Eternal Beloved

by Bella Abbott

  Jared nodded again and took my hand, and the soothing feeling that emanated from him surged through me and relaxed me almost instantly. I turned to him. “Are you doing that?”

  “What?”

  “The calming thing.”

  He shook his head. “You feel calmer when you hold my hand? I think that just means I’m a good influence.”

  I had to laugh. “No question.” A thought occurred to me. “Would you admit it if you were using some kind of Jedi mind trick on me?”

  He smiled. “I’m not the all-powerful Oz, Lacey. I can hypnotize mortals for brief periods, and like I told you, I can sense some thoughts from people in emotional distress, but I’m not clairvoyant.”

  I digested that. By the sound of his voice, I still wasn’t completely sure he was telling me everything, but it sounded like we would have enough time together that I could ferret out anything he was omitting.

  “I was thinking about how they got on to you. The hunters. Something must have triggered them,” I said.

  Jared nodded. “The only thing I can think of is they might have gotten word of the gathering that’s going to take place in two weeks.”

  I didn’t understand. “Gathering?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Every two decades, my clan get together for a smaller version of the royal court.”

  “Which means…what, exactly?”

  “Well, we discuss any grievances anyone in the clan has, confirm that everyone is following the latest rules, and go over any points of contention. Think of it like a convention, or like the courts of old, where petitioners would approach the monarchs for favors and mediation of any disagreements.”

  “How would that have tipped the hunters off?”

  “It’s to be held on that island we sailed past on our boating date.”

  I blinked twice. “Really? But…who knows about it?”

  “That’s the thing. Nobody but us…special people.”

  “You think there’s a leak or something?”

  “I can’t imagine any other way for hunters to be drawn here. And don’t forget Carl. If they suspected me because I was high profile, they’d have no reason to go after anyone else – yet they did. So I don’t think this is about me. Or at least, not only me.”

  “But how would they have found out?” I pressed. “You guys don’t publish the get-together on Craigslist or anything, do you?”

  That drew a laugh from him. “That’s the question, isn’t it? That…and who’s doing the hunting.”

  I nodded. “And why. Maybe when you figure out the why, the who will fall into place.”

  Jared eyed me pensively. “You’ve got a point. Right now all I can do is speculate.”

  We fell silent, and I mulled over the memories the session with Madame Véronique had brought to the surface. I was completely confused – was I me, or was I really the vampire who had been murdered by Jared’s rival? I felt schizophrenic, although the revelation had calmed me on one important front: I now understood why I had never bonded with anyone, why I’d always felt distant and detached from my peers, as well as somewhat of a spectator outside my own consciousness. I’d always assumed it was because I was as nutty as a Christmas fruitcake, but it turned out that wasn’t the case. I actually had a valid reason, even if my conscious mind hadn’t been aware of it. My prior existence completely explained my sense of being a misfit in any situation – it turns out I was.

  But not because of a chemical imbalance or some faulty cerebral wiring.

  I felt relieved – or as relieved as anyone could be after learning that the love of their life was a vampire, and that they had been one, too.

  I squeezed Jared’s hand at the thought. What had seemed like an absurdly fast rush into an emotional storm also had a logical basis, now that I had all the pieces. It felt not unlike finally figuring out precisely what string of computer code needed to be added or removed so that the function would spit out the intended results. The reason Jared held such a powerful attraction for me was not only his vampire magnetism, but because we’d been soul mates in another incarnation. The overwhelming feelings I’d been experiencing made perfect sense in that light. It wasn’t crazy or rash to be falling in love with him so quickly – I’d already spent a lifetime in love with him, so I was really just remembering rather than developing a new set of feelings.

  But even with the new information there was still a sense of the surreal to the whole thing. I felt like I couldn’t trust my reactions or impulses anymore. And I kept coming back to the question of which one of me was feeling – was it Lacey, or Alicia? Was the distinction even worth considering? Were we not one and the same? And if so, how to proceed from here? Now that I knew the truth…what now?

