Chapter 53:

Thank you to my new story follower, Wishmaster 17! I'm glad you're on for the ride!

"Mmm." Larten sighed feeling feather light kisses across his face, long hair tickling his skin as it draped over him.

He slowly opened his eyes to blink before raising a hand to rub his face and wiggle his nose. He looked up at Erin leaning over his chest, moving her hair behind her ears. A couple of locks fell. Larten raised his arm to push them back behind her ear, rubbing his thumb against her cheek. She gave it a small kiss before resting her chin against her crossed arms on top of his chest smiling at him.

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what?' Merry Christmas!" Erin giggled.

"Ah, yes, how could I have forgotten?" He chuckled.

Erin pushed herself up to kiss him properly. She pulled away, a coquettish look in her eyes. Larten furrowed his brow.

"I have one more special gift to give you. I haven't been able to do it in quite some time and since you're here now I figured you would benefit from it just as much as I do."

Larten only felt a small blush across his cheeks but he noticed the heat in his chest more. He gave a half grin feigning surprise.

"Oh, and what might that be?"

"I can't tell you. You'll just have to find out."

Larten frowned. He had thought—

"No, no, you're train of thought is correct, but it's something a little different. Relieves stress."

"I do not feel stressed." He said, shaking his head slightly, still frowning.

Erin rolled her eyes before kissing him quickly and rolling out of the bed. Immediately she began scratching her back.

"Why didn't you undress me? I hate sleeping in regular clothes." She said pulling off her sweater revealing a strapless black bra still scratching at her back.

Larten looked down at his clothes still worn from last night and shrugged.

"Vampires travel light. We sleep with our cloaks as blankets. Pajamas are unnecessary."

"Probably also incite other vampires to make jokes about you?" Erin grinned, removing her skirt. "So, I guess the pants Brigid got for you would be considered too luxurious and you'd be mocked? Well, don't tell her that. She just wanted you to be comfortable. Me, too, of course, but that's her way of being thoughtful."

"I did not say I did not appreciate them." Larten mumbled.

Erin laughed. "I know, I know. Ugh, these tights are itchy, too." Erin immediately began scratching her lower back where the elastic band had been yanking them off.

She had her back to Larten running her fingers through her hair. Larten took his time looking her over before turning his eyes away embarrassed when he noticed she was wearing…he racked his brain, what was it called?

"It's called a thong, Larten."

Larten turned his head back to her as she did a slow, seductive turn around. The heat in his chest was returning quite fiercely.

Erin gave a joking wink picking up her clothes and placing them in her dirty clothes basket before heading into the bathroom to turn on the shower. Larten quickly threw the covers off to follow her. Erin was still dressed as the water warmed up. He began unbuttoning his shirt but she stopped him.

"What now?" He couldn't help but huff.

"We have to shower separately, I'm afraid."

"What? Why?" Larten pressed. He had to do something with the heat in his chest.

"Because. You'll see." Erin said pushing him outside of the bathroom.

"But—" Larten stuttered.

"You only have to wait until late tonight. Patience, darling." She said mischievously closing the bathroom door.

Larten pursed his lips. It was ridiculous that he felt like a spoiled child but he couldn't help it. He grumbled to himself as he quickly found a clean shirt (black with red pinstripe) and kept his red pants on. He slid his sandals on and headed down to the kitchen.

Brigid was already there munching on leftover cookies with a large glass of milk. She was wearing her earrings and bracelets with tight grey jeans and a muted mauve long-sleeved ribbed shirt. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy bun.

"Hey, Larten. Merry Christmas. Want some cookies?" She asked, sucking at her fingers.

Larten grimaced. "Merry Christmas and no thank you." How could she stomach so much sugar?

Brigid shrugged. "You're loss. Want me to make you a turkey or ham sandwich?"

"Again, no thank you. I am capable of providing for myself." He grumbled walking to the refrigerator.

"Sounds like someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Larten gave her a dour look as he placed some bread on a plate.

"I'm just kidding. Chill out. Oh, yeah, almost forgot to mention. Typically, on Christmas night, Erin and I go ice skating in town at the outside rink they set up during the winter months. You're more than welcome to come."

Larten looked up, eyes wide.

"Ice skating?" He said warily.

"What? Scared? Big, bad vampire scared of a little ice?" Brigid gave him a mocking grin as she finished her milk.

It was then Larten narrowed his eyes at the challenge.

"No." He snapped. "But I will only spectate. It is beneath a vampire to indulge in such frivolities."

"Whatever. You do you. We can have plenty of fun without you." Brigid said rinsing her plate off.

"I said I will come but will only spectate." He said through gritted teeth.

"I know. Good lord, calm down and eat something. The water is still hot in the kettle. Have a cup of tea, grumpy gus." Brigid said rolling her eyes and shaking her head at him before heading upstairs.

"Brat." He hissed under his breath before shoving a piece of turkey into his mouth.

He walked over to the kettle to make two cups of tea. They were just about fully steeped when Erin breezed into the kitchen. She was wearing black jeans and a matching shirt to Brigid's only in an army green color. Her hair fell across her right shoulder in a low side ponytail.

