Chapter 9 BPOV

Trying to figure out what Peter was playing at was turning into something of a convoluted puzzle. He told me from the start there would be times it would look like he didn't know what he was doing. I agreed when I first met Demetri, but I learned that was the least of the shit he was going to throw at me. He seemed to always do things the hard way, but as it turned out, that worked for him. He really was good at keeping people guessing what he was up to. When I asked him why he always took the long way, his answer was simple...

He wanted to keep people guessing.

It was almost like watching a James Bond movie, where the villain spills his master play just before Bond escapes and thwarts the boss, only I wouldn't call Peter James Bond. He was more like... Jack Sparrow, but with a little more finess. Just when you thought he didn't actually have a plan, everything fell into place, which left everyone around him baffled at how he did it. However, he could absolutely fly by the seat of his pants, and still come out on top.

Then... then there was watching him train. For a man made of stone, he was as fluid as water going over a fall. There were always things I couldn't see, but when he realized I was watching, he slowed down enough so I could follow. There wasn't really anything quite like watching him take someone to the ground with so little effort. I was starting to see what he meant before about not forgetting where he came from, letting his start in this life be an asset instead of something to be ashamed of.

I was also given the clearly abridged version of what he called his upbringing; I had to admit, I was intrigued. He didn't sugarcoat the kind of prick he was then, or the one he was to this day. He made it sound like anything but a character flaw, and actually credited it for still being alive. He also told me about how his gift worked, but didn't go into too much detail there either, because honestly, it was confusing as shit. I tried to make it make more sense by asking if it was his conscience, but he laughed... hard. It was the first time I ever heard him not chuckle, and I had to admit, I could get used to hearing it.

When he calmed down, he smiled, a real smile, then shook his head, telling me he lost that long before he lost his soul. He told me about always having this sixth sense of situations, even as a human. After his change, it evolved into actual voices in his head. From what he could tell, there were three, but he learned over the years to only listen when they agree. I told him that made him sound insane. He shrugged while telling me no vampire was sane; there were just different levels of insanity. However, he didn't deny he was on the further end of the spectrum.

Also, to my great surprise, I wasn't excluded from anything. I kinda stayed in the background after I really pissed off Melany, but Peter wasn't having it. Not only did he make sure it was understood -in no uncertain terms- I was free to do as I pleased, he also informed me the house was as much mine as his. If I wanted to do something, I was allowed; no one could say shit about it.

There was only one thing I wasn't allowed to do, which was to leave the grounds by myself. I could go anywhere, and do anything, I just had to take someone with me. That was more because there were apparently a lot of people looking for me, and Peter just wanted to make sure I got back alive. I could understand that. I generally didn't go anywhere without him, so it wasn't that big of a deal.

If I wasn't watching Peter from the balcony off the bedroom, I was in the pool. We were in the middle of the desert, and it was hot. Mostly, I just cooled down for awhile before going back inside, but there were times when I was joined by others if I wasn't back inside after like a half hour. I enjoyed the amount of privacy I had, but I was also finding I actually enjoyed spending time with Peter or a few of his friends. I still wasn't comfortable being around everyone that was there at once, but they didn't force me to. It was a pretty big property, so even when everyone was outside, I wasn't crowded.

All in all, everything was going fine until Peter handed me a manilla envelope ten days after I arrived. I wasn't sure what it was, but there was a part of me that was leery about finding out. There were so many things I was afraid to find inside, it took me a couple of hours of sitting in the middle of Peter's bed, legs folded and chin in my palms, staring at the innocent package before I gained enough courage to see what it was. When I finally opened it to see the very top document, I found myself wishing I would have taken a little longer.

It was my death certificate with a news article paper clipped to it about a fatal accident. Guess I now know what Grant did with my truck. The next thing was a birth certificate and social security card with the name that matched the ID I've been using. There were school transcripts, bank statements, the registration to the mustang, all in this new name of mine.

I hadn't finished flipping through them before there was a knock on the door and Peter came in. He didn't say a word, just stretched himself along the foot of the bed with his temple propped against the heel of his hand as he watched. I made a comment about it being a pretty thorough identity. He made a noise in this throat, telling me it was pretty basic actually, and would have been a little more detailed if it wasn't done in such a rush.

Starting at the beginning of the stack of documents, I looked through them again, frowning with a shake of my head. "There isn't anything I can think of that's missing."

