Vanessa And Veronica Ch 03

Vanessa watched as Veronica ran back toward home and worried about her. This wasn't like her at all, she was the one who always followed through on the pranks and had to convince her to go through with them. Vanessa looked back toward the house and knew that they were being watched. There was no sense of danger or that the watchers-there was two of them were angry, they were curious about her and Veronica. Without wasting another second, Vanessa took off after Veronica arriving at the house just a minute or two after she did.

She sat on the beach next to her and put an arm around Veronica.

"Ronnie, you need to tell me what's going on with you right now."

"I.... I don't know." Veronica said.

"Was it the house?"

"Nessa, if I tell you something, will you promise not to think I'm crazy?"

"I promise, now talk to me."

"I think I know who the voice belongs to."

********

Rik kicked himself for adding the part about needing her and then the "I found you." she had no way of knowing who or what he was. For all she knew he could be dangerous! He felt her confusion and the spike in her heart rate and pulled back. He looked over at Luc who had a very pensive look on his face and knew what he was thinking.

"They belong to us." he said softly.

"Yes." Rik replied.

"Fuck!" Luc cursed.

"What is the problem?" Rik asked confused by Luc's reaction.

"I was ill prepared for this; I should have listened to you."

"That is water under the bridge." Rik said, "Perhaps now you can keep your dick in your pants."

"What are we going to do?" Luc asked.

"We?" Rik asked, "I do not know your plans but I plan to meet my mate before this week is over. You can do whatever you wish although if I were you I would work on telling her why you've been with so many women."

Rik looked down the beach and wanted to go to his mate right then but he waited, he wanted to enjoy the feeling of finding her. The thought that soon he would no longer be alone buoyed his spirits as nothing else could. Soon..... He thought to Veronica. He turned to see that Luc had already gone to his room, he felt sorry for him but he did try to warn him but to no avail.

"You worry too much!" Luc said, "We probably won't find our mates for centuries."

"We have no way of knowing that." he would tell him, "You must exercise more restraint!"

Luc would laugh at him and call him a prude but he wasn't laughing now.

********

Veronica's head jerked up, he was here somewhere.... The house, he was in that house. She didn't understand her fear, wasn't this what she wanted? She looked over at Vanessa who hadn't seen her jerk.

"Soon......"

"Nessa, I .... Hear him."

"Hear who?"

"My.... My mate, I hear him."

"Ronnie......"

"He's in the house and Nessa? Your's is there too."

"Mine? How do you know?"

"I don't know but I do, can't you feel him?"

Vanessa didn't know how to respond, she knew that there were two vampires in the house and knew that they weren't dangerous but their mates?

"Ronnie....."

"Don't you feel him?" Veronica asked again interrupting Vanessa.

"I felt that there were two of them but that one of them was my mate? No, I didn't get that."

"I don't understand how I know but you don't." Veronica said softly looking down the beach.

"Maybe because you're mistaken." Vanessa replied rubbing Veronica's back.

"I'm not wrong! He's there with the one who is my mate; maybe he's blocking you or something."

Vanessa kept rubbing Veronica's back until she calmed.

"Let's go inside." Vanessa said standing and then holding her hand out to Veronica.

Veronica hesitated, took Vanessa's hand and allowed herself to be led indoors. Before going inside she took another look down the beach.

********

Luc's stomach roiled, while he was fairly certain that both he and Rik had mates he hadn't expected to find them anytime soon.

"What the fuck?" he asked himself, both he and Rik were over four hundred years old, "What was I thinking?" he asked aloud. "With your little head." he answered himself. As soon as he realized who the two women were he blocked himself off, he wasn't as anxious to meet his mate as Rik was to meet his. He was reminded of the line that Ricky Ricardo said to Lucy when she fucked up, "Lucy you got some splaining to do."

"Yes Luc you got some splaining to do." he said softly.

Of the two of them he had always been the more adventurous and didn't think too much about the future whereas Rik was always thinking ahead and about the possible consequences of everything that he did. He always told Rik that he needed to relax and have fun and now he was only beginning to understand Rik a little more and wished that he were more like him.

