Conversion

by S. C. Stephens

Chapter 19 - Fire and Ice

 

  Cool arms slid around my body the next morning and sighing contently, I stretched. Various aches and pains reminded me of the previous night's adventure. Everything that had transpired in the past twenty-four hours still seemed a little unreal to me. We'd been kidnapped, Teren had been killed, and then he'd been reanimated. We'd killed our attacker and we'd managed to escape, more or less intact.

  A twinge of revulsion rose in my stomach at what we'd had to do to get out of there, but I pushed it back. I was sure I'd have nightmares over plunging a rod through that nameless man's throat, but now wasn't the time to dwell on it. Now was the time to cherish that we'd made it, that we were alive. Well, we were safe at least. Only one of us was still technically "alive".

  I snuggled back into the cool, bare chest behind me. Grabbing one of his hands, I applied his cool, soothing touch to my aching face. I was pretty sure I had a black and blue eye. I felt like I had a black and blue brain too.

  Teren pulled me in close. I shivered a bit under his touch. "Am I too cold for you?" he whispered.

  "No," I murmured. "You feel wonderful. . . everything is sore. "

  Kissing my head, he pressed his body along the length of me. I sighed in contentment again as he comforted my aching body and my heart. Jack and I had watched him and the girls feed last night for what felt like hours. It had been mesmerizing to watch them silently move between the Wagyu, the special cattle his family had brought in, just for his awakening. Teren had said that he didn't like hunting, but he still had a predatory way of moving as he'd circled an animal and brought it down in one flawlessly smooth maneuver.

  The women had let him get his fill before they'd moved in as well. Between the four of them, they'd gone through a half dozen cattle. There would be plenty of steaks in the freezer for a while.

  When Jack and I had wandered amongst the vampires hand in hand, I'd been afraid for just the briefest moment that they'd turn on us. But Teren had only looked up from his meal, smiled uncertainly at me, and then resumed eating. The sight had rattled my stomach some, but that was who he was now, and at the moment, that had been what he'd needed. My fragile stomach was just going to have to deal with it. And really, after watching him devour a man. . . cows were a welcome sight.

  Eventually, the emotionally charged evening had caught up to me. With drooping eyes, I'd nearly dropped like a sack at Jack's side. That was when cool arms had encircled me and swept me up into a tight embrace.

  "I've got you, Emma," Teren had whispered into my ear, before flitting me back to the house and putting me into our bed. At least I'm assuming that's what happened. In all honesty, I vaguely remembered him speaking my name before the exhaustion overtook me and I fell fast asleep.

  A pale ray of morning light fell across his arm as he held me tight to him in our massive bed here at the ranch. I noted how his skin was a little paler than it used to be, but he was still a touch darker than mine. I also noted the absence of his heart thumping against my back. I supposed I'd just have to get used to that too. And I would.

  "Are you all right?" he whispered.

  I twisted in his arms to look at him. Concern was in his sky blue eyes as his fingers against the side of my battered face began stroking my cheek. I put a hand on his chest, which was slightly warmer where my skin had heated it. "I'm okay, Teren. Actually, I'm better than okay. . . because you're okay. "

  Smiling, he leaned in to timidly kiss me, like he was suddenly afraid he'd break me. I tried to deepen his hesitant kiss, but he resisted and continued moving against my cut, swollen lip in a soft, temperate way. I ran my hand up his neck, through his dark hair, and forcibly pulled him into me. He was being slow and gentle and that wasn't the assurance I needed right now. Eventually my insistence paid off. With a low groan, he kissed me back, hard. I groaned too and he instantly pulled away.

  "Did I hurt you?" His worried eyes flicked over my bruised face.

  I shoved his shoulder back. "Stop it. . . I'm fine. Stop worrying about me and kiss me like you mean it. You don't need to hold back. "

  He raised an eyebrow at my command, then grinning, he leaned in and ardently kissed me. His cool tongue stole my breath for a second, until I got used to the new sensation. His mouth moved to my neck, and I let out a blissful sigh as heat rushed in to replace the chill left by his lips, tongue and breath.

  His hands slipped down my shoulders to the cotton tank top I was wearing. It was only then that I realized I was in my pajamas, pajamas that had been packed away in Teren's car, the car that had been abandoned somewhere between our house and the ranch.

  "Ummm. . . where did these come from?" I asked.

