Obsidian (Mystic Stones Series #1) (10 page)

He stopped kissing me and stared into my eyes. He ran his fingers through my long dark hair and then down the side of my face. “Not yet. We must wait until after you’re changed. I want it to be special, a symbol of our commitment to each other. I promise you that it will be worth it. When you are a vampire your senses are much more acute. The experience is miraculous.”

“Okay,” I said quietly with a little relief. I put my hand on his chest. I felt no heartbeat or heavy breathing, but I could feel his radiating warmth. He shifted and was off of me in a flash. He stood at the end of the couch, staring at me with a smile.

“What else would you like to do today?” he asked with a smirk.

“I don’t know, I just want to spend the day with you,” I replied.

“Alright. How about we go for a drive?”

“That sounds good to me. We could have a picnic at the beach for dinner. How about Punalu’u Beach?”

“Ah, ‘Black Sand Beach’. I’ll get the food, you get your bathing suit,” Tom said with his sly little grin.

I giggled. “I didn’t expect to be swimming so I didn’t bring one. That’s okay though, I want to walk on the beach, no need for swimming.”

“I think we’ll both have to change. We aren’t exactly in beach attire,” Tom said looking at me and down at himself.

“Okay, I’ll be down in a minute.”

I went upstairs to change into something more comfortable. I changed out my slacks for jeans and my dressy shirt for a t-shirt. I slipped on some flip-flops and then went back down stairs. Tom was already changed. He, too, wore jeans. He also wore a plain white t-shirt and some flip-flops. He already had the food packed too. He must have used his lightning speed to get everything done so quickly.

“I figured since we ate a heavy lunch you wouldn’t mind sub sandwiches for dinner. I hope you like ham.”

“Of course I do. How can you live in Hawaii and not like ham?” I asked. I couldn’t take my eyes off Tom. He looked so different without a suit or button up shirt on. The jeans threw me off guard. They fit him well. He seemed so normal . . . if only that were the case.

“Is something wrong?” he asked? He had noticed me staring.

“It’s almost a shock to see you dressed so casually,” I teased.

Tom laughed. “I think you’d be more shocked if you saw me without the spray on tan.”

For a second I thought I saw a flush of embarrassment, but the emotion quickly dissolved.

“Spray on, huh? I wondered what your secret was. All the visiting vampires were pale, so it made me wonder if you were too or if you could get a tan.”

“Unfortunately, we are cursed with permanent pale skin. But, since I live in Hawaii—land of the tan people—I figured I better get a light spray on in order to fit in.”

“Can I see you without it tonight?”

“If you wish, but I warn you, I’m pale. I might hurt your eyes.”

“Well soon I’ll be as pale as you, won’t I?”

“Yes. Although, it does take a while for your skin color to fade, it will eventually be as light as mine. Most of it goes during the first two years, but as you get older you get paler. No need to worry though, you will be beautiful no matter how light your skin is. It is impossible for you to ever be less than perfect to me.”

Tom ran his fingers through my hair and down my arm. He kissed me lightly on the cheek before leading me through a door and into the garage where a black Jeep Wrangler sat without its top on. Tom opened the door for me and helped me up. After he climbed in himself, he opened the garage door, and we began the drive to the beach. It didn’t take long to get out of the city. Soon we were driving south on Highway 11 with the preserved rain forest on one side and the ocean on the other. The flowery scenery of Hilo popped against the slightly overcast sky. The rain forest dominated this side of the island even though recent lava flows had destroyed some of it. The flora and fauna always found a way to survive. I would do the same.

“We might be getting some rain tonight,” Tom said. “Rain is calming to us vampires, so that will help you with the change.”

“Ah, so that’s why you chose to live in one of the rainiest cities in the world.”

“Yes, the rain helps keep our cravings down. Your throat won’t burn so much if you’re thirsty. I don’t need to feed on blood as often here as I would in the desert. It’s the moisture in the air. The beautiful landscape is a bonus.”

