Next To You Chapter 15 — Lighthouse

"How could I know

One day I'd wake up feeling more

But I had already reached the shore

Guess we were ships in the night."

Sweet Night by V


A/N: I'm terribly sorry for the late update! Work has been super crazy. I hope with the pandemic going around that everyone stays healthy and safe and stay at home. Although I had tickets to a concert and vacation planned before the summer, everything's been cancelled until next year. I'm still upset and disappointed about that, but it's better to be safe than sorry.


Stupid arms. Stupid height. I grumbled to myself, standing up on my tiptoes as if that gave me an advantage to my dire predicament. Too stubborn to retrieve a stepstool, I'd thought of climbing on the countertop, but Troy would be most upset if I fell and cracked my skull open. It wasn't his fault to begin with, anyway, but I still held my tongue to rein in the cursing that might make a sailor blush. After Troy and I cleaned up from a third round of our 'sexcapade' — in Troy's words, definitely not mine — another craving struck me, and I was determined to satisfy my hunger for it. When my eyes landed on the coveted box of chocolate cereal all the way up on the highest cabinet shelf in the kitchen, I knew who was to blame.

The tallest brother, Tyler. I was the only one able to eat solids around here. Was this payback for ruining his pranks and jumpscares?

Through our Bond, I let out more strings of profanity depicting dismembered body parts. Upstairs, Troy heard every word, and didn't comment until I mentioned destroying Tyler's precious collection of guitar picks. Tyler had found several from decades ago, and kept them all safe in a little box hidden underneath a bed. Which bed I didn't know, but I resolved to turning the house upside down if it meant I'd eventually scoured every inch of the place and found them.

'I never knew you swore so much. Naughty things coming from those heavenly lips.' Troy tskd and playfully scolded me.

I groaned and resorted to pull a chair from the dining table in the adjacent room. 'Says the one who begged me to not stop a while ago.' I retorted, grinning in victory at Troy's response.

'Touche.'

Clambering up on the countertop, I then felt familiar fingers secure around my hips to hold me in place.

"Careful there, doll." Those words silked past his lips made me clench around nothing. The velvet folds of Troy's voice was like dripping honey. I heard him sniff the air behind me and by the throaty groan he let out, he caught on to my apparent arousal. "At this rate, we're never going to leave our bed, you insatiable minx." He lightly swatted my bum and I yelped in surprise, my face bursting into flames.

I decided to play along to fan the flames of our bickering. "It wasn't just the bed, you know," I reminded him, finally able to grasp the box within both hands. "Last time, we were on the floor, too." I suddenly grimaced at the thought of possible rug burns in unmentionable areas. Thankfully, Troy was considerate enough to think ahead and had lied a throw and a couple pillows on the ground to cushion everything.

Instead of helping me step down on the chair, my boyfriend urged me to jump from the counter. "Here, I'll catch you."

"Promise?" I asked, warily eyeing his outstretched arms.

He nodded eagerly, a gentle smile in place. "Might be better for your knees, anyway." He knew, as well as I, that I wasn't terribly flexible but was working on that with daily stretches, starting, well, today. With his guidance, I'd become more accustomed to my joints and constantly developing body. Sure, my back and knees still creaked every now and then, but his promised rewards — kisses and cuddles — motivate me to reach my goal of growing stronger and more limber. Later, once I ate and then used the toilet, I'd assumed we'd be back where we left off with my gentle exercises.

My toes left the edge and I leapt into Troy's arms. Within the next second, the scream died in my throat and he easily caught me while I was still in the air. As he held me above him, hands suredly encased my ribcage, his biceps naturally flexed with the motion.

"Am I hurting you?"

I didn't feel any uncomfortable squeezing, so I shook my head. "You're still hard…"

Troy's jaw slackened and a mischievous glimmer appeared in his eyes at my double entandre. "Is that so?" He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"No, I didn't mean it like that!" I glanced from his crotch back to his face to prove my point. Troy finally set me down on my feet and pecked my forehead, giggling childishly.

"You're so cute when you become flustered."

Rolling my eyes, I stepped aside him and brought the cereal box near the bowl and spoon on the counter. "I was simply trying to say that even though I have some vampire traits, your skin still feels hard, but pliable."

