Authors: Tarah Knight
“So why did you both want to go last?” The question came out of nowhere. But now that she asked it she really wanted to know.
“It was all about strategy. Whoever went last could perhaps learn from the others mistakes and have an advantage.” Haven studied his profile as they drove. The headlights from the oncoming cars made his eyes glow like a cats. Then the absurd picture of Deacon with whiskers and a tail popped into her mind and she giggled. The harder she tried to stop the worse it became! When he turned to look at her she howled in laughter holding her sides and wiping tears as they streamed from her eyes. “I’m sorry!” She finally gasped out. She finally pulled herself together enough to sit up in the seat.
“Would you like to share what you found so amusing?” Deacon asked. Haven shook her head hard!
“No, not really. Trust me, you don’t want to know.” He continued to stare at her for a long moment then he turned back to the road. Haven thought about what Brooklyn had shared with her, the tragedy that Deacon had faced and overcame. But she wondered if he truly had overcome it? Was the murder of your father and the death of your mother by your own hand something that one could truly ever hope to overcome? How could anyone remain sane after such an event? According to the story he did not although to look at him now you would not guess his history, his past. He would cast glances her way and she would catch glimpses of vulnerability beneath the strength that he wore so easily.
“Deacon? If this has never happened before, two men bonding with the same woman, why do you think it is happening now?” He reached up and rubbed his face hard before he turned to her.
“I have lain awake for days pondering this question Haven, I have only one answer. I believe that you are a twin yourself. Perhaps your sister died in the womb, or after birth. But to me this is the only answer that makes any kind of sense. Twins share such a tight bond it’s the only bond that is even comparable of that between Serah’s. Now the question remains does my Serah live or does his?”
“If that is really what happened, and I agree it would make sense, my
twin must have died in the womb unknown to my mother. She would have told me if she had been still born. I will admit that I feel more of a connection to you, but we have shared more than Barron and I have. You saved my life you came to me first. I don’t know if that means anything or not. Deacon I understand that it is not just my life at stake here, my happiness. Please know that I will give both of you the same consideration and opportunity to win my heart, or help me decide, or whatever it is that I need to do.” She watched as he swallowed then nodded as he once more gave her a quick look.
Several hours later they pull up at a mountain
cabin. It was nestled deep in the pine forest. The small structure looked almost like it had been birth from the mountain itself. Made of logs that appeared to be hand cut and fastened together by old-fashioned pegs the cabin was sitting on a granite foundation that had to be cut from the surrounding cliffs. Haven smiled then sighed in relief at the peace the cabin seemed to be offering. She quickly opened the door of the car and stepped out breathing deep of the cool mountain air. It was so much fresher than the stifling hot air of south Texas. She looked to the east and could see the sky was starting to turn a pale shade pink and she knew daylight was upon them. “Its beautiful up here.” Deacon smiled slightly as he gathered up her bags.
“Thank you, I have owned this land since before the pilgrims arrived here.” That made Haven s
top in her tracks. She knew Deacon was old, but that seriously brought it home for her.
“Good Lord, Deacon, the things you must have witness in your lifetime! I must seem like an infant to you.” He dropped her bags by her feet then reached and tilted her face upward, his eyes searching her face. He put her hand on his chest over his thundering heart. “No, infant could make me ache the way that you do Haven. I want to know everything you think or feel. I want to know your favorite color and the color you hate. I want to know what makes you smile or frown. I want to know your favorite memory and your deepest heartache. I want to know your favorite flower, favorite perfume, the darkest secret you’ve never revealed to anyone. I want to know what makes you catch your breath or brings a tear to your eye. But more than all of that I want to know the look on your face when you
look upon the man that you love, and I pray that you are looking at me when I see it.” Haven trembled as he brushed his thumb over her sensitive bottom lip, sending tingles all the way through her body she could feel the pull of the bond screaming at her to lean forward to capture his lips with her own and kiss that frown right off of them. She knew without a doubt that Deacon felt it too, his breathing had turned ragged as her own and his eyes had started to glow. He leaned down placing feather light kisses on her forehead, her cheek before he slowly made his way to her left ear where he whispered something gruffly to her in his native tongue. Then he picked up her bags and walked into the cabin.
