sheets of their king-sized bed and turned out the lamp on his nightstand. The lamp on Katrina’s nightstand cast only a dim glow in the sublevel room. He lay with his eyes closed for a short time before hearing the pocket door at the top of the stairs open and close again. He waited and felt someone sit beside him on the edge of the bed. The soothing scent of cherry blossoms, Katrina’s favorite, permeated the air.
“I know you’re not asleep yet, my love,” she whispered.
He smirked and slowly opened his eyes to stare into her lovely emerald irises. Her tight-lipped expression spoke volumes regarding her concern.
“I love you,” he offered earnestly. “No matter how unconventional our relationship is.”
Katrina frowned, and he recounted the conversation he had with Tanisha. When he finished, her expression appeared more relaxed.
“I’ll also need to be more careful around her in the future,” she noted.
“Tanisha means well,” he said. “And I think we’re becoming fast friends.”
“Hm. Be cautious, as you should with all other humans.”
“I will.”
Her expression turned thoughtful. “Caleb, are you truly happy being with me?”
His heart skipped a beat, and his pulse increased anxiously. “Of course, I am,” he stammered while raising himself up on his elbows. “Why would you even ask me that?”
She smiled at him adoringly and gently caressed her fingertips against the side of his face. Because I want you to be happy.
“Just checking,” she said simply.
He frowned and lay back on the bed while absently grasping the pendant he wore around his neck. His lack of self-confidence bothered him at that moment.
She noted his gesture and reached out to take his hand in hers as he fingered the pendant. “I’m yours forever, my love,” she stated resolutely. “You never have to question that.”
Caleb nodded as he lay back against the soft pillow behind him. She leaned down and kissed him affectionately, which he returned in kind.
“And?” he teased as he flicked his pendant between his fingers. “Anything else?”
She adopted an aggressive expression, and her hand firmly cupped the base of his neck. She placed her lips against his and stated, “You’re mine, Caleb Taylor. And don’t you ever forget it.”
A rush of excitement coursed though him, and he only had a second to smile before she kissed him passionately.
Unconventional suits me just fine, he mused.
* * * *
Chapter 2: Unwanted Notoriety
“Daytime again,” Katrina lamented while sitting at her computer in the sublevel room, or rather, her chamber. She finished putting her long red hair in a pony tail and stared at the computer screen while toying absently with the sterling pendant around her neck that commemorated her commitment to Caleb. As she finished reviewing a list of books she was interested in ordering from an online bookseller, her thoughts drifted to her sandy-haired young mate.
Caleb was so kind, gentle, and caring towards her, like her late husband, Samuel, who had died over five hundred years ago when she was just a human herself. To Katrina, Caleb was the complete package as a mate, and she loved him dearly. As she narrowed her book selections, she fondly smiled at how happy he made her. So much like Samuel, and yet, so different. But in a good way.
She refocused her attentions on the online order before her. The first book was a biography on the life of Theodore Roosevelt, which she could discuss at length with Caleb. She enjoyed their history-related conversations, being an amateur historian herself. Face it, survive five hundred years, and by natural selection, you’re a historian. She fondly recalled taking Caleb’s introductory history class the previous fall semester and the subsequent attraction she had felt towards him from that first day. Frankly, she had been caught off guard by that initial spark of desire for him.
The other book she ordered was a romance novel set in the late eighteenth century. She had been a vampire since the 1530s, so it was a period she recalled vividly, though without many of the glamorized trappings presented in historical romance fiction. Still, she had a soft spot for the genre and smiled at how Caleb would likely tease her over that. Alpha vampire and romance reader.
Yet I’m a woman. I deserve occasional romance, right? She had tried to demonstrate that to Caleb regularly and openly, mainly so he wouldn’t be intimidated by her. However, being a woman doesn’t mean being a pushover.
Fortunately for her, Caleb wasn’t someone who challenged her for the alpha role. And while she wanted to claim