"Ooh, tea, perfect." She said, Larten handing her a mug.

Larten continued to eat the meat on his plate.

"Oh, by the way, I think I forgot to mention this, but every Christmas evening, Brigid and I go ice skating in town at— "

"Yes, yes. Brigid just told me. I will accompany you both but will only spectate." He sniffed dismissively.

"You can spectate all you want but I'm glad you're still coming, vampire superiority complex and all." Erin teased behind her mug of tea.

Larten shot her a severe look before returning his gaze to his now empty plate. Erin set her mug down and gave him a tight squeeze from behind.

"Don't worry. We'll have plenty of time afterwards." She whispered into his ear nipping at it gently.

Before he could turn around to demand a full kiss, Brigid's loud stomping down the stairs stopped him. This was turning out to be an unbearably frustrating night so far. But when he noticed she had the leather journal he had given to her last night was in her hands he felt himself tense up.

Brigid pulled a stool up and sat down opening to the front page. She held it up, beaming. Larten narrowed his eyes. He recognized his name again and the word 'Christmas' and the date.

"I dedicated the first page to you. That way I'll always know how special it is. Just think, when I'm old and dead I'll have this mystery journal with only a mysterious name and a date. Kind of like a time capsule." Brigid looked at it surprisingly tenderly. "Yeah. It'll always be special." She smiled up at him before flipping to the first page.

Larten cleared his throat trying not to show how moved he was. He didn't want to think of Brigid growing old and dying. She was bright, enthusiastic, and fiery. He never thought about their relationship but it was unique. He would never admit he took advice from a child but she was always the one who put him in his place. Irritating and utterly infuriating when she did, a childish brat, but she hadn't steered him wrong. He, at times, considered Erin to be even more infuriating with how understanding she was. Maybe because she was an empath and a nurse so, it came naturally. But that still didn't mean Larten couldn't stand it at times. He was sure she had her threshold but it hadn't been reached yet.

"Women." He muttered under his breath as he took a sip of his tea.

"Excuse me?" Erin and Brigid said in unison.

Larten lowered his mug slowly feeling exactly what it would feel like to be suddenly thrown into a pit of vipers.

"N-nothing. I-um…what were you going to say, Brigid?" He stuttered. By the gods, it looked like they were ready to tear him limb-from-limb.

Brigid clicked her tongue. "That's what I thought." She and Erin exchanged the exact same glance before sending it right his way.

"Anyway," Brigid began, releasing him from danger, "I know Erin has told you there will be murders happening again soon by Murlough, complete with vampire hunters, but I'm getting conflicting probabilities. These proofs aren't making any sense. So," she closed the journal dramatically, "Until Erin sees or feels something, or I do, we should go about our business until that time comes. I only bring this up because I want to have fun ice skating tonight and not have a voice of fear in the back of our minds."

Larten didn't want to agree but he had to agree. He was old enough to know that you couldn't force the hands of time or fate. He finished his tea in a gulp and sat the mug down.

"I agree." He stated firmly.

Erin was looking down at her mug intently. Larten put a hand on her shoulder.

"All is fine." He repeated.

Erin sighed, also finishing her tea. "I need that stress relief ritual soon." She muttered under her breath so Brigid couldn't hear her but she knew Larten could.

Larten had to fight against asking again what she was talking about. He was so confused!

"Alrighty then, let's get our coats and get going!" Brigid commanded.

He growled internally. 'Patience, Larten, patience', he repeated to himself.

The skating rink was filled with people. Families, groups of teenagers, and obvious couples on dates. Erin and Brigid were lacing up their ice skates as Larten looked around imperiously in his red cloak.

"Is Ellie here tonight?"

"No. But we are going to come back with a group of friends from the track team sometime before school starts."

Brigid was able to pop right up onto her skates and shuffle over to the entrance into the rink. She glided across the ice before glancing back at her sister who was going much slower.

"Come on, sis! It's like riding a bike! Quit being so cautious!" Brigid yelled before taking off skating with perfect balance and speed. Brigid loved ice skating because you could go really fast and her track running gave her the ability to do so.

Erin finally made it to the ice and stepped on holding onto the edge. She practiced for a second holding onto the barrier before letting go, circling back to where Larten was standing.

"Are you sure there isn't any possible way I could convince you to join in?"

Larten crossed his arms looking down his nose at her.

"No."

"I thought vampires liked new experiences. It wouldn't be hard for you. Come on." Erin begged.

"I said no."

Erin pushed herself away from the edge, throwing up her hands, giving him a condescending smile.

"You're loss." And with that, she took off.

'Hmph. My loss, indeed." Larten thought to himself.

He watched the hustle and bustle of the crowd. People falling and laughing, little children falling and crying, Erin and Brigid holding hands and swirling in a circle before Brigid let go too quickly sending Erin crashing onto the ice. Larten was immediately by her side and surprised to find her laughing as he and Brigid helped her up.

"Ow, my butt! Brigid, you jerk, you should've slowed down."

Brigid was laughing with her sister. "I did!"

"No, you didn't! Geez, I'm going to have a huge bruise thanks to you."

Suddenly there was a whistle blown and an ice referee slid up to them.

