Sunset Beach Condos

(Continued from The Secret Rendezvous)

As she waited for Asher, Sadie held Fitzpatrick's hand. She couldn't do anything for him other than she already had as the storm was brewing just off the shore. "I'm so sorry. I should have gone about this differently." She used her free hand and stroked the side of his face as tears fell from hers. She remained quiet for a little while until she felt someone coming towards the beach and looked up. She saw Asher running towards them. Although she felt relief that she had help, the excruciating pain in her chest was starting to get unbearable, to the point of her possibly losing consciousness.

Sadie barely registered the questions that Asher asked her. "Fitzpatrick is his name. And yes, Brute did this. Also, he lives on the thirteenth floor of the condos." As she remembered him, he was barely able to talk and get that out from the almost drowning. She soon felt Asher grab her hand, and before she could react, they were in another place. Asher seemed to lay him on some type of bed in the apartment they had been brought to. She had still been holding Fitzpatrick's hand and gave him a comforting squeeze to show she was still there. Asher soon started using her magic and working on her mate, but soon asked Sadie to explain everything exactly.

She took a deep breath, trying to ease the pain, and looked at her friend. "Well, you were there when Fitzpatrick showed himself. That was the first time I had met him. When you guys left..." She recanted everything that happened from the office, to the meeting on the beach, and what Red did. She left no detail out. She even told her how Red found them and about the pull to Fitzpatrick was stronger than anything she had ever felt. She knew the conversation was difficult, but it had to be told so Asher understood. She told her all the hurtful things that were said between her and Red and that they broke up.

She looked back at Fitzpatrick. "He is my mate, Ace. My true mate. I honestly did not know I had one." She wiped the tear from her eyes and continued. "Ace, my chest hearts so badly. It feels like it's being ripped out and shredded. I don't fully understand what's going on, but I can't keep pretending that it doesn't hurt. It started when I touched Fitzpatrick's hand, and then when I admitted he was my mate. If I am feeling this and saw Red's pain, is Jasper in this much pain? I don't want anyone hurting like this." She started to clutch her chest and slightly sway from the agonizing pain. "Why does this hurt so badly?"

Coughing was about all he could do as he lay in the sand and waited for something to happen. Sadie said near him, holding his hand, which he offered squeezes to as he was able. He wanted to comfort her. To hold her and tell her things would be better now. But that was beyond his capabilities. He was broken at the moment. Damaged in a way he both respected and feared. So much worse could have befallen him, and he knew that every breath he took was a gift. A gift made all the more sacred because now he breathed the same air as his mate.

Sadie was joined shortly by someone she seemed to be expecting. He held onto Sadie as she told the whole story to her friend. Ace He had heard her use that name on someone in the bar. His mind was not as sharp as it normally would have been, but it was working well enough to remember who Ace was. Asher. Red’s right head. He was as good as dead. He thought the end was coming swiftly when he felt an unfamiliar hand on his chest but…

He breathed deeply, a sigh of relief, when he smelled the familiar scent of his condo. And, more specifically, his own bed. The bedroom had white marble flooring with black veining. The room was open, with windows looking directly out over the water. They would be able to see the storm clouds gathering as they worked. His bed, large and modern, sat atop a pedestal that one would have to walk up two steps to get to. This was not the way he wanted to introduce his mate to his bedroom, but this was where Asher had deposited them, so this was what he got to see. If he had been in less pain, he would have been concerned about the gritty sand and sea water staining and damaging his suede comforter. But he would just get another if it were damaged.

Asher worked silently as she listened to Sadie speak. She thought of Jasper, and then of Red and what she was seeing now in Sadie. Her eyes were focused on the wounds, particularly in his upper thighs, and when she looked up to Sadie, those eyes were a bright, glowing purple. “I’m gonna need a jar, cup, something.” Asher said, looking back down at Fitzpatrick again, hoping he was able to answer enough.

Asher took a minute before she answered, letting herself decide how to deliver the answer. “It’s your binding potion. When you first met, the potion’s magic began to weaken.” She said as her fingers flexed above his thigh, and the poisons and barbs began to slowly ooze back out. Her other hand collected that poison, and waited for Sadie to find something as she continued. “The more time you spent together, the more you’ve admitted and leaned into it, the more it has weakened. If what you say is true, then it will also break, but as you know, magic is….complicated.”

