Chapter 24

Gwyneth’s knitting needles clicked as she knit and rocked. “Morgaine, are you sure a sweater is enough of a gift?”

“It is if you knit it with your own hands.”

“I love the black wool we got, and the pattern is nice, but I haven’t knit anything for a few years. Last knittin’ I did was a flask cozy for Dwayne.”

Morgaine chuckled. “A cozy for his booze?”

Gwyneth pouted. “It’s what he wanted. The metal flask got cold in winter.”

Morgaine had all she could do to hold her laughter in. Dwayne was still a sore spot for Gwyneth.

Suddenly, Gwyneth brightened and sat up straighter. “I know what Nathan really wants. Yeah, that’ll do it.” She fell silent and returned to her knitting but sported a satisfied smile.

“Uh oh. What are you thinking?”

“None of your beeswax. It’s personal.”

“What? A blow job?”

Gwyneth gasped. Morgaine waited for the indignant denial, but to her surprise her cousin asked, “Have y’all learned to read minds now?”

Morgaine slapped a hand over her mouth but lost the battle and guffawed.

Gwyneth stopped knitting and leaned forward with her eyebrows scrunched. “What?”

Morgaine waved away the giggles. “Nothing. It’s a great gift. Any man would be thrilled, especially one who loves you so much.” An unexpected sadness came over her.

Gwyneth noticed her mood change. “What is it, cousin?”

“I just wonder if Sly loves me that much. He seemed so shocked that I’d want to be with him forever. I thought that’s what commitment was all about.”

“Oh, sugar… Y’all are lookin’ at this all wrong. I thought me and Chad explained it to you already.”

“You did. I just wasn’t quite in agreement.”

At that moment a knock sounded on the door. “I’ll get it,” Morgaine said.

“Thanks, I know it’s my apartment and all, but I’m all comfortable and covered with yarn, so I’d be much obliged.”

Morgaine opened the door and was surprised to see Sly standing there.

“Hi, hon. You’re just the one I wanted to see.”

How did he know she was here at Gwyneth’s place? Oh, yeah. Superhuman hearing. I guess I’ll never know what that’s like.

“Nice to see you, Sly.”

“Why so formal? Is everything all right?”

Gwyneth butt in. “She thinks you don’t love enough to turn her. Personally, I think she’s crazy for wantin’ it, but who am I to judge?”

Morgaine whirled on her. “Gwyneth!”

Sly put his hands in his pockets. “I thought as much. We need to talk.”

Morgaine sighed. “I guess we do. Gwyneth, I’ll see you later. You’re still coming over for dinner and the burning of the Yule log, right?”

“Of course. I wouldn’t miss it. Remember that cake Yule log I made last year?”

Ugh. Don’t tell me she still has it.

“I just made another one exactly like it. I thought we could invite Nathan and Sly over for dessert. Well, wine for Sly.”

Whew. The cake isn’t stale and hard as a rock. “Sure. Sly would you be interested in celebrating Yule with us tonight?”

“Absolutely. I was going to ask you when I could give you your Yule gift.”

Morgaine sucked in a breath. “A Yule gift? For me?”

“Why are you so shocked? I heard you went Christmas shopping.”

“Oh… I did. It won’t be ready tonight though.”

“That’s fine. I’ll give you your Yule gift today and you can give me my Christmas present on Christmas.”

She smiled sadly. “That would be fine with me, except your gift won’t be ready for Christmas either. I tried, but it’s kind of complicated.”

“That doesn’t matter. We can have a belated Christmas anytime.”

She gave him a coquettish look. “I’ll make it up to you.”

Gwyneth laughed.

He grinned. “I’ll look forward to that. So, can you come down to my apartment?”

“Sure.” She waved to her cousin, “See you later,” and closed the door behind her.

The night before, Sly had mesmerized a jewelry maker, telling her she would give him three 7-inch pieces of white gold and he would pay her back as soon as he could. The cost wasn’t prohibitive because they were raw materials and no artist had designed anything from them yet. Sly knew exactly what he wanted to do.

He braided all three bands of gold, bent them around a dowel to meet, cut the ends to overlap, and then he used his vampiric strength to fuse them together. On the flat section, he used a sharp needle, and in his best cursive handwriting, inscribed their initials…SF MM. It came out better than he had envisioned.

He was excited to show it to her and hoped it would mean more, because he’d made it by hand just for her.

Morgaine appeared nervous while he unlocked his door. She shifted from foot to foot behind him.

“What’s wrong, Morgaine?”

“Nothing.” She slapped a smile on her face so fast he almost didn’t catch the worried expression it had replaced.

He opened his door and stepped aside for her to enter.

“Seriously, how are you, love?”

