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Soon, a simple meal of bread, jam, cornettos, and a cappuccino lay spread on the dining table. His fingers tapped the edge of the table nervously as he waited to hear the sound of Isabel exiting the bedroom. Hopefully she wouldn’t take so long that the coffee would get cold! Perhaps he should put it on the stove to stay warm? He began to rise to do so, when the creaking of a hinge echoed down the stone corridor.

Isabel’s feet padding toward him brightened the grin on Sebastian’s face and instead of turning toward the stove, he picked up the cappuccino and met her in the hallway. “Good morning,dolcezza.I made you some coffee.”

“Mmm, I’m liking my bed and breakfast accommodations so far,” Isabel teased, her voice still thick with sleep. She accepted the cup and inhaled deeply before taking a sip. “Oooh, that’s delicious! How do you already know exactly how to make my coffee?”

Sebastian laughed and offered Isabel his hand, which she took. “Just figured a beautiful woman like yourself would have good taste, and made it accordingly.” He wasn’t sure if she was teasing or if she hadn’t had her memories come back yet, and deemed it safer to play along. He led her into the kitchen and pulled out her chair, which she took while blowing on the drink.

“Hopefully you also like bread and jam. I can’t keep too many perishables here without electricity, so we’ll have to go to town for groceries in the mornings. As long as I keep my skin covered, going out in the day isn’t much of a problem.”

Isabel picked up a slice of bread and bit it with a roguish look in her eye. “Ah, yes. Because of the whole vampire thing. That’s fine with me! I want to get out and see the countryside as much as I wanted to come see you. I promised I would take tons of photos to show my family and Melody when I get back.”

Her tone made Sebastian a little nervous. Could it be that she didn’t just accept his vampirism, but thought it was a joke? That could be a major problem. “Yes, because of the vampirism. I’ll happily show you as much of Italy as you like, as long as we can spend most of the daylight hoursindoors.” He swiped a bit of bread from the table and took a bite, raising an eyebrow when Isabel tilted her head at him.

“I thought vampires drank blood,” she giggled, pointing to the bread. “You aren’t very good at this game!”

“We do. But I can still eat if I want to. I just don’t have to eat like humans do. Because most of my nourishment comes from the blood.” He chewed and swallowed with a dramatic wink. “I don’t generally bother eating except once or twice a month, because food doesn’t really give me the same joy as it did when I was alive. Probably the lack of hormones.” Sebastian finished the piece of bread and pulled out the other chair, sitting in it backwards so he could lean on the back and cross his arms over top of it.

Isabel stared at him, her expression hard to read. Which was frustrating, as he had known her for centuries and felt like he should be able to understand everything about her by now. Yet she finally shrugged and finished her breakfast with no further questions.

“I made a new painting last night,” Sebastian finally offered as Isabel finished the last dregs of her coffee.

She straightened in her chair and her eyes latched onto his face. “Really? Instead of sleeping? Can I see it?” She bounced in her seat and Sebastian felt a rush of emotion. Even after so many lives, some things never changed. He nodded and she burst up from the chair, seemingly ready to rush off to whatever wing of the castle he’d stashed the painting away in.

“Why don’t you go get dressed for the day, and I’ll go get it?” He wrapped his arms around her slender form and gave her a big hug, inhaling her sweet scent. “It will take me a couple of minutes to get down to the dungeons and back.”

Isabel squeaked, apparently not expecting to be suddenly squished, but she didn’t seem displeased. “You keep your paintings in the dungeon? Interesting choice. I guess that could keep the sunlight from degrading the paint, but don’t you worry about mold?”

“Not really. They’ve been fine all these years! I just make sure to check on them weekly for any signs of issues.” He released his hold and hurried out of the kitchen toward the dungeon, a little nervous to show her what he’d created. That was another thing that always made him roll his eyes. No matter how many times he showed this girl his art, he never got over the nerves.

Instead of walking down the spiraling stairs, Sebastian launched himself off the top and landed at the bottom with athump.It didn’t necessarily save him much time, but itwasfun. He shook each of his feet a few times to ensure he hadn’t broken anything and rushed to the bedroom.

He carefully picked the canvas up by slipping his fingers beneath the lip on the backside and lifting it from the easel. The paint was still very wet, and the last thing he wanted to do was smudge a painting he’d poured so many emotions into. On a whim he picked up another painting near the base of the stairs, this one featuring the two of them at the Louvre.

Sebastian bounded back up the stairs three at a time and returned to the kitchen the same time as Isabel. She had changed into a simple, pale pink t-shirt and jeans, which hugged all the curves of her body. He froze when he saw her, his heart leaping into his throat. How many times would he have to see her in their home before he stopped worrying that it was a dream?!

“Oh, did you make two?” she asked, pointing to the paintings. “You must have been really busy last night!”

He laughed and shook his head. “No, just this one. The other one I painted the day after we met. Be careful; the airport one is still wet.” He hung the paintings on two empty sconces at the entrance to the kitchen and stepped to the side, shoving his hands into his pockets to hide his nerves.

Isabel stepped up and began examining the new painting, her face full of wonder. “You painted this all while I was asleep?” When he nodded, her eyes widened even more. “Wow. I’m so jealous of your talent! I can definitely see the resemblance between this and the paintings at the Louvre. I’m sorry I didn’t believe you!”

“It’s fine,” Sebastian replied, a smile playing on his lips. He watched as she finished examining his latest piece and turned to the other one. She raised her hand like she was going to touch it, her fingers hovering just millimeters from the surface.

“I don’t know why, but your paintings make me want to touch them. I’ve never had that happen with art before. And trust me, I’ve been around a lot of it.” She turned and made eye contact with Sebastian, and he felt a shiver race down his spine.

So she didn’t remember, but she could feel it. Perhaps, then, she was ready. “You can touch the dry one, if you want. Try something for me. Close your eyes and press your palm to the center of the canvas.”

She did as she was bidden, closing those blue eyes, their long lashes brushing her cheeks as she did so. And he stepped up behind her, pressing their bodies together. He, too, closed his eyes and placed his hand on top of hers.Here we go.

CHAPTER13

Paris, France. July 26, 2006

“Okay, open your eyes.”

Sebastian’s voice was soft and breathy in her ear, and caused a jolt of electricity to tickle her spine. She did as instructed and gasped as she found herself standing in the Louvre. “What kind of crazy nonsense is this?” she asked as her wide eyes consumed their surroundings with disbelief. “Is that us?!”

Sure enough, standing in front of the display of Sebastian’s paintings was a copy of herself. She watched her hand extend toward them, then gasped again as a copy of Sebastian walked right through her like a ghost.