I wrapped up my tale just as dinner was finishing up. Everyone looked full and happy as Alanna flitted to the kitchen to bring out a chocolate cake, for the three of us still on solids. It shocked me a little bit to realize that I hadn't even noticed the women drinking their bloody cocktails. It hadn't unnerved me at all this time. I was getting immune to it already. I tried to see the positive in that thought.
We dug into the decadent dessert before us and I was pretty sure I was going to gain ten pounds this time. I was also sure that now was as good a time as any to break our news. And honestly, I couldn't contain it any longer. I'd been dying to tell someone for so long and, here I was, seated in a room full of people who would actually be thrilled over the fact that I was trying to have a baby, out of wedlock, with a man I'd only known for four months.
I cleared my throat and every vampire turned to look at me. Jack noticed that I had their attention and brought his head up from his cake to watch me too. "Um..." Teren grabbed my hand under the table and squeezed it, signaling that he knew what I was going to say and that he'd let me tell it first. Okay, he could have been thinking that he was ready to head upstairs to that luxurious bed awaiting us, but I preferred to think he was throwing supportive thoughts my way. "Teren and I are..." I glanced over at him and he smiled warmly and nodded-yeah, definitely being supportive. I smiled back then giggled. "Well, we're trying to have a baby."
I felt so weird telling the room that we were basically having lots and lots of sex. I felt even weirder when pin-dropping silence followed my statement. Noting the odd absence of sound, I started to swivel my head to take in their faces. I didn't even make it a fraction of an inch to look at Alanna, before I was covered with black hair and cool arms. Three women were hugging me, kissing my head and rubbing my stomach, which was a little odd, since I was pretty sure nothing was in there yet. Halina and Imogen were the most ecstatic with my news. Alanna was happy, but more reserved. I was more than a little uncomfortable with their lavish felicitations, but I didn't try and stop it. I understood what this meant to them, and I let them have their moment.
Teren laughed at their reaction, causing the whole maelstrom to shift his direction. His mother slung her arms around his neck, while the other two each took a side of his chest. He tried to pat them all at the same time, but it was a near impossibility.
After a moment, they started shifting between the two of us, offering words of advice, encouragement and congratulations, which, still feeling odd about my personal revelation, made me wonder if they were congratulating me on having tons of sex. The bizarre thought made me laugh and Teren, who could sometimes pick up on my odd observances, laughed with me.
A calm voice broke through the excited chaos, "Would you three back off now. You'll never get grandkids that way." Giggling, the women sat back down in their chairs and I looked over at Jack; he was smiling at his son with pride. "Congratulations you two...I know you'll have time." He nodded with encouragement and I could feel tears sting my eyes.
I'd nearly forgotten that cursed word in my exuberance. Time. The one thing we battled daily. The other women in the room seemed to remember that dreaded word as well, and a layer of sadness laced with tension, filled the room. If we were too late... If Teren changed before I could get pregnant...
Nope, no pressure on my uterus at all.
Alanna broke the sudden unease in the air by clearing her throat and placing a hand on Teren's arm. Sighing, he studied his plate before looking over at her. Her eyes dreadfully sad, she seemed about to speak, but Teren shook his head and set his lips in a hard line. She removed her hand and said nothing.
Just when I was about to ask what was going on, Alanna stood and started sweeping away our empty dessert plates. I turned to Teren, going to ask him anyway, but he had engaged himself in a conversation with Halina. He asked her to tell me about the painting in the hall. I realized then, that he had heard me ask Alanna about it and he had heard me cry. Darn those vampire ears.
Halina raised her lips into a soft, sad smile, and instantly she was transformed into a lost, innocent teenager. I began to see what Teren saw when he looked at her-a child, scared, pregnant and unsure of the world. Halina began describing her memories of the very last time she saw the sun, and I openly wept listening to her. The ache in her voice was palpable.
"My husband and I married at what would now be considered a young age, eighteen, but back then it was common. One of our favorite things to do every evening was watch the sun set. To us, it signaled the end of a long day on our farm." Her eyes were distant as she lost herself to the memory. "One of our greatest hopes was to fill that farm with a handful of boisterous children." She glanced at Teren with soft eyes. Returning her gaze to me, she continued. "We would hold hands as we watched the gold, reds, oranges and pinks fill the sky, and we'd talk about our dreams and goals. And as I listened to my husband on that porch, I pictured scores of our children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren watching the setting sun with us. It was all I ever wanted."
Halina dabbed at her tears with a napkin. Thick, pureblood tears, not the watered-down pink version of Alanna's. She didn't talk of what happened after the sunset. She didn't talk of her beloved husband's death or, in a way, her own. She didn't speak of giving birth while her body changed over and she didn't speak of ending the life of the vampire who had created her. She only spoke of the sun, and how she ached for it, and all that it represented. I was grateful that she didn't speak of the horrors...listening to her describe that one perfect sunset, was hard enough.
Teren put his arms around me as I sobbed for her loss. Maybe he was right about my sister.
