Kiss Me When the Sun Goes Down (36 page)

“Come on,” he urged, pulling open the passenger’s side door when I didn’t move a muscle. 

“Why?”

“You need to see something.”

I dipped my head to take another dubious look at the church.  It wasn’t that late yet, and there were still lights on inside.  “I’m not all that religious.”

That didn’t stop him from waggling his fingers at me to take them.  “Yes, you are.  Just not about this stuff.”

“Then why are we here?”

“I told you, you need to see something.”

“Ugh, fine.”  I took his hand and climbed out of the car, trudging up the stone steps that led to the huge double doors.  There were a few people inside, mostly sitting in the pews in the first two rows, and an older lady puttering around watering plants near the rear.  “It’s a really nice church,” I whispered.  “But... what am I looking at?”

“You’ll see.”  Bishop practically dragged me to a door behind the standing letter board announcing the service hours.  Once inside, he hustled me up a steep flight of stairs to the balcony, which looked like it hadn’t been used in years. 

“Are we even supposed to be up here?”

“Nope.  But this isn’t where we’re going.”  Letting go of my hand, he stood on the balcony railing and leapt up to the thick rafters overhead.  I stood there gaping at him when he waved me up to follow.  “Jump up to me,” he called down in a stage whisper.

“Are you nuts?  I can’t jump that high.”

“You’re only saying that because you haven’t done it before.  Just try it.”  He waved his hand impatiently.  “Don’t worry, I’ll catch you if you lose your balance when you get up here.”

“But who’s going to catch me if I don’t make the jump?” I muttered, looking down over the railing to the pews below, which seemed awfully far away.  Despite my gloomy mood, I didn’t have a death wish, and plummeting onto a room packed with wooden furniture wasn’t my idea of a good time. 

“I know you can make it, come on.”  Bishop nodded supportively, and he
had
made it look fairly easy leaping up there.  Deciding to trust him, I kicked off my heels and climbed up on the railing, clutching the wall until I found my balance. 

“Yep, just jump up there, easy peasey,” I muttered to myself, flexing my legs a couple of times to warm them up.  As it was, I overshot the jump, and I would’ve sailed right over the rafter if he hadn’t been there to catch me. 

“See, I knew you could do it,” he grinned, but I didn’t share his light frame of mind. 

“Okay, I’m here.  What did you want to show me?”

“It’s not here, it’s up there.”  He pointed to where the thick beams arched up to cross in the center, the highest point in the church apart from going up on the roof.  Without waiting for me he padded lightly to the apex of the rafters with perfect balance. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I murmured, more nervous now that I was on my own at such a height.  I followed at a much slower pace, taking each step carefully, half afraid someone would notice us up there at any moment and scream, making me lose my balance.  At least if I survived unharmed after falling from such a height, I could blame it on a miracle. 

“Yep, we’re super high,” I breathed once I reached his side.  The beams were thick enough to stand at ease, but there was nothing easy about being up so far above the ground.  “Now what?”

“Now you lie down.”

“This is kind of kinky, don’t you think?”  I gave him a sidelong stare, and he rolled his eyes in exasperation.

“I’m not trying to do you in the rafters of the church, Anja.  Just lie back and relax.  Like this.”  He lay with his head near the top, looking up at the gilt ceiling.

“Lie back and relax,” I frowned, lowering myself to mimic his pose.  It was less scary once I was flat on my back and didn’t feel like a breeze might knock me over at any second, and being so close to the ceiling was somehow comforting. 
Cool beans
. 

“Great, now stay put.  I’ll be right back.”

So much for my new found calm.  “Wait!  Where are you going?”

“It’s okay, I said I’ll be right back.”  With that, he jumped back down to the balcony, landing light as a cat.  I watched him go back the way we’d come up, but didn’t try to see where he came out, feeling woozy as soon as I looked to the ground level.  Instead, I studied the ceiling while I waited, wondering what the heck I was supposed to be waiting for. 

I jumped when he landed at the base of the rafter, quickly scrambling past me to lie back in his original position on the opposite beam.  “Close your eyes,” he demanded. 

Boy, he sure was being bossy tonight.  “I thought you wanted me to see something?”

“I do.  Close your eyes.”

