I was having a real hard time distinguishing between the old him and the new. He seemed so much the same and I loved it.
“Well, be careful,” she added, the protective mother coming into play.
“We will be,” I said, turning to leave.
I could feel him following close behind while we went through the house. When we reached the door to the garage, he moved around me, opening it.
“Thanks,” I said, glancing at him as I passed.
“No problem,” he smiled.
We went to the motorcycle and I noticed he'd found the other helmet he used to have me wear.
“I hope this is okay,” he said, picking the gear up off the seat and offered it to me. “I found this on the shelf. I thought it might be a little less obvious than yours,” he added, nodding toward my purple helmet with its bright green daisies.
“Trust me, that helmet and scooter was not my choice,” I said shaking my head.
“I know,” he chuckled, and I flashed a glance at him with a question on my face. “The memories.” He pointed to his head.
“Oh, yeah.” I sighed.
I needed to quit getting so excited whenever he happened to mention something from the past. He did have my memories now.
Vance straddled the bike, and I waited for him to kick start the engine before I climbed on. He seemed completely at ease with me when I wrapped my arms around him this time, and I laid my helmeted head against him.
He backed out of the driveway and took off down the road. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed being next to him. When I opened them a few minutes later, I recognized the direction we were headed immediately. We were driving into Oak Creek Canyon.
“Where are we going?” I asked into his head and he jerked suddenly at the intrusion.
“Sorry,” he answered back. “I’m not used to communicating like this.”
“It’s okay. I didn’t mean to startle you. If you prefer I don’t talk to you this way I'll stop,” I replied in apology.
“No. It’s fine. Just takes some getting used to,” he added through our link. “I was going to take you to the place we use to go. Is that alright?”
“Yes,” I answered, a bit excited at his choice. That spot held a lot of good memories for us. His magic was strong there, so maybe he would feel it too.
We soon made the turn and crossed over the bridge, parking at the dead end on the other side. We climbed off the motorcycle and removed our helmets before walking through the green foliage until we reached the flat stone on top.
“Wow! It's great up here!” he said. “Check out at that view!” He lifted a hand to shade his eyes from the sun and he looked out over the landscape.
“It’s beautiful!” I agreed, never taking my eyes off of him, thinking he was the most wonderful thing I’d ever seen.
He walked over to the edge of the stone and sat down, dangling his legs over the ledge, much like he had on the first night he'd brought me here.
“Have a seat,” he said, patting the stone next to him.
I sat, letting my feet hang over as he did. We remained in silence for several minutes, staring out over the tops of the trees and listening to the river that ran below us.
“So do you care if we just talk for a while?” He casually looked over at me.
“Sure. What do you want to talk about?” I replied my curiosity piqued.
"Well, I'd like to learn a little about you if you don't mind."
"Okay, what would you like to know?" I asked him.
"Tell me about your life before you met me. I have all the particulars from the after part, but I want to know who you were before we got together."
"Hmm." His question caught me off guard and I had to let my mind begin to drift back over my past. He waited patiently while I searched for a place to start.
"I don't know, Vance. To be honest with you, I think I was a typical teenage girl. I grew up in a good, stable home with parents who showered me with love, as well as each other. I never felt wanting or lacking for things. It wasn't like they spoiled me or anything, we were just happy. Normal, I thought, though now that I've been exposed to other people I wonder if perhaps we might be the exception instead of the norm."
"What about your hopes and dreams?" Vance asked. "What did you aspire to be?"
"Well, now I'm going to sound shallow, I'm afraid.” I gave a small laugh. "Like I said, I was content with my life and for whatever reason I didn't dwell much on my plans for the future. I was more interested in the immediate future, like getting my license or being able to date and go to dances and such. Occasionally I'd think about what I wanted to do after I graduated and continued my education in college. To be honest I always imagined my self meeting someone and getting married."
"And what were you planning on studying while you were away at college?"
"I was leaning toward working in medicine like my mom, perhaps nursing or something else in the medical field. I hadn't really made up my mind. I figured I’d concentrate on getting my general studies out of the way first and hope a direction became clearer to me during that," I replied with a shrug. "I always enjoyed mixing things in science class too. I wouldn't have minded trying something out in the research field."
"You're young.” He gave me an encouraging look. "You can still try all the stuff you want to. You have plenty of time."
"Maybe.” I stared off over the treetops. "But first I need to finish high school, and we need to get things straightened out with you. You're my number one priority right now. I want to help you get your memory back somehow."
“Let’s talk about the memories you gave me,” he said.
“Alright, go ahead,” I replied, happy he wanted to discuss things.
“Well, I spent a lot of the night pondering over them after you had fallen asleep,” he admitted.
“Oh?”
“I think you're right. I am him,” he stated matter-of-factly, and my heart skipped a beat at the declaration. “I'm not trying to get your hopes up. I don’t remember things, but I can feel some of those emotions associated with the memories. The more I think about them, the stronger they grow. They're definitely my feelings. I can tell because they're vibrating through me.”
