I leaned my head against the window as I stared out into the darkness. The moisture laden clouds hung low over the mountaintops. The heavy rain that poured down from the dark masses blanketing the sky made the night so black that even our headlights did little to illuminate our way more than a few yards ahead of us.
It was a fitting night that perfectly matched our mood and the occasion. A dry, bright, and starry night would have been insensitive to the emotions that permeated the car’s interior as Max and I made our way home from an eight-week honeymoon that had been reduced to four weeks by the news that his house had mysteriously burned to the ground.
Upon my insistence that we marry right away, Max scrambled to make arrangements for law and order to be carried on by his office with the same attention given to the area when he was around and then booked us two tickets for Las Vegas. Within a week, we were happy newlyweds.
I knew that Megan would be disappointed when she discovered that we’d eloped since she’d suggested that we allow her to perform our wedding ceremony, but I felt that we’d be forced into inviting Evan and Angela to join us. Since I was rushing my marriage to Max in order to put a barrier between me and Evan, I didn’t want the energy that passed between us whenever we were in close proximity of each other looming over my marriage vows to Max. As for Angela… she’d made no bones about how she felt where Max and I were concerned. She reeked of animosity and jealousy. Again, it was something that I didn’t want permeating the environment as we made our vows to each other.
We stayed at the Palazzo and were married at The Little White Chapel. Although
he was alright with eloping, Max insisted that I wear a beautiful wedding gown while he donned a tuxedo. I have to admit that seeing the look on his face when he saw me enter the chapel in my white satin gown sent shivers of delight down my body that definitely added to the experience.
Since I wasn’t one who enjoyed being the center of attention, I was actually relieved that we didn’t have a large audience to deal with and then entertain afterward. We were able to race back to our room where we spent the next two days living on room service while repeatedly consummating our marriage.
Since our reservations for the resort in Fiji were for a good year ahead, we opted to stay in Las Vegas for the better part of a week and enjoy its fine food, good shows, and liveliness. We’d been married for five days when we woke up, looked at each other, and simultaneously said, “I’m done with Vegas.”
I’d suggested that we return to Wolf Junction and begin to set up house as a couple, but he was determined to have a long, momentous honeymoon.
Since I’d done no travel to speak of when I was growing up and had buried myself into my studies while in med school, we had a lot of choices for places to visit. I left it up to Max. He chose to start with Puerto Rico and then hop over to the Bahamas, with the promise that we’d keep our reservations for Fiji the following year for a second honeymoon.
The first few weeks were relaxing and interesting. We alternated between hanging out on the beach and taking tours of the area in the daytime. We took in a few dinner shows in the evening, but, for the most part, we retired to our rooms after a full day, made love until we could barely function, and then fell into a deep, blissful sleep.
I found that being married released what little inhibitions Max may have had -that I couldn’t even imagine existed until they were gone- where sex was concerned. He became even more lustful and adventurous. Fortunately, the same thing happened to me, so we were well matched. Was it a result of the potion spell that Megan had created to help me come in touch with my feelings?
Due to our drinking wine that was mysteriously tampered with by some unknown wine assailant, Megan had dropped the potion and it was lost to us so that I couldn’t work the spell correctly. She said that there would be repercussions for a spell gone awry. Was Max’s extreme sex drive and super erotic tastes a result of that? Or had he simply stripped off any restraints he may have had while dating me and was just showing me the real him? I didn’t know, but it didn’t matter. I was a greedy lover who reveled in the way that he explored my body and searched for new and different ways to please me in the bedroom and I enjoyed occasionally doing the same for him.
It was our last day in Puerto Rico before heading off to the Bahamas. We’d just returned from an afternoon tour of the rain forest when Max received a call from his deputy, Larry Robbins, on his cell phone. He was laughing and enjoying the stories that the guide was sharing with him about some of the antics he’d endured and witnessed by the tourists he’d guided when he excused himself to step away and take the call. I remember how, when he saw that the call was from his office, he’d jokingly said that someone had better be on death’s door or the town burned down to justify disturbing him on his honeymoon as he strutted off for his private conversation.
Concern crept in while I watched his body language as he turned his back to us and slumped his shoulders in a dejected way. Sadness permeated the atmosphere long before he’d put his cellphone back into his pocket and rejoined us. Even the others on the tour felt his pain long before he’d told me what happened.
We were on the first plane home.
What greeted us was a torrential storm with raindrops thick enough to resemble
shards of glass or slivers of wood. I remember, when I was young and we’d have storms like that. My aunt Lily would say that the angels were crying. I chose to believe that’s what was happening. The angels were feeling Max’s loss and were crying tears of remorse. I know that it was my loss too, but, since I’d never set foot in the house, all I felt was the sorrow of not having an alternate place to move into. Without his house, we’d be forced to reside at mine with Evan and Angela.
