Heaven Sent

Chapter Nine

Elijah brushes his hand over my hair, absently, gazing down at me while the first chords of Make You Feel My Love begin in English. A sweet rendition of the classic, almost sad in it's sincerity, hits me hard, although I do my best to conceal that from everyone.

Everything about this night just feels... more.

When he saw me, dressed to entice, waiting for me like a man preparing for a blind date, his eyes widened, like he'd never seen me before tonight. When we braved the crowded dance floor of the club, his fingers lodged into my hips and only left that place to travel more of my skin, grinding our bodies against each other as if there were no audience. For a vampire that spent almost a century in desired exile, the man can move to a beat.

When I backed him up into an alley wall to kiss him senselessly while the others paid for a drug deal—the secret substance being a vampire's own personal kind of drug...blood—we were free with each other, wild and rough, basing decisions off a high brought on by something we know little of.

Fun.

He brought us to this hole in the wall, a bar situated literally behind a church, and led me inside by the shoulders, proud to have his arms around me. I can remember times in my youth where a man would invite me to his home, his friend's, a club and he'd show a hint of shame to be so interested in a girl everyone desired to fuck. He was led by his cock, and when that cock was satisfied, he'd forget ever knowing me.

I shouldn't be shocked that Elijah so openly claims me as his partner, the woman he's chosen to spend his life with, to hold...but that girl—that woman—is still in me, expecting to be used. So, when Elijah's arms surround me from behind, or his hand slips into mine underneath the table so he can bring it to his lips while the others babble, it's like I've been struck by a train. I am mesmerized.

"What are you thinking about?"

Torn from the past by the sound of his voice, I blink, shaking off the white noise. "Nothing. My head is full of nothing."

"Highly improbable."

I smile, massaging the nape of his throat, admiring the way his hair curls at the end, feathering his broad shoulders. "I just love this song."

When the evening shadows and the stars appear,

And there's no one to dry your tears

I could hold you for a million years

To make you feel my love

Go to the ends of the Earth

To make you feel my love

He says nothing. There is no need.

The man who owns this bar couldn't have chosen a more apt song for our first fake dance.

On Elijah's shoulder, my hand rests. My eyes zero in on the ruby ring heirloom wrapped around my slender finger, a sign of commitment if there ever was one.

That ring, on you, was never a lie.

I recall the day well.

"I could marry you someday."

I sputter, taken off guard by the vampire's whisper. I gaze at Elijah, stupidly. "Could? Oh, you could?"

How could he say it so casually?

"I seem to recall you loathing the idea when I brought up the word before."

"Well, yeah. Marriage is stupid. Plus, you told me it was impossible."