  The sun was a glowing red ember sinking into the hills as we approached the Bangor airport. Jared parked near the private aviation terminal, and I used the bathroom to change my top. When I emerged from the restroom, he was over by the security scanner, and we passed through it and walked to where a stern-faced woman in a business suit was waiting with a clipboard. Jared nodded to her, and she came over to meet us.

  “Welcome, Mr. Richards. Your plane is ready for departure whenever you are. Do you have any special requests for dining or beverages?”

  “It’s a short hop, isn’t it? I’m sure whatever you have on board is fine,” Jared answered.

  “Very well. This way, please,” she said, directing us to the tarmac.

  Jared took my hand, and we followed the woman to an executive jet parked near the terminal. I leaned into him and spoke over the whine of the turbines.

  “This is going to sound really stupid, but I’ve never been on a plane,” I said.

  “There’s nothing stupid about that. And it’s not hard. You just sit and enjoy. The pilot does the rest.”

  I tried not to appear nervous as Jared led me up the little stairway. When we stepped inside, a young woman in a blue skirt and blouse beamed at us and welcomed us aboard. Jared and I took seats across the narrow aisle from each other, and the pilot came back and introduced himself and announced we would be taking off momentarily. The flight attendant offered us beverages, which we declined, and soon the stairs were up and the plane was taxiing in preparation for takeoff.

  The Citation X rocketed down the runway so fast my heart was in my throat. It lifted into the air, and then we were banking over Bangor and climbing into a plum-colored sky, the wings cutting vapor trails through the humidity. Jared held my hand across the aisle for reassurance, and I focused on breathing evenly as the unusual sensation of accelerating upward eased once we neared our cruising altitude.

  The flight attendant returned to offer us snacks, and I opted for some mixed nuts and orange juice to tide me over until we could get dinner. I munched while peering out the window at the slate ocean below, and by the time I was through with the small bowl, we had begun our descent. The lights of the eastern seaboard glimmered in the dusk. Everything looks so peaceful from up here.

  When the wheels touched down on the runway with only a small bump, I exhaled in relief. Jared offered a reassuring smile and glanced out the window before looking to me.

  “You’re ruined forever,” he said. “If we’d flown commercial… Well, it’s like a flying bus, only worse.”

  “Ridley’s as far as I’ve ever been from home. Never made it to New York,” I confessed, feeling inadequate as I considered that private jets and globe-trotting were commonplace for Jared. How will I know how to behave in a city like New York?

  “It’s different from any other city in the world. In good ways and bad.” He rubbed my hand affectionately. “You’ll see.”

  “Doesn’t look like much,” I observed, peering out the window at the ugly skyline. “Industrial.”

  “That’s not New York.” He chuckled. “This is New Jersey. This is Teterboro Airport, not La Guardia or JFK.”

  My cheeks colored at my gaffe. “How do we get to the city? How far is it?”

  “Not very,”
he said. “Trust me.”

  A stretch limo was waiting for us by the charter terminal, and Jared guided me without hesitation to the car. I cocked an eyebrow at the gleaming white Mercedes, and Jared smirked before nodding to the driver, who was standing like a sentry holding a rear door open, his black suit and tie impeccable.

  “I suppose I could get used to this,” I allowed from the back seat.

  “That’s good to hear. This is your reality now,” Jared said.

  I laughed. “Well, yours, anyway. I’m a broke student worried about her scholarship, remember?”

  He shook his head. “That’s who you were yesterday. Not anymore.”

  “I’m still trying to get my head around that, Jared. It isn’t easy going from zero to a hundred in a blink.”

  “I appreciate that. Realizing that you’re back from…from the dead was quite a shock for me, too. But it’s the kind of surprise I can live with.” He paused. “Metaphorically, of course.”

  I held his stare. “You made another funny, didn’t you?”

  His smile brightened the interior. “Wait until you see the hotel.”

  My eyes narrowed. “Why? Is it completely over the top?”

