"I don't..." His blue eyes narrowed and he took a step towards the dark crack between the two buildings.
Panicked, I grabbed his elbow. He twisted to look at me and I roughly shook my head at him. "Don't you dare, Teren. You stay here...with me." I searched his eyes until he finally nodded.
Looking back to the alley, he shook his head. "I don't hear it anymore anyway."
As Tracey and Hot Ben laughed and bumped into the back of us, I asked him, "What did you hear?"
He grabbed my hand and shook his head, starting to walk down the street to his car. "I'm not sure, it was really faint." I swallowed - really faint to Teren was really faint. He noticed my reaction and grinned nonchalantly, bringing me closer to his side. "It was probably nothing." His other hand went to his head. "I'm practically deaf now anyway." He made a motion like he was trying to clean out his ear and I laughed, my fears momentarily tempered by his humor.
I drove Teren's Prius with Tracey beside me while Teren followed us in Hot Ben's SUV. Tracey chatted the entire time we drove them to Ben's house. She briefly talked about my pregnancy, a little belligerently angry that I didn't tell her immediately, and then she switched to the wedding. She had seen a bridesmaid dress last week that would be perfect, and she wanted to go buy it tomorrow. I told her that was fine; I didn't care what her and my sister wore, I didn't even care what colors they wore. She giggled and described it in detail. I laughed a little when she told me it was blood red. How perfect. I told her I'd call Ashley and we'd all go and find one for her too.
After dropping them off at Hot Ben's apartment, and making sure the drunken couple would be okay for the rest of the night (which, as they started getting handsy in the entryway, I thought the rest of their night would be just fine), Teren and I made our way home. We got a little handsy in the entryway as well, and actually ended up stumbling half-dressed into his obligatory piano room, having a bit of an intimate moment on the bench in front of his baby grand.
We fell asleep down there, with our feet up on the bench and a blanket from a nearby chair draped across our bare bodies. After the intensity died down, Spike had found us and nestled in-between us, and I sighed happily in my sleep at our odd little family.
The next morning, I awoke to a steaming cup of cocoa placed on the floor by my head. An amused Teren was squatting behind it when I cracked my eyes open. He indicated where I was sprawled out on the floor, half of me underneath the piano bench and Spike nestled close into my side. "You move all this way...to have a slumber party on my floor?"
I grinned and chuckled as I stretched out the kinks in my body, Spike stirring beside me and licking my shoulder. "I didn't hear you complaining last night," I muttered between yawns.
He smirked and leaned down to kiss me. "I had nothing to complain about." He sighed as he pulled away. "I have to go...I'll see you tonight."
He kissed me again and I playfully pulled him into me. He grunted as he lost his balance and the top half of him fell on the top half of me. He started laughing as Spike yelped and darted out of the room, but my appetite had sprung back up and I wasn't in a laughing mood. I wasn't letting up with the affectionate kisses either. His laughter died as well, as his humor switched to something else. He eagerly returned my ardent touches, his hands moving under the blanket to caress my bare skin. That hand went straight down to between my thighs and slid against me. I was ready for him again, already, and I moaned in his mouth as he worked his hand over me. Dropping his head to my shoulder he muttered, "Emma...I don't have time for this..."
My response was a nonverbal one as I groaned and arched against his hand, feeling the heat his icy touch created, rising in me already. His body leaning against mine shifted so he could press his h*ps against my leg. His mouth came back to mine, nearly attacking me, and as his hand continued stoking my fire, he brought his thumb into the equation, circling it around my sensitive core as his fingers worked inside of me. I gasped and pulled at the top half of him leaning over me. My hands were everywhere - in his hair, pulling on his clothes, trying to pull him on top of me, even though that stupid bench was in the way.
He murmured something about really needing to go and as I was nearly exploding, I breathlessly begged, "Please, don't...stop."
He groaned and slipped another finger in and I cried out as the pleasure ripped through me. His breath fast in my ear, he panted, "This is killing me. I need...something, Emma."
Without thinking about it, I brought my wrist to his mouth. He didn't hesitate at what I offered him. His free hand held my arm and he bit down, easily puncturing the skin. That was all I needed too. My release instantly burst through me, and I cried out with the force of it. He made several short moaning noises as he drank while I came. As his fingers and mouth slowed, I felt drained and satisfied, on multiple levels. Eventually he licked the wounds closed on my wrist and removed his fingers from inside my body; he licked those too. Still breathing slightly heavy, he pulled back to gaze at me with unfocused eyes.
My own breath heavy, I ran a hand down his face, wiping a speck of blood off his lip. "Holy hell, Teren. Can we wake up like that every day?"
He grinned and laughed, leaning in for a quick peck as his teeth retracted. "Now, I really do have to go. I love you."
I held onto his arm as he stood. "I love you too." He grinned as he looked down on me, lightly shaking his head as he turned to leave the room. He called out another goodbye and then I heard the door shutting. I sighed as I reached over for my miraculously not toppled over hot chocolate, thinking I really, really loved living here.
