Chapter 22

After the revelation in the shower they were feeling emotionally drained, so they headed for bed. She had him lay on his stomach, and she continued working on the injuries to his back, taking her time to be sure each was fully closed and mostly faded before working on the next.

When she was satisfied with her endeavors, she had him roll over. She gave his throat the same treatment, not stopping until all sign of harm was gone. She eased herself up over him, stretching herself out atop him.

She started with soft kisses planted along his jaw, placing each with tender care. He ran his hands over the soft skin of her back, feeling his heat in her body. His heat, and not some stranger's. He brushed his fingers up her side, feeling the swell of her breasts, caressing the tender skin on her ribs. She moved her lips to his cheeks, kissing each softly, brushing her lips over his eyelids.

Their lips met, dandelion fluff touching down in the breeze, sharing warm breaths. She touched his face with her fingertips, tracing his cheeks, his hair, his brow. Without thinking, he rolled them to their sides, now facing each other across a pillow. He continued the kisses, sipping deeper now, watching his beloved's eyes shimmer rainbows.

Pressing gently on her shoulders, he eased her to her back to better love her body, her breasts, her hips, her lips. He moved to her feet, looking up at her, and kissed the entire length of her leading back to her mouth and lips. Poised above her, he lowered himself, covering her body with his.

Their bodies knew the way, and he entered her passage with a feeling of coming home. Her eyes glowed brightly, like twin moons, shining on his face. He withdrew then rushed back, and she arched her back to receive him. He continued thrusting within her, bringing her to ecstasy many times before him spent himself within her.

She wrapped her legs and arms around him and held him close. He eased his weight with his elbows and looked down on her precious face smiling up at him.

"I love you," she breathed.

Rob awoke the next morning alone. He sighed into his pillow, then rolled over to face the day.

And saw her.

She was sitting cross-legged at the end of the bed where she'd been watching him sleep. She had her head down looking out through her hair, her eyes wary. Rob thought she might be feeling fragile at the moment and proceeded carefully.

"Good morning, sweetheart."

She slowly blinked.

"How are you feeling?" he asked warily.

"I've never been in love before," she answered. "I've never cared for someone more than I cared for myself. I don't know how to act." When she lifted her face, she looked like she was about to cry.

"Elaina, you're still you. Nothing's changed." He rose to a sitting position, deliberately aping her pose.

"No, that's not true. Everything's changed. I've changed." She huddled into herself with her arms wrapped tight around her ribs.

"No, honey, you haven't, not in any meaningful way," he said soothingly.

"I feel like I have," she said miserably. "Since I met you, I've changed."

"Is that a bad thing?" he asked. "Look at me. I know I've changed, but do you think it wasn't a good change? I think loving you has made me a better person."

"Do you really believe that?" she asked plaintively, her arms relaxing.

"Yes, I really believe that," he stated emphatically. "Elaina, you don't have to act any differently than you always have. Just be the woman I love."

She still had doubt in her eyes, but she relaxed even further and let her arms fall to her sides.

"Come with me. You can watch me eat breakfast."

Elaina left after breakfast. She was still very subdued and her customary savoir faire was in abeyance. She didn't kiss him good-bye.

Rob found it hard to enjoy his customary Sunday morning out of worry for Elaina. He was sure she'd be back, but he couldn't imagine when. He was glad she'd admitted her love, but at the same time he wondered if she would pull away from him now.

He sighed and shook out the paper in his hands, folding it and setting it aside. He decided he needed to get out for a while, get some air and let his mind idle on the streets of the city.

He wandered about with no destination in mind, stopping for a time to watch the birds in the park pick at leaves looking for food.

When the chill air began to soak through to his skin, he headed back to his apartment. He stood at the door just looking at it. He didn't feel like going into his empty apartment right now, but waiting could only make things worse.

As soon as he opened the door, he knew she was there; her aroma permeated the air. He went to hang his coat and saw her cloak on its usual hook, but it looked ... mussed, like she'd rolled around on the ground in it. He found her in the kitchen with a steaming cup of tea in front of her. He joined her at the table.

