“They understand completely,” he answered.
“I need to be with them, so please excuse me. This will be a difficult time for them, as you may remember.” Sebastian hugged me and added, “It’s good to have you home.”
“It’s good to be here.” I couldn’t bring myself to call it home because it no longer felt like my home. Sebastian nodded in understanding and I was grateful he wan’t hurt by my words.
Thatcher offered to show Sully his new quarters, leaving me with Solomon. “So, how are things between the two love birds?” he laughed.
“Everything is fine,” I responded, without offering up any details.
He snorted and said, “It didn’t sound so fine when you pulled into the drive. I don’t have to tell you we heard your argument.”
“It wasn’t an argument, it was a conversation and, no, you don’t have to remind me you could hear every word, so don’t,” I warned.
“Come on, Curry, I need some details. Tell me what is it like.”
“What is what like?” I asked, knowing what it was he was asking me to explain.
“What is it like to want her and not her blood?”
It was so many things I couldn’t put a label on it. “It’s different and scary and amazing all at the same time.”
“I remember how powerful desire was when I was human, so how is it different with her as your agápe?” he quizzed.
“It’s even more incredible because I love her so completely, I can’t imagine my existence without her now.”
“What was it like to do the nasty with her?” he asked anxiously.
He was my best friend and it was none of his business, but I said, “I haven’t been physically intimate with her.”
He hit me in the arm with his fist and asked, “What are you waiting on, dumb ass?”
“The vampire in you is thinking for you, but I am living as a man in a man’s world. It isn’t like being a vampire and doing what feels good to make yourself happy at the moment and I want to do things the right way which involves waiting on physical intimacy until we are married.”
“You’re kidding me, right? You have to be yanking my chain because I have no idea how you could have been given the green light and stall out like that.”
“No, I’m not kidding you in the least. I have already bought her ring, I’m just waiting for the perfect moment to ask, after I speak to her grandfather.” I took her ring in it’s box from my pocket and popped it open for Solomon to inspect.
He took the box from my hand to survey the token of my love for Chansey and said, “It’s impressive, but you mean to tell me you have been bonded with your agápe for 21 years, and you want to remain pure and marry her, so you don’t break the rules of man when you are not even a man?”
I was tiring of defending my feelings and my decision. “I don’t have to explain my motives to you, but that’s exactly what I am telling you and besides, I’m not even sure it’s a possibility.”
He attempted to embarrass me. “Trust me. I saw you with her and you looked human enough to me to get the job done.”
“Well, I guess I’ll find out when we’re married, won’t I?” I said adamantly.
“Brennan, I do not understand you. How can we be best friends when you are so weird? You are the luckiest vampire I know and you’re not even taking advantage. You’re crazy for not hitting that every chance you get.”
“It is a shame you are a vampire because you would be every woman’s dream if you were human,” I joked.
“I know, I was thinking the same thing,” he laughed.
“Well, maybe someday you will be gifted with an agápe, then we’ll see how you feel about things,” I suggested. An agápe would do Solomon some good.
“Yeah, right. What are the chances of that happening? Chansey is the first agápe I’ve known of in, uh, ever.”
“It could happen, I would never have guessed in a million years I would be gifted an agápe. You’re a good person so you could find yourself sporting a new little agápe on your arm one day.”
“I won’t be betting on it, but if I do find myself with an agápe, I promise you I won’t be just sporting her on my arm,” he jested.
“We’ll see about that, but tell me about these two new vampires in the house.”
Solomon began, “It’s the same as always. They were turned and left by their sire. Lance has been here a month and he is doing very well. Elliott has been here about six weeks and isn’t doing as well as Lance, but we still have high hopes he will make a turn around. We haven’t given up on him yet.”
“Should I be concerned about either of them with Chansey in the house?” I questioned.
“Sebastian has ordered both of them to remain in the basement until she leaves and they have both agreed. They know the consequences of otherwise,” he explained, but if one of them decided he couldn’t resist, it wouldn’t matter if an order was in effect or not.
“I will never be at ease knowing there are two undisciplined vampires in the house. I can hardly stand her being out of my sight right now although I know Gia and Lairah are with her,” I explained.
“Gia and Lairah are almost finished fluffing and puffing her, but I have to know one thing. You are going to sleep in the same bed with her while you’re here, so how are you going to be so close to her and not give in to what you are intended to do when you and I both know Gia and Lairah aren’t going to put her in an old T-shirt and sweats? You know we don’t have that kind of sleeping attire in this house.”
“They wouldn’t do me like that, would they?” I asked, knowing all along they would definitely make things difficult for me.
“Want to bet? They don’t know you’re practicing abstinence and all they’ve talked about is how romantic it must be to have an agápe,” he said, emphasizing the romantic part and continued, “They would love nothing more than for you to get it on with her.”
Depending on how Gia and Lairah handled the situation, I could have a problem on my hands because Chansey needed no encouragement.
“Maybe you should go back there before they have time to plot too much,” he suggested.
“That’s probably a good idea,” I agreed.
I wasn’t half way down the hall to my quarters when I smelled burning candles and the sweet, floral aroma of Gia’s and Lairah’s fluffing and puffing. I knocked gently on the door and was granted permission to enter. Chansey was seated on the bench at the foot of my bed wearing a low cut satin nightgown and matching robe while Gia sat behind her, combing her hair like a doll.
“We aren’t ready for you,” Lairah said.
I had to love how she said “we” and it let me know that Chansey must have opened up to them, making me very happy. “Well, dawn is approaching and Chansey needs her rest,” I said sternly.
“Anxious much?” Gia hinted.
“No, I said Chansey needs her rest. It has been a long night for her and she has normally been asleep for hours by now,” I scolded.
“Okay, we get the picture. We’re out of here, party pooper,” Lairah said and stuck her tongue out at me as she walked by.
I saw Gia’s wink and Lairah’s nod at Chansey on the way out the door and I wondered what that was all about, but with them, it could be anything. I waited until the door was shut to ask, “What was that all about?”
“I don’t know what you mean,” she said and stood, to be seen better, in the satin nightgown and opened robe. “They were just trying to be helpful since you wouldn’t let me get my own things.”
I knew what my sisters were up to and Chansey was happily in on it. I decided, in this moment, that I might regret the sudden bond they had formed against me. It didn’t matter what they were up to because I wasn’t budging and I asked, “Do you feel better?”
“Yes, I feel incredibly better, about everything.”
I was referring to the bath but she was referring to something entirely different. “I’m so sorry I was angry about Gia and Lairah because now I
see they are like sisters to you. I should have believed you.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about them earlier,” I apologized and added, “All of this misunderstanding could have been avoided if I had just told you sooner.”
“I think we both see our faults and it’s a good lesson for the future.”
“While we are on the topic of sharing, there is something I need to tell you about what we do here.”