  My voice came out a little husky, and a low growl escaped Teren's throat before he answered with, "What?"

  "My clothes. . . our stuff?"

  He stopped placing kisses along my throat and looked up at me. His eyes were smoldering, and I had to bite my lip. "Gran and Great-Gran got my car last night, while I tended to you. " His eyes flicked down to the mattress and his voice softened. "They also took care of. . . the farmhouse and the camper. "

  A shudder passed through me that had nothing to do with Teren's body. "Oh," I whispered. His eyes returned to mine and he searched my face, concerned. "I'm fine," I said immediately, before he could ask. "Are you?"

  He took a moment before answering. "I am. "

  His soft lips returned to mine, before following the path his hands had taken down my tank top. He lingered on my chest, feeling my body react to him through the fabric of my light shirt. Scrunching the material up, he began trailing kisses down my ribcage to my stomach. Groaning, I ran my fingers through his hair again. With a swift, cool lick in-between each kiss, his lips traveled across my stomach. After he went past my belly button. . . he paused.

  I was about to beg him to keep going, when he softly spoke into my skin. "I'm so sorry, Emma. " I lifted my head to look down at him. He raised his head to look back at me and pain was in his eyes. "I'm so sorry I couldn't give you a baby. I know how much you. . . "

  Sitting up, I grabbed his face; my sore joints protested the swift movement. "You didn't fail, Teren. . . that was stolen from us. " I searched his sad face. "It was taken from us, okay. You have nothing to feel sorry for. " I kissed him as he started to nod. Lying back, I pulled him over my body. My hand ran to his shorts and started pulling them down.

  Breathing heavy, he broke away from my lips. "They can hear. " He shook his head. "They won't be leaving me out of earshot for a while. . . sorry. "

  I brought his lips back to mine. "Then they can listen. . . I don't care. " I stopped kissing him and stared at him intently. "I had to watch you die. . . almost twice. I'm not letting a little thing like modesty get between us again. "

  He matched my intense gaze with one of his own. "I can't believe what you did for me. "

  I realized then, that he did indeed know exactly what I'd done for him, even if he was choosing to play along with my version of events. I rubbed his cheek with my thumb. "There's nothing I wouldn't do for you, Teren. . . nothing. "

  His intense gaze softened into one filled with love, and he slowly shook his head. "You were wrong about one thing. "

  "Hmmm?" I ran a finger along his strong, stubbly jaw.

  "I'm not better than you. No one's better than you. " I gaped at him as I realized that not only did he know exactly what I'd done. . . he'd heard me do it. He'd heard everything. He knew everything.

  He started to open his mouth, with what looked like an apology on his lips, but I cut him off. "Don't you apologize for my choice. I don't need it or want to hear it. . . ever. If I had to do it over again, I would change nothing. " I grabbed his cheek. "Nothing, Teren. "

  He kissed me then, and for a moment, I let myself forget that we'd just been through a horrid ordeal. That, while I put on a brave act for him, I was deeply remorseful for having taken a life, even a twisted one like that man'
s. That my life was now a touch more complicated with a dead boyfriend. That my body hurt everywhere. That we weren't entirely alone here at this ranch, or even in this room. I let all of that go, and all that I let touch my mind, was everywhere this amazing man in my bed was touching my body. And for the rest of that morning, a morning that I had been so sure last night I'd never get to see, Teren did his best to make me forget everything but him.

  And he succeeded. . . over and over again.

  ****

  We stayed at the ranch, recovering and adjusting to Teren's new lifestyle. His family sent the help away, claiming a family emergency was shutting them down for a while. I was sure they'd cleaned up the Wagyu slaughter before sunrise, and none of the hands were even remotely suspicious of the family, but, as we'd painfully learned, you can never be too careful.

  Well, I wasn't entirely sure about none of the hands suspecting. I'd happened to be coming down the staircase when Peter had been saying goodbye to Jack and Teren. Teren had shaken his hand and Peter had looked at their shaking hands the whole while, with an expression on his face like he was doing math in his head.

  When they'd released, he'd clapped Teren's shoulder and left his hand there for a long time as he'd searched Teren's face. Teren had looked a bit uncomfortable under the scrutiny, and Jack had even coughed once into his hand, but Peter had only continued searching Teren's face.

