpled pillows. “I’d like to show you the Black Sea.” He drew a bit closer so his lavender eyes filled her vision. “I’d like to show you Paris and Moscow. Hong Kong, perhaps? I know you’ve always wanted to see the Orient. I’ve been there many times and I make an excellent tour guide.” The smile turned into a grin. “Come with me? I need you.”
Mutely she nodded. How could he even think he needed to ask? Of course, she’d gladly travel the world as his lover. She might not be a rocket scientist, but wandering the exotic points of the planet with Cole could hardly be compared to monitoring computer systems in the mundane emptiness of west Texas.
“Good,” he said joyfully. “Now we’ll see if we can figure out the proper way for me to express my gratitude.” He drew closer still and reached out to cradle her cheek. His expression turned serious. “I’m never letting you go, my dearest Samantha. You’re mine now and no one and nothing can keep me from you.”
Panting from emotions beyond his control, Cole sank his teeth into the pale gold of Sam’s throat and felt her explode around him. She filled his mind as he filled hers. He was everywhere and everything. They both felt her body arch beneath his, heard her gasp his name, felt her arms come up and enfold him.
Sam pierced the nothingness that he had wrapped himself in with a sword thrust of white light and warmth such as he’d never experienced. He blazed through her mind and body, a raging wildfire of need, longing, and purest love. She lit the darkest corners of his psyche and thawed the ice that surrounded his heart. Wherever either touched, the cold and gloom fled until there was no longer any place within them that did not feel warmth and vitality.
He was truly alive. She was aware of his body within hers, his arms about her, his fangs in her throat, her blood in his mouth. He was solid and real and more precious than thought or word could describe. She whispered his name, needing to hear the sound of it. She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him closer, holding him safe against her body. He would never let her go.
And for the first time in her life, Sam knew perfect bliss. This was beyond anything she had ever experienced. Their bond, remade each time they touched or exchanged blood, was deeper and stronger than before. They could feel each other, body and soul. His fears were eased; she loved him with an intensity unimaginable. He drank in that love as hungrily as he drank in her blood. The thirst he’d felt for true affection was finally quenched. The hunger that ate at his soul was satisfied.
Sam thought nothing could be better than the feel of Cole’s body inside hers until she felt his fangs sink deep into her flesh, marking her, claiming her. Sam flowed quicksilver through his mind, love unconditional and as vast as the wide Texas skies inundated him with peace and acceptance, a benediction and blessing. There could no longer be any doubts or suspicions between them. There were no longer any secrets. There was only love.
Sam felt herself drowning in him, anchored only by his will. She dropped into that ocean of emotion and allowed him to flow and wind around and through her. Over and around her, Cole was awash with need and desire. He was a raging river that consumed her and remade her into the perfect vision he carried of her in his heart. He perfected her, as she completed him. In his thoughts and in his heart, she was flawless.
Sam had never realized that a woman could be worshiped by a man who loved her even as he was aware of her virtues and flaws equally. She had always thought she would be somehow accounted lesser in his mind than the imaginary but perfect and accomplished women he’d been with before she had appeared in his life.
She knew now that wasn’t true. Cole loved her as deeply as he had ever loved Falcon. The love he felt for her was different, but even more intense. It was free of concerns or worry. This was true for each of them. Individually they loved each other in very different ways but the depth and breadth of that love were boundless. Now tied to each other, they became a single force with all suspicions and doubts wiped away. There were no longer any hidden pain or guilt. They had been replaced with openness, forgiveness, and truth. This was completion; this was what their lives were supposed to be. This was how they were always meant to be. Alone, each was fragmented; together, they were complete.
Chapter Ten
Cole handed Sam a cup of coffee before rejoining her in the bed. He settled comfortably in the pillows before laying her against his chest. He played with her hair for several minutes while she watched silently and combed his chest hairs with her fingers. “So what now?” she finally asked.
He grinned. “Now we decide where we want to go and we pack.” He ran a hand through her hair again. “I feel we’re safe from Falcon for the time being. She won’t think of looking for me in Modesto,” he assured Sam. “But there is always the chance that someone will see me and report that to her. I’d like to leave as soon as we can.”
She chuckled and rubbed her head against him. “When?”
“Tomorrow. I’d like to be gone before the sun sets.”
She half sat up and nodded. “That shouldn’t be a problem.” They had little enough. Their clothes, Cole’s art supplies, a pair of laptops—it wouldn’t even fill the trunk of the rental car. “Where do you want to go?”
“So I’m supposed to make all the decisions?” he said with mock severity.
“I’m trying to learn to let someone else have control,” she countered. “I tend to take over, remember. Besides, I’m tired of always being the one in charge. I thought I’d let you have the reins for a while.”
She turned a bit to look at him. It felt good to say it, to stop letting it go round and round in her head and to just say it. It had been bouncing through her mind for a while now. And though Cole already knew it, sometimes it helped to say things out loud. “I think I’ve finally realized I don’t have to be responsible for everything. I don’t have to be the one to fix everything.” She took a deep breath and laid her head back on his chest. “I’m tired of trying to keep everything all sorted out and be what the world thinks I’m supposed to be. I can’t fix anything anyway.”
Cole frowned. “Hey, look at me and u
nderstand this. When I met you I was miserable because I was living for someone else, doing what I thought they wanted me to.” He tilted her chin a bit with one finger and stared into her eyes until she nodded. “What you’ve just said frightens me more than anything I’ve heard in a long time. I know exactly what you’re talking about. I know how that sort of pressure can devour a person; it gnawed at my soul for years. I also know how easily it can destroy someone.” He ran his hand over her face. “The one thing, the greatest thing you taught me is to be myself. To live for me. Not for anyone else. Don’t you dare believe it’s any different for you.”
Slowly, a smile began to spread across her face. “Cole....”
“I mean it,” he snarled, though the fingers that trailed across her cheek were gentle and soothing. “Don’t you dare. I love you. Not some illusion of you. And I feel that way because you are simply you, without pretense.” He fingered the silver ring she wore. “Never doubt it and never doubt yourself.”
* * * *
Regardless of what he’d said about leaving as soon as they could, packing to leave would have to wait. Cole decided that he hadn’t loved Sam nearly enough to let her out of their bed.
Her protests had been weak-willed and easily overridden. At the moment, packing was the farthest thing from Samantha’s mind. What Cole was doing felt so good, Sam thought she might just pass out. She had never imagined a man could do even half the things to a woman’s body that he had already done. From the moment he’d kissed her after asking her to leave with him, she knew she’d made the right decision. His lips were soft, a bit warm, and tasted of the coffee she’d made him. He’d known exactly when to deepen the kiss, when to ease his questing tongue into her mouth, just how much she wanted and needed. His hands had been comforting, gentle, and arousing all at the same time. Not even for an instant had she felt threatened or pressured.
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