Bloodlines Read online

Chapter 3 Some Secrets Are Just Hard to Keep

 

  The sun had set outside, but a nearby streetlamp cast a reddish light through Teren's open windows, bathing everything in his room with an almost fire lit glow. I stood, biting my lip and wondering if I really should stay where he told me to, or if I should investigate as well. I knew I wouldn't be able to pinpoint the mysterious sound like Teren could, but I was pretty handy in bad situations, if that's what this was.

  A knot tightened in my stomach and I started to worry about him. Sure, he was stronger now than before his conversion, and he was much harder to kill, since he could now do the super-healy thing that I'd been so eager to see when we was alive, but he wasn't invincible. And we knew with certainty that there were whack jobs out there who wanted him removed from this world, just because of what he was. Some people couldn't look past the prejudices.

  Shivering and rubbing my bare arms, I walked over to his closet and pulled down one of his dress shirts. It was long on me, completely covering my backside and hitting my legs mid-thigh, and cut the slight coldness in the air considerably. I glanced around his closet (that I'd soon be taking over) and looked for anything weapon-like. All I saw were clothes; Teren really didn't have much in the way of self defense.

  I tiptoed back to the bedroom, not sure why I was being quiet, but feeling the need to be that way anyway. The red-orange light of the lamp outside flashed on various hard objects around the room - the TV remote, a particularly thick book he was reading on his nightstand, his laptop sitting on a chair tucked under his window. I didn't see anything great, but if we were going down tonight, we going down swinging. I settled on an umbrella propped up by his bathroom door and grabbed it. With a hand on my stomach, I decided that I'd do what my vampire fiance had requested of me, and stay put, for the children's sake. I backed into the bathroom, wanting an easier to defend spot and crouched low, holding my cheap umbrella like it was a sturdy baseball bat.

  I don't know how long I waited, but it felt like an eternity. Teren could search every nook and cranny of this house in a matter of minutes, so the longer I waited, the longer I was positive something horrible had happened to him. As time ticked ominously by and my legs started protesting the rigid posture I was keeping them in, tears started stinging my eyes. It couldn't end like this. I couldn't have just made love to him and then lost him, all in a matter of moments. He was supposed to be mine forever. That was the deal. We were fated. We were destined to a long life of love, happiness, children and grandchildren. That was what getting through his hard changeover meant for us - that we were free to love each other peacefully, for the rest of my life. Not for him to be whisked away from me forever because he "heard something".

  I felt the tears brimming as my overactive imagination started playing out the different scenarios where some intruder had gotten the best of him. In my head, I watched him die a hundred times over. I felt the tears travel down my cheeks as I listened for any sounds that he was okay.

  Just as my arms were starting to shake from the tension I was maintaining in them, the bathroom door started to swing open. Panic and fear made me cock back my makeshift weapon and I swung it around as soon as the figure walked into my sanctuary. In my self-riled turmoil, I didn't even register who I was swinging at until he reached up and calmly grabbed the stupidly fragile umbrella. It bent a little as he yanked it out of my hands.

  "What are you doing, Emma?"

  Teren was standing right in front of me, half-dressed and tilting his head at me, like he thought I'd possibly gone mental in his absence. As I felt a sob rise in my throat, I started to believe that maybe I had gone mental. I brought my hands to my face, relief mixing with the icy edge of fear still lingering in my system. His eyes widened at seeing me on the verge of breaking down and he instantly had me in his arms, swooping me up to cradle me like a child.

  "Baby, it's okay. You're okay. You're okay. " He repeated it over and over while he walked me back to his bed. A hand continuously stroked down my back while he placed dozens of kisses along my forehead. I held back the stupid tears, but they were coming regardless. He laid me down and got in next to me. I embarrassingly cinched him tight when he moved to cover me with his blankets. Once I was safe and cocooned in his bed, my arms firmly around him, his hands came up to my cheeks. Sweeping his thumbs over them, trying to dry my concerned tears, his face took on a look of confused compassion. "Emma?" he whispered.

