Passions

by Bitikofer,Sheritta

  “Is there anything I can get for you?” he asked.

  Chloe wondered about that for a while. She wanted to check her phone and laptop for any messages. Her mother may have called sometime in the last few days and might have been just as worried as Gavin.

  Or, she could ask for a book out of one of the many boxes and have Gavin read to her while she dozed off again. Then again, sleep seemed like a tempting idea.

  But instead, she replied, “Can you join me?”

  Gavin blinked back the puzzlement and his eyes roamed up and down the length of the bed. “I beg your pardon?”

  Chloe felt a warm blush rise to her cheeks. Had she asked the wrong thing? They’d shared an intimate kiss, and he’d sent her spiraling into a cycle of longing twice already, and yet, lying next to her in a bed was a foreign concept all of a sudden?

  “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she corrected quickly. “I was just… I don’t know what I was thinking.”

  Chloe pressed her chilled palm to her forehead and clamped her eyes shut in embarrassment.

  “No, no,” he replied. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it to come across that way. I…” he sighed. “The last time I was in a bed with a woman, I was with my wife.”

  Chloe waved her hand at him but couldn’t bear to see the look on his face. “No, I totally get it. Just forget I said anything.”

  How could she have been so insensitive? Of course, he would have apprehensions about climbing under the covers with her. If she weren’t such an invalid, she would crawl away in shame.

  All she wanted was to be closer to him, to feel him near and know that everything would be alright. But she’d have to settle with distance for the time being. Evidently, their relationship wasn’t as deep as she originally thought. They were both still struggling with hurts, and it would take time. Chloe just wished it wouldn’t take so long.

  Gavin grabbed her outstretched hand and kissed the heel of her palm, his lips like silk against her skin added to the scratchy texture of the stubble of his chin against her fingers.

  “Just get some rest, Chloe.”

  With her eyes still closed, she nodded and let her head fall to one side. Sleep came astonishingly swiftly.

  Chapter 19

  When Chloe awoke next, her senses were met with something strange. She could tell it was still night time. Even the blackout curtains couldn’t block out all of the sun, and she couldn’t see any stripes of light across the walls or hardwood floor.

  The lamp was still on by her side, but the room felt empty and void. Gavin wasn’t there, the chair at her bedside vacant.

  But what was even stranger was the aroma that filled the cabin. The air was permeated with the scent of spices and of cooking meat. She could even hear the faint sizzle of a frying pan coming from downstairs.

  Her body wasn’t nearly as sore as it had been when she last remembered, but her limbs were still stiff from being in bed for so long. She pushed back the heavy quilt and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Her feet were covered in a pair of warm wool socks, no doubt slipped on by Gavin himself, so the task of shuffling across the floor proved easier.

  Supporting herself against the wall and railing, Chloe made her way down the stairs. The living room and kitchen were lit, illuminating a very peculiar sight in the kitchen.

  Gavin was there by the stove, his long sleeves rolled up past his elbows, and both of his hands were busily stirring a few pork medallions around in an oily cast iron skillet. Steam wafted up from the pan, carrying the delicious smells to her at the foot of the stairs.

  She could see a pot of boiling water on one of the back eyes, and past the hanging towels on the handle, she could see the oven light was on. The counter was littered with spice bottles and the usual mess that comes with cooking.

  A smiled as she watched him cook. She didn’t even care what he was preparing. It was just too adorable to see him try.

  Gavin looked up from the cast iron pan, and his eyebrows shot up as if he were surprised to see her standing there. After setting down the rubber spatula and pan, he hurried towards her, taking bounding steps across the length of the house.

  “Are you well?” he asked. “You shouldn’t be up so soon.” He took her by both elbows to support her, even though she was perfectly able to stand by herself.

  To have him so close, touching her, and his scent mingling with that of sizzling pork, it was heaven.

  Chloe loved how he was fussing over her, and she shook her head. “I feel fine,” she replied laughingly. “What are you making?”

