Marker of Hope (9 page)

I rested my head back against the seat and
sighed, exasperated neither of them would listen to me.

“Are you okay?” David took my hand. “Do you
feel faint again?”

Again?
Had he not been listening to
me?

“She’ll feel better after she’s had some
orange juice,” Claire said. “Honey, just stay calm.”

“For the last time…” I turned to look at my
mom. “I’m fine.
Okay?
I’m fine.”

“But you said you were faint.” Claire widened
her eyes at me.

“No, Mom.
You
said I was faint. This
whole time, I’ve been telling you there’s nothing wrong with
me.”

“So you don’t want any juice?” David asked. I
gave him an annoyed stare. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Don’t pay attention to her,” Claire said.
“She needs something in her stomach.”

“For the love of Pete!” I snapped. I turned
to look at her. “Are you even listening to me? I.
Feel
.
Fine
.”

Claire held my stare, her mouth partly
open.

“I’m sorry,” I said, before she could scold
me. “I didn’t mean to raise my voice.”

Claire’s stare turned into an open-mouthed
gape.

“Mom?”

“Something,” she said, reaching for my face,
“is so very wrong with your eyes.”

My eyes? Oh no…no, not again!

I turned away from her at once. David turned
to look at me. His shoulder tensed.

“Turn around,” Claire ordered. “Look at me.”
I heard her unbuckle her safety belt. “Isis…”

David hit the brakes abruptly. The sudden
jerk sent Claire sliding off the backseat. I turned to see if she
was okay. She’d landed lopsided on the car floor.

“Sorry,” David said. “My foot slipped.”

“Mom, are you okay?” I asked. She grunted in
response as she pawed her way up the backseat. She patted down her
ruffled hair and looked up. I turned to face the dashboard before
she had a chance to catch my gaze.

“You should always wear your seatbelt, Mrs.
Martin.” David glanced at her through the rearview mirror. “It’s
the law.”

“
I know that
,” Claire said. “But
Isis’s eyes—”

“What about them?” David glanced at me. “I
don’t see anything wrong with her eyes.”

“You probably imagined it,” I said. “Maybe
your
blood sugar is low. You know—with all the commotion
you’ve been through today: your conniption, my near-death
experience…”

“Are you being snarky with me?”

“Me?
No
.”

I heard her humph. After a moment she said,
“Would you humor me and turn around so I can see your eyes?”

I hesitated to turn my head. David gave me a
slight nod, letting me know it was okay.

“I guess I did imagine it,” Claire said,
looking at me. But she didn’t sound convinced.

***

It was almost time to have “the talk” with
David’s parents. From the living room window, I saw David’s car
drive up. I didn’t want to think about what his parents would say
about the pregnancy. In the culture of immortals, we were married.
In the culture of mortals, my mom was waiting for a wedding date to
be set. She asked us about plans for a wedding the night before. We
told her we hadn’t discussed anything as of yet.

“Mom, he’s here.” My stomach ached from
nerves. “I don’t know what time I’ll be back.”

“Text me if you’re going to be late.” Claire
flipped a page of the book she was reading. She’d taken the day off
from work to fill out paperwork at the car insurance office. “Oh,
and tell Nyx to call me later. We haven’t spoken in over a week,
and I’m sure this is something she’s going to want to discuss.”

I froze as I walked to the door.
“
What?
”

CHAPTER 11

“What, what?” Claire asked, without looking
up from her book.

“You’ve been talking to Nyx? Since when?”

“Since always. I thought you knew.”

“How could I have possibly known?”

“Well, you kept rolling your eyes at me every
time I mentioned how miserable you were over your breakup when I
was on the phone with her. Wasn’t it obvious it was Nyx?”

“No. I thought you were talking to Grandma
Eva or Galilea.”

“Galilea?” Claire hissed. “Why would I talk
to her on the phone when she’s always here?”

True. Galilea had spent the entire morning at
my house today and left an hour earlier, after Claire got home with
the rental car the insurance company arranged for her.

“But I tried Nyx’s number; it’s
disconnected,” I said. The doorbell rang. I ignored it. “How did
you get her new number?”

“She called me to let me know she’d changed
it.”

Had Nyx been keeping tabs on me all this
time?

“What do you two talk about?” I asked.