As the magic continued, the pain would slowly start to recede, but even her power wouldn’t quickly override the damage. Not with this level of fury. Quite frankly, Fitzpatrick was lucky to be alive. “The potion was only meant to bind you and Red together. He knew he could never have a true one to you, not like this,” Those purple orbs looked between them once again. “But that didn’t stop him. He wanted it as close as possible. So I eventually figured out how. Unfortunately, as I’ve told you and them since, it is, at best, akin to a love spell, which has elements of tampering with free will.” This was about a thousand times stronger than that, but the basis was the same. She sighed gently. Sadie knew how it was shared with her, and Asher didn’t think that Fitzpatrick really wanted the details of that. “When you then shared it with Jasper too, you spilt both yourself, and the way it bound you together. This is why you share this love, but also this pain, this agony, and why the boys share this boiling hatred that never seems to cease. This does not, however, change the way it will break. That is with the two of you. Your bond will break the spell.”

As the poison was removed, Asher thought of the magic she needed next. Magic that would repair the damage deep inside, where he had been ripped to shreds. The way she imagined Red was. The way she knew Jasper and Sadie were. On that thought, she looked between the two again. “Love, true love, is the strongest of all, and it will break any spell. It will ease you all, and it will set your heart to the way it was meant to be. Most importantly, it will set all of you free.”

She could feel Fitzpatrick's gentle squeezes occasionally, giving her a comfort even though he was the one hurt. Sadie was in severe pain as well, but she kept pushing herself through and was trying to make sure her mate survived. She looked at Asher as the latter spoke and saw her friend's eyes glowing purple. She looked down where Asher's hands were working the magic and saw the poison being pushed out. "I'm not sure where anything is here, but I will look for something real quick, Ace." She spoke to Asher and looked down at Fitzpatrick. "I will be right back. I promise." She gave his hand another reassuring squeeze and let go as she stepped out of the room.

She went through an open spaced living area and looked for another area that quite possibly could be a kitchen. After a few minutes, she found the what she was looking for and retraced her steps back towards his room. Upon entering, she spoke, "I found the largest glass I could. I hope it's what you need." She handed the glass to Asher as she walked the two steps up and sat beside him. She grabbed his hand again as the pain in her chest became even more unbearable. She had to gritted her teeth and listened to everything Asher said.

She knew the potion was breaking and that with magic, everything was complicated. She just wasn't expecting the excruciating pain that felt like her heart was being ripped out of her chest. When Asher was done speaking, Sadie soon realized what was going on and looked at her friend. "So, we are all feeling the effects of the bond breaking, and the only way to free us three from this pain is true love? Is that correct? Like a true love's kiss?" She chuckled at the irony because he her mate was a duke and prince. She looked down at Fitzpatrick and gripped his hand tighter. "I just met him, but this pull is nothing like the bond I have from the potion. It's stronger and something else I can't quite explain yet." She glanced back at Asher and continued. "I want to free everyone from this. No one deserves this kind of pain. It's no way to live."

She had been luckily to be seated because she knew losing consciousness was surely going to happen. She knew what she wanted as her blueish purple eyes landed back on Fitzpatrick's face as she spoke again. "I have heard about the mate bonds and them being nothing comparable. I want that. I want the uncomparable with you. After all of this, I hope you still do too." She wasn't sure if he heard, but hoped he did and gave his hand another grip. She looked back at Asher and asked. "What needs to be done to release all of us?"

Magic was painful! He hadn’t expected it to be. He ignorantly expected it to the soothing. Yet here he was in pain so excruciating screaming was impossible. Well, if he thought about it, poison, puss, barbs, and the Gods only know what else was being magically pulled from his flesh. He guessed that it would be painful whether it was magic or pliers removing it all. He kept his resolve the best he could. He winced and groaned when he had trouble enduring the pain.

He tried to listen to the story that was being shared as this was the very story that he needed to hear to understand everything that was going on. However, listening with apt attention as poison gushed out of bone deep gashes was just as hard as one would assume. He caught snippets, though. Enough for him to piece together and idea of what was really going on. There was a potion. She took it with Red, but somehow included Jasper. Split hearts and loss of free will. Was it a love potion? He would have to ask Sadie to retell the story once he was more coherent.

But one thing Asher said he did hear with perfect clarity true love is the strongest of all and it will break any spell. As he clung to Sadie’s hand, feeling like she was the reason he hadn’t died in the water, he could only imagine this was the true love that could free her. His eyes opened and he looked up at Sadie through the blurriness of tears. His voice faltered, his throat still torn up from the salty sea water and the screaming, but he was able to say, “Kiss me.”