Thoughts of suggesting that we open his family estate house and live there taunted me all the way home as I lamented over having to reside under the same roof as Evan, but Max had yet to confide in me that he was super rich and that the place even existed. I was sorry that I’d promised Megan that I’d wait for him to tell me, instead of blurting out that she’d told me about his past.
There was a reason that he didn’t want me to know about the estate that he’d inherited. I assumed it was something that troubled him, since most people would flaunt their inheritance, not hide it. The aftermath of him losing his home wasn’t the right time to pressuring him to talk about it. I’d just have to suck it up and do the best I could to avoid Evan at all costs and deal with Angela as best as I could.
I heaved a sad sigh that I was sure that my husband assumed was over the house. My time away from the drama, paranormal chaos, and temptations that resided in my house had been wonderfully relaxing and pleasurable. I wasn’t ready to walk back into what I’d left. Had we been gone long enough for things to calm down? Could that happen in a few weeks’ time?
We drove right to his house. Upon his request, I stayed in the car while he spent thirty minutes or so staring at the charred remnants of what was once his home. His deputy, Larry, met us there and talked to him as they hunched together under an oversized umbrella. I assumed that they were discussing how the fire started, but I
couldn’t be sure.
When Max returned to the car, he said nothing about his conversation with his deputy and I gave him his privacy. I’d asked him if he was alright. He’d given me a weak smile and said that he was fine before pulling away from the still smoking ruin. I wasn’t the type to prod and pry. When he was ready to talk about it, he would.
Megan was on the front porch when we pulled into the drive. She braved the pelting rain to rush to the car and give us both a heartfelt hug; both as a welcome home and for sympathy over our loss. When she tried to help with our luggage, Max not only refused her help, but he insisted that she and I both go into the house and he’d follow with the luggage. Sensing that he needed some time alone, I didn’t argue.“You should have come through the house to greet us,” I said as I pulled on the hem of Megan’s rain-soaked shirt. “You should have known Max would pull right into the garage. Now, you’re soaking wet.”She stopped before stepping into the breezeway that connected the garage to the house and rung the hem of her shirt out as best as she could.“I wasn’t thinking,” she said with a shrug. “To tell you the truth, the rain felt marvelous. I’d go b
The following week was relatively uneventful as Max and I settled back into life at the former funeral home that I’d rented. To my relief, both Angela and Evan were away on a mission, so it was only Megan, Max, and me in the house.To my disappointment, Max was so devastated and preoccupied with his loss that I felt disconnected from him. It didn’t help that he hadn’t made love to me once since our return. For a man who’d wanted sex with me on a daily bases more times than I could count since we’d gotten together, this was a shock.When he wasn’t working, Max spent a good deal of time in private conversation with Megan, but I didn’t ask the topic. Knowing the history between them, I guessed that he was processing the loss of her sister, Melissa, on a permanent basis. Having her ashes in his possession for all of those years had to make him feel like he still had a part of her with him; becaus
The sound of blood mixed with adrenaline that rushed through my body almost drowned out the heartfelt greeting that he gave me as he dropped his luggage onto the floor near the door and rushed in to hug me.His lips brushed the flesh of my ear as he told me, in a soft tone, how good I looked. “Marriage must agree with you.”I felt a sense of relief and joy in seeing him that I hadn’t expected. I cared for Evan; deeply. I had to admit that to myself and come to terms with it. Had Max not been in the picture, I was certain that there would be something between us that was more than the friendship that we’d developed or the cat and mouse game that we’d played since Peter left and I’d started dating Max.Perhaps it was because of what I’d been through with Max just an hour earlier, or perhaps it was my discussion with Megan about the incubus, but I found myself wrapping my arms around Evan’s nec
Max dropped me off at the house with the promise to be home in time to take me out for dinner. I practically skipped into the house and rushed up to my bedroom to freshen up after my impromptu lover’s tryst.As I walked past the porcelain jar containing Mellissa’s ashes when I came out of the bathroom to select a fresh pair of panties, I couldn’t help feeling resentful. “Why won’t you go away?”“Where would you like me to go, baby?” echoed a man’s voice that came from nowhere.Not only was I freaked out because the voice was a disembodied voice, but it was a familiar one. I recognized it as the voice that had chuckled so wickedly after doing those things to my body while I slept that afternoon, not so long ago.Too freaked out to take the time to put my panties on and grateful that I’d changed into a sundress so that I was covered, I clutched my panties in my trembling fist and
I ran to my bedroom to clean up and fetch fresh panties for the second time that day. When I entered the room, I was shocked to find Angela stretched out on the sofa in the sitting area.“What is it about you that men can’t resist?” she asked without looking at me.“Why are you in my room? That’s a bit invasive, isn’t it?” I asked as I went into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.“Cleaning up after your little love tryst?” she bellowed.I scowled. That kiss he’d given me had made a mess of my panties. I needed fresh ones, but if I grabbed a pair in front of her, it would be like a confession of guilt.My mind whirled over what to do.I decided to start a bath. As the water filled in the tub, I stuck my head out of the door and said, “Max is taking me out to dinner. If you don’t mind, I need to get ready.”&l
