“You poor things. Well, we’re pretty empty tonight, so there’s no problem staying here.”
There was a kind grandmotherly air to her that made me think she would’ve let us stay for free, but her eyes certainly lit up as Sydney took out a credit card. I glanced around as they filled out the paperwork, taking in the scene. Sydney and I had recently done some investigating at a bed and breakfast that had redefined tacky. This place was its opposite, and though it was certainly rocking the antique look, everything was ornate and well decorated, showing off art in a way that wasn’t cluttered.
The innkeeper handed over three keys and gave us a brief tour of the main floor, showing us where we’d eat breakfast in the morning and where she kept snacks for guests. When we finally headed upstairs, I drew Neil back and let the women go on.
“Listen to me,” I said quietly. “Sydney may have just saved you from losing a finger from frostbite. If you really live by the code of honor you claim, you will not breathe a single word about what you saw. If you do, you will ruin her life, which would be a shitty thing to do, seeing as you owe her yours. Do we understand each other?”
Neil met my eyes for several heavy moments. “Perfectly.”
I wouldn’t have minded being able to use a little compulsion to ensure his silence, but there was something in that steady gaze that made me believe him.
Upstairs, I wanted to go to Sydney but decided to settle into my own room first. We’d retrieved our luggage before the driver left, and I tossed my suitcase heedlessly into a corner. Like the rest of the inn, the room was well done. The bed was canopied, and there were fresh flowers in vases. I ran my fingers over the soft petals of the blue hydrangeas, amazed that the innkeeper had gone that extra mile when she hadn’t even expected guests. In the bathroom, I found a large marble tub and equally impressive glass shower. Suddenly feeling grimy from the road, I took off my clothes and turned the water on high. It scalded my skin but felt wonderful after that searing cold.
When I got out, I heard the Love Phone ring with a text message. I hurried to it. Did you get it? asked Sydney.
Get what?
Look under your door.
I did and found that a room key had been slid inside. Not even bothering to respond to her, I quickly dressed and headed out into the hall, turning toward the room number on the key. I nearly knocked but then decided I must have an open invitation and unlocked the door.
I stepped inside, shutting the door behind me, and found the room was even nicer than mine. Most of the lights were off, and a blazing fire crackled in the wood-burning fireplace. Sydney sat on the bed and rose as I approached.
And she was naked.
I came to a halt, the key slipping from my hand to clang on the wood floor. My heart stopped for a few seconds and then beat faster than it ever had in my life.
“Come here,” she said in a voice that offered no arguments.
My feet moved me forward, but all I could see was her. No skill of mine, no artist anywhere, could’ve immortalized how gorgeous she was. It was impossible to believe she’d ever had any doubts about her body. The firelight shone on her skin, golden and perfect, making her look like some radiant goddess of legend. I wanted to kneel before her and offer eternal obedience.
When I reached her, she took my hands and rested them on her bare hips. I was surprised to find myself trembling. Those long-lashed eyes, brown and amber and every shade of gold, met mine with a certainty that made me feel like the novice here.
“I’m wide awake now,” she added.
I had to swallow twice before I could find my voice. We were so close. There were only a few breaths between me and the glorious body that had haunted my dreams—dreams, which it turned out, were paltry things compared with reality.
“I don’t deserve this,” I whispered. I lifted my hands so that I could cup her face. “Not after what I’ve done with my life.”
“I told you before: That chapter’s done and gone,” she said. “We aren’t the same people. We’re always changing, always becoming better. What you did with the pills . . . well, it’s not just about what they can do. It’s about the courage it took to take that step. I always believed in you, but . . .”
“I made you cry,” I said. That memory would always be a wound in my heart.
“I cried because I loved you, and I didn’t know how to fix you.” She reached up and brushed my lips with her fingertips. The world swayed around me. “And that was my mistake. You fixed yourself. You didn’t need me.”
“No, Sydney.” My voice was ragged. “I do need you. You have no idea how much I need you.”
I brought my lips down to hers, and it was like everything that had ever happened to me had simply been a warm-up for this moment, that this was where my life truly began. I pulled her to me, and if she’d ever had any doubts about whether I wanted to taste her blood, I knew they vanished then and there. It was the taste of her mouth, the taste of her skin . . . those were what I craved, the things that drove me wild. Her hands caught the edge of my shirt, and we broke the kiss briefly so that she could pull it over my head. She splayed her fingers on my chest, and this time, she was the one who shook. I looked into her eyes, and although they burned with passion and longing and that primal need that had fueled both our races since the beginning of time, I could see nervousness in them too.
She had no experience with this, and that wasn’t a situation she found herself in very often. It was up to me to lead this, but the thing was, I was inexperienced here too: I’d never been with a virgin. I’d never had that pressure on me before. It had been mindless with other girls, but I knew with Sydney, whether we were together forever or ended up parting ways, this would be the time she judged all others by.
But as I guided her to my belt and then laid her down on the bed, I knew which way our path would go. We would be together forever. We had to be. There was no way that all these feelings between us could ever dim or be defeated. Her breath came fast, and she tangled her hands in my hair as I kissed her neck and then began moving down to her chest. I could tell that she expected us to just jump right into it, into something fast and furious, but I’d waited too long to have full access to her body and wasn’t about to take it for granted by rushing forward. And so I took my time, exploring all that beauty she didn’t even know she had. It was agonizing for me but also sweet, and for the first time in my life, I was thinking more about the person I was with than myself.
When I brought my mouth back to hers, my body lying over hers, she clung to me with an urgency that held no more fear. And then it happened, what I’d dreamed of for so long. I lost myself in her arms, in her touch, in everything. Sonya often said she didn’t believe in soul mates, but in that union, I believed there was something in my soul that spoke to Sydney’s, that this connection between our bodies called to something greater than us, something preordained.
And when it was over, I was reluctant to let her go. I looked down at her face, with her flushed cheeks and damp strands of hair, and thought, Whether it’s simply some fierce animal joining of mates or a sublime merging of souls, she is mine, and I am hers.
We curled up on our sides, arms still tightly around each other, and there was so much emotion building inside me, I thought I would burst. I wanted to tell her a hundred times that I loved her, but when I looked in her eyes, I knew I didn’t have to.
“What are you thinking?” I asked.
“That we should’ve been doing this a long time ago.”
I brushed my lips over her forehead. “No, this was the moment. The moment it was meant to be.” I knew how she felt about destiny and fate, and under other circumstances, she probably would’ve given me a lecture about free will. Instead, she trailed her fingers along my neck and smiled.