He grunted again. "Just cause it ain't missin' nothin' don't mean it couldn't be better. It'll pass all the tests it need to, and that's all ya can e'spect in less than two weeks. It's everythin' a twenty-two year old should have, but if ya wanna know what I'm talkin' about, I'll show ya one a mine sometime. You'll see what I mean by details."

Looking at him a moment longer, I just nodded and went back to looking through the documents. It was everything I was expecting to find, but it wasn't until I got to the end that I found something I didn't. Eyes snapping up to lock on Peter's, my jaw dropped. "Umm..."

It would seem he knew exactly what I was looking at. His smirk pulled at his lips; there was a chuckle in his throat as he tossed a little black box I hadn't seen in his hand to me, the thing landing within a comfortable arm's reach. I looked at it like it offended my dead grandmother as he spoke. "Believe it or not, it serves a purpose. You ain't gotta wear it often, mostly at the casinos while we here. That'll give you access ta my accounts so ya ain't gotta keep huntin' me down when ya bust, but when we head out in a couple days, that's when that comes inta play."

Staring at the black velvet box for a moment longer, I looked back up at him, blinking at the sight of a white gold band on his left hand he didn't have on earlier. Groaning, I picked up the box and just held it, biting into my lip before I let out a sigh. "If this is because you gave me your last name, can't we be like... relatives or something? Does it have to be this?"

He rolled his eyes as he rolled towards me, plucking the box from my loose grip, then opening it. He pulled out whatever was inside, reaching out once he dropped the box and grabbed my hand. As he slipped the two rings into place, he spoke. "We could, but then you gonna hafta answer uncomfortable questions 'bout sharin' rooms and all kinds a other shit, cause once we leave, you really ain't gonna be leavin' my sight much."

Taking my hand back, I looked at the plain, white gold band that matched his and the marquise cut diamond engagement ring. It was a simple set, and it was gorgeous. If I were to actually get married, it was pretty much exactly what I would have wanted. Still, I fought the smile at the sight of the rings as I tried to keep my voice level. "Your voices telling you something you should be telling me?"

He snorted as he settled himself back into a comfortable lounging position. "Naw, Little Sugar. It like this... those rings are the human equivalent to a claimin' bite for us. Unless you want me ta bite ya so you left alone, you gonna wanna wear them. They gonna have the same effect for both my kind and yours."

I clicked my tongue. "And this... not leaving your sight much thing?"

His smirk returned. "I'm just a possessive little bastard. Thought we went over that already."

We had, not twenty-four hours ago. He hadn't been hovering per-say, but he was hovering. It wasn't like when Edward would do it with everything with a penis, or like the wolves that were on par with stalker like hovering. He was there in the background mostly, keeping an eye on the eyes of those present. He got nasty about them not feeding properly, too. He had snapped at Drake, then after he left to 'get something to eat', I asked why he was so snappy about it since his eyes were still kind of red. He told me then about the very thin line he had between being protective and being possessive.

It was also then -and in no uncertain terms- he told me I was his, and I was free to take that however I wanted to... be it in a good way, or a bad one. His exact words when I told him otherwise were 'keep tellin' yaself that'. I stormed off, and he let me. I slammed the bedroom door, glaring at it for several hours before I actually let myself run through the past week and a half, then promptly let loose every single profane word I had ever heard when I realized he was right. We had fallen into such a comfortable routine that was, to my horror, his design and my willingness to just... listen. Like... I was pissed, but at that point, there was nothing I could do about it.

Thankfully, he didn't say a word about it when I emerged from his room, just asked if I was hungry because Drake picked up something for me while he was out. After that, though, I started to hear him call me his girl when he was on the phone or just shooting the shit with someone. He never called me that to my face, yet here we are, him putting a ring on it.

Looking down at my hand, I sighed. "Okay, but..."

I wasn't surprised he knew where I was taking that one, when he cut me off. "It's in name only, Little Sugar. Sure, it legally bindin' by human standards, but we ain't dealin' with, or livin' in, the human world. So far as the world we livin' in, it's just a piece a paper."

My jaw dropped and my eyes went wide as my hand slammed down on the marriage licence. "This is legal?" Blinking, I didn't even try to keep my voice down. "We're actually married?"

I was gonna kill him.

There are still three more chapters after this, and they will post in the morning once they've been beta'ed. Hope you're enjoying the ride so far!

~Speklez