Eternal Island (Book 1 in the Eternal Series) (42 page)

“Of course, Abe. I’ll never look at you the same way again, but I’m fine nonetheless. Come on, carry her to my car. I don’t have enough room for everyone so I’ll take you two and Jonah, and Elton can bring Becky, Lance and Janie.”

Abe stood up, holding Ariana to his chest, and walked down the plane steps to Rainey’s car. He was worried that she would be mad at him for doing what he did, but damn it all to hell, what choice did he have? He would take his ass chewing from her later. Still, it would be so good if she hadn’t taken too much. He really liked the idea of having a baby with her. To feel her body swell with new life, and see her hold a baby, and watch her laugh, clap and play with his child – it would give his existence a whole new meaning.

What will be, will be. They would soon find out. It only took a few hours or less for the transition to occur. If she woke up with sharp teeth, that would be a dead giveaway. He opened the passenger door and settled her on his lap.

Rainey glanced at him. “Either way, Abe, it will be fine. She won’t stop loving you.”

“I hope you’re right, Rainey. I hope you’re right.”

C
HAPTER 65

Abe stayed by Ariana’s side as she slept in his bed. His phone, which Lidia had rescued from the mess hall and delivered to his room, though a little dented and sporting a cracked screen, had been ringing off the hook with people wanting to know how Ariana was feeling, if it was true she killed Max and Julia, and how she had done it.

All he wanted to know, as he looked at her face relaxed in sleep, was if she was going to be a vampess when she woke up, or the same Ariana she was when she’d left. He had been checking her pulse, every now and then, ever since he put her in his bed and kicked everyone else out of the room. Janie had been the hardest one to convince. For such a small human girl, she held her own pretty well.

Abe sat down in the chair beside his bed and propped his head on his left hand as he checked for a heartbeat with his right. Still strong, good, he thought as he sat back in the chair. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes and, when he looked back at her, she had hers open.

Abe grabbed her hand swiftly. “Oh, thank God, I was so worried. Jonah took too much of your blood and…”

Ariana took her and Abe’s linked hands and put her finger to his lips.

“But Ariana…”

“Shhhh. Come here.” She took her hand from his to pull her hair away from her neck.

Abe’s fangs elongated before he could stop them, but he shook his head. “No, it’s too soon for you.”

“Take it, Abe. You are in bad shape, too.”

“No. I’ll go use a meeker, since I know that you’re okay now. I’ll have Janie come sit with you for a while.”

“Abe, no,” Ariana cried and it broke his heart to watch her cry because of him.

He put his head down; he couldn’t look at her like this. “Look, Ariana. You were unconscious through all this, so let me tell you what happened. You remember letting Jonah take some of your blood?” She nodded. “Well, he didn’t realize how much he’d taken. It’s not his fault, it’s mine. He was out of it, but I should have been keeping watch. By the time I noticed, it was too late. You were already exhausted. You passed out and were close to death. Your heart was failing. I couldn’t lose you. I had to do everything I could to save you. So I gave you some of my blood. I thought it was touch and go, the last few hours, whether you would wake up still human. I can’t risk taking any more of your blood right now; it would dilute yours further. Ariana, it could change you. Do you understand? Is that what you want, to not ever have a chance to have a baby?” She hid her face in the pillow. Abe stroked her hair gently. “I want you to be a vampess, you know that. And one day you will be. But I want you to do it willingly, when you’re ready, and not because of a mistake. If you don’t want a baby, I’ll take your vein now. What’s it gonna be?”

“Just go.” Her voice was muffled by the pillow, but she didn’t turn to look at him.

“I’ll send Janie to sit with you. She’s been hysterical ever since you were taken. It got even worse when I wouldn’t let her stay in here while you were sleeping. She probably hates my guts now, but I always knew that was a strong possibility. Becky’s fine, too. Not a scar on her; your healing powers are amazing. She called the Shaman and let him know that the two of you wouldn’t be back to work until Monday. Apparently, he understood. That’s a good thing, because if he didn’t, I could always pay him a visit and make him understand.”

Ariana didn’t say anything, just kept her face in the pillow. Aww, hell, would she ever forgive him? Abe didn’t give up, just kept stroking her hair and speaking softly.