Even now that he had just found his mate Rik was more relaxed, he would always be quiet and reserved but once he met his mate another part of him would come forward. The part of him that hated violence would no longer hesitate to use it to defend and protect his mate and any that belonged to her. He would do the same that went without saying but the joy of finding her was marred by the fact that he had to tell her that he fucked anyone who would let him because he thought that she would understand.

Luc found himself feeling a little bit envious at Rik's happiness and then felt guilty. He was the one that chose to disregard Rik's warnings and he was one who would have to lie in the bed that he made. Luc swore under his breath and went to his room.

*******

Rik took a hot shower before lying down to rest. As he closed his eyes he wondered what his mate looked like, it didn't really matter to him she would be beautiful no matter what. He wondered what her name was, what she did for a living, what she liked to eat assuming that she could eat, what her hobbies were..... He wanted to know everything about her.

He remembered that the grounds keeper would be coming during the day, he might know. Rik got up, wrote a note asking the man to come into the main kitchen when he got there. He vanished outside and put the note where he was sure the man would see it and went inside to wait for the man to come. If the man knew who the women were there wouldn't be a problem with him divulging the information unless he worked for them too.

He lay back on the bed and carefully reached out to his mate. He could feel her nervousness and sought to sooth her.

"Rest easy, I will not harm you."

********

Veronica lay on her bed, eyes wide open and her heart pounding. Vanessa had gone downstairs to make her a cup of chamomile tea to help settle her nerve. She hated the taste of the stuff but Vanessa like their mother swore by the stuff. Once again she questioned why she was so nervous and wondered if the fact that Vanessa couldn't feel her mate had something to do with it but she was nervous before that.

"Why am I so nervous?" she asked herself again, "I wanted to be found and now that I am....."

Then she heard him, "rest easy, I will not harm you."

By the time Vanessa returned with the tea, Veronica had turned on her side and was sound asleep.

*******

Vanessa took the tea to her room and drank it. The fact that Veronica was so nervous made her nervous, of the two of them Veronica was the kick ass one who flinched at nothing. Veronica was also sure that Vanessa's mate was there as well but if that were true, why didn't she feel him? The thought that they might not recognize each other unless something horrible happened crossed Vanessa's mind but she reminded herself that Patrick found his mate before he raped but then he still almost raped. She was now as nervous as Veronica was and did something that she hadn't done since they were children; she went into Veronica's room and crawled into bed with her.

*******

The groundskeeper saw the note and wondered what the problem was, he hadn't old anyone about the brothers as they had requested .... That wasn't exactly true, he told one of the Sinclaire girls, the one with the blue eyes that someone had moved into the house but that was all that he said. He hadn't even told his wife of thirty years anything about the brothers.

Even as he went into the house he was trying to figure out what if anything he had done wrong. He was fully prepared to beg for his job, this one job allowed him to cut back on some of the others and to buy his wife a necklace with her birthstone in it for her birthday. He ran down a mental checklist of all that he could have done wrong and came up empty handed.

Rik was sitting at the table waiting for the groundskeeper to come in. A pot of coffee was brewing, the aroma filling the kitchen. Two coffee mugs along with small plates were sitting on the counter next to the coffeemaker in anticipation of the groundskeeper's arrival.

Rik's intent was to make the man feel comfortable and to allay any fears that he was in trouble. When he heard the tap on the door signaling the man's arrival he called out.

"Come!"

When the man came in, Rik offered him a seat.

"Please, sit down." he said, "May I offer you coffee?"

"That would be..... Yes please."

"Your name is Arnold, is that correct?" Rik asked the man attempting to put him at ease.

"Yessir."

"Arnold, you may call me Rik, what would you like in your coffee?"

"Nothing sir, I mean Rik." Arnold replied nervously.

As Rik poured the coffee Arnold wondered what was happening, in all of his years he never had an employer that insisted that he address then by their first name.

"We have muffins, would you care for one with your coffee?" Rik asked.

"N....no sir.... Rik." Arnold stammered.

Rik poured the coffee and sat a mug down in front of Arnold before sitting down.

"How long have you been in this area?" Rik asked as he took a sip of his coffee.

"A long time." Arnold replied not touching his coffee, "Forty years or so."

"So you are familiar with the people who live in the area."

"Yessir, I tend to many of the yards."

"You do good work; I can see why people ask for you." Rik said meaning the compliment.