  “The show is paying for it, so why not?”

  The ride into the city actually took longer than the flight from Maine, and by the time we pulled up in front of the Plaza Hotel, my stomach was growling, much to my embarrassment. Jared didn’t seem to notice, for which I was grateful even though I was sure he could hear everything. He helped me from the car and whisked me into the lobby, where we checked in using the name of the production company to secure the room and with my ID to keep his name off the register. The hotel seemed absolutely uninterested in who signed, and within moments we were being escorted to a bank of brass elevators and then to our floor.

  The room turned out to be a suite that overlooked Central Park, with gorgeous appointments and a pair of expensive-looking beds. The bellman left us after demonstrating how to work the TV remote and switch on lights, for which Jared tipped him. I exhaled with fatigue, drained after the long and eventful day. I sank into one of the plush chairs by the window, and Jared came over and began massaging my shoulders. I uttered a low moan of pleasure as his strong fingers kneaded my muscles, and the warmth of his proximity flooded my core again.

  “Mmm,” I said. “That’s…ooh, right there. Yes. That’s it.”

  “You don’t remember, but I used to do this…back then.”

  “No wonder I fell for you,” I said, and then stiffened slightly as I realized his hands were only inches from my hair…and my birthmark. The insecurity that had haunted me since childhood surfaced, and I did my best to will it away. But like a rock in my shoe, it persisted, and throughout his ministrations I couldn’t help but worry that he would lift my hair to better access my neck, and then…

  I swallowed hard and sighed. I had a vampire a foot from my neck, and I was worried about him seeing some darkened skin rather than him sinking his fangs into my carotid artery and draining my blood. The absurdity of my worry struck me, and I nearly giggled out loud. If Jared sensed my inner struggle, he didn’t show it.

  He continued rubbing my shoulders for several minutes and then whispered as he stepped away, “I can’t tell you what it feels like to have a second chance, Lacey.”

  I wasn’t sure how to respond, but I knew what he meant. “I think we both win, Jared,” I replied. Part of me wanted him to close the distance between us and kiss me long and hard, the risk of bloodlust worth it, but as though reading my mind, he stepped away.

  “You must be starved. The restaurant here is famous. You’re in for a treat,” he said.

  “I feel…I’m a little underdressed for a night on the town in New York.”

  “Nonsense. The city understands travel, and a beautiful woman is always wearing the right thing, no matter what it is.”

  I blushed at the compliment. “If you really think I’m okay like this. Otherwise, I saw a hot dog vendor on the street…”

  He removed his gloves and dropped them on the nearest bedside table. “If you don’t mind cold hands, the gloves might draw stares.”

  “You’re a rock star. They’re supposed to be eccentric, aren’t they?”

  “But I’m incognito. I don’t want the paparazzi descending on the hotel and giving our location away.”

  “You’re going to lose the shades, aren’t you?” I asked.

  “Of course. But if I remember from the last time I was here…the average patron is in their sixties, so it’s unlikely anyone’s going to recognize me.”

  “You want to stay in the room? We could just order room service.”

  He shook his head. “No. You need to see the place. It’s really one of a kind.”

  The maître d’ seated us in a quiet corner of the dining room, and this time I ordered lobster at Jared’s urging (I’d actually watched a YouTube video back at my dorm about how to eat one, after the last time, and now felt ready to try it out). We held hands across the table, and even though his flesh was preternaturally cool, there was something remarkably sexy about the way my hand felt in his. He only released me when the food arrived, and he made a show of moving pieces of endive salad around on his plate while I attacked the lobster – which at this establishment arrived already shelled – like I hadn’t eaten in days. It still looked like something from a bad science fiction movie, but it tasted divine.

  Once back in the room, Jared gave me a smoldering gaze that made clear that I wasn’t the only one battling internal demons. I sat on the edge of one of the beds and he sat beside me, his eyes locked on mine. The thrill I’d felt at the concert ran through me again, and I leaned into him and brushed my lips along his gorgeous throat, grazing his skin with my teeth. He shuddered with pleasure and then pushed me away, his face unreadable.

