AllFreeNovel
Share Us
To wait to say goodbye.
For me to do the interview I couldn’t cancel, then I would kiss him farewell and watch him vanish beneath the waves, just like he was about to do amongst the shipwreck all those decades ago.
Silly man.
Stupid soulmate.
Of course, I would never let him go anywhere without me.
If he wanted to die, it was a joint activity.
Living through five years of loss had permanently scarred me, and I would never live through that again. The day Aslan Kara passed away was the day I did too with absolutely no regrets and a heart full of gratefulness to have loved him.
But...apart from a few hiccups with his heart and a few doctor visits around the world, he was still him. Still bright-eyed and sharp-witted. We hunted for super foods and took local medicines. We were open to nature as well as science, and I’d begun noting my findings on the latest therapy or longevity secret on my website.
I didn’t know if anyone read my ramblings, but...if some of the information I gathered—thanks to the freedom and money to visit far distant places and travel to hidden oases—helped those who weren’t in such enviable positions to try such things, then I was glad.
Aslan had stayed alive for four more years.
Four wonderful years.
Four years and counting...
The captain stepped over me, casting a shadow from the setting sun. “We’re weighing anchor for the night, Mrs Kara. Dinner will be in an hour in the dining room.”
“Can you have Harriet set up the table on the back deck, Ben? I’d like to drink in the sights of Karon.”
“Of course.” He nodded and headed back to the captain’s cabin above us.
Aslan stretched and sat up, tucking his pen behind his ear and giving me a lazy smile. His lion tattoo flashed me, slightly weathered with time, partly faded from sunshine. It never failed to bring a glow of happiness as I dropped my stare to my own. Even in death, our bodies would always wear that permanent mark. A picture of two hearts becoming one.
Catching my eyes as I looked back up, he gave me the sweetest grin along with a suggestive quirk of his eyebrow. “Want to get another?”
“Another?”
“Tattoo.” Leaning forward, he cupped my breast beneath my cream dress with familiar possessive fingers.
I gasped and leaned into his touch.
Society would say we were too old for lust and longing. But society was an idiot. Despite our years, our need for one another had never dampened.
“I think my name inked right above your heart would look extremely fetching,” he purred.
“Fetching, huh?” My heart kicked of its own accord, leaping from love, and not his faulty rhythm.
“We could pop into Thailand tomorrow and find an artist.”
“We could.” I smiled. “But if we do, I get to put my name right above yours too. It’s only fair.”
Sighing, he dropped his hand, his eyes burning with coal dust. “It’s been yours since I was born, Neri. It’s defective and damaged and only beats because you command it to, but if you want to autograph it, then by all means.”
“You’ve got yourself a deal then,” I whispered. “I’ll ensure it beats for another decade.”
“Knowing you, you’ll find a way to make that happen.”
He could live for a millennium, and I would still find new parts of him to love.
Still obsess over how handsome and kind and amazing he was.