  Between hiccups and stuttered breaths, I managed to get out, "I thought. . . something. . . happened. . . to you. "

  Understanding, he swept me into a tight embrace, his hands rubbing over my back again. "Oh god, I'm sorry, Emma. " He pulled back, searching my eyes. "I'm fine, baby. Okay?"

  I nodded, willing my body to calm down. Before I could protest or stop him, he blindingly fast hopped out of bed and securely closed his heavy curtains. The room blackened as he held me in his arms again. He kept his eyes open, staring deep into mine, and the phosphorescent glow on the whites of his eyes became brighter as the room slowly became darker. That was another vampire effect - the glowing eyes. It was only apparent if they were somewhere really dark, say hunting their prey late at night, and had an almost hypnotic-like calming effect, to relax that prey into submission, as if they needed the extra help getting humans to submit to their power.

  It did have a calming influence though and my mind started blanking as that light absorbed me into his peace. I felt my heart even and my breath slow to the low and long ones people take while they're sleeping. I was so relaxed, that if he had told me to close my eyes and go to sleep, I probably would have. But he didn't try any hypnotic parlor tricks on me - he knew better than that. Instead he twisted to turn on the lamp on his nightstand.

  "Better?" he asked, as I blinked in the sudden brightness.

  Taking in his back to normal blue eyes, I nodded. "Yes, sorry I freaked out. "

  He shook his head and kissed my nose. "I'm sorry I worried you. I just thought I heard. . . " His voice drifted off and he bit his lip. After a second he shook his head and sighed softly. "I must have been hearing things though. " He shrugged. "I searched everywhere, inside and outside, but I couldn't find anything. . . out of place. " He shrugged again and held me close, cradling my head to his chest. "I'm so sorry I worried you, Emma. "

  I nodded against his skin, amazed at how quickly I'd imagined the worst. "You didn't do anything wrong, Teren. I guess I'm still a little. . . frazzled. . . by what happened to us. " I said that last part barely above a whisper, hating to even talk about it.

  He pulled away from me, resting his forehead against mine. "I would never. . . let anyone harm you, Emma. You or the kids. Ever. " He practically growled that and I relaxed as the strength in his voice gave me confidence. He wouldn't, and things were different now. He was different - stronger, and any hunter we encountered here on out, would have their hands full with Teren Adams.

  I leaned up and gave him a soft kiss. "I know, baby. I feel safe with you. " I whispered, as I laid my head back down on his chest.

  "And you are safe with me," he whispered as I closed my eyes.

  My earlier exhaustion crept up on me and, adding it to my emotionally draining last few moments, I was half-asleep when I responded with, "I know. . . "

  Then I was fully asleep.

  The next morning had me awaking with the scratchy stubble of Teren's jaw rubbing against my neck as he kissed me. He whispered that he had to go to work, but I could stay and sleep in a little if I wanted, since he'd run to my house and picked up some stuff for me. . . including another pair of underwear. I chuckled, thinking about last night and considering the fact that when he said "run", he probably meant that literally.

  With a swift kiss, we parted ways for the day. Teren worked an hour before me and was a much nicer alarm clock than I'd had yesterday. I smiled as I stretched out on his luxurious bed and considered what waking up like this every day would be like.

&
nbsp; After awhile, I got up and walked to the bathroom, still dressed in Teren's shirt. Flashes of freaking out in this bathroom came to me and I tried to push it back to the farthest part of my brain. As strong as I tried to be, what had happened to us had been traumatic and the side effects still showed themselves sometimes. I knew I wasn't alone either. As strong as Teren tried to be, when he said things like he had last night, the conviction in his voice betrayed his true fear. He was worried that he would let me down, that he wouldn't be able to stop someone from hurting me again. In a way, I suppose he felt like he'd let me down before. I didn't feel that way. There's no way either one of us could have been prepared for what that maniac had put us through.

  I dressed for my day, smiling at the rose Teren had placed upon my stack of fresh clothes, and shaking my head at the tiny scraps of fabric he'd picked out for my undergarments. Still shaking my head, I put on the red thong with its matching demi-bra and garter belts (that's right, he picked out garter belts) and covered up all the sexiness with a relatively chaste looking long gray skirt and fitted black blouse. Fixing my hair and makeup, I was on the road, snacking on a bagel, in no time.