"Thank you." Arnold now was relaxing now that he was sure that his job was safe.

"Do you work for the people who live about three miles down the beach?" Rik asked.

"No sir."

"Please, you must call me Rik; do you know who lives there?"

"Yessir, Rik."

"Would you mind sharing the information?"

"I.... I don't know...." Arnold said hesitating.

"I mean them no harm." Rik assured him. "My brother and I were thinking of going there to introduce ourselves."

"I guess there's no harm in telling you." Arnold said not feeling the small mental push that came from Rik.

"Thank you on behalf of both my brother and myself."

"Veronica and Vanessa Sinclaire live there." Arnold said, "They haven't been there very long though they moved in a couple of months ago."

Rik's mouth went dry.

"Sinclaire? As in Ethan Sinclaire's daughters?" he asked.

"That would be them, they're identical twins except that Veronica has brown eyes and Vanessa's eyes are blue."

Rik wasn't listening, he had never met any of the Sinclaires but their story was known throughout the vampire world and his mate was a daughter to.....he could only hope that he measured up in Ethan and Katrina's eyes. To be accepted into a family such as theirs would be one of the highest honors that he could think of. To become a part of a family who had such a horrible and troubled past and then to be courageous enough to overcome and publicly share their story and to reach out to others to help them was....

"Sir?" Arnold called.

"Oui? Yes?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yes! Yes thank you for the information! It is going to be a lovely day, why do you not take your wife out for the day?" Rik asked feeling more generous than usual.

"But...."

"Where would you like to take her?" Rik asked.

"She's been wanting to go on that dinner cruise but...."

"Then you shall take her with our complements! Go home make love to your wife and then take her on this cruise, it shall be arranged, what is the name of the cruise?" Rik asked picking up his phone.

A very stunned Arnold gave Rik the information and watched as Rik called the reservation line and made the reservations to include champagne and a suite to the hotel that was a part of the cruise.

"I don't know what to say." Arnold said still stunned.

"No thanks are needed! You have just helped me- go home and enjoy your time with your mate and don't forget to make love to her." Rik replied.

Rik watched as an excited and surprised Arnold practically ran to his truck and headed home to surprise his wife with the good news.

His mate was a Sinclaire but which twin he wondered, the blue eyed one or the brown eyes one? Too excited to rest, he went to his room turned on his laptop and did a search on Ethan and Katrina Sinclaire on the site that was for vampires only. He had never actually read their story but had heard enough to know that the family had suffered greatly because of the legacy of rape losing a husband, a child, a mate and a grandfather because of it. He settled on his bed and began to read, it took him four hours to read everything about Ethan and Katrina and he watched most of the videos. He could tell that Katrina was uncomfortable being in the spotlight but he also sensed her quiet strength.

"You would have to be strong in order to do what you have done and are doing." he murmured at the laptop. Rik thought that Katrina was beautiful and had the suspicion that the daughters would be as well.

He looked at Ethan next; he thought him exceptionally attractive and had no problems with admitting that, he was secure enough in his own masculinity to acknowledge when another male was attractive. He replayed one of the videos where Ethan was speaking and realized that while Ethan was relatively soft spoken and seemed laid back, part of it was an illusion. Ethan Sinclaire was one of the most dangerous vampires he had ever seen and he could and would kill anyone or anything that threatened his daughters or anyone that he cared for.

Rik blew out a breath; this vacation had just become very interesting. He looked up the girls next and wasn't surprised to see that they were both beautiful. They were both taller than their mother by several inches and had the athletic build of their father.

"Which one of you is mine?" He asked as he read about them. "Beauty and brains." he murmured as he looked at the pictures again and read the bio. Suddenly he knew which one belonged to him.

"You." he said looking at Veronica's image, "You are mine." he said still looking at the picture.

He logged off and went it find Luc to tell him that he knew who their mates were. He found Luc sitting in the Jacuzzi in his part of the house.

"I know who they are." Rik said excitedly.

"Who and how do you know?"

"Rik told Luc about Arnold.

"And by the way I gave him the day off and we are giving him and his wife a night out."

"Very nice but now tell me who out mates are." Luc said impatiently.

"Veronica and Vanessa Sinclaire."

