United Service (35 page)

Her hands quickly lost their sensation, so she set the phone on the dresser and sat down on the bed. After a few more minutes, she decided to lie down before she lost control of her body.

Even though she was on the top floor of the mansion, she could hear the back door leading to the kitchen slam. It was quickly followed by heavy footsteps on the stairs. Next, Sterling ran into their bedroom, closed the door, and pulled his shirt over his head. He then walked to the bed, laid his hands on her face and gently rubbed her back to life.

“You’re going to love this, Kate,” he said, as he now kissed her and his hands made their way down her arms and to her hands to massage them. “I have two lounge chairs on the sleeping deck, but I’d rather we both squeeze into one.”

Feeling had returned to her neck, so she glanced towards the terrace door. Rainwater streamed down the glass door. “Lounge chairs?”

Now that her body was somewhat responsive, he finished undressing. “I wanted to get a camper mattress, the kind that is plastic and filled with air, but I didn’t have time. Today we’ll have to make–do with the chairs I already have.”

He stood nearly nude before her. His body looked as if it had been chiseled out of marble. She stared at his six pack abs, muscular legs, and fully extended length as the last of his clothes hit the floor. That’s when she realized he intended to make love to her in the rain. “You wouldn’t rather stay here?” she asked, eyeing the bed.

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. “My biggest fantasy is to make love in the rain, Kate.” As she continued to enjoy the effects of their bare skin touching, she noticed him struggling to focus. “Make love to me on the deck,” he pleaded as he picked her up and walked her over to the terrace door.

She positioned her arms behind his neck and could hold herself steady. “Will we have enough privacy?”

“No one in the house will disturb us, and there are no neighbors nearby,” Sterling explained. “Besides, if you liked the bubble bath, you’ll LOVE the rain. It’s the best feeling in the world.” He gave her a devilish smile. “Make that the second–best feeling in the world.”

Kate gazed into Sterling’s already blackened eyes. The man loved her. He loved her dearly. Everything about him was what she wanted in a partner in life. He even had a close family who already accepted her as one of their own.

He gave a gentle nudge on the terrace door which swung open, but he stopped short of carrying her outside. Immediately, rain began to spray into the room. “It’s going to be a glorious rainfall, and I want to share it with you. I hope you experience the rain the same way I do.” She watched as he tilted his head towards the clouds. “I think you will. So, how about it?”

He looked so cute in his excitement, like a kid on Christmas morning. She was only a few feet from the rain, and it would mean so much to him, how could she say no?

“The answer is yes,” Kate blurted out. She bit her lip and gave him a darting glance.

Sterling gave her a big, fangy grin. “Great. Let’s get you undressed and in some rainwater,” he said playfully.

She smiled at the love of her life. “No,” she said. “It’s not that.” When he looked puzzled, she explained, “Yes, we’ll go out in the rain. Don’t worry. But my answer is yes – I will marry you.”

He engulfed her so quickly in a bear hug that she nearly didn’t see it coming. When a loud thunderclap sounded, he carried her, clothes and all, out to the deck. Rain poured down on them and she gasped as the drops landed on her head.

Looking up into the rain, her senses took flight. Color hues were more vibrant, sounds were crystal clear, and a peaceful calm surrounded her body. It really was like what she expected heaven to be like. She even thought she was floating, but then realized Sterling was carrying her over to a lounge chair.

“I’ll be the best husband and father in the world. I promise.”

Her heart swelled with love and pure joy as he undressed her and more of her skin was touched by the magical rain. Raindrops washed over her body in a stream of contentment and serenity. She had never felt such joy.

Sterling woke from his restful sleep on the deck. This time, he was not alone. Kate cuddled up next to him on the now broken lounge chair. He needed to get a camping mattress. A very sturdy camping mattress.

He smiled at her as she lay in his arms. The real experience of sharing the rain with someone he loved far surpassed any of his fantasies. A part of him still could not believe he had made love to his soul mate in the rain last night.

Yes. Soul mate. He believed in the idea now, hook line and sinker. Perhaps all those years of mocking romance stories and love–struck couples was just him not understanding how strong the power of love could be. The way he felt this morning, he would be willing to take in a chick–flick marathon if Kate asked him to.

The morning sun had just peeked over the horizon. His sunglasses were not handy, and without the extra inner eyelids Kate and all other pure vampires had, he would be in pain shortly. Deciding to let her sleep in a bit longer, he carefully moved off the chair and tiptoed across the stone deck floor.

He had worn Kate out last night during their lovemaking. Knowing she wanted to be his wife was better than any blood lust he had ever experienced. He couldn’t get enough of her. He now gazed at her as she lay deep in slumber. She deserved a good deep sleep.

He carefully opened his bedroom door so it would make as little noise as possible. He needed to come back and check on her in a few minutes so she would not be trapped under her shield when she awoke and unable to call out for help.

He entered his bedroom and could not believe how good he felt. There was no skin irritation, no headache, and no lonely ache in his heart. He was no longer the unwanted vile half–breed, rejected by every vampire woman. He was Kate’s fiance. He liked that. He wanted to wake her up with a hot cup of coffee and perhaps an encore of last night.

Sterling reached for a clean pair of skin coverings from his dresser drawer and, as per routine, put them on. It occurred to him that with Kate in his life that he would probably wear these less often. Since he couldn’t be pinned to Kate all day long, he put them on. Plus, he couldn’t go down to the kitchen naked.

The air was thick with the smell of coffee as Sterling walked down the stairs. When he opened the kitchen door, he took in a long, deep sniff. At least three different coffee flavors had been brewed. He wasn’t sure which would be more to Kate’s liking, so he took a sample of each with him. The cinnamon roast was his favorite. By the time he had poured himself a cup, his father walked into the kitchen.

