Envisioned (The Elemental Prophecy) Page 6

  “That's true—I always felt connected to you in the dreams, and I never felt the same for anyone that I felt for you,” I admitted.

  “See? Stop all of this insecurity crap. You're mine, I'm yours—forever. Nothing will ever change that,” he said, running his fingers through my hair.

  “Forever?” I questioned, somewhat skeptically. Guys usually ran from commitment, so to hear him say forever was unexpected, especially after just meeting last night.

  “Until my last heartbeat,” he replied. “We better get moving—our appointment with the realtor is in an hour, and we still have to eat lunch.”

  “Our appointment?” I playfully questioned.

  “Yes, our appointment. I was hoping you would live with me—not right away, if you don't want to, but whenever you're ready,” he answered, a shy smile playing on his lips.

  Joy flowed through me—he wanted me to live with him after all that I had already put him through. I jumped into his arms, wrapping mine around his neck and kissing him on the lips. “Of course I want to move in with you, but I don't know how we are going to convince my dad—he will definitely not like that idea.”

  “I'm hoping he will understand since our twin flame connection will cause you to be sick and in pain, even if we are apart for just a night,” he said.

  “I still don't know if I believe that myself. We might have to test that theory out, just to prove that I'm not insane for moving in with you after knowing you for one night. So where are you taking me to eat?” I asked, changing the subject.

  “Anywhere you want to go, mi amante,” he answered.

  “I feel like pizza—there's a little Italian bistro close to the beach that I like,” I suggested.

  “That sounds great—lead the way,” he said, grabbing my hand and threading our fingers together. We walked the rest of the way towards the beach, and entered the little Italian bistro I frequented. I was still in disbelief that Jace just asked me to move in with him, and that he wanted to be with me. I couldn't believe I accepted his offer to move in without hesitation, but I knew what my heart was telling me, even if my brain was telling me I was being illogical. Nothing about my life seemed logical now, and I knew if I was going to get through this, I needed to accept my new reality, not question it. I felt that taking time to analyze things too much could mean life or death in the Elemental World.

  As we were seated, I decided we would use this date to get to know each other. Even though we knew each other for years in our dreams, we knew little about each other. “I know we are soul mates and all that, but I think we need to get to know each other better,” I stated.

  “I agree—ask me anything you want,” he replied.

  “Ok, when's your birthday?”

  “September 20. And I know yours was yesterday, so June 3, right?” he asked.

  “Right. How old are you?”

  “Twenty-one. What's your favorite color?”

  “Pink. What's yours?” I asked.

  “Green—especially the green in your eyes,” he replied.

  I laughed, “You don't have to sweet-talk me, Jace. I'm already yours.”

  “I know, but I don't want you to ever doubt my feelings for you, so I am going to sweet-talk and spoil you any chance I get,” he responded.

  I smiled, “I like the sound of that.” I had never been spoiled by any previous boyfriends, so this was all new to me. All of the guys I dated were self-centered, only doing things that benefited them. Dad always told me that I deserved to be treated like a princess by any man that I dated, and it seemed that Jace was planning to do just that. The waitress came up to take our order, and I ordered my usual—two slices of sausage, jalapeno, and pineapple pizza. Jace ordered three slices of pepperoni. When the waitress left, he gave me a curious look and said, “Sausage, jalapeno, and pineapple on a pizza? That's an odd combination.”

  “What can I say, I'm unique,” I joked.

  “That you are, mi amante,” he chuckled in response. “Any more questions?”

  “Um... yes. What do you like to do in your spare time?”

  “Well, I go to the gym and train most of the time, so I don't really have time for much else. What about you?”

  “Well, I love to read—I'm a big nerd. Sometimes I can read two to three books in a day,” I replied.

  “Smart and beautiful—I hit the jackpot!” he exclaimed.

  “I don't know about that—I think I'm the lucky one having a hot, famous UFC fighter as my soul mate,” I interjected.

