But Marina's gasp of, "Drew," prevented him from attacking the newcomer. Apparently, the group knew him. In his life, Samuel had never felt so ineffectual as he did at that moment.
Drew pointed at the ceiling. "Marina and I can see him. Everyone else needs to take directions, got it?"
The other man phrased his words as a question but they were clearly nothing but an order.
"You can see him too?" Marina rushed to Drew's side.
"Yep." Drew pointed at the ceiling with his index finger. "Ego expello vos. Linque!"
The room seemed to shudder and groan. Samuel grabbed his head. Was he losing his mind?
"For someone who was once so stupid, you have finally learned something, Drew."
A bright white light filled the room followed by a sonic boom. Eden screamed in Samuel's arms and he held her even tighter.
"What…" Whatever it was Leonardo was going to say got cut off by Jason's arrival. He pushed past Drew and rushed to Eden's side.
"Let me see." Jason's gaze caught his and Samuel knew Jason saw the seriousness of what had happened. The last thing in the world Samuel wanted was to give Eden to anyone but he knew he couldn't fix her on his own. With a nod, he laid Eden into Jason's arms.
"Can you hear me, Eden?" Jason's voice sounded kind but firm.
"I can hear you, Jase. I just can't see you. My ears still work."
Samuel was glad to hear the spunk in her voice. It meant she still held on. His Eden couldn't let go of hope.
This will be fine. He spoke in her mind, wanting her to hear it. If he can fix my face, he can fix your eyes.
I don't know, sweetheart. Something is very wrong. It's not like he injured me—it's like he took away my ability to see altogether. I don't know how else to describe it.
She might not have the words but he could feel her pain. It wasn't just physical. Eden felt absolutely and completely devastated, like she might never know happiness again.
Eden…
"Damn it." Jason shook his head. "I've got nothing. I can't fix this. It's like my powers don't know she's injured. Maybe we need to try something more conventional. Find an ophthalmologist and…"
The man called Drew interrupted him. "How would we explain it?"
Jason's head shot up. "What?"
"What would we tell the ophthalmologist happened to Eden?"
Samuel stood up. He'd had an unreasonable need to pound on Drew since he'd arrived in the middle of the situation. "I'm not going to concern myself with what we do or don't tell the doctor. If Jason says we need to see one, then we need to see one. Charma can erase his or her mind afterward."
Jason cursed. "I didn't say we needed to see one. I don't know if it'll help or not."
Drew shook his head. "No human doctor can undo what happened. Sebastian has taken her sight. The source of her powers is her eyes. Eden can see what's going to happen before it does. Sometimes. He tapped into her power and took it."
Drew's words made Samuel want to slam into something. "Why are we taking this guy's word on this? What makes you such an expert on what Sebastian can and can't do?"
"Because for a long time I followed him."
"You what?"
Drew shrugged. "Not going there with you tonight, man. Right now I think you have other things to focus on than the residual anger Sebastian's presence has left in the room, don't you?"
Samuel realized his hands were fisted at his side. Residual anger? Yes. That had to be it. The demon had messed with the room when he'd been in it. As he forced his hands to unclench, he prayed for patience. At that moment he wasn't sure anyone listened—or ever had. But his desperate plea wasn't for himself, it was for Eden. They could give him back his destroyed face if only they would heal Eden.
"Drew." Eden spoke from where she lay still held tightly by Jason who looked like he wanted to vomit. "Are you saying I'm going to spend the rest of my life in the dark?"
Silence stretched out across the room, filling the space and making everything that had, for a few minutes, been light and full of promise become dark, unhappy.
"I'm not sure, Eden. It could be if we actually manage to fulfill our destiny of destroying Sebastian that it will come back. But I don't know. I'm sorry."
A thought dawned on Samuel and he rushed to Eden to take her from Jason. He felt better when she was in his arms, her strawberry essence making him feel complete again. "Eden, you knew where Sebastian was like you could see him. How did you do that?"
