Read Online Eternal Ever After by A.C. James - Free Book Online Page B

been before.” Arie grinned at me and his mega-white teeth flashed through the darkness.
    “I’ve lived here my whole life. There’s not much I haven’t seen,” I said, shaking my head.
    “You’ll just have to trust me on this one.”
    We continued over another bridge. There were boats in a marina across the road on the left and buildings loomed overhead on my right. Arie turned right onto East Wacker Drive and we drove in silence while I tried to sober up. Where is he taking me? Arie merged onto a ramp continuing past the Chicago Riverwalk; its scenic view made me dizzy. He turned left on Columbus Drive and I held my stomach as he found a place to park.
    I stepped out of the car and Arie appeared at my side. His movement held more grace and fluidity than someone human could pull off. His stealthy movements might be unnerving, but I could hack it if I managed not to puke on his boots. I shouldn’t have drunk so much wine. He grinned at me and pulled me to his chest. Arie’s lean arms wrapped around me and he moved me quickly. Suddenly, we stood in front of a small chain caf é on Randolf Street. It occurred to me at random that they had really good pancakes.
    “How do you do that?”
    “How do I do what?” Arie asked with a smirk.
    “I blinked and we were somewhere else. I’ve never seen someone move so fast.”
    “It’s easy—I simply manipulated the flow of light and time, bending it to my will.”
    “Oh. Right. Like bending time is easy,” I said, rolling my eyes.
    “I hope you’re not afraid of heights.” He tightened his grip on me.
    “No. Why?”
    A current of cold air whooshed around me as we were propelled upward. He landed with cat-like grace on the flat roof of a smaller building in front of One Prudential Plaza. I didn’t have time to panic and wonder whether some passerby noticed or not. No sooner did we land then I felt another blast of cold air. He leaped again, this time landing neatly forty-one stories to its very top. Moving through the air with such speed chilled me, leaving goose bumps on my skin despite wearing a coat. Feeling lightheaded and a little giddy from the drinks we had at dinner, I clung to Arie, trying not to look down.
    “Arie, what if someone saw us?”
    Arie laughed. “Right, like anyone would believe them. That’s like believing in alien abductions or those fake celebrity pictures you see in tabloids.”
    With everything I’d learned lately I was starting to think alien abductions sounded almost plausible, but I didn’t argue my point. “I guess you can’t believe everything you see,” I said with a sigh.
    “I’m glad heights aren’t an issue for you. The view only gets better from here,” he said with a smile. “You’ll love it.”
    I looked up at another building behind us and blanched.
    “You feel okay?”
    “Yeah… Just a little dizzy.” I didn’t want to say nauseous.
    He tightened his grip on me even further and paused on top of the building. When I exhaled I could see my breath on the cold night air. Arie bent his legs, bracing me against him, and then he bounded through the rushing air to the top of Two Illinois Center. Without effort and with infinite grace, he bounced from the flat surface of its rooftop to balance on the spire of Two Prudential Plaza.
    I marveled at how he could balance here with such ease. Looking down, I immediately wished I hadn’t, and gasped at the nine hundred ninety-five foot drop. Closing my eyes, I tried not to picture my mangled body smashed to bits across Stetson Avenue. He looked down at me with a grin that invited mischief while I wrapped myself around him, clinging to his muscled mass even tighter than before.
    “Hold on.”
    “Believe me, you don’t have to tell me that,” I said.
    “Just wait until you see this. It’s better than the stars.”
    Arie sprang into the air and landed atop the white granite skyscraper of the Aon Center. I still clung to him but let go of him abruptly, a little