  “No,” he said.

  I sighed in frustration. “Jared, what are we going to do? Seriously. How do you see this working?”

  “I…I don’t know. I haven’t gotten that far,” he admitted. “This is all new to me, too.” He paused, and when he spoke again, his voice was throaty and hoarse. “All I know is that I’m going to be with you from now on.” Another pause. “I never stopped loving you. Not once in all those years. There wasn’t a day I didn’t mourn you and curse the universe that had taken you from me. In my soul, you were always the only one. Always.”

  My eyes flooded and a tear ran down each cheek. “Oh, Jared. It must have been awful. I can’t even imagine.” I gasped when he encircled me with his arms and cradled me. “You’re everything I could dream of,” I said. “And to find out we were meant for each other…but we can’t…it’s not fair.”

  “I know,” he whispered. “But at least we found each other. We’ll figure it out. We have to. I love you, Lacey. Nothing’s going to stand between us ever again. I swear.”

  Before I knew what I was saying, the words tumbled from my mouth as though with a mind of their own. “Oh, Jared, I love you too. I do,” I cried, wiping away the tears with the back of my hand. “It’s completely crazy, but I love you more than anything. I’ve never felt this way before in my life.” Laughter bubbled up in my throat at the relief that came from saying it. “I love you, Jared,” I managed, and leaned against him, wanting the moment to last forever.

  I don’t know how long we stayed like that. All I remember was my eyes fluttering shut after a small eternity, my last waking thought that this was the best day of my life, and that I never wanted Jared to let go of me, no matter what.

  Chapter 24

  I woke up alone on the bed. Jared was standing by the window with his sunglasses on, looking out at the early morning light. At the rustle of my sheets, he turned and smiled at me.

  “Good morning,” he said.

  I returned the smile. “I could get used to you saying that to me every day.”

  “Plan on it.” He ran his fingers through his tousled hair. “I have to go to the studio in a few minutes. You
want to come?”

  The question took me by surprise. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and yawned. “No. I wouldn’t fit in. Go do what you need to do. I’ll watch it on TV.”

  “Shouldn’t take too long. There’s a format these things follow. They introduce me as if I just dropped by the show, we talk about nothing, I play a song, we wrap it up, and I leave. Usually lasts a quarter hour or less.”

  I nodded. “You do a lot of these?”

  “The record company sets them up every two or three weeks to keep my name in front of people. When they stop, you know your star’s fading.”

  “Seems like yours is just starting to rise.”

  “It’s a weird business. But I think this new album will do well. I wrote all the songs, and there are a few surefire hits.” He smirked. “Everyone’s excited.”

  “I liked the ones I heard.” I stretched and checked with my fingers that my hair was covering my neck. “Then again, I have a feeling you’d be amazing at anything you tried.”

  He shrugged at the compliment. “It kills time. And I have an excess of that.” He glanced at his phone. “Speaking of which, I need to get moving. You should get a massage or something while I’m gone. They have a world-class spa here.”

  I remembered his hands on my shoulders yesterday and nodded. “I may do that. Although I don’t expect them to be able to compete with you. If you ever decide to throw in the towel on the music thing, I know what you can do next…”

  Jared chuckled and moved to the bed. His lips grazed mine and I inhaled his scent, as intoxicating as a shot of alcohol. A small cry escaped the back of my throat and he stepped back. “Probably a good thing I have to go,” he said.

  “That depends on who you ask.”

  When Jared left, I used the bathroom and then ordered breakfast from room service. I tried to check my cell for messages, but the battery was dead. I cursed under my breath and made a mental note to get a charger so I could call the school and tell them an emergency had come up. A knock at the door a few minutes later announced that my eggs and coffee had arrived, and after the server carried in a tray and set it on the table, I settled into one of the overstuffed chairs to eat and watch Jared on the morning show.