Troy retrieved the carton of milk from the fridge and set it beside my bowl. "Oh. So, for example, like old play dough?"

At that moment, I had drenched my cereal in milk. I almost dropped the carton and drained the rest to spill over the counter. Screwing my face up in disgust, I shot him a look that could kill. Troy held his hands up in front of him and slowly backed away, placating me.

"Maybe that wasn't a good comparison."

Huffing, I spooned a mouthful of cereal into my mouth. "No shit, Sherlock." Since the Blood Bond helped Troy and I be emotionally closer, we became more comfortable saying exactly what was on our minds. Shortly after we'd met, I'd remembered I was extremely careful to hold my tongue, not wanting to scare away my first beau. Unfortunately, when we passed poignant relationship milestones over the months spent together, it was increasingly difficult for me to continue my facade of being innocent, geeky Gabriella. Thankfully, Troy found my blunt comments refreshing, yet at times annoying. He'd explained he prefered my no-nonsense approach; neither of us liked to engage much in small talk, which, as he said, was rather dull and boring. Of course, if I wanted to tease him just to see his visible 'what the hell?' facial expression, I'd ask him about the weather. Both of us enjoyed deep, profound conversations, whether it was about philosophy (he was great at debating this), the future of humanity, or even trivial things like discovering chemical reactions in bath bombs. Nowadays, it seemed to be his daily goal to coax me to open up more and let loose my sharpened tongue. Nevertheless, even if my words stung, Troy let me know he appreciated my efforts anyway.

Some of my habits have rubbed off on him, too, and likewise. Yesterday, while Emily and I browsed through parenting magazine articles, she had cheekily pointed out I adapted Troy's nervous tick of rubbing the nape of his neck or poking the tip of his tongue out whenever he was intensely focused. Meanwhile, as Tyler and Troy painted colored swatches on the nursery walls, he was quick as well to joke that my mate spent too much time with me. It was as if he was with 'two of [me].' To retaliate, Troy proceeded to mark every time he had to wear headphones or go for a run to block out the noises from their bedroom, which subsequently made him felt even more lonely by the reminder of being the only one without a mate in the coven. Needless to say, once I decided I needed a short break from reading and to stretch, I checked up on the boys. To say I was shocked was an understatement. All four walls of the nursery were meticulously covered in tally marks well past the upper hundreds numerically.

"What's this?" I gestured wildly to the mess-but-not-a-mess. "Did you decide on the yellow then?"

Troy's face had flushed scarlet and he stammered out a reply. "I-I made a list of sorts. I didn't do the pros and cons like you would, but it was still cathartic..." His voice trailed off at the apparent exasperated look on my face.

Scrubbing a hand over my face, I nodded, willing my patience to hold out longer for this conversation. "Yes, I can see that." I said with a strained tone. "But I thought we agreed to go with blue."

His eyes widened and he exchanged a fearful glance with Tyler. "But you said yellow two hours ago…"

"I changed my mind." I replied with an edge. Crossing my arms across my chest, I stared him down, pouting.

Troy gulped and nodded emphatically. "Of course you did." He rushed over to slap primer over the brush marks of yellow to hopefully conceal the color.

My frazzled brain had derailed off the train tracks of rationality. Here was my boyfriend trying to appease me without a word of complaint. And I acted like a bitch. Damn hormones. I was so ready for this pregnancy to be over so I could have at least a semblance of control over my wavering emotions.

Tears welled in my eyes again at the realization of my guilt. Looking down at my feet, I mumbled. "I'm sorry. Yellow is okay."

"What?"

Troy was so busy slathering roll after roll of primer on the walls that he almost missed what I said. I repeated myself and he stopped, strode over purposely and crashed into me with a near bone-crushing hug.

I had feebly struggled in his arms. "Ugh, no, you're covered in paint!" I squealed breathlessly.

That just made Troy refuse to let me go. He leant down to breathe in my ears, "This will be an excuse for us to conserve water and shower together later, though."

I relaxed in his hold and breathed in his scent. "Troy," I said quietly, "breathing in the fumes of paint isn't good for pregnant women." Squirming again, I finally got a lungful of precious air.

At that, he released me and ushered me out the doorway. "We'll get one coat done in no time!" Tyler flicked on the ceiling fan switch to air out the room.

