Gemini (20 page)

Moments like this reminded me how precious our Eternal bond was.

“Zoe.” I slowly moved closer. “You look absolutely stunning.” I leaned in and kissed her cheek.

"Thanks.” She adjusted my tie, then pushed my hair off my forehead, away from my eyes. Her gaze took me in, head to toe. Her aura blazed to life. “You look— hot.” She let out an adorable laugh, and her cheeks reddened. “Ready to go?"

"Yes. Where are we going?"

Julian sauntered in, grinning. "My name is Julian, and I’ll be your chauffer for the evening." He bowed.

I held out my arm to Zoe. “Shall we?”

She nodded, and linked her arm with mine.

We left the apartment and followed Julian to the garage of the building.

Julian held open the SUV door. “Your chariot awaits, my lady.”

Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the Shedd Aquarium. The night sky was lit with unseen stars. The building was empty save for us.

We stepped out of the car, and Julian escorted us to the main entrance.

A young woman met us there and led us inside.

"Welcome to the Shedd Aquarium. I’m Bethany, and I'll be your docent for the evening." She led us down corridors and through multiple marine displays.

Beautifully colored fish and other sea creatures glided through the tanks. Zoe would stop occasionally to watch them.

Her love for the sea was legendary.

After a brief tour of the facility, Bethany led us to a spacious ballroom with an enormous, round tank in the middle. Beside it stood one single table adorned with candles and place settings for two.

“Wow.” Zoe’s eyes grew wide.

“Welcome to the Rotunda. One of the most popular displays at Shedd.” Bethany gestured to our table.

I pulled out Zoe’s chair, and she settled in while I took the seat across from her. The cylindrical tank was lit as a backdrop.

Bethany poured two glasses of champagne then left the room to retrieve the first course.

The overhead lights dimmed, and the lighting from the Rotunda cast shadows about the room. Candles throughout the ballroom lit instantly.

"This is amazing, love. You did all of this?"

"Well, it was my idea, but all of this?” She shook her head. “A little angelic help didn’t hurt." She grinned. “Raz said he had connections, but man. This. I’m speechless.”

Bethany reappeared with salads and refilled our champagne.

“So. Tell me about yourself, Cade.”

“That is an odd question.” I chuckled.

“Not to me. I want to know everything about you.”

I reached over and took her hand in mine. “What would you like to know?”

“Hmm.” She narrowed her eyes. “What do you do for fun? I obviously play music. What about you? What do you do when you’re not chasing demons and Fallen?”

“I enjoy spending time with you.”

“Oh come on.” She narrowed her eyes. “You can do better than that.”

“Well, we enjoy nature. We spend much time in water. Diving. Exploring. In Aravot, our home overlooks a stunning lake with sandy beaches and a waterfall. Just beyond the lake is your garden. It has the Trees and the same flowers you planted in your garden behind the lounge.”

“Really?” Her forehead wrinkled.

“Yes. Peonies. They’re your favorite floral fragrance. And calla lilies. You love calla lilies. We often take long walks around the lake in Aravot. You also enjoy gardening and playing with the creatures in the Eternal City.”

“Creatures?” She sat up strait, adorable smile on her perfect lips.

“You have birds. Sparrows.”

“I do?” She wrinkled her nose.

“Yes.” I chuckled. “And a dolphin.”

“No way.” Her eyes grew wide with excitement.

“Yes—way.” I withheld a laugh. “Oh, and a phoenix.”

“A what? Wait. Like in Harry Potter?” She bent foreword and whispered. “Those are real?”

“There is one in existence. Journey is born the day you are. She lives and dies when you do. She loses her feathers when your rebirth is near.”

Zoe pursed her lips, and stared at my hands holding hers. She turned over my wrist and traced the faint lines of my mark.

“What the matter, love?”

“Everything you’ve mentioned is about me.” She continued aimlessly tracing circles on my wrist.

I lifted her chin and gazed into her green eyes that were damp with threatened tears. “Why are you unhappy, Chayah?”

“I’m not unhappy. I’m just—I don’t know. I just wish I knew more about you.”

“You are my world, love. We share everything.”

“Isn’t there anything you like that’s separate from me?”

“Well, Raz and I, and the Firstborns, we often enjoy sports. Raz may outsmart me, but he will never outplay me.”

