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I stirred under slick, satiny sheets In h No, in ht red liquid The sun was bright in the cloudless sky and as I experimentally moved, the water, while warm directly around me, became cooler farther away from my body And unlike any liquid in real life, it supported ht, cradled me like a waterbed - a tropical fruit punch waterbed So and waves lapping, and as I basked under the glorious rays of the sun, I trailed h the oddly supportive red water, beads of it splashing over hed at the oddness of it all and a deep laugh answerednext to e liquid as well He turned his head to gaze at me, his blue eyes and dark hair in sharp contrast to the red water He s, then rolled over the springy water to lie over the top of h, he dropped his head to the crook of ainst the sensitive skin ofme to awareness

He was real The red lake was not, but he was real

The haze of ain, this ti the fabric as our bed, and not a fruit punch pool My eyes still closed, I also recognized the weight on top of ne scent that Teren had been wearing yesterday, the day we got , still reeting to my husband His head still buried in h his chest in response

Neither one of us being htly conscious, I wrapped my arms around him His body, while not nearly the teht, was still on the sort-of lukewar of him over every bare inch of me His hands wrapped under my body in response and we held each other as we drifted through phases of light sleep

As I fluttered in and out, s instinctively opened to him As he fluttered in and out, he instinctively pressed hi, one of my hands trailed down his broad back to rest at his hip, while one of his slid down ently broughtaround him as he settled himself ently pushed intoback into his favorite recliner, than alove to his wife Perfectly content With our eyes still closed, his head still buried in uid, neither one of us really striving towards anything, just enjoying the feeling of being so intimately connected

We stayed that way, silently and slowly rocking together, between the cool satin sheets and the war, blissful eternity Just when I could feel a deep, slow buildup starting, another part of my body decided to speak up first

One hundred percent wide awake now, I stiffened board-straight underneath hi sleepily at me "Emma?"

His tired eyes tried to focus on , and my body needed him to move much quicker One hand flew to coverhi that I was about to lose it on hi back, I shot up off the bed and stumbled my way to the bathroom I just barely made it into the private roonancy to be over with

Al up and down my back I looked at hi hi me in this position He s water I&039;d just flushed down "Sorry, did I do that?" His voice eet and innocent, but the twinkle in his eye was not

Glaring at him as I sat back on my heels, I put a hand on my stomach and raised an eyebrow "You know you did"

"Sorry" He grinned, not looking sorry at all

I wanted to complain a bit, but then he swept , soapy shower As he washed ed my back, I just couldn&039;t find the words to coain, he wrapped e, fluffy robe and put me back in bed Then he blurred away and left me alone I wanted to complain about that too, until ten s and a plate of waffles I love my husband

He seemed to love me too As I scarfed down , peaceful look on his face the entire ti circles When I was full and finished, and positive it would stay down, I set htstand and proceeded to finish what I&039;d so rudely halted thissick

His family stayed away for the bulk of the day Well, for Halina and Ien it wasn&039;t really a choice, they were stuck wherever they were until the sun set, but Jack and Alanna stayed away, giving us our need space And we needed it We didn&039;t leave the roohed, talked, ain, all afternoon long It was bliss Pure, root-married bliss

Teren did slip out of our oasis once or twice (dressed only in a pair of loose lounge pants, which was a delightfully yuet a bite to eat I let hione to call my mom and sister I sort of wanted to call Tracey, just to talk to Ben, to make sure he was okay, but I suppose that could wait I mean, Teren and I had already kind of had our honeyoing to enjoy every darn minute

When Teren came back, full and satisfied, he ihly enjoyed every single second of our tih, and Teren and I got dressed, and stayed dressed He let reet everybody As I was hugging Alanna and thanking her for the beautiful weekend, Halina irabbed Teren&039;s arm and pulled him into the library And let me tell you, when Halina wanted someone to follow her, vampire or not, that person followed Teren stu him away

I eyed where they went nervously as I saw both Alanna and Ie a bit At one point, even I could hear the heated voices At that point, Ithey were trying to spareon a few rooms away Alanna set me at the table and made a quick meal for Jack and me Jack studied his plate, but occasionally looked at his wife and then down the hallhere Teren and Halina were still "talking"

When he did it again as Ilances at the hall, I dropped o in there?"

