His gentle touch grazed across my arms, lips brushed against my earlobe, puffs of warm air blew along my shoulder.

  “Chayah.”

  My official Genesis title resonated through his bare chest, his voice like silk. Low. Sensual. He’d removed his shirt and shoes, and now stood barefoot behind me, nothing but a pair of tight jeans showing off every asset.

  “I’ve missed you,” he whispered. “My body has missed you.”

  He left light kisses along my neck, sending goose bumps rising across my sensitive skin.

  My pulse sped up, and my body shook.

  This is really happening.

  “Come.” Cade took my hand and led me back inside, past our bedroom, to an adjoining bathroom. It was the size of Cade’s front room in Chicago. A huge tub stood in the corner.

  Cade went to set up the bath, while I leaned against the doorframe, trying to keep my knees from giving out.

  “Are you feeling all right?” He returned to me, skimming his hand across my cheek. “Your skin is pale.”

  I couldn’t get out any words.

  “Chayah.” He brushed my hair over my shoulders and cupped my cheeks. “Don’t be afraid. I promise not to rush you. We have Eternity, love. When you’re ready…”

  “Oh, I’m ready,” I mumbled a little louder than I meant to. My eyes grew wide, and I pressed my lips together.

  Cade narrowed his eyes, showing off that sexy crooked smile. “There you are.”

  “So, there’s like—” My eyes darted through the room. “No time limit for us to, um.” I swallowed. “You know.”

  “Not at all. The Ceremony has begun the Convergence, and it cannot be broken. We must merge physically, but we have as long as you need.” He tilted my chin, running his thumb along my bottom lip. “You’ve spent the past three months worrying about me. Tonight is about you, love. Let me care for you.”

  The knot in my chest loosened. A little. Nervous energy pushed through each limb of this new body I’d recently inherited.

  For the first time in my life, I trusted someone completely.

  I trusted Cade with my heart and my soul.

  And tonight, with my body.

  I was ready to give myself to him, in every way a girl could.

  “This may sound weird, since the night hasn’t really started, but—” I bit my lip. “I don’t want it to end.”

  Cade’s breathing became heavy as the aura surrounding him fired to life. The corners of his lips curved up, and his gaze burned into me.

  “For now, my love, it is the still of night. And night it shall remain. For as long as you wish.”

  He tilted my chin, leaving a soft, sensual kiss to my lips.

  “Tonight is ours.” He leaned closer, running his thumb across my bottom lip. “And for this night—time stands still.”

  Chapter Three

  Zoe

  “May I?” Cade tilted his head toward his fingers that firmly gripped the hem of my tank top, waiting for my consent.

  I couldn’t manage a single word, just nodded, my tongue nearly hanging out of my mouth.

  I squeaked out a yes, and Cade promptly tiptoed his fingertips up to my waist, letting them drag slowly, torturously against my skin while he peeled my shirt up and off my grimy body.

  Damn.

  I sucked in a breath, the whisper of Cade’s touch forcing goose bumps dashing across my skin.

  I’d waited for this night for months. Years, even.

  Two days ago, however, I wasn’t sure this moment was ever going to happen, and yet here we were. Twin Souls preparing to Converge.

  Even the sound of the words spinning inside my brain set butterflies fluttering in my belly. I wasn’t quite sure what converging souls meant, but at that moment, as Cade undressed me with his eyes, I couldn’t wait to find out.

  Cade gazed hungrily, never wavering focus as he tossed my nasty shirt in the trash. He set my hands on his bare waist, no doubt, inspiring them to explore.

  Cade was sweaty and definitely needed a bath.

  Didn’t matter, though. No amount of grime could keep my hands steady. It had been a rare occasion I’d seen my Gemini bare-chested, and with unlimited access now, I wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

  I chewed on my bottom lip, my gaze wandering down his broad chest to his abs. Despite the fact he’d been captive in a rotting cell for the past two months, his body told a different story. Firm, traceable lines made my fingertips greedy, inspiring them to follow the unexplored path across his tan stomach.

