NB: Special credit and thanks to my editor
wildheartedangel
for helping me edit and fine tune the scientific terms in this chapter as well as the previous chapter. I'm really grateful for her help so hopefully it will be a better read for all of you. Also, my appreciation goes out to those of you who took the time to comment; be it here or via my blog posts. It has really helped shaped the development of this story so far.
On another note, for the purpose of plot development, sex scenes will only be added from Chapter 4 onwards so do bear with me. I will try to post Chapter 3 and 4 within a few days from each other.
So for now, have a good read!
***********
"Do I really have to sleep alone in the garden tonight Sweetheart?" asked Eian sheepishly as he stared at her back facing him.
"I can always make you do it unwillingly," she replied without turning back as she brushed her hair in front of the mirror.
"I'm already unwilling," he said, trying his best to pout. "Does that mean if I say I'm willing you'll let me sleep here?"
Fiona caught his eyes in the mirror's reflection and raised her eyebrows.
"So what you're saying is that you're really innocent and that you haven't been messing around in my head and that you really deserve to sleep here tonight?" she asked turning around to look at him. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest to mirror the fierce look on her face.
"Uhuh..." he stammered, nodding slowly. Fiona seemed to be considering his words seriously; her face lost in thought. Finally she shrugged and came closer towards him.
"I'll let you off this time," she whispered, untying the knot of her bathrobe to reveal a sheer chemise underneath. Fiona smiled when she heard the sharp intake of his breath.
Did he really think he was going to get off that easily?
For the briefest of seconds, she caught a slight flicker in his eyes but then it was gone; replaced with a look of intense desire.
"Don't change your mind..." The plea in his voice was unmistakable but Fiona chose to reply by pressing her lips onto his.
He gave a sigh of relief as their lips met; the heat unlike the tenderness of their matrimonial kiss. They were desperate for each other, their hands pulling away at articles of clothing that were in the way.
I shan't bother wearing anything to sleep next time if all he does is tear it off.
Fiona felt Eian's slight smile against her lips. She
knew
that he could hear her! Her lips then moved slightly to suck on his lower lips, luring him into a state of false assurance before sinking her teeth slowly to pierce the soft skin. The metallic taste of his blood elicited a soft purr from her throat.
"You're biting me Sweetheart..." whispered Eian without making any effort to move away from her. He knew that she was merely nipping at him and was not of any threat at the moment.
"I'm sorry... I did that on purpose," she replied, finding it hard to pull away from the exquisite taste. She licked the wound seductively and watched as it healed back to its original condition.
"Mmm," he growled softly at her response, nuzzling the side of her neck. "I'll let you mark me as much as you want... if you want..."
"Mmm... make love with me first Eian... We'll sort out your marks later..."
"I hope I get a hundred..."
***
A while later, limbs still entangled, Fiona laid her head on Eian's chest, listening to the accelerated pounding of his heart; evidence of their vigorous gymnastic skills on the bed. At the moment, he was still hard inside her; a feeling she was getting used to each time they mated. A smile of amusement lit up her face as she looked up into her husband's eyes.
"I'm sorry about all the biting..." she whispered. "I didn't know you tasted so good."
A warm hand crept down her body, landing with a smack on her butt. "Don't get used to it," he growled. Eian didn't want her to know it but his wolf had been ecstatic at the thought of its mate finally marking it back, even though Eian knew that her tentative little pricks were just a punishment for lying to her earlier.
However, his beautiful little Vampire was nestled so innocently in his arms that surely no one would believe she was such a vindictive creature with various well-thought out ideas on how to punish him. Oh yes... he had been privy to them.
"What are you thinking about Eian?" she whispered...
as though she didn't know...
"You're such a vindictive little vixen," he replied; another smack landing on her butt.
"Me?" she purred with feigned innocence. "You're here, buried deep inside me on our warm bed instead of sleeping in the garden and you say I'm vindictive? That's just so mean..."
"I'll show you mean," he replied, rolling her onto her back; watching her eyes roll back in pleasure at the feeling of his hardened manhood plunging even deeper inside her.
***
When Alaron entered the bookshop that morning, he wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. He knew that Fiona would not arrive until half an hour later so he had to come up with a reason to enter before he chickened out and walked away.