"If you don't have skates on I'm going to have to ask you to leave the rink, sir."

Larten snapped his head around ready to give a nasty retort.

"I'm okay. Go back and sit." Erin said trying to discreetly massage her tail bone.

"Beat it, Larten." Brigid said cocking her head towards the spot he had been standing. "Hey, want to race?" She said excitedly to Erin.

"Race?" Larten couldn't help spit out in disbelief.

"Sir, you must leave the rink now." The referee put his hand on Larten's upper arm turning him towards the exit.

Larten jerked his arm away from the referee giving such a look that made the referee back up a few steps. He glanced at Brigid and Erin before exhaling in frustration as he walked back out of the rink. Returning to his spot he saw Erin and Brigid in a crouched position with Brigid counting to three. Suddenly they were off for laps around the rink, Brigid, of course, far, far ahead. His frustration melted slowly watching Erin skate. Her cheeks were flushed and eyes sparkling, smiling as Brigid passed her skating backwards, arms in the air because she had 'won.' It was at that time that a man tripped and fell, taking Erin down with him. The man immediately tried to stand up and help Erin up.

"Oh my God, I am so, so sorry."

"It's okay, it's okay. Oof, Brigid, help me up."

"You should watch where you're going next time." Brigid snapped.

"It's okay, mistakes happen Brigid. But I am definitely done for the night. Go skate. I'm going to take a break." She started to wobble towards the exit.

The man held his arm out so she could balance as she stepped out of the rink. Larten took no notice of the man. He held his hand out to help her sit down and immediately knelt down to undo her skates.

"I think you are done for the night." He muttered darkly.

"Ow, I know. Ugh, I need a hot bath right about now." Erin said, laughing.

"Hey, by the way, my name is Chris. I saw you around the rink. Was that your sister?"

Erin looked up surprised he was still there. He was resting against the rink wall with that obvious look on a man's face when they're about to make a move.

"I guess I should feel lucky I crashed into you. I mean, I'm sorry, but all the same, "He smiled, "I feel lucky that it was you."

"Uh, yeah, that's my sister. And, uh, I'm fine so no harm, no foul." Erin said giving that fake polite reply meaning 'ok thanks, please leave now.'

"It's nice that your father was able to bring you." The man continued. "He must be proud to have such a beautiful woman for a daughter."

Erin's eyes met Larten's. She tried to communicate 'don't do anything crazy' but Larten already had a dangerous look in his eyes.

He stood to his full height, his face dark, his long scar making him look even more dangerous.

"Do I look like her father?" Larten said taking a slow step towards the man.

"Hey man, you weren't skating with her." The man challenged back. "Fair game is fair game."

Larten had reached the rink's edge, towering over the man. He slowly lowered his face to meet his, only a few inches apart.

"This is no game." He said deathly quiet. "Now leave."

The man's face was white as he pushed away from the rink's edge.

"Yeah, whatever. She must be a crazy bitch anyway if she's with you."

Larten stepped onto the ice causing the man to give a small jump and scurry away looking behind him to make sure Larten wasn't following him.

Larten promptly returned to Erin sitting down next to her, his body tense. Erin slipped a glove off to hold his hand.

"I think you might have scared him." Erin whispered trying to fight back a smile.

"I would have done much worse if given the chance." Larten hissed.

Erin chuckled as she kissed his knuckles and sighed resting her head against his arm.

"I think you need the stress relief remedy now, too."

"What are you talking about? Tell me." He growled in frustration.

"It's going to happen when we get home which will be soon. The rink is closing. Trust me." Erin gave him a secretive grin.

Larten huffed and looked up to see Brigid skating towards them. She sat down panting, her breath puffing in the cold air as she removed her skates.

"Ice skating is the best."

"Not when all you do is fall." Erin muttered.

"Larten and I will take care of you, bruised butt and all!"

"Brigid, I swear, I will make you walk home." Erin said embarrassed.

"Ah, empty threats. My favorite kind. Let's go, kids." Brigid jumped up.

Once they were home, Brigid changed into her pj's making herself comfortable in the living room to catch up on the newly recorded t.v. shows. She had the sound raised up loud and it was giving Larten a headache. He was about to demand she turn it down but Erin stopped him and, taking him by the hand, pulled him upstairs to her bedroom. With a click of the door shutting, she sighed in relief.

"So, what now?" Larten demanded. He was officially cranky now.

"Take off your clothes but leave your boxers on."

Larten blinked. "What?"

"I said, take your clothes off but leave your underwear on."

"Okay, but…what do I do next?" He asked like a confused schoolboy.

"Sit on the bed and wait." She said, breezing past him into the bathroom.

She looked behind her to see he was still just standing there unsure of the situation. Larten didn't particularly like surprises or not knowing what he was up against.

"Clothes. Off. I'll be right out." Erin said closing the bathroom door with a glint in her eye.

He continued to stand in a dumbfounded state for a minute before slowly removing his clothes. He didn't know where to put them so he draped them neatly over her desk chair. He sat stiffly on the edge of the bed feeling slightly exposed. He sat staring at his hands, waiting.

He heard the bathroom door open and immediately looked up.