Fifty-Five

I struck a nerve, since his jaw tightened and the vein in his temple popped out. My bear got angry, and I didn’t care. He wanted me to deliver my life and my decisions into his hands, no questions asked, and he thought I’d be ok with it? Only in his wildest dreams. I sat back in the chair, one eyebrow raised to my hairline and arms crossed under my chest. I noticed when his eyes darkened and flung to my breasts with the movement, and I couldn’t help the warm tingling spreading over my body, and by the heat on my cheeks they were probably pink.
“Vlad?”
“Look, give me just a few more days, and I promise I’ll let you know everything.” He wasn’t happy to give into my demands, but he was trying, and I’d take that for now.
“Fine!” I stood and started cleaning up, throwing the rest away and putting the dirty plates and pans in the dishwasher to run later. As always, he just attentively observed. Once done, I stretched my hand to him. “Come, I want to show you a few things.”
Quietly, he took my hand and followed right behind me as I led us to the study, where I had the computer with a nice, big screen. Sitting him on the chair and turning the computer on, I came between his legs and settled myself in his lap. The way his body tensed and his pupils dilated told me I was on the right path. My goal there was to show him the wonders of the internet not to seduce him, but could I indulge on him just a bit longer?
“Relax, Vlad.” I put one arm around his neck and with my thumb I smoothed on the creases of concern forming on his forehead and brows. Oh my, those lashes framing his eyes were sinful, and I blushed under his intense gaze. But he seemed to suspect my intentions. “Why the smug face?”
“You’re not gonna change my mind on my decisions.” He warned me with a grin on his lips.
“You’re such a pig, I feel attacked!” Punching on his shoulders, I pretended to be outraged. “I’m trying to ease your worries, and you think I want to get my way with you?” I stood up, turning to leave, when the most beautiful, husky, carefree laughter reached my ears. He pulled me back to him, silencing me with his mouth as his hand skimmed up my rib cage, cupping my breast over the thin robe. I moaned against his mouth, my body heating against him.
“I’ll never tire of you, dragă.” We were breathless and a smile still danced on his mouth.
“You’re gorgeous when you laugh, you should do it more.” I trailed kisses all over his face and hugged him tight to me, resting my head on his shoulder. “Don’t worry so much. Death won’t take me this time around. Please believe me!”
“How can you be so sure?”
“No clue, I just know! Something is different, it’s my sixth sense telling me. We’ll find a way out of this.”
“I hope so, dragă. I hope so,” he whispered to me, not so convinced.
“Let’s forget about this for a while. I want to show you something I know you’re gonna like, the computer you already know, but not the internet!” He held me to him by my waist, pressing tight his chest to my back and resting his chin on my shoulder, looking at the screen. I explained and showed him how it worked and everything he could achieve with it. “This is your searching field and you can type anything you want in here. What do you want to know about?”
“My land!” His answer was quick and anxious.
I typed Romania into the field. “Once you’re done, you always press enter, and a lot of options will come to you, you just pick one of them. If you want to go back to the start you click here, got it?” His face glowed, looking at the screen just like a boy rediscovering the world, and my heart gave a backflip. I couldn’t imagine being in his shoes.
“Can we see images?”
“Sure!” I got into a touristic site where you could build your own route throughout the country.
“How are these possible?”
“What do you mean?”
“The photos! They are beautiful and colorful, so clear. It’s like I’m admiring the view through a window.” He tried to hide his unsettling emotions, but the waves beat at me.
“How long have you been away from Romania?”
“About four hundred years. I wish I could see how it turned out.” He said, pressing me into a tight hug.
“Now you can. You have the world in this little machine, and besides, when we finish dealing with all this mess, we could travel there, and you see for yourself, how about that?”
“I’d love it, dragă!” At least now he sounded happier.
“If those photos amazed you, let me show you something.” I said, grinning at him. I got my cell phone from the top of the desk, and I forgot I had turned it off the night before, as a bunch of beeping sounds flooded the room. All missed calls and texts from Shane. He saw it and his mood darkened. I got his face to me in the same instant. “Believe me when I tell you, the only feeling I have for him is friendship, nothing else.”
“Liz, I don’t want you around him!” His warning came out in a hiss.
“Please, let’s not spoil this moment with someone that doesn’t deserve our attention.” I made myself very comfortable against him, aiming the camera at us for a selfie. “Look at the phone and make a cheerful face, Grizzly!” I hit the button, registering the picture, then I showed it to him. “I said with a cheerful face, Vlad! Shish!” Then his face brightened up when he looked at himself on the screen. I giggled at his expression.
“Wow! Where do I get one of those?” He didn’t take his eyes from us on that little screen. “This is my first picture of you, before I just had you imprinted in my mind!” The way he said it crushed my heart.
“I got a phone for you in Kingston. It must still be in one bag, we just need to set it up.”
“I missed too much this past hundred years, Liz…” He mused, pensive.
“Don’t worry about it now. Here, let’s take more pictures, so you’ll never have to search me in your head ever again.” I didn’t think it would be so fun taking a few photos with him. He made all kinds of faces, teasing, annoying, and kissing me. At the end of our photo section, we were making out hard, our hormones working overtime. His hands on my body, the possessive way he caressed and talked to me. Everything was perfect. I rested my forehead on his, out of breath, holding his eyes to mine.
“Sorry my words caused you so much pain last night, I didn’t mean any of them.” I whispered to him. “I don’t want you to feel alone ever again, because this time around is different. Do you understand me?” I hugged him while placing kisses on the corner of his lip, jaw, and neck.
“As long as I have you by my side...” Then he looked at me. “And you don’t put yourself in trouble.” I could be mistaken, but a low menacing growl made its way into my ears, and my eyes flashed fire.
“Don’t you start, Grizzly! Look, play around on the computer. Get acquainted. I’ll go change and look for your phone.” I stood up and turned to leave, but he pulled me back by the tie on my robe and placed me in front of him, and without averting his eyes from mine he untied the knot, opening a gap and leaving me bare to his hungry gaze.
“Just perfect.” He said it more to himself than to me.
When he enveloped me in his embrace and his steamy and moist mouth pressed to my breasts, my legs weakened to the point I thought I was going to fall, but he held me in place. I grabbed fists full of his hair in my fingers, pulling him even closer to me. Gosh, how come this man could turn my body into such a fiery flame only with his touch? Once he heard my breath coming out in quick ragged gasps, he doubled his efforts, trailing one of his hands up my inner thighs and finding my warm and moist center. He pinched at that sinful little button there, and my legs almost gave out.
“Grizzly!” I screamed in a swift intake. Then, with an impish grin, he stopped.
“Just a reminder to whom you belong to and what I can do to you if you don’t behave yourself, draga mea.” He added when he saw my pissed off semblance.
“You’re such a devil!” He left me all hot and bothered. He dared to leave me hanging. My eyes flashed retaliation, and I turned around, marching out of the room.
“That’s my last name…” His laughter echoed in the house as a smile made its way to my lips. He relaxed and didn’t realize it yet.
Walking straight to my room, I changed into blue leggings and a buttered color long, cozy sweater, brushed my hair and put it up in a bun. Then I went in search of the phone I had gotten to him. I wanted to set the whole thing up and teach him how to use it. I was sure I could have some fun with him. About an hour later, and immersed in my task, his angry voice resounded through the rooms.
“LIZ!” I dashed to the study to find him pacing like a caged tiger.