Later at work, I broke the news of my upcoming wedding to Clarice and the rest of my coworkers. I broke the news because a still bubbly (even with a hangover) Tracey wouldn't shut up about it. Clarice overheard us talking about dress shopping later and I cheerily confessed my plans. She gave me a three second smile before flatly saying, "You don't have any more vacation time, so I hope you weren't planning on a honeymoon."
Mentally I rolled my eyes, but I happily replied with, "No, we sort of already had our honeymoon." I smiled at the memory of all the weeks we'd spent at the ranch and Clarice walked away, muttering something about that being a good thing. I did not mention to her that I'd be taking maternity leave before the year was up, and I made Tracey promise to do the same. I sort of had the feeling that that would drive Clarice over the edge.
After work, Tracey and I carpooled in my cute bug and we picked up my sister before heading to the dress shop. It was a quaint little wedding boutique and I bit my lip as we walked past the pure white beauties in the window. Tracey and Ashley both laughed at my reaction and Ash muttered that it was sort of hypocritical for me to wear white, when I was already pregnant. I smacked her arm while Tracey laughed her agreeance.
Smiling, we all entered the shop together. Ash and Tracey quickly found the dress Trace had picked out, and both had squealed with delight when they found a similar one for Ashley to try on. I was a little nervous for my sister, but the floor length dress had long sleeves and a high neckline, and would cover most of her scarred body. I was a little surprised that Tracey had even liked the conservative style when I saw it on the rack, but then they both tried them on, and I understood. It was very form fitted, and clung to their bodies in such a way, that they both may as well have been nak*d. We had my sister's altered, so it was just a tad looser on her, and then I started trying on dresses, just for fun.
It was the third one I tried and I knew it was the one. It lightly trailed on the floor with a short train behind it. The sleeves were an intricate, see-through lace design with pearls stitched along the seams. The front was almost corset looking, but the respectable kind, with crisscrossing strips of satin emphasizing all of the assets that Teren adored, especially now that those assets had started to swell out a little. The back had a cutout shape of a heart between my shoulder blades and a row of pears lining my spine. The whole thing was elegant and a touch sexy and cost more than all my pantsuits combined. But it was perfect, and already fit me with no real adjustments needed. It seemed like a no brainer to me, so I ended up leaving that wedding boutique with dresses for the girls and a dress for me.
I had Ash hide the dress for me at her place, which was my old place. After I'd moved out, Teren and I had eagerly helped her move in. My mom had objected at first, claiming the steep stairs were too challenging for her, as some of her joints were a little stiff, but Ash had rolled her eyes and told her that she was nearly twenty and wanted to try living on her own. Mom couldn't really object to that, so she'd halfheartedly helped us change her over.
Ash loved it. She loved the independence and loved having friends from school over at any hour, not having to worry about waking Mom, and she'd confessed that she hoped to have a boy or two over. I smiled at that and hoped she did too. I hated the idea of her looks keeping her from the love she so deserved. That fear had led me to ask Teren to change her once, which he'd adamantly refused. But as I listened to her talk and heard the growing confidence in her voice, I suddenly heard a woman emerging from inside that scarred body, and I was positive that someday, some man would hear that woman too, and love her regardless.
I was smiling over that thought as I came back to my new modern looking two-story home, with a breathtaking view of the ocean, out the wall of windows in the living room. Sunsets here were truly spectacular and I couldn't wait for the late days of summer, so Teren and I could sit out here every evening and enjoy them together. A thrill shot through me as I realized that Teren and I would be married by then, we'd be husband and wife. Then a frown hit me. I'd also be the size of a house by then. We'd have to check the weight limit on his deck.
Teren disrupted my thoughts by easily picking me up and carting me off to the kitchen. He plopped me down at a chair by the kitchen table and asked about my shopping trip while he prepped a plate for me. My stomach rumbled as I eyed the steaming pile of lasagna before me, and not waiting for him to join me, I hungrily dug in, telling him all the details about the trip that I could. I mentioned I found a dress for me, but kept back the details of it. He could wait.
He laughed at my hunger as he poured a glass of blood for himself from the steaming carafe, eerily similar to the kind his mom used at the ranch. He sat next to me, leaning back casually in his chair as he sipped his dinner. I watched him while I ate, wondering how a liquid diet could possibly be as satisfying as the calorie-leaden food currently plopping into mine. He watched me with an odd grin as I watched him. Taking a break from inhaling my food, I asked, "Do you miss it?"
He tilted his head as he took another sip. "Miss what?"
I raised a forkful of cheesy goodness. "Food. Real food. Well, human food." Human food which I continued to shovel down my throat with abandon.
He grinned lopsidedly and then shook his head. "No." His pale eyes pulled away from my mouth to look into mine. "Surprisingly, no, I don't miss it." He shrugged his shoulders and indicated my plate with his glass. "It doesn't even sound good anymore."
I smiled that at least he didn't miss something that he couldn't have anymore. I mean, he couldn't exactly digest the incredibly heavy food I was starting to get full on. "Well, that's good that you don't have to endure a lifelong...yearning." I shrugged and then laughed at my choice of words.