Haven
let out a trembling breath as she leaned back against the car. Her knees were now too weak to support her. She was shaking in need from head to toe with a slow burn erupting low in her tummy, and the man had barely touched her! “Oh damn them to hell, these fated bonds!” She whispered before she followed Deacon into the cabin thankful she had thought to pack plenty of panties!
The interior of the cabin was as charming and rustic as the outside. A large stone fireplace was center stage in the one room structure. Off to the left of the fireplace was a massive copper tub that clearly was for bathing. With no walls to separate it from the rest of the room she felt herself turn pink at the idea of bathing in front of Deacon, she had
a feeling she wouldn’t end up in it alone. She glanced at him and sure enough he was already picturing her in the tub. She felt the burn start up in her tummy again. He quickly turned his head and went back outside to get the rest of their bags. After he had brought them all in Haven noticed he had one medium sized bag to her four large bags. She looked up meeting his amused gaze. “One thing that hasn’t changed in seven hundred years is the amount of stuff women need.” He placed all of her bags on the bed, on the only bed in the corner of the room.
“Um
, Deacon, I couldn’t help but notice that there is only one bed. I don’t think that sleeping together in the literal sense of the word would be a wise decision, do you?” He walked over to a small closet and pulled out an old army cot. “This is where I’ll be sleeping.” The cot looked about a foot too short and nearly that too narrow to accommodate Deacons large frame. Haven frowned.
“Let me take the cot, it’s too small for you. I think your mama tried to grow redwood trees instead of men. You are both the size of small mountains.” Before the words were out of her mouth he was shaking his head.
“No, I have slept on it many times. I will be fine. You take the bed.”
“But…”
“End of discussion Haven.” The tone of his voice old her he wouldn’t be swayed on this. “Fine then if want to sleep curled up like a pretzel who am I to deny you such pleasure.” She turned to unpack her clothing. This was going to be a long week!
After she had unpacked and looked around the cabin some more she started getting sleepy. It was now a
fter eight in the morning so it was getting to be her bedtime. She was also kind of hungry, but she wouldn’t have mentioned that under threat of a trip to a tanning bed. So she went to the small bathroom to change into her pajamas. Only it wasn’t really a bathroom, it only held a sink and mirror with a medicine cabinet. Curious about what a male vamp would keep in his bathroom cabinet she opened it up and then shrieked at the top of her lungs!
Deacon came busting through the door. “Haven
! What is it? Are you hurt?” She turned and pointed toward the cabinet to the biggest hairiest spider she had ever seen! It was bigger than her hand! “Kill it! Oh my God go get a gun!” Haven flattened herself against the wall, jerking Deacon over in front of her to hide behind his big frame she shuddered at the sight. She felt vibrations through his back and looked up to see him laughing! She slapped at his shoulders. “Stop laughing and get rid of that… that… spider-zilla!” He turned around and smiled at her. “Hey, its ok… this is Lucy, she won’t hurt you.”
Haven looked at him in shock! “You named it?” He shrugged then walked over to the cabinet and held out his hand. “Deacon, don’t! Its probably poisonous!” Haven warned
. Then “Lucy” patted at his hand with her front two legs for a moment before she crawled up his hand. “Oh yuck! Double yuck! Deacon Reinhold Northcross, I swear by all that is holy if you take one step in my direction with that creature this trip is over!”
He looked at her with concern. “Lucy tr
uly frightens you?” Haven nodded. “Uh, yeah, kind of thought the blood curdling scream and the order to kill it would have clued you in on that. Please get rid of her.” He continued to hold the dreadful thing even stroking the center of its leathery looking back. The spider seemed to enjoy Deacons affections for it sat still except for its two front legs that would stroke his hand. They were petting each other! Haven suppressed another shudder. “I have a phobia ok? I have only one and you are currently petting it like a Labrador retriever! I can’t stay here with it in the cabin.” Then a more horrifying thought crossed her mind! “I bet there are more isn’t there? She probably has a husband and nine million baby Lucy’s! Oh no. No, no, no… time to leave.”
