Free Eternal Echoes, Emblem of Eternity Trilogy Book 2 by Angela Corbett

you haven’t been with any soul but mine?”
    Emil ate a bite of dessert, then another. Almost like he hadn’t heard my question—or he was stalling. He finally looked at me. “I guess you could say that’s part of it, but it’s not the only reason.”
    I stared, waiting for him to go on. He didn’t. “Are you going to tell me what is?”
    He pursed his lips like he was trying to decide if he should. “I’d rather have you remember on your own.”
    “What if I don’t?”
    “Then I’ll tell you.”
    “When?”
    “Before you die.”
    “Haha. Good one. Seriously, why don’t you want to tell me?”
    He leaned back in his chair. “I do. But this is something I’d really like you to remember without me clouding the memory first.”
    “Maybe if you give me a hint, it will help jog the flashback.”
    He considered that. “Okay,” he said, leaning forward and taking another drink of his wine. “Alex gave you the bracelet to mask your bond, right?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well, there are other ways to hide a bond.”
    I stared. “That’s it? That’s the only hint I get?”
    He lifted one shoulder. “That should be enough.”
    I looked around, waiting. Nothing. “If it was enough, I’d be slumped in my chair having a flashback right now.”
    He smiled. “It will come. Maybe not right now, but eventually. You just have to be patient.”
    “Not my strong suit.”
    He grinned. “Never has been.”
    Emil paid for our meal. Given the prices I noticed on the menu, he could have fed a small country with the dinner bill. I thanked him and he helped me into my coat.
    I was thoroughly enjoying spending more time with Emil, away from Alex and the crazy life we’d been living. Emil was funny, smart, and on a bad day, he was one of the best looking men I’d ever seen; but in a designer suit, with his hair slicked back and eyes bright from the combination of his sapphire tie and black shirt, he was off-the-charts sexy. I couldn’t help but wonder what he’d look like out of those clothes. That was a flashback I’d really like to have.
    The Mercedes pulled up in front of the restaurant, whisking us to our next destination. Fifteen minutes after leaving dinner, we stopped in front of a park. Emil wrapped my coat around me again, and handed me some gloves.
    “Are we going for a walk?”
    He grinned. “Kind of.”
    Aaron stayed with the car as Emil offered me his arm. We walked across a brick pathway, light hitting the salt that had been thrown down to melt ice from a previous snow storm. We passed under a gazebo, sparkling with icicles in the moonlight. The night air wasn’t as cold as I expected, and being outside in this beauty was invigorating. The mounds of snow and ice looked like miniature versions of the mountains.
    Emil guided me along as I took a deep breath and sighed. He looked over at me and smiled, then we rounded a corner and he tilted his head to the right. I turned and gasped. It was the most stunning display of ice I’d ever seen. Ice castles, towering between twenty and forty feet in the air, soared above us. Each one had its own unique shape, the ice crystals capturing the light in a hauntingly scenic way.
    “They’re stunning!” I breathed, my voice almost a whisper. “Absolutely beautiful.”
    “Not as beautiful as you.” I stared at him, in complete awe. What had I done to deserve a man who cared about me so much? “Come on, they’re waiting for us.”
    “Who?”
    He smiled and pulled me close as we walked.
    The ice castle display was in the middle of the park. Ice covered everything. I looked around, thinking I’d made the wrong shoe choice for this terrain. As we walked up to the castles, I noticed the ground was covered by non-stick rubber. I breathed a little sigh of relief that I probably wouldn’t end up with a broken tailbone. My high heels still made me nervous though, so I held tightly to Emil.
    I stared in awe as we walked. “Each castle is so different.”
    Emil nodded.