Like most things with Teren, it was intense and emotional and made me feel like everything was going to be okay, because he had each other.
Softly panting into his friction-warmed body, I listened for any noise from down the hall. Not hearing any, I smiled and kissed his neck. Sliding over to his side, I left my legs wrapped around him. A content smile on his face, he peeked over at me. “Sorry, I just needed that.”
I thumped his chest. “Are you seriously apologizing for amazing sex?”
Laughing lightly, he raised an eyebrow. “Amazing? I don’t even feel like I did anything.”
Feeling the lingering waves of bliss running through me, I smiled crookedly. “Maybe that’s why it was amazing?”
He frowned at me, then laughed and shook his head, pulling me in for a tight hug. “I love you, thank you.”
I pulled back again, kissing him softly. “You don’t have to thank me for that, Teren.”
He shook his head, his fingers tucking loose strands of my hair behind my ear. “I’m not. I’m thanking you for being so understanding…about Carrie.” He sighed and shook his head again. “I don’t think most women would be.” He smiled softly, his earlier tension about her visit gone.
I sighed and kissed him again, loving how my enhanced senses could pinpoint the very flavor of his skin. “I just understand…you.” He smiled, holding our faces together. I smiled at the peace I saw on his, then shrugged. “Besides, I haven’t told you all of my skeletons.”
He blinked and pulled back. “You have skeletons?” He grinned crookedly at me in a way that nearly made me want to crawl on top of him again.
Placing my lips against his, I murmured, “I have a myriad of secrets that you don’t know about.”
He chuckled against my mouth, rubbing our lips together. “I’m intrigued…do tell.”
I smiled, then sighed. “Well, I never told you about the gang member that I dated briefly. Or the package that he had me take to a friend of his in Vegas, which I’m pretty sure held some illegal stuff in it.” I twisted my lips and shrugged. Yeah, that relationship hadn’t exactly been wise…or long lasted.
He pulled back further, his face a little surprised. “You were a drug runner?”
I chuckled at how he made it sound. “Only once. I broke up with him after that little trip.”
He shook his head, pulling my body flush to his. “Interesting, anything else?”
Biting my lip, I looked down at his chest. “I actually did have a pregnancy scare once.” His arms tightened and I looked back up at his perfectly emotionless face. I had to imagine that if he’d still had a heartbeat, it would be racing. I shook my head to reassure him. “I never was. I was just a lot later than usual.”
I frowned as he relaxed in my arms. “The ass freaked out when I told him, told me I’d done it on purpose.” Teren narrowed his eyes, obviously irritated at my jerk of an ex too. “I dumped him and my period started the next day…go figure.” I laughed and he finally smiled at me.
Shaking his head, he shrugged a little. “You dated a lot more interesting people than I did. Mine mainly ran away screaming, once I told them the truth.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Did you really tell them all?”
His face serious, he nodded. “After Carrie, I made sure that they all knew, as early as I felt I could tell them.” Looking down, he sighed. “After that mess, I was scared off girls for awhile. I didn’t date again until college.” Peeking up at me, he smiled. “I think my family thought I didn’t even like girls at that point.”
I chuckled and ran a finger along the rough length of his jaw. “Who was the lucky girl who got you dating again?”
Smiling, he rested back on his pillows, his finger absentmindedly tracing random patterns in my skin. “Her name was Gwen. We met in the quad when she asked me directions to her class.” He laughed lightly at his memory, staring up at our ceiling. “I had no idea where it was, but I faked it so I could talk to her.”
I grinned, imagining a younger version of my husband trying to impress a girl. “Did you ever find her class?”
Swinging his eyes back to mine, he shook his head. “No, and we spent so long looking for it that she missed the class anyway.” He shrugged. “We ended up having lunch instead.”
Watching my charming husband smile at me, I thought that maybe Gwen had done that intentionally. I know I would have lied and blown off a class to spend an afternoon with him. “Cute. What happened with her?”
His smile faltered. “We dated for a few months…then she wanted to move into my dorm.” He looked back up at the ceiling, the memory of that moment clearly not as pleasant as their first meeting. “I couldn’t…without telling her first, so I did.”
He pressed his lips into a firm line, his jaw tightening. “And?” I asked, my fingers running over the curve of his arm around me.
Twisting his head to me, he sighed softly. “She ran out crying…I never saw her again. I told Great-Gran it was over and she…handled it.” He sighed again, his fingers coming up to tuck my hair behind my ear.
I frowned at the look on his face. “You really liked her, didn’t you?”
He shrugged. “At the time, yeah. But she wasn’t for me. I knew I couldn’t be with someone who couldn’t accept what I was, and she was only the first in a long line of girls who couldn’t handle the truth.” Pulling me tight, his mood lightened. “Only you handled it well.” He smiled wryly. “I definitely never got to have sex with any of them afterwards.”
