And had I stayed, I wouldn’t have met the wonderful man who has become my obsession—at my side by day, and in my dreams by night. If the last five weeks have taught me anything, it’s that love doesn’t abide by man’s rule of time. My love for this man is strong, and it grows by leaps and bounds every single day.
Slade and Father had a long, private discussion before he left our house tonight. Though I tried to persuade one of them to tell me what was so important, neither of them would budge. Neither would give a hint of any kind. I couldn’t even tell from their facial expressions if it was good or bad. It very well could’ve been something regarding their business dealings, as Ramses still hasn’t returned to resume responsibilities for his part of the business.
I wonder if their talk concerned Ramses.
This guessing game is driving me mad.
Slade Barnett, 1790
What I’d always considered to be a fairy tale of epic proportions has proven to be one-hundred percent accurate. My immortal love is here—and she loves me in return.
After spending so much time with her and her family, certain human emotions were involved, and I found myself sincerely vying for her parents’ approval. Tonight, all my schmoozing paid off. I don’t have to kill them, after all. I’d already arranged for a private meeting with Clarence and expected more of a fight than I received. His love for Alea is strong, and that’s one of the very things that makes him so focused and driven. Strong-willed people are much harder to influence.
“Come in, Slade. How are things going?” Clarence asked as I took a seat in his office.
He purposely left the question open for interpretation to avoid limiting the conversation. I both appreciated and respected him for that.
“Very well. Actually, that’s what I wanted to speak with you about today. I think you know I’m thoroughly and completely in love with Alea. I believe when two people are destined to be together, nothing can keep them apart. Alea is my destiny. She is the one fate designed for me and only me. It’s because of this I’d like your blessing to ask Alea to be my wife.”
Clarence studied me with his serious scrutinizing expression for several seconds. Then his smile crawled across his face before he slapped his thighs with both hands.
“That’s the best news I’ve heard in months! Even better than all the shipping deals you’ve given me. Better than all the new friends we’ve made in New York. You’ve made my daughter happier than anyone ever has. I’d be proud to call you my son, Slade.”
He circled around his desk and drew me into a fatherly embrace. After a couple of manly slaps on my back, he released me.
“When do you plan to ask her?”
“In a couple of days—on our outing this weekend. I have an exciting, romantic day planned for us,” I assured him. He wanted to know his daughter would always be on a pedestal—and I have no problem with taking her up to unbelievable heights before gently bringing her back down to rest in my arms.
“Her mother and I will anxiously await the weekend and all the details of your exciting proposal.”
We shook hands, and I left his office under the watchful eyes of Alea. My plans had to remain a secret until it was the right time, so I kept my facial expression impassive as I said my goodbyes. Her pensive expression from my refusal to share information cut me. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust me, but there are so many lingering questions and topics we haven’t covered yet.
But we will.
For now, I need to feed.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Slade Barnett, 1790
Today went even better than I could have planned, imagined, or hoped for in my wildest dreams. And my dreams can get pretty wild. But apparently, Alea inspires my dreams more and more every day.
We started the morning early and took my carriage to a remote location a couple of hours outside the city. I picked a spot on the banks of the river to spend the day with the love of my life. My immortal love.
“Where are we going?” she asked, excitement ringing in her voice.
“I have a very important surprise for you today, sweetheart. We have the whole day together, and I don’t plan on bringing you back until late tonight. You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this day.”
She bounced in her seat playfully, her beautiful smile lit up her face, and her excitement was barely contained. But it was true—she had no idea how long I’d waited to find her. Never actually believing I would, but never able to fully give up hope that she existed.
“Are you not going to give me a hint where you’re taking me?”
“No. But I do have you all to myself for the next two hours in this carriage. Then for the rest of the day when we reach our destination. Then again on the ride back. I will give you a hint of one of my many plans for you. I plan to take full advantage of our time alone.”
Without reading her thoughts, I knew the visions from her nightly dreams flashed through her mind. Her pink-tinged cheeks and the way she averted her eyes were telltale signs, but I planned to help her past that embarrassment. Permanently.
As long as she didn’t run away in the opposite direction, screaming in terror, after I confessed the truth to her. The whole truth about me and what I am. Inside, I knew that could never happen. The shock of it may take her a few minutes to absorb, but I knew she’d quickly adjust. The rest of the ride was spent with our mouths fused together, our hands wandering and pleasing, and my cock throbbing painfully behind the fabric of my pants. The need to make her completely mine surpassed painful weeks ago. Now it has become hell on earth.
But I won’t take her—until she knows the truth. The nights I’ve visited her in her dreams and in her bed, I’ve shown more restraint than I ever knew was possible. I’m definitely the most powerful fucking vampire in the entire fucking world. There’s no other explanation for how I was able to resist the strongest temptation known to man. Or vampire.
A knock on the carriage door alerted me we’d reached our destination. My coachman opened the door at my command, and I stepped out first. I extended my hand to help her out. “Ready to see where we are?”
