Waking Eden (The Eden Series Book 3) Page 23

  Yeah, that was way too high on the raw confession scale to rush into more surprises. “Okay,” she said instead.

  His smile jumped to killer proportions, a flash of the vibrant youth he’d likely once been mingled with the powerful man he’d become. No walls between them. No pretense or playboy moves.

  All her emotions resonated into one unrepentant blast. Joy, wonder, gratitude and love. Each of them nestled deep in her heart, something profoundly protective and compelling mushrooming up with determination to protect what he’d laid bare.

  He turned her around and pulled her back against his chest. “What do you think?”

  The ocean rolled in firm, steady waves on her right, the late afternoon sun spilling across the turquoise water in deep red and mango. Three birds with long cobalt wings and lavender tips dipped and chirped in singsong voices against the wind. To her left was a private, peaceful cove, black rock walls surrounding it on all sides with varied gemstone colors glinting off the setting sun.

  Sunlight winked off a glass surface in her periphery.

  Oh. My. God. Was that a house?

  As if sensing her thoughts, Ramsay guided them closer to the tall rock bluff jutting out in a long point between the ocean and the cove. The towering bluff was shaped in an L, a man-made cave with wall-to-wall windows and modern architecture lining the top.

  Centered at the lower part of the L was a circular outdoor living space with casual loungers and futons, all topped with plush smoky black cushions piped with dove gray fabric at the edges. A skinny, but long rectangular fire pit stretched wide at the center.

  “Where are we?” Everything else she’d seen in Eden had a more renaissance-meets-new-age feel to it. This was somewhere closer to Batman-meets-old-world-Greece.

  Ramsay navigated them to the circular outdoor area, lifting her up as he landed and easing her to her feet. “Where I go when I need time to myself.”

  She spun to face him. “You live here?”

  “When I’m not at the castle, which isn’t often.” He shrugged, eyes on the well-hidden residence above. “Took me forever to build it. Eryx helped when he had time or when I needed an extra set of hands.”

  “You built it yourself?”

  He grinned, the devilish orneriness he wore like a second skin rising to the occasion. “I’m a resourceful guy.”

  Indeed. Resourceful enough to gain her father’s blessing, and sweep her into a sacred ritual that would change the rest of her life in just over twenty-four hours. Too bad she didn’t have a clue how to hold up her end of whatever the night held in store.

  “I’m scared.” She could almost feel the little minions in her mind scampering about, shouting all manner of clipped commands, and flipping levers to handle her unplanned outburst. Kind of a Willy Wonka environment in a Titanic situation.

  Ramsay tucked a windswept lock of her hair behind her ear and caressed the side of her face. “Eryx said he told you what tonight was about?”

  She nodded. The warmth from his hand slithered down to unwind the tension in her neck. “He said Myren women never knew what would happen on their mating night. That it’s supposed to be about the man demonstrating his sincerity. To show how he means to care for the woman he wants to claim, and that he’s responsible for guiding her through the process.”

  “And Lexi?”

  Lexi. Trinity couldn’t decide if she loved the woman for trying to help her out, or wanted to choke her for her less than helpful cryptic comments. “Well, for starters, she said she wasn’t sure she agreed with the whole concept of keeping women in the dark about the ritual, but that she could see how it came about.”

  “That’s a big shift for Lexi. The first time I saw her after she and Eryx were mated, I was a little afraid she’d publish a step-by-step guide. At least now she gets there’s a purpose.” He slid his hand down her arm and clasped her hand. “What else did she say?”

  Her heart slowed and steadied under the slow back and forth of his thumb above her knuckles. “She asked me if I believed you’d be there for me going forward. If I thought you were done with running and would catch me no matter the circumstance.”

  The casual stroke of his thumb stopped. His calm attention shifted to that of a predator keen to prey gallivanting in his lair. “And you said?”

  She swallowed, and her fingers tightened against his. Her blood surged with adrenaline, the kind of disorienting, heady rush every student got when the teacher singled them out in front of the whole class. “I told her trust was a two-way street. A man can’t catch a woman who never allows herself to fall.”

