Winter's Touch (Immortal Touch Series) (26 page)

“Of course they’re real
. Set in pure platinum. What do you think?”

“
Are you
crazy?
I mean...they’re
gorgeous
, but Jules, I can’t accept something like this! I was joking about the emeralds...didn’t you realize that? My God, this must have cost a fortune!”

“Don’t worry, they’re insured.” Walking over to the sink, he picked up the clean towel she’d left there and unfolded it, holding it open expectantly.
She stood, dripping water and soap while he wrapped the thick towel around her and lifted her out of the bathtub. “I have something else to show you,” he told her, pulling her by the hand.

“Shouldn’t I get dressed first?”

With a smile he raised his eyebrows and shook his head, and so she followed him, laughing, across the hall into his room, where she froze at the sight of the massive pile of shining brown fur on his bed.

“You
didn’t.
Oh, please tell me you didn’t.”

He lifted the ankle-length Russian sable coat from the bed and eyed her towel
with a playfully wicked look. “Drop it.”

“What?”

“You heard me, Eva. Drop it.”

Speechless, she let
the towel fall to the floor.

He helped her into the sinfully soft furs, then unclipped her mass of auburn curls so her hair
tumbled down to fall like molten lava over the brown sable. “That’s better,” he said, standing back to admire his handiwork.

Eva ran her fingers
through the fur that was softer than a kitten. She’d never known such luxury could exist outside of films and fairy tales. “I don’t know what to say.”

“
There is nothing to be said, love.” His eyes roamed leisurely over her, naked but for the jewels and fur. “I told you before that you would have whatever your heart desires.”

She trembled at the smoldering fire in his eyes as he slowly began to unbutton his
Versace shirt. Through the window, the setting sun colored the bedroom with pastel shades of pink and purple. The world,
her
world, had changed from a prison to a paradise in a remarkably short time.

And
the eyes that matched the emeralds closed in unbridled ecstasy when her captor confessed, “As for me, I desire only you.”

~
*~*~

He watched her sleeping, listen
ed to the even sound of her breathing, and willed it never to end.

His existence would go on for countless years while one day the soft exhalations of her breath would cease, leaving him once again
with nothing to covet but blood and the pain and dissolution of others. She’d brought light into his dark world, yet her own candle would eventually burn down until the day came that an icy wind would extinguish it forever.

If only there was a way
...if only he knew how...but even so, she’d made it clear she didn’t want that for herself. Her angry words -
I hate you! -
reverberated in his ears to remind him of that. He couldn’t bear her hatred. No, never. That was one torment he could not endure.

She stirred and opened her eyes to gaze at him with the pure, unadulterated love he knew he would never be worthy of. A
n offering not meant for a devil.

“Hi,” she said softly.

“Hello, yourself.”

“How long was I asleep?”

“Not long. Maybe half an hour.”

“Mm.” She
stretched, smiling blissfully. “I could stay like this forever.”

If only
...

“You look so innocent when you sleep,” he told her. “It’s very deceptive.”

“How so?”

“
Because there is nothing remotely innocent about what we just did.” He grinned suggestively.

“Don’t blame me. You started it.”

“How could I resist? Little temptress.”

She laughed. “
And weren’t you the one who once told me that you had no need to ‘procreate’?”

His smile faded. “What did you say?”

“I said...
oh
.” Suddenly comprehending the word’s meaning, she sat up, covering herself modestly with the down comforter. “But...I didn’t think that could happen. I mean, because you’re...well, I just didn’t think it was physically possible. Is it?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “If I had to guess I’d say it’s doubtful, but there’s no way of knowing for
certain until it’s too late.” How was it that he had never once considered the prospect of pregnancy? His body still lived, breathed and functioned, didn’t it? As implausible a theory as it might seem, technically it
was
entirely possible.

And t
he most absurd thing was, she didn’t look at all concerned. A faraway look entered her eyes as she confided, “I wouldn’t mind.”

“You wouldn’t
mind?
Eva, surely you jest!”

“I want to have children someday.”

“Not like this. Not with me.”

“Why not with you? We’d make beautiful babies.”

He stared at her wordlessly. Good Lord, in what sort of nirvana was she living that she thought he could ever be a father to her children? He, who killed indiscriminately and without remorse. He, who once let a child watch him murder simply for the sake of idle entertainment. Had she forgotten? Was she truly that blind? And how could she be sure
what
they’d conceive?

He chose to
defuse the situation by placating her with a lie. “It’s highly unlikely that I would be able to reproduce, I’m afraid.”

“You never know.”

“I...didn’t realize you wanted children.”

“
Sure. Babies, husband, white picket fence, the whole nine yards.”

He
knew he should tell her how preposterous it was to believe that he would ever be able to give her any of those things, but something in her yearning eyes stopped him. Loath to crush her dreams, he said nothing.

But the conversation haunted him long into the night
.

~
*~*~

The baby cries fretfully and so she sings
as she rocks him, a soothing lullaby that his father has composed exclusively for him. His tiny fingers grasp hers and the crying stops as he draws comfort from her presence. His blue-gray eyes try to focus as they remain fixed on his mother’s face with fascination. She continues to sing softly, holding him close while reveling in the sweet newborn scent of him. His miniature lips make a suckling motion as his eyes begin to close and soon he drifts away into the innocent sleep of an angel.