  Finally, he released him and smiled. He glanced at me as I hit the bottom step and then back to Teren. Peter's voice was rough, but very kind, when he told him, "I'm sure everything will work out just fine. " Teren tilted his head and was about to speak, but Peter turned and left the home.

  I'm not sure if Peter suspected anything, but he was no dummy, and he'd worked for the Adams for a while, I'd been told. Teren also told me that Peter rotated the men he brought in with him and kept them under a tight leash while they were on the property, never letting them stray into the fields after dark. I'm no genius, but it seemed to me that Peter Alton knew exactly what the Adams family really were. . . and he protected them the only way he could.

  Once Peter and the hands were gone, and we were alone here on the ranch, his family was morose around me. Sure, they threw on we're-glad-you're-alive smiles, even Halina, which surprised me at first, but there was an air of sadness that filled the home. Their dreams of future children had died that day, right along with mine. No one mentioned the loss to me. I think they sensed that I'd burst right into tears if they did. But I saw the occasional sweep of their fingers under their eyes, or a body blurring from the room, if I entered at the wrong moment. They were mourning right along with me and I appreciated that at least I wasn't alone in my grief.

  After a couple of days, the need to call my sister and let her know about the ordeal I'd just survived was too great. I called her early in the evening on a phone in the library, where I felt like I had some semblance of privacy. . . even though I didn't. I promised myself that I'd be strong and not cry. I didn't make it past, "Hey, sis. "

  Brokenly, I told her the story of how we'd been kidnapped and how we'd gotten away. I told her as much detail as I thought she could handle, only telling her that, in the end, Teren didn't touch me and we'd gotten away from the man. I was pretty sure the women in Teren's family knew the truth about our escape, especially Halina and Imogen, who had cleaned up the mess. I'd forgotten, in my haste to get away from that nightmare with no trace of us left behind, that a couple of the vampire women in the family had experience in cleaning up crime scenes. Halina in particular had a lot of experience.

  My sister listened to my story in shocked silence and just as I was sure she was no longer on the other end of the phone, I heard the sounds of someone rustling around. "How do I get there?" she calmly asked.

  "Ash. . . I'm fine, you don't have to-"

  "Some jackass just tried to kill my sister! I'm coming over to see you, even if I have to drive around aimlessly to do it!"

  I was about to tell her that we could get together in a few days-I was still really black and blue and I'd rather be healed a little more before she saw me-when Teren poked his head into the room. I twisted my lips at the intrusion and he quickly said, "I'll go pick her up. "

  I blinked and automatically repeated that to Ashley, without thinking too much about it. Teren blurred from my sight before I had a chance to even say "wait" and Ashley, sounding both pleased and nervous, said "okay" and hung up the phone. I hung up the empty line and wondered how that conversation had gone so much differently in my head.

  Almost two hours later, the family and I were standing in the parking lot, watching the lights of Teren's car bounce along the driveway. Filling myself with confidence, I walked over to where Halina was leaning against her sports car.

  She looked over and smiled crookedly when she noticed my approach. I harbored no ill will towards Halina, but she wasn't exactly the most comfortable person to be around and she had an odd sense of humor. Nothing made her grin more than scaring the crap out of me and I was pretty sure she'd love to make my sister wet her pants.

  In my most menacing tone, I firmly told her, "I will drag your sleeping ass out into the sun, if you so much as drop a fang at my sister. Play nice. "

  She gaped at me, surprised, and as I looked around, I saw that the other vampires were gaping at me too. I straightened my shoulders and focused my eyes only on Halina's. She started laughing suddenly, and slung a cool arm around my shoulder. "I like you more and more every day. "

  The rest of the vampires laughed. Jack even joined in, after Alanna leaned over and whispered in his ear. So, when Teren's car finally stopped and he stepped out to walk around and let Ashley out of the car (such a gentleman. . . even dead), it was understandable that he was shocked to see Halina's arm still draped over me.

  Laughing at the look on his face, I walked over to his car and waited for him to help Ashley out. Then I engulfed her in a ferocious hug. She hugged me back just as tight. "Don't ever get yourself almost killed again," she whispered into my hair as she sniffled.

