Jaden's Heart Page 9

  “You okay?” I asked between soft kisses.

  She nodded, her heart racing. I brushed my lips against hers then gently began to thrust. Her eyes closed and her body arched against mine. With my free hand, I gently took hers and placed it between my legs. “Together,” I said, breathing hard. I felt her slowly explore. “Please,” I begged.

  Alexis's fingers entered me slowly, timidly. I gasped and nearly collapsed onto her from the sheer joy of feeling her inside of me. She slowly began to copy my movements.

  “Look at me, love,” I said, breathless.

  I was delighted when her emerald eyes fluttered open and stared, dazed at me. These eyes belonged to the woman I loved. The woman I was making love to. In nine hundred years, I had so many partners—both male and female—but I loved none of them. This was the first time in my life I truly cared about the pleasure of another person.

  After our union, I gathered her into my arms, laying her soft naked body onto our bed. We lay tangled up in each other's embrace and I traced her curves with cool fingertips.

  “Do you still want to go to the drive-in?” I asked.

  She opened her mouth then bit her lip.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I really don't have anything to wear on a date,” she confessed.

  “Let's see,” I said, measuring her with my eyes.

  I could feel her gaze lingering on my naked body as I stood and crossed the room to my small closet. Opening it, I quickly went through the limited clothing I had brought with me. I removed a ribbed knit sweater, black fleece-lined tights and a beaded embroidery skirt, laying them on the bed before I retrieved my black over the knee chunky-heeled boots.

  “Why don't you try these on?” I said. “They should fit.”

  I watched her dress, wishing it was my hands and not hers pulling the fabric over her soft skin. “Wow,” I breathed, taking in her beauty.

  Alexis blushed. “What are you going to wear?” she asked, looking down at herself.

  Returning to the closet, I pulled out clothes. She watched me dress in low-rise frayed blue jeans, a black distressed V-neck t-shirt and lace-up combat boots.

  “Why do I have to wear a skirt?” she asked, frowning.

  Laughing, I took her into my arms. “Two reasons: first, all my pants are too big for you,” I said, pausing to brush her hair from her lovely neck with my fingers.

  “And second?” she asked.

  “Secondly, you're too beautiful for pants.” I kissed her lips. She giggled.

  I disappeared into the bathroom and returned with my barrel curler, straightener, and my make-up bag. I set them onto the dining room table. “May I?” I asked.

  She looked at the beauty supplies like they were instruments of torture. “Um, yes, I trust you,” Alexis said, crossing to sit at the dining table.

  I straightened her hair and added a small amount of make-up to her face. Just enough to bring out her natural features. I curled my hair then combed through it with a wide-toothed comb, and blasted it with hairspray to hold it in place.

  After, I took her hand. “Come look!” I said, and guided her into the bathroom.

  We stood facing the full-length mirror.

  “We look amazing,” she breathed, turning from side to side, admiring herself.

  She was breathtaking despite my clothing being a size too big for her small height. “You look so beautiful.” She blushed and ran her hand along the soft fabric.

  “Let's go break some hearts!”

  Eleven

  I maneuvered the car into the empty drive-in parking lot. It had a well-maintained outdoor movie screen, projection booth, concession stand, and a large parking area for automobiles. To the left and right of the concession stand were a few picnic tables.

  “We're the only ones here,” Alexis commented, looking out the open window.

  I placed the wireless speaker onto the dashboard. “The theater is closed in the winter.”

  She gave me a questioning expression and I smiled. “I own it.”

  “Wait. You own this theater?” She stared wide-eyed at me.

  “The previous owners couldn't afford to keep it running so I bought it.”

  “Why?”

  “It's a hobby of mine.”

  She laughed, “Your hobby is buying old movie theaters?”

  “Not just movie theaters. I also collect artwork, cars, houses, and a highway.”

  “A highway,” she replied, not able to believe.

  “I like preserving the past.”