  My day at work was as exhausting as my first day back, with Tracey asking more questions about life on a ranch, which, I gave her pretty honest answers about, since the day to day activities there really had nothing supernatural about them. As we conversed throughout the day, I considered telling her about the wedding. I imagined how excited she'd be, and how much of a help she'd be in the whole planning process. Of course, she'd be a bridesmaid and of course, she'd have an opinion on the dress. I held off though, wanting to tell my family first, and since tonight was our weekly dinner, I'd have the perfect opportunity to tell them.

  I spent the rest of my shift daydreaming about dresses and flowers and Teren's magnificent body all decked out in a tux. Before I knew it, Clarice was grunting some sort of a goodbye, murmuring that she wished I'd get caught up already, and Tracey was calling out goodnight and telling me to say hi to my sister for her.

  I called my sister before I left, making sure tonight was still on and letting her know that Teren would be late. She knew the real reason why he wouldn't be joining us for a meal, she knew exactly what Teren was, but she also lived with our mother and could let Mom know for me, thus sparing me a direct lie. As I pulled into the cafe a short while later, I called Teren, letting him know I was here and meeting with everyone, and telling him I wished he was here too.

  He shared my sentiment and told me he'd wait an hour or so and then join us. I sighed as I hung up the phone with him and cracked open my car door. It wasn't that I couldn't handle being without him for an evening or anything, I just liked having him around, and wished he could partake in things that normal guys could, like dinners with the in-laws.

  The hostess greeted me by name, told me she was glad I was back, and then actually gave me a brief hug. My family had been coming here for awhile and everyone knew us. I smiled that my absence over the past few weeks had been noticed, and I'd been missed.

  I'd beaten my mom and sister to the cafe, so she ushered me back to our usual table and set me up with a glass of water while I waited. I sighed and took a long drink of my water, suddenly feeling parched. My eyes aching, I leaned my head back on the cushion of the bench seat and listened to the soothing jazz playing softly in the background.

  I felt the cushion beside me compress and opened my eyes as I turned my head. "Rise and shine, sleepy. " A horrifically scarred face smiled warmly at me and an ache went through me at how long I'd gone without seeing that face.

  "Hey, Ash. " I exclaimed as I hugged her eagerly.

  My arms wrapped around her body and I noticed, but immediately ignored, the hard sections of her skin where the scarring on her face was continued. She had a lot of scarring, most of her body really. She'd barely managed to survive a horrid fire as a child, a fire that our father hadn't survived. The effects of that were lasting ones, even after dozens of surgeries, but her physical appearance was only that - physical. It did nothing to dampen her spirit or dissuade her of her dream of being a nurse in the burn unit, to help others go through what she'd painfully gone through. She was in her second year of school and nothing would keep her from that goal - not the stares, not the whispers, and not the lack of a love life. But, as she pulled apart from me and I saw the glow in her eyes, the same warm brown as mine, I couldn't help but see what Teren had very correctly informed me of once - she was happy. Despite all that life had thrown at her, she was happy.

  "I missed you," I said softly, as I ran a hand down the side of her head that could still grow hair. That hair matched my color too. I couldn't help but think that we'd be near twins if her scars were gone.

  She snuggled into my side. "I missed you too. "

  A plump, happy looking woman took the seat opposite us and beamed at her daughters. I beamed right back at her, missing her just as much as I'd missed my sister. Phone calls were great and all, but it wasn't the same as being in the same room with someone, and I was used to seeing these two at least weekly, if not more. I reached out and grabbed her hand, thinking that her graying hair had gone a little grayer in my absence.

  "We missed you, honey. How was the ranch?" Her eyes lit up at the romantic notion she probably had of life on a working ranch. I thought about the time I'd scraped off dead skin from between a cow's toes, but decided to not burst her idyllic picture.