Moments later, I made the mistake of yawning, and Alanna insisted that I go upstairs and retire. She'd prepared the same room that we'd used the last time we were here. I tried to tell her I was fine, and I'd like to stay up and talk with them, but my body betrayed me and yawned again. Laughing, she led me to the hallway and gently pushed me down it. I waved goodnight to the room and looked back at Teren, still seated at the table.
"I'll be up in a minute. You go on ahead." He smiled and flicked a glance up at his mother and then over to Halina, who was sadly staring at the table. I thought maybe he felt bad for having her bring up a painful subject. Maybe he was going to sit and comfort her a while.
I smiled at his sweetness and nodded back at him. Alanna kissed me goodnight on the cheek and then turned to stand at the edge of the table beside her husband. No one said anything, and I got the impression that they were all waiting for my heartbeat to be upstairs, and out of earshot. That thought made me want to stay and eavesdrop again, but I already knew that was pointless; they could hear every wet thump, from probably every room in the house. They could probably even smell me.
I walked down the hall to the foyer and then up one side of the dual staircase. I wondered what was so secretive. Maybe they were just going to discuss some aspects of Halina's life that I'd find...unsavory. I really didn't want to hear about her killing anyone. Honestly, I was having a hard time just processing that fact. She had seemed so sweet and innocent while telling her story, but I knew for a fact that she wasn't. She killed. She killed without remorse. I knew it was survival for her, and she certainly was not the only person who had killed before, but I liked to think that most people felt bad about it. It was off-putting to think otherwise.
Shoving the thought from my head, I opened the massive double doors that led to our honeymoon suite-that was what it looked like, so that was how I thought of it. The massive satin-on-satin bed sparkled in the reflected glow of the lit fireplace. Warm candlelight was wavering from pillars, spaced in groups of three, on nearly every flat surface of the room. I listened for the mood music but didn't hear any.
I chuckled at his family's never-ending, subtle attempt to get their son lucky. I laughed a little harder at the fact that it never seemed to occur to his family that I'd be on protection from day one, to prevent the very thing that they'd been hoping so badly for. Even if Teren and I had done what they'd wanted us to do the last time we were here, I wouldn't have gotten pregnant. I guess birth control was not something vampires took into consideration. And Teren would certainly have never wanted to tell them about it. They bugged him enough as it was.
I shook my head at the oddity of it all and shucked off my clothes. There was something in this suite that I had really wanted to try last time, but never got the chance to. I was tired, but I wasn't missing another golden opportunity. Walking into the upscale bathroom, I turned on the jetted tub. I smiled as the warm water flowed through my fingertips. Heaven awaited me. Rummaging through the cupboards, I found a bottle of bubble bath and squeezed out a couple of gloppy drops. Instantly, the water started foaming and sudsing with filmy half circles that refracted the bathroom lights.
Finding a hair scrunchy, I pulled my long, brown mane into a high ponytail and slipped into the silky smooth water. Shutting off the faucet, I relaxed back into the contoured tub. I sighed and closed my eyes, listening to the water sloshing with my slight movements, the bubbles bursting with tiny pops. The scent of fresh lilacs filled my nose, and the heated water left a slight dampness to my face and hair. It was the most relaxing thing I had ever experienced.
I was just beginning to be pulled into a satisfying slumber, when a light touch along my cheek brought me around. My water was cooler, although still plenty warm, and a good chunk of the bubbles were gone. I guessed I'd already fallen asleep. I looked up at Teren, sitting on the edge of the tub, cupping my cheek in his strong hand.
"Hey, sleepy," he whispered.
I made a satisfied noise and stretched my limbs in response. His eyes tracked the movement of my muscles under the nearly transparent water, and I smiled. "Come join me...the water is still warm." I sloshed my hand through the bath, purposely revealing even more of my body to him.
Just one edge of his lip curled up and I swear my heart rate increased-I loved that look. He slipped his shirt off and started working on his jeans and my heart definitely sped up-I really loved that. I scooted over in the tub as he slid in beside me. He shifted me, so I was mostly on top of him, and then he relaxed back into the warm bubbles, well, what was left of the bubbles anyway. Twisting, I laced my arms around his neck and kissed his cheek. Then I rested my head on his shoulder and snuggled into his warm skin, warmer than the water even. One of his hands rubbed my back, while the other stroked my leg, making tiny waves splash across our skin. I was wrong before-this was the most relaxing thing I'd ever experienced.
We stayed snuggling in the massive tub, until the water cooled too much for me and I shivered. He noticed immediately and held me tighter. "Ready to get out?" he asked.
"No..." I held up my wrinkled fingers. "But I guess I'd better."
Smiling, he shifted me over, so he could stand. I fully appreciated my view while he stepped out of the tub and grabbed us towels. Wrapping one around his waist, he held the other open for me. I stood, shivering a little more in the now comparatively chilly air, and then I stepped into his warm, fluffy towel embrace. I laughed and kissed him as he wrapped the fabric around me.