Twilight Embrace (Completed)

Chapter 28

Lyell woke early just as dawn broke and colored the sky crimson. When he stood up his head throbbed and he tried to remember what had happened the night before. He shoved the windows open to let in the fresh air. As he looked out towards the lake the memories of the night before came flooding back. He thumped his head against the window frame.

“Damn, how could I have been so thoughtless, I moved too fast? What was I thinking? Will I ever see her again?”

Lyell walked slowly downstairs and made his way to the kitchen for his first cup of morning coffee. Taking out the biggest mug he could find he heaped two teaspoons of coffee into the mug.  He just felt he needed something stronger this morning. Wondering outside onto the patio he sat on the chair she’d sat on last night and tried to remember where and how he had gone so wrong to make her run away. The moment had been so passionate and he was sure she’d felt the same way he did. With so many unanswered questions running through his mind he failed to notice the yellow rose that lay on the bottom step.

When he saw it, he stood up immediately spilling his hot coffee down his legs. Cursing, he dumped the cup on the table and quickly picked up the rose. It still looked so fresh as though it had only just been picked.

“Oh God! She came back and I never heard her. Why the hell didn’t I wait longer? I never even heard her knocking.” Lyell chastised himself loudly slapping his hand with the rose and stopped when he realized all the petals were falling to the floor. “Damn! That’s not a good sign. She’ll think I broke the rose and don’t want her back.”

Lyell picked up each petal, carried them inside and placed them in a bowl of water, trying to fathom how he could show her that he’d kept the rose as he had done before by placing it in the window. In that moment he knew what he had to do and quickly made his way down to the lake. Pulling off his sweat pants he waded into the water and swam determinedly across the lake to pick another rose from the wild bushes he discovered the other day.

When he walked into the clearing where the wild roses grew he picked three and holding them in his mouth he swam back to the rocky outcrop. He placed one on the rocks facing her side of the lake and the other one he placed on his favorite rock where they had sat together previously . The last rose he took home and placed in a single vase in the window as he’d done before they met.  He hoped with all his heart that she would see this as a sign that he wanted her back.

~~~

Annjelica was escorted by her parents to her room. Her mother fussed over her for ages making sure she was ok. Her father brought her another glass of her ‘black blood’ as it had been called after Vampuric had created it. When the mercury or ‘moon silver’, as it was known centuries ago, mixed with the blood it turned black. At first Annjelica found it difficult to come to terms with drinking this, but her taste buds felt differently and she discovered her body now craved this potion.

After her parents left the room she felt giddy with excitement and restless. Unable to settle down and seeing the moon was still bright and full she had climbed out her window and made her way back to Lyell’s cottage. When she arrived she was disappointed to see the place was in darkness and decided to climb the trellis frame leading up to his window. She could just make out the outline of his body through the lace curtains and knew he was sleeping. She watched him for a while and when he did not move she jumped down. Wondering how she could draw his attention to the fact that she had returned, she remembered the rose they had used to communicate before they met in person and hurried back to the lake.

Wondering through her wild roses she found a bud that had just opened and swimming back she hesitated by the rocky outcrop contemplating if she should leave it there rather. But she decided to take it to the cottage and left it on the bottom step hoping he would see it the moment he opened the doors and know she would return again.

~~~

Lyell felt the pain in his heart subside and his headache lifted. She had returned and used their calling card as a sign she would be back. He hoped she would see the roses he had left for her and know he awaited her return.  It occurred to him that he never saw her during the day and wondered why and what sort of day job she had that she could swim so late at night.

Lyell was just too restless to wait any longer and swam across to the rocks earlier than usual. As he climbed up onto his rock the first thing he noticed was that his rose was missing and he quickly scrambled over to her side of the rocks and saw that rose was missing too. ‘She must’ve come earlier, but why didn’t she wait? If it was a bad sign surely she would’ve left the roses. I wonder if something disturbed her, why else would she have left.’ Lyell’s thoughts tumbled round and round in his mind trying to fathom her reason for not being there.

He scanned the water surface searching for the slightest ripple that would indicate she was returning but nothing as far as his eye could see and he was tempted to swim across to the other side to see if she was there, but he noticed the dark clouds covering the stars and sailing across the moon. In the distance he could hear rumbling and cursed at the thought of a storm preventing them from seeing each other tonight. When a streak of lightning crossed the sky he decided it best he return to the cottage to avoid being struck by lightning again, as he might not be so lucky second time around.

As Lyell’s head broke the surface of the water just before reaching the bank he was stunned to see her sitting on the bank with her feet in the water. In her hand were the three yellow roses.

“Annjelica you came back.” He said as he waded through the water towards her.

Annjelica remained sitting, “What made you think I wouldn’t?” she asked.

“The way you ran off and disappeared so quickly. I’m really sorry. I overstepped the boundaries, moved too fast for you. I’m just so glad you came back.”

“I did come back later, but you were sleeping already and I didn’t want to wake you.”

“I wish you had woken me. You should have knocked. But I was so happy to see your rose and so mad I had fallen asleep and not waited.” Lyell spoke quickly, trying to explain before she took off again.

Annjelica smiled, “Is that the reason I got three roses.” She winked, looking at the roses in her hand.

Lyell offered her his hand to help her up, but she pulled him down to sit beside her. “Lyell look across to my side of the lake; see how bright and beautiful the lightning is.”

“Annjelica, we need to get inside, there is a storm coming and after my previous brush with lightning, I can’t say I find it beautiful.” He was about to stand up when her fingers tangled in his hair and she pulled his face so close to hers.

“Kiss me Lyell, just like you did last night,” she looked deep into his eyes.

He felt as if she could see into his soul and without a moment’s hesitation he crushed his mouth over her lips, tasting and teasing them apart with his tongue. When their tongues touched, he felt as if a bolt of energy had surged through him.

Annjelica knotted her fingers into his hair. The feelings rising inside her were electrifying. She had never felt as alive as she did right at this moment.

Lyell pulled away a fraction and whispered, “Let’s go to the cottage before the storm is on top of us.”

“No,” she breathed into his parted lips as she kissed him again.

“Annjelica, the storm …..”

She silenced him with another long deep kiss. Her tongue swirling around his, tasting him, discovering the pleasure of this new feeling of overwhelming urges that ached deep inside her.

“I want to stay here,” she whispered. “The lake is what brought us together.”

Lyell could no longer resist her movements, her body language, they all echoed a need she had that wanted to be filled.

“Are you sure?” He gasped feeling breathlessly excited by her arousal, but he needed confirmation from her that he was reading her body language correctly.

“Yes!” she exhaled as she pulled him closer feeling every muscle in his body ripple as his glistening wet body covered hers in an embrace that stopped time in the twilight hour.