A/N: This is a rather long chapter but I felt I needed to tie up rather than go one more chapter than I have. Two more and it's done..thanks for all of the reads and reviews! I love feedback and I've enjoyed this story much more than I anticipated!
Since the evening was early, Vicki had time to take a cab home to get ready. She wanted Henry to pick her up there rather than stay at Henry's and get ready. The cabbie waiting for her just so happened to be Louie, her other favorite man.
"Hey beautiful! So..where ya been? Hiding out with Henry I hope.." Louie said with a wink and a belly laugh.
"Yeah..but not like you think Louie," Vicki answered.
"Ehh..too bad!" he shrugged and received a punch from Vicki for that remark.
"Seriously, you got everything worked out?" Louie was serious, not something he did often. Vicki thought before answering..did they have everything worked out?
"Sorta, but hey, it takes time right?" she shrugged nonchalantly.
"Yep, but don't let it take too long, okay? You gotta do all you can to be happy, Vicki, I want you to be happy and he makes you happy," Louie told her, again very seriously, "I ain't always gonna be around to make ya laugh ya know?" he grinned.
Vicki laughed and shook her head. Louie was right though. She did need to be happy but there was just that nagging little thought that something would fall apart and rip her heart out. That's what held her back...fear. Never would she admit that but it wasn't just trust. It was plain old fear. Fear of being hurt, being alone just fear itself. The great Vicki Nelson, Miss Independent and Miss I don't need anyone was afraid but that was something she would never, ever share.
After thanking Louie with light peck on the cheek, Vicki ran upstairs, hopped into the shower and gave herself exactly one hour to be ready. What the hell was she going to wear? She had forgotten to ask Henry where they were going. Oh well, she would be casual..wouldn't she? Why was she so damned nervous? Her stomach was in knots, her body was still recovering from Henry's meal and she was amazed at the things she was able to see already. That thought stopped her. Henry had given her something she could never repay. How do you repay someone who's giving you your sight back, your life back in a sense?
"Great! How will I ever repay that?" Vicki huffed onto her bed. She hated feeling as though she owed people. Her mind did drift to the naughty things she could do to him in return but shook them away so she could finish getting ready. After rifling through her closet for ten minutes and trying on three different outfits, she finally settled on a red thigh length dress with heels to match. She knew Henry loved red. Underneath, she wore nothing but a red lace thong. She hated thongs but thought Henry might like it later..IF she went that direction. Luckily there was a built in bra because Vicki's excitement would have shown through rather obviously.
"Okay, this as good as it gets." she sighed looking at herself in the mirror. The red dress lay beautifully on her small, fit frame. It was a spaghetti strap silky little thing, the v just showing her cleavage. Her straight hair lay on her shoulders just below the neckline, thick and honey blonde. Henry loved to play with her hair so she had decided to leave it down.
"Why are you so nervous?" she asked her reflection. Because she knew that this date could be the turning point in her life. All those things Henry had said to her had never been said by any man to Vicki, not that she would have let them either but Henry was different. Henry was her challenge. Yes Mike had loved her deeply but there was something about Henry that made Vicki go weak in the knees and lose all rational thought. Vicki jumped when Henry knocked on her door. Putting one foot in front of the other, slowly, she made her way to the door. All she could see upon opening the door were flowers.
"Henry? I hope that's you behind there," Vicki teased. She knew that it was him. For some odd reason, she could smell him. He had a distinctive smell and one that she could pick out of a crowd almost. It was a manly, musky smell yet sweet underneath. She had always attributed her sense of smell to her failing eyesight but realized it was something more. What, she didn't know but she just knew it was.
"Yes," He peeked out from behind them, grinned then growled at Vicki's appearance.
"Victoria, you look beautiful," he whispered.
"Stop being mushy," she tried to blow off the flush that had risen in her cheeks. Dragging him into the apartment, she took the flowers and put them in a vase. Henry watched her every move. Each curve under her dress was visible to him, her ass, her flat stomach, her breasts that threatened to spill out. He licked his lips, his beast growling at him to take this woman and make love to her properly but the man, the gentleman and the royal in him said to wait. It was going to be a long dinner.
"Ready?" Vicki said as she turned back to see him staring at her.
"Oh yes," he smiled.
Vicki clicked her tongue, stuck her arm out and after he linked his with hers, they headed to the car.
"Where are we going?" Vicki asked.
"You'll see." he told her cryptically.
"Oh no you don't," she waved her finger at him. Anything to pick a fight, that was Vicki and ready she was tonight.
Vicki tried everything within her power to get Henry to tell her even going as far as saying she would walk back if he didn't spill it but the vampire in him was stubborn enough to ignore her threats. The man in him found it amusing and erotic at the same time. The y chromosone lives on, even in a dead vampire.
Vicki looked around and out of habit, squinted, then realized she didn't have to as much as she did just this morning.
"Henry..we're at the park, at night... what the hell?" Vicki was a little disappointed at first thinking that Henry, ever the romantic, had planned a romantic dinner at some restaurant she would certainly not have been to before.
