by Donna Haley
No matter the time that had passed, we were right back where we'd started. His lips sought mine and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he headed by memory towards the bedroom. Our reunion was magical and lasted for days before we'd had to leave the bed. Everything seemed brighter with him back in my world and I couldn't stop smiling.
With the bond fully open I could feel his emotions, but I was still caught off guard when the words I'd never thought I'd hear from him came tumbling out of his mouth as if it were the most natural thing in any realm.
“I love you, Sun.”
I'd been sitting on the chair when he spoke and I promptly fell smack on my ass and stared at him in disbelief.
“What did you say, demon?” I blinked repeatedly, in shock.
“I love you. Didn't you hear me the first time?”
Much to Sev's amusement I pinched myself, yelping in pain.
“And when exactly did you figure this out?”
“When I was wandering the Earth and realized that nothing made me as happy as being with you. I couldn't get you out of my head or my dreams. Then I felt you and couldn't resist answering the call. I love you, Sunshine. I always have. I always will.”
I threw my arms around him and covered him in kisses, murmuring words of love back to him as I did. It was the beginning of a life I’d only dreamed of and I was the happiest woman in the world that night. Within days we were living together and everything was going well in our lives. We spent countless hours in bed, talking and making love. Our life together was perfect, but I'd failed to mention that I was taking a potion to help mask my scent from Draven, who’d been searching for me. I never thought that taking such a thing would lead to such a drastic change in our lives. What the witch who'd made the potion failed to inform me was that unless it was taken exactly as instructed, I could get pregnant.
A night spent making love in his pool and the next thing you know, we're having a baby. I didn't have a clue how to tell him and was convinced that he'd leave again but I couldn't really hide something like that from him.
One night we had just finished making love and the words just fell out of my mouth. Severus stared blankly at me and didn't say anything for almost an hour. I'd just started to worry that I'd killed him and didn't know it when he spoke.
“How?”
I explained about the potion and how I'd never been good at following directions and had obviously taken it improperly resulting in my being knocked up, as the humans said.
I waited for him to speak and again he left me speechless.
He rested a hand on my still flat stomach and spoke softly. “You'll be an amazing mother, sweetheart. You do want to keep our little monster, don't you?”
I blinked at him, which seemed to be becoming a habit as the demon continued to surprise me at every turn.
“Who are you and what did you do with the demon that I love?”
“Why do you keep questioning that, love? I haven't been abducted by aliens or possessed by a demon. I am a demon, we don't possess our own kind, babe.”
I couldn't wrap my mind around this change in him but I wasn't going to question it. As the months passed and I grew bigger and bigger, I wasn't the most pleasant vampire to be around. Sev was such a sweetheart to me. He never complained about my mood swings or how I craved his blood. He'd stock the fridge with vials of it when he had to be away for long periods of time.
The time neared that our son was to make his grand entrance into the world and Sev became very protective of me. For the first time since I’d known him he refused when Lucifer ordered him to go on a job. He stayed close to me every second of every day.
Not that I minded, I loved having him around and I was prone to having accidents. We'd snapped to Italy to attend a christening of a friend's children and I went into labor in a church. Sev panicked a bit and made it clear that no child of his would be born in a church.
Before I could figure out what was happening I was laying on his bed in New Orleans and he was telling Malachi to come to Daddy.
Hearing our son's first cry warmed my cold, unbeating heart in ways I'd never thought was possible. I couldn't fathom how much I could love someone that I'd just met. Sev placed him in my arms and my fear must have shown.
“Babe, you're not going to hurt him. It's alright.” He sat next to me on the bed with a silly grin on his face and I was tickled at how proud he looked.
Malachi was only a few weeks old when I started joking with Sev that he should make an honest woman out of me. It was during one of those teasing moments that I asked what he'd say if I asked him to run off to Vegas and get married.
Excusing himself abruptly I feared I'd scared him. Not long after he yelled down the hall for me to join him in his office. My jaw dropped when I entered the room.
Lit candles cast a soft glow from every surface around the room and daisies filled vases and bowls. In the midst of it all stood the man I loved more than my own existence and tears stung my eyes when Severus dropped to one knee.
“Sun, you taught me how to love and you've given me a family. You're the only woman I'll ever love. Would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
His hand shook as he opened the small black velvet box and slipped the black diamond on my finger. I had trouble finding my voice for a few moments and hoarsely whispered yes.
He got to his feet in a flash and kissed me. Every dream I'd had since I'd met him was coming true. This man completed me and brought happiness into my life. We both were crying tears of happiness and that’s when he suggested we marry that night. I blinked in disbelief but quickly agreed.
