VA 2 - Blood Jewel (4 page)

“Yes,
that
I remember well.
I’m sorry his stupid insults stand out more in my mind than our
conversation,” she apologized.

Just thinking about that jackass
had my blood boiling so I thought it was a great idea to steer the
direction of the conversation back toward the wedding. “Have you
thought about a date for our wedding?”

She smiled and her eyes lit up.
“Yes, I’ve given it a lot of thought and I have a date in mind. How
do you feel about a November wedding?”

No way! That was too long to wait.
“I’d be fine with it if this was the end of October. I know four
months isn’t forever, but it sure feels an eternity to me right
now.”

“It’s not an eternity and four
months barely gives me enough time to plan a small wedding. We
haven't even told Granna and Granddaddy about our engagement yet.
Have you forgotten that?”

I definitely had not forgotten that
detail. “No, it hasn’t slipped my mind.”

She laughed and asked, “Are you
worried about telling them?”

“I am a little nervous about it.
I’ve never asked to marry someone before,” I admitted.

She leaned over and bumped her
shoulder against mine. “Well, that’s good to know, but we’re
telling them we’re getting married, not asking
permission.”

“I know we don’t have to have
their permission. That’s not what I need. It’s their blessing I
want. I may be three times as old as Grady, but I still want to be
respectful,” I said.

She looked at me and rested her
chin against her shoulder as she laughed. “That is so bizarre to
me.”

It didn’t sound like a compliment.
“Does my age bother you?”

“No, I don’t think of you as your
actual age. You just seem like a 26 year-old to me.” She sat up and
leaned closer to brush her lips across mine. “A very robust 26
year-old.”

Her kiss and proximity stirred her
Agápe scent, leaving me with an intense urgency to be closer to
her. I reached for her, pulling her against my chest a little too
quickly. I heard her gasp and then I saw the smile across her face,
proving the sudden catch in her breath resulted from delight
instead of fear.

She deepened our kiss as she rolled
to her back, pulling me on top of her to rest between her bent
knees. This was our first private moment since we arrived at the
compound and it caused me to be overly enthusiastic. I knew I
shouldn’t, but I placed my hand behind one of her knees and pulled
her leg to wrap around my waist as I pressed my body into hers. A
sigh escaped her lips and she pulled her other leg up around my
waist. The thoughts of what I wanted to do to her returned me to my
senses and she recognized the look she had become so well
acquainted with when things between us had gone a little too
far.

She groaned because she knew what
was coming next and locked her legs around my waist. “Don’t you
dare stop because you cannot keep doing this to me. It’s totally
unfair!”

I reached for her legs to coax them
off of me. “Move the wedding up and I’ll be more than glad to
become totally fair. In fact, I’m quite anxious to be totally
fair.”

A thoughtful look came across her
face and she said, “October. It’s the earliest I can pull it off
even with help from Gia and Lairah.”

I tugged on her bottom lip with my
teeth. “That’s still three months away,” I complained.

A pouty look came over her face and
the little vixen I loved tried to use her power of persuasion on me
just like Sebastian said she would. “I know a way to make the next
three months pass much faster.”

“Your name shouldn’t be Chansey.
It should be Risky because you are playing with a fire you highly
underestimate,” I assured her.

She dramatically huffed. “Promises,
promises. I’m not sure I’ll ever find out if I underestimate you or
not.”

Since I easily talked her into
moving the date a month earlier, I thought I might push my luck a
little further. “Looks like you won’t discover the truth for
months, unless you want to move the date closer.” I took my hand
and placed it on her thigh, moving it slowly under her dress as I
said, “Come on, let’s do it.” I allowed my to words linger as I
gazed into her eyes and then I added, “In August.”

When I began to laugh, she forcibly
slapped my hand away from under her dress to show her unhappiness
with my joke. “I can wait if you can. Maybe even until the end of
December. I’ve heard Christmas weddings are beautiful.”

It was clear I had pushed my luck
too far with her when she showed me how she could beat me at my own
game, so I conceded. “I’ll take the October wedding.”

She smiled and I thought it was
because she was getting her way, but then she told me, “The 16th is
when my parents were married. What do you think?”

When she said the date and I saw
her smile, I knew there would be no other day for us to be married.
“I think it’s perfect.”

“I do too,” she agreed.

“Will you show me their wedding
picture when we get back to your grandparents’ house?”

Her smile was replaced by something
different. “I don’t have their wedding picture anymore. All of our
photographs were lost in Hurricane Katrina. I have a few random
snapshots that family members have collected for me, but I don’t
even have a picture of the four of us together as a
family.”

It had been six years since
Hurricane Katrina, but I could see the devastation of her loss.
“I’m sorry, Chansey.”

“It’s alright. It took me a while
to get over it, but I have my memories and they’re
wonderful.”

She saw the decline in my mood and
said, “Nope, Curry Brennan. I’m not letting the past ruin this time
together. Let’s talk about something happier.”

She was right. I didn’t want to
waste this alone time because it was so rare. I wasn’t finished
exploring our plans for our future so I asked, “October 16th,
huh?”

“Yes, an evening wedding in
October at my grandparents’ house couldn’t be more perfect, could
it?” she asked.

I took her hand in mine and placed
a kiss on it. “Making you my wife under any circumstances couldn’t
be more perfect unless it was sooner. Where do you want to go on
our honeymoon?”

“I want to go somewhere tropical
with clear blue waters since that won’t be an option once you turn
me.”

