Chapter 28
The beginning
She sleeps against me and I know peace. I can still feel her blood calling to me, but it is a call that will just have to go unanswered. Again and again I have come so close to losing her, but now I am the only one who can put her life at risk. And I refuse to hurt her. I'm convinced I will have to change her, but not yet. I want time with her. I want time where I won't have to guard against her thirst and worry constantly about her hungers. I want a honeymoon with her, and time to be alone and not have to worry about anyone but ourselves.
While she sleeps I use the in flight phone and make plans and reservations. Where to stay, what do do, and even what to wear all need to be planned. I had wanted our honeymoon to be different. I'd had plans to take her around the world, and show her so many things I remembered. But considering how long it's been since I've visited those places myself, I'm not even sure I could be a useful guide. The past two weeks have shown me that the most important thing for our honeymoon is her. She's the only attraction I want to see. I love her more than I ever thought possible, and I know she feels the same.
I still can't believe Marcus wanted her for himself. I know Chelsea tried to give him what he wanted, and she failed. Marcus will likely think that she didn't try hard enough, but along the drive she shared how many things she'd already done for the one she loved. Chelsea would have given him anything, even my Summer if that was what he demanded. I imagined somewhere in her twisted reasoning she believed that if Marcus had another wife, she could again play the mistress like she did when Didyme was living. Maybe she was right since Marcus had conveniently forgotten his affair with Chelsea as he played the grieving husband. What they'd both failed to grasp was Summer's love and devotion to me. Even I didn't know that Chelsea could fail.
She is the glue that holds the Volturi together, and I thought it was impossible to defeat her. I laugh to myself as I think of how badly Aro wants the powerful Cullens to join him. I am sure he's not above weakening or breaking their bonds in order for them to leave Carlisle, but with Chelsea working for Marcus, maybe she didn't really try. Marcus would hate having Bella and Edward within his perception every day. The same would be true of Alice and Jasper, not to mention Alice might see a future with no Marcus, and Jasper's emotional manipulation could potentially undermine the Volturi like nothing they are prepared for. I can't wait to share my findings with Vladmir.
Summer stirs against me and I pull her close. I remember how she used to pull away from my chill, but now she seems to seek me out, even in her sleep. There are only four of us on the plane, including the pilot and co-pilot. When we land in Thessaloniki she wakes and stretches in her unique way. It is early morning and the sun is just coming up. We leave the plane and the chauffeured car I requested is waiting for us. It takes us to the hotel where I've already reserved our suite. We have no luggage and not even a change of clothes. Still I carry my bride over the threshold and into our honeymoon suite. I lie beside her on the bed just gazing at her.
I tell her of my plans to take her shopping when the sun sets so that we will both have what we need. I tell her of the many places we can go and things we can do, from great restaurants to the theater. And I offer to order her room service. "I know it's been a long time since you've eaten and you must be hungry."
She shocks me when she rolls over onto my chest. "I'm hungry... but not for food." She kisses me and I am reminded how long it has been since we have been alone. The restraint it takes to stay calm in the face of her passion is something I was forced to learn at Volterra. She is so incredibly beautiful, I peel her out of her clothes and kiss every tender inch of skin as I uncover it. She is finally mine, and no one can take her from me. Only death – and I will deal with him later.
The sunlight splashes across our bed in the early morning, and I relearn her body. She is beautiful with her bronze skin juxtaposed against the pale cream which has been hidden. I still find it amazing that I am permitted to see everything. I go slowly, committing each moment to memory, even though I can sense how much she desires me.
I expect her to be weary and need rest. I can't get over all she has been through in the past few weeks. She is soft and feminine, and her human weakness should define her. But she has a strength within her that humbles me. I stare at her – my wife. Just looking at her in all her glory makes it suddenly real. We've come through the fire, and we're on the other side – together.
I brush the hair from her face and fight to slow down and savor the moment. "Are you sure you're up to this? We have lots of time now."
Her arms twine around my neck. "Good, that means we can enjoy it again..." She kisses me. "...and again." She kisses me repeatedly; soft, warm, and yielding. I capture her face in my hand, and hold her still. My lips meet hers, and I feel the blood just beneath the thin skin. I tease her tongue with mine, and taste all of her human flavors that so tempt me. My arms move around her and pull her close, and I can still feel every bone in her body. Her heart beats strong, and I hear the blood rushing through her body. It's the sweetest sound I know. It means she's alive.
