Page 75 of Cursed Lifeline

“Feelings?” I murmur as the blood in her veins deliciously begins to pulse at a rapid, feverish pace. “Like your life at my mercy.”

“You’d never harm me,” she pants as my mouth lightly brushes against her collarbone.

Delicately, I trail a path of kisses to her ear. “Are you sure about that?”

She grips my arms as her knees begin to buckle. Taking her ear between my lips, I gently bite down. She lets out a light gasp as I roll her lobe around my tongue, soothing the bite, then purrs and arches into me as I suck a path down her throat. Placing a kiss on her clavicle, I pull back.

Looking up into my eyes, she asks, “Can I trust you, Felix?”

The flames of the candles on the dinner table in the middle of the room cast an enchanting glow across her face. We study each other closely in the flickering yellow light, and time passes slowly as I refuse to answer her because - I need her to make up her mind first. I need her to decide for herself ifshecan trustme, regardless of any knowledge I can give her of our past.

“I trust you,” she whispers after a moment. “Even though my memories warn that maybe I shouldn’t, I do. I know you’d never hurt me.”

To keep her on her toes, I ask, “What makes you so sure?”

Reaching out, she grabs my hand and raises it to her throat. Leading my fingertips around the back of her neck, she slowly places them against the mark we made together all those years ago and I suck in a sharp breath.

“I may not remember everything,” she whispers. “But I know this.”

I nod, accepting her words and her actions for what they are.

The truth.

Our love afforded us a loophole in her past life. Maybe it will bring us the luck we need to ensure our victory in this one.

I let her go before I do something rash and place a tender kiss on her cheek. She gives me a soft smile and glances at the white tablecloth beside us, delicately littered with red rose petals and lavender. The candles flicker, casting a sparkling glow over the place settings. Wine has been poured, and Esme gracefully picks up her glass, turns, and raises it towards me.

“We should celebrate,” she smiles.

I pick up the stemware next to my place setting, and raise it to meet hers.

“What are we celebrating?” I grin.

“The future,” she shrugs. “Our past.”

“Do you remember it?” I ask eagerly.

She shrugs. Her brow furrows.

“I feel it more than I remember it.” With a light chuckle, she asks, “Does that make sense?”

My heart falls knowing we have a long way to go—not just between us but also in her training. If she could remember her past, she would be easier to prepare because she’d be more apt to remember mistakes and learn techniques that weren’t around a hundred years ago.

“Maybe you can help fill in the blanks?” she suggests meekly, taking a sip of her wine.

“Do you believe in past lives, Esme?” I ask as I set down my glass. “Past loves, perhaps?”

“I believe some things in life are eternal, yes, like love. But multiple lives?” she laughs. “Before tonight, I wasn’t entirely sure. Though the more I’m around my cousins and you…”

She trails off. Brushing my fingers across her cheek, I tenderly wrap them around the back of her neck and pull her closer. Hopeful my next words help her remember, I optimistically remind her, “All you need to know, doll, is I’d always choose you.”

I brush my fingertips across her birthmark, and she shivers as our eyes slowly meet in the candlelight.

“Life would be more beautiful if there were such a thing as eternal love,” she smiles before setting down her glass. My fingers continue to memorize the mark they made on her skin all those years ago, and she releases a shuddered sigh.

Even though I want to, I’m wise enough not to push the conversation further. Her memories are slowly coming back to her. We’ll get back to us in time. But right now, I’m content to stare into her eyes and bask in the joy of holding her life in my arms again. So, instead of responding, I stand with her in blissful, content silence until she whispers, “Your touch is familiar.”

“Your memory serves you right.”

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