“I can’t wait. But for the record, as long as I’m with you, it’ll be perfect wherever we are.”
I leaned in and kissed her. “I love you, Alea.”
She knew, but hearing the words made it all so very real. “I love you too, Slade.”
She stepped out of the carriage with my help and immediately gasped. Her hand flew over her mouth, and her eyes grew wide. She took a couple of steps and turned slowly as she took in the scenery. My servants traveled ahead a day early and prepared everything for our arrival. The white canvas tent was erected on the banks of the river. Autumn flowers adorned the outside and lined the white rug that served as a walkway to the tent opening.
The clear water ran swiftly beside the covering and provided the perfect backdrop to the scenic vista surrounding us. She took carefully measured steps along the water, no doubt memorizing every sight and sound along the way. I walked behind her—memorizing everything about this momentous occasion. There wasn’t one moment I wanted to forget.
Inside, the tent was arranged just as spectacularly as the outside. The plush, plump cushions matched the fall flower colors—deep yellows, oranges, and browns—and were arranged several deep along three full walls to make large, comfortable lounge areas. The flowers decorated every surface, trays of finger foods in every variety sat on columns of varying heights, and flutes of the finest champagne sat beside the tray of specialty strawberries I’d had imported for just this occasion.
Having a household staff of immortal servants has its perks.
I led her to one of the chairs and motioned for her to sit, and I took my seat beside her after giving her one of the glasses of champagne. “Take a sip of your champagne,” I instructed and she obliged. I then raised a strawberry up to her mouth. “Now bite.” I offered the red berry and watched spellbound as her teeth sank into its sweet flesh.
“That is so
delicious,” she gushed. “The sweetness from the champagne and strawberry mixed is amazing.”
I captured her mouth and drove my tongue inside to taste the sweetness for myself—but with her distinct flavor mixed in. When I broke away, I swung down on one knee in front of her and began my prepared speech.
“Alea, my love. I want to ask you something, but there are things about me you must know first.”
“No matter what you have to tell me about yourself, I’m sure I will love every word of it, Slade. As much as I love you.”
Her response was so sweet, so filled with warmth and honesty, I was afraid my admission would break the spell of love we’d lived under.
“I hope that is true, Alea. But if not, you must promise to tell me. I need you to give me your word, on your honor.”
“On my honor, I will tell you the truth. No matter what that means.”
I scrubbed my hand over my face and took a deep breath while I worked up the nerve to tell her the whole truth about myself.
“Slade, just tell me. You know whatever you have to say won’t change how I feel about you.”
“Alea, I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Day and night, I want you by my side. I’ve spoken with your father and explained the decision must be yours and yours alone, because there is a lot at stake—for both us.
“Many, many years ago, something happened to me that changed me forever. At first, I hated it. I despised what I had become and wished for nothing but death to take me. Eventually, though, I learned to accept my lot and embrace it.
“I’m glad I did now, because it brought me to you. Without this curse, I never would’ve been so lucky. When I explain this to you, there are a few things I need you to remember. First, this is not a joke. I’m not trying to be funny or charming in any way. Secondly, I know this will be hard to believe and accept, so if you want to take time to think it over, I’ll gladly give you that. And lastly, no matter what your decision is or how you may look at me after I finish, you can never breathe a word of this to another person. Your life will be in dire risk if you do.
“Do you understand and agree to these terms?”
The serious turn her normally jovial expression took assured me she understood the gravity of my words. “I agree, Slade. Tell me what it is.”
“I am a vampire, Alea. A creature of the night. One of the undead, the damned. We do exist, and there are many more like me. If you agree to marry me, you will have to join us. There’s no other way to ensure your safety in the clan.”
At first, she thought I was pulling a practical joke on her. Her sly smile and dubious expression conveyed her thoughts with precision. The only way to convince her what I said was true was to show her my true self. Her doubt was instantly replaced with fear before changing to a quiet comprehension as her fingers skimmed my changed features. I changed back as she watched, then continued explaining.
“Changing means you’ll never grow any older than you are at the time of your vampire birth. You’ll never grow old and feeble. You’ll never be sick or develop any kind of disease, not even a common cold. You’ll gain strength like you’ve never known before and eyesight to see clearly even in the blackest part of the night. You’ll move as fast as you want with no effort at all. No human will ever be a threat to you, physically speaking.”
“What else does it mean?” she whispered.
“My sweet Alea. Always so smart and inquisitive,” I praised. “There are things you won’t like, yes. Because we’re not alive but not quite dead, we can never have children. You’ll never feel the miracle of a baby growing in your body. You’ll never experience the pain and magic of childbirth. You’ll never know the bond of nursing a babe on your breasts.
“You’ll have to feed on human blood. Whether you take a life or not is up to you—there are ways around it if you’re careful. But it takes incredible willpower and strength to stop feeding once you’re past a certain point. It’s different for all of us, but it’s there nonetheless.
