AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Twenty-NineEric
That night Eric watched Sorrel restlessly sleep on the couch. He paced back and forth while holding Tara and scratching her head. “Your owner is stubborn,” he lamented. If the book had let him go through with his plans earlier that morning, Sorrel would already be free. The thermos containing the wolfsbane elixir had just touched his lips when the book began to glow, brighter than ever. He almost ignored it, but it practically blinded him until he opened it. Now he only had one dose of the wolfsbane left to complete his mission and an infuriating yet maddeningly wonderful woman on his hands. The woman he loved; and amazingly, she loved him. Damn the curse.
Didn’t Sorrel know that he wanted nothing more than to live a long life with her? But it was impossible. The curse would have its way, whether Sorrel wanted it to or not. She could protest all she wanted. One thing Eric was sure of was that the Aelius queen would have her revenge. And was she ever vindictive. She obviously wanted to make certain Eric’s line paid as heavy a price as possible. She had made sure Eric would die knowing exactly what he would be missing out on. Even so, Eric would happily die so Sorrel could live. In that way he felt as if he were defying the curse.
How to get Sorrel to see reason, he had no idea. He also had no idea where to even begin to search for the book of the sun—Sorrel’s book. Maybe in France? That was, if her father had told Sorrel the truth about where his family was from. The man was shrouded in mystery. Eric should have investigated him further; then maybe he would know where they should go. He should do some investigative research now. Selfishly, though, he wanted every minute he had left with Sorrel. He wanted to go to her now. Her thin, supple body covered in satin pajamas called to him.
He gave Tara one good last scratch before setting her down. She looked up at him, miffed. “Sorry, your owner is more my kind of girl.” Eric strutted over to Sorrel. Although he hated to wake her, he picked her up.
She immediately opened her soulful eyes. “I was having strange dreams.”
Eric sat on the couch with her and maneuvered them until they were both lying down. He pulled her body as close to his as he could and relished in the contours of her shape and curves. It was cruel torture, as well as ecstasy.
She naturally snuggled into him and buried her head in his bare chest.
His hand slid down her back. “Tell me about your dreams.”
“I was in our old vineyard, with my father. He wants to meet you. He said it was time.”
“Time for what?”
She paused. “Time for me to be brave, like I promised him I always would be,” her voice cracked.
“What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. He wants to tell us together.”
“How is that possible? I think you were just dreaming.”
She drew circles with her finger on his chest. It drove Eric mad with desire. He was going to have to be careful with her.
“It felt like when I would dream of you. A real dream. My father said you’ve met him before and would know where to meet him again.”
Eric thought for a moment, and then a light bulb went on. “Sorrel, I’m going to need to go into your dreams again.”
She stiffened against him.
“I know what a violation it is.”
“It’s not that.” Her tears tickled his chest. “I’m afraid I’ll make a fool of myself. That I’ll dream about being pregnant with your baby again. Honestly, I want that to be true more than anything. I know, though, that it can never happen.”
“Shh.” He cradled her head. “If I could have a dozen babies with you, I would. When we break the curse, you can have those babies.”
“Eric, I can’t let you die. I would rather live a celibate life with you than marry a man who will never truly understand who or what I am.”
The thought of Sorrel marrying another didn’t sit well with him, either, but he couldn’t be selfish. His destiny was to die so that she could live. Truly live. He had to believe she would meet someone who could make her happy. Someone who could make love to her and give her babies. He bristled at the idea. “Let me meet your father.”
“What if I don’t dream about him again?”
“You will. You do every night.” Admittedly, he was overjoyed that the man in the vineyard was her father and not some Casanova he’d have to beat the hell out of. Sorrel could move on after he died.
“Why can’t I remember that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he’ll be able to tell you.”