Later that day, Troy told me all that transpired before I came upon them in the nursery. And, true to his word, he had discreetly smeared yellow paint on both of my forearms and throat. Then, we had a lovely time in the shower to thoroughly clean ourselves. When I laughingly sprung the idea of impromptu performances for each other, we acted as one another's audience and sang our hearts out underneath the spray of the showerhead. Our improvised mics were the bottles of shampoo and conditioner. When we practically waltzed downstairs to join the rest of the family in the living room for game night, everyone congratulated us.

"For what?" I demanded, looking up at Troy as if he knew the answer. He shrugged his shoulders in response, evidently as clueless as me.

"We should build a recording studio in the house!" Emily gushed, immediately praising our singing abilities. Blushing from the compliments from all around, Troy and I humbly explained we were just having fun.

"I'm sure your showerhead is very impressed with you." I smirked, sending my boyfriend a wink in his direction.

Troy had shot back with, "well you sounded very professional." Love shone clearly in his eyes. It was as if he looked at me in a different light. "All this time you hid this from me? I didn't know you could sing."

I busied myself with shuffling the Uno cards, slightly embarrassed the attention was on me once more.

Emily jumped in to spring to my defense. "How much solo experience do you have?"

My voice trembled in my reply. "Just church choir is all. I tried a solo and nearly fainted." Not really wanting to bring up that specific dreadful memory, I stalled for as long as I could.

Troy pressed one hand at the small of my back and rubbed soothing circles. "Why's that?" According to our Bond, his tone held an unspoken apology for thrusting me in the spotlight again.

Sighing wearily, I'd insisted, "I took one look at all the people staring at me, and next thing I knew, I was staring up at the ceiling. I have stage fright."

The silence was deafening. Glancing at my second family, I saw understanding and sympathy in their gazes. What surprised me was that no one seemed to pity me. Finally, uncomfortable with being the center of attention, I buried my face in Troy's chest to hide.

Subtle vibrations from his chest arose me from my little bubble of security. Troy was actually laughing at me! Did he think my insecurity was funny?! Betrayed by his vote of confidence in me, I'd sniffed back traitorous tears and angrily wrenched away from him, accidentally shoving him to the side. As the maternal figure in the family, Melinda was a force to be reckoned with when provoked. That's when she immediately noticed the change in me, and shot Troy a withering look. A while ago, Troy had finally sat me down and regurgitated word-for-word the history of vampire society. Many immortals were amongst us even to this day, blending seamlessly in human population, but it was their behaviors and traits that were glaringly obvious to those who knew what to look for. My experience with Maria's abnormal characteristics surrounding her transformation and insatiable hunger for blood, I immediately suspected Troy was different. How he sometimes spoke as if from a different bygone era, how he carried himself whenever he walked beside me, the icy chill in his skin… it all made sense in my head that something was amiss. Likewise, vampire society often overlooked Melinda's maternal instincts and intact humanity as weakness in their world — she was classed barely above the scum that were humans. And to most vampires, humans were merely considered nothing more than food or sexual playthings. She wasn't observed as a 'true being' lest she somehow gain abilies that were worthy of an immortal, or whatever that meant. Troy had told me the tide currently changed to be more accepting of human citizens, but the past was very dark for those like me. In the late eighteenth century, panic swept across the nation at the murderous rampages hitting several towns. The population counts had dropped to an all-time low, and newborn vampires on blood-binges were the source of it all. I'd even learned that in the southern states, there were vampires elected as royalty, permanently punishing whoever strayed and became out of control. I'd winced and had Troy promise me he'd never let me be uncontrollable to the point of being sentenced to death. He'd cheekily replied, "I'll keep you occupied in equally fun, but less destructive outlets."

Needless to say, after Troy was properly chastised and we made up seconds after, the rest of the night was filled with laughter and fun.

No sooner than I had finished my cereal and put the bowl in the sink to soak, Troy promptly picked me up in his arms and whisked me to our bedroom. Setting me on my feet, he turned to our shared dresser. Troy was still in his boxers, and I was reminded of my state of undress by the sudden chill in the air.

"I thought you might be cold sometime, so I got these for you." Turning around, he presented a pair of thick leggings. Heart warmed by his thoughtfulness, I thanked him and removed the boxers. Blushing again at his heated gaze, I shyly asked for a pair of my underwear.

