She was famished. She ate the food, while watching a chick flick movie on TV, hoping the movie would settle her stress levels. She didn’t know where Tristan was or if he could feel her or not but she was okay and didn’t want to send him a message that said she wasn’t.
So, she got lost in a story about 20 something bridesmaid dresses and finally tasted the brownie. It tasted precisely the same as he’d tasted the other night but it was the perfect accompaniment for such an indulgent romantic comedy and kind of brought closure, in a strange way, from the other night. She wondered if Tristan knew the significance when he baked those brownies. The bridesmaid found her happily ever after at the end and Kyla was hopeful that she’d find a happily ever after, too, but how realistic was that? Life wasn’t usually a chick flick. Life didn’t usually have vampires and magic blood and entrancing. Well, obviously it did, though, for her.
~~~She woke up feeling Tristan climb into bed. He reached for her and pulled her to his warm naked chest. It felt so good.
“Sorry I was gone so long. Work stuff. Was everything okay?”
“Fine,” she answered and nuzzled in. She felt his muscles relax.
“Sam came in,” she added.
“By himself?”
“No, with Joe. But Joe stayed by the door. But Sam motioned for me to just stare.”
“Good. I levelled with him this afternoon. He knows.”
“You weren’t afraid he’d try to…you know…”
“No. He pressed me for information. At first I tried to deny it but he knew something was off with me, which is unsettling. Then you walked into my office and my hands were tied. He cornered me after we last spoke. To be honest it was an enlightening conversation. He knew more about the legends than I did when he and I talked. He’s been a vampire for 43 years longer than I have. He has some knowledge that I think can help us and has close ties with an elder who could be a huge help.”
“Oh?”
“Don’t worry about any of it tonight. We’ll talk some more about it. Is that okay? Tomorrow. Right now, I just want to block out the world, forget everything but us. I had kind of a bad night. Is that okay?”
“It so is…” She reached up and tangled her fingers into his hair, feeling like she was about to come unglued at just the thought of him being inside her. When their lips connected she felt something she could never remember ever feeling. It was like she was totally and completely at home.
He kissed her tenderly all over her face, her arms, her stomach, slowly, every once in a while looking up and saying things with his eyes that felt like a love song, a serenade. She knew she was, to use his words, smitten, totally, and totally seduced and putty in the hands of the gorgeous vampire prince who, whether by chemical reaction or otherwise, had cracked her self-made protective shell.
As he drank she decided she would bleed for him on purpose, gladly. As he kissed her she felt like she existed for him. It was a notion that scared the shit out of her. Did this bond make her weak? It definitely made things dangerous. When he drank from her this time it was akin to warm maple syrup oozing through her veins. She felt protected, safe.
After slow and passionate sex she was exhausted but peckish.
“Any of those chocolate brownies left? They were awesome.”
“Yeah, lots left. I’ll get you some.”
“Wait, there was one thing that could’ve made them better.”
“Really? What?”
“Ice cold milk.”
Tristan smiled, flashing dimples and dashed out of the room at near lightning speed and then returned a moment later with a tray of them and two tall glasses of milk.
Kyla turned on the lamp and they curled up together in bed and snacked on them.
“Did you make these on purpose?” she asked with a sad look on her face.
“What do you mean? You said you love chocolate?”
She shook her head, “Nevermind. I do.” She didn’t want to spoil the moment by reminding him about the other night.
“Tell me more about you,” she said.
“Well…I’m a bloodthirsty vampire. What else do you want to know?” He wiggled his eyebrows.
“I’m serious!” She smacked his arm playfully.
“So am I.” He looked off into space, “That’s all I’ve been… for years.” His eyes looked empty.
Kyla chewed her bottom lip, “What about before?”
“Before?” He brightened a little, “I was driven in the kitchen and had a promising future in the culinary arts. I wanted to open a restaurant. I loved sports. I played rugby and lacrosse. I was a good athlete, good in school, I had lots of friends, plenty of hobbies.”
“Girlfriends?”
“Plenty of girlfriends,” he smirked, then stretched and yawned and then put his arm around her. She laughed at the a-typical teenage boy move.