Calling for a Miracle [The Order of Vampyres 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) (59 page)

“Have you waited for me?” he asked. “I was unsure of my welcome. If you wish me to leave, you only need to command it and I shall go and never bother you again.”

“Jonas,” she sobbed angrily. “Don’t you dare come here to me and then threaten to leave again.”

He smiled, but there was so much pain in that smile, so many burdens pressed into the creases of his eyes that she worried he would never fully heal from what he had seen and been through over the past few months. “I will never leave you if you wish me to stay, my darling Abilene. Never again.”

“So it is done?”

He looked down in an attempt to veil his sorrow. Jealousy knifed through Abilene’s heart that another woman had known him in a way he should have always been solely hers. And to see him so filled with grief over not being able to keep them both, it tested her strength to not hold his calling
against him.

“I have come to many realizations on this journey, Abilene.”

“And what have you realized?” She suddenly feared that he had returned only to finally say good-bye, that he had found his true mate and she was the only female who would ever truly own his heart and soul.
What about my heart? What about my soul?
Abilene wanted to scream, but remained silent.

“I have learned that every male can only have one true mate in his lifetime.” Abilene fought to stay upright. So this was it then. He had gone to his mate and learned that their vows were nothing more than child’s play in the eyes of God. He then said, “You are my true mate.”

At first she did not hear him. She merely stared down at her skirts billowing over her ankles and boots. When she realized what he said, she looked up and breathed, “What?”

“You, Abilene. God had called me to another so that I could serve him in ways no other could. It was my uncle who destroyed that woman’s family thus making her grandchildren my responsibility. The Almighty was merely using me as His servant to correct a few wrongs. He called
me in a way he knew I would never be able to ignore. He needed a miracle and I was called to deliver it.”

“I do not understand.”

“I did not bond with another, Abilene. I have never known another female as I have known you. You were my first and will always be my last. At first I was not sure if I should return, but then last night, when I thought my dreams were over, I saw you. You were here, sweeping the cold snow from our door. You saw me, too. I know you did.” Abilene suddenly realized that, yes, she knew the vision he spoke of. She had dreamed of Jonas. “Do you see? Only true mates dream. It is you that I now see when I rest my eyes, you who fills my senses and makes my body hunger. You are my mate and I plan on claiming you now.”

She could not breathe. How was this possible? She had so many questions, but Jonas was now taking steady, measured steps toward her. Before she could organize her thoughts, he was before her, his hands gripping her arms tightly. She looked into his determined eyes and said, “You did not break our vows?”

“Never.” He brushed away a thin ribbon of hair that teased across her face and tucked it behind her ear. Their eyes locked as a universe of emotion passed between them. “You are mine, Abilene, but what’s more, I am yours. Nothing could ever take me away from you again.”

His mouth found hers and warmth spread from her lips to her heart. She made a startled sound when he scooped her into his arms. He continued to kiss her as he led them through the front door and carried her up the stairs. He did not stop kissing her until they reached their room.

As her feet touched down on the ground, his fingers began removing the pins from her clothing. Jonas, never pulling his gaze from hers, carefully divested her of her bonnet and began to unravel her braids. Tears of happiness began to choke her. Abilene bit her lip as Jonas leaned forward and kissed her eyes. “No more tears, my love. I am home and I will never leave again.”

She slowly undid his shirt and spread it wide over his chest. She pressed her palm to his heart, trembling at the contact. She had been so certain she would never know him like this again. Her hair came down over her shoulders and she stepped close to him and placed her cheek over his heart. Jonas lovingly held her to him, their arms wrapping tightly around one another.

“I love you, Jonas.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Love is too small to encompass all the emotions I hold for you, sweet Abilene. You are the blood in my veins, the breath in my lungs, the song to morning and the lullaby to every peaceful rest I take. When God spoke of marriage and love he was speaking of us. My vow to you goes beyond this life and into the next. There is no one who will ever touch the part of my soul that belongs to you.”

She looked up at him, unable to form words. She simply pulled him down to her kiss and showed him what he meant to her. Their clothes were stripped away and Jonas scooped Abilene into his arms once again and carried her to their bed.

As her back pressed into the mattress, Jonas kissed her from her lips to her neck, down to her heart. Abilene held him tightly to her, never wanting to let him go again. His mouth kissed and tasted her breasts and she arched into his caress. Their bodies moved like water flowing over the banks cut by time and repetition. They fit together like a masterpiece and Abilene wondered how she could have ever questioned their providence.

His mouth trailed down to her belly and he stilled, palms spread over her womb. Eyes filled with wonder, he looked up at her. “You are with child.” She nodded and he gently kissed her soft belly with such reverence she felt the heat of his touch spread through her veins to her heart and down to her toes.

He worshipped her, anointing her body with kisses as if she herself was a sacrament to be received. When they came together it was as if their bodies collided with such orchestrated beauty that only God could have designed such love. He pressed into her and she became a bride once more, being taken by her husband whom she vowed to love above all others.