"Sinclaire?" Luc said frowning, "You mean as in Ethan Sinclaire?"

"Yes!" Rik exclaimed, "Veronica is my mate and Vanessa is yours."

"Ethan Sinclaire? Rik do you have any idea of who he is?"

"Of course I do! I've been reading about the family. Luc our mates are so beautiful! They are built like real women and not sticks with legs! Veronica has brown eyes and Vanessa has blue! Get out of the tub and I will pull up their pictures and they're both doctors with PhDs in genetics and...."

Luc didn't move from the tub, he had no doubt that Rik would have no problem being accepted into the family but he was another story, he would have to prove himself worthy of being a mate to Vanessa Sinclaire. Like Rik he was aware of the Sinclaire family's background and knew without doing an internet search the kind of man and father Ethan Sinclaire was-fiercely protective and merciless to anyone who harmed any of those close to him. He still hadn't opened himself to his mate Vanessa and didn't know when he would finding out that her father was Ethan Sinclaire wasn't helping.

He knew that Rik was chomping at the bit and would go to Veronica sooner rather than later.

"I want to go see her; will you come with me to meet our mates?" Rik asked.

Luc had never seen Rik so animated and didn't have the heart to tell him no.

"When?" he asked.

"This evening.... Luc, you haven't opened yourself to her have you?"

"No and I am wondering if I should wait."

"Why?' Rik asked and then understood. "Luc what is done is done, there is nothing that you can do but to be honest with her and move forward. Her father will see that you are a good man and will care for Vanessa even at the cost of your life."

"You are right, you are always right." Luc murmured as for the first time he opened himself to Vanessa.

"I am here."

********

Vanessa was in the shower when she heard the voice, it startled her so badly that she almost slipped but unlike Veronica, Vanessa answered the voice.

"Who are you?"

"I am called Luc, I am your mate."

The soap slipped from Vanessa's hands and landed on the shower floor with a clunk. She didn't know what she was supposed to say or do so she said and did nothing until she heard Veronica calling her name.

Vanessa got out of the shower, put on her robe and went into her bedroom to find Vanessa sitting on her bed.

Veronica saw the shocked look on Vanessa's face, "You heard him didn't you?" she asked.

Vanessa shook her head, walked over to the bed and sat down. Veronica moved to behind her, reached for a brush and began to brush Vanessa's wet hair.

"What did he say?" she asked after a few minutes.

"He said I am here and I asked who he was." Vanessa whispered.

"Did he tell you?"

"He said that his name was Luc."

"Nessa, our mates are brothers."

"How do you know?"

"I don't know but they are." Veronica replied.

"Have you spoken to yours?" Vanessa asked.

"No, I guess I should since you've spoken to yours."

Veronica braided Vanessa's hair before it dried and then "spoke" to her mate.

"Who are you?"

Veronica noticed that her nervousness was gone; it diminished when her mate told her to rest easy, and it completely disappeared when Vanessa told her that she had spoken to her mate.

*******

Rik jerked when he heard Veronica's voice. He liked the strength that he heard in it and replied.

"I am your mate, my name is Rik. Luc is my brother and the mate to your twin Vanessa."

"How do you know our names?" Veronica demanded, back to her old self.

"I had a little help and then there is the internet, will you and your twin meet Luc and I for dinner?"

Veronica didn't respond for several minutes, she was in a debate with Vanessa.

*******

"Tonight? Ronnie I don't know about this." Vanessa said.

"Nessa they're our mates for crying out loud!"

"Yeah but shouldn't we tell mom and dad before we meet them?"

"Vanessa," Veronica said firmly, "We will tell them but I want to meet him first now come on and say yes."

After several more minutes of heated conversation, Vanessa agreed.

********

Rik had an idea of what was happening and waited, the sisters were debating about meeting them. While he was waiting he logged on to his laptop to look for a nice place to take their mates. He knew that Luc was nervous and understandably so but he would stand for him, he better than anyone knew that Luc was a good man/vampire who would die defending his mate and would never mistreat her in anyway.

Several minutes passed before Veronica finally responded.

"We'll meet you when and where?"

"We will pick you up....."

"No you won't, we'll meet you there." Veronica interrupted.

"But...."

"No buts." Veronica said, "Where and when?" she asked again.