  "It was great Mom, and Teren's dad is doing so much better. "

  She leaned back and grinned at me, pride clear on her face as she thought about her daughter stoically helping out an ill man and his young wife. I felt a little guilty that my mom had to be told the cover story, but she didn't know the truth and couldn't know it. Unlike my sister, she wouldn't handle the fact of me with a vampire very well. She was a mom, and she'd always be a mom, and I didn't want her hair going even grayer over constantly worrying over my safety. And even though, I could now agree that her fears were justified ones, letting her in on the secret would only hurt her. In this case, the lie was better, so I slapped a grin on my face and committed myself to telling it.

  We talked about the aspects I could talk about, while our usual waitress, Debby, came up and joined our conversation. Everyone laughed and enjoyed my stories. A general "aah" went over the crowd as I reminisced about Teren helping a cow deliver her calf. Tears may have sprung up as I thought back to that night a couple weeks ago. Not over him birthing cattle, although that had been awfully sweet. . . gross, but sweet. No, my tears were over the tiny growing babies in my belly, and the thought of Teren helping to birth them. At least he'd have experience.

  As Debby left with our food orders - and I'd shockingly ordered something other than my standard Panini, which had caused a moment of stunned silence to go around our group, the conversation drifted back to Teren. As my mom asked what had held him up at work, I gave her a vague response of "a deadline". Since he worked for a magazine, that excuse came in awful handy, even though I don't think Teren had ever been under the gun for a deadline in his life. He was. . . fast.

  We all dug into our food when it arrived moments later. My stomach rumbled at the heaping plate of pasta before me and then it churned for just a second. I inhaled slowly through my nose, staring at a circular stain in the table to distract myself. I could not throw up here; that would certainly raise some questions. And as Ashley was seated on the edge of the bench and her scarred body wouldn't be able to scoot out of the way quick enough, if I was going to vomit, I was going to do it right here at the table. I closed my eyes at that thought and begged my body to return to normal.

  "Are you alright, Emma?" My mother asked from across the table.

  I made myself open my eyes and look at her confidently. I was sure I was paler, but I hoped my smile was distracting enough that she wouldn't notice. "Of course, Mom. " I also made myself pick up my fork and dig into the food, even though my stomach was warning me not to.
Praying I wasn't making a tactical error, I swallowed a huge mouthful.

  Mom nodded and went back to her omelet, continuing on with a story about her friend's daughter running off with a married man. I listened to her story, concentrating on the sounds of the words, and eventually my stomach stopped protesting. Then, as if something had switched inside me, my stomach became ravenous and I inhaled my food noisily. Mom and Ash both cocked an eyebrow at me and blushing slightly, I murmured, "I missed lunch. "

  Moments later our plates were taken away and we relaxed with cups of coffee. Well, two cups of coffee. Having given up coffee treats when I'd been trying to get pregnant, I was now more partial to hot chocolate. Sipping our beverages and chatting about Ashley's school load, we were distracted by a squeal down the aisle. We all turned to look and my mouth fell open as my heart shifted into overdrive.

  Teren had just shown up and Debby was thrilled to see him. Personally, I think she was always a little too thrilled to see him, especially considering that she was married, but what had me full on alarmed was the fact that she had thrown her arms around him like she hadn't seen him in ten years. All I could think was - 'she's touching him. . . she'll know. '

  Feeling panicked and on edge, I started to stand at the table. My stomach rose right into my throat when after squealing how great it was to see him, she proclaimed, "Boy, but you're cold. "

  I unconsciously tried to squeak past my sister in an attempt to free him from Debby's grasp. In my nerve-heightened state, I didn't even realize I was squishing her, I was only aware of something getting in-between him and me.

  "Emma, ow. " I heard Ashley's voice say that, but my gaze was locked on Teren.

  My mother's firm voice broke through my panic. "Oh, Emma, sit down. You know Debby's a flirt, but Teren wouldn't do anything with her. . . see. "

  I glanced down at Mom staring over her shoulder at Teren and Debby. My gaze drifted back up to Teren and our overeager waitress, and I could see what Mom meant. Teren had successfully separated himself from her and was laughing slightly as he gave her a playful warning gesture with his finger. Feeling a little stupid at my overreaction, I slowly sat back down into my seat as he slipped around the boisterous woman.