“There. That’s a start. What’s your favorite?”

“Hmm. Baseball? And basketball is enjoyable. Raz is shorter than me, and I’m much quicker on my feet.” I laughed, recalling Raz trying to best me on the court. Never happened. Not once.

“It’s my turn to ask the questions.” I returned the conversation to her. “Tell me about your music.”

Her aura grew around her. “It’s everything to me.”

“Watching you on stage, it’s magical. Music is truly your gift. One you return with each incarnation. You should know you’re the original musical prodigy.”

“Really?” Her smile and aura grew brighter than the rotunda. “Now that. That’s cool.”

“Tell me of your human desires, love. What would they mean to you? What does it mean to be human?”

This evening was going well. Though I tiptoed up to this question, it was necessary. I hoped to find some clarity into her feelings, and this love for humanity that I seldom understood.

I yearned for Zoe’s happiness as much as my own, perhaps a short amount of time to live out her dreams was not asking too much.

“After Eli and Sophie left, I was so lost, Cade. I felt abandoned. Then I met Remie at school. Dr. Lucci took me under her wing. Something clicked.

“Music was my destiny, it’s what I was meant to do. As a human. We answered an ad at the lounge, and everything exploded. People came out to see me. To hear me sing. When I step on stage, something inside me wakes up. Comes alive. I feel loved.”

She stared at her hands and started peeling the polish from her fingernails. “I guess it hurts some, knowing I’ll never have it again, when I was so close two weeks ago.”

“Is this truly something you need?” I lifted her chin. “To fulfill your human life?”

She released a breath and hesitantly nodded. Her gaze dropped back to the table.

Zoe’s agony was intolerable, especially when there was something I could do to prevent it. After all the sacrifices she’d made for us throughout Eternity, I owed her. Perhaps some time was not asking too much.

“Then it will happen.”

Her gaze lifted, her eyes grew wide. “Really?”

“I don’t know in what capacity, or if it’s safe for every aspect of that life to be achieved, but we’ll arrange something. So you may find closure for your human life. I don’t want you coming into our Eternity with regret.”

A tear slid down her cheek.

“No, don’t cry, Chayah.” I reached up and wiped away her tears. “As Raz likes to say, I have your back.”

She let out a giggle.

My sweet Zoe.

“And what’s so funny?”

“You. So adorable.” She beamed, reaching over and pushing my hair from my eyes. “Thank you. You don’t know what this means to me.”

“Yes, love.” I held her hand to my cheek. “I think I do.”

~

After dinner at the aquarium, we went back to my apartment for a movie. Zoe said this was typical for a twenty-first century date.

Although I often wandered between realms, I seldom took notice of modern day rituals. I picked things up on occasion, but I often paid little mind to them.

We discussed her favorite music and movies, and then watched Breakfast at Tiffany's, though I was more interested in my Gemini, safe in my arms.

The night grew late, and Zoe fell asleep. I picked her up and carried her into our room. When I placed her on the bed, she yawned and stretched.

As I leaned in for a kiss, she braced my shoulders and drew me to her.

"Will you sleep with me?" She laid her hand against my cheek. “Please?”

It had been such a wonderful day, and I was never good at telling Zoe
no
.

I took in a breath and exhaled, then anxiously laid down beside her, pulling her body close.

She sidled up to me and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Cade?" Her voice was quiet, and she cleared her throat. "So, um. I had a really great time tonight.”

“As did I.” I smoothed down her hair and left a kiss to her forehead.

She tilted her head and gave a weak smile. Wrinkles spread across her forehead.

“What it, love?”

“So, hmm. I just wanted to—” She inhaled slowly, then swallowed, and her heart picked up its pace. She leaned up, gazing into my eyes. “Well, I—I think I’m falling for you.”

My wrist began to burn, and my pulse raced to catch up with Zoe’s.

"Falling?" I narrowed my gaze and rested back onto my elbows.

Zoe blinked slow and released an audible breath. She rolled up, carefully lifting her leg over my waist, and then kneeled above me.

Our hearts sped on. A knot grew in my throat as nervous energy pulsed through my limbs.

Zoe placed her palms on my chest and pushed me back onto the bed. Hovering above me, she settled her hips over mine and leaned down. Reaching for my hands, she laced her fingers with mine, then pushed our arms up alongside my shoulders.