I'm conscious of her allure, pulling me and holding me fast. But it's minor next to the love I feel for her. Her eyes are my favorite shade of blue, and I reach for the teardrop pendant which can't match their luster, no matter the facets. I touch the gem, and slide my hand over it's resting place. My fingers explore the valley between her soft womanly curves, and she sighs. I touch her gently, molding my hands to her soft feminine peaks, and she gasps and arches against me. I touch and fondle, as my hands warm slowly.
She holds me tight, kissing me with a passion that never ceases to amaze me. Her soft moans incite a response in me that is no less urgent than the desire to feed. I need her as a man needs a woman. The scent of her own perfume tells me she is ready to be claimed, but I've been too long without her, and I need to savor every delicious inch of her. I trail kisses from her lips, along her cheek to her ear. I whisper my words of love and yearning, before I take her delicate lobe into my mouth and suck gently. My hands roam freely over her body, and each touch brings a new part of her to alertness.
I continue to kiss her, moving downward. Her neck is sweet temptation! Her pulse throbbing beneath my lips, begs me to taste her. I lick her instead, trailing my tongue teasingly lower, away from the temptation of her blood. It's a new temptation that makes us both moan. Her soft, yielding flesh rises to my lips, and I taste her. My tongue swirls over her pink bud, before I hungrily take her into my mouth. I tease and taste her, then move to explore the other in the same way, as my hand caresses away the wetness I've left behind.
"Stefan! Oh please... it feels so good, my love." She cradles my head to her, with fingers clutching my hair. Her fragrance is driving me mad, and I must taste her. I leave her soft mounds and kiss downward. My tongue delves into her navel, and my hands grip her hips. She knows my intention, and she wiggles in anticipation. I bask in her sweet sighs and moans, as my hands splay over naked skin no other man has enjoyed. I lick further down, and her legs part with only the slightest urging of my hands.
I touch and open her, waiting tantalizing seconds in anticipation. The lure is irresistible, and I taste her fully. She bucks against me, and her savagely wanton cry is for my ears only. My tongue plays with her, teasing and driving her into a frenzy of need. She is awash in sweetness and I eagerly drink from her, as she cries and begs for more.
I raise up quickly, hovering over her face to face. If she weren't vulnerable enough, her legs part more fully to welcome me. I know to be careful and gentle, but I also know there is a certain amount of forgiveness in her body. The dance is as old as time – older even than my kind. I slide hard flesh against wet womanly need, and she gasps.
"I love you, my darling wife." I've claimed her with my words, and with a shift of my hips, I press forward and claim her with my body. Soft, warm, wet, and yielding... she is perfection! I wait, just memorizing the moment. I am a man more in this moment than any other, and I drink it all in.
"Stefan – my god, I love you so much!" Her hands move over me, touching me with familiar intimacy. I love the feel of her hands, urging me on. I move with her, and her sighs turn to moans and gasps. I love every human element, from the warmth that surrounds me, to the wet sounds we make, as I claim her with a rhythm that makes her cry, and writhe, and beg me to never stop. She doesn't know that it's possible for me to never stop. But I can feel every movement of her body, and I delight in taking her to the edge of her release and keeping her there. I love the way she's so unrestrained, and when I finally take her fully into bliss, I can't help but enjoy my own release. I hardly recognize the feeling that washes over me; it's happiness!
We lie relaxed in the afterglow of lovemaking, and I can't help but smile as she nestles beside me. "Stefan, I've been meaning to ask you, why don't you have fangs? I mean none of you do, and I just thought it was funny since all the stories say vampires have fangs."
I have to laugh. She still doesn't know so many things about us, and yet she pledged to love me until we are parted by death – which I refuse to let happen.
"Why would we need fangs? Would you need fangs to bite into a soft, ripe peach? We are perfectly equipped to hunt our chosen prey; fangs would only destroy the illusion of harmless beauty. We look good, we sound good, we smell good... we are the perfect lure. I have enough strength in my jaws to crush bone, and fangs would only get in the way." Her blue eyes widen at my revelation.
"I never thought of you as that kind of hunter. Why would you need to be a lure if you're so fast and strong?"
"Exactly." I pull her to me and kiss her softly. "I don't know why we are the way we are. We are truly wolves in sheep's clothing. I wish I could be more like the fictions that have been written. I don't even care about being able to fly or change into an animal. Just being able to take a small amount of blood would be – wonderful. I think I'd give up sunlight if it meant I didn't need to kill."
"But I thought you could take a small amount... you took blood from me and didn't kill me. Sulpicia did it too."