  I hummed beneath my breath, and Cade let out a quiet laugh, lifting my chin to regain my attention.

  He hovered over me at six-foot five, give or take an inch. I held my own, a dash shy of six feet now, but I liked being smaller than him. It was comforting when he held me.

  I was protected. Safe.

  Loved.

  “Sit.” He gestured to the ledge of the tub, and I sat on the edge.

  Cade kneeled in front of me, picking up each foot, one at a time, unlacing each boot and tossing it aside.

  Butterflies swarmed. Knots tightened. Sweat pooled on my forehead, nervous energy building inside me.

  Cade rose to his feet, a naughty crooked smile splashed across his face. He unbuttoned his jeans, pushing them down and kicking them off slowly, never taking his gaze from mine.

  Iridescent wisps swirled in his eyes while he stood before me, absolutely bare.

  And so. Freaking. Beautiful.

  My breath caught. Gazing over his perfect body, I bit my bottom lip.

  Couldn’t help it.

  I’d never seen a man naked before.

  Wow.

  Cade grinned, reaching for my hands, and pulled me to my feet.

  “You okay, love? You’re very quiet.”

  I nodded, letting out the breath I was holding.

  Here goes nothing.

  I blinked slowly. Inhaling, my gaze fixed to his as I unbuttoned my fatigues and nervously pushed them down past my thighs.

  Cade set his hands on my hips, skating them behind my back. Leaning down, he kissed my neck, his breath breezing over my skin.

  “Relax love,” he whispered, unhooking my bra. He moved his hands up to my shoulders and pushed the straps off, leaving me nearly naked and nervous as hell.

  I think I was in shock, standing there in nothing but my panties.

  Not only had I never seen a naked man, but I’d never been naked in front of one. Yeah, my nerves were a butterfly’s paradise.

  I would’ve worn something more sexy had I planned ahead—not that it would’ve mattered, I didn’t seem to be spending much time in these undergarments anyway.

  I’d hardly thought about stuff like sex or romance since Eli left. Until Cade showed up, then my body came to life, waking to his touch. Some primal need pulled from deep inside, drawing me to him like gravity.

  The whole Twin Soul thing started to make sense. My body craved Cade, to be close to him. To share his space.

  Cade reached for my hair and pulled it out of its tie, letting the curls spill down across my shoulder. He pushed the mass of ebony hair back and kissed my neck.

  My pulse grew erratic.

  “So beautiful. I’ve missed you desperately.”

  My body shook as he grasped my panties and pushed them past my hips.

  A night of firsts for sure.

  Cade took my hands and led me to the tub. He stepped up and got in, guiding me in after him. He settled back against the far wall, hands still holding mine.

  “You’re all right, love.”

  I went to sit beside him, but he reached for my hips and sat me in his lap, taking my arm and wrapping it behind his shoulder.

  I took my cue and let the water and his embrace envelop me.

  “Better?” Cade pushed my hair off my shoulder.

  “Mm-hmm.” I hummed. I set my cheek against his chest and listened to his heart beating beneath me, instantly soothing my scattered nerves.

  What was it about his heart that made me feel so at peace?

  The heat of the water and the fizzing bubbles only intensified everything.

  Cade reached for a bath sponge and soaped it up, running it across my arms and shoulders, my back. Down to my stomach.

  My eyes squeezed shut as he cleaned me up, erasing traces of Lilith from my pounding chest.

  After cleaning himself off, he tossed the sponge across the room, landing in the sink. Hands on my neck, Cade loosened my muscles with his firm, yet gentle grip.

  “It’s been an arduous incarnation,” Cade said. “You should not have had to endure such grief on my behalf.”

  I tilted my head to the side and stared into his amazing eyes. “I’d do it again.”

  And it wasn’t a lie.

  I never wanted to be away from Cade again. My life was empty before him.

  He dropped a kiss to my forehead. “As would I.”

  “So what now?” I asked. “What happens after tonight?”

  “We take a well-deserved holiday. No work, only play. Relaxation. We celebrate our reunion. Then on the Vernal Equinox, March, we return to Aravot and prepare for the Summer Solstice.”

