“It isn’t that. It’s just been a while since I invited anyone into my bedroom for any reason. Come in,” she said, stepping in and turning as she did to pull him in.
He followed her and she led him to her bed. She sat down and slid in and he took a seat on the edge of the bed by her feet. His hand closed around one of her bare feet and he picked it up and put it in his lap. She could feel the muscles of his thigh beneath her heel, then she felt the strength of his fingers wrapping around her tired foot. It was immediate invigoration.
As he firmly massaged away the aches of the day, she found herself sighing in contentment. When was the last time someone had done this for her? Had anyone ever done this for her? Not that she could remember. Very often she had been the one catering to the needs of others. He added her other foot into his lap and she began to feel drowsy. It was a combination of coming down from the adrenaline-pumping attack and the relaxation of the moment. He began to include her calves in the massage and she just about soared to heaven. She definitely began to float away.
She was drowsily aware of him finishing and she reached out to stop him from leaving.
“Stay,” she said. “Just…for a little while.”
So he stayed, kicking off his shoes and sliding in beside her. He gathered her up in his arms and hushed her softly, kissing her forehead, her cheek, her lips in gentle unassuming ways. She closed her eyes and began to fall asleep.
“I’m here for you,” he whispered against her temple.
“I’m here for you too,” she whispered back.
Then she fell asleep.
Chapter 11
Renee woke up to the smell of coffee brewing. Oh yes. The elixir of the gods awaited her. She had her coffeepot set to auto brew, but she had forgotten to refill the tub with fresh grounds after making coffee last night. Last night!
She sat up sharply in bed as memories of the night before hit her full force. She launched out of bed, stumbling a little as her legs got tangled up in her comforter. She grabbed her robe up and hurried into the hall. A glance into the open door of the guest bedroom confirmed that Rafe was up, even if the smell of coffee hadn’t already told her so. The pot could easily have just re-brewed the old grinds. Wait, had he even slept in the guest room? Last she knew he had been in bed with her.
She entered her living room and saw him sitting on a barstool at the kitchen peninsula. He was looking at a laptop; he must’ve returned to his car while she was sleeping to fetch it. She groaned inwardly as she thought of Emily hearing him come and go. She knew exactly what her friend would be thinking.
Well, that was the least of her worries, Renee told herself. She had much more pressing concerns. Not the least of which was her own safety.
“Good morning,” he said when she came close enough for him to notice her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Surprisingly. I didn’t even hear you walking about the apartment which troubles me. I didn’t know I was that heavy a sleeper.”
“It’s the crash after an adrenaline rush. I always sleep like a rock afterward.”
“So you sleep? I mean, of course you sleep. But I mean…Oh, I don’t know what I mean!”
“Don’t worry. I understand. You’re still trying to wrap your head around the whole vampire business. I get it.”
“I wish I did,” she said with a sigh. Then she beelined to the coffeemaker and poured herself a much needed cup. He already had one sitting on the counter in front of him. “Whatchya doing?”
“Some work. Smoothing out details of this treaty.”
“Tell me more about this treaty.” He hesitated so she followed up her request with a quick, “If you’re allowed to, that is.”
“I don’t see why not,” he said after a moment of thinking about it. “The cat’s already out of the bag, you might as well be allowed to watch it play.”
“Nice,” she said with a laugh.
“The treaty brings together all of the vampire nations, unifying them on a level not seen since long, long ago. You see, the vampire nation is run by principalities. There are princes in each country and in various sections of the United States, each prince responsible for his own region. The queen presides over all of these princes, holding veto power over them if they come to clash over territory or some other issue. Now, notoriously there have been principalities at war with one another for various reasons—some of the same reasons humans go to war. Land. Resources. Religious beliefs.”
“You believe in God?” she asked, surprised for some reason.
“Well, it’s different for each individual, as it is in your society. Me personally, yes, I believe in God. I believe there is a creator in this universe. I don’t know that I believe in the Christian God, but I am spiritual. What about you?”
“I…it’s hard for me to believe in a benevolent God when the word is so rife with violence and bad things. If God exists, why let so many bad things happen to good people? Like that man the sycophant killed. He had a family. Now they don’t have him any longer all because some animal wanted a meal.”
She could tell her words stung him, but she could not retract them once they were said.
“Not that you’re like that,” she added quickly.
“Renee, I appreciate your efforts to soothe me, but I am well aware that I am very different than a sycophant. Phants have no moral code, whereas I do. It’s as simple as that. But that is all that separates us. I could just as easily betray my moral code tomorrow and become a phant. It is a choice. I choose to be law-abiding. I have the free will to do that. But still, my laws are not your laws. Although part of our laws is to blend into the human environment as seamlessly as possible, there are things like our capital punishment that humans may not agree with. The fact that any law-abiding vampire may take out any sycophant he comes across, for instance. Your people would never allow an individual to take the law into his own hands.”
“This is true. So you have no court proceedings?”
“We have tribunals for those who break vampire law—aside from the sycophants. For example, I might have to face a tribunal for exposing you to our culture without being given leave to do so by the committee.”
She frowned. “Who will decide if you have to face a tribunal?”