Moonlight from the window streamed in, leaving billowy shadows over her skin. Zoe’s hair spilled over her neck. Her blazing green eyes never wavered.

“So beautiful.” I whispered.

Zoe bent down and kissed me, slow and measured. Her breaths became scattered as she pushed her hips into mine, sending our heartbeats racing, merging as one. She released my hands and ran hers down to my waist. She grasped my T-shirt, and pulled it up over my head.

Straddled above me, Zoe drew in a harsh breath as she chewed her bottom lip, and her gaze skipped across my chest.

Raw energy coursed through every nerve. My body came alive with her emerald eyes burning into me, imploring for something I could not give.

I’d allow her this brief moment, but nothing more, as I knew it would open a door to a place we could not yet go.

"Zoe, we can’t—"

"Shh." She placed a finger to my lips, methodically shaking her head.

It had taken so long for Zoe to warm to me, that I feared she’d take my reluctance as rejection, and that was not what this was, so I gave her this moment.

I refused to hurt her. She’d been through enough.

Zoe lifted my wrist and traced the Gemini seal. With her gaze fixed to mine, she kissed the mark like I had when we'd met.

My senses heightened.

Our heartbeats were frantic, racing within our chests, pleading our bodies, begging them to Converge our souls.

She reached down to the hem of her own T-shirt and pulled it up over her head, exposing her bare breasts.

A knot rose to my chest as a shudder of emotion pulsed through my veins.

Zoe sat above me, her thighs tightening around my hips, her waist grinding into mine.

I closed my eyes, breathing deep, holding her hips. Desperately attempting to keep my resolve intact.

Her form was breathtaking. Her skin, translucent. Her arms and shoulders, strong. Lines in her flushed abdomen were traceable. Her breasts were perfect.

I ached to touch her. To run my fingertips gently across her skin, to draw her close and feel my body pressed to hers, deep within her.

Our bodies and souls, Converged as one.

But I couldn’t. I had to be strong. For her.

With slow, steady breaths, I regained my composure.

As much as I longed to make love to my wife, needed her desperately, I could not. I’d made her a promise over five thousand years ago—a promise that had never been broken.

A promise I intended to keep.

She picked up my hand and kissed my knuckles, placing my palm over her breast.

Our hearts raced. Together.

“You feel it, too. Don’t you?” She closed her eyes for a brief moment, let out a hushed moan, then returned her gaze to mine. “Our heartbeats. They’re the same.”

I removed her hand and sat up, shifting her into my lap.

Her legs instinctively wrapped around my waist.

I pressed my nose into the soft spot behind her ear as she moved closer and sighed, leaning against my chest.

I let out an unintended groan, struggling to keep my body and emotions at bay.

"Cade?" she whispered.

I ran my hands down her sides, to her belly. My gaze followed her beautiful form as she laid back onto the bed and pulled me down above her, our chests now hard-pressed together.

My heart pulsed quicker, every nerve heated with my Chayah’s body above me.

Zoe ran her hands along my back to the curve of my hips. Tugged at my pajama pants, forcing the goose bumps to race faster.

As much as I hungered to make love to my wife, craved her body and yearned to complete our Twin Soul’s Convergence, I had to end this.

Before I did something I’d regret.

We would complete our Convergence soon enough. Though in reality, for me, it would never be soon enough.

"Zoe." I breathed out between kisses. "We cannot do this tonight, love. I want to. Desperately, but—"

"Shh—” She pressed her finger to my lips once more and gazed into my soul, like I was the only man in the world. "I know. I just wanted to be sure you understood."

She placed her palms on my cheek and ran her thumb along my bottom lip.

"I'm falling in love with you, Cade Adams."

Zoe

Lucci: You. Sam Gaits. Tonight. Ready?

Zoe: OMG, YES! See you there.

I twirled on my toes and did a happy dance on my way to the lounge Friday night. Cade and I were
finally
leaving on our mini vacay as soon as I got off work tomorrow.

But tonight, I had a date with Infinity.

Cade had inadvertently given me his blessing to pursue it, so when Lucci texted me about the offer on the table, I accepted. As soon as I knew something, I’d let him in on it.