"Sulpicia still wants to kill you, don't ever trust her! Summer... anytime you're close to her, and by close I mean in the same neighborhood, she will know. If she hadn't been standing so close to Vladmir at the wedding, I wouldn't have let her near you. She would be destroyed if she attacked you again in public. But it is a miracle you escaped Volterra with your life. Because our bite brings on the change, we can sense those who live and are somehow not changed. It's how we catch prey that escapes; the blood calls to us almost irresistibly. It's the real reason we don't drink donated blood, we can sense the life of the donor."
"But you drank my blood, I saw you."
"That was a mistake, Summer. Aro knew what it would do to me. I was so far gone I couldn't even think." I kiss her lips and her cheek. I want to hide my face in her hair, but I meet her eyes instead. "Ever since the day you walked through my door, I've been fighting not to kill you. I have been tested so many times I feel my will must be at least as strong as Carlisle's. If I had been thinking, I would have refused your blood. It was sweet, and rich and pure like you. It has become the most delicious taste to ever pass my lips, and I know I can never taste it again if you want to live. Aro's trick has made sure that I will be fighting not to kill you for as long as you live."
"How do you resist? My god, this is horrible, I'm so sorry... I didn't know. Is there anything I can do to help?" Her concern is touching.
"I will resist because I have no choice. It's part of the reason I'm going to stick with the animal diet. It actually helps me resist you if all humans are off limits."
"I'm glad to hear that. I'm sorry Stefan, I love you and I want you no matter what, but I'm glad you're not hunting people." She looks thoughtful, then looks at me hopefully. "What if you had a lot of my blood? I mean like enough to feel like you've drained me dry? I could donate that much over time, and you could drink your fill... " I kiss her lips to quiet her.
"I love you so much. You are the most incredible and giving person I've ever met. But it won't work. Remember, it's not really the blood we feed on, it's the life. I'm not taking your life Summer, and you can't donate enough blood to make me feel like I have."
"Some day you can." Her words are so soft against me, I want to pretend I don't hear her. "I want you to be the one... when the time comes. Just let me fall asleep in your arms and never wake up again. Would you do that for me Stefan?"
"No!" I would give her anything she asks, I would lay down my own life... how can she ask me? I get out of the bed and pace the room as she watches. "You don't understand... I'm not going to live without you! You could ask Vladmir to do it, or Sulpicia would gladly finish you. But there is no future for me without you. When you are gone, make no mistake, I will follow you. There are fires hot enough to consume me before I escape."
"But why? You don't have to die!" Her voice pleads with me.
"Neither do you!" I've raised my voice and she is startled. I join her in bed again, and take her gently into my arms. "I love you, Summer. It's different for our kind... we don't ever forget. Time does not dim the pain. I will never forget how you feel right now in my arms. I will never forget how much I adore you. I will never lose the intensity of the way I feel for you. I will feel this way forever – or until I become ashes or dust. This love is carved into my soul; it's part of who I am. Tessa, Cecelia and Danial, and even Vladmir have impacted my life in such a way too. But you are my wife. I know I have a heart now because it beats in you. I will always love you; strongly, passionately, deeply, and I cannot tolerate a life with that kind of intense love for a woman who isn't with me." My words have made her cry and I kiss her tears away.
"I'm sorry." She snuggles into my arms. "Maybe one of us will change our mind by the time I get sick. We still have lots of time, and I don't want to argue with you."
I teasingly touch her body and smile. "If we're not arguing, does that mean it's time for make-up sex?" She giggles at the term I've only recently learned from one of the movies we've watched.
"I think it's definitely time." The look of love and bliss on her face makes it worth all the restraint it takes not to hurt her. I don't know if I will ever get used to the way we can come together as a couple, even though we are so different. In her arms I'm not a monster, I'm not an ancient killer, I'm just a man in love with a woman.
Afterward we shower together and order her something to eat from room service. While she eats I call home and leave a message for Vladmir on the answering machine to let him know we're alright. We lounge in the rooms wearing nothing but thick robes provided by the hotel. I hold her and ask her to tell me of her life. She tells of a happy childhood with parents who loved her. She tells of the emptiness when her mother left, and how she always hoped she would come back. The sadness of her mother's death is still fresh and I hold her as she cries. She wishes she could have seen her as a bride. She Also wishes her father could have been there to give her away.