Deacon shook his head. “I’m sure there are more, however Lucy is the only one that stays in the cabin. She really won’t hurt you. She eats bugs and other nasty little t
hings. She is my exterminator.” Haven continued to shake her head. “Don’t care… really don’t care. You need an exterminator then call Terminex. I’m serious Deacon.”
“Very well, I’ll put her outside, and we can work on your phobia while we are here.” He walked out of the bathroom with Haven right behind him. “No, you will put her in a cage, so I’ll know she won’t decide to come snuggle up with me while I sleep, and I’m just fine with my phobia. I’ve had it a long time we are friends.”
“Haven, I won’t have you frightened of something for no reason. We can overcome your fear.”
“Deacon, I like my fear. I don’t want to overcome it.”
“Yes, you do.”
“
No, I don’t!”
“Haven did you seriously enjoy the fear that you experienced in the bathroom when you found Lucy? I can help you not to be afraid. You may never like spiders, but at least you won’t fear them.” Haven looked at him with her head cocked. “Why is this so important to you? It
’s not a big deal.” He placed Lucy in a large mason jar then punched some holes in the lid for air. Then he walked over to her. He placed his hands on her shoulders. “This is important to me because you are important to me. I didn’t like hearing the fear in your voice and seeing the terror on your face. It’s a simple thing for me to fix for you. I don’t want you to fear anything. You needn’t fear anything. You are Legend. What can harm you? Not a spider, no matter how big it is.”
“She is creepy. With all those hairy little legs! Blah!”
“No, she isn’t creepy. She is brilliantly made. Designed perfectly to do what she was created to do. If it wasn’t for all the Lucy’s in the world we would be overran by all manner of insects. Look, notice how she is covered by the bristle? That’s her protection against animals that might try to eat her. She can throw the hair or project it at whatever is threating her. The hairs are very irritating to the eyes and mouth. She has all those legs to hold and capture her prey. She was put on this earth for a reason, doesn’t she deserve to live as much as we do?” Haven threw up her hands. “Now you’re starting to sound like Brooklyn. Yes, I suppose she does have a right to live, but does it have to be in the bathroom?”
Deacon chuckled. Then walked over to the jar. “Come, make peace with Lucy. She can’t hurt you
now, not that she ever would.” Haven walked slowly over to where Deacon held the jar in his hand. She tried to see Lucy as he did, to look past her preconceived fears. The first thing she noticed was that the spider wasn’t just brown, but multicolored. She had a lot of black and deeper russet on her legs. Her saddle, which was a very pale tan, was actually more like brushed velvet than leather. Her eyes were shiny black and seemed to be regarding her as curiously as Haven was looking at her. “Hi Lucy, sorry we got off to a bad start, but you startled me. Thank you for eating all the bugs and don’t take this personal, but I don’t think we are going to be best friends ok?”
Deacon smiled at her. “See? You are a brave girl. I knew it all along.” Haven rolled her eyes at him.
“Right, like you were going to leave me alone about it. Ok, I’ve made nice with Lucy. Can we put her away somewhere so I can go to sleep please?” He put Lucy in a closet after apologizing for such inhumane treatment then walked over to the kitchen area removing a glass from the cabinet. Turning back to Haven, he bit deeply into his wrist watching her intently as her eyes dilated while he filled the glass. Watching him slowly lick the wound on his wrist closed had Haven feeling all hot and bothered again. Her hand was visibly trembling as she reached for the glass. She started to take a sip then stopped giving Deacon a pointed look.
“Oh, of course I’m sorry. I’ll just go check on things
outside.” Then he walked out. She quickly drained the contents of the glass before she went back in the bathroom to change after looking carefully to make sure Lucy didn’t have any buddies over. When she emerged from the bathroom Deacon was getting his cot ready. He had removed his shirt and Haven shamelessly stared as his muscles danced and bulged as he moved. His back was broad and layered in heavy muscle it tapered down to slim hips with twin dimples just above the waist of his slacks. Her eyes drifted lower to the finest behind she had ever seen. Actually, that wasn’t exactly true. There was at least one more in existence that could give Deacons a run for his money. Shaking her head to control her lusty thoughts she cleared her throat and walked over to her bed. She noticed as she pulled back the covers that there was now a heavy shutter over the windows and door. Smart guy, she thought. Can’t have someone barging in and frying them to a crisp as they slept. She climbed into bed and snuggled down into the covers then watched as Deacon tried to get as much of his large frame on the cot as possible. She knew he would never willingly let her sleep there, even if it was the most logical answer. So she would have to resort to a little trickery!