"Yes, follow me please," he said opening her door and taking her hand. He led her over to the lake. The full moon was shining on it so brightly it was as if someone had turned a spotlight on just for the two of them.
"Wow." Vicki breathed out as she looked around. There, next to the lake, was a table for two. Candles sat in the center, two covered plates on each side and glasses with a chilled bottle of wine sitting in a bucket full of ice.
"How..why..?" Vicki was shocked that Henry had done this so quickly.
"I have wonderful powers of persuasion," Henry said with a grin as he ushered her to the table.
Vicki could vaguely hear something and as it got closer she realized it was music. A man strolled out of the woods with a beautiful melody coming from his violin. Vicki gasped at the visual..the actual visual as she could see him, not just a shadow. It wasn't as clear as she used to have and not nearly as bright but it was better.
"Henry..I..I'm..I'm.."
"At a loss for words? Good, that's what I was going for, now eat. I know you're hungry, I can hear your stomach." He uncovered her plate to reveal not Italian as she had assumed but her favorite-Chinese. Vicki lifted his and cocked her head, a smirk on her face.
"An apple Henry? Really?" Vicki laughed. An apple, the fruit of temptation, the fruit that supposedly Eve tempted Adam with. How comical.
"Well, I don't eat and it is red, and you are so very tempting to me Vicki..." his voice dripped out of his mouth like ice cream melting in the heat as Henry held her hand, peered into her eyes and said, "I meant it when I said I would die without you." With that, he dropped his fangs and bit into the apple, just to leave two marks symbolically. Vicki gasped and shuddered at the visual thinking of how the apple was symbolic as to what he might do to her later. Henry enjoyed smelling her growing desire and just smiled as he watched her begin to eat.
Vicki dove into her Chinese and without missing a beat said, "And I'd kill you if you left." That was the Vicki he knew and loved. After eating, they strolled down to the lake hand in hand. Vicki saw that he had a blanket there for them to sit on.
"So, why here Henry? I thought we would go to a swanky restaurant or something," They were sitting on the blanket together with Vicki leaning back onto Henry as he wrapped his arms around her.
"You don't like it?" He asked.
"I love it, it's very tranquil and romantic..thank you," her voice was shaky at best, her breathing a little ragged.
"You're welcome and I did it because I thought, this first time and first night out with your small change in vision that you might like to see the full moon on the lake," he said snuggling into her hair and sniffing as he caught the scent of her jasmine-scented shampoo.
"You're right, I do like it. But it's the company that makes it perfect," Vicki couldn't believe those words came from her mouth. Henry couldn't either and decided to take advantage of it. He had sent the violinist away so they might be alone. Turning her in his arms, he began to kiss her. First, just her cheek then as he turned her to face him, she crawled into his lap, his legs extending behind her, hers behind him, wrapping around him to draw him closer.
"Vicki.." Henry whispered into her ear, his hot breath flowing over her body, shudders answering his call to her.
No longer able to contain her wanton passion for Henry, Vicki became the aggressive lover she was suppressing. It had been far too long since Vicki felt the touch of another man, much less this man that she loved so much. Fuck the consequences, Vicki wanted Henry. Grabbing his head, she turned him up to face her and ground down onto his lap, his firm erection threatening to burst through his zipper at any moment. At that point, she was grateful she'd chosen the thong. The thinness of the material provided her with the ability to feel him even through his jeans. Her groaning let Henry know she was pleased with what she felt and was desiring him more and more. Her mouth found his and dove in, twirling her tongue with his with a talent Henry wasn't aware she had. The previous kisses Vicki had held back not wanting to be too eager nor too obvious. Henry's hands travelled up her bare thighs and upon finding she was in a thong, growled with pleasure as he rubbed her bare ass. While she ground down, Henry moved her thong to the side slipping his fingers in and happily found her not only slick with her own juices but very, very tight.
"Henry.." Vicki groaned as she threw her head back. Henry took the opportunity to rub her dress with his open mouth, her nipples hardening beneath the fabric. He bit and nipped on the outside of her dress eliciting moans and cries of pleasure from Vicki. Alternating, he moved up toward her neck then back down into the valley of her breasts still rubbing her without making skin contact on her bare breasts. Henry was ready to rip the dress open with his teeth at one point but refrained.
His hand worked below while his mouth worked above as Vicki kept her hands on his shoulders for balance. Stopping suddenly, Vicki looked at him and frowned.
"What's wrong?" she panted. Henry could hear her heart racing frantically but he wanted to know for certain that it wasn't just lust but love too, whether she professed it or not right now.
"Are you sure you want to do this?"
"Do you need a neon sign that says "Hey Henry, fuck me please?" Vicki teased.
"No I don't and I prefer the term make love..but not here, let's go home..my condo I mean.." Vicki didn't say anything when he said home, no correction on the word "home" and that was not lost on Henry.
"Okay..how fast can you drive?" Vicki got up flashing her thong as she headed toward the car.
Henry growled.."Fast enough.."