"I'll need to wear a liner, too." I said, ignoring his stare that zeroed in on my bare lower half. Even when I felt unsexy in old worn-out sweatpants, or my hair was a giant rats nest, Troy still looked at me as if I was the most beautiful woman he'd seen (which he'd remind me it was true.) But, after all, he was a man, and whenever he'd catch me changing in front of him, his eyes never failed to roam all over my naked figure in an appreciative way that made me feel warm and tingly. Once I shimmied the pair of breathable cotton to mid-thighs, I half-waddled/half-shuffled to the adjacent bathroom, slapped on a liner, and pulled my panties up the rest of the way. Slipping the leggings on, my legs were enveloped in a soft layer of warmth that felt like a cozy blanket. With this revelation, however; I dreaded the inevitable. Every time I sneezed, coughed or laughed, I 'sprung a leak.' Along with the other unglamourous side effects of pregnancy, I died a little more inside when another pair of pants was ruined for the upteenth time. I wanted to stop the endless cycle of 'aw, dammit, not again!', but alas, my bladder refused to cooperate with me. According to the several books I'd devoured in my haste for a solution to my woes, the problem would get worse as time passed.

Walking to the bedside, I watched in amusement as Troy rolled out a yoga mat. He knelt beside it and patted the mat as an invitation for me to join him.

"Are we doing yoga?" I gingerly sat crosslegged in front of him.

Troy laughed under his breath. "While I agree it's good for meditation, I thought a mat would cushion the hardwood floor for your stretches."

"Right." I braced myself for the upcoming rounds of tensed sore muscles, but Troy was patient and didn't go too far past my limits. Not once did I feel like I would split apart, although pushing each extended leg towards my chest made me swear and want to call it quits.

"You're doing so good," Troy coached, holding one leg for an interval of fifteen seconds. "Remember to breathe." Our eyes connected and I felt the real intimacy of the moment. Whereas in other familiar situations, usually he made me fall apart and put me back together again, but this was different than just the physical aspect. He knelt over me, assuredly gripping onto me to be sure he didn't leave too many bruises in the wake of his strength.

"Take a deep breath for me…" I complied and then exhaled, and Troy slowly lowered my leg back down to the floor. Leaning over me, he kissed me sweetly. "Well done, Brie."

My answering grin felt like it cracked my face, but I didn't care. The proud and admiring sparkles in his eyes were all I focused on. Although my face was probably flushed and I glowed with sweat from the exertion, stretching wasn't as terrible as I expected. I'd assumed Troy would push me past my breaking point, but he listened to my body's warning signals.

"Not bad for an intern." I smirked, reminding him of our past conversations where I encouraged him to pursue med school again.

Troy beamed at the praise, though; he pulled on my hands to help me in a sitting position. "I only went for a few years each time, you know." He repeated his fear of someone discovering his secret, which is why he never finished his schooling in the first place.

I hummed in mild agreement. The stigma about vampires and all the myths were what held him back. Sometimes he was his own worst enemy.

Still, I clasped both hands in mine, pleading with him to reconsider. "Look at Jim. He's been a successful doctor for a couple centuries, and even if anyone found out you're a vampire, prove them wrong."

"What do you mean? I know how you feel about compulsion, and I can't compel everyone to forget —"

"That's not what I'm saying." I interrupted, keeping my voice steady and gentle to not scare him off. "Prove them wrong. You've abstained from human blood for decades, is that why you're worried? Going bezerk over a bleeding human?"

Troy chewed on his lower lip in thought, another habit he mirrored from me. "Well, with you, it's different. I know just how much to take from you during our 'sharing sessions' — don't look at me like that you know what I mean! " He laughed, and then finally poured his heart out soberly. "I couldn't think of a different word to describe it, don't judge me." He cried, smiling as my hands squeezed his own for a moment. Licking his chapped lips, he tried again. "I just… I don't know… I guess I don't want you to be disappointed in me when I give in to temptation."

My heart ached terribly at his confession. "I'll never be disappointed in you, Wildcat," I said, leaning forward to rest my forehead against his bare chest. "Even if you mess up, Troy, we all make mistakes. I trust you'll be okay around our children, too. You've got to have faith in yourself."

