To Love a Vampire - A.K. Koonce Page 0,59
side. “We should go before we both freeze out here.”
“Go where?” I ask glancing back up at the intimidating cliff high above us.
The jagged bluff is painted in a swirl of ominous black, white and red colors. The lines bend and arch together making a symbol of an eye. Its pupil is red but streaks of white burst from the center, seemingly seeing all. It’s eerie and unsettling. A chill traces like a spider down my spine.
“It’s The Eye of the Ocean.” Asher’s explanation doesn’t seem to settle my nerves. “Some say it’s a symbol of the watchful Capitol just across these waters. Some say it’s a symbol of the hidden community of mystics.”
“What do you think it is?”
A pause settles between us before he glances up at the ominous painting.
“Perhaps it’s just a reminder that there’s a higher power watching over us.”
For whatever reason his description of The Eye of the Ocean sends a shiver across my flesh and my attention lingers on the strange image for several moments.
Taking my hand in his, Asher leads me up the rocky shore, the smooth stones warming my careful steps. He pulls me closer to his side, his previously pressed button-up is now sopping wet and clings to his skin, emphasizing the lines of muscle beneath. I pause as we stand at the bottom of a smoothly carved lane that trails up the side of the cliff, right next to the tumbling ocean.
“Has this always been here?” My feet pad quietly against the flawless granite as he leads me up the strange path.
“I made it last night.” He glances down at me as I raise my brows at him. “I wanted to make you a present for our wedding day. I stayed up all night.”
“Why?” I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips.
Several hundred feet in the air we stop just outside a… house carved into the cliff. Two shiny windows look out at the ocean and a single stone hinged door is outlined in the center.
“Because I wanted something almost normal for us. I wanted to make a home for you, Fallon.”
My heart’s gone. I know it’s gone because it’s melted in my chest. I part my lips with a breath of air that’s clouding my lungs as I stare up at his sweet gray eyes.
Pulling me against his side once more he opens the door to our home.
I’ve never had a home before…
I follow close behind him into a single room. Our single room that my amazing husband built for me with his bare hands on the night before our wedding. My body feels crowded with emotions, bursting with happiness and sentiments.
Strands of my messy hair cling to my face as I take in the dimly lit room. A dainty table with two wooden chairs fills the majority of the space, what appears to be a sink divots the counter on the right side and a bed barely big enough for just Asher fills the left side.
It’s small and rough around the edges but it’s mine. It’s ours. Asher made us a home, something I never even thought I wanted until this moment.
I bury my face in his wet chest, wrapping my arms tightly around his waist as I take a shaky breath.
“Do you like it?” he asks against my hair, sweeping his arms around me as hesitation and worry tread his voice.
I nod, not looking up at him as tears threaten my eyes. Asher loves me, he wants to take care of me, and he built me a house. The life I had, the future my government promised me, it wasn’t this. It wasn’t even close to the heart-pounding happiness that fills me now. How did I ever think I’d be content in that life?
“Are you okay?” he asks in a soothing voice, running his hand up and down my spine.
“I love you, Asher,” I say, his chest muffling my voice.
His hands halt against my body, his muscles strung tight against me. I take a deep breath, knowing it’s the first time I’ve said it to him and remembering how he ran away after saying it to me. I raise my head and look him in the eye, needing to know how he feels.
The arrogant and easy demeanor he normally possesses isn’t anywhere to be seen. He takes heavy breaths as he studies my face.
Is he still worried he’ll ruin my life?
Angling his head low he lingers above me. “I love you, too,” he says, his breath