"I had a vision. I knew it was a sample of what was about to happen. So I spoke aloud and used my instincts."
"It was the most accurate you have ever been. Period."
Jason nodded. "People always say that when they lose a sensory ability—like sight—the other ones get stronger, more intense. Maybe that's what has happened. You can't see. So your prophetic drive has gotten stronger."
"Great." She sighed. "I'll never again see but I'll be forever swarmed with my cursed visions that I can't control."
"You did control them." He stroked the hair off her sweaty forehead as he wiped away the few tears that had slipped down her cheeks. "Better than you ever have before. You ran that show, it didn't run you."
"Well, you were here."
Samuel shook his head. He wished that he could take credit for it. At the moment, he felt the most ineffectual he had ever been in his life except for the time he'd been nearly burned to death. "I wasn't in your head. I wasn't open."
Eden grabbed at her face like she wanted to claw her eyes out and he pulled her hands away before she could do any damage. "I don't care about the premonitions right now, Samuel. I don't want to spend my life in the dark. Doesn't anybody hear me?"
He could hear her. He just couldn't do anything about it except wrap her up in his arms.
As if by silent agreement, the group that had formed in the room started to leave. Marina bent over to stroke Eden's head before she left.
"I'm going to set wards. I don't know if they'll still work or not against him but they'll be set."
"Thanks, Marina." Eden sounded so defeated that Samuel wanted to throw something and he didn't think it had anything to do with any leftover evil in the room. This was all him and the fact that he had completely failed to save the woman he loved from danger. God, he was so useless.
Jason paused by the door. "I'm going to talk to Charma. We'll figure something out, Eden."
"Thanks, Jason."
The door clicked behind the others, leaving Eden and Samuel alone. Eden struggled in his embrace but he wouldn't let her go. Mostly because she couldn't see and he didn't want her hurting herself. But also because he felt like releasing her from his embrace might rip his heart right from his chest.
"Am I going to spend the rest of eternity like this?"
He rubbed her forehead before planting a kiss on it. "What does it feel like?"
"Darkness. Not even a hint of light anywhere, not even lighter shades. Everything is just black, Samuel. Everything." Her voice hitched and he pulled her closer. "I hate the dark. I don't want to be lost in it with the only color I ever see coming from premonitions of death and disaster."
Samuel stood, cradling Eden as he carried her to the bed. Gently, he laid her down. "This can't be permanent. We won't let it be. I promise."
She pushed at his chest. "You can't make that kind of promise."
"Eden, believe me, one way or another we will find a way to end this demon and restore your sight. We'll bring back your blue-green eyes. The world will lighten up again."
Eden sat up, scrunching her knees to her chest. "What happened to my eyes? They changed color?" All of the color drained from her face. "What are they now?"
Samuel wished he could cut out his tongue. Why did he have to say that? She never had to know. Or he could have waited. "They're changed… that's all."
"Samuel." Eden grabbed forward flailing her hands in front of her like she wanted to grab him. She couldn't reach so he grabbed them to steady her. "Tell me the tr
uth. What do I look like now?"
"You're beautiful. You've always been gorgeous. Nothing has changed."
"Don't lie," she yelled through gritted teeth.
"I'm not. I never would." He caressed her cheeks. "Look in my mind, see if I'm lying."
She laid her head back on the pillow like her neck couldn't hold up the weight anymore. "I don't have the energy. I can't seem to muster the ability to do anything at all. What do my eyes look like?"
"They're clear. They don't have any color at all."
He watched her swallow, her throat muscles contracting. "I can't even imagine it."
"You won't have to. The next time you look in a mirror, your eyes will be back."
She nodded but he could tell from the way her body shifted on the bed that she didn't believe him. "Until then I wait in the dark."
"But not alone. You're never alone." He kissed her lips. They were sweet and salty, the latter from the taste of her tears. "I'm sorry I failed you, Eden."
"What?" Her question sounded more like a gasp than a word.
