Angus
I was worried that Rebecca would have changed her mind about marrying me when I went to fetch her that morning to take her to school. She had seemed so subdued the night before, as if the events of the previous few days had left her stunned and disorientated. But she was back to her quietly feisty self in the morning, and gave no indication that she was about to pull out of anything. I was profoundly relieved.
I was looking forward to ten day's time far more than I would ever admit. She would be mine then, mine to protect, mine to… I shied away from that thought, feeling vaguely guilty about how I felt about her. Even though I looked no more than twenty years old, I was actually fifty nine years old, young for a vampire, but more than twice her age. She was the first female vampire I'd ever met, the first woman I'd ever desired, and God, did I desire her. Just the thought of her made my blood hum.
I had decided last night, after I had left her with her family, that I would wait until after the wedding before I yielded to the intense craving my body had for hers. She had had this marriage thrust upon her by my brothers, and to a lesser extent, myself. The hope was that Jack would be more likely to leave her in peace once she was married. I wasn't so sure that a ring and a piece of paper would make a difference to him. It was more likely that the smell of me on her skin would deter him.
I would give her ten days to change her mind before I took her.
Those ten days were going to be excruciating for me though. It would be easier for me to sit in a fountain of fresh human blood than in an enclosed space with her. It had taken almost all of my iron control to sit calmly in the car next to her this morning, with her alluring smell wafting around me, and not touch her. And when we had arrived at school, and I'd felt what some of those kids were thinking, I felt an overwhelming urge to make it known that she belonged to me now. So I kissed her. It was much more difficult then to tear myself away from her, but I managed it somehow.
I spent the rest of the morning trying to distract myself by organising various things through Fergus. He had ordered the gun safe and desk and computer last night, and they had arrived earlier this morning. I was still awaiting delivery of the surveillance system for around the Harding house. I had chosen one that would alert me immediately if it was breached. I had something that needed protecting now.