  Gavin glanced over his shoulder. “I found a recipe book in the cabinets and picked a few of the dishes you marked with the color tabs. I hope you don’t mind.”

  How could she ever mind anything he did for her? She grinned, her cheeks aching. “No, I don’t mind one bit.”

  Gavin broke into a beaming smile and led her to the sofa. “I’m almost finished if you can wait a few minutes more.”

  She nodded and settled herself down on one of the cushions, curling her legs up behind her. Gavin retreated back into the kitchen and resumed his task under her watchful eye.

  “I thought you said you couldn’t cook,” she said.

  “I did,” he called back over the hissing of cooking juices. “But the recipe is fairly simple, so I figured I’d have a go at it.”

  “I’m so proud of you,” Chloe giggled. Her tone was teasing, but the words were sincere.

  She watched as he flitted around the kitchen, cleaning up messes here and putting away things there, all the while monitoring the meal at the stove. He didn’t move at lightning speed as she half expected him to, but Gavin strode from one end of the kitchen to the other with an efficient stride. He reminded her of a chef operating in his natural habitat of a bustling kitchen.

  Taking a deep breath, she asked, “So, your wife did all the cooking?”

  Posing such a question was like shooting herself in the foot. Not only was she bringing up a time before he was a vampire, which may have caused unwanted flashbacks, but also, Chloe was reminding him of his late wife. Even though she was dead, Chloe felt slightly jealous and threatened by this woman’s memory. She had the one thing that Chloe never had. His wife was his first; his first love, his first wife, the mother of his first child. And Chloe was just a girl who happened to be at the right place at the right time. Yes, Gavin said he wanted Chloe now, but it would take a while before she fully replaced his late wife, if she could be replaced at all.

  “Yes, she did. Janette loved to cook. Or, more specifically, bake. Roland loved her Eccles cakes in the morning for breakfast. If we didn’t watch him carefully, he’d eat them until he became sick.”

  Despite the obvious fondness he displayed for his former family, Chloe smiled. “What are Eccles cakes?”

  Gavin turned to her, spatula in one hand and a dishrag in the other, and a sparkle in his gorgeous green eyes. “Oh, they’re fantastic little pastries. They’re like little rolls filled with currants and topped with butter and sugar. Janette didn’t get to make them often because the cost of making the filling was quite exorbitant for our income, but they were a treat to have when we could afford them.”

  Chloe felt a pang of bitter jealousy again. The way he spoke his wife’s name, with as much tenderness as he spoke hers, was almost unbearable.

  “Perhaps I can try and make them for you sometime.”

  Gavin smiled and nodded. “I’d like that.” Then he turned back to cooking.

  Chloe wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say. Yes, she wanted to prove that she could be just as good as Janette had been, but what use was there in competing with her? Would it even matter?

  She angled herself away from the kitchen and stared at the fireplace. It was now clean of ashes, probably dumped out by Gavin sometime while she was unconscious. Chloe half wished that he would prepare another fire like he had on that night that felt so long ago.

  Wrapping her arms around her stomach,
she felt the coarse bandages on her wrist. Chloe fingered the gauze, thinking about the nights that would follow. There were many things to discuss, but she had no idea where to begin.

  Gavin came in and presented her with a dinner plate and cup of hot coffee. She graciously took them and sipped the scalding liquid to find that it was perfectly sweetened with her usual dosage of sugar and cream.

  When she turned to thank him, Gavin was already in the kitchen again, cleaning up the dishes and putting away the excess food in the refrigerator.

  Looking down at her plate, Chloe saw a slab of seasoned pork chop accompanied by a side of boiled cabbage and baked apples that seemed to be generously smothered in cinnamon and sugar.

  Taking up her fork, she tasted each dish. The apples were superb, though she suspected that he had probably mistaken the initials for teaspoon as tablespoon and applied far too much seasoning. The cabbage was adequate, though it lacked the extra helping of salt that she normally added.