“Rainey got your dress and the rest of your shopping bags. They are over there, in the corner. I didn’t look at the dress, I promise. I knew you didn’t want me to see it.”

That got her attention. Ariana sat up quickly. “Where’s my purse? Did she get my purse out of the dressing room?”

“Yeah, but I think your phone is still in the vehicle Julia and Max kidnapped you in. I’ll get you another phone when the sun goes down. What else do you need?”

“My purse. Your gift was in it.” Ariana started to get out of bed, but Abe had her purse in her lap before she even put a foot on the floor.

Ariana smiled as she opened it. Abe let out a relieved sigh; she’d finally smiled. She rummaged around in it until she pulled out a little black cardboard box with a red bow wrapped around it. “Here. I’d like you to see it now, if that’s okay.”

Abe smiled, took it and sat down beside her. He twisted the box in his fingers, poked at the sides and bottom of the box, as if he couldn’t work out how to open it, then put on a fake-confused face and frowned at Ariana. Next, he lifted the little box to his ear and gave it a shake, as if he was trying to guess what was inside. Ariana giggled. Finally, Abe tore the ribbon away, lifted the lid and took out the black velvet box inside.

“It’s your wedding ring. I wanted you to see it before I put it on your finger Saturday night, to make sure I got the right size. It would be a little embarrassing if it didn’t fit. Rainey said the jewelry store here could size it in a day if it’s not the right fit.”

With shaking hands, Abe lifted the lid and revealed a beautiful ring. There was a large emerald cut black diamond in the center with four quarter carat brilliant cut diamonds lined up either side of it. The design was simple, yet masculine. Absolutely perfect. He was speechless.

“Don’t you like it?”

He looked at her with tears in his eyes. “No one has ever gotten me something so beautiful. I love it, Ariana.”

She smiled. “Good. Look on the inside; I had it engraved for you.”

He took it out of the box and looked at the inscription on the inside of the thick band.

Abe and Ariana for all Eternity

“Abe?” Ariana counted to ten slowly in her head, but Abe was still as a statue. She counted another ten.

She’d just opened her mouth to ask if he was alright when he grabbed her and hugged her fiercely. He was choked up. “I thought I had lost you. I thought that life sucking bitch had taken you away from me for good. I couldn’t get to you fast enough.”

“I’m here, Abe. You saved me, I’m here.”

He laughed and looked at her. “No, you saved you and you saved me. Oh. Something I meant to ask you. How did you get Jonah to knock me on my ass?”

“Oh, I tried something new. I used telepathy. I wasn’t sure if I could do it, but it turns out it’s one of my many gifts.” She took the ring from his fingers. “Here, let’s see if this fits.” She took his left hand in hers and slipped the ring into place on his ring finger. It fit perfectly. She started to pull it back off and he closed his fingers in a fist.

“It stays.”

“Oh, no, it doesn’t.” She started tickling him.

“Okay, okay, I give in. Here, take it.”

Ariana took the ring and put it back in its box. “Very wise of you. Thank you.”

Abe kissed her passionately, then pulled back. “I have to feed, or I’m going to hurt you.” He stood up. Ariana got off the bed, too, and walked towards the bathroom.

“Don’t bother sending Janie in here. I’m going to take a shower and then go find her. I feel great, Abe,” she said when he gave her a questioning look. “Go do what you have to do and then get some sleep, you need it. I have some wedding plans to make. You probably won’t see me a lot until the wedding, so find something to keep yourself busy. We’ve got Lance a tux, too. He’s going to give me away.”

Abe didn’t like the idea of not seeing her much till Saturday night, but he understood. She had a lot to do in a short amount of time. He walked back to her and took her in his arms. “I’ll leave you alone. I’ll get your new phone to you tonight and let you do what you need to do without bothering you. I might send an occasional text message.”

She smiled up at him. “I might answer it.”

He grinned his perfect grin. “I’ll see you Saturday night. I’ll be the guy in the penguin suit waiting at the altar for you. Don’t mistake me for Jonah; he’s my best man. The wedding will be in the gardens behind the palace. I’ve already got that organized. It’ll be the most extravagant wedding this island has ever seen. How many groomsmen do I need to have? How many bridesmaids do you have?”

