I've Been Waiting for You (4 page)

Sally sat back. “Won’t he be happy? I mean wouldn’t that be what he wants?”

Odin put his seat back and pulled her over. Good thing she was tiny. Cradling her face he kissed her nose. “This is not me watching over you anymore. It’s me, making my intentions known,” he raised his hand to her lips. “I know when you wrote to me, it was you starting this. You are just like his daughter, a precious jewel in his eyes. You are a Princess in the eyes of the family, clan and coven. I am from royal blood, but we have to go slowly.” Seeing her look, he smiled and caught her lips, kissing her deeply. Tasting her desperation, her need and desire mixed in was a lethal cocktail. He groaned. “We will be lucky if we last twenty-four hours.”

S
ally leaned in and let her head rest on his chest. She didn’t care if they were getting looks from the pedestrians walking past. “Well, I want you. I’ve always known it would be you, but when you started to call to me in my dreams and I could feel you in my sleep...”

Odin kissed her face. “You did? I felt you sleep next to me some nights
. I just about went mad on missions. I thought I would go nuts till I got your letter after our last mission.” He caught her face with his hands and kissed her deeply, feeling her respond. “You know once we-we...”

“Make love?” Sally finished for him.

“Yes,” His face close to hers, trailing kisses over her face. “No one will get near you. It won’t be as bad as when your mother, ah, er...”

Sally sighed. The thoughts of ma
king love to this dark giant made her weak. She let her fingers stroke his chest. “I know but, will it be special for you? Since I know you are not exactly the same age as me.”

“Mmm, yea
h, I’m a little over one thousand years old. And yes, it will be special. Especially since it’s for keeps, you will be my mate and are my forever.”

Sally sat back. “But I won’t be changed
. How can it be for keeps?”

Odin wrapped his arms around her and pulled her back to him
, burying his face in her hair. “Nothing is going to separate us.”

He didn’t see the shadow fall over them.

They sat close to one another, holding hands. People smiled as they walked past them. “When do you go back?”

Odin smiled and fed Sally a fry. “I don’t,
I’m done, home for good. I figure I’m going to have to come to Providence and get an apartment or rent a house for us. There is no way you and I are going to live apart.”

Sally couldn’t believe her ears. She thought for sure he’d be back overseas. “There’s a loft apartment available in our building. That way
Olivia would still have us nearby, or we could stay in our apartment and share, I mean maybe Olivia wouldn’t want to live alone.”

Odin put another fry in her mouth and then started to nibble
on it till he got to her lips. He saw her smile as he sat back. “We can do whatever, but I don’t think Olivia’s going to be living alone for long. I have a feeling Thor is going to be taming the shrew.”

* * * * * * * *

Colum came and stood behind Katherine’s back. She stood at the sink and took a deep breath. Wrapping his arms around her growing middle he la
id his head on her shoulders. “Would you go and put your feet up. This working and walking around isn’t going to bring her home any faster. It’s also not going to help you with the baby. This is a different pregnancy for you.”

Katherine let her hand rest on top of Colum’s
. She stretched and felt the baby jump. Both of their hands rubbed her belly. She felt Colum turn her and then he knelt down. Lifting up her tee shirt he kissed her belly, which looked like it was about to pop. She was growing daily and would soon be off her feet till the baby came, which was about in a month. He felt Kat’s fingers work though his hair.

“How are you g
oing to handle Odin’s attentions to Sally?”

Colum got up and held Katherine close. “I won’t deny it, it will be hard
, but this day has been coming from the day I assigned them to protect her. It was just a matter of time. I will have an Uncle and future son-in-law talk, and make sure we are on the same track, make sure he knows what he is getting into.”

Katherine hugged her husband. Since the day she
had awoken from death and realized she was no longer a human but a created being, a vampire, she was different. She was thankful the male to female ratio was lower when it came to vampires. She knew Thor wouldn’t be a threat. Sally had text her and said Olivia was with Thor riding home. There would only be Travis and the Cormac, the now former King, who lived up the hill. Her sons were still human.

“I’m sure he will welcome that talk
sooner than later, you know she probably has his scent all over her.”

Colum growled. “If he’s
smart, he hasn’t.”

“They probably haven’t made love
, if that’s what you mean but don’t expect them not to.”

Colum hugged his wife and stepped back as he heard the underground garage door open. “Well
, they are here.”

Sally entered first, holding Odin’s hand. She heard her brothers come running down the stairs but she saw her mother and Colum first. She felt herself being hugged by her Mom, and did all she could do to get her arms around her, considering her belly size. She held her mother at arms-length and marveled at her beauty. She had become even more stunning when she’d been reborn. She had always been beautiful, but now she glowed, and it was only partly from her being pregnant.

“Hey let me get a hug in
.” She smiled at her mom and felt herself swept up in the arms of her step-father, Colum. She heard the door open and in walked Travis. As she stood back from Colum’s embrace she saw Travis giving Odin a hug and stepping back.

“Mom, Colum, Travis, hey
, John and Pat.” She hugged them quickly. Stepping back she took Odin’s hand again. “I have something to announce, officially.”

Pat looked at his sister and Odin, her bodyguard. He knew something must be up because Travis was all tense.

Sally pulled Odin in, no small feat. “I’ve made my choice. Odin is the one I want.”

Pat knew from the look on Colum’s face that he had been expecting it. “Did you guys know already?” Pointing to his mother and Colum.

“Yes, honey, we only found out, really, this morning, but it’s not like we haven’t known this was coming for a long time.”

Pat really didn’t care but he wanted to milk it. “Well
, when are you guys getting married or are you expecting to tell all of us at the same time?”

“Shut up Pat, stop ma
king a big thing out of nothing,” John said after hugging his sister and shaking Odin’s hand. “I say, who wants a friendly game of air hockey?”

