| |
Annalise waited in the field just behind her home. Her bare toes pressed into the cool grass and she closed her eyes and listened for the wind. He never went longer than a week without visiting her, and it had been six days.
The softest breeze whispered over her lips and she smiled, sensing him near. A strand of unruly hair slipped from her kapp, fluttering like a kite tail as the wind picked up. The hem of her skirt rippled, dangerously close to flapping over her knees.
She smirked and batted down the fabric. Incorrigible.
Smiling, she opened her eyes and searched the distance. A flicker of light shuttered near the stone wall, sketching his form into thin air.
“I see you,” she called, and Cain laughed, approaching at a slow saunter, his hands buried in the pockets of his street clothes. “You cut your hair.”
He tipped his head, showing off the shorn blond strands. “Do you like it? Perhaps you’re regretting your choice, maybe you married the wrong twin?”
She tossed a pebble at his pant leg. “You’re hideous.”
Crossing his ankles, he pressed a kiss to her cheek and dropped to sit in the grass beside her. “Must you tease me so? You know I’m sensitive.” He glanced at her waist, only slightly hidden by her apron. “Gracie’s sure it’s not twins?”
She shoved him. “Rude!”
He laughed. “I’m only teasing. You’re well? No sickness?”
Her hand caressed the small bump. “No sickness. Just a few flutters here and there.”
Cain wore his emotions openly around her, and she noted his relief. After Abilene’s multiple miscarriages, it made sense for all of Adam’s siblings to worry. “Any sign of Larissa yet?”
“No.” His eyes squinted as he stared off into the distance. “Has the Bishop returned?”
“No. Silus is pestering everyone. I hate when he comes to the house. Adam doesn’t trust him.”
“The man is an arrogant fool. Larissa will never return to him.” His eyes turned serious. “I only wish I had some inclination that she’s safe.”
Annalise pressed a hand to his back. “You’ll find her.”
She let out a breath, and he turned to study her. “What is it?”
She blanked her expression. “Nothing.”
He scowled. “No, I felt something. You’re worried. What has you upset?”
She pursed her lips. Adam asked her not to mention it to Cain, and she wanted to respect his wishes, but it was a little difficult when his brother had a direct link to any negative emotion or sensation she experienced.
Giving up her efforts, she leveled with him. “It’s your parents.”
“My parents?”
She nodded. “I’ve been visiting with your mom every day. I let her know you’re doing well and that helps a little. But there’s been no word from Larissa, and Silus continues to demand answers no one has. And your father isn’t acting like himself.”
“How so?”
She couldn’t quite explain it. “He avoids the house, misses meals, and works well into the night.”
Concern flashed in his eyes. “Is he sleeping?”
Annalise shook her head. “He’s losing weight.”
At that, Cain showed true alarm. “What other symptoms? Has he lost his appetite?”
“He eats,” she quickly assured him. “It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
Her lips pressed tight. She didn’t want to make assumptions. “It’s as if he’s avoiding the house. Avoiding...”
“My mother?”
She didn’t want to say it. “I know he loves her.”
“Love is not a big enough word to describe the way my father feels about my mother. Whatever is wrong, it has nothing to do with her.”
She nodded. “You’re probably right.”
They let the topic drop. His gaze drifted to the woods. He pulled a blade of grass between his fingers. “How is my brother?”
She smiled at the mention of her husband. “Amazing. Busy. He’s having a barn built closer to the house.” She loved their home, especially the wood burning water heater he’d built and the flushing toilets. “He finished the baby’s cradle last week. Now, he’s whittling a collection of toys.”
“He’s always been gifted.”
Her heart pinched at the longing in his voice. No matter how he tried to hide his soft underbelly from the world, he couldn’t hide it from her. “You have gifts, too, Cain.”
He drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. “I’d trade them all for half his blessings.” His gaze drifted to her hand over her stomach. “I should go. Adam will wonder what has you sleeping so long.”
“He knows we still share dreams.”
His smile turned triumphant. “Hope it makes him jealous.”
Her lips twisted with disapproval. “You’re mean.”
“Does it?”
“I’m not giving you any information.”
“Oh, come on, Anna. Tell me he’s a little jealous of my time with you. It has to bother him on some level.”
She rolled her eyes. “Sometimes I sense his envy.”
“I knew it!”
But she was coming to adore Adam’s territorial nature. Knowing her husband, he’d make love to her the moment she woke from this dream, making sure he could take full credit for any smile she carried throughout the day.
Cain stood and smiled down at her. “Then you better wake before your husband falls into a possessive rage.” His image flickered, carrying him closer to the horizon as the air trembled and the wind increased.
She always felt a twinge of remorse whenever he said goodbye. The gentle reminder that while she would wake in the home Adam built, in a bed beside her mate, Cain would remain alone in the world.
“Hurry now, before I make it rain on you,” he teased, hiding any sign of vulnerability.
Perhaps it was their connection that made her protect his secret and pride. She lifted her chin and yelled, “I’m an immortal, now. We love the rain.”
Thunder crashed and he was gone. The sky faded to whiter shades of pale before easing to black.
Annalise stretched against her husband’s familiar warmth and sighed. Adam’s lips pressed to her shoulder and she blinked awake. “Good morning.”
“Did I wake you, ainsicht?”
“You know you did.”
“Sometimes you smile in your sleep. I was feeling left out.”
She laughed, stretching out beneath him as he kissed a trail down her front. “You’re a territorial male.”
He chuckled and nuzzled the inner flesh of her thigh. “I never claimed not to be.”
He bit her hip and licked over the slope of her belly until his breath teased the damp, pink flesh of her sex. “Don’t tease, Adam.”
“I’m starved for you. Open your legs for me.”
She parted her thighs and gasped as he licked over her folds, hitching her hips closer and slipping her legs over his shoulder. He kissed the delicate pulse there.
“He can have your dreams, but I get you everywhere else.” His tongue pressed inside of her, gently stabbing and waking her body for his.
She arched into him, her fingers pulling softly at his hair as he made love to her with his mouth. “You have my heart.”
He loved her with exquisite slowness. Teasing her with kisses and claiming her with his possessive touch. He owned more than her heart. He owned her soul. Not because some cosmic power decided so, but because she gave him her love freely. She surrendered everything to him, and he never let her regret her decision to trust him again.
Adam was safe. He was her home, her heart, her soul, and her salvation. Their affection knew no bounds, and every day was a new adventure. Her heart, which had once been so empty, now overflowed with love.
He said she would save him, that she was his salvation. But she knew it had been him who saved her.