Instead of taking me to the local motel as I’d expected, Evan drove several hours away and checked us into a four star hotel. He insisted that he wanted to keep me safe in a place that Max would never think to look. He immediately called Megan to tell her our location, but, to our surprise, she asked that we keep it to ourselves for fear that the spirits would hear as well. In fact, she refused to stay on longer than necessary for fear that they could trace our whereabouts from the energy connection of the telephone call.I sighed with frustration over the feeling of helplessness that consumed me where Max and that incubus were concerned.Megan had packed an easy week’s worth of clothing for me. As I began to empty my suitcase, I noticed a few very nice dresses in the mix.“Good,” Evan said as he took the dresses to hang in the closet. “You have something to wear to dinner tonight.”“I don&
It took ten days for Megan to contact us and tell us that, with the assistance of a priest, she’d managed to rid the house of the incubus. She expressed her exhaustion over performing such a task while battling the forces that were constantly being sent her way from the evil spirit witch. She was eager to have me return so that she could work with me in hopes that I could help her talk reason to the wicked witch and get her to leave on her own accord since all of the banishing methods that Megan knew had failed. Why she felt that I would be able to do something that she wasn’t able to do surprised me. Then, perhaps I placed too high of expectations on my friend who was, after all, only human. As she might be doing on me. Even so, I was willing to give it a try.When I asked about Max, there was a long silence before she spoke. He was behaving more like his old self, but he was hurt and angry that I’d gone off w
We’d spent a good deal of time talking and working through emotions that had built up since the fire. When we were finally at peace with what had happened and what was between us, we promised each other that we’d work hard to make our marriage work. No matter what happened in the past, there was a strong love between us that we were sure could be salvaged and reignited. We sealed our agreement with blissful, passionate love making. It was as it used to be… as if we’d never returned from our honeymoon.Waking up from a deep sleep, I felt a need to cuddle, so I rolled over and searched the darkness for my husband. I was surprised to discover that I had the entire bed to myself. I opened my eyes and struggled for them to focus on the digital clock. The red numbers were so bright in the darkness that they hurt my eyes as I waited for the blurriness to clear up. It was four o’clock in the morning.
Megan was waiting for me at the airport when the private plane landed. She’d brought Evan’s van to transport him in. I found that to be a touching thought. He’d like that rather than to be loaded into a hearse.Since he wasn’t human, we couldn’t offer him the traditional burial service, but I didn’t think he’d want that anyway. We took his body to Megan’s land and buried him beneath the ancient oak tree that he was prone to sit under when we were staying with her and he wanted to think. He said it gave him a peaceful feeling. As for attendees. It was me, Megan, and my aunt Lily.I’d asked his proprietor friend to take care of notifying whatever vampire committee needed to be notified of his death and he’d agreed. I had to trust that was enough. I didn’t know how to contact his army people and, quite frankly, after what Roman had done, I had no desire to rea
Evan had purchased a dozen boxes of condoms in anticipation of our wedding night and we put them to good use. In fact, we didn’t leave our room for several days. There was something very sacred and special about consummating a marriage commitment that we just couldn’t get enough of. We were in agreement that, somehow, the sex felt different. Better.By the time Megan called to tell us that the coast was clear and we could come home, we’d been behind closed doors for three days; opening them only to receive the meals that Evan had convinced his friend to supply us with, rather than make us join the others in the dining room.Although we would have liked to continue with a nice long honeymoon, I was eager to get started on my research for vampirism. Fortunately, Evan understood.We purchased tickets for a flight back home the following morning. It was a very early flight, so Evan went to the front desk an
I’d spent the two and one half hour flight with my head rested on Evan’s shoulder and my eyes closed. Part of the reason was because I was exhausted from the trauma of the day, but it was also because I had a foreboding feeling that I wasn’t ready to talk about. He was very astute when it came to my moods and I was afraid that he would pick up on it.He gently shook me alert so that I could enjoy the city lights as they boasted the excitement that awaited us once the plane landed. Since I’d never flown into a city of such magnitude in the dark before, I thought the lights a sight to behold. I kissed him on the cheek and thanked him for waking me while the flight attendant announced that we were about to land and everyone should be secured in their seats.The energy of the city consumed me as soon as we stepped out onto the sidewalk and hailed a cab. I found it a completely different feel to that of Las Vegas.