“Yes, it is. That’s one of the reason’s my parents loved it so much,” I replied. I gazed out the window and remembered taking trips to the beach with my parents. Sometimes they would even let my skip school on beautiful days like this.

Tom pulled off the highway and on to the beach. His Jeep did well in the rocky black sand. He came to a stop near some trees then climbed out of the Jeep without using the door and went around to my side. His charm and thoughtfulness would be deeply missed.

He took a blanket and a cooler out of the back. I helped him lay out the blanket in the sand under the shade of a palm tree. We ate the ham sandwiches that Tom had prepared while watching the waves at the shoreline.

“So, is there anything else that can help with the uh, cravings?” I asked.

“Well, there’s wine. Any kind of alcohol really, but red wine is the best. I think it’s a psychological thing, but what do I know? Then there’s chocolate. Chocolate helps a little, but not as much as wine.”

“Hmm, that’s weird.”

“I brought some chocolate for dessert. It’s French. Would you like some?”

“Sounds delicious!” I said. I’d actually been craving chocolate all day.

Tom took out the package and broke the chocolate into pieces. We both ate some while staring and smiling at each other. Together we shifted our focus to the ocean. The calming sound made me feel comfortable and almost like we were a normal couple sitting on the beach. Tom ran his fingers through my hair and locked eyes with me once again. Then he kissed me. His lips moved slowly at first but my excitement grew and I kissed him back with more passion. We leaned back on the blanket and Tom rolled over so that he hovered over me again.

The scene glittered with elements of a romance novel, but reality snapped at me. I realized I wasn’t reading about this passionate love scene in a book. I was living it and I was leaving him tonight. The thought forced me to stop kissing Tom. I genuinely wanted to be with him. I wasn’t playing along to get out of the situation anymore. As far as I could tell, Tom shared my feelings, and I was about to break his heart. His reaction would be strong. He would be so angry with me for deceiving him. His forgiveness could not even be dreamed of.

“What’s wrong?” Tom asked.

“I can’t believe what a wonderful day we’ve had. I don’t want it to end,” I replied.

“It may end, Ava, but we’ll have many more like this. I promise you that. We’ll live for an eternity and I will make sure you’re happy every day.”

I smiled uneasily. I knew we didn’t have an eternity. This was our last day together. It was worse than when I knew everything about the sale of Herrick-Peyton and my co-workers didn’t. My secrets were killing me.

It was nearing seven o’clock. Soon, the sun would go down and midnight would be near. I decided that the letter I’d written earlier wasn’t quite right. The course of the day made me want to convey my feelings for him even more. I wanted him to know how I felt. I wanted him to know that it was real and I wasn’t acting.

We laid on the beach until the sky grew dark. Tom packed up the cooler and blanket and then helped me back into the Jeep. We went back to his home. The drive was dark and quiet. We were holding hands and enjoying each other’s presence. Every now and then our eyes would meet and we would smile. I wondered what he was thinking, but it was impossible to tell. I wondered if he was suspicious of me. He certainly didn’t act like he was. I’d played the part too well.

By the time we got home, it was nine o’clock. Only three hours before my escape. Only three hours for me to spend with Tom. We spent two of those three hours cuddled on the couch like any normal couple watching a movie. When the movie was over, Tom got up to prepare for my changing.

He set the dining room table with two wine glasses, a bottle of wine, and another bottle with what I assumed was blood. Then Tom took out a white box from the pantry and put it on the table. He opened it to reveal a chocolate sculpture of a rose. It was colored chocolate and had deep red petals and a dark green stem. He carefully took the rose out and placed it in the center of the table between the two glasses of wine.

“I’m going to go upstairs and change. You can do the same if you wish, but you’re beautiful just the way you are. I’ll meet you down here in 30 minutes,” Tom said. We shared another deep kiss. I knew this was more than likely the last time we would kiss. We walked up the stairs together and to my door. Then he kissed me again before going to his room.