  “Yeah, I am pretty great,” he cockily joked. Our food arrived then, and we ate, joking and laughing like we had been together for years, which we had, in a sense. I still didn't understand how we felt so strongly for each other, even with our bond, but I didn't see the point in questioning it—I couldn't fight Fate, and I didn't want to. I had wished for Jace for so long, hoping he was real, and now that he was with me, I didn't plan to take a single day for granted. I was blessed to have the promise of love for all my life, and I wasn't going to sit around questioning it when I could feel it so strongly. Losing my mother had taught me not to take a single gift for granted, and Jace was definitely a gift.

  After we paid our bill, Jace took my hand and led me out of the bistro and towards the realtor's office, and excitement coursed through me. Jace, noticing my excitement, said, “I can't wait for you to see some of the places I picked out—I hope you like them.”

  I was certain that anywhere with him would be absolutely perfect.

  I loved seeing the look of joy on Brielle's face, especially when I was the cause. I was still in shock that she wanted to live with me, and I was waiting to wake up from this dream that now seemed to be my life. I was going to take advantage of every moment I had with Brie, and this condo was a step in that direction.

  I led Brielle into the realtor's office, which was decorated much like you would expect a beach house to be decorated. There were paintings of lighthouses, waves, and sailboats adorned on the walls, and a lighthouse lamp stood on an end table in between two sand-colored sofas. The receptionist looked up from her computer, smiling as she greeted us, “How may I help you?”

  “Hi, I'm Jace Vasquez, and I have an appointment with Kelly at two o'clock,” I answered.

  “I'll let her know you're here. Please have a seat,” she said, directing us to the sofas.

  As we sat down, I draped my arm across Brielle's shoulders, caressing the arm opposite me. I would never get tired of the tingle that occurred every time we touched. She placed her hand on my thigh, lightly grazing it with her fingertips. Oh, the things I wanted to do to her when we had some privacy—I was hoping the condo would give us just that. She caught my smirk, and asked, “What are you thinking?”

  I winked at her, chuckling, “You don't want to know what I'm thinking.”

  She flushed, “I think I do.” She looked up at me, biting her bottom lip seductively, causing me to get slightly aroused.

  I growled softly, leaning in to whisper in her ear, “I was just thinking that I wanted to rip your clothes off and make passionate love to you.” I nipped her ear as I pulled away, causing her to moan slightly.

  “How soon do you think we can move into the condo?” she asked, obviously as anxious as me to finish what we have started so many times.

  “Hopefully tomorrow, if everything goes right today,” a voice interrupted our steaming thoughts. The voice continued, “Hi, I'm Kelly Shaw. It's a pleasure to meet you.” She stuck out her hand to shake mine, then Brielle's before continuing, “I have three listings meeting the requirements we discussed over the phone. Shall we?”

  I grabbed Brielle's hand and followed Kelly outside towards a golf cart, which I gathered to be the main form of transportation in Avalon, since I had only seen golf carts, no cars, around town.

  “Our first stop is a little beach townhouse off Pebbly Beach Road, overlooking the harbor. It is off the main road a bit, giving a little bit of privacy from the many beach condos and townhouses arou
nd the harbor. I spoke with the owner, who is apparently a fan of yours, and they would be willing to rent it to you for six months at a price more affordable than the summer vacation home rental rate,” she informed us as she led the way into the townhouse. Once we entered, I heard Brielle take a deep breath as she surveyed our surroundings.

  The first floor entered into the living room, which had light hardwood floors that complimented the warm, tan interior walls. Some of the walls were painted a soft turquoise color, giving the rooms splashes of color. A rich, coffee-colored leather sectional with teal throw pillows sat in the center of the living room, and a 60 inch flatscreen was mounted on the opposite wall. The kitchen had rich chocolate cabinets and granite countertops, along with new appliances Everything looked recently remodeled and modern. The downstairs bathroom had a tan tile on the floors and up the walls, with a sparkling turquoise back-splash. The guest bedroom was also decorated in hues of light teal and turquoise splashed against cream walls.