A while later, he let himself into the store, pacing the carpeted floors. Erika was nowhere to be found. He leaned lazily against her cashier counter and surveyed the place. It was really a dump. How in the world could Fiona put up with it?
He waited for a few more minutes and heard the slight thud of footsteps.
"Excuse me? We're not opened yet." Alaron looked up to the sound of the voice and found her staring at him from the stairway. So... she lived upstairs.
"I'm uh... I want to get Fiona a book before she comes," he regurgitated the script from memory. It had taken him five whole minutes to come up with the suitable line.
Erika looked at him doubtfully but took the bait. "What book?"
"Uh... some baby book. She's trying to conceive you know? I thought maybe I should get her something to uh... help her along."
Erika's face suddenly lit up with amusement and she pulled her head back in laughter.
"She doesn't need help in
that
department. Did you get a load of the guy she married? Now, Fiona can be a little soft around the edges but her husband is not.... Definitely not," she replied, as she moved towards the coffee maker.
Alaron didn't know why her sentence irked him. It was bad enough that Fiona compared him to that mutt... but this stranger? What does she even know about them anyway? Fiona's not going to have an easy pregnancy like any other human. Sure he said he wasn't going to help her with the baby thing but since when did he ever mean anything he said?
"Just help me find the damn book," he growled in an irritated voice.
"Find it yourself. I'm not on duty right now so we are two perfect strangers in a public space," she said, ignoring him.
Alaron couldn't believe this woman. Why couldn't all women be as gentle and sweet as his mother or Fiona? Okay... maybe they were scary when they got angry but generally sweet-natured. But this human was just unyielding!
Alaron let out a snarl but didn't reply her. Obviously she was playing hard to get... which makes hunting the prey all the more thrilling, he thought. Just as well. He turned his focus to the bookshelf in front of him and began perusing the baby book collection that they had.
"
Baby names, Pregnancy Journal... Belly laughs
..." he muttered, obviously amused at the titles. "No wait... this one sums it about right:
What's going on in there?
"
Alaron was actually amazed that people actually write stuff about babies and what to do about them. That was just as weird as him standing in front of the baby section looking for the right book.
"Al? What are you doing here so early?"
Alaron quickly hid the book he was holding behind his back as Fiona approached him. Her eyes flicked to the titles on the shelf.
"Baby books?" She looked puzzled then frowned. "Did you get someone pregnant?"
"No I didn't silly!" he replied, giving her a playful push. "It's kinda like for you..."
Fiona was about to reply when Erika shouted across the room at them.
"Get your hands off her! Fiona! How can you just stand there when he just manhandled you like that?"
Fiona looked up at Alaron. She knew he had pushed her, albeit playfully, but she hadn't moved an inch; a normal human being might have flown across the room. It wasn't a big deal... but apparently Erika thought it was for she was fuming as she marched towards them.
She was jabbing a finger against his chest and delivering various threats and curses. For a moment, the two Vampires just stood rooted in shock.
When she managed to snap out of it, Fiona eased away from them before she laughed out loud and ruin the moment. She had caught Alaron's eye and saw the plea in them but all she could do was cover her mouth to stop the giggles.
When he left a while later, Erika went over to Fiona.
"Sweetie, you really shouldn't let him push you around like that. I know he's your brother and all but he sure is rough. If you get pregnant, it's going to be unsafe for him to behave that way around you," she warned.
"Oh? Why is that?"
"Honey... don't you know anything about pregnancies? Bugger... that bloke was right about you needing help now aye? Well, if you fall, it might increase the chances of a miscarriage... and we don't want that now do we?" she said kindly.
"Oh..." Fiona wished she was already at that state of worrying about a miscarriage... but she hadn't even conceived anything yet. With a sad sigh, she looked at Erika and tried to change the topic.
"You know Erika... Alaron can be quite... aggressive at times but I've thrown him against a wall myself so you can say shoving each other is our favourite pastime."
"Surely not!" she exclaimed in exasperation.
"Well... okay maybe I exaggerated. But my point is that he's a very misunderstood person... sometimes I think he behaves that way because it's his self-conscious defense mechanism."