Three hours later the doors to the Graceland Chapel in Las Vegas opened and I floated down the aisle to marry the demon of my dreams. I didn't even notice that Elvis was drunk and high as he officiated. My eyes were firmly glued to the handsome face of my soon to be husband. As soon as Elvis slurred that he could kiss me we were in each other’s arms.
With a wave to our friends who'd shown up to witness the miracle of a lifetime, Severus snapped us to a private island.
My dress didn't stand a chance. Buttons scattered on the floor as his hands traced the curves of my body. My fangs found the throbbing vein in his neck and I lost control. His touch was gentle as he laid me back on the bed and teased me until I was whimpering under his hands. I begged him to make love to me, but my husband was determined to make this night memorable.
His fingers teased my skin; his tongue drove me to near madness as he ran it down my body, lingering in places only he knew would drive me crazy. It wasn't until he parted my thighs and licked the scar that remained that it hit me.
Sitting up, I tilted my head intent on studying his eyes which sparkled with mischief and I knew. My husband was none other than the man I'd met in 1342. Fate had brought us back together and the tingling in the scar as he touched it told me everything I needed to know.
He was my past, my present and my future. That sexy smirk told me he'd known all along who I was and he'd just been waiting for me to figure it out. As his fingers found my core, I forgot about that night in the snowy gardens of a King’s castle and struggled to keep any semblance of control.
Our wedding night lasted well into the next day. There are perks to being supernatural, the best being that we don't tire out nearly as fast as breathers. Every waking moment was spent in each other’s arms. To be married to the man I loved seemed the most exhilarating perk of marriage to me.
“Marrying you was the smartest decision I've ever made, babe.”
My face lit up with a smile that rivaled the sun when I heard his voice. I was up and out of my chair at a speed humans often couldn't comprehend. I was in his arms and kissing him in the blink of an eye.
The young man sat watching us and I saw him furiously scribbling notes. It didn’t matter what he was writing because I rarely paid much attention to what anyone thought, much less a human. It was one of the things my husband claimed to love most about me.
Excus
ing ourselves a moment, Severus and I stepped out into the hall to discuss where he'd been and why. He kissed my forehead and I knew in an instant that he was leaving again, much to my chagrin. He was very schooled in my looks of disappointment and I was positive he knew that I wasn't happy just by his demeanor.
Holding me close he whispered words of love and devotion into my ear, hoping to placate me enough that I wouldn't flip out on him for leaving again. With the young man in the other room, within hearing distance, my husband felt more assured that I'd keep up the appearance of a happy little wife.
Shooting him the dirtiest look I had, I backed away from him and pouted. Sticking my bottom lip out, I let out a deep sigh and Severus laughed out loud.
“Sunshine, you look adorable when you do that, but whisking you upstairs and spending the day making love to you is not a viable option at this time. You have a guest, if you remember.”
Stomping my foot for dramatic effect, I tried to hold back a giggle and failed miserably at it. I never could stay mad at him for long but I was still upset. “And you have to leave again, don't you?”
His nod was barely perceptible but I didn't need the visual confirmation, I could read his thoughts. Without a word, I turned from him and stepped back into the room, closing the door behind me to signal just how upset I was that he was going again so soon.
I paid no attention to the young man as I rested my back against the door and listened to Sev's steps falling softly down the hall. I heard him talking to the twins, smiling sadly at how excited they were to have him sit down and play tea party with them. It was a rare treat for them that Daddy took the time to make himself available to play with them.
Vivienne and Vivica were both Daddy's Girls and it was well known that he adored his daughters. I'd have given anything to be in that room right then, just to watch them interact, but I had other obligations and I knew that the twins needed this time alone with their father.
To his credit, the young man, whose name I still didn't recall, remained silent. My tears fell, unnoticed, down my cheeks. We'd never be a normal family and most days that didn't bother me, but today, I would have traded all the powers I had for the chance to have my husband home all the time.
He jumped when I spoke. I couldn't be sure if it were from fear or surprise that I'd actually done so, but jump he did.
“He's hardly ever home anymore.”
“I'm sorry, Mrs. Severus.”
I gave him a sad half smile and pushed myself off the door, taking my seat again. “What's your name again, my dear?”
“Aaron, ma'am.”
“Are you married, Aaron?”
“No ma'am.” The scent of citrus permeated the air as he shook his head and I felt an overwhelming urge to taste his blood.
Controlling myself, I nodded and crossed legs that were clad in ripped jeans. “We weren't always like this. There was a time when we did anything possible to be together.”