I’d expected Megan to be angry at discovering that the incubus had attacked me again, but I hadn’t anticipated the intensity of that anger. After she calmed down enough to consider how it got through the barrier, she realized that she’d put the barrier up against physical intruders, not demons or spirits. The fact that we hadn’t seen a spirit since we left my old house made us forget all about them.“Now that I think about it, we haven’t even seen your aunt Lily since we moved in here,” she said to me as she accepted the glass of brandy that Evan offered her. “That surprises me.”“I’ve been so busy settling in and setting up that I hadn’t noticed, but you’re right,” I said as I sipped on the iced raspberry herbal tea that my fiancé had fetched for me. I looked at the engagement ring on my finger and wondered how she’d react to my hastiness in accepti
We spent the next two weeks focusing on setting up the lab and making sure that the entire house was put in order. Like me, Megan had an aversion to clutter. We didn’t mind if a room was either empty or sparsely furnished as long as it was clean and not riddled with dust. So, while we shopped, lugged from the store as well as the old house, and organized, the cleaning crew was kept busy going from room to room.By the time we were finished and satisfied with the way things were looking, I felt exhausted on both a physical and emotional level.As odd as it seemed, setting up the new lab made me think of Peter. Perhaps it was because I was preparing to do research on the very thing that took him from me. I wondered if he’d made any progress with his research in Africa. It would have proven handy to be able to know his findings and share in his progress. Instead, I was starting from scratch.Megan ma
Megan and I took our time exploring the house. Even though we were searching for a suitable place to set up the lab, it didn’t detract from the fun of exploring.One of the first things that we discovered was a dumb waiter that led to a large room on the second floor. Megan called it the ballroom and, since the house was old enough, it may very well have been used for that. Shortly after, we found a butler’s elevator. Since the house had three stories and a basement, we were certain that the elevator would get a lot of use. Before moving on, we checked it for hidden doors like the one in my house had. We were happy to discover none.I checked out the basement. It consisted of a large room and then smaller rooms that ran down a narrow hall. Most of the rooms had concrete floors. One was a furnace room and the others were used for the utilities and for storage. At the far end of the basement ne
The master suite consisted of three rooms and a bathroom. I found the mahogany, French provincial furnishings a little ostentatious for my tastes, but I could live with them.The king sized bed sported a mattress that looked and felt so new that I questioned if it had ever been slept on. The cleaning crew had steamed it on both sides. The bedding for it, including a cotton covered memory foam mattress pad were laid in a neat pile at the end of the bed.I quickly set to making it.By the time I’d put my bed together, I could feel the muscles in my body begging for a reprieve. I discovered a deep, jacuzzi tub in the bathroom that was just begging to be filled with steaming hot, lavender scented water.While I waited for the tub to fill, I breathed in the scented steam that rose from it as I pinned my hair on top of my head. In the corner of the spacious, marble tiled room was a free standing oval mirror
To say that the estate house was impressive would be an understatement. I was so shocked by the magnitude of size and wealth that this house portrayed that I was completely speechless. The cleaning crew that I’d hired just hours earlier were impressively efficient. They’d managed to clean up a few rooms for Megan and I to start off using.It was clear that they had an easy month to go before they’d be done getting the place back into a livable condition. It wasn’t run down. Not in the least. It was just so thick with dust after years of sitting dormant that it looked like a light layer of snow inside the rooms that were yet to be addressed by the cleaning crew.“I thought that my house was too big and imposing. I could put three of them in here. Maybe four,” I said with wonder. “Who needs a house this big? Better yet. Why build a house this big?”&ld
Evan spent the night helping us pack up what we wanted to take to the estate house. It was shortly after midnight when we decided to call it quits. To my surprise, he went to his apartment to sleep. He said that it was because he still had things to do to prepare for his going before the vampire army board, but I guessed it was also because he wanted to put some space between us.I was assured that he loved me by the number of times that he’d said it. The fact that I was carrying Max’s child didn’t diminish that. It was more that he was serious about lessening the vampire bond between us. I could understand his desire to want to be sure of the source of my feelings for him. I even appreciated it. I also felt terrible that he had such little confidence to think that I’d only want him because of the vampire lure. I was eager to prove to him that my feelings were real. If that meant s