“The committee. It really all depends on you, on whether they accept you as a safe recipient of knowledge of us.”
He followed her and she led him to her bed. She sat down and slid in and he took a seat on the edge of the bed by her feet. His hand closed around one of her bare feet and he picked it up and put it in his lap. She could feel the muscles of his thigh beneath her heel, then she felt the strength of his fingers wrapping around her tired foot. It was immediate invigoration.
As he firmly massaged away the aches of the day, she found herself sighing in contentment. When was the last time someone had done this for her? Had anyone ever done this for her? Not that she could remember. Very often she had been the one catering to the needs of others. He added her other foot into his lap and she began to feel drowsy. It was a combination of coming down from the adrenaline-pumping attack and the relaxation of the moment. He began to include her calves in the massage and she just about soared to heaven. She definitely began to float away.
She was drowsily aware of him finishing and she reached out to stop him from leaving.
“Stay,” she said. “Just…for a little while.”
So he stayed, kicking off his shoes and sliding in beside her. He gathered her up in his arms and hushed her softly, kissing her forehead, her cheek, her lips in gentle unassuming ways. She closed her eyes and began to fall asleep.
“I’m here for you,” he whispered against her temple.
“I’m here for you too,” she whispered back.
Then she fell asleep.
Chapter 11
Renee woke up to the smell of coffee brewing. Oh yes. The elixir of the gods awaited her. She had her coffeepot set to auto brew, but she had forgotten to refill the tub with fresh grounds after making coffee last night. Last night!
She sat up sharply in bed as memories of the night before hit her full force. She launched out of bed, stumbling a little as her legs got tangled up in her comforter. She grabbed her robe up and hurried into the hall. A glance into the open door of the guest bedroom confirmed that Rafe was up, even if the smell of coffee hadn’t already told her so. The pot could easily have just re-brewed the old grinds. Wait, had he even slept in the guest room? Last she knew he had been in bed with her.
She entered her living room and saw him sitting on a barstool at the kitchen peninsula. He was looking at a laptop; he must’ve returned to his car while she was sleeping to fetch it. She groaned inwardly as she thought of Emily hearing him come and go. She knew exactly what her friend would be thinking.
Well, that was the least of her worries, Renee told herself. She had much more pressing concerns. Not the least of which was her own safety.
“Good morning,” he said when she came close enough for him to notice her. “Did you sleep well?”
“Surprisingly. I didn’t even hear you walking about the apartment which troubles me. I didn’t know I was that heavy a sleeper.”
“It’s the crash after an adrenaline rush. I always sleep like a rock afterward.”
“So you sleep? I mean, of course you sleep. But I mean…Oh, I don’t know what I mean!”
“Don’t worry. I understand. You’re still trying to wrap your head around the whole vampire business. I get it.”
“I wish I did,” she said with a sigh. Then she beelined to the coffeemaker and poured herself a much needed cup. He already had one sitting on the counter in front of him. “Whatchya doing?”
“Some work. Smoothing out details of this treaty.”
“Tell me more about this treaty.” He hesitated so she followed up her request with a quick, “If you’re allowed to, that is.”
“I don’t see why not,” he said after a moment of thinking about it. “The cat’s already out of the bag, you might as well be allowed to watch it play.”
“Nice,” she said with a laugh.
“The treaty brings together all of the vampire nations, unifying them on a level not seen since long, long ago. You see, the vampire nation is run by principalities. There are princes in each country and in various sections of the United States, each prince responsible for his own region. The queen presides over all of these princes, holding veto power over them if they come to clash over territory or some other issue. Now, notoriously there have been principalities at war with one another for various reasons—some of the same reasons humans go to war. Land. Resources. Religious beliefs.”
“You believe in God?” she asked, surprised for some reason.
“Well, it’s different for each individual, as it is in your society. Me personally, yes, I believe in God. I believe there is a creator in this universe. I don’t know that I believe in the Christian God, but I am spiritual. What about you?”
“I…it’s hard for me to believe in a benevolent God when the word is so rife with violence and bad things. If God exists, why let so many bad things happen to good people? Like that man the sycophant killed. He had a family. Now they don’t have him any longer all because some animal wanted a meal.”
She could tell her words stung him, but she could not retract them once they were said.
“Not that you’re like that,” she added quickly.
“Renee, I appreciate your efforts to soothe me, but I am well aware that I am very different than a sycophant. Phants have no moral code, whereas I do. It’s as simple as that. But that is all that separates us. I could just as easily betray my moral code tomorrow and become a phant. It is a choice. I choose to be law-abiding. I have the free will to do that. But still, my laws are not your laws. Although part of our laws is to blend into the human environment as seamlessly as possible, there are things like our capital punishment that humans may not agree with. The fact that any law-abiding vampire may take out any sycophant he comes across, for instance. Your people would never allow an individual to take the law into his own hands.”
“This is true. So you have no court proceedings?”
“We have tribunals for those who break vampire law—aside from the sycophants. For example, I might have to face a tribunal for exposing you to our culture without being given leave to do so by the committee.”
She frowned. “Who will decide if you have to face a tribunal?”
“The committee. It really all depends on you, on whether they accept you as a safe recipient of knowledge of us.”
