CHAPTER 24
We had been through so much over Thanksgiving weekend, and I, for the first time in days, felt like I could take a deep breath in. Our trip to Seattle was so calming, as was our first evening in Kingston at the house, but then once the demon arrived, it became horrific. I understood this world a little bit better now, and my place in it. The dangers were becoming more apparent as were our strengths. I didn’t participate in any of the actual combat this time around, but I was proud that I was able to help my family with the luring and rituals. I was looking forward to spending the next few days relaxing as much as possible, attempting to get some alone time with Athen snuck in there too. My long bath definitely helped get my mind and muscles relaxed. Part of me didn’t want to leave the bathwater. I didn’t realize how tense I had become during these last couple days.
I had forgiven them for not filling me in completely on their plans, I think, but I kind of wished they had told me because I really thought I had lost them, even let myself think it was okay if the demon took me. The fact the creature was able to touch me at all was more than I could handle. I sunk under the bath water commanding myself to let go of the images as I breathed out creating air bubbles for the demon’s image to escape.
Cyril and Arie decided to go over to Edmonds and pick up some snacks for the remainder of our stay, which left Athen and me alone for the day. I was planning on taking full advantage. I was pretty thrilled at the idea. I heard my bedroom door open and was exhilarated at the thought that Athen was near.
“How are you doing?” Athen’s voice reached me through the closed bathroom door.
“Better if you were in here. I’m getting out now.” I told him, hoping it would provoke something to finally happen.
“We’ve got some free time, angel. My guess is that Arie is going to pull Cyril through all of Edmonds’ shops, not just the bakery. I think that could be a good thing. How about you?” I could tell in his voice that his idea of good things was finally going to match mine.
“Uh, yeah!” I exclaimed, more excited than ever before, as I tried not to slip on the tile floor.
I grabbed a towel and quickly wrapped my hair and pulled my robe on. I couldn’t wait to see what the rest of the afternoon had in store for me. The fear was completely drained from my body. I was back to my old self or maybe my new self. Regardless, I felt great. I grabbed my bracelet off the granite countertop and hopped to the door. I swung it open to see quite a surprising sight before me. There were ivory candles of every size lit all around my room; red and white rose petals were trailing from the door to the fireplace. He had placed the sheepskin blanket in front of the fire, and alongside it were two flutes with champagne and my favorite chocolate covered strawberries. I had no idea how he could have accomplished everything while I was soaking, but he always managed to take everything up a notch. Once my eyes followed the path of rose petals, I met his gaze, which still took my breath away. His brilliant, green eyes made my stomach flutter. They looked especially mischievous. It brought me back immediately to the night I saw him in the pub for the first time. That first night I was fumbling and nervous and oh so self-conscious. I don’t even feel like the same person. The thought of even letting him see me without makeup, straight from the bath would never have happened with the old me. Now, I look in the mirror, and I’m so happy with what I see. Granted I feel as if I look better after the phasing, but Athen swears it’s in my head, that I always looked like this. I have grown very fond of my own green eyes now, but they’re still nothing compared to Athen’s. His are incredible.
As I looked at him, his eyes were moving slowly up and down my body. I thought that was so cute being that I was completely covered up by a plush bathrobe. He was so stunning. The thought that he was mine made me feel like I was in heaven. He held out his hands, eyes twinkling. I couldn’t resist.
“Come on over here, sweetheart. I have some champagne for us. We can finally relax and unwind. You’ve certainly been through a lot since coming into contact with us again, huh? Sorry about everything.”
“I wouldn’t take it back for anything, Athen. You have made my world complete. I have never been this confident, never had this much fun, I don’t know how I existed before. I was like a zombie, just going through the motions.”
I walked over and grabbed his hands. We settled down on the floor and held each other. It was wonderful, and for once I wasn’t being overly eager. I was loving every second of what the afternoon had in store for me. I knew tonight would be the night. Like he said, the other times weren’t right. Tonight would be perfect. I was going to let him be in charge. We spent hours laughing, catching up on memories I had no recollection of. I was so intrigued to hear details about my life.
Athen wanted to walk the beach, and I thought that sounded wonderful. I quickly got dressed and met him in the kitchen where he was preparing a plate of smore’s ingredients. That made me chuckle.
“What are you giggling about?” he asked.
“Nothing. Sometimes it seems too perfect. Like I’m in a coma and will wake up at the worst moment.”