I flushed and smacked his chest, remembering the evening that he’d first told me what he was. I may have been a little…eager to be with him. Well, he was the most attractive person I’d ever seen…inside and out. “Was I the only one you told by piercing my tongue with your teeth?”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “God, that was embarrassing. I thought it was too soon to tell you the truth. I had no idea what to tell you. I was so frazzled, I couldn’t even pull my teeth back up in time.” I laughed at the memory and he peeked his eyes open.
Cupping my cheek, the cool metal of his wedding band rubbed against me, caressing me. “Yes. You were the only one that so absorbed me, I couldn’t even concentrate on the one thing that was as natural to me as breathing. I couldn’t pretend with you. That’s how much you affect me.”
I swallowed, feeling my face heat. Smiling at the color he saw there, he nestled his head in my hair. “Well…since we’re having the exes discussion, I should probably tell you that I did date a vampire once.”
I pushed him away from me, instantly remembering a conversation with Alanna about a couple of visiting female vampires. “I knew it! You so let that woman bite you!” Hearing my children stir in their beds, I quieted my voice. “Didn’t you?”
His eyes widened as he stared at me. “You…know about that?”
I smirked and narrowed my eyes. “Yes, your mother mentioned it once.”
He closed his eyes, then started to chuckle. “Ugh, God, I bet most men don’t have to worry about their families discussing their sex lives.” Peeking over at my twisted lips and narrowed eyes, he shrugged. “Just once…a tiny, tiny bite.” I narrowed my eyes even more and he grimaced. “I was curious, surely you can understand that?”
I sighed, my lips curving into a small smile at the look on his face. We’d been through too much together for me to feel any jealousy over his past experiences. Besides, being a vampire now, and understanding the thrill of biting, I could see how he’d be curious about what being bitten felt like. I probably would have done the same thing if I’d been in his position. Raising an eyebrow, I calmly asked, “Did you bite her? Was she better tasting than me?”
My lips twitched as I tried to contain my amusement; I already knew that I was his first. Seeing the humor in my face, he pushed me to my back and hovered over me. “No one could possibly taste better than you.” His eyes drifted down my body and I had the distinct feeling that he wasn’t talking about my blood anymore. A different sort of
flush washed over me. He smiled, sensing it.
As his fingers slid up my ribs, pushing up my shirt, I closed my eyes. “And no, you are the only woman I’ve ever penetrated. The only one I ever will penetrate.” He huskily said that directly in my ear.
My breath picking up pace, I ran my hands up his back, taking off his shirt. “Did you like her teeth in you?” I asked, equally as huskily, only curious if he enjoyed the sensation as much as I did.
Settling himself on me, his lips started trailing down my body. Peeking down at him as he glanced up at me, I watched the desire building in the pale depth of his eyes. Shaking his head, he whispered, “No, I didn’t really care for it…until you. I definitely never asked for it before you.”
I groaned and he smiled cockily, his fangs sliding out. Groaning again, I muttered his name. Then I shut the light off and forgot all about our exes, vampiric or otherwise.
The next morning, I kissed Teren goodbye as I left for work. He’d decided to stay home with the kids, just in case Carrie showed up at the house. I hoped for his sake that she arrived later, so Halina could be on hand to instantly wipe her. And, later, so I could be there too. I really didn’t relish the idea of him entertaining his ex all day long.
I pushed it out of my head when I got to work though. He would be a perfect gentlemen to Carrie if she did show up before I got home. And I knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would be faithful to me. Unlike with some marriages, the question of either one of us straying wasn’t an issue. We were eternal, bonded through blood. No one on this earth could break that connection. But I did want to be there, for support, if nothing else.
Wishing I could make time blur as quickly as I could, I nearly bumped into Tracey. The perky blonde excitedly grabbed my shoulders. “Get a babysitter for Saturday night. Ben and I are taking you out for your birthday.”
I contained my groan. “Oh, really, I don’t feel like making a fuss over this one. I just want a relaxing weekend with Teren and the kids.”
She raised an eyebrow at me, her perfect lips frowning. “That is no way to celebrate turning thirty.” She shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “Ben and I are taking you to a club and getting you sweaty and drunk.” She smiled and tilted her head, a blonde curl swinging over her shoulder. “That is how you ring in a new decade.”
I sighed and thought to argue with her, but I could hear my boss mutter something about a report that was missing from a file. Knowing I needed to take care of that, I shrugged at Tracey. “Whatever, Trace. We’ll talk about it later, okay?”
She giggled and spun on her heel and I mentally sighed, knowing I was most likely going to a club for my birthday and not leaving that club until I was smashed.
Throughout the day I checked on Teren, texting him right in front of Clarice, since she could no longer bitch about those sorts of things to me. Every time, Teren responded instantly, telling me that she hadn’t shown yet. By lunch, he started getting anxious about her safety. I did my best to reassure him that she was fine, but I wasn’t really sure of that. We didn’t know this vampire that Gabriel had sent to collect her and, trustworthy or not, something easily could have gone wrong.
By the end of my work day, when she still hadn’t shown, I imagined that I could sense my husband pacing. I couldn’t, the distance between us kept his location to me more generalized. I knew he was over in that direction, but until we reconnected, it wouldn’t be distinct enough for me to feel the pacing. And I was pretty sure that’s what I would be feeling when I got home – endless pacing.