"I should have protected you from him." He could barely speak from the pain inside of him. Still, he knew he had to keep it together. Eden couldn't have him falling apart. Not when she needed him so much now.
Samuel could feel her gentle touch in his mind. "Don't do that. I know you said it was too much. You're dealing with enough. Don't go in my mind and use up your energy on me."
"I love you. I don't blame you for this. It could happen to any one of us. The demon wants all of us."
"Oh, Eden. Why are you so good? So kind? So fair? Sebastian went after you because I took away his body. You heard him. He hurt you to hurt me. And I am so, so sorry."
Samuel hadn't cried in years but now the tears welled up in his eyes like he was a child. "I would do anything for you. Anything. You're hurt, you're suffering… you're… blind. I'm cursed, Eden. This is my fault. I'm so sorry."
He stood up. Maybe he should go get someone else. He'd leave; she'd be safer without him.
"Samuel, please come here." She motioned with her hand for him to come back to her. He couldn't leave her there unable to see, unable to know where she had to go so he moved toward her. Taking her hand in his, he kissed her knuckles. Eden's hands weren't smooth. They were the hands of a person who had once had to farm, who had to walk streets passing out pamphlets about people she didn't truly believe in simply to survive. They were the hands of the person he loved more than anything in the world. The person he had failed.
A shudder wracked his body.
"My job in this war is to be a prophet. It was, if Leonardo is correct, what my father did too." She sighed. "I never expected that I would get to have you. That's such a gift to me. It's hard for me to imagine I'll never see your face with my own eyes again."
"You might." He rubbed his nose against hers. "In one of your prophecies. And then you'll get to see me again when Sebastian is gone."
"Maybe."
"Maybe is better than no. Can you get to yes?"
The start of a grin appeared on her face. "Maybe."
"Do you want me to go? Can you forgive me, ever?"
She squeezed his hand. "I keep telling you there is nothing to forgive. I'd rather this happen to me than you."
"Eden…"
She interrupted. "Stop interrupting me. It's disconcerting. I can't see you. I need you to listen when I speak."
He nodded and then he realized she couldn't see him. This was going to take some time to get used to. "Okay."
"I don't even know what I was going to say." She laughed. "Kiss me, Samuel."
"Did I hear you correctly? You just said kiss me?"
"Yes." She reached up as she traced his face with her fingers. Goosebumps traveled up and down his spine. "Kiss me, Samuel. Show me that I'm not alone in the dark."
He pressed his lips to hers. "I'll always be with you. Wherever you are, I'm there too."
Samuel kissed Eden like he might never get to again. With the way things were going, he wasn't sure he would. She met him kiss-for-kiss, their passion becoming more intense with each passing moment.
He placed her hand on his chest. "Can you feel my heart beating? I know it's cheesy but it beats only for you. Always has."
"You can be cheesy with me. I like it." Her cheeks had regained their color. A rosy hue blanketed her skin.
"Let me touch you. Everywhere."
She nodded, lying back on the bed. "I wish I could see your gaze heating up for me."
"It's plenty hot. Please take my word for that. Or…" A thought occurred to him. "This might show you."
Gently, he placed her hand on his cock. It was hard as steel. "Any doubt about how much I want you?"
"No." She pressed her body up against his. "I have to admit that I really like that I have this effect on you. It makes me feel… powerful."
"You are powerful. So powerful. You hold my whole life in your hands."
She fumbled for a second before she wrapped her arms around his neck. Then there was no need for words. He wanted to touch her everywhere so he did. Starting with her neck, he trailed his fingers down the center of her throat until he reached the very bottom. There, he planted a kiss.
Eden squirmed until she could pull the shirt she'd put on over her head. He wanted to help but he didn't want to give her the impression he thought she couldn't do simple things like take off her own shirt.
Her breasts sprung loose. More than a handful, he squeezed them in his hands, loving the way she moaned as he did so.
"I'm never going to get tired of your breasts. You know that, don't you?"