In a passionate slide of give-and-take they moved as one, never to be separated again. Their bodies and minds cried out in pleasure unknown to many. What they shared could not be replicated. It was theirs and theirs alone, the love of two devoted soul mates called to each other by the extraordinary grace of God when nothing short of a miracle could have saved them. He was her Jonas, her miracle, and God had called him to her.

Epilogue

Destiny shivered in her camel petticoat and cursed herself for the hundredth time for thinking UGGs were appropriate footwear when hunting a killer in the snowy mountains of Pennsylvania. She had had a fight with her crew when they wouldn’t stop complaining and told them to just go back. Now she was wondering if she was in fact just as crazy as they had accused her of being. It didn’t matter. There was an
assassino,
a murderer, in the woods and she was going to catch him. The twentieth victim was found this week. Another female, drained of blood, traces of sexual assault, and fang marks above her carotid artery.

Destiny stomped her wet, suede-covered feet and marched in place. Her wool-clad hands fisted as a sharp wind passed through the trees, making an eerie whining sound. When the wind died down, there was nothing but silence, still, quiet nothingness. She almost wished the wind would pick up again.

She jumped when Adele’s muffled voice began to sing “Rolling in the Deep” from somewhere deep inside her purse. She bit the fingertip of her glove and yanked her hand free. Adele sang on, her song looping back to the beginning, as Destiny searched for her iPhone. “
Filho de puta,
” she cursed, not wanting to miss the call. When she finally found the phone, she quickly pulled it to her ear. The combination of the cold, her fear, and her frantic searching had left her somewhat out of breath. “Hello?”

“Destiny, were you at my place?”

She pressed her lips together. She should have never answered the phone. Her brother would be pissed if he found out where she was. “Hi, Vito. How are you?”

“Fine. Why is my shit all moved around and why is my gun cabinet open?”

“
Merda
”
she cursed under her breath. She cleared her throat and said, “I, uh, needed to borrow something.”

“From my hunting cabinet? What the hell did you take?” She could hear him riffling around through the trunk and hoped he wouldn’t be able to tell what was missing. He growled. “Destiny, where the fuck is my crossbow?”

“Look, don’t get mad, but I needed it.”

“For what? That shit’s dangerous. You don’t even know how to use it. Bring it back here right now.”

“Uh, I sort of can’t.”

“Why not?” he snarled.

“I sort of lost my ride and I can’t get back right away.”

“Back? Where the hell are you?”

Destiny wondered if she simply claimed she was in a tunnel and hung up if he would call back. Knowing he would, she gave up and mumbled, “Jim Thorpe.”

“God damn it, Destiny! And what the fuck do you mean you sort of lost your ride? Where the hell is your crew?”

“They left.”

He growled. She heard him moving around and what she assumed was him grabbing his keys. He let out a stream of Portuguese curse words and then she heard him slam his car door and the crank of his engine. “Tell me you are at least in the town and not back in those damn woods or so help me God, I am going to kick your ass when I get there.”

“Calm down, Vito. That’s why I have the crossbow.”

“Are you insane? There is a fucking killer in the woods and you don’t have the common sense to stay out of there. Why can’t you have a normal job?”

“Like what, all the strippers you work with?” she asked snidely.

“At least they’re safe. You on the other hand have a death wish.”

Her phone beeped in her ear and she looked to see that her battery was about to go.
Great.
“Look, V, I gotta go. My phone’s about to die.”

“Well, tell me where you are and do not go into those woods. I will be there in a little over an hour.”

“I’ll meet you right by the—” Her phone shut down with a cheerful chime that Destiny found inappropriate. “
Merda!”

She shivered and tucked the useless device into her coat pocket. Her fingers were freezing. She shoved them back into her gloves and crossed her arms as she began to bounce in place in hopes of getting warm. It wasn’t working.

She looked around the forest and saw nothing but pine needles and crusty dead leaves peeking from the snow. Low squawks came from somewhere far above and she wondered if that was the sound bats made. Maybe she should just head back to the bottom of the mountain and wait for her brother.

She heard a crunch that sounded like a foot stepping down on the frosted ground and dry debris. She lifted the crossbow and turned quickly. “
Who’s there?
”
She looked left and right but saw nothing but spindly trees casting black over blue shadows. Branches looked like arms and shrubs, roots, and vines resembled legs. Her mind was playing tricks on her. While she knew she was only staring into an empty forest, she could have sworn for a brief moment she saw several eyes looking back at her.

She held the crossbow at her chest in what she hoped was the proper position. So long as the arrow wasn’t aimed at her she figured she was good. Her hands trembled and the weight of the weapon began to wear on her. She stood still, her muscles tense, for possibly fifteen minutes when there was suddenly another crunch behind her.

She jumped and turned the other way, her breath coming fast as she began to panic. “Who’s out there?” She listened, but heard nothing. “I have a weapon and I will shoot anything that gets too close.”