“Morning, son.”

Sterling noticed the man held an empty mug in his hands. “Morning, Dad.”

Sterling watched as his father searched for a spot on the kitchen counter to set his mug down, but the kitchen was a mess. By the looks of things, the mess was because of Jackie and William’s children having had breakfast earlier. Judging by the amount of food left on their plates and the serving trays, Sulie must have cooked the meal.

“Did the two of you enjoy the rain yesterday?” Raymond asked, as he gave up and refilled his mug.

It was a simple question, but odd coming from his father. Raymond never asked Sterling about any aspect of his love life. This was the first question ever. Sterling’s first, gut reaction would have been to give a snide retort and possibly even imply something a bit risque to shock his father, but he wanted to change things. He no longer wanted to be the hurt little boy that wanted to lash back at his father for not supporting him. The man hadn’t known the truth. It wasn’t his fault for assuming the worst. Sterling was trying to move past all that and wanted to begin anew with the man. “Last night was wonderful. Thanks for asking,” he finally said.

“That’s nice,” Raymond said as he sat at the table sipping his coffee.

Sterling poured himself a cup of coffee and noticed his father appeared nervous. The man didn’t make eye contact and sat twitching his leg. Sterling considered the sizable amount of caffeine it would take to cause such jitteriness, and then figured the man must be worried about something serious to cause such agitation.

“I know you don’t want to talk about your last beach trip,” Raymond began softly, “but I would have supported you and helped you had I known. You didn’t have to suffer alone.”

Sterling shrugged his shoulders in reply.

When Raymond stood and approached him, Sterling realized this was the first time the two of them had been alone since he had shared the news of what had happened at the beach that summer. Couldn’t the man just leave the incident alone? Other than the thoughtful smiles and the motherly looks Sulie had given him since the confession, she at least had kept quiet about the matter.

“I’m sorry you went through what you did. I’m even sorrier I wasn’t there for you. I thought the worst of you when you needed me the most.”

“Yes. You did.” That sounded a bit more harsh than Sterling had wanted his words to sound. There was definite remorse in his father’s voice, and Sterling had promised Kate that he would work on forgiveness for the man. “Kate’s asleep upstairs. Let’s talk out at the gazebo so I can hear when she wakes up.”

Once the two men reached the gazebo they took a seat next to each other. Sterling decided to start the conversation by telling his father what the man had wanted to know for over a century and a half, but would never ask. “I never paid to sleep with a woman. Ever. I never compelled the women into my bed either. Not once.”

Raymond’s eyes widened, his lips pursed. “Really?”

“The touch must be freely given, Dad. It doesn’t work otherwise. Not paid. Not coerced. Freely given. And never given in anger, only from a positive place, and of consenting age.” Sterling took a sip of his coffee and continued, “So you see, I wasn’t quite the monster you believed me to be. You just didn’t have faith in me.”

“After you came home from that trip to the beach, I did think the worst of you. But all these years, I guess we all thought that you paid and compelled the women.”

Anger built up in Sterling, but he squashed the emotion. Anger would not help him right now. “Only
you
thought that. Everyone else knew. Ben and the guys helped me get what I needed to get out of pain. Hell, Sulie cared enough to ask me what I did to find cures for my disability. You were the only one who never bothered to find out how I coped with my curse.”

Sterling’s jaw tightened. Anger grew, so he paused to take a breath and then looked into his father’s eyes. “I knew you believed I paid and compelled women so I could use them for sex. Since you never allowed me a chance to explain, I let you believe that.”

Raymond set his coffee down. “Why not just tell me? All these years I wondered.”

Sterling wanted to answer that question, but first he had more to get off his chest. “Do you know that I have never lied to you?” When Raymond shrugged his shoulders, Sterling continued. “It’s not because I’m a bad liar. It’s not because you can read people’s thoughts and mental patterns, either.”

Raymond shook his head. “You know I have difficulty reading you because of your headaches. I also try not to intrude on your privacy.”

“I know. And I’ve always respected you for your restraint. You have an ability you can’t conveniently set aside. I know there are times when you read people by accident, and I’ve always cut you slack whenever you’ve done it to me.”

“Thanks. I’ve tried not to pry.”

Sterling decided to lay everything out on the table, even the slight advantage he had. “Did you know I can feel you when you read my mind?”

Raymond’s eyes grew wide. “No. I never knew that.”

“The reading is slightly painful, but not too bad. I sensed you reading me last night when we sat down to play poker. After Kate mentioned our first time together, you read my mind and picked out a word from my thoughts.”

Raymond’s face grew red with embarrassment. “Virgin.” Raymond shook his head. “I didn’t mean to pry. Your thoughts were so loud and I could not dismiss them.”

“It doesn’t bother me that you read my mind. I applaud the fact that you have tried so damn hard over the years not to invade my privacy, and the few times you have mistakenly read me, you kept the information to yourself. … What upsets me is that you never gave me the same courtesy.”

Sterling could taste bitterness in his throat. His hands clenched into fists. He noticed his father flinch as he picked up on the mental patterns of anger that Sterling gave off.

Raymond glanced away, as if trying to avoid them. “What do you mean?” he asked.

“I can’t conveniently set my ability aside. I had to do what I did with those women. Their bodies were a means to end my suffering. I didn’t even enjoy having sex with them.”

Now looking at his son, Raymond commented, “I was under the impression you enjoyed your many female encounters.”

Sterling shook his head. “Dad, when my body itches … every
inch
of me itches. Inside my ears, between my toes, my tongue. Even the one part of my anatomy which must function if I even hope to lessen the pain itches. So, no. Very little enjoyment was ever involved.” Sterling took a deep breath and continued. “I’ve begged God for years to end my suffering.”

“Sterling …”