Obediently, I closed them, waiting for whatever epiphany was supposed to strike.  Below I heard more people milling about, speaking in hushed tones.  I could focus my hearing and listen to their conversations if I wanted to, but it seemed wrong. 

And then I heard the first strains of the organ playing below.  Had Bishop brought me there to listen to church music?  The singing started, the sopranos high and clear,
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
.  Pretty, especially the way it echoed in the rafters around us.  And then the other three parts joined in, and the music amplified, rising all around me.  It was so beautifully balanced, my skin broke out in goose bumps.  I found my effulgence, the light inside me kindling to the splendor of the music around me.  And not just light but colors, as the four parts blended in flawless harmony, they brought a wash of color into my cold, gray life. 

Carried away by the rising sound, I wept from the simple perfection of voices lifted in song, a reminder of the beauty in the darkness.  Once I started, the floodgates were opened, and I cried for all the senseless pain and heartbreak of losing Gunnar and Lee.  Bishop reached for my hand, and held it, offering his quiet strength as the song rose to the final crescendo and then died away.  We laid there for the rest of the service, the words below mostly a blur as I kept to my own thoughts, but every time the music swelled up to fill the church, I found that sense of peace and renewal again. 

By the time the organ announced the end of the service, I felt drained, but better, cleansed of the weight of my emotions. 

Bishop rolled to his belly and scooted up, his head hovering over mine.  “Better?”

“Yes, thank you,” I smiled up at him. 

“Any time.”

“Do you do this often?”

“Not as much as I should.  It’s too easy to forget the little things that make life worth living.  I have you to thank for that, you know.  For reminding me there’s more to life than duty and responsibility.”

“I’m glad you shared it with me.”

He leaned down to brush his lips against mine, and I opened to him, eager to try the upside down Spiderman kiss, but it proved more awkward than anything else, and I ended up giggling when his beard kept tickling my nose.  “I guess that’s why Spiderman doesn’t wear a beard,” I laughed, wrinkling my nose. 

“That’s one bit of movie magic we’ll have to leave alone,” he smiled, laying a chaste kiss to my forehead.  “Are you ready to go home now?”

“Yes.”

It was easier to get down than it was to get up, and we snuck out of the church right as the priest was making the final rounds to lock the building. 

There was a much more comfortable ride in the car as we drove home with the radio blasting Vivaldi.  It wasn’t all that late, and Carter was nowhere to be found when we got there.  The house felt big and empty, Maggie and Tucker already packed and gone with Gunnar’s urn. 

There was work to be done, but for once, I didn’t let that sense of responsibility guide me.  Instead, I threaded my fingers through his, pulling him close.  “Will you stay with me?”

“Of course.”

“I know we didn’t really talk about this, you sleeping over so much, or...”

“I’ll be here for as long as you need me,” he promised, and I tilted my head to one side. 

“What if I’ll always need you?”

“Then this is where I’ll be.”

I wanted to believe that in the worst way.  I wanted to know that there was one constant in my life I could utterly count on, but I was afraid to trust him completely.  My head said to do the smart thing and keep up a protective barrier, but my heart stood on the ledge looking out into the abyss of the unknown, ready to leap again. 

“I know it’s bad out there, our friends are dying, my family’s gone, and we don’t know who’s doing any of it – but is this our time, you and me?  Did we get to forever?”

Bishop reached up with his free hand to trace the line of my jaw, his thumb brushing over my lower lip.  “Anja, I got to wanting forever with you months ago.  I’ll take it whenever you’re ready.” 

And just like that, my heart took the leap of faith.  “Then kiss me and tell me that everything will be alright.”

His lips closed over mine and I lost myself in a rush of heat as he told me without words that he’d never fail me again.  Awash in a sea of emotions, I drowned in the urgent pressure of his lips, the stroke of his tongue against mine, the rasp of his beard, his familiar scent – my heart swelling with love until it felt like it might burst.  Yes, there was danger ahead for both of us, but I’d never felt so blessed.  Because whatever I’d lost, and whatever lay ahead, we had this time now, together, and it was enough. 