  I pulled back to examine my horrifically scarred sibling. She was the most beautiful sight I'd ever seen. "I won't. . . I promise. "

  Ashley traced the outline of the bruising around my eye with a broken sigh and a slight shake of her head. A tear dropped down her cheek as she looked over at Teren. At the same time, they both smiled at each other. I was sure my sister had had some words for him in the car, both complimentary and admonitory, but they seemed to have come to a mutual level of love and respect for each other. Whatever fears my sister had for him and me, had hopefully dissolved with the knowledge that even facing death, Teren hadn't hurt me. He'd never hurt me.

  I introduced my sister to my extended family. They each took her in with a warm embrace and no outward show of fear or disgust for her appearance. These were people who were used to out of the ordinary and they had a threshold for weird higher than most. My sister's disfigurement was nothing worth more than a cursory glance; noted, then forgotten. Even Halina gave her a genuinely warm smile and something seemed to pass between the two women when they hugged. It was almost like they shared an instant connection; two women who'd had a horrible fate thrust upon them at too young of an age-outcasts from the world, trying to find their places in it.

  I truly relaxed as I watched them embrace. If my sister could bond with Halina, then the rest of the Adams family would be a snap. And it did appear to be that way. Never leaving my side for long, Ashley conversed breezily with Alanna, talked at length with Imogen, and gazed at Jack in such a way, that I suspected she was aware of what role he could play in her life as well. She even spent some time laughing with Halina, and learning some Russian phrases-phrases that I was absolutely positive were Russian curses that would have made the KGB blush.

  Teren drove her back home an hour before dawn, after lengthy goodbyes and promises to return longer when she had a break with school. Halina looked disappointed that she was leaving
, and told Ashley to let her know if anymore foolish boys bothered her. I hoped my sister was aware enough of Halina's nature to not take her up on that offer. I was pretty sure that any frats who crossed Halina would get more than a light nibble and a mind wipe.

  A few nights later, Teren and I were curled up on the couch in front of the massive living room fireplace. His family was relaxing outside in their massive hot tub. Apparently the vampires enjoyed the near-searing heat on their chilly flesh even more than humans did, and from what Jack had told me, their skin was a much hotter temperature for a while after leaving the tub. I'd tried not to think about the intimate implications of that, as I nodded at the man who was practically a father to me.

  Teren and I talked about some of the things our captor had told us. My memory of that night was hazy at best-I had been smacked around a lot-but Teren remembered quite a bit, even with the fog of pain he'd been dealing with at the time.

  "So. . . you're not alone," I told him, as we lay side by side on the couch; the heat from the fire caressed my back, while the coolness of my boyfriend's chest gave my arms goose bumps. "You're not the only mixed vampires. "

  Teren looked over my head into the flames of the fire. His eyes danced in the changing firelight as he thought about that. "Yeah. . . and all this time we thought we were the only ones. " He returned his gaze to me. "Who knows how many of us are out there?"

  I bit my lip as I searched his face. "Will you try and find them?"

  He looked back to the flames and pulled me tighter. I laid my head on his silent chest. "I don't know. It's tempting. Maybe. . . someday. "

  "You know I'm coming with you, right?" I murmured into his chest.

  He laughed and kissed my head. "You know I'm not leaving you behind, right? We vampires tend to stick close to what we like, remember. "

  I peeked up at him with a crooked grin. "Does that mean you like me?"

  Without missing a beat, he answered, "Sometimes. "

  I playfully poked his arm and he laughed. He held me close in silence and just as I was about to flip around to warm up my chest and cool off my back, he spoke. "He mentioned fourth and fifth generations. He said that they were rare, and hard to spot, but if we could find some of the older generations, maybe we could see if diluting out vampirism is even possible. "

  I pulled back to look at him and a sad smile lit his face. "I know it's too late for us. . . but it would be interesting to know if it could have been possible for our line to remain. . . alive. " He shrugged and looked sorry for mentioning it.

  I swallowed back the surge of grief, and felt pleased that only one tear escaped my eye. Teren tenderly stroked it away. "Yeah, it would be interesting. . . "

  "I shouldn't have brought that up. I'm sorry. " Remorse tightened his face as he stroked my cheek.

  I shook my head. "It's okay, Teren. It's okay to talk about children. We should talk about it. We both lost. . . " I brushed another stubborn tear off my cheek. "Besides, maybe one of these older generations has tried to turn someone. We could find out if it's possible. . . "

  He pursed his lips at me and I let it drop. He still didn't want to talk about it. I didn't want full vampirism for me, or even for my sister anymore, but if we could find a way to become like Teren? Well, that would be considerably more tempting. . . although, drinking blood still seriously grossed me out.