“I’m well. I suppose you are too since you never get sick unless you come into contact with silver or sun. And now that you have your wine, you don’t even have to worry about that.”

“I don’t know about silver yet. I haven’t tried handling it.”

Is she being sarcastic? No, that’s not my Morgaine.“I want you to know I’m rather proud of what I made for you. I hope you like it.”

“You made something for me? That’s so sweet!”

All the jittery nerves and frosty formality seemed to disappear.

“Wait in the living room. I’ll go and get it.”

She grinned and strolled over to his sofa.

He had it in his bedroom, not sure when he’d have the opportunity to give it to her. He thought it might be nice before or after making love, but come to think of it, giving gifts while wearing nothing but underwear seemed a little unromantic.

He plucked it off the dresser and returned to her. On the way, it glowed. Maybe it was simply the way the light hit the metal. Perhaps he’d infused it with the light of love. It wouldn’t surprise him.

He curled his fingers around the ring and hid his hand behind his back.

Morgaine smiled. “You’re not going to make me guess which hand are you?”

“No.” Sly sat beside her. “I just didn’t have a box or wrapping paper. I hope that’s okay.”

She smirked. “No, absolutely not. I must have wrapping paper.”

Sly knew she was joking but decided to play along. “Oh, never mind then.” He started to rise.

She grabbed a fistful of his shirt and dragged him back down. “No, I’m kidding. I’ll forgo the wrapping.”

He grinned and kissed her on the cheek. “I thought as much.” Then he opened his hand.

Morgaine caught her breath. Her eyes grew wide, but she didn’t say anything. She picked up the beautiful ring and examined it.

“You made this?”

Sly nodded.

“It’s beautiful.” She stared openmouthed.

“Let me try it on you and see if it fits.”

“Okay.” She held out her left hand, then her right. “Which hand should I wear it on?”

“Well, now, that’s up to you.”

She grinned and dropped her right hand, keeping her left hand extended for him. He slipped it on her ring finger, and it fit perfectly.

“Wow, how did you know my size?”

“I didn’t. I guessed.”

“Good guess.” She held up her hand and admired it. “I can’t get over it. You made this?”

“Yup.”

“How?”

“Brute strength. I suppose you’ll be able to do the same thing someday, if you’re still interested.”

She whipped her gaze to his face. “Interested?”

“In becoming my vampire bride.”

She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight.

On Valentine’s Day the happily engaged couple sat in front of a cozy fire in Sly’s apartment. After exchanging Valentine cards and kissing fervently, it was time for Morgaine to spring her big surprise.

“I hope you didn’t mind waiting until now for your Christmas gift. It took a while to put it all together.” Morgaine admired her ring again. Every time she looked at it, it reminded her of the man she loved with all her heart. It still seemed like a dream that he’d fallen in love with her too.

“I don’t mind at all. I admit I’m curious though. You and Gwyneth have been up to something.”

She chuckled. “Yes, we have. But this gift is also from Merry and Jason. It’s a little weird, but I think you’ll be happy.”

He glanced at her sideways. “Weird, huh?”

“You’ll see.”

She took him by the hand and led him out of his apartment to the basement door. “Do you want to go first or shall I?”

“Why? Am I going to trip over it?”

She chuckled. “No. It might surprise you though.”

“Hmmm…” He bowed and swept his arm in a grand gesture. “Ladies first.”

Morgaine couldn’t wait to see the expression on his face when he saw the enterprise the four of them had set up. Gwyneth suggested the idea and then Merry and Jason hired some help to put the whole business together. Morgaine insisted on paying for the supplies. Her biggest and best surprise she’d save until last.

She flicked on the light switch and descended the stairs with Sly behind her. At the point where he could see the actual layout, he halted.

“What the…”

Morgaine giggled. “Can you tell what it is?”

“I see a big wooden vat, some shelves that look like they’re made for wine bottles and a few other pieces I’m not familiar with. It looks like a whole wine making operation.”

He descended to the bottom of the stairs and wandered throughout the set-up.

“It is. Gwyneth figured Sly Wine would be better if made fresh. We researched the necessary process, ingredients, and environment, and then Merry and Jason helped us with the business plan. Jason will import grapes from Central America. I even have a fireproof safe to store a few bottles, just in case. We’ll always have enough to hold us until we can set up the operation again.”

“You’re brilliant.”

“There’s more. Jason said I don’t have to pay rent anymore.”

“I see…sort of.” His brows knit in confusion.

“I think you’ll like the next part the best.”

He tipped his head and waited without saying anything.

“I’m going to run the whole thing. If you’re the super while I make Sly Wine for you…for us, I’ll have plenty of money from readings and can give up the phone sex business. Gwyneth’s already said she’ll take over the calls and help me stomp the grapes when it’s not busy.”