  Mom and Ashley stood to greet him and I tensed again; more people were about to touch him. With a dazzling smile and apologies for being late, he gave my mom an oh-so-brief hug before engulfing Ashley in a long bear hug. Mom accepted her brief hug and smiled widely at his show of affection for Ashley. Teren had a natural kinship with the disfigured woman and their connection was a deep one. Ash also knew that he had died, so he could touch her for as long as he wanted. . . within reason, of course.

  I relaxed as everybody broke apart and started to sit back down. So much for my silent promise to not worry so much about him. Oh well, tomorrow is always another shot. Ash shifted to sit with Mom and Teren sat by my side, leaning close to kiss my cheek and whisper his agreement to my silent goal. "Stop stressing. . . it's not good for the babies. "

  I bit my lip and giggled, reflexively putting a hand on my stomach. He laughed with me and grabbed my free hand, interlacing our fingers. I heard Mom sigh and I looked across the table at her. "You two are so. . . " she sighed again and lightly shook her head. "True love. . . . it's so nice to see. It reminds me of my own. "

  I swallowed after she said that and looked down. She meant her and my dad. Even though he had been gone for years, over ten of them, she still considered herself married to him. She even still wore the wedding ring. I'd already given up on trying to convince her that Dad would be fine if she moved on. She just wasn't interested.

  Teren squeezed my hand while Mom asked him if he was hungry. I looked up at him as he shook his head and met eyes with my mom. "No, thank you. I slurped down a quick meal earlier. " He grinned crookedly after he said that and flashed a quick glance at Ashley. She giggled a little into her hand. Mom shrugged and let it go, not understanding what he really meant by that.

  I shook my head and discreetly rolled my eyes. We settled into small talk, with Mom asking him even more questions about the ranch, and I started to get a little antsy. I didn't want to make small talk about ranch life, now that he was here. I wanted to tell them. I wanted to finally let everyone know we were engaged and getting married within a month.

  Teren, maybe super sensing my growing irritability, shifted the conversation for me. Placing our laced hands on the table and looking at me adoringly, he calmly said, "Since we're all together again, Emma and I have some news. "

  I glanced at my mom and sister, who both looked equally confused and intrigued, and cleared my throat. Teren didn't expand on his sentence, only tenderly stroked the back of my hand with his thumb and continued to gaze at me lovingly, letting me break the news to my family. Mom and Ash shifted their gazes to me accordingly. "Well," I looked at each one, savoring the moment and feeling tears well up as I did. "Teren and I are getting married," I whispered.

  My mom practically erupted in her joy. Her hands reached out for me and she engulfed me in as much of a hug as she could across the table. My sister clenched Teren's arm and told us both congratulations. My mother's theatrics got the attention of Debby and she sauntered back to see what the fuss was about. With tears dripping down her cheeks, Mom told her that I was getting married. The way she put it, Teren was almost inconsequential - it was her daughter's wedding - and I couldn't help but grin at Mom's happiness.

  Debby smiled, a little halfheartedly if you asked me, and congratulated us. Offering a round of wine on the house, I politely, but firmly told her no. Joking around, she muttered, "What? You pregnant, honey. "

  I bit my lip and felt my cheeks go bright red. I started shaking my head no, trying to laugh off the question, but I hadn't been expecting someone to ask that just now and I was a little thrown. Teren squeezed my hand and looked at me curiously, maybe wondering if I wanted this bit shared or not. I looked back at him, not sure what I wanted either.

  Finally, Mom broke the building tension. "Oh my god, you are!" I looked back at her, denial ready on my lips, but tears had started streaming down my cheeks and a huge smile had broken out on my face. I heard Ashley gasp beside her and Teren started to lightly chuckle. I hadn't even really had a chance to refute the accusation yet.

  Sputtering on any sort of coherent refusal, I ended up sighing and saying, "That's not why we're getting married. " My mom brought her hands to her face and Ashley's mouth dropped wide open. Both of their eyes dropped to where my stomach was hidden under the table and I started chuckling. Debby congratulated us again and went off in search of some sparkling cider to celebrate.

  Mom and Ash were still dazed when she left. I cocked an eyebrow at their odd, silent reactions. "Mom? You. . . okay?" I asked slowly. I always thought Mom would be a little shocked, but okay with it. Her silence was starting to unnerve me.