“What is this?” Claire put her book down.
“Twenty questions? Just the usual: work, TV shows, news. She asks
about you a lot—wondering if you’re okay. That’s sweet of her, I
think. I didn’t care to ask about David, which was rude, now that I
think of it.” The doorbell rang again. “Speaking of David, you
better get going.”

I wavered before walking to the door and
opening it.

“I was about to call you.” David had his
phone in his hand. “You took a while. I was getting worried.”

“Sorry.”

I closed the door behind me, and David kissed
my cheeks.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Are
you
?”

“For now,” he said. “But ask me again in
about an hour if my father hasn’t killed me.”

David was quiet for the first five minutes we
drove to his house, which gave me time to think about Nyx keeping
contact with Claire. Was Nyx really worried about me, or did she
feel guilty for leaving me in Bucharest with Galilea, who I hardly
knew at the time? Or was hers and my mom’s a genuine friendship? If
that was the case, then I was oblivious of how close the two had
become.

“They’ll be arriving in about forty-five
minutes—my parents,” David said, cutting into my thoughts. “They
won’t be anticipating seeing you at the estate.”

“Your mom might,” I said.

“I doubt it. She may be empathic, but she
can’t see the future.”

“Well, she hasn’t had trouble keeping up with
what’s going on in my life in the present. That’s for sure.”

“What do you mean?”

“The phone calls,” I said. David gave me a
questionable look. “She didn’t tell you?”

“What—phone calls? You’ve been speaking to my
mother?”

“No. My mom has,” I said. “I could be wrong,
but I think your mom’s been checking up on me.”

“Hmm…” David looked at the road and said
nothing more.

When we were pulling up to the estate,
David’s phone rang. He answered the call on the car’s
Bluetooth.

“Dahveed.” Alezzander’s deep voice came from
the car speakers.

The short conversation that followed was in
Latin, so I didn’t understand what it was about.

“They’re running late and won’t arrive until
this evening,” David said. He parked the car, but kept the engine
on. “Do you want to go somewhere to take your mind off things—the
movies, the mall?”

“Being out in a crowd,” I shook my head,
“isn’t the best plan right now. It’d be like standing starved in
front of a buffet and not being allowed to eat.”

“Right. Sorry,” he said. “Well, five hours is
a long wait, and I don’t have a television anymore, so we’re
limited on entertainment. We could go back to your house.”

“Or we could watch a movie on your
computer.”

“Lucky for you, I haven’t disconnected the
Internet service. Don’t expect any popcorn, however.”

***

David and I sat on the mattress in his room
and perused movie options on an online streaming service on his
laptop. We settled for a foreign film with subtitles. David set the
laptop on his lap, and I rested my head on his shoulder. He put his
arm around me as the film title rolled on the screen. Fifteen
minutes into the movie, I was bored. I looked up at David to tell
him the movie sucked. He was already looking at me. He closed the
laptop and moved it aside.

“You don’t like the movie?” I asked.

“I wasn’t watching it.” He kissed my lips. “I
tried to focus…” I felt his hand slide under my shirt, and I
gasped. “But I’m here alone with you—my wife.” He nibbled on the
curve of my neck. “My wife, who I haven’t seen in a long time,” he
said, planting tiny kisses from my neck up to my earlobe. I
shivered. “And then I remembered bits and pieces of what you look
like,” he tugged on my jeans, “under here. That’s when I realized I
didn’t want to watch a movie.”

“No?” I breathed unsteady breaths.

“No.” He grabbed both sides of my waist and
pulled me down on the mattress, straddling me. I let out a
surprised squeal.

“Do you want to know what I
do
want?”

“Oh, I have a pretty good idea.” I undid the
top buttons of his shirt.

“No, I don’t think you do.” He grinned. He
perched over me, his hands on either side of my head. “Stand up and
take your clothes off.”

My eyes widened. “But…David, it’s broad
daylight.”

“That’s the point. I want to see you—every
single part of you. Every curve and line that belongs to me.” He
pecked my lips. “Stand up.” He pecked my lips again. “Show me.”

“David…” I shook my head. “I…I—”

“Are you embarrassed?” he asked. I made a
face at him. “Come here.” He pulled me to my feet. He raised his
shirt over his head and flung it across the room. “Your turn.”