Sly’s posture straightened, and his jaw dropped. “Really? You’d want to do that?” His expression softened. “You know I never asked you to. Is this really what you want?”

She smiled. “More than anything. I can still work from home, be sure our needs are taken care of properly, and show muwumfuoo.”

She couldn’t finish her sentence because Sly had grabbed and kissed her.

When he let her go, he laughed. “What was that last thing you said?”

“By doing this, I can show my love for you.”

“Oh, honey.” He held her, tenderly. “This means so much to me.”

She sported a grin he couldn’t see. She just hoped he’d hear it in her voice. “I thought you’d like it.”

“I love it. I love you. So much.”

She couldn’t speak around the lump in her throat, and tears formed in her eyes.

A couple weeks later, the operation was in full swing. The girls were knee deep in the vat, stomping grapes. Morgaine glanced up and spotted her beloved on the stairs.

“Hey, Sly,” she called out when she saw him. “Want to join us?”

He chuckled. “No, I was actually hoping you’d join me, Morgaine. We have something important to take care of.”

Gwyneth continued squashing grapes with her feet. “More important than making all your curative wine?”

Sly cleared his throat. “It’s something we ought to do before the hand-fasting. You’ll have to forgive me for borrowing your cousin, Gwyneth.”

He moved to the side of the vat so fast he created a blur. Then he lifted Morgaine out of it and carried her toward the stairs. She clasped him around the neck.

“Sorry for deserting you, Gwyneth. We’ll see you later.”

“Aw, don’t pay it no nevermind.” She waved them away. “I can finish this up without y’all.”

“Thanks, cousin,” Sly said and winked.

That seemed to please Gwyneth immensely. It pleased Morgaine too and she kissed him on the cheek.

Sly carried her up the stairs into his apartment and set her gently standing up in the bathtub. “Let’s wash off those feet of yours, then we’ll take care of that little matter I mentioned.”

“Yeah, what is it we need to do that’s so important?” She turned on the water and waited for it to warm up.

“Since it’s going to be a late night, I thought you might prefer to go through the conversion first.”

Her eyes rounded. “You’re going to make me a vampire? Now?”

“Would you rather wait?”

She lowered herself to sit on the edge of the tub. “No. I guess I just thought we’d do it after or around the same time as the hand-fasting. There’s two weeks to go.”

Sly shrugged. “We can do it either way…or not at all. It’s up to you.”

“I still want to go through with it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely, positively.”

He smiled. “Okay, then. I guess we just need to decide when that should happen.”

“Does it take some getting used to?”

“Oh, yes.”

“Like how?”

“You’ll have to learn to hold things gently. Anything you grip hard you could crush.”

“Oh, dear. Is that why you’ve always been so gentle with me?”

“Exactly. When we’re both Vampires and I know I won’t hurt you, we can play a little rougher, if you want.”

Morgaine laughed. “Let’s see how it goes. Maybe we should let the mood decide.”

“Agreed.”

He twirled a lock of her hair around his finger and leaned down to kiss her.

After a long, sweet kiss, Morgaine said, “I think we should do this well before our celebration. I’d hate to give someone an enthusiastic hug and crush them.”

Sly laughed. “That’s what I thought.”

She trailed a finger up his arm, sensuously. “Can this conversion involve sex?”

“I was hoping you’d be open to that. I understand it’s pretty hot that way. Your thinking of it makes me even happier.”

She washed her feet quickly and dried them on the towel he handed her. Batting her eyelashes, she said, “Race you to the bedroom!”

Naturally, Sly beat her to it.

They seemed as perfect for each other in bed as they were in other areas. Morgaine understood his body and knew exactly how to turn him on. She felt every bit of her womanly power whenever he told her he’d go mad if he didn’t have her. Maybe it was her psychic skills—or maybe she was just paying attention to his moans and groans of pleasure. Whatever it was didn’t matter. He was the love of her soon immortal life, and she couldn’t believe she’d ever find this much happiness with anyone else.

“I never thought I’d get so lucky.”

He held her gently, almost reverently, as he gave her a long, deep kiss. She snaked her hand down between them and cupped his balls through his pants. Slowly rolling them over her fingers. His groan betrayed a deep hunger. She felt it too. It invaded her chest, and she needed him naked, now.

As if on cue, he said, “If you don’t take your clothes off this minute, I might tear them off.”

She giggled. “This is one of my few pairs of short pants, so I’d rather you didn’t.”

“Then get naked, woman.”

She grinned as she rolled up to a sitting position and whipped off her periwinkle jersey. Then she shimmied out of her navy-blue shorts, which she considered her grape-stomping outfit. With only her black lacy underwear on, she allowed him to appreciate her womanly curves.