  Finally she dropped her hands and stood up. "Get over here, I need to hug you. "

  Ashley came out of her startlement and stood up, crying now as well. Teren got out of the women's way, a small smile on his face as he stepped back from the table, and my sister attacked me when I stood up. "I can't believe you made it in time," she whispered in my ear. I nodded into her shoulder, disbelieving it as well. A sob escaped me when she rubbed my back and said, "I'm so happy for you, Emma. "

  I could only tearfully nod again as she pulled away, and then Mom was engulfing me. I had to take a step back at the ferociousness of it. She started sobbing lightly and I laughed as I held her. "Mom, really, it's okay. "

  She pulled back and cupped my cheeks. "I know, dear. I'm just so happy for you, the both of you. " Her eyes flicked over to Teren and then back to mine. A huge grin broke across her face. "I can't believe I'm going to be a grandma!"

  She hugged me while Ashley gave Teren another hug and then she let me go, to hug him as well. This hug was not a brief one, as Teren firmly and warmly, wrapped his arms around my mom. When she pulled b
ack, she muttered, "Wow, you are cold," as she wiped her eyes. Then her focus was on me again and she didn't mention it again. Teren raised an eyebrow at me and I sighed that he was right, once again; no one was suspicious about his temperature.

  Debby found some cider and gave us each a glass. Taking one for herself, we all toasted Teren's and my new life together. I watched Teren secretly, as he faked taking a sip and then discretely poured some of his drink into a pot behind him. I smiled into my glass at his deception.

  "So you two crazy lovebirds, when's the wedding?" Debby asked as she finished her glass.

  I took the last sip of mine and shrugged. "December 19th. "

  Every female head in our congratulatory circle twisted to stare at me. "What?" They all said together.

  I looked at each one, not sure why they all looked more shocked now than when I'd admitted I was pregnant. "What?" I asked cautiously.

  They all looked at each other briefly and then Debby responded for the group. "You cannot plan a decent wedding in a month. Trust me on that. " Debby had been married a couple times, so I suppose she would know things like that.

  I smiled and shook my head, thinking that the majority of the details were probably already being handled by Teren's super-efficient family, a family that also had impeccable taste and would lavish me in a fairytale wedding that would outdo whatever I'd come up with. "It's fine. " I looked across at Teren and stretched out my hand for him, which he took with a smile. "Besides, we have a lot of help anyway. " I shrugged. "I'll practically only need to show up. "

  Before Debby could respond to that, my sister gave me a sly grin and added, "Yeah, and she wouldn't want to be all huge at her wedding anyway, so quicker probably is better. "

  Teren laughed at that and my hand snaked out to smack my sister's arm. "Thanks, Ash. " She grinned and laughed and then hugged me again.

  After sitting back down and talking about the wedding details and then the baby details and then more wedding details, I was finally yawning and exhausted, ready for bed. Teren put his arm around me as we all made our way out of the cafe. I smiled and nestled into his side as we followed Mom to her car to get his beloved pooch.

  We found Spike with his head out the window, panting merrily. The collie's entire body started vibrating with happiness when he saw Teren. Mom reluctantly opened the door and Teren clapped his hands once and squatted to Spike's level, calling his name. Spike dashed over to him. . . and then stopped. My heart started surging as I considered that Teren's temperature may not give him away, but his dog might. Collies were smart, and Spike could clearly tell that something was off about his owner. I wasn't entirely sure what he would do, but I pictured him biting Teren, leaving him with a vicious wound that my mom would want to inspect. I then imagined that wound healing right before her eyes. That. . . would not be good.

  Teren frowned as Spike stood a couple paces from him, sniffing the air and holding his shaggy body absolutely still. Mom started to walk towards the dog, but Ash held her hand out, stopping her. I wasn't sure, but Spike didn't look too friendly at the moment and he may lash out at her by mistake if she spooked him. And right now, all of his attention was on trying to piece together the new oddness of his master.