  Chloe was the wariest about the pork chops for one specific reason, and after one bite, her suspicions were confirmed.

  “I noticed you didn’t add garlic,” she stated.

  Gavin went still in the kitchen. “Yes, well, I wasn’t sure how I would react to cooking with it.”

  Chloe nodded, completely understanding his apprehension on the matter. She would have been nervous, too.

  “So, you have no idea how garlic affects you?” she asked with a mouthful of moist apple slices.

  “I detest the smell, but otherwise, I don’t know.”

  Chloe tilted her head. "But I thought when you drank Terrance's blood, you learned all that he knew?"

  Gavin leaned his hip against the counter and shook his head. "All I know is that it's something vampires should steer clear of. Terrance was careful enough to adhere to that rule, so I have no idea how it will affect me."

  She nodded again and used her knife to cut off another piece of meat. “We should probably find out at some point.”

  Gavin didn’t reply but continued to move around the kitchen. She heard pots, pans, and utensils all clanging together before the sound of running sink water drowned out almost everything else.

  She recognized the meal he prepared, but it still wasn’t as good as what her mother had made when she was younger. The dish she remembered was all baked together in one pan rather than separate. Not even Chloe could make it the same way her mother did so long ago. If her parents ever came for Thanksgiving, she’d have to add groveling to her list of things to do with them so that her mother would make this same dish. And hopefully, by then, Gavin would be able to enjoy it, as well.

  She shoveled the food into her mouth, feeling the ravenous hunger take hold. Even if it was totally bland and tasteless, Chloe would eat it.

  Gavin finished the dishes and wiped down the counters before returning to the living room. He flopped down beside her on the sofa and propped his feet up on the coffee table. He wasn’t wearing shoes, she noticed. However, his feet were clad in the same wool socks that hers were. Same color, same pattern.

  “Are you wearing my socks?” she asked incredulously.

  Gavin glanced between her face and his feet. “No, not at all. Your aunt gifted these to me years ago.”

  Chloe blinked. “They look just like mine.”

  “Did Mary Anne give you wool socks, too?”

  Thinking about it, she nodded. “You know what? I think she did.” Chloe extended her short legs and gripped the edge of the coffee table with her toes to display her own socks. Sure enough, they looked identical.

  “Maybe my aunt bought yours at the same time she bought mine,” she remarked. What a strange thing it was to share something so simple with Gavin; a pair of socks given to each of them by the same person.

  “I doubt she ever thought these socks would be in the same room together again.”

  They stared at each other’s feet, flexing their toes and rolling their ankles like silly children. Gavin bumped his foot against hers, and she giggled.

  “You know what I’ve been thinking about?” she said. “What if my aunt really did think they would? She made me the heir to this cabin, knowing full well that you were here. She must have wanted us to meet.”

  Gavin nuzzled his toes against hers. “That might suggest she truly believed I was real. Did she know about what was going on in Atlanta?”

  Chloe shook her head. “Probably not; not unless my mom told her. I hadn’t talked to my aunt in a long time. Now I’ll never get to.”

  A hesitant but strong arm wrapped around Chloe’s shoulder and drew her in close to him. She breathed in his scent, his clothes slightly aromatic with the odors of residual spices and herbs from cooking. Still, he smelt glorious.

  She sighed and nestled into his shoulder, letting her cheek rest against his collarbone while her nose burrowed into the base of his neck.

  Silence ruled over the living room for the longest time, and Chloe felt as if she might go to sleep to the gentle caresses of his foot against hers until he spoke again.

  His voice was thick with emotion. “Perhaps Mary Anne wanted us to meet because she knew she couldn’t be there for us.”

  Chloe opened her eyes. “What do you mean?”

  “If your aunt knew you were going through troubles, she wasn’t the type of individual to intrude into your personal matters. And with myself, she couldn’t help me through the detox process. And when she moved to Savannah, Mary Anne might have thought that we could do some good for one another. That is if she recanted her beliefs that I truly did not exist.”