  “How much money do you have?” she muttered.

  “Let's just say Forbes Magazine has been itching to interview me for decades. It's mostly tied up in investments, stocks, bonds, personal possessions, and gold bars.” She gaped at me. “I have had a lot of time to save.”

  Alexis wet her lips. “But how do you make so much? Enough to buy a highway?”

  “I have a substantial annual return on my investments. I also collect a steady salary of a hundred thousand dollars from my financial firm, Forever Trust and Holdings. It took Mr. Whitmore and me ten years and a billion dollars to build the company from the ground up. His ideas, my money,” I explained. “Last year we took a fifty-seven thousand dollar pay cut to support our humanitarian efforts in Africa and the Sudan.”

  She stared at me, her large emerald jewels unblinking. “Mr. Whitmore? Humanitarian efforts?”

  “He's my partner, estate holder, and a good friend. He's a humanitarian, always helping the down and out. A real softy. I guess he's rubbed off on me a little,” I explained.

  “Is he a vamp—Immortal?” she asked.

  I laughed. “No.”

  She shook her head in disbelief, “Does he know about you?”

  “No, you are the only human alive today that I have ever told. Although, I'm sure he has his speculations as he's very smart for a human.” I grinned.

  A blue-haired woman in her early twenties cleared her throat outside my window, drawing my attention away from Alexis, who was shaking her head but smiling.

  “Hi Brittany. Thank you for opening up for me,” I said, giving the woman a kind smile.

  “It really is no problem, Lady Hawk,” she said and blushed nowhere near as cutely as Alexis had the habit of doing.

  “Well thank you anyway.”

  “You're welcome. Here's the cheeseburger, large fries and a coke. If you need anything else just push the button on the speaker and I'll come right over,” she said, handing me the food.

  I passed the tray to Alexis and she sniffed at the greasy aroma that filled the car.

  “Thank you.” I handed the woman a hundred dollar bill and she scampered away.

  “You've thought of everything,” Alexis said, smiling.

  “I try,” I replied, closing the window.

  “How did you know I liked this?” she asked as she bit into a warm fry.

  I quickly contemplated how to explain. “I... I could smell it on you, the first time we met and then again the next night,” I replied hesitantly.

  “So do all immortals go around smelling people or do I just reek?” Alexis asked in a way that I guessed to be a little embarrassed.

  “I like how you smell,” I admitted.

  She looked at the cheeseburger. “I smelled like this?”

  I smiled and shook my head. “No, it's a combination of things. The burger was only one of them.”

  “What do you smell now?”

  I breathed deeply. “I smell the mint from your toothpaste. Jasmine from my shampoo and conditioner. I can smell the lingering remnants of our passions and your blood. Warm, sweet and enticing.”

  “Is it hard to be around me?” she asked. “I don't want to make you uncomfortable.”

  “It's hard, but I've had nine hundred years to learn self-control,” I replied. “I'm not saying I don't want to drink your blood.”

  “You want to?” she asked, eyes wide.

  “Yes, very much. However, if I ever did it again, it would
not be to feed but for pleasure. Alternatively, to make you immortal. You're not food.” I grinned.

  She turned a little green. “You get pleasure out of drinking blood?”

  “Yes, it can be a very sensual experience for both parties involved.”

  “I don't...” Her voice trailed and I laughed.

  “Don't worry. I won't do anything to you without your permission,” I said reassuringly.

  She nodded, then the movie started and drew her attention from me. It was a new addition to the Star Wars series. Over the years, I had lost interest in picture shows. However, as I snuck glances at Alexis, who grasped my arm at the most exciting parts, I found the joy for movies returning to me.

  When she placed her head onto my shoulder and I rested my hand on her upper thigh, I had fallen in love. I sunk down into my seat. The movie captivated her attention, but she had all of mine. Every gasp and squeeze of my hand sent waves of scorching fire through me.

  When the movie ended, she regaled me with her favorite parts as I pulled out of the movie theater and headed for the highway.