This explained why he seemed so much like his normal self this morning.
“I have no idea if any of my memories will ever come back to me, but I wanted you to be aware I’m happy to be here … with you.” He reached to place his hand over mine.
“I’m glad,” I replied with a genuine smile, enjoying the warmth of his skin against mine. “I really do want you to be happy.”
He nodded. “I know you do.” He gave my fingers a squeeze, before he jumped to his feet. “Let’s go for a walk,” he added, offering his hand to me.
I placed mine in his and he pulled me up. He released me briefly, only to change his position, interlacing his fingers with mine and a tiny thrill passed through me. I was like a little girl on her first date, when the guy she's nuts over finally reaches over and holds her hand. It was crazy and exhilarating!
We walked together on the large stone slab, heading toward the tree line, but he stopped suddenly.
“This is right where the binding spell was performed, isn’t it?” He glanced around.
I nodded, knowing he recognized the spot from my memory.
“So if I’m him, then we're still bound together right?” he asked, looking at me seriously.
“Yes.”
“And this is why it hurts when I'm away from you?” he asked.
“Yes. You worked a very strong spell,” I explained.
His eyes flickered about before he stepped in front of me, standing toe to toe with me.
“I’m sorry for all of the pain you've gone through lately because of me, Portia,” he said looking into my eyes. “If I could take it away from you I would. I can tell you really love me a lot.”
I hadn’t expected this turn in the conversation, so I didn’t say anything while I tried to hold m
y own emotions in check.
He reached out to cup my face, letting his thumb rub over my cheek and I naturally leaned into the sweet gesture.
“I brought you here today because I want to tell you I do feel something for you too.” He paused while watching me. “I don’t understand it, but the feelings are there and they’re growing fast.” I saw the sincerity on his face.
“Oh, Vance,” I replied with a sigh, allowing myself to lean against him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, laying my head on his shoulder. “I love you. I’m sorry. I know I agreed to treat you as a completely different individual, but I can’t. You're still the same person to me, even without the memories.”
He pushed me back so he could look at me when I continued.
“I notice it in the way you talk, the way you walk, the way you move. Everything you do is so … you. Please forgive me for not keeping my end of our deal. But it's like asking me to believe you never existed. I can’t do it.” I searched his eyes for his response.
“It’s okay, baby,” he replied, and I didn’t miss the use of his traditional pet name for me. He pulled me closer to him. “I understand now.”
He stroked a palm over my hair and down my back. I closed my eyes and just enjoyed being close to him in this way.
“Portia, look at me,” he said, and I lifted my head up toward him. He moved his hands so each one was placed under the sides of my chin. “I want to kiss you,” he said softly. “Is that okay?”
I nodded, staring up into his eyes. “You don’t ever have to ask me,” I replied, watching him. “My lips have always been yours to kiss.”
He dipped his head in, kissing me sweet and gentle. His mouth moved tenderly over mine and I closed my eyes savoring it. He lifted his lips to kiss both of my eyelids, my cheeks, and even the tip of my nose before he returned back to my mouth.
He deepened the contact this time, and I slid my arms around his neck. He pulled our bodies tighter together, and I felt myself turning to molten liquid in his embrace, my emotions coursing through me while our mouths moved in perfect unison. He finally pulled away from me and he rested his forehead against mine.
“Look at me,” he said, and I opened my eyes to stare into his beautiful blue ones. He let his gaze trail slowly over the feature of my face before he spoke again. “I love you, Portia,” he said in a hushed voice. “I don’t know how or why, but I do.”
Chapter 6
I began to tremble at his words and my eyes filled with tears as he searched my face, waiting for a response.
“You don’t have to say these things to make me feel better,” I whispered, my voice choked with emotion. “I know you need time, and I don’t want to rush you.”
He slid his hands over my arms, caressing my bare skin. “I’m not trying to do that,” he said with a slight shake of his head. “I can't say what the reason is, maybe it's this place and all that's happened between us here. But I feel it ... me, myself, not just some memory which has been planted.” He lifted a hand to touch my face. “These feelings are growing stronger with every minute that passes. It started last night, after you went to sleep and has continued throughout the day. I love you, and I know I love you. In here,” he added in a whisper, as he reached for my hand and moved it to rest over his heart.
I felt the warmth of his skin through his shirt, along with the steady beating inside of him.
He smiled at me. “It’s funny when I think about it. I haven’t even been ... alive ... for twenty-four hours yet, and everything is changing for me so quickly. I'm not sure how to explain except to say I love you and I need you in my life.” He squeezed my hand in emphasis.
I gazed at him and I only saw the face of my loving husband. I knew he wasn’t whole, but it was definitely him, and even though he couldn’t physically remember he was still coming back to me.
“It’s good to see you again, Vance,” I replied, moving my hands up to trail my fingers over his face. I traced his brows, around to his cheeks and down to the masculine dimples next to his smile. “I’ve missed you.”