  I flipped over and snuggled my too-warm back into his cool embrace. My arms and chest heated in the glow of the blazing fire. Slightly turning my head, I whispered over my shoulder, "You and your family will need to be extra cautious from now on, now that you know there are people out there. . . hunting you. "

  He sighed and kissed my head. "I told you not everyone is a fan. " I stroked his arm and pulled him tighter, savoring him being close; I'd been so sure I was going to lose him. He kissed my head again. "You're right. . . we'll be careful, more so than usual. " I rested my head on the crook of his arm and nodded. "And besides. . . we don't know for sure that he was working alone. " He said that last part quietly, like he meant for the others to hear it, but not me. I had heard it, though, and I clutched his arms tight to me. He was right; we didn't know that for sure. The man's life had seemed solitary. . . but we had no real way of knowing. And if he'd told someone about the nest of vampire ranchers that he'd found. . .

  A low growl vibrated against my back and I twisted around to look at Teren. He was staring into the fire, his eyes intense. "Let them come, they'll regret it," he said, his voice as intense as his eyes. "I'm not so weak anymore and I won't be taken by surprise again. No one will ever touch my family. "

  I swallowed and a shiver ran through me. I hated the thought of Teren's family being in danger, of Teren being in danger. Twisting back around, I closed my eyes and let that fear burn out of me with the heat of the fire on my face. Right at this moment, I was safe with Teren and he was safe with me. Everything else would just have to be worried about on another day.

  After a while, my face and body felt healed enough to leave, but the ranch was so comforting and welcoming, not to mention packed full of bursting-with-blood bovines, that we delayed returning to the city. We delayed returning for the full six weeks, and before we knew it, November arrived. . . and Teren's twenty-sixth birthday.

  On that night, the girls surprised him with an elk. I had no idea where they got it and the idea of them hunting the countryside for one and then lugging it back to the property, made me insanely happy. I was giggling near uncontrollably when they showed it to him. Teren laughed at my reaction and then the rest of his family joined in too. Well, everyone except Halina; she was eyeing the Elk with interest, and I was pretty sure that if Teren didn't drain it soon, she'd take a bite while his back was turned.

  Eager to give him my own present, which required far less clothing, I pulled him into the house when he was finished with his birthday meal. His family stayed outside, only watching us flit indoors with amused expressions on their faces. I supposed they'd become a little accustomed to our physical relationship, and while I wasn't going to let it stop me, it did still sort of ick me out.

  Walking backwards down our hallway, I started pulling off Teren's shirt while we kissed. I successfully removed his shirt and flung it over my shoulder; it landed just on the inside of our door. Teren laughed and started unbuttoning my top. Inside our room, the fireplace was burning away and a merry, orange glow danced across Teren's chilly flesh. I backed him into the door a second after he closed it and ran my hands up his body.

  He made a low growl deep in his throat and finished blindingly fast with my shirt, throwing it on top of his. His hands ran up my back and I shivered. His skin felt like he'd momentarily walked into the freezer in the kitchen; cool, just on the verge of being cold. It was enough to send goose bumps racing along my skin, but not enough to be completely uncomfortable. And after his skin left mine, I felt all the hotter for its absence. We were the perfect blend of fire and ice.

  Teren pushed us away from the door and started making quick work of my jeans. I started in on his as well. "Happy birthday, baby. I hope you didn't fill up on that elk," I whispered in his ear. All I got from him was another low growl in response.

  His lips trailed down my body as he sank to his knees. He started pulling down my jeans. When he reached my hips, he stopped and looked up at me, a little irritated. "What is that?"

  I tried to control my heavy breath, as I pushed his head back to my skin. "What's what?"

  He looked back up at me, like I was intentionally doing something to annoy him. "That noise? I've been hearing it for a few days and it's really distracting right now. . . "

  Irritated myself now, I stepped closer to him, so he'd refocus on the task at hand. "God, Teren, I don't know. . . you could be hearing a moon landing with those ears of yours. "

  He sat back on his heels, further frustrating me. I put my hands on my hips as he stated, "No. . . it's coming from you. "

  Embarrassed,
I crossed my arms over my body. "I did eat a lot today. . . " Alanna had been outdoing herself with gourmet food for Jack and me; one of her greatest joys was cooking, and she loved having some humans around to do it for. I'd been eating way too much and had definitely gained weight this time-my clothes were even getting a little tight. I was kind of scared to step on a scale, and maybe just a touch happy that we'd be leaving our love nest soon-so I could start eating more moderately.