  “Prepare for what? Aren’t we done?”

  “Not quite. We have one further task before the Tree is officially sealed and replenished.”

  “What kind of task?”

  “Our Sealing Ceremony.”

  “Another ceremony?” I scoffed. “Who made this stuff up?”

  “One more, then it’s over. Usually by then, you’ve matched all the Firstborns with their Gemini, and they also have a ceremony. Only once, in your last incarnation, had a Firstborn gone unmatched. I assume Julian is first in line.”

  “Oh, he’s already spoken for. No worries there.”

  “Ah. So it was Julian you matched. Is it Rainah?”

  “Yep.”

  “Curious. That’s not happened before.”

  “You doubting my Cosmic Cupid powers?” I shot him an accusatory grin. “I think I’ve more than proved myself with Phoebe.”

  “I trust in your gift, but I don’t care to discuss that now. Tonight is not about Phoebe. Or the Eternals, or any other Genesis except you.” He kissed my neck, his velvet lips grazing over my shoulders. “And me.”

  Cade roamed his hands down my arms, holding my hips, tracing infinity circles on them. “Have your memories begun to return?”

  “Nothing new or telling. Just random visions, like I’m watching someone else’s life on a movie screen.”

  “They’ll continue as such, I expect. Once you’re ready to accept them, all the pieces of the puzzle will assemble. Until then, celebrate the newness of our love.” He tilted my chin up, gazing intensely. “Revel in our new beginnings. Every first. Especially our Convergence.”

  Cade crushed his lips to mine, slyly skating his fingertips past my hips, down further still, uncovering secrets waiting to be discovered.

  Butterflies were set free as he explored each inch of my begging body, chasing tingling bursts between my thighs.

  Once sleeping places came alive, places I didn’t know existed before now.

  I was ready to complete this mystical Convergence I’d heard so much about.

  For any other girl, it was just sex. A V-card that meant very little, but for me, this night was about so much more.

  I wasn’t just sharing my body. I was returning to my Gemini, a missing piece of his soul. One that’d been absent for over twenty-one years. Human years, of course, but for the first time in my life, I finally understood why nothing felt right before Cade.

  He’d been alone, too. Detached from me—his literal other half—for way too long. I was ready to return to him, giving him back all he’d been missing.

  I laced my fingers behind his neck and tangled them in his dark chocolate hair, kissing him passionately.

  His kiss took me from scared little girl to an almost confident woman, ready to give myself to him, body and soul.

  Cade released my lips and set his forehead to mine. “I’ve missed us, Chayah.”

  “Cade,” I whispered softly. Trembling, I kissed along his jaw to his mouth, gently tugging at his lip when I pulled back. “I think I’m ready now.”

  His eyelids drifted open. Breaths labored. A faint flush crossed his now bearded cheekbones.

  This new rugged look of his was kind of hot.

  I recognized the heat flashing in his eyes.

  Cade wanted me.

  I wanted him.

  He shifted me off his lap quickly and rose to his feet. Stepping out of the tub, he grabbed a fluffy towel and set it to the side, then reached down for me.

  “Come.”

  I took his hands and got to my feet.

  He helped me out of the tub, wrapping the towel around me.

  Catching me off guard, he picked me up and carried me to bed, never taking his gaze from mine as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

  Cade set me down in front of the ginormous bed and dried me off, one inch of skin, one limb at a time. His hands grazed along my shoulders, releasing the towel from his grip.

  Every nerve tingled in my needy, yet scared as hell body. I wanted this so freaking bad.

  Cade’s breathing became audible, as did mine. Heat from his tanned olive skin rose around him, his iridescent aura grew brighter.

  “Chayah.” He held my cheeks. Kissed my lips. Skated his hands over my shoulders.

  New sensations surged to my core, between my thighs. Feelings I’d never felt before overtook me—a juxtaposed mix of sweet and naughty mingled all at the same time.