  Teren dropped to his knees and patted them, calling to Spike in a soothing voice. He looked a little worried, like maybe he'd lost his favorite pet. With obvious caution in his body, Spike leaned in with his nose, his foot slowly following. He did it a couple more times while Teren's encouragement picked up pace. Eventually he got close enough for Teren to lightly touch him. He flinched away from the contact for a second, and then his nose practically inhaled Teren's hand. After a moment or two, he gave him a soft lick, and then seemed to relax and leaned his slightly shaking body into Teren's. Teren wrapped him in a big hug, scuffing up his shaggy fur, his face elated that his pup hadn't rejected him. Spike in turn, had decided to give Teren a mini bath and was licking him profusely. I laughed at the sight of a boy and his dog.

  When everything with Spike seemed back to normal, Mom came up and stroked the slight curve of his tail. "Wow, I thought he was going to bite you for a second there. "

  Teren's face twitched, just fractionally, and then he pulled it into an effortless smile. "Yeah, I know. " Standing and scratching a joyous Spike's back he added, "It's like he's forgotten me already. He must really like you. Thank you for watching him for me. "

  Mom nodded, tears in her eyes as she gave Spike a last quick hug, and I shook my head, knowing that visits with Mom from now on would be as much about seeing Spike as it was seeing us. We waved to Mom and Ash as they took off together and then we piled Spike into Teren's car and planned to part ways.

  He frowned at me as I opened the door to my bug. "You are coming over, right?"

  I grinned and gave him a soft kiss. Glancing over at where Spike was barking at Teren in his closed up car, I playfully said, "Well, I'm not sure. I wouldn't want to interrupt anything between you two. "

  Teren rolled his eyes and slung his arms around my waist. "You preempt the dog. . . although he will probably want to sleep between us tonight. "

  He laughed and I bit my lip, watching his handsome, stubbly face in the orangish glow of the parking lot lights. The glow of his eyes was muted to near nothingness in the refracted light around us, but I could see it, or at least, I imagined I could see it. I pictured seeing it in its full glory in his dark bedroom and bit my lip harder.

  I leaned up to kiss him again. "Yes, I just need to run home and grab some stuff. " I pulled away and gave him a serious expression. "We really should get me moved in soon. "

  He smiled cockily at me and winked. "I could get you moved in, in a couple of hours. " He leaned in to whisper into my ear, his cool breath sending a shiver down my spine. "I'm really fast. "

  I giggled and released myself from his grasp. "True. " I let my eyes roam down his body, a little seductively, and I could see that he'd stopped faking his breathing by the time I reached his eyes again. "But you do know how to take your time too. " My voice was intentionally husky when I said that and his mouth dropped open a little. Inwardly, I smiled that I could still do that to him. Outwardly, I bit my lip again and kept up the foreplay.

  He took a step towards me, looking like he wanted to take me right here in the parking lot, and although it wouldn't be our first time having sex in a sort of public place, I was more in the mood for a nice, big private bed. I put a hand on his chest and stopped him, then quickly dropped down into my seat. He frowned and leaned on my door frame. "So, you'll be quick?" he asked, a little impatiently. I nodded and pulled on my door to close it. He stopped me at the last moment, cracking open the door. "And you'll. . . keep on what you're wearing now?"

  His lips curled into a devilish smile and I shook my head at how darn attractive he was. I also gave him a devilish smile right back as I pictured his delight in seeing me in the underwear he'd picked out this morning. "Oh, yes. " I tilted my head and leaned forward, he leaned in as well. "Although, I may come back with a little less on than before. "

  I wiggled a piece of my shirt and his eyes darted down to my body. "And you say I don't play fair," he muttered. I laughed and successfully managed to close my door.

  Once I got home, I packed the largest bag that I could pack quickly and trudged it back to my car in record time. When I showed up at his door a half hour later, I surprised him by doing what I said I'd do. While he blurred my bag away to his room, I slipped my coat off and hung it up in his entryway closet. When he blurred back down, he nearly fell over (which made me happier than I should probably admit), and openly stared at my body, only clothed in black high heels and the racy little red number that he'd picked out that morning. His eyes drifted from my breasts to my heels and then locked onto the garter belts. They stayed there for a total of five seconds, and then he snatched me up and blurred me away to that monstrously comfortable bed.