  He dismissively waved his hand at me. "No. . . I know those sounds. " He brought his fingers to his chin, while he sat there thinking. "This is different. . . it's almost like-"

  I cut him off, my face heating. "You know those sounds? Teren! You do not have permission to listen to noises that my body makes. We need to talk about boundaries. "

  He shot to his feet and took two steps away from me. "Oh my God, Emma. "

  I looked over his shocked face with scrunched brows. "I'm just saying I don't want you eavesdropping on my digestive track. It's nothing to freak out about. "

  His face broke into a strange expression. He took a step towards me, cocking his head, like he was intently listening. "Oh my God, Emma," he said again, almost reverently.

  My heart started racing at the odd look on his face. "You're freaking me out, Teren. "

  He looked down my body and then looked back to my eyes; a crystal clear tear fell down his cheek as he regarded me in awe. "Oh my God. . . "

  He took another step towards me and I stepped away from him, until the backs of my legs hit the bed. Confusion added to my trepidation. My heart felt like it was going to burst right out of my chest. I was about to yell at him to tell me what the hell was freaking him out, when I finally noticed where his eyes were going when he looked at my body. The realization hit me at the exact moment his hand came up to rest on my abdomen.

  My eyes flashed up to his. "Teren, do you. . . hear a heartbeat?" A tear rolled down my cheek at the very idea.

  His eyes flicked back and forth between mine as he nodded. "Yes. . . I think so. . . "

  My hands flew to my mouth as I physically held in a sob. A baby? With the horror we'd been through, and the lasting grief I'd felt over the past few weeks, I hadn't been paying too close of attention to my body. We'd been so sure that that future was lost to us that I hadn't let myself consider the fact that I could have been pregnant before Teren's change and not known it. Heck, he could have very feasibly gotten me pregnant the morning of the attack, and I wouldn't have known it for weeks. It was such a long shot, and it hurt so much to think about the possibility that I hadn't let myself.

  "A baby?" I whispered through my fingers.

  Instantly, the door to the room burst open. I didn't even care that three, crying, eager women were staring at Teren and me, half-dressed in our bedroom, with both of our jeans undone and his hand still caressing my stomach. A baby. . .

  Teren held out a hand to hold back his family and surprisingly, they gave us space. The room buzzed with excited energy though and my heart raced even higher. Teren brought his hands to my cheeks.

  "Emma. . . I need you to calm down, so I can hear the heartbeat again. It's too faint to separate from yours, when you're so worked up. Can you try and relax for me?" Instantly, the light was shut off and the fire was doused. Engulfed in darkness, Teren's eyes glowed at me intensely, and I allowed myself to relax into his gaze, allowed his soft light to ease my surging heart and calm my breath.

  "Good. . . that's good, Emma. "

  Someone flicked a light back on and I watched him drop to his knees again and put his ear against my stomach. He looked up at me and frowned, before returning his head to my belly. Whatever he could hear, it was too quiet for the others to hear without skin-to-skin contact. They held hands and silently watched Teren. None of them were even breathing.

  Suddenly, he sat back on his heels and gazed at me in adoration. He slowly shook his head. "You may want to sit down. "

  A grin spread on my face at the relaxed look on his. "Why? Aren't I pregnant?"

  His corresponding smile lit up his entire beautiful, dead face. "Oh yes, you definitely are. . . but. . . "

  My grin faltered slightly. "But?"

  He smirked at me. "I hear two separate heartbeats. "

  I didn't sit so much as fall.

  There was a mad rush of crying, excited women swarming around my body, like I was suddenly sacred to them. Not bothered one tiny bit that we were still half-naked, they hovered around us, congratulating and offering advice, for a good twenty minutes before exiting our bedroom. I think the only reason they left us at all, was the fact that Jack had tromped into the room and kicked them all out, after giving me a warm, congratulatory hug, of course.