  My heartbeat soared. Warmth flushed across my cheeks. I could practically see my own aura rising around us.

  Cade winked, then the lights turned off by themselves and candles I hadn’t noticed now burned throughout the room.

  My gaze scanned the romantic setting, and I sucked in a breath.

  He sat on the bed, reaching his arms up. He gestured his chin toward him, eyes blazing with something primal. Raw.

  “Come to me, love.”

  Releasing my breath, I climbed in beside him.

  “I want tonight to be all you dreamed it would be.”

  Cade’s gaze roamed over my bare body, from my chin to my shoulders. Beyond my breasts and down to my belly.

  Being like this with Cade, naked and so vulnerable, was disorienting and reaffirming all at the same time.

  My head didn’t remember us, but my body did.

  I was ready. Ready to reclaim my Gemini.

  Ready for Cade to claim me.

  I nervously sat above his waist, my legs on either side of his hips, shaking enough, even he noticed.

  Cade gripped my hips and slowly flipped us over, laying my back on the soft bed. “Are you all right, love?”

  I nodded, sucking on my lip. “I’m perfect.”

  He showed off his crooked smile as he leaned down, sinking his lips into mine. Slow at first, then passionate. Fierce. Urging into my mouth, exploring it with his tongue.

  I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and pulled him down above me. I ached to feel his soft skin, his strong frame pressed to mine.

  Our bodies held together, and I reveled in this first, savoring the heat of his firm muscles. I instinctively wrapped my legs around his hips and kissed him hard, his lips trembling above mine.

  Cade ran his hands down my hips and over my thighs.

  Between them.

  Every fiber of my soul began to wake, needing him to occupy me.

  Beams of artificial moonlight streamed in through the open French doors, casting shadows along the walls. A warm breeze rushed through the room, sending chills over my perspired skin.

  Darkness of the Winter Solstice kept our night at bay, holding it captive until we completed our Convergence.

  My mind went blank as my soul remembered Cade.

  I’d waited twenty-one years to reunite with my Gemini, and neither my body nor my soul could wait any longer.

  “Cade, I want this.”

  “Chayah,” he whispered. “I adore you.” He peppered kisses along my neck. “I have loved you all your life. From your first breath to your last. My soul is truly incomplete without yours. I crave to feel whole again. Complete me.”

  His words sent my heart into a tailspin.

  Cade kissed along my neck and down my shoulders. To my hips. Running his hands along my thighs, his fingertips caressed each inch that’d been waiting decades for his return.

  Holy hell.

  Shivers moved forcefully through me.

  Cade’s desperate lips explored my curves. Wanting fingers tiptoed across my breasts as my body arched. Skating over my belly, his fingertips dipped below my hips once more, between my thighs, where my incomplete soul waited for his to return.

  “When you’re ready, love. Tell me.”

  I arched my back, digging my toes into the soft sheets below me, letting out a hushed moan as his finger’s perusal set my body on fire.

  “Chayah,” he groaned. Parting my thighs with his knee, he settled above me. “Your body. It calls to me,” he whispered, crushing his lips to mine.

  “Yes,” I breathed between kisses. “Cade, please. I need you. I’m ready.”

  I wanted him, wanted this so damned bad. I was ready to feel him inside of me again—body and soul.

  Converged.

  “I love you, Cade.” I stared into his icy blue gaze, just fractions from mine.

  “I adore you, my love. For Eternity.”

  My wrist burned, pulsed erratically as Cade aligned my hips and settled above me, his heated skin pressing against me, his icy blue gaze locked onto mine.

  There were no more words after that moment.

  There didn’t need to be.

  With a reciprocal heartbeat, our Twin Souls became one.

  Chapter Four

  Cade

  Weightless.

  The only word to describe the sensation of soul projecting for the first time after an incarnation was weightless.

  In other projections, we could move beyond realms, materialize into our bodies, but our first Soul Convergence was different. Extraordinary. We had no bodies, existing only in the most basic form our essence.

  Our true Origin.

  It only happened once every thousand years, and it was by far, my most favorite time of each incarnation.