Her words stirred something in me I
couldn’t let go, and although I knew it would start an argument, I
said, “Chansey, you don’t know that you will still want to be
turned after you see the fledgeling transition.”

Her relaxed posture became stiff
and I knew I had spoken fighting words. The anger in her eyes gave
her away, telling me she was ready to advance as she groaned, “Are
we seriously back to that place, again?”

I instantly regretted my words and
refused to waste this precious alone time going head to head in a
battle I couldn’t win today. “No, I don’t want to spend this
precious time alone fighting about a decision that can’t be made
right now, so I’m changing the subject. Have you thought about
where we should live after we’re married?”

She appeared surprised by my
question. “I assumed we would live here at the
compound.”

Sebastian was right. She wanted to
be at the compound waiting for the first fledgeling to arrive, but
it was a good choice for me because living here would allow me to
continue my work as a mentor. “Sebastian said that we are welcome
to live here. It isn’t far from your grandparents, so you may drive
over to visit them whenever you want.”

I noticed concern across her face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“If we live at the compound, will
the others always hear everything that happens between
us?”

I should have suspected her concern
since it was the same as mine. “No, Sebastian has offered to have
soundproof quarters built for us and the construction will begin
immediately so it will be ready for us when we return from our
honeymoon. Sebastian is going to contact his contractor and we’ll
need to meet with him about the layout before we go back to
Pascagoula,” I explained.

“Won’t that be expensive?” she
inquired.

I wanted to set her mind at rest
that she would never want for anything. “I don’t want you to ever
worry about money. You are my Agápe and it is my responsibility and
honor to care for you completely, including financially. We have an
abundance of revenue so I don’t want you to worry about
finances.”

“No more talk of money,” she
agreed. “Do you have something in mind for our quarters because I
don’t know a thing about plans or layouts?”

“I’ve built a house or two in my
time, so I can take care of the planning,” I reminded
her.

She smiled at me and her expression
eased, “Will you always do that?”

“Do what?” I asked, uncertain of
what she referred to by her question.

“Always take care of everything?”
she asked.

I took her in my arms to reassure
her. “I will always take of you and everything you need,” I
promised.

I knew she would need time to
adjust to her new role as my Agápe and wife and I wasn’t surprised
when she said, “If you do everything for me, doesn’t that mean one
of us is unnecessary, meaning myself? What does that leave for me
to do?”

“You are to be loved and love me
in return. That’s your only job.”

She smiled and said, “I don’t guess
I can complain about that.”

I stood and offered her my hand.
“Come on; let’s head back to the house so we can look at where
we’ll build our new chambers. The contractor should be here
tomorrow so we should discuss a plan tonight.” She took my hand and
I pulled her against me tightly. Her arms reached to wrap around my
shoulders and I rubbed her lower back.

“I love how you’re trying to
convince me to marry you sooner, but it isn’t going to work. You
get your way on everything else, so now it’s my turn to have my
way. It’s called middle ground and it’s what marriage is built on,
so start getting use to it, Pal.”

“I’m sorry it feels like you are
forced to give in more than your fair share,” I
apologized.

“It’s alright for now because it
won’t always be that way,” she warned and I knew her words were a
promise of what was to come.

We folded the blanket and then
began the walk back to the house. She reached for my hand and said,
“I want you to have an art studio. You’re too talented to let it go
to waste. Do you think that could be built, as well?”

My heart smiled at her
thoughtfulness and I gave her hand a quick squeeze. “What did I do
to deserve you?”

She laughed as she said, “Just
incredibly lucky is all I know.”

We returned to the compound and
walked the site by the South wing where the construction for our
private world would begin soon. Chansey insisted my art studio be
built on the East side with large windows to allow the morning sun
to shine on my art pieces. I smiled at her consideration but
couldn’t bring myself to mention how the windows would be
unnecessary if she was successful in her plan to become a creature
of the night.

Her thoughtfulness sparked an idea
and I decided to secretly construct a sitting room for her inside
our quarters as a surprise wedding gift for her. I don’t know where
the thought originated because it seemed to suddenly pop into my
mind like someone else placed it there for me.

Many exciting changes had occurred
over the past couple of days. Although Chansey accepted my marriage
proposal, she still didn’t know a lot about the world of vampires
and there was much she needed to learn. “Do you think you would
feel comfortable joining the others for dinner tonight? If you are
going to live in a house of vampires you will need to become
accustomed to the sight of blood drinking.”

She swallowed hard. “Where do they
get the blood?”

“There is a community of humans
called Black Swans that know about us and support our cause. Some
of the Black Swans choose to become Blood Swans, which means they
freely give of their blood supply for our sustenance.”

She looked thoughtful and asked,
“Do you bite the Blood Swans?”

“I’m sure there are Blood Swans
that would like to be bitten, but we do not drink directly from
them. There are humans that allow themselves to be bitten, but we
discourage it because it is too easy to lose control. There are
groups of humans called Seekers that desire the company of vampires
and wish to be turned. Seekers willingly allow vampires to bite
them as a way of being introduced into the community. Then, there
are also Blood Dolls. They enjoy and are addicted to the act of
being bitten because of the umm...ecstasy they receive from it.
They refer to the pleasure of the bite as The Kiss.”

“Have you ever bitten a Blood
Doll?”

My answer was not going to please
her. “We have all had a Blood Doll at some point in our existence,
but it was a very long time ago.”