Breathing out a heavy sigh, it was as if I shouldered the weight of his insecurities. We'd had similar previous discussions about our hopes and fears, but I assumed the advice we shared with each other got through — until now, I was wrong. Always afraid to take a step forward and start something new and different, which then resulted in him two steps backwards. It was a constant reminder of his birth father drilling into him of never being good enough. At last, Troy unloaded all of his pain and worries and felt secure in the knowledge I wouldn't be burdened with his emotional baggage. We jumped over another hurdle and reached a huge relationship milestone. Even though we've been together for months, it felt like we knew each other for years. I could practically read him like an open book now.

I sat back and kissed the corner of his mouth. "We're a team, Wildcat."

"I know." He mumbled shyly, the physical reaction of his slight embarrassment reflected on his reddened face.

"I'm yours, and you are mine." I repeated, hoping I finally got through to him. "I'll never leave you, just like you'll never leave me. No matter where life takes us."

The bright, sunshine smile that broke through on his face made me want to kiss him senseless. My arms itched to hold him close and worship his body till he saw stars.

"You're not wearing socks." I blurted aloud, and flushed immediately. Damn mouth of mine.

Troy blinked in surprise and glanced down at himself anyway just to double-check. He was still only in his boxers. "Is that a problem?"

I shook my head, but my mouth ran away from me again. "I was thinking I wanted to kiss the socks off of you because you're gorgeous inside and out."

"But you want to kiss my socks?" He clarified, extending his legs out in front of him and wiggling his toes. Crawling on my hands and knees to the space between his parted thighs, I tilted my head up to look at him.

"I just want to kiss you, is that too much to ask?" Irritation colored my tone, and I impatiently grabbed at him, only for Troy to scoot backwards out of my reach.

He giggled. "Hold on, let me grab my socks first."

"Dammit, Wildcat!" I growled and pounced, shoving at his chest to make him lie flat on his back. Seizing the opportunity, I captured his lips in a messy kiss. Our teeth clashed together and tongues met in a frenzied dance. I wasn't too bothered by the amount of swapped spit, and when we parted for air, strings of saliva dangled from our chins. Troy's swollen and bruised lips and disheveled hair complimented the wild look in his eyes.

"Kitten." He purred and smiled wickedly in approval at my heaving chest. I hadn't realized how far gone I was, drowning in desire, until Troy dragged me down so my chest was flushed with his bare skin. When did he remove my shirt? Casting aside the question for now, my nipples scraped against his pectorals, and the extra stimulation sent the tingly sensations rocketing straight down and made me ache for more. Troy's warm breath tickled the shell of my ear, his hands mapping the expanse of my sides and spine, traveling down to cup my buttocks in his palms. Due to my growing belly being in the way, I wasn't able to sit comfortably on top for long. Heaving a deep breath, I tapped his shoulder in succession three times, which was a familiar signal for us to switch positions.

In the blink of an eye, he flipped us over and I lied exposed underneath him. Troy's deep blue eyes held sincerity and a promise that he wasn't finished with me yet. Propping himself up on his forearms, he ducked his head and dove for my throat, lavishing particular attention to the scars from Maria's past feedings. Briefly stunned from the reminder that bite wounds were figuratively erogenous zones, I thrust my hands in Troy's hair and urgently tugged on the strands. I resisted the urge to squirm; his mouth marking my neck more than made up for the lack of friction with our pelvises.

"Are you going to be a good girl for me?"

Swallowing a moan, I nodded my head frantically even though he couldn't see me. "Yes."

Troy raised his head up to flash me a blinding smile, revealing his sharp, long canines. It was rare moments like these when he showed me the supernatural side of him, the predatory look that was simultaneously intimidating and fierce to unsuspecting prey. As the rolling tide of my orgasm came to a crescendo, the wave crashed along the shore. Troy's mirrored arousal that peaked my own, and his breath hitched in his throat. My pulse thrummed beneath the work of his lips. All it took was Troy's fangs grazed along one of my scars and my vision whitened out. I gasped, clung to him for dear life, and shuddered from the aftershocks.

It was quiet, save for our harsh breaths for all of ten seconds, before Troy spoke softly. "My voice affects you this much, hmm?" I detected the amusement in his voice and groaned at the implications.