  Finally able to stretch out on our bed alone, I snuggled into the crook of Teren's cool embrace. Our bodies entwined, and I smiled as Teren's finger drew lazy circles around my bare abdomen. "I can't believe we're really going to have a baby. I can't believe we're going to have twins, Teren. " I smiled up at him. "You don't do anything halfway, do you?"

  Laughing, he kissed my head. "I hope you were sure that you wanted this. Raising vampires isn't exactly the simplest job. "

  I smirked at him. "Raising any sort of child isn't a simple job. . . and yes, I've never been surer. " I kissed him and then pulled back with a frown on my face. "There is one thing we should talk about now. "

  "Oh?" He smiled peacefully at me.

  I propped myself up on an elbow; my hair brushed over his shoulder. "Well, besides the fact that I'm taking over your closet when we move in together. . . " he smiled wider at that, but didn't argue, "are you finally going to ask me to marry you?"

  He snuggled into the pillows and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know, Emma. . . " he started chuckling, "that's a pretty big commitment. "

  I smacked his chest. Smartass. I raised my own eyebrow in a very clear indication that he didn't have much choice on the subject-he was marrying me. If I was going to be having his vampire twins. . . then my dead boyfriend could at least make an honest woman of me.

  He kissed my hand on his chest. "Whenever you want a ceremony, you just let me know, but in my eyes, we were married the day I died. The day I somehow managed to refuse your sweet, intoxicating blood. . . and even turned down that psychopath's vile stuff. " He paused and looked at me. A thoughtful expression was in his eyes as they roamed between mine. "Even though the memory of taking his life will haunt me, I've found that I'm. . . grateful. " He smiled with one corner of his mouth and reached up to cup my cheek with his cool palm. "I'm grateful to you, for not allowing my stubborn conscience to ruin our chance at a life together. "

  His smile suddenly switched to a frown and his hand dropped from my face to trail down my arm; a line of goose bumps followed it. "I put you in a position I never should have. " I started to object, but he cut me off. His small smile returned. "But you. . . you saw to the heart of the matter, and did what you had to do, to save us both, and I love you so much for that, Emma. " He rolled me on top of him and brought both cool palms to my cheeks, firmly holding me. His eyes were suddenly intense. "The moment you spilt his blood for me, to save me, you became my wife. "

  I blinked back the tears several times. Darn romantic vampire. "Teren, that was beautiful. . . and a touch creepy. " We both softly laughed and the intense mood around us, lightened. His palms trailed down both of my arms, coming to my hands resting upon his chest, where he lovingly stroked my fingers. I smiled as I watched his content face absorb me.

  "I love you endlessly, Teren. . . but, I want the whole kit and caboodle. " I looked down at his chest as I interlaced our fingers together. "I want to spend the rest of whatever life I have left with you, and I want it official. I want the cheesy music and the horrid bridesmaid dresses and a sea of flowers and my mother crying hysterically and my sister standing beside me. . . " I looked up at his calm face, his small smile matching mine. "I want the whole thing. . . and I want it here, at your amazin
g family's amazing home. "

  He was starting to nod, when as an afterthought I added, "Plus. . . and this is almost just as important to me. . . " I looked him squarely in the eye as he cocked his head in question. "I know we've kind of done things backwards, but I really have no desire to be an unwed mother. " He grinned and softly laughed as his eyes drifted down to my bare stomach pressed against his. I laughed as well and added, "I also have no interest in getting married in a dress from a store called 'Just in Time', so let's do this quick, okay? How does a December wedding sound to you?"

  He laughed in earnest, swept his cool arms around to my back, and pulled me down to his chest. "It sounds perfect. " He brought me all the way down to his lips and the word "perfect" echoed in my head as we kissed.

  Yes, somehow we'd made it through and we were going to have everything we'd dreamed about having-a home together, a strong marriage, two wonderful families. . . two children. I was sure there would be some difficulties ahead of us, and more "big" issues for us to tackle. We'd have to hide his secrets from our friends, coworkers, and my mom. We would all be on constant alert now, watching out for anymore psychos who might wish Teren and the rest of his family. . . my family. . . harm. Plus, someday, Teren would have to come to terms with the looming threat of my mortality; I would be separated from him one day, that was just life. And on top of all of that, was the unknown element of carrying, birthing and raising mini-vampires.

  But for now, for this one moment, none of that mattered, because everything was indeed as he'd said. . . perfect.

  ***The End***