  “Where are we going?” she asked, watching the screen fade in the rear view mirror.

  “Mulholland Drive. It has the most amazing views at night,” I replied.

  “I've never been up there. It's in the Red Bandanna's territory,” she said.

  I drove down the exit ramp. “The gang from the news?”

  She nodded. “An old man told me which gang runs which parts of the city. He looked after me for a while, but he died last winter. Went to sleep and never woke up. Best way to go, I guess. I never got his name; he always said it's not important what you're called, only what you do.”

  I grinned. “Wise.”

  She shrugged as she looked out her window.

  “So what do you think?” I asked, pulling into a parking space.

  “It's incredible. You can see every light in the whole city from up here,” she breathed, moving forward in her seat to get a better look at the lights winking in the distance.

  “I don't particularly care for cities, so I come up here to think.” My heart ached as I tried to find the right words to explain my upcoming trip. “Alexis?”

  She looked at me, her eyes sparkling with the reflection of the city lights below. “Yeah?”

  “The council has called a summit,” I said.

  “What’s that?”

  “During a summit, they may draw up new land treaties and reorganize their power bases,” I explained. “This only happens when something drastic changes within our political construct. The last summit was during World War II and it was a desperate time for the mortal and immortal world. The council had to make decisions to accommodate the social climate change, hard decisions that affected everyone.”

  “What's changed now?” she asked.

  “Do you remember me mentioning Ivy?”

  She nodded. “Your weapons master.”

  “She was also a council member and head of her own House. She was my friend,” I said sadly.

  “Was?” Alexis asked, concerned.

  “She's dead.”

  “Jade, I'm so sorry.” She rested a hand on my shoulder.

  I shrugged her off and clenched the steering wheel. “Her death created a power vacuum. The summit is a chance for everyone to see how Ivy's power and lands are divided. It's also her funeral,” I said.

  “I tried to get out of going, but I've been ordered to attend. The consequences for defying the council can be severe.” I took Alexis's hands into mine.

  “Jaden, regardless of orders, Ivy was your friend. Of course you have to go,” she said.

  “Ivy would understand my not attending,” I replied somberly.

  Alexis drew back slightly. “Regardless of what Ivy would or wouldn't have understood, you owe it to her to go. You should say goodbye.”

  Is she angry with me?

  “Well, I'm going, I have no choice.” I turned to look out my window.

  She rested a gentle hand into mine. “When do you leave?”

  My words were a whisper. “Two weeks.”

  “When will you come back?”

  I looked at our linked hands. “It could be a few weeks. Maybe a month.”

  “A month!”

  She was fighting tears. “I know it's a long time. I don't want to leave you.” I was already worried.

  “I'll be fine,” she said, squeezing my hand reassuringly but the tears I saw building were daggers looking for a target.

  “You would be safer at my estate and I would worry less.”

  “You want me to go to England?”

  I nodded and silence fell over us. She sat with her eyes locked on our entwined fingers. Long seconds turned into even longer minutes. “Alexis?” I finally asked.

  “I'm afraid you won't like my answer and I don't want you to be mad at me,” she said, her voice low.

  “You want to stay here,” I guessed.

  She nodded, still not looking at me.

  I gently touched her face, the bruise under her chin nearly gone. “Alexis?”

  She looked at me and the tears fell, piercing my heart.

  “I could never be angry with you. I want you to be happy but I also don't want to lose my mind with worry. So how about a compromise?” I brushed the tears from her cheeks.

  “What kind of compromise?” she asked, sniffing and wiping her face on her sweater sleeve.

  “You stay here in L.A, live in my apartment and take care of Sophia for me. If I'm not back in two weeks, Mr. Whitmore will send his secretary to bring you and Sophia to England. I will meet you there once the summit is over.”

  She was quiet for a long moment. “Okay, but on one condition,” she said.

  “Anything,” I replied eagerly.