"He would have liked you Stefan. He had a sense of humor like Vladmir, only a little bit goofy. He was so kind and loving, and we had friends by the dozen. There was always a guest or two at the loft. And he was such a talented artist. He could see the hidden potential in everything." She smiles as she shares her memories. "And he was such a storyteller. If he hadn't been an artist I know he would have been a writer." Her eyes suddenly fill with tears. "He deserved a longer life. He deserved to have grand-babies to rock to sleep. He didn't deserve to die the way he did. I miss him so much. I miss them both." She clings to me as she cries, and all I can do is hold her and sooth her.
She pulls away and wipes her eyes before giving me a small smile. "Thanks for being with me. I'm sure this isn't exactly what you thought your honeymoon was going to be like. I don't think I've cried so much in my entire life as I have recently."
I pick her up and hold her against me like I did when we were back home. "I'm glad you trust me with your memories. Besides, I have no idea what a honeymoon is supposed to be like. I just want to be with you."
"Well, I think we're supposed to... go to exotic places, and dine and dance together, and …. of course make love all the time. And we're supposed to be blissfully happy and do everything together."
I kiss her, and just enjoy caressing the softness of her skin. "Greece is not exotic, but the Mediterranean is very beautiful. We can dine together... sort of. And I can absolutely dance with you." I lay her on the bed and smother her with kisses. "I really like the part about making love all the time. And I am blissfully happy when we are together. So what more is missing from your perfect honeymoon?"
She giggles and wraps her arms around my neck. "Nothing."
The suite has a large whirlpool tub we enjoy together. She likes the way the water heats my skin, and I worry over her reluctance to get out even though she is turning wrinkled. When we finally drain the tub, she lets me dry her off with thirsty towels. I brush her hair for her while she tells me about her home town. Such simple pleasures I have never known.
We dress in our only clothing and when the sun sets the car arrives to take us shopping. Like our first time shopping, I again know the language and she does not. But the shops are unfamiliar to me, and even though she doesn't know the language, she is more at home in the stores. She chooses clothes for me, and accepts many of the choices I make for her.
She requires many more things for her feminine care. She laughs when I ask what everything is for, but she patiently explains when she sees I really want to know. There is perfume, lotions to do different things for her skin, deodorant to cover her scent – which thankfully doesn't work in my opinion, paint for her nails and chemicals to remove the paint, cottony things to catch her menstrual flow, vitamins to supplement her vegetarian diet, a curler for her lashes, different make-ups to add unnecessary color to her lovely face, a rinse to freshen her breath, thin string to pull between her teeth, and razors to shave the hair from her skin. She needs so many things because she is so human. I want to suggest that she wouldn't need so much if I changed her, but I don't want to argue with her again.
We arrive back at the hotel with a carload of bags as well as two suitcases to pack. I encourage her to wear a white dress I helped her pick out. It reminds her of the first one I gave her which she hated. This one covers a little more of her, and floats around her when she walks. I dress in a light gray suit the likes of which I've never owned, and I wait for her to get ready. We have reservations for dinner at a fine restaurant that offers dancing. When she finally appears, I have to rethink my opinion of her grooming necessities. She is stunning. One of my kind could never hold a candle to this woman, and she is my wife.
I take her arm and escort her to the restaurant which is walking distance to the hotel. The music, the smells of food, and the crowd are a lot to take in, but nothing compares to her. I can see the eyes of many men gazing at her, and I keep her protectively close. She orders her food for both of us and I push the meal around my plate as I watch her.
"I'm starting to feel like there's something wrong with me, Stefan. You haven't stopped looking at me since we got here." She smiles self-consciously and her blue eyes lift to mine.
"Every man in here has taken notice of you. Several continue to watch you even now." I smile as she glances nervously about her. The restaurant is busy and the noise easily covers up our conversation. "Relax my love, I will not allow anyone to take you from me." I reach for her hand across the table, just needing to touch her. "I wish I had killed Marcus for what he did. Chelsea told me what he planned to do to you. I was prepared to kill him even though it would have meant my own death as well; Demetri is quite powerful, as is Chelsea." I can see my words have disturbed her.
"Please Stefan, don't talk about dying. We're safe now and they can't touch us."
"You're wrong. They can get to us anytime they wish. You need to know these things. Demetri doesn't track by scent, he can sense the patterns of your mind, even where there is no trail. I don't believe they will come for us again, but you need to know they can. There are so many things from which I cannot protect you. But at least I am not powerless against Demetri, or Chelsea, or even Sulpicia. I can watch over you in a room like this, full of ravenous wolves who would tear you from me." I know it might anger her, but I can't help saying again what is always on my mind. "But the one thing that threatens you most, leaves me helpless, because it's inside you. You're harboring the very killer I cannot save you from, and you won't let me protect you." I expect her to be angry, but instead she holds my hand in both of hers.