Sweeping me up in his arms, Bishop carried me down to my bedroom, his lips never leaving mine.  He reminded me then of everything beautiful worth sharing between two people.  Every kiss, every caress, every gasp and shout of pleasure, was a celebration of love.  We worshipped each other again and again, until we collapsed in a tangle of limbs, deeply satisfied in a way that raw sex (no matter how good) couldn’t provide. 

“Everything will be alright,” he promised, his forehead pressed to mine as the night faded into day. 

And I believed him. 

T
here were distinct disadvantages to sleeping in later than your man, and for the first time, I understood why it’d bugged Rob so much that he couldn’t rise as early as I could.  Bishop wasn’t there when I woke, but there was a note on the pillow beside me that read:

Gone hunting.  Yes, I’ll be careful.  Be back soon.

Bishop

At some point we were going to have to talk about feeding and whether the old rules were still in effect – no hotties.  I still tried to find a decent balance between bagged blood and fresh, though I’d been leaning more toward bagged since Carter had come to live with us, knowing his aversion to feeding live.  I’d have to eat again in another day or so, but for the moment, I settled for a cup of hot cocoa laced with cinnamon as I sat down in the study to tackle my desk. 

The house was eerily quiet with everyone gone.  I had no idea if Carter was even home, but I disliked entering his space in case he was still asleep.  With Maggie gone, I was up to my eyeballs in correspondence, and started off with a request to Felix to find me a temporary replacement or help pick up some of the slack himself.  He pledged to take care of it, and I have to say, he’d been very kind in offering to see to some of the day to day stuff since Lee and Gunnar’s deaths. 

I turned the ringer off on the house phone, not wanting to be disturbed or I’d never get to my own stuff to see what I could delegate to Felix.  That didn’t stop the chime of the computer as I received a Skype call.  But before I could decline, I saw it was from Aubrey, and I eagerly hit the green button instead. 

“Hullo, sweets.  Sorry I missed your call, I’ve been up to my eyeballs in...  Never mind that, luv.  How are you?”

“I’m fine, doing about as well as can be expected.  You’ve heard about what happened here?”

“I have, yes.  And I hope you know you have my heartfelt condolences for your loss.”  He sounded sincere, but I doubt he could’ve named either Lee or Gunnar if hard pressed. 

“Thanks, Aubrey.  So, um... how are things there?  Busy it sounds like.  Carys has got you hoppin’, huh?”

“No rest for the wicked,” he said with a purse of the lips.

I wasn’t sure how to steer the conversation to Carys’ behavior without coming right out and asking about it.  I took the roundabout way instead.  “I have to admit, I’ve been a little out of the loop.  How’s she doing at the whole Elder gig?  I haven’t gotten any more invitations to parties, though I imagine I’m not at the top of her guest list.”

“She wasn’t even here for the New Year’s bash she requested,” he snorted.  “All that bloody work for nothing.  Do you know how hard it is to get a thousand orchids in the middle of winter?”

“Wait, she wasn’t there for New Year’s Eve?”  Jackpot.  “Where did she go?”

“Beats the stuffing out of me.  One moment it was –
I must have the party of the season
,” he said in a high falsetto voice.  “And the next thing I know, she lit out of here before the day.  No matter, we had a nasty little soiree without her,” he smirked. 

The wheels were turning, wondering if she could’ve had anything to do with the tainted blood fiasco.  That seemed like it could be up her alley, trying to embarrass me at my own party.  But it was kind of a big jump from humiliation to cold blooded murder.  “How long was she gone for?”

“She came back a day or two after the party, and I thought she’d have some new boy toy to show for it.  But in all honesty, she was only back for about a half a minute and then she disappeared again without so much as a by your leave.  If I wasn’t tickled pink to see her gone, I would’ve been insulted.  Why, she didn’t crash your party, did she?”

“That’s what I’m trying to find out,” I murmured, lost in thought. 

“I highly doubt it if she didn’t show herself.  Carys isn’t one to watch from the sidelines, she has to be the center of attention.” 

He had a point.  “That’s true.  I guess enjoy your reprieve while you can.  Maybe she did find some new guy to torture and she’ll be gone for a while?”

“From your lips,” he grinned.  “Any chance you’d like to take advantage of her absence and come for a visit?”

“Uh, no, thank you.  I’d better stick close to home until I figure out a few things around here.”