"You can't eat any normal food anymore?"
"I can, but Christian cautioned against it until I became more comfortable with the vampirism. Evidently it takes some doing to digest food, and is not recommended for new...erm...inductees."
Guilt pinged sharply. "I'm sorry - "
"Don't," he interrupted, and pulled me into an embrace. His eyes were shining with a warmth that heated me to my toenails. "I insist that you stop feeling guilty about it."
"Well, the least you can do is let me feed you," I said, tipping my head so my neck was presented to him. "Soup's on!"
"No, you eat first." He pulled away and waved me to a chair in front of the table.
"You're hungry. We'll take care of you, then I'll eat."
"You're hungry as well. You first."
The stubborn look on his face made me smile. I waggled my eyebrows at him, and summoned up my best leer. "Ah, but I'm hungry for more than just roast beef."
A speculative glint dawned in his eyes. He looked down at the tray of food. I looked as well. The tray bore two plates of roast beef, potatoes, and assorted steamed vegetables. There was also bread, and something blobby that I remembered from a previous dinner at the pub was Yorkshire pudding. To the side sat a plate with two pieces of cake, lavishly frosted.
"You wouldn't be one of those people who eats her dessert first?" Theo asked as I smiled and picked up the plate of cake.
"Not normally, but I'm willing to break the rules now and again." I carried the cake to the nightstand, dipping my finger in the frosting before popping it in my mouth and licking it off with exaggerated laps of my tongue. "Mmm. Cream cheese frosting, my favorite." I raised my eyebrows, and waited to see if Theo wanted to play.
He looked at the bed, looked at the cake, then at me. Before you could say "frosted nephilim," he was naked, lying on the bed, his arms open for me.
"You're sure we have time?" I asked, glancing at the clock.
"For this? Oh, yes. And if we don't, we'll make time."
I laughed as I started removing my clothing, my heart swelling with love. How could life be so topsy-turvy, such a mess of confusion, and yet so wonderful?
Go with the flow, my brain reminded me. Just go with the flow. "Still with me, sweetling?"
"Barely. It was a close thing there when you turned the frosting on me."
Theo, lying on his back, a sated and very smug look on his face, waggled his eyebrows and hummed a happy little song about frosting-covered nether parts. "You certainly did seem to enjoy it."
"That, my adorable fanged one, is the understatement of the year. Are you sure you're full? You seemed to spend more time in action, to be euphemistic, rather than dining."
"I am full. I am well-pleasured. I am physically exhausted," Theo said, waving a languid hand. His eyes were closed, his face relaxed as he lay next to me on the bed, delightfully naked. I trailed a finger down one of his biceps, making him smile a drowsy smile.
"You take a nap then, handsome. You certainly worked hard enough."
"I did indeed, although it was a labor of love. And, I will admit, you helped a little." He yawned.
"A little, huh?" I pinched his nipple. He pretended to snore.
The many pleasant after-tingles that were zinging around my body were one more reminder of the powerful emotions our lovemaking created. I gently traced the planes of his face, my finger stroking the length of his long, arched eyebrows, down to his high cheekbones and aristocratic nose. His lips curled slightly as I brushed them with the tips of my fingers, leaving me to marvel again at how something so mundane as a mouth could give so much pleasure.
"Sleepy," he said, his voice thick with sleep and satisfaction.
"You go ahead and take a nap." I glanced at the clock and sighed as I got off the bed. "I'd best go wash off the frosting and other...er...residue before we have to show up at the hearing."
"A shower?" Theo's eyes snapped open. "Where you're naked and wet and soapy?"
"That's generally how a shower works," I said, pausing at the bathroom door to bat my eyelashes at him. To my surprise (and no little amazement), he showed signs of arousal. I stared at his penis, watching as it stirred, thickening before my eyes. "You can't possibly be serious. You can do that again so soon?"
"Given the proper encouragement and inspiration, yes." Theo slid off the bed and started toward me, a familiar glint in his eye. "I must admit to having a fantasy or two about taking you in the shower, your flesh satin-smooth, slick with soap and warm water."