  Kelly led us upstairs to the master bedroom loft, which had the same cream-colored walls, but had splashes of greens, yellows and teals, reminding me of the colors that played in Brielle's beautiful eyes. The large queen sized bed had a dark chocolate sleigh frame, and my eyes found Brielle's, which swirled with desire. I was already thinking of the things we could be doing in that bed, and I would've taken her right then if Kelly wasn't there, yapping on and on about the view and contemporary design. Brielle blushed and broke our gaze, heading into the master bathroom, where she exclaimed, “Oh…my…God—look at this tub!”

  I followed her into the bathroom, which was huge. It had a separate garden jacuzzi bath tub, and a luxurious stand-up shower with a waterfall showerhead. The tile throughout was a creamy oatmeal color, with a jeweled back-splash that contained hues of yellow, green, and teal, complimenting the palette of the master bedroom. Brielle looked at me and said, “I love it, Jace! Can we get this one? Please?!”

  “You don't want to look at the other ones?” I asked, making sure she was absolutely certain.

  “No, this one is perfect. I don't need to look at any others,” she responded.

  “Whatever you want, mi amante,” I said before turning to look at Kelly. “We'll take it—what do we need to do next?”

  “Yay!” Brielle yelled, jumping onto me and wrapping her arms around my neck. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she continued.

  “Anything for you,” I chuckled as I wrapped my arms around her.

  Kelly interrupted, “Well, we can head back to the office, fill out some paperwork, and you can move in tomorrow.”

  “That's wonderful!” Brielle chimed enthusiastically, a huge smile on her face. It quickly dissipated, a worried frown taking its place.

  “What's wrong, Brie? You change your mind?” I asked with concern.

  “No, no, I love it—I'm just worried about how to tell my dad,” she answered.

  “You let me worry about that, okay?” I said, rubbing her back.

  “Okay,” she quietly replied, obviously still concerned.

  We walked back outside to the golf cart, and Kelly drove us back to the realty office, which was only a few minutes away, like everywhere else in town. We went inside, and Kelly began gathering the necessary paperwork for the rental. After signing everything, we thanked her before exiting the office. As soon as we stepped outside, I pulled Brielle into a hug and picked her up off the sidewalk, twirling her around. I was happier than I had ever been, but I could sense her nervousness. “You know I'll always take care of you, right?” I asked.

  “I know. I just don't want my dad to flip out and hurt you,” she replied.

  “You don't have to move in right away. We can wait,” I suggested, even though that's not what I wanted.

  “No!” she yelled, surprising me. “I want to live with you. I've never been more sure of anything in my life,” she stated, looking up at me with those stunning eyes. I pulled her to me, crushing her lips with mine, showing her how much I needed her. She desperately kissed me back, grabbing my biceps and softly moaning against my lips, driving me insane. I rubbed my hands up and down her back, grabbing the back of her neck and pushing my tongue deeper into her mouth as I pulled her closer to me. She pulled away, lips swollen and red as she gasped for breath. “We need to stop doing that in public or we are going to get arrested for public indecency. I can't control myself much longer,” she admitted.

  “I'm sorry—my fault. You are just too irresistible,” I told her.

  She laughed, “Thank you, you are too.” She grabbed my hand and led us in the direction of her house. “Let's get this over with,” she sighed.

  I clutched her hand tighter, rubbing circles on the back of it, hoping to calm her somewhat. I hated seeing her anxious, especially when I could feel it. I hadn't really noticed her emotions until now since we seemed to be in similar moods today, but I could tell now that it wasn't my anxiety I was feeling, it was Brielle's. “Have you noticed my emotions yet?” I asked her.

  “Yeah, I have; it's strange, but I like it—most of the time it feels like they are mirroring my own, like just a minute ago, intensifying them,” she smirked. “But, now, I can feel that you are concerned but excited, which is helping with my anxiety.”

  “You are handling all of this so well. I think most freak out in the beginning because they feel like they are losing themselves by being so connected with their twin flame,” I said.