"You have blood on your shirt."

Elaina looked down and picked at the fabric, rubbing a finger at the stains.

"I believe you're right, sweeting."

"Tell me what happened?"

"I needed to know, to be sure ... so, I went hunting."

She looked at her cup. If he hadn't known better, he would've sworn she was embarrassed.

"I found this ... man ... attacking a woman, a girl. I gave myself over to rage. I didn't just feed on him, I played with him. I terrorized him. I made him know that he would not survive the night."

"What happened to the girl?"

"She ran away when I took him down. She was long gone by the time I was through."

"You hid the body, right?"

"Of course I did. You know me better than that."

"I do. Feel better?"

"Yes."

"Want to watch a movie with me?"

Elaina blinked. "You're not mad at me?"

"For what? You're a vampire. You did what vampires do: you fed and you covered your tracks. The fact that you saved a girl and rid the city of one more piece of trash was a bonus. Me? I took a walk. Seems to me you did the greater good."

"I love you. Can I pick?"

"I'll get the popcorn."

She laughed and he knew she would be fine.

They watched a silly action movie about an action movie character come to life, then enjoyed some time just being together.

"You're really okay with me feeding like that?" she asked from his arms.

"I suppose if you fed on just anyone who crossed your path, I might have a problem," he replied contemplatively, "But it would be my problem, not yours. You're not like that, and it's one of the reasons I love you."

She snuggled in tighter.

"Elaina," he said at another time, "Would you go with me to the company Christmas party? It's tomorrow night."

"Tomorrow?" she asked, looking at him askance. "Way to give a girl some notice there, sweeting."

"I know, and I'm sorry," he answered, acting contrite. "I don't usually bother with these things, but it would look good if I made an appearance, and, well..."

"You want to show me off, don't you?" she grinned.

"Well, yes, I do. It's not just that though. I want them to meet the woman who makes me happy. I want them to see why I smile in the morning. I want them to meet you."

"Hmm, I see," she replied with lowered eyelids. "Is this formal or business?" Rob frowned at her. "Should I wear an evening gown or just dress nice?"

"Oh, I get it. Well, most of us will be going there from work. Does that help?"

"Yes. I have just the thing. You'll love it," she said with a coy smile.

The next day, Rob took a cab home from work so he could freshen up before Elaina arrived. She showed up right on time. She had on her cloak with the furred hood up, and what he could see of her face was tastefully made-up.

"You know, I love that cloak. I wish I could find one of my own," he said wistfully.

"I'll see what I can do," she replied. Then she took it off. Underneath she was wearing a simple dark red evening gown that swirled around her ankles when she moved. A slit up to mid-thigh let her move freely and flashed a little leg. Sleeveless with wide straps to hold it up, the neckline demurely allowed only a hint of cleavage, while the back hung lower showing off her creamy skin. A wide necklace of silver encircled her throat, with a sparkling red gemstone depending from it laying in her cleavage.

Rob had stopped being amazed at how beautiful she was, but he still showed his appreciation by whistling softly.

"You look divine, my love. Words fail me," he said, his eyes shining at her.

She dropped a curtsey, sweeping her arms wide. He could see she was already having fun by the sparkle in her eyes.

"I had forgotten what it was like to dress up for an appreciative audience. Thank you, kind sir."

"This may be cliché, but you're going to make all the men envious and the women jealous." He helped with her cloak then held out his arm. "Come on, let's ruin some evenings." She laughed loud and proud as she could only really do around Rob, with her fangs flashing.

They arrived at the party neither first nor last, and garnered no special attention. They circulated through the crowd, Rob meeting and greeting his colleagues and introducing Elaina to everyone.

Brenda was a hoot, fawning over Elaina's beauty and asking after any brothers she might have. Rob thought there was something different about her and wondered if it would be impolitic to ask in front of his date. Deciding she would understand, he broached the subject.

"Brenda, if you don't mind my saying, there's something about you tonight that I can't put my finger on."