"Please don't tease me." I wasn't sure if I begged him for mercy or if this only added fuel to the fire. I hadn't come untouched before, and to be that overly sensitive was embarrassing. What if I developed a disorder and orgasmed just from a slight breeze?

Troy saw the direction of my thoughts and voiced his opinion. "Technically, you didn't come untouched. But this does mean we have more options available now."

I laughed lightly, still trembling in his arms. "You mean you have more options." I corrected, my blood boiling with excitement at the new tactic he'd surely use in the future. "You'd better not embarrass me in public."

Troy silenced me with a stolen kiss. "I wouldn't dream of it." When he pulled away, the darkened look in his eyes made me unsettled for a moment.

"What?" I demanded, nudging him. "Spit it out."

His voice held undertones of sensuality and was positively delicious. "Shall we see if you can do that again? It was so hot."

Pretending to think about it, I cocked my head to the side. "Maybe some other time. I read, technically, men aren't able to have multiples, and that doesn't seem fair to me." Smirking, I slithered down until I was face to face with his groin. Troy shivered above me, holding himself up on trembling limbs.

"Wait, I don't want to crush you!" He huffed, holding in his breath and bracing himself for my first touch.

Whenever we were intimate, each experience blew us away. Every revenant touch, every whispered word shared between feverish kisses… there wasn't anyone else in the world who was more compatible for either of us.

After I satisfied him with another round of oral, he was the one to ask me, "How do you feel?"

I laughed gleefully. "That's my line!" I noisily wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Then, I remembered with a grimace what I should do after sex. "As much as I'd love to cuddle with you, I gotta pee."

Troy nodded and released me. Gingerly, I stood and toddled to the bathroom, closing the door behind me. When I finished my business, I walked back to find Troy still nude, now perched on one side of the bed. "I'm back!" I sang, stepping backwards a few paces and eyeing the bed with determination.

Immediately, Troy opened his arms, assuming what I was about to do. "Careful, hon." He warned with a smile. With a running start, I giggled, hopped, and then landed rather ungracefully beside him on the mattress. Troy playfully ruffled my hair and placed a chaste kiss on my cheek.

"You're cute, you know that?"

Blushing, I turned to lie on my side to face him. "So you keep saying." I said, drinking him in and committing his endearing gaze to memory.

"It's the truth," he replied, his blue eyes seemed to search my soul. "My sexy, beautiful girl."

My fingers danced along his slim, toned chest. "I know looks aren't everything, but you're gorgeous, too."

Enjoying the strained sound making its way out of him, I simply smirked devilishly at him being obviously flustered by my statement. "What, cat got your tongue?" I pouted, hitching one foot up to brush tantalizingly along his legs. When I brought both legs to tangle with his, Troy pulled me closer.

"You're impossible sometimes." He growled, planting a kiss on my collarbone. "Devious," he swiped his tongue on a deep mark, before continuing, "Incorrigible…" he mumbled. In a delicious, dizzying moment that caused a series of quiet moans to burst from me, heat swirled in my stomach. I'd die happily from spontaneous combustion in the best ways possible. How was I already wanting another round? I was truly exhausted, but the onslaught of Troy's practiced lips and tongue kept my mind reeling. Just when I teetered on the edge of ecstasy, Troy's ministrations screeched to a stop altogether.

About to open my mouth to complain, I listened intently, willing my hearing range to extend further. I detected distinct sounds of several pairs of feet on dampened earth. Our family was on their way home from their hunt.

As I caught my breath, the rush of endorphins and adrenaline subsided and I was left hanging. Being potentially interrupted by family members and having the moment ruined dried me up faster than I deemed humanly possible. Troy silently apologized for the rude interruption and splayed his palm across my belly.

'Make it up to me later.' I suggested kindly, and we dove under the covers to keep warm and to preserve our modesty. No later than twenty seconds, we heard the front door swing open downstairs and everyone else filed inside. Voices rose in differing pitches and volume, and a certain pair of feet approached us upstairs. Troy and I glanced at each other.

'Is it…?' I pressed my lips in a thin line.

Mild agitation and annoyance crossed Troy's features. 'Yes.' He said miserably.

We simultaneously groaned and waited for the inevitable. As soon as Troy answered, Tyler burst into the room, surveying the state of the yoga mat on the floor, the thrown clothes, and finally the couple in bed with the bedspread up to our necks.