He bent to kiss me once more, holding me in his embrace for several long heated moments.
I stood on my tiptoes so I could reach him better and he wrapped his arms around me, lifting me closer. I put every ounce of my feelings into the kiss, not holding anything back, trying to show him what his declaration of love meant to me.
He answered my intensity kiss for kiss, passion for passion until soft moans were coming from each of us.
I lost track of time and space as our mouths tangled together, tasting, touching, and sighing as need coursed thickly between us.
He pulled away from me, with reluctance, breathing heavily. “Would you like to go home now?” he said, with a short quick breath. He looked around at the heated rock we were standing on. “It’s getting a little warm out here, if you know what I mean,” he added, quirking an eyebrow.
“I do,” I replied, grinning. “And yes, I’d love to go home with you.”
He held my hand and he led me through the brush back to the motorcycle, stopping to kiss me breathless once again before we climbed on.
A short time later we arrived at the house. I got off the bike, removed my helmet, and magically motioned for the garage door to close, which placed us in total darkness.
Before I could flip on the light, Vance suddenly grabbed me from behind, turning me to face him so he could kiss me again. I wrapped my arms around him and he pushed me backward, never breaking his kiss with me while he moved in the general direction of the door. My back hit the wall when we reached it, but he didn’t stop kissing me. His hands were everywhere, in my hair, on my face, down my body, around my waist.
I disconcertedly searched for the door behind me.
“I love you,” he said to me in the darkness just as my hand found the knob, and I noticed his eyes were glowing again.
“I love you too,” I replied, twisting the handle. The door popped open with abruptness and we fell though the opening together onto the kitchen floor.
I started laughing and he followed suit.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his body strewn out across the top of me.
“Yes,” I replied in a fit of giggles. “Are you?”
“I’m feeling pretty good right about now,” he said with his sexy grin smiling back at me.
Someone in the room cleared their throat. We both glanced up to find my dad standing over us with an amused look.
“It’s nice to see things are getting back to normal around here,” he said. “Surely though, there are better places than the kitchen floor.”
I must've blushed twelve shades of red and Vance quickly hopped off of me, unable to keep the laughter from spilling out of him. He reached a hand out, pulling me up behind him.
“I would say I’m sorry about that,” Vance said, turning to my dad. “But I’m not.” He pulled me up against him and kissed me lightly one more time before he reached out to smooth some of my tangled hair.
My dad smiled at us. “As weird as this may sound, I wasn’t unhappy to see it,” he replied with a knowing look. “I hate to burst your bubble, but the two of you have company waiting.”
I gave a sad sigh at the news, realizing we were going to have to wait until later to resume our previous activity and Vance let a small dejected sound too.
“Tonight,” he whispered into my head and he gave me a quick hug.
“So who's here?” I asked my dad, reaching my hands up to remove the redness from Vance’s eyes.
“Your grandma and Babs,” he replied, gesturing toward the living room. “We've been researching this morning and we think we may have come up with a way to help Vance get some more memories,” he said looking curiously at us both. “Of course after what I walked in on, maybe you don’t need this. Are you starting to remember?”
“Not actual memories,” Vance replied with a shake of his head. “I'm having some very strong feelings for Portia though, ones that aren’t necessarily coming fro
m her memories.”
“That’s a good improvement, I'd say,” my dad answered. “And in a short amount of time too. Let’s go talk things over.” We followed him, finding Grandma and Babs sitting together on the sofa.
“Well, hello!” Grandma said, looking up in surprise at us when we entered the room with our arms around each other. “How are things going?”
“We're good,” I replied, smiling at Vance.
He gave my shoulders a little squeeze and winked at me. The two of us went over to sit on the loveseat and my dad sat on the arm of the couch next to us.
“Vance says he's experiencing some feelings for Portia, but he hasn’t regained any of his memories,” Dad explained.
“Well, we came up with an idea that might help you a bit,” Grandma said directly to Vance.
“Let’s hear it,” he replied.
“We thought if we, the members of our coven, could also give you all of the memories we have of you, then it might help to close in some of the gaps and holes you've got. You know, things which Portia's didn’t fill for you, like interactions with other people you've had and such. How do you feel about that?” she asked him.
“Sounds good to me,” he replied. “I know Portia’s memories are helping me to sort things out much better.”
“How would we do it though?” I asked. “I gave Vance those memories through our mental link. No one else here has anything like that.”
“We came across a blood spell we think will work for us. It'll require each member to prick a finger and place a drop of their blood in a bowl,” she explained to him. “We've already contacted the other coven members and they've agreed to it. We can meet together this evening at my house if this is acceptable.” Grandma glanced back and forth between us.
I turned to Vance for approval. This was his decision.
“I guess that’d be fine,” he answered. “Is there anything special I need to do to prepare for it?”
“Just show up,” Grandma said with a smile.
He nodded. “I can do that,” he replied. He stood to shake both of their hands. “I appreciate your concern.”