"Really? Where?" He stopped to think for a moment, cocked his head to the side and looked me over, then ran a hand over the back of his neck. "It wasn't Bob's wedding was it, because I don't usually drink like that."
I laughed at how uncomfortable he looked. This Ian didn't have an accent. "No, not Bob's wedding." Our wedding. "It was a long time ago."
"Oh," Ian said, his look disappointed because he couldn't place me.
I touched his arm, felt the heat, the connection. "Don't worry, we've met again now." I smiled. I couldn't help myself. It was difficult to remain calm when all I wanted to do was jump him and lick him and then, once alone, suck his cock. Okay, the last was an add-on, but I hadn't had a chance to do it that one night.
He smiled back. The perplexed look was still there, combined with something else. "You're right. You know my name, but I don't know yours."
"Alexandra, but my friends call me Lexy." I held out my hand to shake as way of introduction. Ian took it, again the ring pressed between our palms.
"Alexandra," Ian replied, a hint of awareness dawning in his voice. His eyes widened.
I recognized the sound, the timbre, the deep quality of my name as it rolled off his tongue. It sent currents of pleasure to my pussy as I remembered what the old Ian had done to me when he'd last called me that. His head had been between my legs, his breath fanning over my—
His hand squeezed mine. "God, I've seen you naked," he said, clearly stunned. He released my hand and stepped back. He even lifted his hands up. Surprised by his words, he must have wanted to redeem himself because he added, "No offense, and I think I might be losing my mind. Shit. It's not a line. Don't slap me. But I have. Seen you naked, that is."
He ran a hand over the back of his neck again as his gaze roved over my body. He looked left and right, then stepped closer to me, then leaned down. "I remember your breasts were full, the tips a rosy pink and… God, I remember more… your nipples turned rock hard inside my mouth."
I felt my cheeks flush. So did the rest of my body. How could I not when the man was right? "I remember too."
He shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "Then I'm not losing my mind?" he wondered. "How the hell did I forget a night with you?" His eyes widened in alarm. "It was just one night, wasn't it? Oh shit. The blood. You… you died." He glanced down my body to see if the knife I knew he was picturing was still in me.
"Yes," I replied, blinking back tears.
"What the hell? That was… awful. Shit, I can feel how bad that had been." He exhaled a deep breath in obvious relief. "I don't consider myself a big drinker, but crap, how did I forget you? All of that?" He froze, then leaned in, lowering his voice.
I didn't want to dwell on the painful part. "Do you… remember the rest?"
He paused. "Wait. Was I too drunk to perform? Is that why I've never seen you since, because I swear, if I was sober, I never would have let you go."
He still didn't believe. I may have died in the past, but the entire concept was new to him. He had recollections of it, I'd lived it. What had happened to us, our horrible ending, wasn't part of our story. His words gave me the reassurance I needed. He might not remember… yet, but he was attracted to me in his own right. That meant he wasn't just going to walk away. Although, I hadn't asked him the crazy question. "Do you believe in past lives?"
"Past lives?" Ian looked me over, gave me a little sniff. "Are you drunk now?"
"No," I replied, laughing. "And, yes. Past lives. Eternal mates." I mentally crossed my fingers. "The idea that we all have one mate forever. Past lives. Future ones. For all eternity."
Ian stared at me, his eyes piercing, as he tried to glimpse something more. Remember something else. He stepped closer once again, this time where I felt his body heat, saw the flecks of gold in his eyes. "No. But how do you explain what I'm remembering?"
"The ring." I held up my hand. "Touch it again. I bet you'll remember more."
"The ring?" He looked skeptical, but reached out and tentatively touched the ruby and gold anyway. He stared at our joined hands briefly, lifting his gaze to mine. I saw awareness flare to life.
"Scotland," he whispered, in awe. "A previous life, right? It had to be, because I swear I have never worn a kilt in this life."
I nodded and laughed, my hopes lifting with every heartbeat, every breath.
"This is crazy!" he said, continuing to touch the ring. "This is crazy, right?"
I curled my fingers so that mine were linked with his. "Yes, this is crazy. It's insane."
"The images that just popped into my head are so vivid, so real. I remember you dying, holding you in my lap as you took your last breath. How could you be dead then and alive now?"
"That wasn't us. That was another Lexy and Ian. They had a sad ending, but we… we get one of our own."
"I remember more than the sorrow." Besides surprise and awe and confusion and awareness in his gaze, I saw heat.
"Me, too," I admitted.