Pain. Was all Sadie could think of as she held onto Fitzpatrick's hand, and Asher worked her magic. The affliction of her heart was causing her to not think straight, and she honestly felt like she was going to die. She gripped her mate's hand a little tighter mindlessly. Trying to get some kind of relief from the agony in her chest and being near him did bring her comfort. She was also scared that he would die before she got to really know him. Her mind was a mess, and her heart was being what felt like razor wire shredding it.

As she was looking at Asher, she heard Fitzpatrick speak through a torn throat. She knew he was struggling to talk and was about to tell him not to speak, but what he said left her momentarily speechless. Kiss me. Was what he was able to say and made her look down at him. She saw the pain he was in and the tears that were falling. She used a free hand and placed it on the side of his face as she spoke. "I didn't want our first kiss to be like this." She was torn because she truly wanted to kiss him, but technically, she was still with Jasper. Who meant a lot to her, even if they were not going to be romantically involved anymore. She took a glance at Asher, looking for some kind of confirmation, but she didn't need it, truly. She knew what she needed and wanted to do.

She was in thought when the pain in her chest made her cry out and grip Fitzpatrick's hand even tighter. She had tears streaming down her face as she looked at him. A resolve settled inside her as she looked into his dark eyes, even though she was terrified. She was still gripping one of his hands with her free one on the side of his face as she leaned her face towards his. She slowly placed her soft lips on his and initiated their first kiss. Though it started soft, the kiss grew intense and had so many sparks within it. An electric pulse coursed through her veins, like it was mending her body or making her heart whole.

He wasn’t sure if she was going to fulfill his request for her to kiss him. He watched her through his own pain and her misery fight with the idea of what was right for her, for him, for all involved. He stayed quiet as she reasoned with herself, allowing her to fight her internal battle with herself without him trying to influence her one way or another. But her words gave him hope and he let a small smile touch his lips.

He felt her hand rest on his cheek as he opened his eyes, blinking away the tears that settled in the corners of his eyes. He gripped her hand harder when she gripped his, trying to convey that he was with her. He saw the fear in her eyes. The fear of what this decision would cost her. The unknown lay before her in Fitzpatrick. She barely knew him or he her. But he wanted her. Would die for her. And possibly kill for her, should they all survive this night.

When she leaned in towards him, he lifted himself slightly, as much as his broken body would allow. One of his hands lifted from his bed and rested on the back of her head, his thumb just behind her ear. His lips weren’t quite as soft of hers. And he was sure the short hairs of his goatee might tickle her. But nothing stopped the kiss. At first, their lips merely brushed with the slightest pressure – a peck, one could call it. But the peck felt so good they both went back in for a second kiss. This one was less innocent but still respectful. Their lips parted for them both to breathe before their lips collided again. This time, neither of them were holding back.

Their mouths opened to each other as the passion overtook them both. The connection was too strong for them to fight it. Their tongues came together in a dance of recognition and acceptance. Fitzpatrick moved his hand from the back of Sadie’s head to wrap around her waist. He wanted her close to him. He needed her closer to him. The urge to have her with him was undeniable and letting her go would certainly kill him now.

To Asher, this kiss was probably too intimate a moment for her to comfortably stand there staring at them. But it was a moment that was completely instinctual and irresistible for them. When they finally pulled apart Fitzpatrick opened his dark eyes and gazed at this mate, “Did you feel that?” They were still close, lips almost touching. He wasn’t sure if he let her much further away from him right then.

There was nothing for Asher to do but wait. She stayed silent as the two worked out the answer. As the kiss happened, she stepped back, and her eyes turned to the windows instead of them. As they kissed, Asher’s magical eye watched the spread of the magic brighten momentarily before her, and then as it faded, and finally broke. The rains rolled in hard, loud and fast then. The wind smacked the windows, and she knew he felt it. Asher’s eyes closed as she prayed he would be okay, and as fear worked its way into her spine.

When the two broke apart, Asher gave them another moment before she turned back. “I believe it has broken. These spells can be tricky, but…I think balance has been restored. ” She told them as she checked the progression of his thigh, and seeing the worst of it extracted, closed her eyes as she began to knit the wounds from the inside. The process would mix with his natural healing ability before long. This time, when her eyes were opened, they were back to their dark brown. “I would love to ask how it feels, or stay to celebrate but I’m afraid I must leave.” She told them, and although she smiled, her eyes looked to the window and the storm outside first, and then back. “I have also extracted the worst of the poison. You may not be able to move for a little bit longer, nor would I recommend it while the magic works, but you will survive.”

Short and sweet as was her way, she stepped back, but paused for another moment. “You are very lucky. There are not many that test him who survive.”