She tugged at his shirt. "Take off yours too. I can't seem to do it."
He was happy to oblige.
Chapter Eighteen
Eden was in the dark and she wasn't sure she'd ever get used to it. While she knew that with time she could adjust to almost anything, Eden wasn't certain this would ever be anything she could be comfortable with. But right now, Samuel's mouth was on her breast and she could concentrate on that.
Not that it took much concentration. Sensations of pleasure traveled throughout her body. His hands moved lower. She could feel the strong touch of his callused fingers moving down her belly toward her lower areas. Without being able to see him, his touches were more intense, somehow more personal. Eden had to imagine what he was experiencing since she wasn't able to see his reactions.
"How does that feel?" Samuel voice caressed her neck.
"Like heaven."
"Good." His hands traveled lower, followed by Samuel's warm mouth. Finally, they found her hot core. She might be bathed in darkness but her body felt like it might explode in light if he didn't touch her there soon.
She felt Samuel place one finger inside of her. As she moaned her appreciation, he pushed in a second one.
Eden squirmed. She needed release more than she'd ever needed it before. Something to show her she still lived even though she might never again have any visual evidence of it.
Samuel found her hot spot and she nearly reared off the bed. "I love touching you, Eden. You're my girl. You always will be. There's nothing more important to me than giving you pleasure, giving you the life you deserve."
His words added to the caress his fingers smoothly made over her clit. Oh yes, tears filled her eyes and spilled down her face. She made no move to wipe them. If there was such a thing as too much feeling, Eden felt that way.
"Come for me, Eden. Come for me before I enter you. I want you to come this way."
As if spurred on by his instructions, she lost herself to the moment. Her orgasm surged through her like a storm pushing toward the coastline—intense and unstoppable.
"That's it, beautiful. I love it. I love it that you came for me."
Eden panted, unable to slow down her heart and not sure she wanted to. Maybe she could drift warm and safe in Samuel's arms for the rest of her life.
She sat up, desperate to touch him herself. In her mind's eye she could see
his face. His strong chin, his long nose, and his ears that poked out just a little too far on the sides of his head. It wasn't hard to call to mind the grayness of his eyes and the way they sparkled when he looked at her.
Eden reached out until she could gently stroke his face. If this was how she would know him now, then she had to get good at using her fingers. First, she found his nose. He laughed as she touched him.
"Don't make fun of me. I'm learning how to do this."
He shook his head; she felt it under her hands. "I'm not teasing you. I like it. Anytime I can get your hands on me, it's a good thing."
"I like touching you. Now, it's like a lifeline for me."
He hadn't shaved and she could feel the slight roughness of his stubble beneath her fingertips. He groaned as she continued her exploration, moving her hands down his chest. Samuel wasn't as hairy as some pictures she had seen of naked men. But he had a little bit of chest hair. In her memory, it was light brown like the color of his hair.
Spreading out her hands, she found each of his nipples. They were smoother than the rest of his skin and free from hair. Feeling slightly mischievous, she pinched them lightly. He jumped and cursed before grabbing her to kiss her hard.
"You're a little hellion. Pinching me."
She laughed; something she couldn't believe she could do under the circumstances but Samuel made her feel whole, like she hadn't just lost her sight. "You love it and you know it."
"I do." He kissed her nose. "I love you."
"Then if you love me, put your hard cock inside of me."
He groaned. "My proper girl who spent her days passing out religious paraphernalia on the streets has become wonton."
Not that he seemed to mind. Instead, he lined himself up against her hot core and pushed inside of her. Her muscles remembered the feeling from the last time they'd done this together. Nothing hurt this time, instead she felt gloriously full with his erection pressed within her heat.
She wrapped her legs around his waist, trying to bring to mind the images of them making love earlier in the night. What had the exact color of his skin been? She could remember it easily—it was a light golden brown.
"You feel so good wrapped around me. I know fate meant for us to be together. You fit me like no one else could, baby."
Love Beyond Sight Page 17