"Stefan, I'm sorry this causes you so much pain. I understand why you want to change me, and the idea of having centuries with you... makes me want you to do it. But it wouldn't just change me into a resilient woman who would live forever, it would change who I am. Every time I look in the mirror I see my dad's blue eyes looking back. I love the look of my skin when it's brown from the sun. I even like the limitations you don't have. I have to practice to learn a new skill, I have to work out to be strong, and I know that there are things that will always be beyond me. But it's a part of who I am, and I have accepted it.
"But more than all that, I've seen what becomes of those who are like you. In Volterra I had the chance to witness the beautiful and the inhuman. They're cold, Stefan. And I don't mean temperature, I mean cold-hearted. When I met you, you were just like that. I love you, and I know that you're warm and passionate, and you love deeply. But all that was buried under ice. You almost killed me without even a thought as to who I am, or that I had any value whatsoever. I don't want to become like that."
I'm stunned into silence. She's right... I would have killed her if not for her seductive attraction. She would now lie buried in the woods next to the thief, and I would have gone on with my pale, lackluster existence without ever knowing I could have more. How could she love such a monster?
"Stefan please... I'm not trying to make you upset. I just want you to understand that part of what you love about me – a big part – is my humanity. It's the part of you I love the most even though it was buried and hard to find. I don't want to lose that and I know that I would. I've seen it over and over again in the Volturi."
"Summer, they're not a good example." I want so much for her to believe it doesn't have to happen. "You're right, they are cold. But it doesn't have to be that way. The Cullen family and the Denali coven in America... they're different. They don't hunt humans and they are more like you. We could be like that. I would never feed on another human... person, again if you would join me. You worry about becoming a murderer, consider this... you could stop me from being one. Summer I promise, as long as you're by my side I'll never take the life of another person."
"Don't you hear me?" I've upset her. She sits back, letting go of my hand as she tries not to shed the tears in her eyes. "Stefan, I know Carlisle and his family are different from the Volturi. But even he said I should never trust them. He said it's not what they want, but who they are. We are different. You want to change me into one of you, but doing so will change who I am. People train tigers to behave a certain way. They play with them, put their hands in their mouths, and even lie on the ground with the animal on top. But that doesn't change them from tigers into people. And every now and then, someone is bitten, mauled or killed because the tiger is still a tiger." She looks at me with sad eyes.
"You don't trust me, Summer. You think I am no better than an animal." I can't find it in me to be angry with her, but it hurts in a way I never expected.
She leaves her chair and momentarily I worry that she is leaving. Instead she comes to sit on my lap with her arms around me. "I love you Stefan. I don't think of you as some kind of animal. But I don't entirely trust you either. There's a part of you that is not trustworthy, and you can't help that. I fully trust the man you are, but we both know you're not entirely a man. But I don't have to trust you to be with you. I'm all in and I have no reservations. If... if anything bad happens to me because of that part of you I don't trust, you need to know I don't blame you.
I know that as long as it's in your power to control it, you won't hurt me. Every minute I'm with you, I know you have to fight to control... the part of you that sees me as consumable. I know there's always a possibility that you could momentarily lose that control, and as fast as it takes a tiger to pounce, it would be over. But it's a chance I'm willing to take to be with you. My life without you would be unbearable; I'm lost in you Stefan. When you first held me in your arms I finally started to live my life."
She looks up at me with her beautiful blue eyes, and I want her. I consider rushing her back to our hotel to make love with her, and she smiles coyly. The little minx knows what I'm thinking. She slips off my lap and takes my hand. "Will you dance with me?" she asks. She leads me to the dance floor, and I'm helpless to follow after the swirling skirt and her tossed blond tresses.
The music is modern, but with a slight touch of my old homeland in the way it's played and some of the instruments. I hold her, at first just swaying to the beat of the music. But she changes her hold on me, mimicking the other couples on the dance floor. It doesn't take me long to pick up the different movements, and soon we are dancing as if we have always known the unfamiliar steps. She is graceful and I love to watch how her body interprets the music, even more than those who are used to the dance.
The leader of the band announces a change and the women leave the dance floor. Summer and I begin to leave, but my hand is caught up by one of the men as the notes of the Syrto dance begin to play. She smiles encouragingly as as I'm drawn into a dance barely recognizable as one I remember. It's almost effortless for me to follow the hops, skips and grapevine steps. The line leader calls out the various steps, which is not enough to keep my mind occupied as I try to keep my eyes on Summer.