The trio looked at each other and then to where Teren was I her blood "He&039;s fine"

I sighed, giving Alanna hopeful eyes She sighed as shethe situation to her"

I looked at the three of theed "What situation? Ben?"

They looked at each other again and then back atconcerned as she glanced at the door "Yes " She brought her eyes back to mine "We really don&039;t like people to know about us Teren knows that Ben should have been wiped immediately"

I blinked at each of thelance that spoke volumes I suddenly realized that if Teren and I hadn&039;t ended up together, I most definitely would not have been allowed to re that for sure was a bit startling Tears stungAlanna&039;s eyes sympathized as she watched the emotion on my face "It&039;s just a precaution, Emma The feho know, the feho can find out"

I sed as I looked over her beautiful but sad, pale eyes "My sister knows," I whispered, suddenly worried that en looked dohile Alanna glanced at Jack With my heart inher husband "Halina spoke with her She won&039;t wipe heras she stays silent" She sirl, as are we all"

I exhaled softly, relief filling me that ht struck ht about that No one was allowed to know their secret? Did that mean that no one was allowed to even remember them? "How much does she wipe? When she erases someone, how ain and it was Ien who answered me this time "It depends on the circumstances She won&039;t touch the people who ca was too trivial, otten our faces in a feeeks For other relationships, sheSome people, the acquaintances we&039;re around the most, but can&039;t be let in on the secret, well, e leave here, they won&039;t even reue sense that they knew this person oncebut every specific thing about us will elude the them the exact same names, and they&039;d never even realize that they already knew us"

The tears stung ain as the implications of that hit me Aside from each other, hardly anyone they met really remembered who they were I suppose, when it was tiion, all traces of theh all the people Although, most of the family stayed secluded at the ranch The only va attach a lot of work for her by leaving coworkers and friends and others that would need memories dimmed, if not eradicated No wonder they didn&039;t like hi away from the ranch How lonely to not have anyone res had worked out differently for Teren and II wouldn&039;t even know hiotten, they would have taken everything Every cherished memory I had While I wouldn&039;t know the difference, Teren would He&039;d still be in love, but to er, just someone I&039;d spilt coffee on one day I desperately wanted to hug him, all of them "That&039;s sosad," I whispered, a tear finally dropping to my cheek

Alanna reached out and wiped it away, a sed face as she sipped her blood "We have each other"

I shook hed and reached out for Alanna&039;s hand As one, they turned to Jack when he finally spoke "He does He wants a norhed and shook his head "The fact that the side effects are soa life in secret sad "He&039;s alanted to leave his mark on the worldand that just can&039;t happen It&039;s impossible to not leave some sort of trail, not with how connected the world is now, but we do e can It&039;s one of the reasons Teren writes under an alias"

Jack sighed while that fact sank in Teren wrote articles for Gate Magazine under the naeneric I had always assuht Alanna ave each other sympathetic smiles I wondered if someday, Teren and I would share sympathetic smiles over the table, while our children&039;s spouses dealt with the realities of their lives

"It hurts hi to hide," Alanna said quietly

I looked down, hating this conversation, but understanding it too The constant charade, the self imposed isolation, the endless lies - all of it to hide the truth from everyone People who, either ouldn&039;t be allowed to re for someone who ached for normalcy

The vampires simultaneously looked up at the door, and a h first, heading to the table and pouring a thick glass of blood fro it Teren ca tired, but happy He smiled softly at me as he sat down When Halina sla the table, he didn&039;t react, only grabbed it and caluess he&039;d won