Tyler grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets, seeming to be content in gleefully mocking us further without even saying a word. Not a hair was out of place nor his clothes seemed rumpled from the hunt.

"Do you need something, or are you here to gloat?" Troy gritted out through clenched teeth. I soothed his rising temper by touching his bicep and gave him a grave look.

While initially caught off guard from the seething tone in his brother's voice, Tyler was unphased. "Did you have fun today?" Mirth danced in his eyes.

"We did." I said curtly, clutching the bedspread to myself like a lifeline. "How was your trip?"

Tyler's eyes narrowed at the change of subject and then I knew his superior vision zeroed in on us. I held my breath, internally dreading his exaggerated reaction.

"What did you do to her neck, Troy? She looks like she's been maul—argh!" A flash of hands wrapped around Tyler's neck and a feminine figure slammed him into the wall. We were spared from his comments as Emily had appeared in the next millisecond.

Even though she whispered, we still heard her clear as day. "I leave you alone for a minute and you go to harass my new sister? Not very gentlemanly, Ty." She clicked her tongue in annoyance. Turning to us, still holding her mate's throat, she beamed as if this was a regular occurance. "I'll get him out of your hair, guys. Sorry about that."

Troy and I glanced at each other, amused that Tyler was like putty in her hands. He pleaded and squirmed in her grip.

"Babe, please. I didn't mean to —"

Emily lowered him to the floor. It was almost surreal witnessing this scene in front of us. "Do you need to be punished? I specifically ordered you not to bother them."

All the blood drained from Tyler's face but there was a glimmer of enticement in his eyes. Ugh. I didn't even have to look over at my boyfriend to know he was cringing into my side. Neither of us wanted to know what happened during their idea of punishment.

"I couldn't help it!" Tyler breathed. The tension was so thick between them it was incredibly awkward for us as onlookers. Tearing my eyes away from them, I rolled my eyes upward to stare at the ceiling. I'd resort to counting the seconds until they'd leave us in peace.

Another rustle of clothing, and the bedroom door clicked shut. Five seconds later, we burst into giggles at the awkward situation.

"Guess we now know who's dominant in that relationship." I giggled, rolling on my side to face my mate.

Troy chuckled and reached over to tuck a flyaway strand of hair behind my ear. His hand lingered on the side of my face and then he reluctantly pulled away. "I've seen worse. Trust me." He shuddered with remorse in his eyes, and I buried my face in his chest.

"You walked in on them once?" I gaped, mortified for him.

Troy rolled on his back and sighed heavily. "Don't remind me."

"Sorry." I was morbidly curious, though, and he sensed that.

There was a smile in his voice. "No, you're not, but I'll forgive you."

Leaning up, I kissed his jaw. "Thank you." Maybe it was better not to have him relive those times anyway. To distract him, I told him in detail all the embarrassing moments in my younger years. "Once, when I was in middle school, I caught food poisoning. I didn't get much sleep that night because I vomited and had other digestive issues. There was an important test the next morning." I said, enraptured by the way he listened intently to my stories. "Long story short, that was the only time I ever got a B+. I had kicked myself so much because I really tried to concentrate, but I didn't feel well."

"You did great, though." Troy soothed. "That grade is something to be proud of."

I felt my smile widen at his praise. "Speaking of which, I'm nervous about the G.E.D exam…"

"Oh, no, in this household, we do not worry about such things, okay?" he pressed a quick kiss to my nose. My nose scrunched in response to the ticklish touch. He continued, "You will do amazing, I promise."

I quirked an eyebrow upwards. "You're not worried?"

Troy scoffed and tickled my sides. "I've graduated several times over the past decades. I'm not too concerned"

I squirmed and laughed aloud at his relentless teasing. "Ah! Troy!"

His fingers now ceased their poking and prodding at my skin. I subtly relaxed in his arms in genuine relief. More fluttering sensations in my stomach caused me to feel a bit lightheaded.

"Don't say I didn't warn you." With that, Troy's steady breathing and heartbeat lulled me to sleep.

Before I gave in to the dredges of unconsciousness, I mumbled, "About the exam? We'll see."

"You wanna bet five dollars?"

I groaned and snuggled further into his side. "I'm going to smother you —" rolling my eyes, I exhaled sharply.

"—With love and affection? Yes please."