“Hey Deacon? I hate to bother you, but I’m still just a tad nervous that Lucy could have invited some friends over without telling you. Would mind terribly to please check under my bed?” She smiled her innocent wouldn’t dare deceive you smile
at him. Making sure her eyes was large and child like for extra measure. She did stop short at batting her lashes at him. No need in overkill. Besides it was working. He got up and dropped to his knees to look under her bed. Quick as a wink Haven jumped out of her bed and piled up on the cot. When Deacon raised his head he glared when he saw where she was.
“Don’t. Just don’t. This makes more sense and you know it. Look I even have room to spare!” When he continued to frown at her she just sighed. “Listen, if we are maybe going to have a really
really long lifetime together then you need to learn when my mind is made up there isn’t much you can do to change it. My mama said I could give stubborn lessons to a mule.” He got up off the floor still scowling but climbed into the bed. “Your mother sounds like a very wise woman.” He commented dryly.
“Oh she was! Mama had what she called country smarts. She didn’t graduate from high school; she got pregnant with me and then got married. But she was still one the smartest people I’ve ever known. She could stretch a dollar so tight you could floss your teeth with it. My daddy left us when I was barely a year old so mama had to make it on her own. Then when my baby brother came along we moved back in with granny. I bet they wonder what happened to me. I wonder if my face is on a milk carton somewhere. You know I bet that’s what happened to a lot of those kids on milk cartons. They got sucked dry, or changed. I wish I could tell them I’m ok.” She whispered wistfully.
“So why don’t you?” Deacon had rolled over to his left side and was watching her as she rambled on like a run away train.
“How could I? Don’t you think they would notice a few little changes? Like my fangs and sudden intense allergy to direct sunlight?”
“They make dental overlays and you could go see them in the evening when the sun isn’t that strong. You don’t have to give up your family completely, not yet anyway.” He advised.
Haven smiled then she frowned. “But I would have to eventually wouldn’t I? They would notice that I wasn’t aging wouldn’t they? I guess maybe I should leave well enough alone. No need in breaking their hearts twice.
It would be hard to explain where I’ve been for the last few months anyway.”
“That would be years from now Haven, even then you could tell them you had some work done or something. Movie stars do it all the time. There are several options.” Then he paused. “I know what its like to lose your family. I wouldn’t
wish that on anyone.”
She could hear the deep sadness in his voice. “Deacon, please don’t be mad, but Brooklyn told me about your parents. I’m so sorry.”
He smiled faintly. “It’s alright. As my Serah you have the right to know about my history. If Brooklyn shared that confidence with you then she must feel the same way. You know Haven, there is a couple of choices we haven’t talked about yet. I’m not sure how you would feel about them, but I want you to know all your options.” When she looked up at him, he continued. “You could always tell them what you are. Of course that comes with definite risks and I wouldn’t advise that you tell anyone that you couldn’t trust completely, I was thinking of perhaps the grandmother?” Haven was taken aback in surprise! Tell her family what she was? Tell them she was a vampire?
“I don’t really think that would go very well Deacon. My granny would get out her anointing oil and try to cast the devil out of me. No, that’s not an option at all. What is the other option?” He was silent for a moment and without looking at her he told her the other option.
“You could change them.” He said softly. “Change them? Make them a vampire? No.” She said harshly. “But look at what you’re offering them Haven. Your grandmother would be young again, healthy. She wouldn’t have to suffer the pain and indignities of growing old. Your brother would be fit and strong for hundred of years he wouldn’t go through a middle age crisis or know the feeling of seeing his manhood waste away. Look at what they would gain, Haven before you just decide to say no.”
Haven’s eyes could set fire to the bed they were shooting off so many sparks. “What I would be giving them? What about what they would lose Deacon? They would lose their option to live their lives the way God intended. We are supposed
to grow old and suffer the ‘indignities’ as you called them. We are not supposed to live for hundreds of years! Its goes against the laws of nature. Everything dies.”