“Nope. We belong together. Besides when you are together for as long as we have been, you don’t sweat the small stuff. That’s what people always get caught up in, but stretched over our lifetimes, most things are pretty inconsequential.”
He grabbed the skewers, the Ziploc baggies full of goodies, and my hand as we left out the back door. I hadn’t really gotten to visit the beach since I arrived.
I never noticed from the house, but they had little solar lights on the trail down to the beach, which was nice especially with my lack of coordination. The beach was amazing, not the typical sandy beaches that are on postcards, but rather shiny, multicolored pebbles with patches of sand and boulders encasing the path. Athen brought me to the largest patch of sand. Enough for a picnic or maybe sunbathing, not that there was ever that much warmth, I thought to myself. I looked over to the right and saw the ferry heading back to Edmonds, how special this place was. I was extremely lucky to be a part of it. The sun was gently saying its goodbyes for the evening, and I scanned the beach for Athen. Finally I spied him behind me gathering pieces of wood. I was wondering if it was for a bonfire or for a backup at the house. The twilight hours were so mind numbingly beautiful that it was easy to forget the chill that was hovering in the air.
“What are you doing? Is there anything I can help with?”
“I’m about to start a fire. It’ll only take a second. I think I got it handled,” he said beaming. I noticed how proud he was whenever he did something to make me happy. My insides immediately warmed. I felt so special, so very lucky.
“Oh yeah, the smores! How could I forget? I think I must be a little antsy,” I laughed.
“Can’t imagine what for,” he said, with his eyes reflecting the moonlight that was beginning to show itself.
I sat on the blanket near the fire, purely in awe of everything. As the sun drifted away, we were left with nothing but darkness. The gentle lapping of the waves mixed with the crackling of the fire was so soothing. I looked over at the glow as it danced in the darkness. I leaned my head against Athen, soaking up everything that this day had brought to me so far. I knew it was coming to a close. I didn’t want it to end. I looked up at Athen, wanting nothing more than him for all eternity. I knew he wanted the same.
“Thank you Athen. Thank you for everything.” Then it hit me – the beach! My dream! This was my dream - this was the beach. Heaven was about to exist. I was certain of it.
Athen stood up, grabbed me from the blanket where we were sitting and cradled me in his arms. I could feel him moving, that he was taking me somewhere, but with the darkness I wasn’t able to judge where we were going until he gently laid me down against a boulder. The coldness of the boulder mixed with the heat of my body was shocking. I looked into his eyes, with the darkness around us, I saw that his eyes had a
gentle, green glow, very soft and sensual. I wondered if mine had the same. I saw the man who I had loved for centuries and would for centuries more, but at this moment in this lifetime, it was a first. He began lightly kissing my neck as I began unbuttoning his shirt. The quiet sound of the fire crackling brought me back to reality for a moment before I heard Athen begin speaking.
“Tonight’s the beginning of our eternity, Ana. I’ll not lose you again.” His hand was lifting my sweater up, and I could feel his breath on me like never before. It hovered over every inch of my body, bringing me to a level of pleasure that I didn’t think possible. I grabbed his neck and didn’t ever want to let go. I could feel the strength of his arms as he continued to caress and kiss every inch of my body. With every crash of a wave, an insurmountable flood of desire ran through me. A love that I had longed a lifetime for was finally my reality. A partner who would carry me into eternity was finally with me. Nothing in my life was predictable any longer, and that was fine with me as long as I had Athen by my side.
My body moved rhythmically with his, never wanting this moment to end. I had tried so many times before, and Athen was right. This was the right moment. I could feel his hands gracing every part of my body with the lightest of touch as he cradled me in between him and the boulder. His kissing became more intense and passionate, stopping every so often to hold my head in his hands to look me in my eyes. I had never been more connected to him. This was perfection for me. I knew this was the life that was meant to be mine again. I grabbed his shoulders and began kissing his chest more intensely as he held me closer. He lifted me from the boulder, carrying me to the blanket that he had so carefully laid out for us near the fire. His warmth came through me again. I knew that this night would continue for as long as I wanted. I hoped the fire between us would never die down.
As I closed my eyes, my dream infected me like a disease. I have lived this before. With every thrust my fear became more tangible, more real. For every moment in this reality was a moment suspended in my dream. My ecstasy fell as I realized my dreams were also visions of the future. I could lose Athen, not once but twice. My fear began escaping, leaving a trail between our two bodies; my spirit sinking with the newfound information. The serpent eyes could get him.