Once I was in my room I changed back into my black slacks and the dark navy blue shirt I had on earlier. I left my tennis shoes in the bathroom but put on my heels. I also put my black jacket in the bathroom. I refreshed my make-up and hair before I rewrote my letter to Tom. The first one didn’t convey my feelings quite right. After I was finished with that, I burnt the old one and left the new one on the desk. It was nearing the time to meet Tom downstairs. I figured it might help my case if I were down stairs early.

I waited a few minutes then heard Tom descending the stairs. He reached the bottom and looked at me standing by the dining room table. I smiled at him as he walked over to me. His strong body always wore his suits well. He was strikingly handsome and his smile sent a beacon to me. His eyes were bright with excitement. I could see his true skin for the first time and it was a lovely shade. It was light, but somehow radiated warmth.

“Hello, Ava,” he said in a smooth voice before continuing. “Before we start, I want to assure you that I am committed to you. Both as your soon-to-be Swami and as your companion. I want to be the one you can rely on and I want to make every day with you a special day.”

“I would love that, Tom. You’re special to me and any time I spend with you is precious,” I said sincerely.

Tom hugged me and kissed me softly on the cheek and escorted me to a chair. I sat down and let my eyes find his. They were full of hope and happiness as he prepared everything. Clearly, the events of tonight burned in Tom’s mind as they did in mine. Just not in the same way. He arranged to change me while I plotted my escape.

“You’re so lovely tonight. There’s only one thing that doesn’t fit.”

My heart skipped a beat.

He took my wrist and unlocked the wristband with his key that came out of nowhere. He took it off and kissed my wrist where there was a light mark from the band.

“I’m deeply sorry I had to put that on you. I promise that nothing of the sort will ever happen again. I want us to go into this with complete trust. I’m glad you came around and that you understand why I wanted to do this in the first place. At first, I wanted to change you to keep you safe, and now I want to change you so that we can spend our lives together, that is, if you’ll have me.”

I breathed out. The air caught in my trembling throat. I was about to break this man’s heart and my own, but I had to force the words to come out.

“I’d love to spend the rest of my life with you, Tom. My desire grows with every moment we are together. Over the last few days, something changed in me and now I want the same things you do. Oh my! I forgot the poem I wrote for you. I wrote a poem for you this morning after breakfast, it’s in my room.”

“Would you like to go get it?”

“Yes, I wanted to read it to you before I was changed so that you know my true feelings before we do this,” I said. Then I held out my wrist to give Tom a chance to put the wristband back on, but I knew he wouldn’t. I could tell that he’d come to trust me, which made what I was about to do even more difficult.

He reached out for my wrist and brought it to his lips. “No, dear Ava. I know you will come back to me. I should have taken it off much earlier, but to tell you the truth, I’d forgotten about it,” Tom said. Then he helped me out of the chair and kissed me. “Hurry back, my love. I will pour the wine and blood.”

I went quickly up the stairs and into my room. I pulled the necklace off my neck and left it with the letter. I quietly kicked off my heels and dashed to the bathroom as I tried to keep my footsteps light. I threw on my jacket and slipped my feet into my tennis shoes, then quickly opened the window and climbed out. I was on the roof of the kitchen so I had to be quiet since it was so close to the dining room. I climbed down the gutter and ran out of the backyard into the alley. My heart was beating so loudly I could hear nothing else. I felt my chest pounding with the sound.

I was free, but I became overwhelmed with sadness when I realized that I could never see him again. I ran a few blocks with my head turning back every few steps. I expected to see him emerge from the shadows and take me down. I reached a busy street. Luckily, a cab stopped for me right away, and I took a deep breath as soon as I was inside. My adrenaline levels dropped back down to normal and I told the cabby where to go, and then silently cried a few tears on the way to Alani’s.