The kiss started out as an innocent and chaste one, but soon turned into something akin to an inferno. Their tongues met each other's and explored with a sense of desire and longing as their bodies pressed close to one another. Sadie hadn't registered when Fitzpatrick pulled her closer to him, but she did feel his every touch. When the kiss finally broke, she barely pulled back from his face and caught her breath. She was still amazed by the kiss to even notice that her chest was not in pain anymore and her heart felt whole again.

She was pulled from the trance she was in when he asked if she felt that. She chuckled softly and looked into his dark eyes before she spoke. "I definitely felt that. And I am pretty sure that I am not the only one who did." She chuckled again as she raised her free hand and caressed the side of his face. She soon heard movement in the room and looked towards the window where she saw Asher looking out. Her eyes soon followed, and she saw the storm that was thrashing outside and started to worry. She felt whole and had accepted Fitzpatrick, but she was still worried about the others who were involved.

"Ace? Will he be okay? Will we all be alright?" She looked towards Asher and listened to everything that she said. She knew the potion was broken and the 'balance had been restored. She heard that the worst of the poison was extracted from her newfound mate and that he would survive with rest and time. "Thank you, Ace. For everything. You don't know how much this means to me. You are a dear friend to me." She spoke earnestly towards Asher and gave her a smile. She looked down at Fitzpatrick with a small smile and back up and out the window.

She clearly knew where Red was, and although she was worried and felt horrible about how it ended with them. She started to worry about Jasper because she knew if she had been in that much pain, so had he."Ace? Where is Jasper? Is he alright? I need to go see him. I need to speak with him." She said the last part more to herself, but she knew she would have to have a difficult conversation with her pirate vampire. "He deserves to know, and I am not making the same selfish mistake I did before." She would wait to find out where he was before she would go to him and talk. Hopefully, he would listen.

Fitzpatrick, still holding tight to Sadie, looked over to Asher when she started talking. He nodded to her instructions and said sincerely, “My thanks to you, Ms. Stephens. I shall repay this debt.” It was the first appearance of the Duke he had truly shown since arriving in town. “Your efforts have made all the difference in my recovering. May God bless and keep you safe.”

Sadie was then speaking about Jasper and going to find him. He looked back to his mate and said softly, intimately to her, “Go to your pirate. Explain what happened. I need to sleep.” He pulled her tight against his body as one of his hands stroked over her cheek. “When you come back to me, you come back as my mate. All strings cut so we can begin our journey.” He pulled her into another kiss, this one passionate, holding the weight of the bond that was just starting to blossom within both of them, but not so passionate that couldn’t end after a few seconds. He released her then and laid back on his pillows. “Go, Sadie. I look forward to seeing you soon.” He would watch his lady and her friend until the door to his bedroom was closed behind him.

He was worried about her going to face Jasper and possibly Red again. He could only pray in that moment that she returned to him a woman ready to be his.

Asher prepared herself to leave, but waited long enough to hear anything they had to say. She looked first at Sadie when she asked about Jasper. “He is in my apartment. I cannot say how he may be now, although I’m hoping better, but when I left, he was hurting badly. He—“ For a moment, Asher looked at Fitzpatrick and then back at Sadie. But Asher had never been one to bullshit, be it Sadie or anyone. “Because the spell was shared, so was the pain, the emotions. Jasper….was feeling what Red felt. And what you felt. As you felt what they did. But you were always shielded, Sadie. He made sure of that.”

To Fitzpatrick’s thank you, she smiled. “As I said, you are very lucky. And you’re very welcome.” She bowed her head in the acknowledgment of God. “Should you need more, I’m an easy witch to find.” Asher nodded to him, and looked at her friend. “I am never far, should you need me.” And then vanished from their sight in her purple cloud of smoke to try and find the last piece of the once-trio.

She listened to Asher explain where Jasper was and what was happening to him. All Sadie could do was nod in acknowledgment as she ran everything that she was told through her head. She looked at Fitzpatrick and smiled when she heard him give Asher gratitude for helping him heal, as well as keeping him alive.

She said her goodbye to Asher before her friend disappeared from their sight in a cloud of smoke. She was still holding onto Fitzpatrick when he told her to go find Jasper and talk to him. "I will be back. I promise. I just want to do this right." She gave him a small smile when she felt him kiss her again. It was a swift kiss but not any less passionate. She could feel their bond growing stronger and wanted them to have nothing, keeping them from exploring it further. "I will try to be back as soon as possible."

As she was leaving, she gave him one last look and exited his room. She found the front door and left his penthouse in search of Jasper.