  Her voice cracked. “Come back to me.”

  “Alexis, I'm coming back, I swear.”

  She nodded but part of me was not sure she believed me. I started the engine, a heavy weight still between us.

  “Are you ready to head back or are you up for one more destination?” I asked, needing to lighten the atmosphere.

  She yawned. “What did you have in mind?”

  “A surprise,” I said, flashing her a mischievous smile.

  Alexis grinned and the air instantly felt lighter. She looked out the window with curious excitement as I drove through the city. I pulled into the Griffith Hill Observatory parking lot.

  “But it's closed,” she pointed out. “Don't tell me you own this, too!”

  I laughed, opening my door. “No.” A second later I stood beside her open door, my hand extended out to her.

  She stared at me, slightly dazed. “Superhuman speed?”

  “Barely,” I shrugged.

  She took my hand and shook her head. We ascended the walkway to the observatory's main door. I pushed the button on the intercom by the door. “We're closed. Come back tomorrow,” a deep male voice replied.

  “Mike, it's Jaden,” I said. There was a brief silence then the door buzzed and I pulled it open.

  I grinned at Alexis's surprised expression. “Mike is an old friend,” I explained.

  A heavyset man with smiling, dark brown eyes met us by the door. “Jaden! It's been a while,” he said, delivering two hard slaps to my back. When he caught sight of Alexis, he whistled. “Who's the babe?”

  She blushed. “Mike, this is Alexis. Alexis, this is Mike,” I said.

  “Hi,” she said, extending her hand.

  Mike shook it. “She's human.”

  “Alexis is just learning about our world.”

  He turned, scowling at me. “What are you thinking?”

  “I was hoping to show her the observatory.”

  “You’d better not be planning on hurting this child.” His voice turned cold.

  “I would never harm her. Besides, her choice is not your concern,” I replied.

  “Are you immortal, too?” Alexis asked.

  “No. Only a fool willingly gives his so
ul to the devil,” he replied, turning his piercing stare on her.

  “Mike's descended from a long line of ancient druids. He has reservations about my kind,” I explained, glaring at him.

  “I read a book on druids at the library. Weren't they involved in overzealous barbaric rituals?” Alexis asked.

  I laughed.

  “Not every druid sect participated in those detestable things,” Mike said defensively.

  “Maybe you shouldn't judge Immortals based upon one experience,” she suggested, crossing her arms.

  He sighed. “I suppose. You want to use the telescope?” he said, changing the subject.

  “If it isn't too much trouble,” I replied, smiling at her defense of me.

  He pulled a keycard out of his pocket. “Just return it when you're done.”

  “Thanks, Mike,” I said.

  He looked at Alexis. “Remember, kid. Only a fool freely gives away his soul,” he said, shifting back to me. “And only a demon would take it.”

  He wandered back to his desk.

  I took Alexis's hand and led her down the hallway. “Don't mind Mike. He doesn't mean anything by it. Apart from me, his only other interaction with my kind hasn't been on friendly terms.”

  “Oh,” she said, watching Mike bite into a sandwich.

  “His family was murdered ten years ago by a rogue Immortal. He would have died too, but I saved him. We've been friends since.” I slid the plastic key across the electric pad next to a set of double doors. The small box beeped and the light turned green.

  “He didn't seem friendly,” she replied.

  “It's his way,” I said as we climbed the staircase to the rooftop dome.

  She stared in awe at the massive telescope with its 12-inch Zeiss refractor and metal staircase that allowed the viewer to reach the viewing lens. I pushed buttons on the telescope's computer system. “The telescope is always set up to target the Moon, planets, or any bright objects in the Milky Way. We need to be able to operate it manually,” I said.

  Alexis circled the room, taking everything in while I worked on the computer. The copper roof of the telescope dome began to open and the dome's drive mechanisms came to life. I joined her beside the telescope.

  “Did you know that more people have looked though this telescope than any other in the whole world?”