“Not girls,” Maxwell corrected. “One girl.”
Reincarnation.
Was it possible after all?
“Growing up in Italy, I met and fell in love with a girl named Amalia. She swore we would always be together. Neither of us had very much, as poor as poor could be, but Amalia was beautiful, with dark, luscious locks, and a rich aristocrat wanted her for himself.”
“Let me guess, he was a vampire,” I murmured.
“He was. When he discovered I meant to run away with Amalia, he killed her in a fit of rage. He meant to kill me too, but I managed to make him bleed. He bit me, and I managed to run away.”
“Isn’t a bite enough to turn some without blood?” I asked.
“Sometimes, yes, but not all bites will always turn a person.”
I rubbed my neck. “So I won’t…”
“All of your other lifetimes—”
“How? How was I… How was Amalia able to come back again?”
“The ways of the universe cannot always be explained,” Maxwell murmured, “but I believe that our love brought you back time and again. I found you again and again, and it seemed that each time, our love was doomed. You never consented to be turned to a vampire, and a vampire would always kill you.”
“Is that why you moved from place to place?” I asked.
He nodded. “For the most part, yes.”
“And now what is to become of me? To become of us?” I whispered.
“We never married before,” Maxwell said, his voice husky. The glint in his eyes was all love, only love. “I will be with you, loving you always, desiring you always…”
“Craving me always?” I asked, quirking my brow.
He laughed. “Yes.”
“Cravings can be fatal,” I warned him.
“I’ll take my chances,” he said.
I nestled against him. “I like the sound of that.”
Epilogue
A week after Viktor had been killed, I was starting to feel a little better. I had been able to visit my parents and Pierre, and I visited my aunt's and sister's graves. It had been rough, and I still hated myself for what happened. I even hated myself for being happy with Maxwell.
Which led me back to the question he’d asked me last night.
“Will you consider letting me turn you this time?”
It would mean no more incarnations. It would mean Maxwell never falling in love with me again.
It would mean we could be together for the rest of our lives.
Maxwell’s confession about our long history and my many lifetimes made me wonder if the reason behind my blood causing vampires to weaken could be related to the bond.
But Maxwell had been weakened by my blood. Shouldn’t it have strengthened him?
I was strolling along the grounds of his estate, and my fingers brushed my golden ouroboros necklace.
The wind stirred as Maxwell joined me.
“Cuore mio,” he said warmly.
“My heart,” I said. “Isn’t that what that means?”
“Yes. I never did tell you. Accept my apologies.”
I grinned because I had a secret. This past week, I had accomplished more than just familial obligations and duties.
“Ti amo,” I murmured.
“I love you too,” he replied, clearly amused.
He took my hand in his, and we walked for a bit before I worked up the courage to ask, “My blood, why does it weaken vampires?”
“Not all vampires.”
My heart began to race. “It didn’t weaken you.”
“No. You joke when you say cravings are fatal, but your blood… I want to lap up every drop. It strengthened me—”
“Then why didn’t you drink some of my blood before facing Viktor?” I cried.
“Because I wanted you to be at full strength, and I knew you might have to drink that poison.”
“What poison was it?” I asked, curious.
“The Green Death. You needed to be as strong as possible to survive that. It was a risk. I hated myself for it, that I wasn’t strong enough to take him out without your having to—”
“It’s done and over with,” I said gently. “Now, we can move on.”
I stopped walking and faced him, holding both his hands in mine.
“Ho un debole per te,” I murmured slowly, hoping my accent wasn’t terrible. I said the truth—I’m weak for him.
“Non posso vivere senza di te,” he returned with tears in his eyes. I can’t live without you.
“Mi hai cambiato la vita.” You changed my life.
“Sei la mia anima gemella.” You are my soul mate.
I melted at his words, but I had learned a bit more. Yes, I only studied enough Italian to be able to flirt with my vampire husband, but it was a beautiful language, and I would love for him to tutor me in it.
“Sei l’uomo dei miei sogni.” You’re the man of my dreams. Again, the truth. I dreamed of being with him so many times, and now, I learned that I had been with him before in other lifetimes, and again now.
With tears in his eyes that made me love him all the more, he murmured, “Sei tutto per me.” You’re everything to me.
“Ti voglio sempre al mio fianco.” I want you always by my side.
I sucked in a breath. Time for the big finale.
“Mi vuoi sposare?” I whispered.
He didn’t respond.
So I asked in English. “Will you marry me?”
“We are married—”
“Yes, as vampire and human.”
“You want to have a human wedding for your parents,” he said. “Yes, of course—”
“I want my parents to be there, of course,” I said slowly, “but I want the wedding to be vampire and vampire.”
“Annabel, are you sure?”
“If you want to marry me, then yes, I am sure.”
“Sì!”
And we kissed and kissed and kissed, outside along the path one second and then swept up into his room and on his bed—our bed—seconds later. Our bodies moved together as if we could move both heaven and earth.
I had loved him since we first met.
And I would love him for the rest of our lives… for the rest of all time.
I hope you enjoyed Fatal Cravings! I absolutely loved writing a love story for a vampire and a human, so I
