“I know…and I appreciate that love. I still worry. This is a big shock for me. I am just glad Amelia could help, before we scared the life out of her. I think she popped out from under the desk.”
Sure enough she had, and Shane slowly eased himself up, though he really didn’t want to move out from Carmen. She just had a way of making everything right. Course, she saw though his eyes the worry, and that was something he simply couldn’t hide. Standing up, he got dressed again, though slightly disheveled, and then offered his hand to Carmen.
“You still have your guests here, love. We kept them waiting long enough, don’t you think?” He said, motioning from them to go outside and discuss what had happened, and plans for the future, as a team.
<3>
Carmen’s Office
She looked at him. “And don’t be sorry, my darling mate. I’m not made of glass. There was a reason you chose me for your mate. I hope you understand now why that is.” She gave him a smile before she put the car in drive and took them home.
And now…
Shane’s House – Garage
Carmen pulled into the garage and killed the lights. She checked the time and noticed they still had about 2 hours until sunrise. She wanted to get Shane into the shower and into bed so he could rest. Jarvis was standing in the doorway leading into the kitchen and hurried over when he saw Carmen helping Shane from the car.
“What happened to him?” he demanded as Carmen got Shane’s arm over her shoulder.
“Nothing you need to worry about. Just help me get him to his room.” she ordered. Shocked didn’t even begin to cover Jarvis’s expression as he immediately did what she commanded. He got on Shane’s other side and together the two of them got the physically and emotionally exhausted vampire to his room.
Shane’s Bedroom
They set him down on the bed and he seemed to sigh with relief. Carmen began to unbutton her jacket before remembering Jarvis was still in the room. “Can you go to the garage at the station and bring Shane’s car back here?” she asked him.
Jarvis was still staring at Shane and vaguely heard Carmen’s question. “What? Oh…yeah…I can. Is he going to be all right?”
“He’ll be fine, Jarvis. He just needs a shower, food and rest in that order. Now get going. Daylight isn’t too far off and I don’t want you to get caught out.” She shoved Jarvis out of the room and locked the door.
She went into the bathroom and turned on the taps in the bathtub. He needed a long soak in the tub after that transformation stretched all his muscles to their limits. As she waited for the tub to fill, she called Mary on her cell and let her know what she needed. Mary agreed to go and Carmen thanked her profusely.
She turned off the water and went back into the bedroom. Shane lay upon the bed, eyes closed. “Darling, wake up. Let’s get you cleaned up so you can rest properly.” she urged, helping him to his feet. They made their way into the bathroom where she let him lean against the wall as she removed the tattered remains of her clothing. She took him by the hand, stepping into the tub first before she drew him in with her. She settled him between her legs, his back pressed against her chest and waited for him to relax.
She spoke no words to him, just simply let him relax in her arms as she gave him all the love and support she could. She took up a sponge and lighty ran it over his chest and face, brushing back his hair away from his forhead as she washed him gently. Every once in a while, she would stop long enough to press a kiss to the back of his head, his cheek, his neck or shoulder, letting him know that she was with him, that he wasn’t alone. It was what she could do for him. She loved him. That was all that mattered.
The ride back from the police station, had Shane sitting in the passenger seat looking almost lost in a way. Strange that the bold lead Vampire could even be reduced to this. Normally, he doesn’t morph into the full on creature, the beast. But Carmen brought it out, and it was almost impossible to stop. Only when he was in full on battles, or attacks did this creature emerge, never before had he let it out in front of Carmen. How does one describe the beast that lurks within Shane? All of us have a dark side to us, but this creature…words are not enough and now that Shane had morphed back, it was clear it had taken a great deal out of him. Idly, he fingered the glass window of the car door, while Carmen drove. He didn’t look at her, but sat in silence, his mind racing from what had transpired in her office. He tried to pull the blanket around him better, but the seat belt got in the way, and he gave up. Shane didn’t speak…unusual again for him. He would be fine…he would.
The Garage
Being helped from the car, with the blanket starting to slip, Jarvis ran out from the house and slowed his pace seeing Shane in such a state.
“What happened to him?”
“Nothing you need to worry about. Just help me get him to his room.”
Shane’s brow creased as he let Jarvis help him inside, and he hated being fussed over like this. It was almost demeaning in a way. But what could he do? The sun was going to rise soon, and time was of the essence to get him inside. Jarvis had wanted to tell them both about their ill fated trip to the lake, and how David and his crew were. The new vampire on the block; the were and the vampire that fought over some blonde girl. So much was happening, and yet Shane didn’t look ready to be filled in on anything. Helping them to the door, Carmen asked that Jarvis take the car and go get Shane’s car from the station. He grimaced, as he looked between them then nodded.
“Sure…I’m right on it.” Taking the keys he sped outside at lightning speed, leaving Misty and Bianca standing watching them in the back of the foyer.