“You’re beautiful, Morgaine.”

“You’re not bad either,” she quipped. “But you’d look a lot better naked too.”

He chuckled and bounded off the bed. In a split second, he had geared down to his birthday suit and zoomed back to the place he’d just been lounging.

She sighed. “I can’t wait until I can do that.”

“Me too.” He held out his arms. “Come to me, darling.” Giving her a devilish grin, he said, “I’ve wanted to make love to you ever since you left my bed this morning.”

She lay next to him and threaded her fingers through his silky dark hair. “Take me, then.” Her lips grazed the pale column of his neck. “Make love to me as only you can.”

He covered her body with his larger one, pressing her into the mattress. His hands scooped beneath her and roamed over her flesh, exciting a myriad of sensations.

“I love how you touch me,” she said softly. “You know every inch of me now, yet you hold me like it’s the first time. I hope we never lose that.”

“We won’t. If anything, we’ll add more to our repertoire.” He let out a low growl, hauled himself up in one swift, fluid motion and flipped her onto her stomach.

She squealed, then laughed at her own surprise. Sly popped open her bra, then lowered his body on top of her. His hands slid beneath her to her breasts and fondled them. She moaned, then lifted her bottom and pressed it against his erection. She felt his heat right through her lacy underwear. He’d obviously had his wine recently. Soon, they’d drink together and wind up tangled in the sheets.

His lips were on her neck. He kissed and excited her skin until it tingled in anticipation.

As if he’d heard her, he said, “Not yet.” Perhaps he had. He teased her by drawing his fangs over the spot.

“Don’t make me wait,” she murmured. “I want this.”

“Soon.” He plucked her hard nipples before his hand eased down between her sweltering hot thighs. He slipped his fingers into her panties and rubbed her clit until the exquisite sensation built to a fevered peak. She crashed over the edge, yelling out her release. Except for his name and “Oh, Goddess,” the words were indecipherable.

Then he divested her of her bikini bottoms. He hooked an arm around her waist and hoisted her to her knees. Her bra straps fell off her shoulders and settled around her elbows. She lifted one arm, then the other, and flung the remaining garment. She braced her forearms on the pillows, and her bare bottom was completely exposed to him. A decadent thrill worked its way through her. She knew they possessed the same passionate nature, and she loved him all the more for it.

As his fingers eased inside her already wet channel, Morgaine felt the overwhelming need to have him inside her, filling her completely. He stroked her sensitive flesh, gently at first, then increased his strokes, inciting a raging inferno.

He pumped his fingers in and out of her, his thumb coming into contact with her clit each time. When she teetered on the edge of coming, he withdrew his fingers and thrust his hard cock inside her.

The moment he touched her clit with his finger, she came, letting out a series of sharp cries that filled the room. Her internal muscles clenched, and he tensed, holding on to his control.

“Oh, yes,” he hissed. “I like it when you express yourself, sweetheart.”

He let his finger slip away from her clit so she could recover. But she didn’t want to recover. She wanted to come again and again, until neither of them could take any more. “Keep going, Sly. Keep it up until we come together.”

He chuckled and didn’t break his stride. As he surged into her, the heat grew again. She knew it would. She loved the feeling of him buried inside her, filling her. The erotic sensations made her body hum with life. It was no wonder she wanted eternal life with him. Only with him.

“Come on, Sly. Fang me, baby!”

He leaned over and just as he touched her clit again, he sank his fangs into her neck. She shot to the edge of oblivion, resulting in an out-of-body experience unlike anything she could have imagined.

Eventually, she stopped bucking and felt her life slipping away. When he’d brought her to the brink of consciousness, she slumped onto the pillows. He turned her head to the side and pressed his skin against her mouth.

“Drink, Morgaine.” A tangy liquid passed her lips and hit her tongue. He must have opened a vein. A metallic smell filled her nostrils. She lapped at his life blood, lazily at first. Suddenly, a tremendous thirst hit her and demanded more. She sucked greedily at his offering until he yanked his wrist away.

“Enough.”

Her head spun, and then magically cleared. Something was happening. A profound awaking took over. All her senses were growing ten-fold.

“I can hear the rustle of wind through the trees outside….and footsteps on the sidewalk.” The smell of her herbal shampoo overwhelmed her.

“Remember, I’m here for you. I love you.”

She heard his thought muffled somewhat, but audibly, as if in a TV dream sequence.

“Oh, my Goddess. Sly, is this what it’s like for you all the time?”

“Don’t worry. You’ll learn to moderate it.”

“I hope so. Can you hear everyone’s thoughts?”

He laughed. “Thanks goodness no.”