“Three. So you need two more.”

Abe walked to the bedside table and pulled a CD out of the drawer. He turned and looked at her. I have a request for the first song we dance to. I don’t care about any others, choose what you like. But I’d like this one to be our song. It says everything I need to say to you right now. Here, take it.” He smiled down at her. “You will understand when you’ve listened to it.”

Ariana shook her head. “Keep it and surprise me. I promise not to faint. I’ll make sure they know you have the first song already chosen.”

Abe thought for a minute, then he smiled and pulled her close. “I’ve got a better surprise. I’ll sing it to you in front of everyone while we dance to it.” He hummed a few chords and started moving their bodies in a slow dance.

Ariana had heard the tune he was humming but couldn’t remember the name of the song; she thought it was country, an older country song. Her mom used to listen to country music in her car a lot, but her dad would always turn it to southern rock of the eighties when she rode with him. She liked it all but wasn’t good with the names of bands and songs. The tune Abe was humming was beautiful, though.

Abe dipped her down, kissed her lips, pulled her back upright and let her go so she could have her shower and go on with her day. “Have fun planning our wedding. If you need me for anything, I’ll be around here, somewhere, rattling around this huge place, all by myself. I do need to catch up with some work, actually, but it isn’t anything I can’t put on hold for you.”

“Aww, that’s so sweet of you.”

“I would do anything for my Queen,” he said as he walked out the door, smiling.

C
HAPTER 66

It was a beautiful night for a wedding. Ariana was exhausted, but didn’t quite know why. Every time she tried to do something that day to help out, someone would walk up and take the job away from her. She was in her and Becky’s room alone, in her wedding dress. After eight goes on her hair and three on her make-up, Ariana had had enough. She’d sent Rainey, Becky and Janie away, so she could have a moment to herself.

Ariana looked around the room one last time. She hadn’t bothered packing her things away; Janie would help with that later. It felt more comforting to leave everything as it was: clothes scattered on the two beds and the chairs, make-up on pretty much every available surface, pictures… Pictures…

She put her head down and let her tears flow as memories of her parents and Michael flooded back. This was the day her parents should have been here with her, the day her Daddy should walk her down the aisle. This was the time when a father was expected to come into the room, shoo everyone away, and tell his daughter how much he loved her, how much he would miss her, and that she would always be Daddy’s little girl.

Ariana picked up the picture frames on her bedside table. One was of her and Michael in a funny photo – he was giving her a piggy back ride and she was giving him bunny ears. Michael had his eyes crossed and his tongue sticking out and she was planting a kiss on his cheek. She laughed at the memory of that day. The other photo was just a still portrait that had been taken at Sears four months prior to the fire that took her parents’ life. Her mom and her sat angled with their knees together and her dad had a hand on each of their shoulders. “I miss you so much. I wish you were all here with me.” She closed her eyes and sobbed.

“We miss you, too, pumpkin.”

Ariana’s head shot up as she heard her Dad’s voice. At first she thought she was hallucinating, because her Dad, Mom and Michael appeared to be standing in her bedroom in full form, not ghostlike. All three were dressed in formal attire. It made her smile – she’d never seen her dad in anything but t-shirts and blue jeans.

She was so choked up, she couldn’t get any words out, so she threw herself into her dad’s arms instead. He hugged her back fiercely. She pulled back from him and hugged her mom and Michael, too.

“How…” She choked on a sob. “How did you guys manage to get here?”

David Barker smiled. “Michael found us and told us everything. And, well, us being able to come here must be just another one of your little gifts, I guess. God blessed you, honey. Don’t forget that. I’m sorry we never told you, but we didn’t know if you possessed any power. It seems it skipped a generation. Both our mothers were in the same coven; that’s how we met. Were you wishing for us to be here, honey?”

Ariana nodded. She couldn’t speak; there was a lump the size of Texas in her throat. She took three deep breaths and tried again. There was no way she was going to stay silent now, after all she had meant to say since they’d been gone. “How long will you stay?”

Her parents looked at each other, then back at her before her father spoke. “I think… just until the wedding is over. But we can come back often, if you would like. Michael has told us that you might become immortal and will never be with us in Heaven. Is that true?”