Chapter 9 #2
The snap of a soap bottle lid had my eyes blinking open in confusion.
I hadn’t even realized I’d closed them, too blissed out from being near Severin to care.
He poured out a generous amount into his palm and then he touched me.
I moaned then, unable not to. His hands caressed my arms, my pecs, then my stomach.
I leaned my head back against his shoulder, surrendering myself fully to his touch.
I felt him wash himself, too, but my eyes were closed, my body tired, so I let my mind picture what his skin looked like with the soap foaming on it, then what the water would look like as it trailed down his skin, washing away the white bubbles.
It shouldn’t be turning me on as much as it did.
I had unlocked another kink. Soap. I almost snickered to myself, but managed to reign in it.
“Bath time, my heart,” he whispered into my ear before moving us out of the shower and over to the tub.
It was empty so when he settled us both he sat down and placed me so I lay over his warm body, saving me from experiencing the cold porcelain while it filled with warm water around us.
I closed my eyes again. This was the perfect time to ask some questions I was dying to know the answers to, and even if we were fated, he was still more of a stranger than a friend at this point, and I wanted to change that.
I wanted to know Severin. And for him to know me.
So, I asked, “How old are you?” I knew it was rude to ask that, but if I was his fated, I figured I was allowed to know.
“At what age was I turned, or how long have I lived?” he specified.
“Both.”
“I was twenty-seven when I was turned. And I have lived for one thousand and fifty-three years.”
“Holy—” I stopped speaking and found Severin’s amused expression. “Where were you born, if I may ask?”
“You may ask me anything you wish to know, my heart. I was born in Denmark, close to what is now the German border.”
“But you don’t have an accent?”
“I have not lived in Scandinavia for over five hundred years. I end up speaking how people around me do, and the Danish I grew up speaking is not the same that is spoken now.”
I snuggled further into him, loving how comfortable he was. “How was it back then, the world?”
“I was born around the time the Viking era ended, most began worshipping gods around the world, and around me it was Christianity that took hold. I came from a wealthy family, one that descended from a Viking chieftain, so we had more than enough wealth. My family owned the lands surrounding us, meaning the town was ours. We were seen as high standing, so I have always known luxury, even back then, though I must admit, what I call luxury has changed gradually as time has passed.”
“What about your family, other than Peter?” I had wondered if they had turned, too, or died of old age as humans.
I felt him tense underneath me, but it was only for a few seconds before he relaxed again and answered. “They did not survive the transition.”
“You were all bitten?” I asked, appalled. That had to be one huge vampire attack. I knew back then vampires changed humans to gain a sort of coven to fight off other vampires, but for a whole family to get attacked? I had believed vampires picked up random people and turned them in secret.
“My father paid a vampire to change us all. We did not have a choice in the matter, seeing as once changed, new vampires would attack the rest of us, even though we were family. So, we agreed to the change. Peter was the first to gain consciousness and when I woke, he told me the others had died. The vampire had fled with every coin we owned, plus some jewelry and weapons. I lost my parents and six siblings and had to navigate being a vampire alone with Peter.”
I swallowed before replying. “That must’ve been hard. I can’t even imagine it.”
“I do not remember much from those early days. Most of them I spent feeding from humans who had done nothing wrong, and other days I hid away, too disgusted with myself.”
“What about Peter?”
“He fared worse than I. I had not wanted to become a monster, but even less so had Peter. He was engaged to a woman called Astrid. And he loved her. He lost eight family members and Astrid when he became a vampire.”
I feared knowing the full truth, but if I were Severin’s fated, that meant I was going to stay with them forever. So, I needed to know this part, too. “When you say he lost her…?”
“He killed her,” he stated matter-of-factly, his voice cold and detached, like he’d already dealt with all the emotion Astrid’s death had caused him and his brother.
“I hate that you both had to go through all of that, and knowing neither of you had wanted it.”
“It was a long time ago. We found happiness, eventually. When the bloodlust wore off and we knew what our limits were. Then we could once again have friends and live. We moved to Norway to get further away from our home land, and the bad memories were left there too. Peter and I knew we had to stick together, and so we did. I cannot live without him, and he without me.”
I smiled at that; glad he had Peter. I knew he said more after that, but my brain couldn’t take more talking, so I fell asleep as the water rose around us, feeling safe in Severin’s arms, and I dared hope I could keep him forever.