  For the longest time he didn’t move, just studied her with what she could only classify as bewilderment. Either that, or he desperately wanted to hightail it for home and couldn’t figure out a good exit line.

  “I don’t deserve you.” He traced her cheekbone, then palmed the back of her head and pulled her against his chest in a fierce, almost needy hug. “I haven’t earned a tenth of what you give me, but I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life catching up.”

  He held her there for long, peaceful minutes. The beat of his heart beneath her cheek lulled and comforted, and his heat counterbalanced the cool ocean breeze at her back.

  Pulling back only enough to meet her gaze, he cupped his hands on either side of her head. His mouth parted as if to speak, then closed. He peered over her shoulder at the horizon and his eyes sharpened. He motioned behind her with his chin and turned her to match his line of sight. “This is why I brought you here.”

  Trinity gasped and staggered backward into Ramsay’s solid chest. His strong hands steadied her at each shoulder, but the bulk of her attention was riveted on the sunset. Midnight blue covered the skies high above her and a fire red swath stretched along the ocean line, but it was the span of colors between the two that stole her breath. The odd, red-rimmed Myren sun cast sharp beams up into the skies to make its own powerful rendition of the aurora borealis, mingling with the holographic sky for a mesmerizing display.

  “It’s beautiful.” Really, the word didn’t do the visual justice, but her mind was too dumbfounded by the view to bother digging up the right description.

  Ramsay’s voice was quiet behind her, peaceful, and yet a little sad. “My dad brought me here when I was little. The only time I remember ever having him to myself. Eryx and I had fought about something, a worse blow up than normal. Dad thought me having a place to go and gather my thoughts might be in the best interest of the whole castle.”

  Trinity paced her breathing and kept her eyes locked on the majestic sun as it tipped into the teal water. She could see this sight tomorrow, or the day after, but the story bubbling up from Ramsay’s memory was huge. The intensity of it crackled and snapped around her.

  “Aside from Eryx, I’ve never brought anyone here, and even he has only been a time or two.” He pulled in a slow breath. “It was the only thing I had of my dad I didn’t have to share with anyone else.” His fingers tightened on her shoulders. “I wanted to share it with you.”

  Honest to God, a battering ram couldn’t have impacted her senses more than his simple, heart-felt gift. She was dumbfounded. Too stunned and humbled to formulate even the basest response.

  “Look at it, Trinity. That sunset is the same impression you made on me the first time I saw you. Powerful. Colorful. Bright and warm.” He slid his hands around her waist and wrapped her up tight, his mouth at her ear. “Every time I see or think of you, this is what fills me.”

  She tried to turn, her body and senses clamoring for eye contact. To anchor herself in his steel-gray eyes.

  He stopped her with a flex of his arms. “Not yet. I need you to watch it until it’s gone. To know that it’s the last sunset you’ll see without a mate. And know that the sunrise we watch tomorrow will be ours.”

  Chapter 28

  Arms wrapped snug around Trinity’s middle with her back pressed tight against his chest, Ramsay skimmed the shell of her ear with his lips and dragged in a deep,
indulgent breath. She smelled even better than she looked, like her red dress had sparked a chemical reaction and added a touch of warm spice to her skin.

  Her arms lay over his at her waist and her fingers pushed and pulled in an absentminded, almost anxious rhythm.

  He’d have to work on that. Her saying trust was a two-way street eased the bulk of his worries about tonight, but that didn’t mean he could afford to get complacent. The Black King’s warnings of their mating being the first of its kind, one that might not easily be formed, kept circling in his head. A tiny, niggling itch he couldn’t quite reach.

  Only a sliver of orange and the sun’s red rim hovered above the horizon. Another minute or two and the night would be theirs.

  “Watch this,” he said low in her ear.

  Ten seconds passed. Fifteen. Twenty.

  The orange disappeared, leaving only a blood red arc atop the stretch of dark ocean. Shards of crimson shot up into the skies, a last gasp of daylight streaming into the heavens like lasers against midnight blue. Swirls of silver energy danced between them.