“You can never tell your family what you’ve become. If you maintain contact with them, they’ll ask why you haven’t conceived a child. They’ll notice you haven’t aged, especially when their own mirror reflects the ravages of age. And as time marches on, you’ll witness every human you know and love die while you live on.
“Your friends will be other vampires, for the most part. Our clan will become your family. Mortals won’t understand us, and the questions become impossible to dodge. This way of life changes everything you know and all you’ve ever wanted in your current life. You have to know and understand that before you decide.
“In truth, I could force this on you and not give you the option. In doing so, it would absolve you of the burden I’ve put on you. But I love you too much for that. If your answer is no, there will never be another for me. No other woman will ever know my love and devotion. But you can still have everything you’ve ever dreamed of—a man who loves you, children, growing old together, and enjoying your grandchildren. You still have that option, because I love you enough to want you to be happy, regardless if that’s with me or not.”
Alea Dunn, October 1790
The wheels in my mind turned at a blinding speed as I absorbed his every word. When he first announced he was a vampire, my natural inclination said he was pulling a prank on me. It was my self-preservation kicking in, telling me not to play the fool and blindly believe him.
But that thought immediately vanished because he continued speaking, explaining the differences I could expect to experience after my vampire birth. That’s when it hit me—he only listed the positive aspects of it, the things I could look forward to in my new reality. For every positive, there’s a negative. For every give, there’s a take. With all the new life had to give me, I had to know what it would take away.
My dreams of having a large family with several children filling my heart and my home?
Gone.
Looking forward to growing old with the love of my life, as is the natural progression?
Taken.
Watching my children grow into adults and have children of their own?
Vanished.
Large gatherings of family and friends during holidays and special events in their lives?
That could never be.
I sat motionless as the images of what might have been played out in my mind’s eye. I saw each one so clearly I could almost reach out and touch it. I felt the birth and loss of each child as surely as if I’d actually experienced it.
When I finally raised my eyes and met Slade’s, everything faded away, becoming no more important than the background noise of the area that surrounded us. In his eyes, I saw my new future, and it was filled with new and exciting things I’d never known existed.
It held the promise of a love that would last a literal eternity. Love that could never diminish or fade. It would only grow stronger, and the bond would only become deeper. My soul knew what my mind couldn’t comprehend at first.
None of my previous plans would work without Slade, because I could never be happy with anyone else. My life and death were bound to him in a way that could never be undone. He would let me go, giving me the opportunity to experience those things with someone else. But it would never be enough—because it would never be with him.
“I’ve known the truth since the moment I met you, Slade. You are my forever. Whether forever means in human form or as a vampire makes no difference to me. Without you, I wouldn’t want to live another day.
“I can’t pretend the thought of this doesn’t scare my wits completely out of me. There’s so much unknown. So much that doesn’t fit into what I’ve believed to be true my whole life. All I know for certain is I can’t see my future without you in it.
“But I must confess, I have so many questions. So many things I don’t understand.”
“Ask. Ask me anything. I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
“Vampires can’t walk in
the daylight. They don’t eat food or drink wine. They kill everyone they see. They sleep in coffins, and they’re cold, like a dead person. How is it none of these things applies to you?”
“I’m not cold because I drink blood from the living. Just like your blood gives you your warmth, blood saturates my tissues and keeps me warm. We don’t kill everyone we see—we actually have very specific tastes in blood, much like your taste in food. There is a slight difference, though. You know how you can’t resist some scents?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
“We can’t either. If we don’t like a scent, it makes us angry, and that’s who we feed on. If we like the scent, it gives more of a calming effect on us. Let’s see, what other questions did you have? Oh yes, the daylight. That’s not true—we can walk just fine in the light. Strong sunlight can make us slightly weaker, but it doesn’t burn us. We don’t sleep in coffins. We can eat and drink human food, but it won’t sustain us like blood does. We’ll die without blood, but we can live without food and water.”
“So that’s how I’d be too? I’d have to kill people and drink their blood to survive?”
“Yes. My answer is cold and direct because you have to come into this life with full knowledge of what you’ll have to do, what you’ll have to become. And it has to be your choice.”
“My answer hasn’t changed. My place is at your side. For all eternity. When does this happen? And how?”
“I’ll change you myself, but not for several more years. You’ve just turned eighteen. If I turn you now, you’ll always be this age. There’s so much more you can experience as a human first, but still by my side. There are more changes your body will undergo as you mature. When the time is right, I’ll explain everything about the process to you. For now, we’ll plan our wedding like normal humans and let your parents enjoy every minute of it.”
“My parents,” I sighed. “How will I ever explain this to them?”
“You won’t have to for a while, my love. When the time comes that our situation becomes evident, we’ll discuss the best way to handle it. There are ways around it. So we can enjoy our time with them for now. I talked to your father before bringing you here. He knows I planned to propose today, and we have his blessing.”
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