"Shut up!" I thumped his chest for good measure. Troy just resumed to laugh quietly.


January 12, 2008

'Freedom!' I screamed, lightly skipping and doing a little happy dance beside Troy. We exited the school building feeling like a weight lifted off our shoulders. Troy wasn't keen to break out into a victory dance like me, so he settled for happily swinging our joined hands.

'How do you feel now that high school's effectively over?' I guessed he hadn't seen this side of me in a while — a quirk of mine he adored. Whenever I was excited or felt terribly restless, I had a tendency to dance or jump around. It was a rarity I was in this good of a mood, and not for a lack of trying; but there was something about accomplishing a long awaited task that made the world around me seem that much brighter. True, it was only the exam to get our G.E.D, but to finally feel like the rest of my life started today had me ready to burst with anticipation. I tugged on Troy's palm, and he lifted our hands for me to twirl effortlessly underneath.

Smiling widely at my giddiness, he pulled me in to press his lips on my temple.

"I love it when you're so carefree. It's cute." He gushed, causing me to beam up at him. He lightly pinched my cheeks and cooed over my smooshed face in his hands.

Pursing my lips in a pout, he mockingly mirrored my pose. Together, we laughed at our childish antics. Then, he finally bust a move that brought me to my knees in another hysterical fit of laughter.

"What?" Troy demanded, outraged and exasperated at me failing to contain my composure. He'd stopped wildly flapping his arms and wiggling his legs in a bizarre motion that could only be described as 'boneless.'

"Oh my God!" I cried, wiping the tears from my eyes and still giggling every now and then. Troy pulled me upright and stood there sulking.

I leaned over to peck his cheek to make up, and at the last second he turned his head so I planted one on his lips instead. It seemed to be his plan all along, as he tugged on my jeans belt loops to bring me closer and prolong our makeout session. All too soon, I had to break away for air. Naturally, my boyfriend's eyes sensually bore into mine, and then his dark gaze ultimately landed on my heaving chest.

"Are you uncomfortable?"

I blinked and gaped at him. "Huh?" I said dumbly, trying to shake myself free from the fog of lust.

Gesturing to my chest, he simply said with concern, "You're popping out of your bra."

I squeaked and glanced down to find the swell of my breasts bulging over the cups. As he continued to shamelessly stare, I felt the blood rush to my blushing face.

"I, er…" I stammered, and went to cover my chest with my hand, and suddenly felt something sharp stab my underbust. Flinching, I realized the problem with regret: the underwire broke free from the fabric and painfully poked my boobs. One wrong move and I feared I'd be impaled by a piece of metal. I relayed my predicament through the Bond, and Troy winced in empathy. Leading him to a nearby tree, I instructed him to keep watch while I searched underneath the back of my top.

"What are you — ohhh." Understanding dawned in his eyes after he bewilderingly watched me unclasp my bra without even removing my shirt. With a sigh of relief, I discreetly showed him the issue and then stowed the old undergarment in my purse.

"Better?" Troy asked with amusement and raised brows. I chuckled and nodded, fixing my blouse. Now without a bra, I realized belatedly the shapes of my nipples were visible.

"I think I need your jacket, Troy." I said, embarrassed. Wordlessly, he gave me his colorblocked windbreaker and I donned the jacket, instantly enveloped in his intoxicating scent. Although the sleeves were much too long and I had to shove my wrists through, the jacket itself was very cozy. We walked in silence back to the parking lot from the campus.

"You don't have plans the rest of the day, right?" Troy asked, holding my hand the entire time.

I snickered. "I'm free this afternoon. Why?"

"First, you need a new bra. And afterwards, I'll make it up to you and get some ice cream. My treat." His charming smile was as bright as the sun.

I decided not to argue with the offer. I knew his intentions were pure, and he just wanted me to be more comfortable, especially with me being pregnant and all.

"Okay."

As we drove away from the school building and merged onto the highway, I looked over at my mate.

"I may need some sweatpants, too." I spoke shyly. Even after all this time together and many reassurances on his part that he didn't mind, I was still uneasy about using his money.

He nodded in acknowledgment. "You got it." He sent me an easy smile that made the butterflies in my stomach appear again. And with one more look at him, I knew he would forever be my lighthouse of hope and sanctuary in the storm of life.