  Chloe understood his logic. They could do for each other what her aunt could never do herself. It made sense. How such a woman could think ahead so well was beyond her.

  “So,” she began cautiously, “does that mean we still want you to be human?”

  Gavin shifted to look at her with bewilderment. “Of course. Why wouldn’t we?”

  Chloe shrugged and wiggled closer, their knees nearly touching. “I don’t know. We just rushed into it last time without a lot of planning. After the fourth day, how will I protect myself if the worst should happen? And then, what about the seventh day? Who’s to say that you won’t be a raving madman? And how do we know it will even work? What if it kills you?”

  Gavin edged away from her and shifted in such a way so that he faced her completely. Taking her face between his hands, he gazed into her eyes with a fierce determination. “It will work. I have every confidence that it will. As for the dangers, we will figure something out.”

  She could have drowned in his eyes, so warm and beautiful. Her heart rose up in her chest, and despite her mild fatigue, she wanted to throw herself at him and let come whatever may happen.

  “You still want to be human?” she asked breathlessly.

  Gavin bent his forehead against hers. “I want to be with you.” His breath was sweet and intoxicating.

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  He smirked. “But that’s my answer. As I am now, I feel we could never be together in the ideal way. If I were human, we could.” The corners of his lips fell a bit. “Unless you’re having second thoughts.”

  Chloe clasped her hands over his and squeezed his fingers together. “No, not second thoughts. I just don’t want us to rush into it again. We need to be more prepared.”

  Gavin tried to move away, but Chloe refused to let him. Breaking free of his hold, she leaned forward and kissed his lips. Such a kiss, she hoped, would prove to him that she was still committed, still willing to help him through the change and be there as his partner.

  She knew that he had specifically requested they never kiss this way again. It was dangerous, given what happened the first time they gave into their mutual passion. But she didn't care. There was no hunger in him to tempt him now.

  He kissed back with equal passion and tangled his fingers in her hair behind her head. His thumb glided along the edge of her jaw. Chloe felt the kiss warm and soothe her frazzled and aching
nerves, centralizing it all to the one place he had never touched. Yet.

  But before they could get carried away, Gavin had enough clarity of mind to pull away. Chloe shuddered as their lips slowly disconnected, brushing against one another like the waves of the ocean receding from the sandy shore.

  Gavin gave her one more short, but mollifying, kiss and let her fall against his chest with a sigh. She never wanted to move from this spot, not even if judgment day were raging outside. The sky could catch on fire for all she cared as long as Gavin stayed locked in her embrace.

  His hand passed down her slightly matted and oily hair in long strokes that would have soothed a wild mountain lion. Chloe closed her eyes and let sleep take her once more.

  Chapter 20

  Chloe stood with her hands on her hips, smiling smugly down at her meager collection scattered across the coffee table. Now, fully recovered from the blood transfusion, she was ready to begin the detox again with Gavin. All he needed to do was come upstairs and they could get started.

  She heard the hatch door in the kitchen rise as Gavin dragged himself up the steps to emerge. She turned and gave him the warmest, encouraging smile she could muster. The easiest way to give a cat a bath was to make it feel like they weren’t going to take a bath at all.

  But after one look, she could tell that Gavin wasn’t fooled. He raised an eyebrow and looked her up and down. He was as handsome as usual in a pair of worn out jeans and hunter green shirt that matched his eyes almost perfectly.

  Sometimes, she wondered if he thought anything of her flannel plaid pajamas. At least now, she had taken a shower and looked more presentable as compared to the last few days. However, Gavin may not have cared in the least about Chloe’s appearance. He had seen her a total mess, and he’d seen her all dolled up for a night out, and he was still undeniably attracted to her.

  “What’s going on?” he asked warily.

  She dropped her arms to her sides and knew the game was up before it even started. “I’m feeling much better today, and I thought we could start on preparations for the detox.” She tried to keep her tone hopeful.