As soon as I consider breaking from the line, she too is caught up in a similar line; one with women only. I smile as I watch her learn the unfamiliar steps, all the while with a smile of pure delight on her face. Our line leader snakes the processional around until we face the women and the line becomes a circle as the music and steps change. We dance different steps and different music for almost thirty minutes before we can finally leave the floor.
I can't help but smile as it hits me again that the lovely woman sitting across from me is my wife. She is laughing and her cheeks are flushed and her eyes sparkle as they meet mine. "You are so good at this." She reaches for me across the cluttered table and I take her hand. "I think you could dance all night, and you never get tripped up over the steps." Her pulse is racing and her temperature is slightly warmer. I leave my seat to sit beside her so I can put my arm around her and pull her close.
"Dancing is easy. What's difficult is watching you from a distance, when all I really want to do is take you in my arms. Are you ready to leave yet?" She blushes, knowing that leaving will lead us back to our suite, and being alone together.
"Yes." Her soft whisper makes me want to scoop her up and race her back to the room with all inhuman speed. Instead I pay for the meal and we take our time walking back, hand in hand. In our room once more I restrain myself to relax on the bed and just hold her. There are no words to tell her the depth of my love for her, so I sit in silence, stroking her hair, watching every slight move she makes, and raining soft kisses onto her face, neck, and shoulders.
With the curtains drawn the darkness is total, and she comes to me with her loving desire. She is my wife and I know I've never loved another the way I love her. Tessa was a dream, and Cecelia was a fantasy, but Summer is my everything. I have to be especially careful when we make love, and it would be so much easier for me if she were changed. But she is right, she wouldn't be the same person if she was one of us. I finally come to realize that I can't take away her humanity. I listen to her soft cries of pleasure and know that I need to treasure every moment with her, because she will be gone long before I'm ready to let go.
In the morning it's hard for me to let her go. She has so many human needs that keep us on a schedule. The hours of our honeymoon tick by in sightseeing, dining, shopping, theater, plays, concerts, and making love any time she wants. After two weeks I receive a message from Vladmir that he is growing impatient waiting for us and he wants to know if we'll be meeting him, or going off on a more lengthy sabbatical. When I relay his message to Summer she lets me know she would like to meet with him again.
"You're going to spoil me if we keep living like this. I haven't had to wash clothes or cook for over a month. And I would love to spend time in the sun again, I'm going to be as pale as you if I stay inside for much longer." She wraps her arms around me and kisses me. I can see what she means as her tan skin stands out against my white. I wish she could have known me in my life when my skin was brown from the sun like hers.
We make plans to leave in the morning. It has been a blissful time to be with her and become comfortable with one another. We pack up the many things we've bought and in the morning we board our flight for Athens. I expect that once in the capital city we would drive to the harbor where the boat is located.
In the airport it doesn't take me long to notice him. I've been on guard since we left Volterra, and his stillness is notable. I take hold of her arm and guide her eyes to the one waiting for us. She squeals and runs to him, flinging herself into his arms. Vladmir seems almost helpless as he catches her and looks over her shoulder as I walk his way grinning.
"I believe this belongs to you?" He passes her into my arms and the three of us hug. "Did you miss me, or is Goldilocks wishing she had run off with the best man?" His smile is teasing and I realize I have missed him.
Summer kisses his cheek. "Of course we missed you! It's good to see Sulpicia didn't eat you alive."
"Ah, Peaches wouldn't have 'eaten me alive.' The way I see it, you're the only one who needs to worry about that. Why don't we invite her to dinner and see which one of us she wants for dessert?"
"I fail to see the humor in Sulpicia wanting to feast on my wife." I have to be careful that my voice doesn't carry. Vladmir only laughs.
"You're right I suppose. Still the thought of one beautiful woman with her arms around another beautiful woman, with her lips..."
"Vladmir!" Summer interrupts his teasing rambling. "Don't make me sorry I missed you."
"Sorry sweetheart, it's been too long since I've been around real people. I think the vultures rubbed off on me." He kisses her cheek and pats my shoulder. "Let's get out of here!"
It's a short drive back to the boat and it seems strange that it's been waiting for us all along. I hardly feel like the same man who left here a month ago. We need to resupply the boat and Summer is thankful that Vladmir cleaned out the galley and got rid of the spoiled food before she returned. Vladmir has already hunted, and I need to as well before we leave again.