Eva sighed
dreamily as she stared into the flames of the fire, lost in her maternal fantasy. She didn’t realize Julian had entered the room until she heard the voice behind her ask, “Is something wrong?”

“No, I was just thinking.”

He came to join her on the white sheepskin rug in front of the fireplace. “You were a million miles away.”

“No, actually I was right here.”

“And is here where you want to be?”

“It is now.” She
laughed suddenly.

“What’s funny?”

“I was just remembering that only two months ago you sent your wolves after me.”

His lips curved
wryly. “I wouldn’t have let them harm you.”

“
So you say.”

“I had no intention of hurting you.
Not really. I only wanted to toy with you until I could decipher the meaning behind it all.”

What a
strange thing to say. “And have you?”

“Are you still afraid of me, Eva?” He wrapped a tendril of red hair around one of his slender fingers
, ignoring her question.

“
Sometimes...yes. Not of you exactly, but...I’m afraid you’ll regress to the way you were before. Become cruel and distant again. I don’t think I could handle that. I wish you could tell me for certain that the real Julian will stay with me...that he won’t get lost again.”

“You know that he’s
gone already, sweetheart. I told you this.”

Her eyes flashed with
frustration and dismay that he would still continue to reject what he surely must be aware of. “He is
not
gone! How can you even still believe that? Why won’t you admit that you can
feel
now? You
know
you can! I see it every time I look at you! Why do you try so damn hard to deny it?”

“What would you have me say? There is only so much I can give you, Eva, and no more. I can’t change what I am. If I could slay the beast I would, but he is all that is left of me. Your young law student from
London is dead - I hate like hell that he is, and I equally hate to dash your delusions of hearth and home but things are as they are. If you have fallen in love, then it is with a soulless killer.
That
is what cannot be denied.”

“You’re wrong.”
She refused to accept his words.
Refused.

He shook his head
regretfully. “Ah, darling. I wish I had as much faith in me as you seem to.”

“I’ll never give up on you, Jules. Never
.”

~
*~*~

The day before Christmas Eve dawned bright and beautiful. The sky was endlessly blue and the temperature had warmed just enough that the remaining snow was melting into piles of slush.

Capturing her in his arms, Julian held Eva tightly for a long time before whispering into her ear, “Let’s go for a ride.”

“Where are we going?
And don’t you dare say snowboarding.” She kissed him gaily.

“No, no more winter sports for you. Run along and get ready.”

“Casual or formal?”

“Wh
ichever you prefer. Wear your necklace for me, won’t you? It looks so pretty on you.”

Euphoric,
she skipped upstairs to spruce herself up while wondering what he had in store for her. With Julian, there was no telling what to expect. The very trait that once drove her crazy was one she now loved about him. Things had changed so much in such a short time.

It wasn’t long before she realized they weren’t headed toward
s Brightwood. “So are you going to tell me where we’re going?” she prodded.

“
Portland,” was all he said.

“
What’s in Portland?”

“
Oh, lots of things.”

“Such as?”

“Curious little kitten. Wait and see.”

He didn’t seem to be in a
particularly talkative mood, so she entertained herself with the passing scenery. The landscape was a portrait of rolling hills and woodland and natural beauty. Oregon was majestic. It had stolen her heart the same way he had.

Further attempts to coax information from him
proved unproductive. He refused to divulge a thing, so she finally gave up. A little over an hour later the city skyline came into view, and she eagerly tried to look in all directions at once. Their ultimate destination was a totally unexpected one.

Portland
International Airport.

Mystified, s
he took in the sight of the sprawling airport while he searched for a spot in the parking garage. She couldn’t help but notice that he chose the short-term parking area and found that odd, but figured he must know what he was doing. Once he’d pulled the Cherokee into a vacant spot, he turned to face her.

Something in the way he looked at her put her on edge.

“I have a gift for you,” he told her, his voice quiet and steady.

“Has Lainie come back?” she guessed
hopefully. It would explain the choice of parking. Maybe she was coming for Christmas and they were here picking her up.

“No.”

Nervous, she tried to be flippant. “Well, you didn’t have me pack a bag so I’m assuming we aren’t flying to Greece.”

“It’s something you’ve wanted since you arrived here.”

Eva’s breath caught in her throat. “Oh, Jules! No way! Are you serious? We’re going to Nebraska?”

“Not us, darling.
You.”

A sickening feeling of dread dropped to settle in her middle
like a heavy stone. Faintly she asked, “For how long?”

There was only silence.
He stared out the window for what seemed to her an eternity. Cars drove by, people with luggage passed them, and she waited with mounting tension until at last he spoke. “Did you know that vampires don’t dream?”

She frowned,
confused by the irrelevant disclosure. “No.”

“I thought they didn’t, anyway.” He finally looked at her. “For decades I slept dreamlessly until one September night when I saw your face. Just a few weeks later I took you from your home
, your family, your life. You see, I had to know why you were haunting me. What our connection was. It was an obsession.”