Swallowing, I looked up at him through my
eyelashes. I grabbed the bottom of my shirt and pulled it up to my
waist. I paused. David held my stare. After a second, I slipped off
my top and hugged my waist. David pulled my arms apart and placed
them at my side. He ran his finger over the lacey top edge of my
bra.

“Wait,” I said, touching his hand. I stepped
off the mattress.

“Isis,” he said, following me, “if you don’t
want—”

“Don’t move.” I raised my hand. “Stay right
there. Okay?”

He nodded.

Every time David asked me for something, I’d
found an excuse to say no. All I’d gained from my fears and
self-doubt was misery. I didn’t want to be a scared little girl who
hid away from the world anymore. I didn’t want to have any secrets
from the person who gave his immortality to be with me because he
loved me
that
much.

I faced away from David and focused on the
wall in front of me. I unzipped my jeans and let them fall to the
floor. I tossed them aside with my foot, glancing at David over my
shoulder. His eyes were busy skimming my back. I looked away from
him as he raised his eyes to mine. I lowered the bright pink straps
of my bra to my shoulders. I unhooked the back and let the piece of
lace fabric fall to the floor. My heart raced and my face felt like
it was on fire when I hooked my fingers in the elastic of my
underwear. I slipped it down over my hips. The silky material swept
against my legs as my underwear fell and landed at my feet.
Covering my bare chest with my hands, I closed my eyes, and I
turned to face David. I took a deep breath and opened my eyelids
one at a time. I counted to three in my head, and I dropped my
arms. I was wholly exposed. For him.

David’s eyes glided over every inch of my
body. I felt more naked and more self-conscious than I ever had in
my life.

“You’re perfect,” he said.

He reached for the front of his jeans and
undid the button and zipper. I saw a peek of his flesh and no other
fabric underneath. He held my stare as he slipped out of his pants,
one leg at a time. He stood up baring his Greek god glory.

Oh. My…

“You’re…um…not wearing underwear,” I said,
looking away.

“Neither are you.”

Though it hadn’t been the first time I’d been
nude in his presence, I felt awkward and embarrassed. I bent down
and picked up my shirt. I covered as much as I could of my front
side. I was nowhere near as beautiful as he was. What could he
possibly see in me?

“Don’t.” David stepped toward me and took the
shirt from my hands. He dropped it on the pile of clothes next to
my feet. “Don’t hide yourself from me.” He cupped my face. “You’re
beautiful.” His other hand traveled down the small of my back. He
lifted me off the floor and carried me to the mattress.

“Do you know what I want now?” he asked.

“What?”

“You,” he said. “Without reservation.”

David slid his body down, leaving a trail of
kisses over my stomach and pelvis. I felt hot. So hot. My body was
bursting into flames, crackling embers running through each cell.
David’s tongue licked the insides of my thighs, and I quivered. My
chest was frozen, while wild firestorms consumed the rest of me.
Although it was daylight, my head was full of stars and clouds and
heavenly bodies that made up the galaxy and David was the sun. I
felt his teeth sink into my inner thigh, and my breath quickened. I
was melting like a block of ice on a blistering hot summer day,
seeping through the cracks of dehydrated earth, nourishing the
roots of my neglected planet. The dampness of David’s mouth between
my legs caught me by surprise. I whimpered. He planted kisses on my
stomach in a straight line up to my chest. Our gazes met. His
breathless chest rose and fell against mine, a musky sandalwood
essence evaporating off his skin. He kissed my lips hard and
furious as his hands rediscovered the areas he’d surveyed a month
or two before—then in the dark of night, now in the light of day. I
felt my heart thawing in warm and cool waves. I dug my fingers into
his arms, fearing I’d slip away as the world quaked inside me. My
surroundings faded, replaced by bright sparks of color. And in that
moment, I wasn’t scared of anything. I had no doubt. I felt no
confusion. I knew I was David’s, and he was mine.

***

Time passed much quicker than I anticipated.
The hour on my phone read
6:52 PM
—less than ten minutes
until Alezzander and Nyx arrived. David and I walked downstairs to
the kitchen. I found one bottle of water in the fridge and nothing
else. We took the bottled water to share in the study. I sat on one
of the two chairs in front of the fireplace. David walked to the
window and peeked through the curtains.