  “It all feels natural to me—you've been a part of me for so long, so I think that has a lot to do with it…can I ask you something?” she inquired.

  “Anything—shoot,” I replied.

  “What were your dreams like? We haven't really discussed them to see any similarities,” she pointed out.

  I swallowed the lump that formed in my throat at her question. I hated thinking about the dreams, about the possibility of losing her, but she was right, we needed to discuss them. “Well, we are in a big city, with many evil creatures causing mass destruction. There are fires everywhere, and I keep trying to get to you, to save you, but you are taken away into the night by harpies,” I miserably recalled.

  “The overgrown vultures with women's heads?” she asked.

  “That would be them,” I answered.

  “Mine is similar, except you are dragged away into the dark by something I can't see, and I just stand there, frozen in fear,” she choked, tears filling her eyes.

  “Hey, don't cry, I hate to see you upset, let alone feel it,” I said, wiping her tears with my thumbs. “Plus, we are almost to your house, and I don't want your dad thinking I made you cry.”

  She wrapped her arms around my waist, burying her face in my chest. I kissed the top of her head and embraced her, trying to comfort her as much as possible. She sighed, squeezing me tight before releasing me, then she led me the rest of the way to her house. “Here goes nothing,” she exhaled.

  Fear seeped in my skin at the thought of what I was about to do—my dad was going to flip shit when I told him I was moving in with Jace, which I was, whether he approved or not. “Daddy?” I tentatively called out, hoping he wasn't home.

  “In here, hun,” he answered from his study.

  Damn it! I reluctantly pulled Jace with me to where Dad sat at his desk, browsing the internet on the computer. I knocked on the door frame, which caused him to turn around to face us. He smiled, easing my anxiety slightly, but also sending guilt rushing through me—he was the best dad, and I didn't want to hurt him with my news. “Daddy, we have something to tell you,” I began.

  “Well, you can't be pregnant since you just met yesterday,” he joked.

  “Daddy!” I scolded, humiliated by embarrassment. Jace chuckled, saying “No, sir, you don't have to worry about that.”

  “Good, I wouldn't want to kill someone I just met,” he said, entirely serious, eying Jace from head to toe. I wanted to die of shame right there and then to save me from this horrendous situation, but the thought of waking up to Jace every morning, wr
apped in each other's arms, brought me back to my task at hand.

  “Daddy, I want to move in with Jace—you already know that he's moving here to be closer to me. He's getting a townhouse on Pebbly Beach Road,” I explained, waiting for his reply.

  He sighed, “I figured this would be coming, and my answer is no.”

  “No? What do you mean 'no'? He's my twin flame, I can't live without him without being in pain—do you want me to be in pain, Daddy?” I questioned.

  “I don't think being apart for just a night will cause you that much pain, Brielle. He just wants to get you into bed,” he accused.

  “That is not true! Do you even know how much pain I would be in? Have you experienced it for yourself?” I asked, anger coursing through me.

  “Well, no…your mother and I were always together once we met. We eloped,” he stated hesitantly.

  “So how do you know what amount of pain I will be in? Do you want me to elope?” I asked.

  “I don't know, and no, I do not want you to elope, but Brielle, you just met him. Are you sure you want to move in with him? You don't even know him,” he pointed out.

  “I've dreamt of him every day for as long as I can remember, so I do know him,” I retorted.

  “Really, Brielle, you're going to use one of those lines with me?” he asked.

  “I mean for real, Dad, like I've actually had dreams with Jace in them every night. I just didn't know who he was,” I stated.

  “Your nightmares had him in them? That's even more reason for you not to move in with him!”

  “He was trying to save me, Daddy, and I was trying to save him—that's why I would wake up so upset. We couldn't save each other,” I told him sadly. Jace pulled me to him, embracing me in the safety of his arms, trying to soothe the ragged emotions brought on by the thoughts of our nightmares.

  “I will do everything I can to protect her, Mr. De Luca, I won't let anything happen to her. You know how twin flames feel for one another, so you can't doubt my feelings for Brielle,” he said firmly.