“Is he okay?” Misty asked with concern watching Carmen take Shane upstairs. Had David attacked? Was that even possible? They just saw the gang at the lake. Misty and Bianca shared a look, before going back to the media room. They knew that Carmen would be down later and they could fill her in on everything.
Shane’s bedroom
With all that was going on, Shane just made his way to the bed and collapsed, closing his eyes and started to make a raspy sound, that got Carmen’s attention. The blanket had slid off, and you could see the strain on his skin from where his skin had been stretched and then pulled back. It was not a pretty sight at all. Normally his body adapted well to change, but not this time.
“Darling, wake up. Let’s get you cleaned up so you can rest properly.”
“Mm..mhmmphm” Came the muffled reply, one eye opening, but not really responding properly. Carmen helped him up and took him into the bathroom, where a full bath had been made. Groggily he placed one leg in then the other, and eased down with Carmen getting in behind him. It actually felt good, and he made an audible groan, as he settled down. With Carmen treating him with such care and attention, he closed his eyes again….and basically let her. He felt every kiss, every touch. The feel of her pressed against his back…the way her legs locked around him, holding him up…
His breathing started to regulate, and he let out a sigh at last. He found her hand, and brought it to his lips, kissing it softly and easing his head back to her shoulder. Home was with her.
<3>
Carmen felt when Shane totally relaxed in her arms and she was rewarded with her love and patience when he took her hand and kissed her knuckles. His head fell back to her shoulder and she smiled.
“What are you thinking?” she asked quietly. She got no sense of the direction of his thoughts as they rode home. It was as if he had kept his mind closed to her. But she wanted to know how he felt about what the had done, what she had got him to do. She had looked upon the face of pure evil…and yet had not run away. This was the power of true love and loyalty, both she had pledged to him without reservations.
She continued to run the sponge over his chest and arms, her strokes gentle and non-sexual.
“What are you thinking?”
Shane held her hand a moment, the water trickling back into the bathwater, creating small ringlets or tremors in the surface. He almost had to think about what he was going to say. Shane had been quiet for most of the ride back, and he knew that was not like him at all, and she would pick up on it. He pursed his lips, and then decided to open up.
“You …thinking of you. Just everything about you. I kinda look back on how I treated you…you know before we…” His voice broke off, and his brow furrowed somewhat. The pause would last a few seconds.
“You’ve changed me, so much. Then tonight, you asked to see the real me. The creature I am. I don’t normally just let that out.” Again he was speaking in spurts, as though he was afraid of what he was going to say, if it would make her think, feel differently about him.
“Sometimes, I lose sight of who I am, you know? Like I am putting on a show for the world. I created this image, this persona, as a way to deal with what I am. It worked for a long time too. But tonight, I feared that when you saw what I truly was….I’d lose you. I think that is why I think, I had trouble recovering.”
He turned his head up to see her face and you could see the worry. “You said you trusted me. And I fell apart. What kind of man does that?”
<3>
He didn’t speak for a moment after she questioned him, simply content to hold her hand as the water trickled from their skin back into the water around them. It was unusual for him to be so quiet, always having something witty to say. But she was patient.
“You …thinking of you. Just everything about you. I kinda look back on how I treated you…you know before we…”
“Mmm…you were a shit to me. And I gave it right back to you, if you recall.” she smiled fondly, squeezing his fingers gently.
“Sometimes, I lose sight of who I am, you know? Like I am putting on a show for the world. I created this image, this persona, as a way to deal with what I am. It worked for a long time too. But tonight, I feared that when you saw what I truly was….I’d lose you. I think that is why I think, I had trouble recovering.”
“This was not your fault, baby. You had to be what you are because of circumstance. You are not to blame. I don’t blame you, Jarvis and the girls don’t blame you. You’ve hidden your true self for so long, you lost who the real Shane Williamson was.”
He turned his head to look up at her, catching her eyes with his own. She could see the hidden pain in his eyes.
“You said you trusted me. And I fell apart. What kind of man does that?”
She gave him such a look of love and tenderness, it would make him wonder what she saw in him. She leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss before drawing inches away from him.
“An honest one.” was all she said.
Her answer….was perfect, cause it was the truth. Shane glanced down at the rippling bath water, as if he wanted to reflect on what she had just said. Driven by hate, revenge and anger for so long, this was a moment of peace. It was a defining moment. We have a choice in this life, of how we wish to live it. He had made his choices based on the actions of others, and thus…became the Shane Williamson every knew. Crafting this illusion, this persona to a fine point, and all it took was Carmen tugging on his heart strings, and the whole thing collapsed. In a sense, she gave him the key to freedom, and though he was not entirely ready for it, he could see a change occurring in him, that he was struggling to adjust too.
“An honest District Attorney. Love…don’t let that get out, or I am ruined.”
