In this life

Chapter 17

Late the following morning I woke in Daniel's arms, on my bed. We were still fully clothed. My head ached and my eyes were sore. Daniel was behind me so I wasn't sure if he was awake of not. I was happy just laying with him, feeling his body next to mine, I didn't want to talk. I didn't know what to say. I looked at the box Daniel had put my first rose in. The rose had since wilted away, but the box was still beside my bed. I thought of what Ronnie had told me about the meaning behind giving a white rose and it was suddenly all clear to me. I was his true love and I was his departed love one. It was perfect.
I lay still thinking of the night before and tried to process what had happened.
One thing I was certain of was that I was completely in love with him and in comparison, the thought of not being with Daniel was more painful than any fears I had of staying with him.
I carefully slid my fingers between his and moved his hand nearer to my face. With a gentle squeeze of my fingers, he let me know he was also awake.
I turned my body to face him without making a sound. He ran his hand down my back and pulled me in tightly, "Are you ok?" He whispered.
I didn't answer. I didn't know. I just wanted to be close to him. I moved my hand inside his t-shirt, to feel his skin, from his waist to his shoulder and back down, then tucked my fingertips inside the back of his jeans. I tilted my head up to look at him. He narrowed his eyes, questioning my thoughts. All I could do was offer a small smile. I moved my hand to his stomach as he brushed my hair away from my face.
"Thank you" he looked sincere.
"What for?" I asked
"Not running for the hills" he stroked my cheek
"Well...." I smiled at him "...it is hard to resist your charms and therefore I can not be held accountable for my actions" I repeated my own words from a former life.
He closed his eyes and smiled. When he opened them they were full of genuine happiness.
I lifted my chin and kissed him softly on the lips. He matched my kiss and smoothed his hand down the side of my body, over my hips and gently squeezed my bottom. I ran my fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck and he leaned into me, laying his chest on top of mine. As our kiss broke away and our eyes met we both knew what we wanted. I ran my hand down from his stomach and slid it into the front of his trousers. I could feel that he was ready. As we made love all of the tension disappeared and we were as one. This man was everything I wanted and now there really was a danger about him, it had actually made it all the more exciting.

***

Once we were showered and dressed we had sat at the table in my kitchen and were eating bacon sandwiches. Daniel had just finished his.
"So... Are you ok with everything...?" He asked cautiously picking up his mug of tea.
"Honestly?...I don't know. I feel like this isn't real. Like I'm watching as an outsider and it's not me. Does that make sense?" I took a bite of my sandwich.
He nodded.
"I guess we just roll with it? See what happens?" I suggested, placing the last piece in my mouth.
"Sounds like a plan" he smiled.
"I have a few questions though..." I stated as I took a sip of my tea.
"Fire away"
"Ok....umm...I don't have a great deal of knowledge on vampires, so apologies in advance for any stupid questions..."
He smiled "Sure"
"And you promise to actually answer me? None of your dodging the answer stuff, yeah?"
"I'll try my best" he smirked.
"Ok, first question... How are you able to walk around in the daytime? Isn't there some sort of rule to say the sunlight burns you or something? I mean, I've read stories where there's like a serum or a ring that protects you? I'm assuming you don't have them? And I've not noticed you sparkle like diamonds either...so what's the deal with that?"
"That was actually quite a lot of first questions" Daniel laughed "I don't know. All myths I guess. The sunlight doesn't burn, I don't have a magic ring and unfortunately, I don't sparkle" he fluttered his eyes like a lady and I laughed "But, I do know that my 'vampy skills' are a lot weaker during the daylight hours though"
"Weaker how?"
"To explain it in a way that you could relate to, I basically feel like I could be human again in the day"
"Oh ok. So it's like the moonlight gives you superpowers?"
He made that half smile I like and narrowed his eyes slightly, "If you like, yeah"
"So...What does it feel like to be a vampire?"
He thought for a moment, "Have you ever nearly been in an accident in your car that got your adrenaline going and made your heart pump so hard you could physically feel your blood whizzing through your veins? All your nerves were alive. And moments after you nearly crashed all of your senses were heightened, the world appeared to slow down and you felt invincible...?"
"Nope"
He laughed. "Ok, so... Like that... But also, every emotion is more intense and it becomes hard to distinguish between them"
"Ok then!... so... I'll be sure to only ever piss you off during flip flop weather!" I played
"Indeed" he raised one eyebrow and gave me a playful grin.
"Ok,....Have you ever wanted to bite me...?"
"Next question"
"Oh my god! Have you??" I put my hands round my neck to mock protecting it.
"That"- he pointed at my hands -"Wouldn't help you in the slightest" he laughed a little.
"Have you actually wanted to bite me...?" I repeated my question.
"Next question" he repeated.
"Daniel! Have you?" I couldn't help but giggle, I didn't know why.
"Yes I have. Next question" he was playful but uncomfortable.
"When?"
"Right now! If you don't ask a different question" he had a massive smile and I laughed.
"But you won't though will you..?" I playfully checked, with a smile and narrow eyes.
"Maybe" he teased "Next question!"
"Hmmm..." I took another sip of my tea "Ok. Are there any more of you? Vampires I mean."
"I've met a few over the years, yes"
"Really? Where? How?"
"There's a vamp bar down the road, we all meet to play bridge on a Thursday night. We take it in turns to bring cake"
I laughed out loud "Seriously, though, when have you met others like you?"
"I mean, I'm not great mates with loads. We can sort of sense each other. But like I said, I'm still quite young, a newbie in comparison. Most are vicious, dangerous, I don't really want to associate myself with them. Although one I met, who was alive at the turn of the last century, he was alright, very powerful though! He taught me quite a lot"
"Like what?"
"My capabilities"
"Go on...?"
"I'm not sure you need to know that"
"You mean it would scare me...?"
"Possibly"
"Ok then, I don't want to know, so let's move on" I shuddered thinking of when I was attacked. I took another mouthful of my tea as I thought of my next question.
"Am I in danger knowing about you?"
"Well, don't go advertising it"
"Is that a yes?" Suddenly I was worried.
"Rosie" he held my hand and looked straight at me "I would die a thousand times before I let history repeat itself"
I smiled a bittersweet smile at him. It was comforting to know that Daniel was capable of saving me from dangerous situations. But now I knew there were other vampires, who's own capabilities far outweighed his, I was a little unnerved.