  Trinity laughed into the quiet night, her eyes open in innocent wonder while the breeze brushed her platinum hair off her face. So beautiful. And she would be his baineann. His mate.

  So long as he didn’t screw things up.

  I suggest you use the resources at your disposal.

  Helluva mating gift. One would think the guy could’ve thrown him a bone and offered something a little less vague.

  The last of the sun dipped below the sea, and Trinity laid her head back on his chest with a sigh. She craned her neck and studied him. Her eyes sparkled bright in the moonshine, tiny pools of unshed tears rimming the lower edge. “Thank you for sharing that with me.”

  She understood. Actually comprehended the importance of him bringing her here, and it rattled every square inch of him. Though why he was surprised, he didn’t know. This was Trinity. He’d never met a more self-aware, giving person in his life.

  “I wanted you to know,” he said. “To have some demonstration that, until I die, my life is yours. I couldn’t think of a better way to show you than to share the one place I’ve held safe from everyone else.”

  She turned in his arms and laid her palm over his heart. “You don’t have to prove anything to me. If I didn’t believe in you, I wouldn’t be here.”

  He hoped that was true. One way or another, they were about to find out.

  “Come on.” He tucked her beside him and cast a narrow flame at the waiting fire pit.

  The kindling he’d laid earlier in the day flared bright and the massive logs crackled against the breeze. Sparks drifted upward.

  Trinity watched the glowing particles as they sailed higher with the same open, wide-eyed fascination she’d given the sunset. “Okay, maybe I should get around to learning those tricks.”

  “Most people jump on learning the elements the minute they feel good enough to get out of bed. Well, either that or flying.” He sat in the center of a wide fireside cushion with a mountain of pillows behind him, and pulled her between his legs so she reclined against his chest. “What gives?”

  Trinity shrugged. “I don’t know. I might be a little afraid of burning something I shouldn’t. Or shocking something too much.” She glanced back at him, a wry twist to her lips. “Mostly I’m just hesitant.”

  “Hesitant of what?”

  She rested her head on his shoulder and studied the stars and wild swirls of Eden’s extra energy. “The power, I think. I’m not sure if I have a healthy respect for it, or if I’m afraid it’ll go to my head.” She rolled her head to meet his gaze. “Or maybe I just like my humanity.”

  Ramsay stroked her jaw. “You think you’ve got some human mixed up with the Spiritu and the Myren, huh? Kind of a genetic trifecta?”

  She huffed out a laugh and resumed her skyward perusal. “I think I’ve given up trying to figure out what I am. Better to focus on just being.”

  He traced the neckline of her gown, the bold red fabric slashing from one shoulder across her chest before dipping around the back. “Where’s your pendant?”

  Her hand shot to the hollow of her throat where the pendant usually lay. Her eyebrows dipped low in the center before snapping back into a relaxed line. “For a minute I forgot.” She rubbed the bare skin. “I thought it looked clunky with the dress, so I took it off. Lexi said she’d put it in our room.”

  Our room.

  And he wouldn’t just be sharing his room. He’d be sharing his life. His thoughts. His emotions.

  You won’t be alone anymore.

  Or wouldn’t be if he’d stop stalling and get busy binding the two of them. “There’s another reason I chose this spot. Why we’re outside.”

  Curiosity glittered in her dark eyes.

  “The elements. Fire, energy, air, water, earth, they’re all here.” He laid his head back and savored his heart’s resounding rhythm. The heady buzz of anticipation in his veins. He skimmed his hands along her upper arms and her tiny goose bumps tickled his palms. “It’s important the gifts The Great One gave us be present on a night when two people become one.”

  “I like that.” She said it on an almost sing-songy exhale, the kind of sound usually reserved for love-struck teens and the sappy parts in romance novels. Maybe the sentiment would work to his advantage. The Great One knew what was coming would be a shock to her system.

  From beneath the pillows, he tugged free the long, mahogany box he’d stashed while preparing for their night. He sat upright, taking Trinity with him. “Cross your legs.”

  She situated herself Indian style and settled the bulk of her train so it lay to one side of them.