The memory opened before my eyes as if I were watching a movie, an old, black and white classic film that always ended happily. Only this one had more twists and turns than a Patricia Cornwell novel.
Chapter Ten
Severus and I'd been together for only a few months after meeting up again at that pool party, when I decided I needed more from him. I broached the subject one night while we lay satiated from a passionate love making session. Without fear or hesitation I told him that I was falling in love with him and wanted more than just a casual relationship. That was the first time that Sev told me that he couldn't love. He explained that demons were incapable of that emotion.
I was livid and threw the sheet off of us and rolled away from him. Yanking on the shirt he'd tossed on the floor when we'd begun, I stormed down the hall without a word in search of the bottled blood I kept in the fridge.
His hand was hot on my stomach, even through the shirt, and I did my best to ignore him.
“Sun, why does it have to change? Things are going good as they are.”
He sounded convincing but I needed more. I wanted him. All of him, not just the parts he'd reluctantly shared with me.
“No, they aren't. Not for me. I am in love with you and I need to know that this is going somewhere. I'm no one's one night stand.”
“Sweetheart, you're not. You're special to me, but I can't give you what you want.”
Keeping my back to him, I fought the tears that welled up. As the microwave beeped, I snatched the bottle of blood and took long, angry drinks before speaking again.
“And you want to continue being able to fuck any little whore who will spread her legs for you, right? That's not good enough for me. I should be all you need, Severus.”
“Don't do this, Sunshine. This doesn't have to end this way.”
“Tell me, demon, doesn't it bother you to know that other men share my bed?”
“I don't like the thought, but I accept it. We're not in a relationship and you're free to do as you please.”
“Well it bothers me to think of other women sharing yours”
“I'm sorry, but I can't change who I am.”
“No, you won't change who you are. There's a big difference there. I think you should leave.”
His hands pressed tighter to my stomach and his warm breath tickled my ear. “You don't really want me to go, babe. We both know it.”
“Please, leave,” was all I could manage as I turned away from him, trying hard to keep my tears from falling. As he snapped away, I sank to the cold tile floor and sobbed. I'd just sent away the only being I'd ever truly loved and all because of my pride.
After several hours I somehow found the strength to pull myself up off that floor and wiped away my tears. I was determined to show him just what he was missing by letting me go.
I spent every night out, laughing and having a good time. It was a few short weeks later that Draven walked back into my life and everything turned upside down. I won't lie, it was nice to have the attention and he was more than attentive. I began to spend all of my free time with my former husband but I wasn’t really happy.
It had been weeks since I'd seen Severus when our paths crossed at a local vampire bar. I was running late as usual and breezed in, scanning the dark crowded room searching for Draven when our eyes met.
I thanked every god known in every realm that I'd dressed carefully that night. The royal blue of my form fitting dress set off my eyes and I knew that my legs looked long and stunning with the thigh high stockings peeking out from beneath the impossibly short hemline.
I tossed my long blonde hair over my shoulder, smirking at his reaction as I swayed my hips on my way to the bar. Leaning over to give him the perfect view of my backside I spoke softly to the bartender who pointed me in the direction of my companion for the night.
As I casually crossed the room, I saw the small dark haired woman join him, her eyes following his to me. I could feel her hatred instantly and wiggled my fingers at them both. I nearly burst out laughing when she asked him who I was and he informed her I was an old friend. Her envy and jealousy was evident as she shot daggers at me with her look.
As I reached Draven, he bent to kiss my cheek and glanced over at the demon with a smug smile. Rage filled me as Sev flooded the bond with his disapproval of my date. Brushing it off I chose to act as if I'd never felt it and carried on with my night as usual but we both knew that nothing was normal about that night.
It wasn’t long before things began heating up with my former husband and we'd decided to become exclusive. The gossip around town was that Sev and his witch were hot and heavy and the rumor mill was abuzz with the fact that the demon was settling down.
I did my best to ignore the gossip and carry on with my life as if Severus had never meant anything to me at all. But as they say, the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and that was true even for vampires.
A little over three months after our last night together I bumped into him at a party. Both of us were alone, our significant others b
eing otherwise engaged for the night. We were polite and spoke briefly and I excused myself before I acted on the urges that bubbled forth whenever I was near him.
It wasn't long before I found him standing next to me again and this time I couldn't resist touching him. My hand rested on his arm as we spoke in hushed tones and I could feel that old familiar pull to him. If I'd had a heart that beat, it would have been racing.
As he leaned close and his breath caressed my ear, he whispered his desires to me. With a quick scan of the room, I gave a nod and sent him the mental picture of the room I was heading for, and walked away from him without a glance back.