That was all but confirmed for me when I pulled into the drive. His form blurred from upstairs to downstairs and back again. I frowned that he was using so much of his super-speed around our children. We generally tried to lead them by example. In fact, I could feel them starting and stopping with their own phasing movement as they copied him.
Slamming shut my door, so he’d break out of his cycle and realize that I was home, I muttered, “Stop that…calm down.” I felt his presence pause downstairs, two little beings pausing with him.
Over the mutual giggle of our children, who were apparently enjoying their game with Daddy, I heard him sigh and sheepishly mutter, “Sorry…I just needed to burn off some energy.”
I smiled as I walked to the front door, inhaling deep as the sense of homecoming I’d started to feel once I began heading in his direction crashed over me. Hoping the euphoria that I was feeling would farther calm my husband, I opened the door. He was standing right there, smiling at me so warmly, that I knew he’d finally let our bond distract him from his worry.
Amid the joint shouts of, “Mommy!” he walked over to me, exhaling with relief as his arms wrapped around me. As a twin each grabbed a leg, I wrapped my arms around him, my sigh equally content. Into my hair he muttered, “I love it when you come home.”
Pulling back to look at him, I was glad that I could give him such comfort, just by approaching him. Cupping his cheek, I stroked the coarseness of his jaw with my thumb. “And I love coming home to you.” I took about five more seconds to relish the completion of the bond with my husband, then my children pretty much demanded my attention.
Laughing as I scooped up the tiny beings trying to literally crawl up my legs, I heard Teren start to close the door behind me, then pause. The breathing that he mimicked so seamlessly that it almost made you forget that he didn’t have to do it anymore, completely stopped. Hugging and kissing my children, I twisted to look at him. He was frozen at the door, staring outside, one hand still on the frame, like he’d been struck immobile halfway through the process of shutting it.
“Teren, you okay?” I asked, concerned. Then I heard the sound that was disturbing him and my breath stopped. Walking over to the door, I watched a yellow and black checked taxi cab approach our house. Even though it wasn’t, the car seemed to be driving in slow motion.
Forcing an exhale from my body, I set down our kids and told them they could watch a movie in Mommy and Daddy’s room. They gleefully took off to go jump on our bed with Spike. Turning back to Teren, still watching the painstakingly slow cab, I put a hand on his back. He jumped a little bit, then finally looked over at me. “You okay?” I asked quietly.
Swallowing, he nodded. Watching his wider-than-normal eyes, I again imagined his silent heart would be beating much faster if it still worked. Lacing our hands together as I stood in the door with him, I felt mine increasing. There was just a lot of tension in the air.
Looking back to the driveway, we both watched the cab crunch to a stop behind my cheery, yellow car. The brakes squealed and I flinched at the loud sound in my sensitive ears. Teren didn’t move a muscle and I began to wonder if he’d even be able to do this. I squeezed his hand tighter in encouragement as the sound of a Disney movie started trickling down to me from upstairs.
We heard a woman’s voice thank the gruff taxi driver, then the back door creaked open. A light, flower scent caught the air just as an averagely pretty woman stepped out of the cab. She looked over to us immediately and I felt myself tighten and my eyes narrow. I couldn’t tell if she was still under the vampire’s compulsion or not. When she smiled at us, I wondered if she even knew what she was doing here.
Teren let out a long, low exhale as he raised his hand from the door and waved at her. She merrily waved back, her girl-next-door face happier than I remembered seeing it the last time. Of course, the last time I’d seen her, she’d been crying…over Teren, over the loss they’d shared together.
My enhanced sight could pick out the slight moisture in her blue-gray eyes, and the perfect straightness of her slim-curved body; while filled with life once, I was certain that those trim hips had never swelled out with a child. Remembering why she was here, remembering the grief that I’d seen in her eyes before, compassion filled me for her. A child was something that she’d seemed to want. Maybe her fear of losing that one, had made her too scared to try again? Yet another reason Teren should finally clear her.
I
released my husband, so he could go and be the gentleman that I knew he was itching to be. Glancing at me briefly, he started walking towards her. I leaned against the doorframe as I watched them meet in the drive. With mixed feelings, I heard him greet her and heard her reply that he looked just the same. They hugged, very briefly, then Teren grabbed her bags out of the back of the cab. I smiled that the vamp had indeed let her pack some bags. I’d feel really horrible if all she had were the clothes on her back.
Teren indicated the front door to her and Carrie looked up at me, her bright eyes beaming. As the floral scent wafting from her strengthened with her approach, I fortified my stomach. I had nothing to fear from this woman.
She stepped up to me, her hand outstretched. Being so tall, I had to look up to meet her eye. “It was Emma, right?”
I nodded, then smiled genuinely. “Carrie. It’s good to see you again.” Curious, I couldn’t help but add, “And a little surprising too. What are you doing in our neck of the woods?”
Conversion Book Three: 'Til Death Page 12