  With his legs bent at either side of her, he placed the box in her lap. “Open it.”

  She regarded him for a good three or four seconds, then ran her fingers along the polished surface. Gently, she pried the lid open.

  The Shantos dagger lay nestled in onyx velvet, its nearly nine-inch silver blade glinting orange, red, and yellow from the firelight.

  Trinity fingered the rubies and sapphires embedded in the ebony hilt. “It’s beautiful.”

  “It’s been in my family for a long time. At least four generations that we’re sure of.” He kissed her temple and centered himself in her scent, in her presence, then stood and held out his hand. “Hand me the dagger, Trinity.”

  Her gaze shot back and forth between his hand and the weapon. She lifted the entire box.

  He shook his head. “Just the dagger, Sunshine. Put the hilt in my palm.”

  With careful fingers, she lifted the blade free.

  Fisting the cool metal in his palm, he offered his free hand. “Will you stand with me?”

  She frowned, confusion painting her features.

  Hard to blame her. Frankly, he was taking things off-script by asking her to stand beside him for his vow, but having her there felt right. Another way to let her know he wouldn’t keep her at a distance. Not tonight. Not any time in their hopefully long future.

  Her fingers settled in his outstretched hand and he pulled her to her feet.

  He snatched the towel he’d left on a nearby table, guided her upwind of the fire pit, and shoved his drast above his elbow.

  Trinity moved in close, her body tight. “What are you doing?”

  Keeping the dagger at his side, he lifted his free hand parallel to the ground and fisted his hand over and over. “What’s more important to our existence than the elements?”

  She met his stare then eyeballed the dagger at his side. “I don’t think I like this.”

  “For a Myren man willing to take a baineann, offering a blood vow is the most sacred act there is. Would you ask me to forgo honoring you with it?”

  “But it’s not necessary.” Her focus didn’t budge from the knife, but she rested gentle fingers at his wrist as though prepared to shove it away. “I told you I believe in you. I don’t need blood to prove it.”

  “I need it.”

  Her m
outh snapped shut.

  “I need for you and my Creator to know what I’m committing to isn’t done lightly,” he said. “Not something I’ll run from when you need me most.” He flexed his hand again. The veins along the inside of his arm rose and his heart pounded in a furious beat. “You don’t have to watch if it’s too much, but this is important. A testament that I need you as much as the blood in my veins.”

  She swallowed, grimacing a little before lowering her hand from his wrist. She nodded.

  Before she could change her mind or overthink what would come next, he slit a long gash along the tender inside of his forearm. Nerve endings shrieked in protest and he nearly lost his grip on the hilt. Fire-intense pain radiated out in all directions, and for a second or two his sight glazed over.

  He set his blade on the fire pit’s rim and angled his arm so the blood flowed thick and easy. It dripped to the steel grate with an angry hiss. His forearm throbbed. His biceps and triceps cramped beneath his fist’s brutal clench.

  Trinity stared at the blood pulsing from the gash, her face slack and white as the moon above.

  His voice rumbled against the ocean gusts, pained and grated. “Look at me, Trinity.”

  Her eyes were rounded with fear. For him. The concept knocked him silly. This sweet woman worried over a simple flesh wound, one easily healed with a moment or two of concentration.

  He cupped her nape with his free hand and pulled her close. “I vow to The Great One to love and provide for this woman until I leave this life. To see to her needs and the needs of those she holds dear. To protect her at all costs, even to the point of death.” He kissed her forehead. All the emotion wrapped around his heart surged to the surface, leaving what felt like a boulder lodged in his throat. “No other will be placed before her, and she will be cherished until I breathe no more.”

  A log snapped in two and the fire crackled against the ocean breeze.

  Trinity’s fingers dug into his waist. “Ramsay?”

  “Mmm?”

  She stayed pressed beside him, one arm curled around his back and the other now fisted in the bottom of his drast. “That was really beautiful, and I don’t want to seem insincere, but can we take care of your arm now? I don’t think we’ll have much of a wedding night if you’re passed out from blood loss.”