Chapter 34:

Hope everyone is enjoying this so far! I have the next chapter prepped and almost ready :)

A tray of tea sat on a small table in front of a patio couch swing.

"Come here." A gruff voice said.

"I already am." A clear female voice answered.

"No, I mean here."

There was the sound of a hand hitting a cushion.

"You can make your tea however you like it. I have cream, sugar, lemon, whatever you want."

"I want you to come sit." Came the reply.

Erin sat down pulling her cardigan tighter around her.

December had finally come around. Erin's shoulder was no longer in a sling or bandaged, her only continued therapy meant no heavy lifting or overextending the joint. Brigid's injury was healed completely and she would be able to finish the year on her track team.

Erin shivered. Larten removed his long cloak with a flourish covering her for added warmth. The chill did not bother him, but having a warm body next to him felt good.

"Nothing better than warm chivalry." Erin's voice lilted as she inched closer to Larten to stay warm, folds of his own cloak covering his knee as she brought her knees and feet up brushing his thigh. She was tucked inside making her body enveloped in a warm, red cocoon.

"You were quite chivalrous when you were younger, too."

Larten choked on his tea. He cleared his throat to take another sip, blushing furiously.

"Sorry. Small flash. I couldn't resist." Erin said, not hiding the humor in her voice.

Larten cleared his throat once more, setting his cup down.

"It is nothing. Yes, I was, as my mentor used to say, a very fiery youth. I was not always as precise and measured as I am now. I respected my mentor greatly and wished to emulate him." He replied factually.

"Ah, but you were still quite you. Even now." Erin teased. She knew of his hedonistic youth and the pain that his existence had caused him. She would never broach that subject with him. If he suspected she knew, he did not give it away. But there was such pain in every creature's existence. Erin knew that very well given her special ability.

Erin noticed, without any empathic or psychic help, that Larten's body was actually relaxing. She relaxed herself even more so, her body language trying to relay the unspoken word that it was a safe moment to be open to one another.

Larten shifted his upper body, spreading his arm across the back of the swing, allowing her to lean closer against him.

The two sat that way, each gazing into the moonlit garden, enjoying the new physical intimacy they were allowing themselves. Unknowingly, Larten's fingers found a strand of Erin's auburn hair and began playing with it, slowly letting it loop through his fingers. He felt Erin's body shudder almost imperceptibly. He kept playing with the lock of hair, neither of them still speaking.

"Larten," Erin said quietly.

Larten turned his head down to look at her. She kept her face towards the garden. She didn't continue. Larten immediately picked up on why: she had seen something. He went to shift his body away from hers to hear what it was.

"No, don't move. Please." She said just as quietly.

Larten stopped before finally relaxing back into his position. She shifted to lean against him more. He moved his arm closer, almost encircling her protectively.

He felt her take a deep breath before speaking again.

"Is it Murlough?" He asked seriously.

Had he been too lax on his look-out for Murlough?

"No. It's not him. Not yet, at least."

Larten's chest relaxed, but Erin could feel that his body was still on alert.

"It's something else somewhat in relation, but not him directly. It's a bit down the road Brigid and I have surmised, but, what I want to say is…"

She stopped, not sure if she should really say what her heart was telling her to say. Could she do that again?

"What?" Larten asked stiffly. He couldn't see where she was going with her thought so braced himself for something painful as he had learned to do.

"What I want to say is…until that time, until anything happens that will eventually have to happen, can we stay like this?" She whispered.

"What do you mean?" Larten asked confused.

Larten could feel she was holding her breath and watched as her slim hand reached for his, slowly, as if she were scared of a snake bite. She interlaced her warm fingers between his rough, cold ones, bringing his arm closer around her.

His body stiffened and he could feel hers react in the same way before trying to quickly let go of his hand; however, he held onto it and secured her fingers between his once more.

He noticed that he, too, was holding his breath. He forced himself to breathe out slowly and relax with his exhalation.

She was still stiff and unsure. He squeezed her hand.

"Relax." He said deeply.

"Hey, wake up."

Larten's foot was kicked.

"I said wake up!"

Another sharp kick, but this time to his shin.

He bolted up into a sitting position, blocking his eyes with a hand against the blaring light behind the figure that had kicked him.

He growled fiercely.

"What do you want?!"

A piece of paper was thrust in front of his face. The entire page had nothing but formulae and numbers all over it. He smacked the hand holding it away from him still blinded by the bathroom light.

"You see that?" Brigid demanded.

Larten growled again.

"Go away, you pest!"

The paper was folded away and the light turned off allowing Larten's eyes to adjust to the darkness quickly. Brigid still stood in the doorway of Erin's closet.

"I know you don't get it, but I'll explain it as simply as possible so even you can understand it: Don't. Fuck. It. Up."

"What are you- "

Larten's question was cut short as Brigid shut the door forcefully and he heard her thunder down the stairs, yelling a good-bye to Erin as Erin was leaving for work. The car started, the garage door went up and down, and eventually all was silent.

Larten laid back down with a superbly irritated huff and grumbled loudly as he tried to get comfortable again. He lay there and could not fall back asleep.

After laying on the floor for a solid annoying hour, Larten let himself out of the closet and into the bathroom. The room was dark, the window still covered in a thick curtain. He glanced at Erin's bed. It looked very, very enticing. He'd be able to cover his head in several pillows to drown out the absurd amount of noise Brigid created when she returned home from school. She did it on purpose, he was certain of it!

Scratching his scar, he finally roughly got into the bed throwing the blankets over his head and a pillow. He grumbled to himself about the interruption, but before he knew it, he was slipping back to sleep, the bed soft and sweet-smelling. He swore it would put any vampire to sleep. In his head, he narrowed his eyes. Not that he would ever allow another vampire to do so.