Ah..the spark of Shane was reigniting. Maybe it was her kiss, the gentle caress. Who knows? He turned himself around in the bath and faced her, his blue eyes showing renewed colour. Carmen had quite a gift, and not only that, she was one hell of a woman.
“Whatever man had hurt you before, or left you sitting by the side as they went on to their next score, was a fool. And for that…I am eternally gratefully.”
His smile returned….
<3>
“Cross my heart and hope to breathe.” she grinned.
He eased up onto his knees and turned to face her in their shared bath. She shivered a little in the cold of the room. She had been enjoying his warmth pressed against her, and taking care of him for a change. She looked at him expectantly.
“Whatever man had hurt you before, or left you sitting by the side as they went on to their next score, was a fool. And for that…I am eternally gratefully.”
And then he smiled.
If she could have bottled his smile and sold it to vampire hunters the world over, she would have either been very dead or very rich. It was the most honest smile she’d ever seen from him.
She actually blushed at his words, and that shocked her more than anything he’d done before. She’d never blushed a day in her life.
Tonight was full of new things for the both of them. For Shane, it was an affirmation that no matter what he did, what he said, there was always going to be one person who would stand at his side. For Carmen, it was the knowledge that there was one man in this world who would always be there for her, no matter what.
She stepped out of the tub and grabbed a towel, holding it open in front of her body.
“Come on…let’s get you to bed.” she smiled, shaking the material in her hands.
Seeing his love rise up out of the water, the small lines of bath water running off her form, had him mesmerized for a moment. The level of the water dropped and he felt the chill now she was gone. She instantly got a towel ready for him, as opposed to getting one herself, and he had a quirky grin as he stood up himself.
“Is this what it is like to be pampered by a hot wet woman?” Shane said with a wink, stepping out of the bath and onto the fuzzy bathmat. “If so…then I like it.” He took the towel she offered and then instead of drying himself, he proceeded to pat her down, all the while chuckling.
“Hun…you’re so wet, did you know that? How am I going to get it all?”Shane teased before planting a kiss on her nose. He wrapped the towel around her, then grabbed one off the rack for himself. Shane rubbed himself down thoroughly, then followed her into the bedroom, which he normally didn’t share with another. It had very dark fittings and the bed looked gothic compared to the rest of the furniture in the house. The automatic shutters started to whine as the computer operating system signaled that dawn was approaching. Shane let out a yawn and dropped the towel on the floor, before crawling into bed, then patting the vacant side.
“You…here..now.”
Shane was back…
<3>
“Now wait a minute. I’m supposed to be taking care of you.” she laughed as he patted her body with the towel. He simply ignored her words and continued his ministrations.
“Hun…you’re so wet, did you know that? How am I going to get it all?” he teased, kissing her nose.
“A good licking always seems to work.” she teased back, lips curled into a smirk as he draped the towel around her shoulders. He grabbed another of the rack for himself and she watched him dry himself before he wrapped it around his waist. She did the same and turned to head into the bedroom. Shane moved in behind her as the automatic shutters began to close over the windows. Dawn was approaching and Carmen began to feel the lethargy steal into her limbs.
He dropped his towel to the floor (and she took a moment to admire the firm and sexy ass before her) and crawled into the spacious bed. She yawned herself and began to leave the room, leaving him to his rest. He surprised her by patting the empty space beside him.
“You…here..now.” he ordered. Cocky Shane was back in full form and it made her smile.
“Are you sure? You need your rest” she yawned again as the morning sun began to peek over the horizon. She was about to fall asleep on her feet. He repeated the action, holding out his hand for her. Too tired to argue with him, she joined him in his bed, voluntarily, for the first time in their relationship. She pressed against his side as he pulled the blankets over them both. She wrapped an arm around his waist as she felt his arm wrap around her shoulders. With the little energy she had remaining, she kissed his pectoral muscle. “Love…you.” she murmured just before daybreak dragged her into the land of dreams.
Across Derry, the start of a new day was dawning, as the first rays of the sun’s light christened the earth. While many creatures stirred from their restful slumber, others were going to sleep. The household of Shane, his love Carmen and the three younger vampires; Jarvis, Misty and Bianca, had all settled in their respective rooms, the lethargy taking the very life from them and sending them off into sleep.
At the lair of David and his crew, they too were all in the basement of the decrepid mansion, hanging from the ceiling like bats, and the blood doll still up and cleaning up, or trying too, the mess that the boys had made. She walked past one coffee table, and there you could see a file, that was marked; “Retribution”
Sarah stopped a moment, and looked about nervously, before reaching down to pick it up. Nervously, she started to open the file, as a photograph fell out on the ground at her feet. The more she read…the more a look of horror was etched on her face.
It all hit home at once. Nothing…was what it seemed. Who to trust now? She quickly closed the file, and then dropped it on the coffee table, before racing out of the mansion…..to warn ‘him’.
<3>