* * * * * * * *

Katherine sat with her feet up, a fire blazed in the fireplace. The guys were playing air hockey. Katherine looked over at her daughter, who watched Odin’s every move.

Sally glanced over at her mother who looked about ready to go to bed. “What’s it like?”

Katherine studied her daughter. “What honey?”

Sally pointed to Odin and Colum. “Being loved by a man who isn’t human, who has more str
ength than is good for anyone, who has no fear?”

Katherine took her daughter’s hand. “Oh
, honey, you’re wrong, they fear. They fear for us when we are mortal. For themselves, there isn’t much that scares them. Odin is always going to be scared for you, it will make him that much more protective, sometimes more so, but it also makes him, and your step-father, more deadly. You’ll get used to it.”

Sally sat holding her mother’s hand. It was funny to feel a cool hand when she was really warm. “I don’t know how he can be any more deadly, I mean look at him, and Colum.”

Katherine wrapped her arm around her only daughter. “They can become precise, blind killing machines when it comes to a loved one. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that again, but know that any of us would do that for you or your brothers. I’ve never had to go into battle for anyone yet, but I do know the ability is there.”

Odin glanced over and saw Sally curled up in her mother’s arms. He smiled at her. He knew tonight wouldn’t be the time to get h
er alone. The faster the better, though. He wanted her to really be his.

Later that evening
, Sally stood with Odin, held in his arms. She could hear his heart. It was faint, but there. He hardly breathed. She let her hand span his chest, wanting to touch his skin, but knew better. Looking up at him she saw his smile.

“
Where are you staying tonight?”

Odin buried his face in her hair. “I’m staying at my house on Timber Cliffe Drive. I think it’s better
if I’m not on the property tonight.”

Looking
up, Sally was met by hooded eyes. She watched as his hand stroked her face. “I want you,” she whispered, “I don’t know if I can wait.”

Odin scooped her up.
Taking her lips with his, he let the kiss go deep. Heard her whisper in his head,
Come to me
. He growled and thrust his tongue in her mouth, met by hers. He heard her whimper.
I want you, I can’t wait, don’t want to

“God help us
,” he groaned, feeling the silken touch of her lips and the gentle dance her tongue playing with his. She had her legs wrapped around his waist, pressing into him. Her fists shoved down the back of his sweater, touching his back with her hot little hands. He kissed her one last time, not wanting to, but knowing they were moving in a dangerous direction with Colum upstairs, who was probably hearing everything.

“Baby
, we have to stop, not tonight. Give them twenty-four hours to get used to it, tomorrow,” he said in between kisses. He knew the blinded feeling, nothing but
I want you, come to me
kept breaking through his reserve. “After tomorrow we will always be together, nothing will separate us. Nothing.” He looked down, into her eyes and saw a tear start sliding down her cheek. He licked it off. “Don’t cry, after tomorrow.” He kissed her one more time and then putting her down he walked out and away from the house and her.

Sally stood alone in the hallway
for what seemed a long time and then she ran up the stairs and to her parents’ room. Knocking once, she opened the door and ran to their large bed. Colum was up and fast. “I’ll kill him. What did he do to you?”

Katherine was l
ying on her side and had a bit more difficulty getting up. She put a restraining hand on Colum as he pulled himself out of bed.

“Honey
, I don’t think that’s it, let her talk.”

Sally sobbed out her story. She didn’t see the look on Colum’s face. It was probably a good thing
, too.

Katherine wrapped her arms around Sally. “Honey
, it’s good you two have this night away from each other, believe me, when it happens it will be intense. He is protecting you because if he has this restraint now, then he can control that urge when you two make love.” They both turned to the growl that came from Colum.

“He
’d better resist the urge or he will be dead within minutes. I think I am going downstairs, maybe out.” He kissed Sally’s wet tear stained face first and then Katherine’s. “I’ll be back soon.”

Sally stayed on the end of her mother’s bed. She looked up at her mother shyly
, at first. Even at age eighteen, she still felt shy talking about sex with her mother. “Let me tell you what it’s like to have a vampire love you, in every way.” Her mother said as she pulled her daughter to her.

* * * * * * * *

Colum left the house at a sprint, following Odin’s scent. He was trying to mask himself but doing a poor job. As he ran through the woods, crashing in the underbrush, he picked up sounds and other scents. A herd of deer was nearby and had taken off in a panic. He flew over the stream that ran into his property. Soon he was flying through the cemetery and took a flying leap over a Roscoe LeRoy Carver’s grave, then down in the gully and over another stream. He landed lightly on his feet just before the clearing. The moon bathed the space in an ethereal light. He stood perfectly still and then he heard the sound he had been waiting for; a deer in its last moments of life; the sound of resignation, death but victory.

Colum walked into the clearing very carefully. He knew this was a dangerous time to confront a young vampire who was in
that red haze. He knew Odin had left on purpose to take care of the urge he was afraid would come over him when he touched Sally. Colum walked silently. Seeing Odin kneeling over a buck, he knew he would have to tread lightly.

Odin could feel the wave
of the urge leave him. He had drained the buck, which now lay lifeless in front of him. He wanted to find another, though. He was starting to stretch when he sensed another near. He let out a growl of warning. Turning ever so slightly, he picked up the scent of Colum.

“Don’t star
t, I walked away from her to feed. You can see I have control. I’ll always have control around her.”

Colum carefully approached Odin from his left so he could see him clearly. “I’m not saying anything
. I just came to talk and to welcome you to the family.”

Odin straightened and wiped his mouth. “I need to feed some more.”

Colum smiled as he approached. Odin’s eyes were returning to their normal color. “Come, let’s hunt together.”