Using the light of lanterns, Inola and I started a flowerbed. Gabriel began painting again, although he wouldn’t allow me to see what he was working on. Thomas spent most of his time cooking and hiking in the surrounding woods; I wanted to join him on his walks, but we all agreed it was best for me to stay near the house for the time being.
One day I joined Thomas in the kitchen after he came back from the twenty-four-hour supermarket, already seeing the idea as I helped him unload the contents. Mass quantities of chocolate chips, baking cocoa, baking chocolate, chocolate bars, chocolate syrup . . .
I giggled and grabbed a mixing bowl, yelling to Gabriel that he wasn’t allowed in the kitchen no matter what he smelled or heard. I helped Thomas make triple-chocolate brownies, chocolate mousse, homemade chocolate ice cream, fudge, and double-chocolate chip cookies.
Gabriel happily ate half of everything himself.
But it was getting harder and harder for Gabriel and me to restrain ourselves when it was bedtime.
I knew Gabriel hungered for my blood. His kisses were becoming more and more desperate. His pupils would swallow his irises, making his eyes glow black instead of green. Frequently, his fangs shot out when we were kissing, and he would run his tongue along the pulse point at my neck, his fangs scraping my skin gently as my blood called to him.
I told Gabriel he could drink my blood; there was no reason to hold back anymore. I wanted him to. I wanted him.
“Not yet,” he said, smiling against my mouth. “I want this to be special for you.”
I wriggled against him. “How is it not already special? I’m tired of waiting.”
“I’m planning something. It will be worth the wait.”
***
“Good morning, heart.”
I sleepily opened my eyes. “Don’t you mean ‘good night’?”
Gabriel’s teeth gleamed white in the dark. “I wonder how many days you could go without a single sarcastic remark.”
I stretched. “I’m not confident enough to take that challenge.”
He laughed and turned on the lamp. “I have breakfast ready for you.” He indicated the silver tray on the nightstand. There was fresh fruit and chocolate muffins.
I moaned when I saw the chocolate. “Ugh! No more. I like chocolate as much as the next girl, but I’ve had my fill for the next few decades. Plus, I’m getting fat.”
“You are gaining much needed weight, not getting fat. Why do you think Thomas has been cooking your favorite foods? I am pretty sure his skills are above making pizza and nachos.”
I poked at my stomach. “Look at this fat roll.”
“That’s called skin,” Gabriel replied. “Now eat something.”
I reached for a pear. “So what did I do to deserve breakfast in bed?”
“It’s our special day. Our special alone day. Inola and Thomas are not here right now."
I froze mid-bite. Alone. Actually alone with him. My cheeks burned.
He was watching me very carefully. “Nervous?” he asked softly.
I dropped the pear and cracked my knuckles.
“How’s the shoulder?” he asked gently.
“Stings,” I replied.
His eyes softened. “It hurts more than that.”
I shrugged, not wanting to worry him.
Gabriel took my face into his hands. “Holding back has been so hard, but I wanted you to feel completely safe and loved, and I wanted to give you time to recover. I need you to know that I love you. I need you to know I desire all of you. Your heart, your body, and your blood. As a vampire, wanting every aspect of you, to only you I bare my soul, Kara. I will love you forever, and you will always be mine.” He kissed me gently and leaned his forehead against mine, closing his eyes. “This I swear to you.”
I couldn’t move. It was nearly impossible to just sip in bits of air.
“A-Are we married now?” I asked, and then I kicked myself inwardly for saying the first thing that had popped into my head.
He smiled. “You’re not going to make this day easy for me, are you?”
I giggled. “I’ll try to do better.”
His eyes opened, and they smoldered with a love that didn’t seem possible. My heart thrummed nervously.
“Is that what you want?” he asked quietly.
“What? To make things easier for you? Not sure that I should,” I teased.
His eyes shone with unending patience. “Proposing to you was actually not in my plans today, but since you brought it up . . . Is that something you want?”
I swallowed hard, my head a blur. “You mean to tell me you never planned a proposal?” I joked.
“I said not today. I did not say I never planned one.” He tucked a curl behind my ear. “I do not want to overwhelm you. Just listen to your heart. . . .”
He moved his hand to rest lightly over the pounding muscle.
I put my hand over his. “Sure, I’ll marry you someday. I mean, who else would I marry?”
He laughed and fell back onto the bed, taking me with him. “You accepted that deep commitment graciously, heart.”
I laughed with him. “Honestly, I’m just wondering who made the actual proposal, me or you.”
“Never a dull moment.”
“Never,” I agreed.
After breakfast and a morning shower, he led me to the doorway.
“Does this special day have something to do with my dogs and cats having to stay in our bedroom?” I asked.
“Maybe,” he answered. “Can I trust you to close your eyes, or do I need to cover them?”
I smiled. “What do you think?”
His hands moved up to cover my eyes. “Walk slowly,” he said, happiness apparent in his voice. “I won’t let you run into anything.”
“I know you won’t.”
The air became charged with warmth. He pulled me gently back against him, and for a time, I just savored his comforting scent and his familiar, slow heartbeat pounding through my back. I was also letting him rejoice in the fact that I was here with him, willing and unafraid.
As he led me forward, a new scent blended in with the pine needles until it completely overpowered it. My lips curved into a
